Sunday 16 August 2009

Out and About

Last week, on Tuesday, I went to a coffee morning put on by Region 7 (British Quilt Guild). The speaker was Jenny Bowker. Joan, the lady whose house the coffee morning was held, had come to a private workshop I did for some ladies in my home. She sent an email inviting anyone from this region who wished to come, so Shelagh and I took up the offer.

I have followed Jenny's work for a while and had the privilege of meeting her when I was at the SAQA evening event in Houston in the Autumn. She is also going to be at the Festival of Quilts this week, and I have booked a ticket to the lecture she is going to deliver there, as well. The coffee morning talk was about her quilts and the lecture will be about the work she has done with the tentmakers.

Jenny is from Australia, but has spent a great deal of time in the Middle East with her husband's work. Until recently, she was in Egypt. Quite a few of the quilts she showed have been inspired by the people she met while living there. Jenny has a unique ability to do very realistic portraits. Seeing the original photos of some of the people and then the quilts depicting them, you feel as though you would recognise each one if you met them on the streets of Cairo. Several of these quilts can be seen on her blog. The first post on this link shows the development of a few of them, including the one being shown here.Jenny is often travelling round the world, so the blog is not updated frequently, however, it is fascinating reading when she does!
UPDATE: Jenny just posted about her latest wonderful quilt called Sand Storm over the White Desert. She was unable to bring it with her to England, as it was still hanging in Canberra when she left. It is amazing and no wonder she won a prize. Well done, Jenny.

Jenny also showed some of her other quilts. Here is a link to the one she is showing in this photo.

If you ever get to see her work, I would highly recommend it. Jenny is also a very down-to-earth lady. I think if I ever get the chance to take one of her classes in doing portraits, I definitely would!

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