I am a member of the Illinois Artisan’s
Last week I spent a day downtown at the Thompson Building promoting this program and working an Atrium Show.
I have for the past several years had some of my pieces at the Rend Lake Gallery during quilt week in April.
Besides the artisan shop there is also a wonderful gallery next door to the shop on the second floor of the building.
Just visiting the building is alot of fun. Outside on the plaza is a huge sculpture -
Monument with Standing Beast - By Jean Dubuffet
This is what it looks like on the inside of the building.
I got to sit in the atrium all afternoon and talk to the people coming into the building about my artwork.
I also got to give a lot of directions as there is no information desk and the table where we were sitting was the first thing people saw as they entered the building.
In the Gallery next door to the Artisan Shop there was a great exhibit. Here are a few of the pieces that really caught my eye.
Here are a few the artist’s work.
I love this piece. It is made from some type of wood that is curved and stacked and has burl pieces added to the design. Very organic and rhythmic.
I love good modern architecture and this building is perfect. Understated exterior and a huge, festive, and spectacular interior atrium. Next to quilting, sculptures are my favorite art pieces. The wood sculpture is interesting sensual, the fish is wonderful (hmmmm….one could make a crazy sofa cushion using same idea!) The bottle cap columns are fun. I hate not being able to recycle them, so maybe I’ll start collecting them. There are spots in my sewing room where they would fit nicely. Thank you for today’s festive blog.
I know the bottle tops are too cool!
Thank you for bringing this to us, Frieda, what an adventure!
Seeing art work is always an adventure. I really enjoyed the wooden pieces.
Sounds like fun Frieda! It’s nice to have the chance to talk about your work. I love the wood pieces, too. A lot of very talented artists participate in the Illinois Artisans program. Very inspirational!
Beautiful work! I, too, love the bottle caps! Great idea! I have been to that Rend Lake Gallery - my son attended SIU and we stopped at the gallery on one of trips down there. That was quite a while ago; I remember being very impressed with the quality of the artwork on display. I’m sure it’s bigger and better now.
This is a gorgeous building. When I lived in Illinois I was an Illinois Artisan, too! I did traditional work in quilts and hooked rugs and sold in Rend Lake and Springfield Artisan shops. It was a great affiliation so congrats to you!