QUILT FESTIVAL LONG BEACH SPECIAL EXHIBITS

America’s age of Industrial Revolution, c. 1820-1860, brought about outstanding designs in printed cotton goods. Women throughout the country used these beautiful textiles to create their unique bed covers. Explore the rich colors, delightful motifs, and distinctive quilt designs that decorated American bedchambers with exceptional style. There are six contemporary quilts by Leah Zieber, which replicate works of the period.

This exhibit showcases floral-themed or designed treasures from the IQF’s permanent collection. International Quilt Festival Collection. The quilts—many of which are by artists whose identities are lost to time— date from the 1850s to 1920, and all feature beautiful hand appliqué.

An exhibit of traditional quilts made by the members of guilds based in California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Idaho, and Arizona. See how contemporary artists are paying tribute to the time-tested styles and techniques of quiltmaking’s past.

This annual judged competition is open to quilters working in any style, and who liked to play with color to create a vibrant work! A $1,000 Best of Show Award and three $500 prizes each in Traditional, Modern, and Art categories will be awarded.

Quilting can be a showing of love and honor by an artist. The works here depict how the artist, a family member, or a friend has celebrated a loved one’s wedding, birth, birthday, or memorial. And artists’ statements will tell their stories.

The changing weather is affecting the world—and often in a negative way. Creative quilts here show how it affects the artists’ homes, outlook, and everyday lives with immediate or long-term events and ecological impact. Quilters have often used their work to encourage growth and express activism.

This work is a collaborative piece organized by Sherrell Cuneo. Artists from all over the world selected plants, birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, insects, and amphibians to showcase. There are 50 stars for 50 states and 50 species on a tattered, embattled flag. Black Elk, an Oglala Lakota said, “One should pay attention to even the smallest crawling creature, for these too may have a valuable lesson to teach us.”

Andera Brokenshire has an educational background in Zoology and Natural History. She combines her love of the natural world with fabric and paint to create art quilts that depict botanical imagery. She uses fabric and paint to create the wonderful textures of nature while expressing the essence of a flower with the curve of a petal, the vibrancy of color and the diversity of flora. For her the creative process is a journey as essential as breathing. These quilts showcsase Andrea’s creative journey from 2010 to 2023 to find her artistic voice.

As a native Guatemalan, Bianchi’s work is a fusion of American and Mayan Guatemalan textile traditions which transcend culture, race, language, and gender. These art quilts document her journey through a 25-year artistic career and show how she began work in an traditional style and evolved by incorporating imagery, textiles, designs, and symbols from her native Guatemala.

Artists from all around the world incorporate influences from their own cultures into the design and technique of their quilts. This prestigious, long-running international showcase includes recent quilts by international artists who create works inspired by them.

This solo exhibition showcases Kumiko Frydl's intricate and vibrant miniature quilts. It’s a journey she began in 2002 with the original classic I'm Still Sane all the way through to 2021 with her most recent creation Emerald Labyrinth and many other exquisite stops along the way. In this exhibit, great things come in small packages!

Featuring 15 selected quilts from last year’s Quilt Festival Judged Show in Houston. This includes four of the Master Award Winners and top winners in many different categories which earned cash, non-purchase prizes provided by industry sponsors.

Just as quilters create beautiful pieces of art with fabric, florists and gardeners cultivate works of beauty from the soil. This exhibit showcases floral-inspired quilts from across the spectrum in lush color and splendor.

Contemporary quiltmakers often look to the art form’s rich tradition and history for inspiration in their own works. This exhibit features recently made quilts that incorporate traditional blocks, styles, and/or techniques.

From valleys and volcanoes to mountains to monuments, landscapes often inspire artists, including many in the quilt world. This expansive exhibit showcases many stunning geographical wonders.

This collection of 19th, 20th and 21st Century signature quilts illustrates the many reasons why they were made, including friendship, presentation, commemoration, memorial, and fundraising examples. Many methods of making the signatures are shown, such as stamped ink, signature ink, and cross and running stitch embroidery. The collection includes a wide variety of pieced and appliquéd quilts.

By study, replication, and reinterpretation, we pay homage to the anonymous quiltmaker who designed and executed this complex and beautiful antique quilt. Sheila Bishop and her son Grant worked together to create the templates. Anne Dawson then produced an approachable, coherent pattern. Quilting friends rallied, each beautifully interpreting the original quilt in their own way.

This year, Long Beach Modern Quilt Guild redesigned their guild logo. The challenge for members was to use the three new colors, a neutral, and an optional wildcard fabric. They then selected a geometric shape and created a quilt with a perimeter less than 96 inches. The quilts hung as part of LBMQG's annual fiber art exhibition, Perspectives at the Alpert Jewish Community Center. See the entries here!

While searching for her artistic voice, Hope Wilmarth discovered that while she had one song of creativity, there were many verses to it. Three of the verses to that intrinsic tune are exhibited here in three perspectives: Abstract, Nature, and Contemporary. Her work continues to evolve with different techniques. In this exhibit, Wilmarth shares a variety of her fiber song styles.

Life has changed for the artist Farquhar, and it has changed her approach to quilting. She used to create only what she considered “joyful” quilts. She now allows her emotions to speak through her quilts which include despair and loss, but also hope. She hopes her quilts generate conversations among viewers.

This collection of unique quilts was in response to monthly challenges that the artists created for each other. Their themes were My Happy Place, Stripe Out, Reflections, Beneath, Contrast, Rock, Layers, and What\'s Next. Quilts were created by a diverse group of women who challenged each other in a supportive and inspiring community which allowed them to evolve as artists.

Bee Sewcial is an international, improvisational quilting bee. Each month, the selected group leader provides an inspiration—a theme, palette, restrictions, etc.—for the members of the bee to follow when they design and make a block. The monthly group leader designs a quilt using the improv creation of each contributing member.

From amphibians to apex predators, celebrate wild animals in their natural environments. This exhibition showcases birds, fish, mammals, and reptiles doing what comes naturally. Go WILD!

Sports have long been ingrained into world culture from ancient times up until today, where fans are passionate about their teams and their players. This exhibit spotlights and showcases sports and the love of it from the most familiar types (football, basketball, baseball, soccer) to the more specialized (badminton or curling, anyone? How about Quidditch!).

Buildings have a long history of inspiring the creative designs of quiltmakers. In the 19th century, American quilters developed classic architectural patterns such as Log Cabin, Schoolhouse, and Brick Wall. This annual juried exhibit challenges quiltmakers to create works based on architectural themes and inspirations.

The passing of the longest reigning British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II (who was Queen from 1952 to 2022), has left a lifetime of memories and respect. This exhibit honors the monarch’s memory with quilts that memorialize her long-standing dedication to her position and her people.

In this exhibit, Kathryn Pellman has visually and verbally created a colorful and playful celebration of women, their femininity, their lives, friendships, and romantic relationships (both real and imagined). They quilts reflect the artist’s love of novelty fabric, storytelling, and strong women.

The popularity of the television series Yellowstone has brought renewed attention to the region, geography, and customs of the western United States and the outdoors. Quilts here celebrate the land and its culture. Note: This exhibit is not affiliated with the television show, its producers/creators, or Paramount television.