Affinity in Houston

The is the grand hall of exhibits looking to the back down Main Street - which is the red carpet

Did we mention that it was raining?  Alot of rain and flooding while we were in Houston. The convention center is under construction, so that created some additional issues.

Our exhibit was a long a skinny pipe and drape configuration.  Our favorite so far. You could see the more of the quilts on the wall with this set up. Quilts, Inc did a fabulous job hanging our exhibit.

The front - right off Main Street, which is the most excellent spot to be

A little closer

The D@8 Artists Dinner on Friday night.  Here is the menu!

There were four large round tables in the room in the Hilton dining room - a private room.  Chairs were on half of the table for seating, so we could all see each other, and move around the room.  Major book signing of each others books.

Susie, Heather and Cheryl

Spoonology - a tradition at our dinners after dessert.  Can you balance a spoon on your nose?

Cheryl

Judy

Frances

and the rebels who just didn't want to do it - Lisa, Sue, Karol and Victoria

What's for Dinner? Special Exhibit in Houston

image taken by the photographer for the Houston Chronicle.

Every evening without fail, Jamie asks her friends on Facebook a question:  What's For Dinner?
The list includes everything from multi-course gourmet meals to a pint of ice cream.  It is always entertaining.
Jamie and I began this little cooking blog a few years ago after deciding that it would be easier to have a blog about cooking and share our recipes and restaurant adventures than to constantly send pictures and recipes via SMS.  Well, we still do that (hello Instagram!).  But, basically, that is how the cooking blog came into being.

Fast forward to the fall of 2012.  The Special Exhibits coordinator for the International Quilt Festival was thinking about putting together a food-related quilt exhibit.  She remembered Jamie's nightly ritual on Facebook.  And that is the gist of how the exhibition evolved.

The call for entry was for artists to create a piece about the size of a placemat:  15inches by 24 inches.
Jamie and I juried the exhibition via an online site.  I lobbied for the exhibit to be presented as a dinner party.  We printed the artist statements on pages laminated and set up like a restaurant menu.  Table tent cards listed the name of the piece and the artist who made it.

Jamie and I were absolutely thrilled with the amazing work that was submitted.  The exhibit made a fun little splash at the International Quilt Market and Festival and we had a writer & photographer from the Houston Chronicle, as well as a reporter from the local PBS station come interview us. 

The following are some photos I took during the festival, and a link to the article in the Houston Chronicle:

This shot was taken before the table was decorated  for the weeklong "dinner party"!

A customized label (still drying) for the wine bottle on the table.

Bouquets made for the table.

The photographer from the Houston Chronicle photographed each piece.

Then she photographed each of us (Leslie here).

You can view more photos from this exhibit on Linda T. Minton's blog

What's for Dinner?

Most nights on Facebook, Jamie Fingal asks the question "What's for Dinner?" and her friends with respond with what they are having for dinner, so....

What’s For Dinner?

International Quilt Festival wants to know what you are having for dinner tonight, and would like to invite you to participate in our new exhibit, What’s for Dinner?, which will premiere at International Quilt Market and Festival 2013 in Houston. Quilters and food have always gone together, but we have not had an exhibit that has addressed this phenomenon in quite some time.  

photo credit Iowagirleats.com

We’ll “set the table” with your quilts for this Special Exhibit on the show floor, that depict enlarged “place settings”, complete with a placemat/tablecloth, napkin, fork, knife, spoon, and a plate full of “what you are eating for dinner.” This could be your favorite dinner at home, in a restaurant, or what you have for Sunday dinner. We are excited about this theme and hope that it will show a variety of interpretations, fabric choices, and views into different cultures, rituals, and lifestyles. Think colorful, fun, outside the box, and visually appealing! 

photo credit marthastewart.com

 

All quilts must be uniform in size, horizontal format, with nothing hanging off the sides, top, or bottom. The finished quilt size, or “place setting,” must be 24” x 15” (width x height) and cannot exceed 2" in depth. Please, no metal silverware attached. Artist Statements should be submitted via our entry form to explain your piece, the meal, and the meaning behind it.

photo credit meetthedeubiens.com

As many art quilters know, a loyal following of people on Facebook read and contribute to the ever- growing question of “What's for Dinner?” on quilt artist Jamie Fingal's Facebook page. In fact, this is how the exhibit idea got its start! We will have both Jamie Fingal and Dinner at Eight Artists partner, Leslie Tucker Jenison, to jury this exhibit.

photo credit elegata.com

Call for Entries on-line entry open March 29-May 17 - here is the link
 
Hope you will join us in making a quilt for this exhibit!