Quilts I liked in Indianapolis

I wrote on Saturday that I was disappointed in the presentation of the SAQA show at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.  I want to clarify that I'm not critical of SAQA; the presentation and signage at the exhibit seems to have been the sole responsibility of the museum, not the show organizers.

While there wasn't a great deal of variety in the pieces on display -- because the requirement that everything be inspired by the century-old Marie Webster quilts, which were all quite similar in subject and feeling -- a couple of them were a bit different and worth a closer look.

Emily Bogard, Sunflowers & Spider Webs (detail below)

I liked this quilt for its use of many different materials and trims, and for the intricate machine and hand stitching that gave it tremendous texture.  The original Marie sunflower quilt that inspired several of the SAQA artists was quilted with spiderwebs, and Bogard's piece certainly took the web theme the farthest!

Judy Ireland, Remembering Justin (detail below)

Embroidered onto a single layer of translucent silk organdy, these deconstructed dogwood blocks feature hand stitching that is almost as visible on the back side as on the front.  Beads make a subtle focal point at the center of the blossoms.

Barbara Schneider, Anemone Dance, var. 1 (detail below)

Schneider used flowers and grasses to make a black-and-white monoprint, scanned the image and manipulated it to create the symmetrical image, then had it printed out for a whole-cloth quilt.  I loved the monochrome color palette, a pleasant contrast to the room full of bright flowers, and the graphic geometric patterns of the flower stems.  It was the most visually sophisticated piece in the show.