More Beautiful Than Flowers

I found something that was so beautiful I bought four of them. The opened field packing case was sitting on the floor in the produce section. This, remember, is not your garden variety grocery store. The cardboard box was almost empty. The side said Chinese Produce. The end had more than two dozen possible contents. The check box for Indian Bitter Melon was checked.

The first image was what was left after Little Miss Smoke discovered that Indian Bitter Melons were rollers. First she bit one to understand exactly what it was. Then she pushed it off the plate then off the counter to the floor. Anything that rolls belongs to her. The image below was taken two days earlier and shows you how really gorgeous they are.

On Wednesday, the twenty first, I was in search of fresh rice noodles with shrimp and green onions. The search was unsuccessful as Chinese New Year was last weekend. All the cold cases were almost empty. The story was the same everywhere: next shipment on Thursday.

Back to bitter melons, I have a punjab cookbook from London dated 1995. The only sensible reference I can find is Bharwein Karele, stuffed bittergourd. The notes say eight to the pound. I had four small ones that cost me 30¢. I had everything in the pantry except the dried mango powder. Good sense said, beautiful, beautiful, besides the cat likes them. More beautiful than flowers. Art is like that. Almost every artist is also very interested in food. It is a pleasure both to cook and to eat. Images of the cook book follow.

Just a Story

First things first. Thank you to all the people who have commented on the curatorial process. You have no idea how many smiles and how many times I've said thank you out loud. Your notes do so much to buoy up my spirits. Again, thank you. Now for the promised story.

Years ago I met a woman named Annie McCandlis. She became a friend. Although we now live on different ends of the country when we meet we pick up where we left off. I have a few good friends in the same category.

One of the things Annie taught me was :
change the rules
change the game
or don't play

The first time I hear that small set of rules was in 1980. I was working in Port Townsend, Washington. It was a different sort of art in those days as I was just a bit younger. I would see Annie here and there. I would complain and Annie would listen. When I complained most bitterly she would remind me of the rules above.

I learned to parrot those lines. I could say them for many years. Slowly, slowly, I began to learn for myself what they truly meant. It's like truth; truth comes one to a customer. Those rules, like truth, mean exactly what one person needs them to mean. Artists all have rules of their own. Annie's rule comes in handy in making career and professional decisions.

Here it is twenty seven years later. I'm learning again, that rules, like truths, are up to each, one person's perception. It's time to begin the spring cleaning of my workroom. Like all house cleaning it works on multiple levels: the physical, the mental, the emotional, the spiritual, the universal. Time again to change the rules.

Day Eighteen - She Made Her Mark

Finally and at last, the work of curating the fiberarts, art quilts for She Made Her Mark at The Marie Webster House in Marion, Indiana, is complete. Lists of the accepted art works from thirty three artists have been published in prior days.

She Made Her Mark, Too, a separate but associated exhibition, also has thirty three art works from thirty three artists.

Day seventeen was a six hour day for anyone keeping track of the woman hours. Today, I've spent two hours cleaning and tidying my workroom and filing away all the documentation from She Made Her Mark in my quilt archival files.

Someday I hope that some researcher receives all my archival files. There is a lot of information in there. I don't sell the patterns I draw when I make one special quilt. I fold up and file the kraft paper drawing. Most times I also save the vellum tracing of the pattern that is used to cut every piece of the sonoran desert landscape quilts accurately.

So, with some sadness, I must conclude that this job is done. I have had a great deal of pleasure working with all the images other artists have sent me to select from. She Made Her Mark is going to be a memorable exhibition.

Day Seventeen - She Made Her Mark

Only one more day to go. Sorry, no images today. Day Seventeen was gathering together documentation for Anne Copeland, Michelle Verbeeck, and my own files.

I made color copies of all the floor plans and elevations of The Marie Webster House. These, along with the listings of the thirty three artists, and their work were shipped, certified, return receipt to The Quilters' Hall of Fame.

Anne and Michelle got really big packages with spreadsheet databases, Cds of all images large and small, all lists, and copies of both the domestic and international shipping instructions.

I got all this tidied up, in envelopes, etc. and ran for town to take my husband to his doctor's appointment. By the time I got home I had just enough time to squeek under the wire at the local post office. Everyone concerned should have their mailings any day now.

Day Sixteen - She Made Her Mark & Omission Corrections

First of all. I've found two more inadvertant omissions. My apologies to each artist involved.

The Lady and the Light - Sherry Boram

Memories of Lucy - Cathy Lewis

Both art works and artists have been added to the photo folder and the list of She Made Her Mark, Too. I'll repost the proper list here:

She Made Her Mark, Too
Artist’s Selections


Ann Frank - Terry Grant

Autumn Gypsy Rose - Susan Schrott

Continuing Legacy - Dianne Leatherdale Johnson

Daisy - Jamie Fingal

Don’t Say Goodbye - Stacy Hurt

Dorothea - Heidi Miracle-McMahill

Equality - Eleanor Roosevelt - Cynthia A. Morgan

Foremothers - Shari Adkisson

Georgia On My Mind - Marilyn Gillis

Harlow - Theresa L. Shippy

I Remember You Well - Susan Sanborn North

Isabel - Dianna Callahan

It’s Really Just Black and White - Wendy Wetzel

Linda Z. Smith - Barbara Douglas

Marianne - Peggy Schroeder

Memories of Lucy - Cathy Lewis

Modifications - Carol Taylor

Ode To Dorothy - Gwyned Trefethen

Oprah - Gayle McKay

Peace’s Walk - Julie Zaccone Stiller

Pinwheel Garden - Jane Gnoit

Psyche - Linda Campbell Reilly

Revelation - Vivien Zept

Sacajewea - J. Marie Norris

Sourjourner Truth - Terry Pottmeyer

Stars and Stripes - Marcia Ann Kuehl

She Makes Good Beer, Too - Ginger Henkel

The Birth of Feminism - Sue Lemmo

The Lady and the Light - Sherry Boram

The Everyday Woman - Christine Predd

To the Ladies of Gee’s Bend - Loris Bogue

Uncommon Valor - Lynn Drennen

1850 - Karen Maru

Day sixteen was an eight hour day. It's no wonder I have so many errors. I'm very tired.

Day Fifteen - She Made Her Mark - Error Correction

Good afternoon, everyone. In tidying up the database I find I have made two serious ommissions. She Made Her Mark, Too, includes the two following, additional works:

The Everyday Woman - Christine Predd

Sojourner Truth - Terry Pottmeyer

My apologies to both artists.

Day Fifteen - She Made Her Mark

I thought you might like to see just a bit of my working conditions. I'm working with the database spreadsheet that Peg Keeney and I built weeks ago. I've cut and pasted the two legal size sheets together so that I can read straight across. I got out the big aluminum ruler so that I could keep track and just get the information on one artist.

Um,. . even that did not work completely well. There are at least a dozen artists out there who have received scrambled emails from me. I have gotten the name right and the art work wrong. I have gotten the name wrong and the art work right. I think I have responded to every email pointing out my flaws. I think I have gotten it all sorted out.

If you recognize yourself in the above paragraph and have not contacted me for a correction, please email me at thelmasmith@thelmasmith.com.

I think - after what I learned about image sizes - the next thing I have learned is that posting incomplete information prior to midnight of the deadline is confusing. I should have gotten completely, accurately, double checked, finished before I released any information. Tonight, midnight, February 5, 2007, is the deadline. I was trying to be nice to people. If you let someone know as soon as possible you release that quilt for other entries. Sadly, early release combined with my dyslexic fingers, eyes, and mind has created unhappiness for a lot of artists. I am truly sorry for this.

This is the floor plan of the Grand Parlor in The Marie Webster House, The Quilters' Hall of Fame. The capital letters are the identifying letter of the quilts and where, exactly, they hang. Tomorrow I have to make four copies of all the floor plans. Each room has a xerox of the wall elevation; those letters are identical to the letter on the top of the inch to a foot scale, color, copy of the artwork. The original copy, with images that are hinged like an old stamp album will be sent to Marion, Indiana.

The curator, Ann Calland, has a staff of docents who will use these diagrams to ensure that the quilts are hung as I have envisioned the exhibition. It has been a very difficult but delightful task for me. I have been used to hanging things in one big room. A residential space presents all sorts of new and unusual challenges. I met those challenges head on and succeeded.

Here is the list of the two extra exhibitions. They have been combined into She Made Her Mark, Too. If you have an email that says accepted into portrait or accepted into mixed bag, those entries are now in She Made Her Mark, Too.

Anne Copeland is very ill. She and I spoke by phone Saturday afternoon. She is too ill to handle the extras. The Art Commission situation in Los Angeles County and the State of California is a real Catch 22. If you cannot prove that the public has provided a certain amount of funding, neither will offer you a grant. You cannot get a grant if you are not serving your local community. Since Anne serves an international committee she gets not even $500 - which is the usual amount - from either level. That is why I keep publishing this link for paypal donations. Pay pal charges the recipient of funds a certain flat fee plus a percentage for the use of their services. You lose about 8%. I'm hoping that everyone on the quiltart list will understand the need for supporting those who support them. A $2. donation from thousands of people will allow the main exhibition - the list published on Day Fourteen - to go to Houston.

Exhibition venues for She Made Her Mark, Too are pending. They will be exhibited publicly. Have faith and patience. As usual, Blogger doesn't respect my tabs.

She Made Her Mark, Too
Artist’s Selections


Ann Frank Terry Grant

Autumn Gypsy Rose Susan Schrott

Continuing Legacy Dianne Leatherdale Johnson

Daisy Jamie Fingal

Don’t Say Goodbye Stacy Hurt

Dorothea Heidi Miracle-McMahill

Equality - Eleanor Roosevelt Cynthia A. Morgan

Foremothers Shari Adkisson

Georgia On My Mind Marilyn Gillis

Harlow Theresa L. Shippy

I Remember You Well Susan Sanborn North

Isabel Dianna Callahan

It’s Really Just Black and White Wendy Wetzel

Linda Z. Smith Barbara Douglas

Marianne Peggy Schroeder

Modifications Carol Taylor

Ode To Dorothy Gwyned Trefethen

Oprah Gayle McKay

Peace’s Walk Julie Zaccone Stiller

Pinwheel Garden Jane Gnoit

Psyche Linda Campbell Reilly

Revelation Vivien Zept

Sacajewea J. Marie Norris

Stars and Stripes Marcia Ann Kuehl

She Makes Good Beer, Too Ginger Henkel

The Birth of Feminism Sue Lemmo

To the Ladies of Gee’s Bend Loris Bogue

Uncommon Valor Lynn Drennen

1850 Karen Maru






Day fifteen was three hours in the afternoon and three hours in the middle of the night. Another six woman hours for anyone who is keeping track.

Day Fourteen - She Made Her Mark

No pictures today, just a tally of the entries and a list of the accepted works for The Quilters' Hall of Fame.

Sixty-five entrants from twenty one states, two Canadian states, and three foreign countries submitted ninety four works for consideration. You have been following the progress and the curatorial process for almost a month now.

The accepted works are as follows:


Above the Clouds Terri Haughen

Aviation Pioneer - Amelia Earhart Carol Borman

Breaking Barriers Gerrie Congden

Dialogue IV Peg Keeney

Dolores Huerta Rebecca Reasons Edwards

Doppleganger Emmie Seaman

Eleanor Who Wore Many Hats Virginia O’Donnell

Far Away Gramma Sandy Keating

Grammie Karen StiehlOsborn

Grasslands Jane Gnoit

Hannelore’s Shadow Jette Clover

It’s All About Me B. J. Reed

Joan of Arc Loris Bogue

Julia Krichkowski Jeri Pollock

Lady D - Catherine Dunham Edna Patterson Petty

Lady Godiva Ruth Powers

Letter From Home - by invitation Dijanne Cevaal

Madonna of the Prairie Janet Ghio

Makeda - Queen of Sheba Klara Schafler-Landsberg

Marie Curie Carol Clasper

Mrs. Willard Waits - by invitation June Underwood

Nefertiti Marion Barnett

Once Upon a Time Shirley Jo Rimkus-Falconer

Reincarnation Cathleen Richardson Bailey

River of Grass Stacy West

Rubbed Out Julie Schlueter

Ruby Bridges Marion Coleman

Seeking Higher Ground Larkin Jean Van Horn

The Dionnes in Quintland Pamela Allen

The Distance Between Us Penny Mateer

Tin Lizzie Sylvia Weir

Uncommon Virtue Sandra Snowdon

Unknown Women Who Made Their Mark Monique Gilbert-Oversteyns


I note or two. Blogger does not like my tab; I'm afraid my columns are a bit untidy.

An exhibition is all about synergy. The whole must exceed the sum of the total. This is a very site specific selection. The remainder of the submissions were not selected due to the physical constraints of the space. The quality of the submissions, particularly from neophyte artists and emerging artists, is of the highest calibre. I have been honored to work with these images for the last four weeks.

Day Thirteen - She Made Her Mark

Remember: No emails have been sent for many of the submissions. Patience. I have two more exhibitions to pull. Hold your breath if you have to. I still have a lot of work to do. Thank you so much for understanding.

Today has been a strange day. I've photographed the mock-up from every conceivable angle. I expect that the pictures are going to be very boring. I'm waiting on an upload for Michelle Verbeek. She needs all my huge image files. She will be building the catalog for She Made Her Mark.

I've spent my time labeling the inch scale images. Then one by one I removed the images and placed them, with appropriate markings, on the elevations of each room that will be used in the exhibition at The Marie Webster House. As I worked I made sure the same notations were on the proper wall on both the elevation and the floor plan.

I thought I was done. I counted thirty two. Oh, well, I must have counted wrong yesterday. No, I just forgot to label one of the art quilts that fits in the grand parlor. Fixed that problem. Had to make two copies of the floor plan for the entry parlor. I had no floor plan and no elevations for the staircase and landing. Both are necessary in the hanging. Copies will be made and all documents will be kept.

I am still waiting on this huge upload.

Something I have learned in this process: to select from digital images the only size image really necessary is a six inch high, 300dpi, printable, image. That's the image I drop into photoshop to enlarge and really study. The other 300dpi image I need is the detail that should be an approximate six inch by nine inch portion of the quilt. Remember to frame the detail so that it has good, interesting, design, in and of itself.

With those two images of any work a curator, a catalog builder, a magazine editor, all have all they need. There is no need to again burden the artist with varying dpi sizes. Curating from digital submissions is in it's teething stage. As we go along we will be better able to define what is needed.

I said it was a strange day. Here's why: This is all of the mock-up remains. Once the images were in place on the elevations it was like striking a stage. Curtain comes down. All the stage hands scurry to take everything apart. When the quilting pins (nails) come out the structure starts to wobble. When the plastic clamps (hurricane straps) that are holding various rooms together come off the rooms begin to fall in upon themselves.


The final blow comes with an exacto knife to all the cellophane tape. I wish now I had photographed the step by step destruction.

This is the only shot of the grand parlor that has decent focus. The grand parlor is twenty one feet from the front window to the back door. You can see the back door faintly outlined to the left in this image. Behind the stand up image are the huge bay windows that face north. I did not bother to mock them up as they had no effect on the work I was doing.

A mock up is so different from an architectural scale model. I hope you are beginning to see why it is no more.

This is a birds eye view of the upstairs. To the far right in the background is the east wall of the hallway. There are two more rooms in the background that were not mocked up. One is Marie Webster's room; the other is not a part of the exhibition.

The photography here is simple documentation. Don't expect to see all the accepted works. I could not get the camera into all the nooks and crannies.

This is another view of upstairs/downstairs. You can see how the walls of the rooms are held together with clamps. See how the wall between the grand parlor (right) and the entry parlor (left) has opened up from being moved around on the card table.

A good day's work. Six hours in. The Acceptance List, only for The Quilters' Hall of Fame portion of the selections has been typed. I'll post it tomorrow.

Tomorrow is the start of selecting two groups of art works for The FiberArts Connection of Southern California. Those lists will be published by Tuesday. I'm sorry to be a day late on that deadline. I'm going to try and get all the emails out on Monday.

Day Twelve - She Made Her Mark

Thirty three artists have been notified today of their acceptance in to the exhibition She Made Her Mark. Opening reception, by invitation only, is Sunday, March 4, 2007. The Quilters' Hall of Fame is on South Washington street in Marion, Indiana.

No notices of works declined have been sent as nothing has been declined yet. I have to pull the two additional southern California exhibition packages.

Sorry about no photos today. I've put in eight hours. Peg Keeney was here to help with the database. It's the first time she has been here since we completed the initial administrative work. No one, except the cats, have been here to ensure that the integrity of the curatorial process.

Tomorrow, photos of the mock up. Beginning selection of the two additional groupings. Email notification for all involved. Maybe by Sunday I will have typed lists of all the accepted artists in each of the categories.