These Ain’t Your Granny’s Quilts
Brigham City Museum’s annual “quilt show” is pretty Much anything but quilts.
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Silk mural "My Yard," by Debbi Sigg on display at Brigham City Museum of Arts & History
Brigham City, UT — Encaustic wax and paper bowls that are painted and hand-stitched. A dress fashioned from chicken wire, aluminum foil, and plastic grocery bags. Rattan-wrapped river stones using Japanese basketry techniques. Hand-knit shawls mimicking the wing patterns of Western songbirds. Hand-painted silk murals. Quilted textiles made from hand-dyed pieces of cloth and hand-dyed embroidery thread.
Paper, beads, wire mesh, keys, and other found items — if it can be glued, stitched, entwined, or otherwise attached to a surface, it’s probably in the Utah Surface Design Group’s showcase titled, “Intersections” on display at the Brigham City Museum of Art & History.
Museum visitor and Ogden resident Leslie Trottier said she has visited the exhibit six times since its opening July 6 and will visit at least once more before the show closes on Sept. 28.
“The works cannot be described in conversation or writing,” Trottier said. “I continue to take one more friend to visit because there simply are no words.”
Alanna Blumentahl, museum director, acknowledged that this year’s offerings are a departure from the usual — but always remarkably stunning — pieces in the museum’s annual international quilt show. For starters, every artist in this exhibit is from Utah.
“It was our desire every-other year to do a global show and then do a local show to elevate the local artists to the level of the International artists,” Blumenthal said.
The museum staff has been working for a couple of years with the Utah Surface Design Group to curate a varied and unique exhibit.
“A lot of their members are quilters, but quilts are only one component of surface design,” Blumnethal said.
Her favorite piece in this show? “It changes every day,” she said.
None of the first-, second-, or third-place pieces are for sale, which Blumenthal says tells people a lot about the pieces before they even read the information posted next to them.
“I think that shows how much of the personality (of the artists) comes through,” she said.
She was standing in front of a piece titled, “In Repose,” which took third place created by Julie Strong. The artist used cotton netting that was silver-leafed or coated with blue encaustic wax and hand embroidery to show a tree on a black linen background. The tree's roots create a circle in which a human skeleton rests peacefully. It represents the intersection of life and death.
“Whatever your belief system is, the moment of loss is pivotal. Someone is here. Then they are not,” Strong wrote in the placard hung next to the piece she created in memory of a treasured friend.
“It’s so deeply personal, no wonder it’s not for sale,” Blumenthal said.
One of the best parts of all the artists being local is that many of them teach, and people who want to learn more about a particular technique can do so. “I hope that people go and look and engage with these artists,” Blumenthal said.
Trottier said her favorite piece changes every time she sees the show. One piece she has particularly enjoyed is a large, hand-painted silk mural by artist Debbi Sigg. Trottier said it invites the viewer “into a magical garden wild with plant life, flying and crawling insects, and four-footed rascals.”
“After five visits, I still discovered new treasures hidden away,” she said.
Museum admission is free, but donations at the door are gladly accepted. Located in the lower level of the building at 24 North 300 West, its hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Friday, and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. The museum is closed Sunday and Monday. Hours will be extended during Brigham City Peach Days, Sept. 4 to 7, and on September 20.
For more information, go to www.brighamcitymuseum.org