Things that Change your Life -Chassy

In the year 2000 I did a studio residency at Chateau de Chassy in the Morvan region in France. This had come about because one of my quilts had won a prize in Chassy D'Or in 1997 and had been acquired by the organiser of Chassy D'Or , Mme Tison who owns Chateau de Chassy. My husband and children came too and we lived in the castle for three months.As experiences go it was fantastic, and I met lots of people who came to visit the friendship exhibitions organised by Mme Tison and also the exhibition I had brought from Australia- Australian Bounty, which was hung in the attic where the roof soared 60 foot overhead. I got a grant from the Ian Potter Foundation to assist study at the Museum de L'Impression Sur Etoffes at Mulhouse. It all sounds so easy but at the time, family and most friends thought we were fruitcakes and nuts to spend the money. I still run into people who saw Bounty at Chassy and all still talk about it- as an exhibition it had an aura- a tangible aura- hard to explain really but when those pieces hung together, without fail when people walked into the exhibition you could hear the intake of breath and often exclamations of "Formidable. Magnifique" The Dutch prime minister of the time visited with his wife and they stayed for an hour and half. Australian Bounty went on to be shown at Galerie du Pontgirard in Monceaux-au-Perche and then the Australian Embassy in Paris, England the Netherlands and venues around Australia and in New Zealand.

Anyway- I have always wanted to make a quilt about the experience , but never did- but I did make nine little quilts for the Journal project in Houston in 2003. All are inspired by various aspects of Chateau de Chassy. So i thought I would share them even though they are older work. I used a number of different techniques to create the images I made including vliesofixing ( wonder under) tissue paper to fabric ( I didn't have any bubble jet set and could not wait for it to be sent) so printed onto tissue paper and then set with matte spray. I also used some pages from the journal I kept and used photos to make stencils.

I think it is fair to say that Chassy did change things a little- it gave me self belief but also allowed my family and myself an experience which was a little magic, and we made friends that we still see regularly.

And below are some more of my journals ( somehow Blogger reversed the order); All of them are for sale at $50 US including postage. The size is 21 cm x 30cm ( 8 1/4 in x 11 3/4 in)