Rayela Art and HeArt of Healing Gallery Welcome Quilters to Paducah!

Rachel Biel and Christi Bonds Garrett, AKA Rayela Art 

and HeArt of Healing Gallery, join hands and share 

in their love of cultural textiles.

The quilters are here!  The quilters are here!  The AQS event stirs Paducah into action, waking up the town after a wintry sleep.  Awaited with anticipation, the quilt show is our big yearly event, the core for those or us who love fabric and textiles in Quilt City USA.  I have had a booth at 212 Broadway in an antique store for three years now.  Ownership of the space changed and is now operated by Tanya and Randy, who have truly developed the space into a wonderful eclectic mix of antiques and local crafts.  Christi moved her inventory from her clinic/gallery in LowerTown to a large booth space across from mine making our combined space into a large ethnic delight of textiles from around the world. 

Rachel Biel in front of Afghan Tribal Arts' booth of beads.

Our friend, Abdul is also here,. renting a temporary space.  Stocked with beads, mostly semi-precious hand-carved stones from Afghanistan, his booth is a must visit for anyone who uses them in their work.  I like to incorporate beads and findings into my textiles and encourage other art quilters to think outside of the box in how stones can be incorporated into surface design.

Christi and I have many overlapping interests and then specialties that complement our product mix.  HeArt of Healings focus:  vintage kimono and molas.  Christi rattles off all the different names for the working, wedding, women's, men's and other kimono, how they should be worn and the techniques that were used in decorating the fabric.  There are hundreds of them!  Gorgeousness on racks!  Initially, her idea was to cut them up and sell them as fabric for quilters, but they are just too beautiful to randomly suffer attack under the scissors.  As her collection has grown, so has the quality, making them valuable pieces of wearable art.  She has often adapted her kimono to make them more functional for her lifestyle: if the sleeves and length are shortened, the remnants can be used in other projects.  And, the molas....  my, my!  What a stunning collection!

Christi Bonds Garrett modeling a kimono and 

straightening a rack from her booth.

Rayela Art focus:  My textiles are mostly from Central Asia, although I have started branching out and investing in small objects for the booth.  I was able to purchase some fair trade items that add a fun touch to my space: Bolivian instruments and dolls, palm visors and fans, and lots of Indonesian sarongs, always a big seller.

I get a big kick out of seeing all the action downtown during the quilt show.  Paducah becomes alive and we all benefit from both the financial contribution the quilters bring to our local economy as well as the relationships that are formed during this time.  I've met a couple of my cyber friends in person for the first time, transforming names and photos into real people, which was great fun.  And, there is just a wonderful exchange of stories and sharing that happens which is truly wonderful.

If you are in Paducah, please do stop by the Antique Galleria and visit us.  We are just a couple of blocks from the Quilt Museum, down by the flood wall.  If you are not here, then visit us online:

Rayela Art
HeArt of Healing Gallery
Afghan Tribal Arts


.

Rayela Art and HeArt of Healing Gallery Welcome Quilters to Paducah!

Lowertown Art & Music Festival in Paducah

Memorial Day Weekend means that it's festival time in Lowertown, here in Paducah. Lowertown is a neighborhood adjacent to Paducah's historic downtown which benefited from a City initiative which designated it as a gallery district. Paducah's Artist Relocation Program has attracted artists from around the country, bringing in needed cultural and financial capital. Once a neighborhood falling into disrepair, Lowertown now attracts new residents and tourists who enjoy the restored historical homes and galleries, along with a wonderful sense of community.

The Lowertown Art & Music Festival is a chance to celebrate local talent as well as those of vendors and musicians participating from places far and near.

I worked at HeART of Healing Gallery, one of the Lowertown galleries, and had a chance to run around and see if I could find any fiber people. (See tomorrow's post for more info on HeART of Healing.) For some reason, every year during the festival, we get Paducah's worst, hot and steamy weather. Of course it rained the day after the festival was over and now it's gorgeous, crisp and beautiful. Despite the conditions, people seemed to really enjoy themselves. I watched a belly dance presentation for a bit, then went on to find the fiber folks. I found three who were all excellent.

Teresa Hays does some of the best marbling on silk that I have ever seen. It's not a technique that I am normally drawn to, unless it's executed with talent. Well, Teresa has mastered marbling. Her wonderful color palette swirls and feathers, complementing her excellent choice of designs in silk garments, scarves, purses and men's ties. Teresa lives in Franklin, Tn.




Mary Waite came all the way up from Florida and was happy to get away from the humidity down there (!!!!). She was probably one of the few who was actually enjoying the weather.

Mary weaves and her booth was displayed with gorgeous ikats, scarves and natural textures. A hard sell on a hot, humid day, but I did have a customer at HeART of Healing who was a weaver and just had to buy one of her shawls because she knew how much work went into it!


Finally, a booth with musical instruments caught my eye. When I told Chad Scott I wanted to post his work on a fiber blog, he seemed a bit surprised. Well, maybe 3-d bamboo pieces are not normally included in the fiber category, but I love it and for the purposes of this blog, bamboo will always have a welcomed place.

Drumzrguruven (he uses umlas , but I don't know how to add symbols through blogger), has a great website with more info on their drums, didgeridoos, and rainsticks. Make sure to read Chad's artist statement!

The instruments show excellent craftsmanship and design.



I had to run on back to my job, but was happy to see these and other artists making Lowertown come to life. Of course I bumped into a couple of friends:

Monica Bilak, actually did most of the organizing of the festival. Can you tell she didn't want a photo taken? "Come on, Monica! Give me that smile..."

She did it, but if you look closely, she's throwing daggers at me through her eyes. Monica was one of my first friends in Paducah. She and her husband, Paul, lived in Kenya for a few years and when they came to Paducah, Monica opened a retail store in Lowertown called Global Nomad. (My kind of store!) She also bought a lot of the things I made, just to be supportive... Since then, she decided that retail was not for her and they changed the store into a guest house called "The Mary Jane Inn". Monica and Paul also are actively involved in an important project they helped start in Kenya, Project Aids Orphan, which helps children who have been orphaned because of Aids.

Then, I saw Merle, sitting in his recycling booth:

Merle and his wife, Deb, are also Chicago transplants. Deb is also a member of Paducah Fiber Artists, and Merle works for the City as an inspector. Merle has been extremely helpful to me in my housing search, but more importantly, he is mobilizing the city into a rapidly growing recycling movement.

So, that was my little time at the festival. Paducah is a wonderful place to live. If you are an artist looking to relocate, there are still properties available in Lowertown. While most of the country is suffering a housing crisis, Paducah is experiencing revitalization with increasing property values. There are plenty of nice houses with big yards around the city for under $100K and for those of us who are struggling artists, there are also fixer uppers available from 10K on up. If you don't want to move here, but are driving nearby, know that the turn off is worth the exploration. There are plenty of treasures to discover here in Paducah!

Lowertown Art & Music Festival in Paducah

Paducah Quilt Show, April 22-25, 2009: Important Notes

Rachel Biel Taibi and Heidi Lampe
at the AQS Show in Paducah, 2006.
Heidi came all the way from Brazil!

The American Quilter's Society hosts an annual quilt show here in Paducah every year. Thousands of women (men do come, too) with big bags descend on the city, giving a much needed economic boost to our local economy. All of us are putting our gears into drive, getting our red carpets out and shining up our wares as we prepare for one of the great highlights of life in Paducah. Are you coming? If you are, I'd like to direct you to some important links and places that I hope you will follow and visit.

Where to Find Rayela Art in Paducah

My selfish nature wants you to come find me and my stuff! (Heh, heh, chuckle, chuckle....) I sell textiles, fabric and remnants on Etsy and eBay, but I also have a permanent booth at English's Antiques, 212 Broadway. English's is located conveniently on Paducah's main street downtown, the second block from the river and only two blocks from the Quilt Museum.

Rayela Art has a large booth at English's Antiques. 212 Broadway, downtown Paducah.

Last year I rented a temporary booth space and then moved into a permanent one after the Quilt Show. I will be at my booth during the afternoons and hope that you will come find me!

Rayela Art specializes in textiles from around the world.

Find Rayela Art's Friends in Paducah!

Other friends will also be renting space at English's. Bob and Helene Davis of Hand-Dye Fabric will be back with their wonderful selection of Helene's cotton hand-dyed fabrics and boxes and boxes of her commercial stash. After Helene started dyeing her own fabric, she no longer had much use for her extensive stash which she had collected over a period of 15 yrs. This is now being made available to the public and is sold by weight.

Bob and Helene Davis will be at
212 Broadway during the Quilt Show.

Irene Reising used to have a retail store which specialized in vintage quilt tops. She still has a large collection left and will also be at English's this year. Irene usually comes up with several vintage sewing machines and other interesting collectibles, so it will be interesting to see what she brings this year.

Find vintage quilt tops with Irene Reising
during the Quilt Show in Paducah.

All of us are part of Paducah Fiber Artist's, a group which meets monthly at each other's houses. It's a pot luck, usually delicious, and we bring our work for show and tell. I love seeing everybody and look forward to our meetings every month! This year, Heart of Healing Gallery, will be hosting a show representing our group.

Heart of Healing Gallery exhibits the work of
Paducah Fiber Artists during the Quilt Show.

Heart of Healing Gallery is located at 233 North 7th Street in Paducah's Lowertown neighborhood. I work there every Saturday and Sunday afternoon from 12-5PM, so if you are the weekend before or after the Quilt Show, you will find me there. Dr. Christi Bonds, who owns the gallery, is a medical doctor who also practices Chinese medicine. The gallery is housed in the same building as her clinic, Integrative Medicine of Kentucky. Dr. Bonds is also a fiber artist, a member of Paducah Fiber Artists and we share the same passion for ethnic and cultural textiles. Aside from our group show, you will find an incredible collection of Kuna Indian molas, vintage kimono, Hmong pandau, Chinese paper cuts and peasant paintings along with other textiles and ethnographic items. I will also have a corner there with some of my ralli quilts, suzanis and textile stamps.

The American Quilter's Society Show in Paducah

April is a beautiful month in Paducah! I had never seen a dogwood tree until I moved here from Chicago and have since fallen in love with them. They were in full bloom last year during the show. Unfortunately, we suffered a terrible ice storm during the last week in January which wrought severe damage on our trees. Nature heals itself and the spring has started to show its beautiful face here. The climate is normally perfect for visiting the show and walking around town.

Dogwood trees blossom in Paducah during the Quilt Show.

The Quilt Show is housed in our Expo Center which is right on the river, downtown, and within a couple of blocks from the Quilt Museum. You can find all the info related to the show on the American Quilter's Society's website. The Executive Inn, which is attached to the Expo Center, has been undergoing extensive renovations which are being documented on the AQS blog. Housing can be a challenge, so AQS has also set up local accommodations in people's homes for its members. The Paducah Convention and Visitors Bureau has information on this program and other local information.

The Quilt Show is an inspiration to all of us who are fiber artists. One would think that everything under the sun has already been made or explored. Yet, every year, new works bring a fresh approach to the same materials: needle, thread and fabric. The show houses the work of several competitions hosted by leaders in the quilting industry. My favorite, though, I must admit, is visiting the booths of the hundreds of vendors who also set up with their wares.

AQS Show in Paducah, viewing the exhibited quilts.

Vendors sell fabric, threads, quilting accessories,
books and other tools quilters just must have!

You can see my other posts on the Quilt Show for more information and links. So, I ask you again:

Are you coming to the Paducah Quilt Show?

If so, leave a comment on this post. I would love to know who is coming so I can keep an eye out for you!

Paducah Quilt Show, April 22-25, 2009: Important Notes

TAFA Market Focus: Jefferson Street Studios

"Quilt Reflection I" by Robert Davis

TAFA is having its first public event during the AQS Quilt Show in Paducah.  We are excited to introduce TAFA to the public at large and are hoping to raise funds for our new website.   We have a silent auction and raffle, both available to online participants and a member exhibit and vendors.   These are ways in which you can donate to support our efforts.  This blog will feature the works and vendors during the time leading up to our show.  You can see all of the TAFA Market posts in one place by clicking on this link. 

Today's TAFA Market focus zooms in on:

Jefferson Street Studios

Visit Jefferson Street Studios on TAFA

"Limbo", Art Quilt by Helene Davis

Bob and Helene Davis are two of my favorite people in Paducah.  I don't see them very often, but when I do, there is always a feeling of "home".  Both are members of our Paducah Fiber Artists group and often host our meetings at their home and studio on Jefferson Street.  We are all disappointed when Bob fails to make his expected chicken dish...  And, I am constantly reminded of them in my home as they have been extremely generous to me over the years.  When I first moved here, they gave me a couch which I use daily.  I also have fabric, thread, books and other odds and ends they have given me.  

Helene and Bob will each have two pieces in our TAFA Market show, all four shown here.  Helene is way up there, if not at the top, of my list of favorite art quilters.  She has mastered surface design, always coming up with unexpected results that ooh and aah us at our meetings.  And, I love the way she quilts!  Tight, close rows of machine stitching that make her quilts stiff, almost rug-like.  Helene also works with clay, creating gorgeous pieces that compliment her textiles beautifully.  I have found that many of us have had this marriage of interests, fabric and clay, which I find very interesting.  I worked with clay before moving into fabric and like to think that clay actually taught me how to sew.  I knew the basics and had done quite a bit of embroidery before my years with clay, but I learned how to see in a different way once I had done dimensional work.  

"Missing" by Helene Davis using her dyed fabrics.

Bob and Helene purchased a late 1800's industrial building which they renovated into a drop-dead gorgeous home, studio and gallery.  They have been our drop off site for packages arriving from our other TAFA members who are participating in the TAFA Market.  The back of the space is Helene's dyeing and sewing studio, the middle area houses living quarters and the front is the gallery.  Bob gets the monster garage.  Both are avid gardener's and have landscaped the outside beautifully.  They turned an eyesore into a must visit stop if you come to Paducah.

Inside the gallery at Jefferson Street Studios, Paducah, Kentucky.

If you are coming to Paducah for the AQS Show or for our TAFA Market, you must also stop by at Jefferson Street Studios.  Helene's quilts will be available for sale, along with her hand-dyed fabric and consignment items from some of our Paducah Fiber Artist members.

Bob is the people person and eclectic in his endeavors.  Coming from an engineering background, his quilts are precise and exercises in color and structure, where Helene's are organic and experimental.  Bob also does a lot of photography around town and has worked on an ongoing project where he reduces images of people to line drawings.  He has captured many of the local artists in this way and I hope that he someday publishes a book on them.  He did the drawing at the left of me four years ago and I almost kissed him because he made me look so young!

Bob is another of those people who has worked with clay.  He has made thousands of porcelain beads and has a display case of them at 212 Broadway, just around the corner from our TAFA Market.  You will have to stop in there, too as HeART of Healing Gallery, another TAFA member, and myself also have permanent booths there.   HeART of Healing specializes in vintage kimono and molas from Panama.

Jefferson Street Studios has started to show other artists in their gallery with excellent results.  They are just outside of the LowerTown boundaries, the artist neighborhood in Paducah, and I believe that their presence will encourage other art related studios to move into that area.  Take note:  If you are coming to Paducah, you MUST visit Jefferson Street Studios.  If you are not coming to Paducah but would like to purchase one of Bob or Helene's pieces pictured here, email me.  We can ship it to you after the show.

"Quilt Reflection II" by Robert Davis

Jefferson Street Studios:  1149 Jefferson Street in Paducah, Kentucky.

TAFA Market Focus: Jefferson Street Studios

The Fiber Focus Group, Entrepreneurs with Handmade Gifts from Around the World!

Alabama Chanin, Alabama Beret, $80  USA

Update, August 2010

The Fiber Focus Group is now closed.  Ning, the hosting platform, started charging for the site and as I had started TAFA: The Textile and Fiber Art List in February 2010, I found that I did not have the time to manage both groups.  However, these artists and businesses are still going, so the post remains relevant.

Several months after I started this blog, I felt the need for a community of fiber artists and fair trade people who might use the group to share the experiences of their communities, serve as a critique forum and support group for each other and who had a genuine interest in the condition of the world.  I looked around and didn't really find something that fit my idea of a social network, so I started one on Ning, The Fiber Focus Group.  The group has grown to 335 members.  Most of us are women who are exploring some aspect of working with fiber (sewing, quilting, dyeing, spinning, basketry, felting, etc.).  Many of us have lived in several countries, speak multiple languages, and have an entrepreneurial spirit.  I thought it would be fun to showcase some of the gorgeous pieces represented by our group.  This is just a small sampling of what you will find by poking around in our Fiber Focus Group!

Gurumina, Sleeping Nymph Ring, $100   Czech Republic

Anita Brandt, Oshiwa Designs, Printing Set #11  Namibia

Anna Lisa Sorensen of Shibori Designs, Small Indigo Blue Itajime Shibori Pillow, $20   USA

art4sol, Spring Bird Watcher, $75   USA

Like what you see?  Click on the links below the images to visit the stores.  Overwhelmingly, we are on Etsy.  But, you will also be led to 1,000 Markets, Artfire and personal websites.  Want to learn more about this artist/producer?  Each of us has a page on our Fiber Focus Group where you can see more photos and visit links to blogs and other sites.  Copy and paste the artist's name into the search box on any page of our group.  You can also see more work by other artist's not represented here by poking around on our Photos page, where all our images can be viewed communally.

BackWoods Creations, Waiting Wendy Pines for Her True Love, $80  USA

 

Caron Mosey of BrooksideCreations, Over the Celtic Rainbow, $600  USA

Catherine Salter Bayar of Bazaar Bayar, Silky Gold Vintage Suzani, $250, Turkey

Cheryl of Cheryl Avenue, Neck Warmer Handspun, Knit and Dyed, $20  USA

Christen Brown, Perky Pincushion, $12.50   USA

Christi Bonds Garrett of Heart of Healing Gallery, Christmas Turkey Mola, $85,  USA

Debra Gangelhoff of Manitoba Gifts, Citrus Flower Pincushion, $32  USA

Diana Bracy of Diana's Art Quilts, Muhammed Ali Photo Mosaic, $600,  USA

Diane Tchakiriedes of DianeTech, Cozy Gold Handwarmers, $24   USA

DreamWoven, "Simone", Art for your Head, $290, USA

Dye Diana Dye, Coral Sea Shibori Jacket, $77, USA 

Elsa Pakopoulou of ElsaHats, Vintage 20's, $60, Greece

Ellen Agger of TAMMACHAT Natural Textiles, Mumdee Silk, $91 (Canadian), Canada

Evie Zaccardelli of Bread and Circuses, The Subway, $195, United Kingdom

Figen Cakir of The Knit Box,  Cafe au Lait Slippers, $18, Turkey

Victoria Crowder Payne of Freedom of Stitch, Embroidered Collar, $25  USA

 

Gina Delorenzi of Quilts4U, Traditional Amish Style, $600, USA

Grizzly Mountain Arts,  Medieval Norse Fossil Walrus Ivory Nalbinding Needle, $23   USA

Jessie of Phat Fiber, Lipstick on a Collar, $20  USA

Karin Zetterqvist of Watatu, Kanga Trousers, $57  Sweden

Kathy McNeil, Scottish Christmas, $800, USA

Morna Crites-Moore, Comfort, $185   USA

  

Valerie Hearder of African Threads, Michael Jackson, $350, Canada

We meet through interactions on our pages, forum discussions and through groups that share similar interests.  Would such a group be of benefit to you in your fiber art or textile journey?  Come join us!  And, of course, we do hope you will consider shopping with us this Holiday season!  Don't forget to stop by my shop, as well!  Rayela Art on Etsy.  Happy Holidays!

The Fiber Focus Group, Entrepreneurs with Handmade Gifts from Around the World!