As the winter months drag on, cold weather at times can keep a person indoors, rather than outside enjoying nature as many Bow Valley residents are wont to do.
Luckily, no matter what Mother Nature has in store for late February and March, arts aficionados can take in Visions, the Mountain Cabin Quilter’s Guild’s annual show.
Visions, which will feature art quilts with a nature theme, opens for the first time in the Canmore Art Guild (CAG) gallery in Elevation Place, Friday (Feb. 28) with an opening reception from 7-9 p.m. The Guild’s 15th show will then run to March 18. In the past, quilt shows have been held in the Rec Centre.
Admission is free and the public is invited to attend.
Rather than the more familiar traditional bed quilts that keep you cozy on cold winter nights, art quilts are just that; art. Rather than traditional patterns that might be handed down through generations, art quilts are typically found hanging on walls
“They’re usually smaller, some are quite tiny,” said Guild co-chair Lynn Cooper. “Our maximum for this show is 56-inches, as the gallery is limited for space. There will be about 25 art quilts, all original designs that have never been in a previous show.”
The Guild currently has 85 members in Banff, Canmore, Cochrane and Calgary and all lend a hand to host shows. “It’s quite a large group of art quilters and traditional quilters,” said Cooper. “We dye our own fabric for art quilts and create our own designs and textures; it’s really using fabric as a medium.”
The Guild, she said, was founded 15 years ago and some original members still put pieces in shows. Art quilts as an art form are about three-quarters of a century old and the enduring legacy lasts.
For some keen quilters, like Cooper, the quilting community is one of the draws of a town like Canmore. “I’ve never been a traditional quilter,” she said, “but the arts quilting here is one of the reasons I moved to Canmore.
“Several other members found the same thing. It’s nice to be in Canmore, but the quilting is that little bit extra incentive.”
A quilt will be raffled off, tickets are $2 or three for $5, and some of the quilts will be for sale, with proceeds supporting Guild education efforts and CAG for use of the premises.
Hours for the show are from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday to Thursday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday to Sunday.
