Dinner at Eight Artists book

The exhibition catalog/book is available to purchase on Amazon. The exhibit will be shown at Quilt Market and Festival in Houston. We have had a great ride in the past ten years!

link to Amazon

Artist Profile Series: Jamie Fingal

Jamie Fingal

Orange, CA

1. What is sitting on the edges of your work table? a total mess of Mistyfused fabrics ready to be made into something for Quilt Market. Notes for writing patterns, Mistyfuse, scissors, and a pin cushion from high school.

2. If someone looked beneath the surface, what could be revealed that we might not know about you? Total introvert, fear of speaking to an audience and on the plus side, a kooky grandma.

3. What occupies the space between your sewing machine and your cutting table? The concrete floor with piles of scraps that have been discarded. I sweep up when it gets hazardous.  Artist down in aisle 5. 

4. What is the most exquisite moment in your artistic life? Someone recognizing ‘my style’ before I even knew that I had a style.

5. Do you have daily rituals in your studio? Turn on the lights, look around and ask myself what I am going to create today, thankfulness, get a can of water out of the frig, turn on the music and open my truck door. Glance at the positive affirmation that reminds me who I am. Let's rock and roll.

6. Reflecting on the quilts that you have made, which one stands out to you? My Heavy Metal series stands out as my most favorite, but one piece? The apron as personal armor speaks the most to me!

7. What do you have an affinity for in your work? Bright colors and I feel much joy when working with this palette. But then again, the Heavy Metal palette always pushes me to new heights. The yin and yang of me.

8. What kinds of patterns do you use in your work to create interest and texture? I only use commercial cotton prints, so that is a start, and free motion machine quilting adds the other element.

9. What personal iconography is identifiable to you exclusively in your work?  Houses with cups and saucers on the roofs. Traditional patterns that are fused and have zippers on then. 

10. What was your inspiration for the Best of Dinner at Eight? My nightly ritual of hand sewing felt constructions over the years. Zen Stitching is what I call it.

Artist Profile Series: Leslie Tucker Jenison

Leslie Tucker Jenison

San Antonio TX

http://leslietuckerjenison.com

1. What is sitting on the edges of your work table?  A fairly large pile of scraps.

2. If someone looked beneath the surface, what could be revealed that we might not know about you?  I’m a bit of an introvert who has a good game face.

3. What occupies the space between your sewing machine and your cutting table?  A rolling industrial cart stacked with loads of solids, sorted by value.

4. What is the most exquisite moment in your artistic life?  The journey of creating an object that has successful design elements.

5. Do you have daily rituals in your studio?  Yes:  I walk the garden before I enter, then I thank my mother as I walk down the hall into my studio.

6. Reflecting on the quilts that you have made, which one stands out to you?  Always the one I took some risks with and it worked.

7. What do you have an affinity for in your work?  Improvisational work, either in the process of creating cloth or a quilt.

8. What kinds of patterns do you use in your work to create interest and texture?  I love the shape of an arc, nest, and/or bowl.  They make frequent appearances.

9. What personal iconography is identifiable to you exclusively in your work?  I’m not sure any shape is mine exclusively, but I am drawn to both organic and architectural shapes.

10.  What was your inspiration for the Best of Dinner at Eight?  I loved the “Space Between” theme and wanted to consider another idea for that theme.

Artist Profile Series: Susan Brubaker Knapp

Susan Brubaker Knapp
Mooresville, North Carolina

1. What is sitting on the edges of your work table? A new piece based on the marsh at Bald Head Island, which has been a beloved family vacation spot for about 16 years. It was severely flooded by hurricane Florence, and at the time I’m writing this (11 days after the storm hit), power has not yet been restored, and the water is still 3 feet deep in places. I’m working on it as a form of meditation or prayer that this beautiful place has not suffered too much ecological damage. 

2. If someone looked beneath the surface, what could be revealed that we might not know about you? I’m an introvert. I just disguise myself well. 

3. What occupies the space between your sewing machine and your cutting table? A rug, currently covered with scraps of fabric and thread. When work is in progress in my studio, it’s usually a mess. 

4. What is the most exquisite moment in your artistic life? I was thrilled to find out that my small piece, “The Bluest Eye,” was appearing in Quilting Arts magazine in 2007. It was a moment that made me feel validated as an artist, and like I was on the right path. 

5. Do you have daily rituals in your studio? Tea. Classical music. Turning on the heat lamp for the cat.  

6. Reflecting on the quilts that you have made, which one stands out to you? My favorite piece is “I See the Moon,” which I made for the “Rituals” Dinner at Eight exhibition. I think it has a lot of my soul in it. 

7. What do you have an affinity for in your work? Botanical and zoological subjects.