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At the opening of my family’s art show Animal, Vegetable, Spiritual: A Family View, I was asked if I had any formal art training. I haven’t. But I have a photographer for a father and a ceramicist for a mother, and I don’t know how many art museums I was dragged through as a kid. My sister has been drawing since the day she first picked up a crayon, went on to attend art school, and has become a glass and fiber artist as an adult. I got interested in quilting in 1996, joined the Tompkins County Quilters Guild, and became friends with many brilliant fiber artists. So the answer is: No, I haven’t had any formal training, but I’ve had plenty exposure to both art and artists. My art has been learned through osmosis.
Two years ago, we were discussing the fact that every member of our family is an artist and wondering how unusual that might be. The idea of having a show as a family came up and we all agreed it would be fun to do. In fact, it turned out to be a lot of work, but it all came together nicely in the end. Last weekend, I went to Maryland to attend the opening reception, which I am happy to say was packed with enthusiastic viewers.
The artists at the reception: Don, Cleo, Jane, and Kit Dunsmore (Photo by Russ Poole)
Here are some pictures of the gallery and the artists with their work to give you a flavor of the show.
My father, Don Dunsmore, with his photo "quilt" Morning Glories
My mother, Jane Dunsmore, with her piece Free Ride II
My sister, Cleo Dunsmore, with her necklace Sea Turtle
And me, Kit Dunsmore, with my Quilt for An Inner Child
Animal, Vegetable, Mineral: A Family View is on display until November 29, 2009 at The Delaplaine Visual Arts Education Center in Frederick, Maryland.
While I was away, a package I had ordered arrived from Knit Picks, and I was excited to find it waiting for me. Then I opened it up, and this is what I found:
East Meets West Satchel kit
This tapestry-style purse is a knitting project with 21 different colors of wool in it. It came in a bunch of colorways, but I went with the blue one. The pattern is really more like a novel with full color illustrations. It uses techniques I’ve heard of but some of which I’ve never done.
My initial reaction after “what was I thinking?” was to wonder if anyone had managed to put this thing together. On Ravelry, I found 30+ posts about this project and none of them said “I am going bald from all the hair pulling” (my guess is that I’ll get to be the first to say that!). A couple of them were super detailed and full of helpful hints and suggestions, so I calmed down and am now a little more eager to give this thing a try. I’m afraid, however, it will not be a relaxing-in-the-evening kind of knit since the entire thing will require lots of counting.
Step one is easy though. I have to knit a gauge swatch to make sure I buy the right size circular needles for this. After that, the real challenge will begin.
