Nature Inspiration at Art Quilt Tahoe

At the end of October, I attended my very first Art Quilt Tahoe. I was excited about taking a 4-day Abstraction from Nature workshop with Jane Sassaman, especially after seeing her quilts up close while on display at Visions as part of The Nature of Things exhibit with Betty Busby.  Jane is an incredible teacher as she provided us with a wealth of tips and tricks on design inspiration, composition, and construction.  Her quilts are truly stunning and I enjoyed seeing them up close and personal as she really captures the essence of the floral element and includes so many wonderful details in her design!  I was hoping to gleam some of her artistry, and I am quite happy with the project started in her workshop.  In fact, I can't wait to resume working on the quilting and will be sure to post more about the process once it is completed!

Aloe Inspiration

Our workshop classroom was located at the far end of the Zephyr Point Conference Center dining hall, which allowed us to stretch our legs, get some fresh air, and explore the grounds as we walked back and forth for meals!

Thanks to My Friend Gayle for Capturing One of My Photo Shoots

Despite some chilly mornings, I very much enjoyed these walk abouts and found lots of inspiration for color, line, and texture!

Tahoe Treasures

In addition to these walk abouts, I loved mealtimes for several reasons:

1. The food was quite yummy, especially the desserts!  

2. Dining with fellow attendees--seeing lots of familiar faces, as well as as meeting some new quilting friends!  

3. Admiring all the quilts made both by the instructors and attendees, on display around the perimeter of the dining hall.  

4. Learning more about each of the instructors and their work, during the post lunch and dinner presentations.  

5. Visiting the Artist in Residence, Katie Fowler, who was happily creating and playing in her pop up studio space!

While much of my focus was on nature, I also noted some wonderful shapes, patterns, and textures created by humans, both near the construction site and along the paved roadways.

Constructive Creations

During the Open Studio day, we discovered Robin's Flight.  What appears to be a lovely combination of nature and human-made architecture was 4-5 flights of stairs en route to one of the classrooms on our tour. As I was sucking wind towards the top, I was giving thanks that this was not our classroom for the week and I only had to make this trek once! 

Robin's Flight

Despite this natural stairmaster, what a treat it was to visit each of the workshop spaces, meet the various instructors, and see all the fabulous work done by AQT attendees!!   

What an amazing week of creativity, comaraderie, and celebrating nature!!  I am already looking forward to AQT 2019.  After admiring Betty Busby's work on The Quilt Show and at Visions, in addition to seeing the spectacular range of techniques and projects during the Open Studio tours, I am even more excited to be registered for Betty's workshop next November!! 

Will I see you next year at AQT?!?  They have an amazing line up of teachers including: Sue Benner, Susan Carlson, Rosalie Dace, Jane Dunnewold, Katie Pasquini Mosopust, and Carol Soderlund!  Be sure to sign up soon as several of the workshops are already full with waiting list and space available is limited!

Thank You Tahoe!!