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Tuesday 27 August 2019

Canberra Quilt Show 2019

I was asked to judge the Canberra Quilt show this year and although I only got to spend a couple of days in Canberra I managed to fit in a few activities as well.

The judging went well, they were a very organised group and even though I was the only judge I am happy with my choices. Judging on my own was not as daunting as it sounds; I feel as if all my years of being a quilt appraiser helped me make the decisions. As usual there were some great quilts that missed out on a prize because there are only so many prizes available.

I was staying with Beth Miller and she very kindly picked me up from the airport and took me to the Canberra Art Gallery which had a Monet exhibition on display.

Impression Sunrise by Monet
One of Monet's haystack paintings was in the exhibition.

Haystacks Midday by Monet
It wouldn't be a Monet exhibition without some water lily paintings.

The Water Lily Pond by Monet

I think my favourite painting was Saint-Lazare Station panted in 1877. It had a bit more contrast than some of his others but it was still so atmospheric.

Saint-Lazare Station by Monet

A visit to the Canberra Gallery wouldn't be complete without seeing Blue Poles again.

Blue Poles by Jackson Pollock

I also saw a painting by John Brack that I have never seen before; I thought he only painted in muted colours!

Latin American Grand Final by John Brack

Time was running out because the gallery closed at 5pm but I still managed to visit Yayoi Kasuma's Infinity room.



Infinity Room by Yayoi Kasuma

The room is fairly small and surrounded by mirrors, you had to be careful walking around because it could be disorientating. Here's a photo of me trying to make a photo.

Infinity room by Yayoi Kasuma
We studied Japanese artist Yayoi Kasuma with the Waverley Art Quilters a couple of months and so that was why I was particularly interested in seeing the exhibition.

After the Judging was over the following day Beth took me to the Canberra Aboretum. It was freezing cold but we had a coffee in the cafe first and then had a quick look around. I loved the sculpture by Richard Moffatt called Nest 111.

Nest 111 by Richard Moffatt


There was another sculpture called Wide Brown Land but it was huge and I couldn't get it all in one photo or maybe it was too cold for me to try harder!

Wide Brown Land by Marcos Tatton, Futago Design Studio and Chris Viney

That was the end of my whirlwind trip to Canberra, although it was my second visit this year. The Canberra Quilters were a lovely group and took me out for dinner on the Friday night before judging. I was actually really well looked after and thoroughly enjoyed my visit.

Please look at the Canberra Quilters website to see the photos of all the winners.

Bye for now,
Linda

2 comments:

Robbie said...

WOW...just went to the winners web site...so impressive..I was particularly impressed with the 'children's/youth' categories...really nice!!! Looks like you did a wonderful job as judge. Did you also provide remarks to the participates?

Linda Steele said...

Thanks Robbie, I was also very impressed with the student categories. Luckily I didn't have to do any evaluation forms as well, that would've taken much longer.