The Flipside : )

I'm back!  I headed to Edmonton with my family of 5, letting the kids skip a couple days of school to hang with the inlaws - cousins, aunt, uncles, grandparents.  We swam, we played, we ran around West Edmonton Mall's amusement park.  We didn't sleep much.  I drank more coffee than I thought was humanly possible.  I taught in St. Albert, which was so much fun!  (I will make a separate post to show off those wonderful ladies!)  Then yes... the Focus on Fibre Arts Association had their opening ceremony for the Prairies Show.  I AM SO GLAD I GOT TO ATTEND THIS!  There were lots of awards called out for entries that came from all over Canada.  Everyone present and also everyone not present got a big warm round of applause.  (If you won ribbon and couldn't be there, I want you to know that you were warmly celebrated!)  You can see all of the entries HERE.  Last I looked, the winners were not listed, but all the accepted entries are up.  There is also a catalogue for sale and is is BEAUTIFUL.  It is also likely sold out so here's hoping for a second printing.

The category I had entered was Needlework - Original Design, Surface Embroidery (there was also a category for kits and counted work).  There were awards for quilting, needlework, weaving, rug hooking, dolls/soft sculpture, wearables, mixed media (oh dear, am I forgetting anything?).  Suddenly I heard the MC announce, "2nd Place - Monika Kinner-Whalen."

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My favorite piece won a ribbon!!!  Oh my gosh!  : )  I went up to the front to accept the award feeling my cheeks turn pink.  What an honor.  What a privelage.  This was my favorite piece, and I was getting my secretly-wished-for-ribbon to take home.  WOW!  : )  Here it is - vertically so that you can see the piece larger.  It is LARGE for hand work.

I really love 'Where Sunlight Falls'.  What an honour.  Here is the artist's statement:

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title: Where Sunlight Falls

The ditches lining the grid roads to the lake last summer were lush with blooms under dappled shade from overhanging berry bushes.  I was struck by the cool depth of shadows together with the intense hot sunshine.  ‘When I die, please bury in me in a sweet smelling prairie ditch so I will always have fresh flowers’.

Year completed: 2014

Size:  15” x 5”

Technique:  Freestyle Hand Embroidery, Needle Felting.

Materials:  Yarns (wool, mohair, silk, unknown blends), stretched on heavy cotton.

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Here is the photo that inspired that piece...

I was heading back to my seat in the farthest row when I heard the MC say, "First Place goes to Monika Kinner-Whalen!"  I stopped in my tracks, turned around and went right back up to receive the award!  WOW!  First place went to Prairie City!!

I am still letting it all sink in.  Take a look.  See the two ribbons?  I was heading back to my chair again when the MC announced, "Best of Category goes to Monika Kinner-Whalen" - and back up I went for a third time to receive the generous prize from the Edmonton Needlework Guild.  They went all out and had their ribbon hand stitched too!  The red barn is needlepainted.  That was the icing on the cake.  : )  THANK YOU!

Here is my Artist's Statement for this piece.

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title: Prairie City

The whole point to this piece is that you don’t have to go far to enjoy the free flowing beauty of the prairies.  Inspired by a photo I took within city limits, I must say I was surprised to feel heartfelt emotions with this combination of urban & rural.  Nature is all around us, isn’t it?  Home, sweet home.

Year completed: 2014

Size:  4.5” x 14”

Technique: Threadpainting – combined freestyle machine and hand stitching.  No tracing, transferring, or templates used.

Materials:  hand dyed cotton fabric, 100wt – 12wt threads (cotton, rayon, poly), hand dyed silk and sari ribbons

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I have to say congratulations to everyone involved and thank you to everyone who helped organize this show!  You made it so incredible for us to be part of it all.  And I really mean that.  After the reception, I got to spend an hour enjoying all the work that was on display, and will remain there in the building until the end of August.  I had a very fun time visiting with the artists, judges, appreciators, and organizers in attendance.

But that's not all.

Then it was back to Jackfish Lake, SK for a triple birthday party.  MORE CELEBRATING!  We had three cakes and made three wishes:  My daughter, my mother, my self.  On the way home, I caught this one last photo of fire and ice.  The big lake is still frozen on top.

That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it.