Erik is having a rest day, so San Jose Textile and Quilt Muesum gets our visit. We took the scenic route via Highway 1, which travels along the Pacific Ocean.
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| Pacific Ocean - SFO |
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| San Fransciso next to the beach |
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| SFO - looking toward Presideo |
Wild West beaches, huge waves.
Pacifica, Montara, Moss Beach, El Granada and Half Moon Bay.
Fields of orange pumpkins, and at Miramar, encountered dinosaurs scuptured from steel.
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| Linda Gass - On the Edge II |
San Jose Textile and Quilt Muesum curates modern contemporay American textiles and quilts. Very inspiring use of thread, fabric and paint. Very fortunate to view Invisible Lineage which showcases the work of four influential mid 20th century fiber artists — Mary Buskirk, Lydia Van Gelder, Mary Walker Phillips, Katherine Westphal— alongside works of four late century artists, Pat Abrahamian, Pam Moore, Karen Hampton, and Janice Sullivan. A wide array of objects and textiles drawn from each artists’ collective bodies of work illuminate the invisible lineage between the first generation of ground breaking artists and the later artists they inspired.
From the late 1950’s through the 1980’s these textile pioneers — Mary Buskirk, Lydia Van Gelder, Mary Walker Phillips, Katherine Westphal—each created a large body of work that focused on a specific technique or combined multiple processes to create their innovative works. Weavers Buskirk and Van Gelder both pushed the possibilities of the loom by creating tapestries and sculptural works or exploring ikat dyed traditions. Although Phillips began as a weaver, she is best known for her intricate and large scaled macramé and knitting that pushed these mediums from craft to art. Westphal explored surface design techniques like printing and dyeing, and incorporated paper into her hangings and sculptures.
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| Mary Walker Phillips - Rocks and Rills |
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| Katherine Westphal - Crazy Quilt |
Like Buskirk and Van Gelder, weavers Hampton and Sullivan explore texture, techniques and personal identity, but use a wide variety of techniques and surface embellishments.
Just as Phillips elevated the status of knitting and knotting, contemporary artists like Pat Abrahamian and Pam Moore continue to push art knitting with their complex and abstract knitted works, creating very different work than their predecessor. In addition to their creative link to Phillips, both have a personal link to the earlier artist, who was a friend and teacher.
We had lunch in the park, dining on Mt Tam Cowgirl Triple Cream Cheese, and Rye bread, complete with Sunflower sprouts and advocado.
Managed to find a quilt store in the afternoon that sold jelly rolls. Great little shop Pairie Queen.
The drive back home was long, the freeway full, and we came back the 880 on the East of San Francisco Bay. Came to a standstill at Emeryville.
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| Freeway at Emeryville |
Loved driving over the huge Richmond bridge.
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| First part of Richmond Bridge |
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| Second part of Richmond Bridge |
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| Mt Tam |
Sasha and Ila were there, so Denise cooked pasta and chicken.
Tired after the drive, but glad we did it. Erik is a great navigator.
