College Art Class assignment is presentation on art group origins - ModSquad!!!

You know all about ModSquad if you've been following me long.  It was a 'study group' I formed and it has been so-o rewarding!!  We started 3 years ago.  I had met Deborah Boschert at the Houston Quilt Show.  She had just published a book about Modern Quilt Collage.  The book had the 7(?) layout designs of modern quilts.  I talked a few quilters here in Brookings into exploring the topic.  None of us had any idea what we were doing, so we took turns researching the layouts, presenting them to the group and then each making a sample of that layout.  We decided to keep our projects secret and try to guess who had made them.  We also were to "Gently critique" each others' work.  We learned the techniques of Landscapes, Magic 3,  One Amazing Line, Dancing Grid, Symmetry, and Modular.

We got thru the entire book the first year.  But we wanted to keep learning new techniques.  So our second year, we each picked a theme or technique to 'modernize'.  We had fun that year too!! Our assignments included Identity, Doodle Art, Couched Embroidery, Mandalas, Hide this Fabric, Vacation, Trapunto, Bird & a Word, and 50 shades (of one color)!  

This is our third year and this year we are choosing more Themes and Techniques for our assignments: A New Beginning, Daily Button, Isosceles Triangles, Personal Symbols, Curvaceous Improv, Celtic Knots, and more!

After our first year's worth of assignments we were asked to mount a display at our community library.  Okay, I might have mentioned we'd be open to doing that ... but we were IN!  They are very large cases in the entry.  Our projects were a big hit - so colorful and interesting!!  But we could only show 3 projects for each assignment.  So, then we talked our way into presenting the entire year's work at the Annual Quilt Show.  So cool to see them all together!

This has been a busy fall for me.  I was able to go to the Quilt Expo show in Portland.  And then to Bayshore Babes Retreat in Bandon.  Don't you just love retreats??? Time to Quilt til you Wilt!!  And you usually only have to help with one meal ... everyone takes turns.

I'm not active in this group since I moved to Brookings 9 years ago??? So I'm careful to be a Big Help when I'm there.  I got called out on it this year!  So I explained - my Grandmother always said, "If you're not rich, you best be useful!"  Definitely words to live by!!  I may have to make a banner saying that!!!  Tee-hee!!

 Beautiful Sunsets and Thunderstorms rolling in!!  Oh My!!

So much fun!  But I was exhausted when I came home - talk about burning the candle on each end!!  Finally getting back into my life - time to finish up some UFOs that have been in 'time-out' way too long!!  After all, Christmas IS only  75 days away!!!  ARRRG!