Road to California 2016

Inside the Ontario Convention Center at Road to California

I’m just back from teaching four days at Road to California. I had never been to this show, which is in Ontario, California (east of Los Angeles). It is such a beautiful area, and the venue (the Ontario Convention Center) is wonderful. Big, well-lit classrooms; lots of great vendors; interesting exhibits; and of course, really fabulous quilts!

View near the Ontario Convention Center

I had a professional headshot taken by Bonnie McCaffery, and snapped this selfie with her afterward.

Cathy Vandiford Wiggins with her leather quilts exhibition

$10,000 Best of Show went to “Silk Road Sampler” by Melissa Sobotka of Richardson, TX.

Inside the convention center

Mary Kerr’s curated exhibition, “Quilt as Desired,” paired less-than-$50 quilt tops,
many purchased on eBay, with longarm quilters’ artistry, with fabulous results!

$7,500 winner was Janet Stone of Overland Park, KS, with “Ewe Are My Sunshine”

Luba Dmytryk, who was in my class, won Viewers Choice!

Luba’s winning quilt

“Ode to Spring” (detail) by Margaret Solomon Gunn of Gorham, ME

“Cameo Rose” (detail) by Laurie Tigner of Rapid City, SD

I taught my Peacock Feather class on Thursday, and then my 3-Day Paint & Stitch class Friday-Saturday-Sunday. My students did some wonderful work. Most were still painting on the third day, especially if they chose complex subjects or were working big (24"x 36" or so). A few were accomplished artists, but most had little or no experience painting or painting on fabric. Here is some of their work (some still in progress): 

They did some amazing work! A few were experienced painters, but most were completely new to painting on fabric. My technique (which I developed to compensate for my lack of formal art training!) breaks this seemingly complex process down into simple steps, so that even beginners can get great results. Taking a three- or five-day class is a big investment of time and money, but it also gives you the opportunity to really get an in-depth learning experience. Some of my students painted all three days; others did smaller or less complex pieces and were able to threadsketch – and in two cases – quilt – their work!

I’m teaching this technique in three venues in 2016 and early 2017:

Hudson River Valley Fiber Art Workshops
Greenville, NY

Aug. 14-20, 2016

Five-day workshop: fusible appliqué, wholecloth painting, and thread sketching

Madeline Island School of the Arts
Madeline Island, WI

Five-day workshop: Paint & Stitch: Create Original Work from Your Own Photos

Oct. 3-7, 2016

(sign up before Jan. 30, 2016 and get $100 off your lodging!)

Empty Spools Seminars at Asilomar

Pacific Grove, CA

April 21-26, 2017

Five-day workshop: Wholecloth Painting and Thread Sketching (original work from your photos)