HIGHLIGHTS FROM SPRING 2020 EXHIBITIONS
Enjoy the works highlighted below as stops on our online tour of the Pearl's Spring 2020 exhibitions:
Stitched: Contemporary Quilt Art from the International Quilt Festival Collection
in the Main Gallery
Lesley Humphrey: Saved by a Horse
in the Rebecca Cole Gallery
The John Cooper School, Fourth-Grade Art: Fused Glass Fish
in the Hillery Community Gallery
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Ricky Tims, Songe d'Automne (Dream of Autumn), 2002
On loan from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Featured in Stitched: Contemporary Quilt Art from the International Quilt Festival Collection
On loan from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Featured in Stitched: Contemporary Quilt Art from the International Quilt Festival Collection
This colorful quilt by Ricky Tims, a highlight from our current exhibition, was inspired by nature and natural forces. Tims has been making quilts for twenty years, and has become a fixture on the teaching circuit. He is also a textile designer, creating commercial fabric with quilters in mind.
The curvy design we see here was drawn to scale on freezer paper, then pieced together. This quilt illustrates how hand-dyed fabric can be used to create a uniquely dramatic movement around the surface. The quilt’s design, resembling antique medallion quilts, increases its visual excitement with the addition of black sawtooth motifs in the triple borders, and trapunto – an Italian technique that creates a puffy texture – in the appliquéd elements.
As for the title, Tims is a Titanic trivia buff who believes that the last song played by the ship's band as the Titanic was sinking was the then-popular “Songe D'Automne” (Dream of Autumn), a haunting melody.
The curvy design we see here was drawn to scale on freezer paper, then pieced together. This quilt illustrates how hand-dyed fabric can be used to create a uniquely dramatic movement around the surface. The quilt’s design, resembling antique medallion quilts, increases its visual excitement with the addition of black sawtooth motifs in the triple borders, and trapunto – an Italian technique that creates a puffy texture – in the appliquéd elements.
As for the title, Tims is a Titanic trivia buff who believes that the last song played by the ship's band as the Titanic was sinking was the then-popular “Songe D'Automne” (Dream of Autumn), a haunting melody.
Lesley Humphrey, Spirit of Overcoming, 2014, oil on canvas, 48 x 24 in.
Courtesy of Fiona Crichton-Berner
Featured in Lesley Humphrey: Saved by a Horse
Courtesy of Fiona Crichton-Berner
Featured in Lesley Humphrey: Saved by a Horse
In Spirit of Overcoming, a highlight from our current exhibitions, Lesley Humphrey portrays a determined horse galloping towards the viewer – a symbolic representation of the strength needed to overcome life’s adversity. The bold colors and brushstrokes, combined with the large size of the canvas, draw the viewer in. The artist explains:
“My ’Spirit of Overcoming’ series was painted during times of great upheaval, great loss, and the herculean effort put out by someone I dearly love, and my family. This was painted in the midst of early recovery, when we didn’t know how it would go…I just hoped that we had what it took.”
“My ’Spirit of Overcoming’ series was painted during times of great upheaval, great loss, and the herculean effort put out by someone I dearly love, and my family. This was painted in the midst of early recovery, when we didn’t know how it would go…I just hoped that we had what it took.”
Andrea Perejda, 1910 Revisited, 2007
On loan from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Featured in Stitched: Contemporary Quilt Art from the International Quilt Festival Collection
On loan from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Featured in Stitched: Contemporary Quilt Art from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Contemporary quilt…or traditional? This dizzying quilt is both! In this highlight from our current exhibitions, Andrea Perejda recreated a complex traditional quilt using contemporary techniques.
For her homage quilt “1910 Revisited,” the artist turned to a rotary-cut, strip-pieced method that she developed to reproduce a bed-sized antique quilt from a photograph. Perejda also copied the butterfly pattern from the photograph and hand-appliquéd one at each corner. As with numerous quilts from the early 20th century, the optical illusion effect seen here came before the Op Art movement of the 1960s and 1970s.
For her homage quilt “1910 Revisited,” the artist turned to a rotary-cut, strip-pieced method that she developed to reproduce a bed-sized antique quilt from a photograph. Perejda also copied the butterfly pattern from the photograph and hand-appliquéd one at each corner. As with numerous quilts from the early 20th century, the optical illusion effect seen here came before the Op Art movement of the 1960s and 1970s.
Lesley Humphrey, The Mare, 2016, watercolor on panel, 12 x 12 in.
Featured in Lesley Humphrey: Saved by a Horse
Featured in Lesley Humphrey: Saved by a Horse
With this highlight from our current exhibitions, Lesley Humphrey reminisces about a place that provided a source of artwork inspiration:
“Lexington, Kentucky is a truly beautiful place. I was privileged to be invited to some of the finest broodmare farms in Lexington by my dear friend and former student, Priscilla Fallon. We met former champion mares with the next generation of dreams by their side.
I was captivated by this gorgeous mare, standing wary as she watched us from afar. She featured in my solo show, broodmare series in 2017. I kept my first sketch of her – this painting.”
“Lexington, Kentucky is a truly beautiful place. I was privileged to be invited to some of the finest broodmare farms in Lexington by my dear friend and former student, Priscilla Fallon. We met former champion mares with the next generation of dreams by their side.
I was captivated by this gorgeous mare, standing wary as she watched us from afar. She featured in my solo show, broodmare series in 2017. I kept my first sketch of her – this painting.”
Linda Levin, Central Park West II, 2007
On loan from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Featured in Stitched: Contemporary Quilt Art from the International Quilt Festival Collection
On loan from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Featured in Stitched: Contemporary Quilt Art from the International Quilt Festival Collection
The contrasting colors and raw-edge appliqué in Central Park West II, a highlight from our current exhibition, creates a foundation of motion that looks abstract yet familiar. Inspired by places she’s been, Linda Levin uses hand-dyed and painted fabrics to capture the essence of a favorite place in her art quilts.
Central Park West II resonates with the urban landscape along the west side of New York’s Central Park. The artist gives us an idea of the dizzying buildings that dominate the park’s border, fashioning them in a Cubist style so that they faintly resemble trees inside the park. The liminal zone between park and architecture is here expressed as a memory of trees impressed upon the buildings.
Central Park West II resonates with the urban landscape along the west side of New York’s Central Park. The artist gives us an idea of the dizzying buildings that dominate the park’s border, fashioning them in a Cubist style so that they faintly resemble trees inside the park. The liminal zone between park and architecture is here expressed as a memory of trees impressed upon the buildings.
Lesley Humphrey, Spirit Returning, 2017, oil on canvas, 60 x 60 in.
Featured in Lesley Humphrey: Saved by a Horse
Featured in Lesley Humphrey: Saved by a Horse
Art has the power to communicate emotions, experiences, and lessons learned. Through her paintings, artist Lesley Humphrey shares portions of her personal journey with viewers. Spirit Returning, a highlight from our current exhibition, speaks to the power of the human spirit:
“Spirit Returning is one’s spirit coming back into life. When life becomes untenable, our spirit falters, and sometimes flees. As we recover, everything that held it back for so long – terror, pain, rejection – has to be dealt with. All my angst, anger, and fear was written on the canvas before I began to paint…to cover it up. Spirit returning…I’m almost here.”
“Spirit Returning is one’s spirit coming back into life. When life becomes untenable, our spirit falters, and sometimes flees. As we recover, everything that held it back for so long – terror, pain, rejection – has to be dealt with. All my angst, anger, and fear was written on the canvas before I began to paint…to cover it up. Spirit returning…I’m almost here.”
Barbara Olson, In the Beginning, 1995
On loan from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Featured in Stitched: Contemporary Quilt Art from the International Quilt Festival Collection
On loan from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Featured in Stitched: Contemporary Quilt Art from the International Quilt Festival Collection
In the Beginning is one of three quilts in the Stitched exhibition with a circular focus and cosmic theme. Barbara Olson began the design process for this powerful quilt by composing the black-and-white circle near the center on her studio wall.
During a six-month period, the artist slowly considered the possibilities of that ring, adding to it the pieced colored circle, which seems to explode with light at its top. Next came the double spiral, and finally the checkerboard border in linear perspective, which visually pushes the circular structure into the viewer’s space.
In the Beginning was the first quilt in the artist’s spiral series. It was selected as one of 100 quilts for publication in The Twentieth Century's Best American Quilts.
During a six-month period, the artist slowly considered the possibilities of that ring, adding to it the pieced colored circle, which seems to explode with light at its top. Next came the double spiral, and finally the checkerboard border in linear perspective, which visually pushes the circular structure into the viewer’s space.
In the Beginning was the first quilt in the artist’s spiral series. It was selected as one of 100 quilts for publication in The Twentieth Century's Best American Quilts.
Lesley Humphrey, Old Tapes, 2018, oil on canvas, 30 x 40 in.
Courtesy of Lauren Wolstencroft
Featured in Lesley Humphrey: Saved by a Horse
Courtesy of Lauren Wolstencroft
Featured in Lesley Humphrey: Saved by a Horse
In today’s highlight from our current exhibitions, we take a look at Lesley Humphrey’s painting, Old Tapes. In her description of the work, the artist explains the phrase that inspired the title:
“You’re riding along with your lovely horse, all is right with the world, when suddenly, the horse stops, ears prick up, nostrils flare, and she won’t move a muscle. What in the world could have happened to her? It’s old tapes. Maybe she was terrified in this spot once before; maybe that tree reminds her of somewhere she was tied and hurt. We will never know.
Sometimes life is like that for humans too. ’Things’ become embedded in our subconscious, and sometimes our body remembers what our minds cannot.”
“You’re riding along with your lovely horse, all is right with the world, when suddenly, the horse stops, ears prick up, nostrils flare, and she won’t move a muscle. What in the world could have happened to her? It’s old tapes. Maybe she was terrified in this spot once before; maybe that tree reminds her of somewhere she was tied and hurt. We will never know.
Sometimes life is like that for humans too. ’Things’ become embedded in our subconscious, and sometimes our body remembers what our minds cannot.”
Sarah Ann Smith, The Tide is Hire, 2006
On loan from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Featured in Stitched: Contemporary Quilt Art from the International Quilt Festival Collection
On loan from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Featured in Stitched: Contemporary Quilt Art from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Sarah Ann Smith was a U.S. foreign diplomat who changed careers to pursue her passion for quilt art.
The inspiration for The Tide is Hire, a highlight from our current exhibition, originated in workshops by Dianne Hire, who also has a quilt in this show. Punning on the first line of the 1980s song, "the tide is high but I'm moving on,” Smith titled this quilt as a tribute to her mentor. The pieced curvy blocks in the center suggest horizon lines; these are appliquéd together onto the deep red batik background, with wavy horizontal strips reinforcing the marine theme.
In the quilting, Smith included marine motifs – such as a seagull – in the top border. What other motifs can you find?
The inspiration for The Tide is Hire, a highlight from our current exhibition, originated in workshops by Dianne Hire, who also has a quilt in this show. Punning on the first line of the 1980s song, "the tide is high but I'm moving on,” Smith titled this quilt as a tribute to her mentor. The pieced curvy blocks in the center suggest horizon lines; these are appliquéd together onto the deep red batik background, with wavy horizontal strips reinforcing the marine theme.
In the quilting, Smith included marine motifs – such as a seagull – in the top border. What other motifs can you find?
Lesley Humphrey, Melting, 2016, oil on panel, 24 x 24 in.
Courtesy of Ashley Humphrey
Featured in Lesley Humphrey: Saved by a Horse
Courtesy of Ashley Humphrey
Featured in Lesley Humphrey: Saved by a Horse
Take a break from the dreary weather and brighten up your day at the Pearl! Our galleries are now reopen, so you can once again enjoy our featured artwork in person. See highlights from our current exhibitions, including “Melting” by Lesley Humphrey.
Betty Busby, Sandia Mountain Spring, 2010
On loan from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Featured in Stitched: Contemporary Quilt Art from the International Quilt Festival Collection
On loan from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Featured in Stitched: Contemporary Quilt Art from the International Quilt Festival Collection
The skies may be dark today, but there is beauty in the gloom! Betty Busby’s Sandia Mountain Spring, a highlight from our current exhibitions, contrasts a stormy sky with a vibrant hillside. She embellishes her hand-dyed fabrics with painted details, as can be seen in the darker belts of rain and in the leaves of the trees.
In order to create more depth in the piece, the artist used thread painting – an embroidery technique that accentuates the design elements. Look closely to see the way her stitching creates movement in the grass and crevices in the mountains.
See these intricate quilt details in person when you visit the museum – now reopen! Head to our website for details about the Pearl’s reopening and how to plan your visit.
In order to create more depth in the piece, the artist used thread painting – an embroidery technique that accentuates the design elements. Look closely to see the way her stitching creates movement in the grass and crevices in the mountains.
See these intricate quilt details in person when you visit the museum – now reopen! Head to our website for details about the Pearl’s reopening and how to plan your visit.
Lesley Humphrey, Timeless Fashion, 2010, oil on panel, 12 x 12 in.
Featured in Lesley Humphrey: Saved by a Horse
Featured in Lesley Humphrey: Saved by a Horse
When Lesley Humphrey received the commission as the Official Artist of the 2011 Kentucky Derby, she decided to document the year-long journey by creating a 12”x12” oil on panel painting each month. Her painting of the horse “Timeless Fashion” was her first:
“Timeless Fashion and his jockey Justin Vitek: Timeless belongs to Judy Miller, a Kentucky Thoroughbred owner and one of my best friends. It was Judy who introduced me to most of the famous owners, breeders, and trainers of Kentucky over the years.”
Learn more about the inspiration behind the artist’s work by visiting our current exhibition, Lesley Humphrey: Saved by a Horse – now back on view!
“Timeless Fashion and his jockey Justin Vitek: Timeless belongs to Judy Miller, a Kentucky Thoroughbred owner and one of my best friends. It was Judy who introduced me to most of the famous owners, breeders, and trainers of Kentucky over the years.”
Learn more about the inspiration behind the artist’s work by visiting our current exhibition, Lesley Humphrey: Saved by a Horse – now back on view!
Libby Lehman, Deluge, 2006
On loan from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Featured in Stitched: Contemporary Quilt Art from the International Quilt Festival Collection
On loan from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Featured in Stitched: Contemporary Quilt Art from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Houstonian Libby Lehman is recognized internationally for her intricate quilts and trend-setting techniques, and is considered by many to be the great machine embroidery innovator. In Deluge, a highlight from our current exhibitions, we see the masterful way she uses thread painting – a free motion stitching technique – to create movement in the drops and ripples of her design.
One of Lehman’s pieces won Best in Show at the International Quilt Association’s judged show in 1988. This was the first time the award had been given to a machine-quilted piece, a method that was once considered cheating. Karey Bresenhan, co-founder of the International Quilt Association, said Lehman’s work popularized thread painting and changed the public’s perception of machine quilting altogether.
Lehman’s quilts now line the walls of museums and private collections around the world. Michael F. James, department chair and professor in Textiles, Merchandising & Fashion Design at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln writes, “The magic that she creates with needle and thread is unparalleled, and has inspired legions of today’s quilters. Hers is a unique body of work that builds on the past while standing squarely in the present.”
One of Lehman’s pieces won Best in Show at the International Quilt Association’s judged show in 1988. This was the first time the award had been given to a machine-quilted piece, a method that was once considered cheating. Karey Bresenhan, co-founder of the International Quilt Association, said Lehman’s work popularized thread painting and changed the public’s perception of machine quilting altogether.
Lehman’s quilts now line the walls of museums and private collections around the world. Michael F. James, department chair and professor in Textiles, Merchandising & Fashion Design at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln writes, “The magic that she creates with needle and thread is unparalleled, and has inspired legions of today’s quilters. Hers is a unique body of work that builds on the past while standing squarely in the present.”
Lesley Humphrey, Summer Finale, 2019, watercolor and mixed media on paper, 29.5 x 21 in.
Featured in Lesley Humphrey: Saved by a Horse
Featured in Lesley Humphrey: Saved by a Horse
As summer starts to set in, we’re reminded of Lesley Humphrey’s piece capturing the joy and energy of the “summer” of her life. Each piece in this series of four seasons is accompanied by a poem from the artist. Of Summer Finale, a highlight from our current exhibitions, the artist muses:
Those spiral, golden gates are beginning to close now
And I remain yet in her yellow, summer’s embrace
My energy, my youth tries to remain
But all I feel within is a deep gratitude for the wonder of it all
And the life I have been afforded which is all so beautiful.
Those spiral, golden gates are beginning to close now
And I remain yet in her yellow, summer’s embrace
My energy, my youth tries to remain
But all I feel within is a deep gratitude for the wonder of it all
And the life I have been afforded which is all so beautiful.
Ann Fahl, Fans and Beads II, 1997
On loan from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Featured in Stitched: Contemporary Quilt Art from the International Quilt Festival Collection
On loan from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Featured in Stitched: Contemporary Quilt Art from the International Quilt Festival Collection
In this highlight from our current exhibitions, quilt artist and popular workshop teacher Ann Fahl uses traditional quilting elements to create a modern work of art.
Fans and Beads II was created toward the middle of her career as an artist, when Fahl was experimenting, taking risks, and seeking her own personal style. In this quilt, a large hand-beaded spiral spins out of the red triangular base, with fan blades of silver bugle beads extending from the spiral into the blue background.
Fahl frequently used half-square triangles – a foundational block in many traditional quilt patterns – during the 1990s. She continues to return to this shape because of its potential for complexity of line and color movement, as evidenced here.
Fans and Beads II was created toward the middle of her career as an artist, when Fahl was experimenting, taking risks, and seeking her own personal style. In this quilt, a large hand-beaded spiral spins out of the red triangular base, with fan blades of silver bugle beads extending from the spiral into the blue background.
Fahl frequently used half-square triangles – a foundational block in many traditional quilt patterns – during the 1990s. She continues to return to this shape because of its potential for complexity of line and color movement, as evidenced here.
Lesley Humphrey, Deux, 2017, watercolor on paper, 24 x 24 in.
Featured in Lesley Humphrey: Saved by a Horse
Featured in Lesley Humphrey: Saved by a Horse
In these times, we stand together with one another. Lesley Humphrey embodies this in Deux, a highlight from our current exhibitions. The two individuals on horseback ride along on their own journeys, but move forward together – side-by-side, and in step with each other.
Judith Content, Precipice, 2007
On loan from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Featured in Stitched: Contemporary Quilt Art from the International Quilt Festival Collection
On loan from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Featured in Stitched: Contemporary Quilt Art from the International Quilt Festival Collection
In this stunning highlight from our current exhibitions, Judith Content masterfully uses an ancient technique to evoke a sense of place. Content is known worldwide for her expertise in the arashi shibori hand-dyeing technique, for which she usually wraps her cloth around wine bottles before tying it.
The shifting colors and textures of Precipice depict an imaginary cliff dropping off into the fog near San Francisco. Using the shibori techniques of hand-dyeing as well as discharging, where she removed dye from black fabric, Content pieced and appliquéd abstract scenery rich in saturated color. The vertical panels of varying width produce a stately rhythm across the surface.
Like most of the artist’s 21st-century quilts, this one has an extension along the bottom with subtle reference to the kimono shape – metaphorically embracing the human body. She hopes the contemplative quality of her artwork inspires viewers to embrace their own memories and experiences.
The shifting colors and textures of Precipice depict an imaginary cliff dropping off into the fog near San Francisco. Using the shibori techniques of hand-dyeing as well as discharging, where she removed dye from black fabric, Content pieced and appliquéd abstract scenery rich in saturated color. The vertical panels of varying width produce a stately rhythm across the surface.
Like most of the artist’s 21st-century quilts, this one has an extension along the bottom with subtle reference to the kimono shape – metaphorically embracing the human body. She hopes the contemplative quality of her artwork inspires viewers to embrace their own memories and experiences.
Highlights from The John Cooper School: Fused Glass Fish
Swim away to new seas with “The Fantastic Fish from Finland” and “The Neon Fish in the Hawaiian Waters” in today’s Museum Fish Friday! See our featured fish and more in a virtual tour of the “Fused Glass Fish” exhibition, featuring artwork created by 4th grade students at The John Cooper School in The Woodlands. Click HERE to take the virtual tour!
Lesley Humphrey, Mending, 2017, oil and mixed media on panel, 11 x 14 in.
Courtesy of Christopher Humphrey
Featured in Lesley Humphrey: Saved by a Horse
Courtesy of Christopher Humphrey
Featured in Lesley Humphrey: Saved by a Horse
In her exhibition Saved by a Horse, Lesley Humphrey shares her personal story and hopes to connect with and inspire viewers through her artwork. She explores the challenges and triumphs of life through her paintings of the horse, and hopes viewers will understand how the artistic process can help one navigate life’s ups and downs. In this highlight from our current exhibitions, the artist depicts a fortitude of spirit:
“Powerful emotions are raging through this panel. Through it all, my spirit endures and keeps going. We are mending.”
“Powerful emotions are raging through this panel. Through it all, my spirit endures and keeps going. We are mending.”
Highlights from The John Cooper School: Fused Glass Fish
Celebrate the long holiday weekend with “The Fish in Confetti,” the "Nerd at Noon,” and other fish friends! See the fish up close in the virtual tour video of our Fused Glass Fish exhibition, featuring glass artwork from 4th grade students at The John Cooper School. Click HERE to take the virtual tour!
Lesley Humphrey, Spring Echoes, 2019, watercolor and mixed media on paper, 29.5 x 21 in.
Featured in Lesley Humphrey: Saved by a Horse
Featured in Lesley Humphrey: Saved by a Horse
Today's "Highlights from Our Current Exhibitions" tour stops to take a closer look at Lesley Humphrey's painting, Spring Echoes. This work represents Spring in a recent series representing the four seasons, where the artist chronicles her ongoing journey through the different stages of life. She reminisces on the springtime of youth in her poem accompanying the painting, as noted on the wall label in the museum:
She is almost gone now, but I can still remember
her strength, optimism, joy
Sometimes I hear her echoes in the voices of my girls;
And I see her in the eyes of my son
When we are together, I feel her
joie d’vivre revisit my bones, once more
her strength, optimism, joy
Sometimes I hear her echoes in the voices of my girls;
And I see her in the eyes of my son
When we are together, I feel her
joie d’vivre revisit my bones, once more
Dianne S. Hire, Seurat’s Dots and Zydeco, 2008, 81.25 x 65 in.
On loan from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Featured in Stitched: Contemporary Quilt Art from the International Quilt Festival Collection
On loan from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Featured in Stitched: Contemporary Quilt Art from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Get movin’ with today’s highlight from our current exhibitions! Dianne S. Hire’s joyous quilts celebrate color and rhythm. For many years she has taught quilt construction using “curvaceous” details like those we see here—which actually consist of thin ruffles rippling up and down the surface.
All the fabrics used in “Seurat’s Dots and Zydeco” are polka-dot prints, referring to the pointillism of French painter Georges Seurat. Hire has mixed these dots with the snappy rhythm of Cajun zydeco music, signified by the curved lines. Further, the edges of the ruffles are embellished with a cacophony of round glass beads in a tantalizing mix of sizes and colors.
Perhaps subconsciously, the artist also has reproduced the wavy indentations of a washboard, one of the original instruments of zydeco. Her contrast of bright colors with black and white adds depth to the quilt, and the colored squares seem to vibrate beneath the zydeco strips.
All the fabrics used in “Seurat’s Dots and Zydeco” are polka-dot prints, referring to the pointillism of French painter Georges Seurat. Hire has mixed these dots with the snappy rhythm of Cajun zydeco music, signified by the curved lines. Further, the edges of the ruffles are embellished with a cacophony of round glass beads in a tantalizing mix of sizes and colors.
Perhaps subconsciously, the artist also has reproduced the wavy indentations of a washboard, one of the original instruments of zydeco. Her contrast of bright colors with black and white adds depth to the quilt, and the colored squares seem to vibrate beneath the zydeco strips.
Highlights from The John Cooper School: Fused Glass Fish
Today we’re highlighting eight more wonderful works from our exhibition of unique creations by the fourth-grade students of The John Cooper School. Each student assembled their fish by layering several pieces of glass, which were then fired in a kiln and fused together. As a finishing touch for their projects, each student came up with a playful title to distinctively describe their fish. The students are artists AND poets!
Learn more about the process from art teacher Amy Dietrich in our virtual tour of the “Fused Glass Fish” exhibition. Click HERE to take the virtual tour!
Learn more about the process from art teacher Amy Dietrich in our virtual tour of the “Fused Glass Fish” exhibition. Click HERE to take the virtual tour!
Lesley Humphrey, The White Horse, 2001, charcoal on board, 18 x 24 in.
Courtesy of Lauren Wolstencroft
Featured in Lesley Humphrey: Saved by a Horse
Courtesy of Lauren Wolstencroft
Featured in Lesley Humphrey: Saved by a Horse
Artist Lesley Humphrey pours her own experiences and feelings into her artwork, as she explains here about The White Horse, a highlight from our current exhibition:
“As a child, I was a horse — a very proud, fast horse. I wouldn’t walk, I would prance. My bicycle also was a horse and it had reins on the handlebars, causing all sorts of problems for fellow road users!
Whenever I wanted to run away from frightening things, bullies, or even arguing parents, I would run away or ‘draw away’ with my horse. As an adult artist, I found that the horse of my imagination was personified in a beautiful Andalusian stallion called Tentador, owned by a friend, Mrs. Patty Mitchell in Magnolia.
Demonstrating how to put feeling into art, I produced my ‘savior horse’ in this charcoal during a workshop for the American Academy of Equine Art at the Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky.”
“As a child, I was a horse — a very proud, fast horse. I wouldn’t walk, I would prance. My bicycle also was a horse and it had reins on the handlebars, causing all sorts of problems for fellow road users!
Whenever I wanted to run away from frightening things, bullies, or even arguing parents, I would run away or ‘draw away’ with my horse. As an adult artist, I found that the horse of my imagination was personified in a beautiful Andalusian stallion called Tentador, owned by a friend, Mrs. Patty Mitchell in Magnolia.
Demonstrating how to put feeling into art, I produced my ‘savior horse’ in this charcoal during a workshop for the American Academy of Equine Art at the Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky.”
Tadako Nagasawa, A Journey into the 21st Century, 2002, 64 x 64 inches
On loan from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Featured in Stitched: Contemporary Quilt Art from the International Quilt Festival Collection
On loan from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Featured in Stitched: Contemporary Quilt Art from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Start your week off flying high with this highlight from our current exhibitions! In A Journey into the 21st Century, Japanese artist Tadako Nagasawa expresses her hope for the future through the symbolic release of origami cranes spilling out into the universe. The crane is a mystical or holy creature in Japanese culture, and folding 1000 origami cranes is said to bring good luck.
Nagasawa combined piecing and appliqué in this bold, hand-stitched quilt. She designed a spiral that appears to recede into the distance, taking our eye into the future. Note how she also created movement by tilting small linear motifs on the spheres to make it appear as if they are spinning. The top sphere opens up to release the cranes, creating a sense of freedom as the birds take flight.
Nagasawa combined piecing and appliqué in this bold, hand-stitched quilt. She designed a spiral that appears to recede into the distance, taking our eye into the future. Note how she also created movement by tilting small linear motifs on the spheres to make it appear as if they are spinning. The top sphere opens up to release the cranes, creating a sense of freedom as the birds take flight.
Highlights from The John Cooper School: Fused Glass Fish
Get lost at sea with “The Magical Underwater Fish” and others in today’s Museum Fish Friday! Be sure and check out our virtual tour of this exhibition, featuring glass art created by students at The John Cooper School, by clicking HERE.
Lesley Humphrey, Gone Away, 2004, oil on canvas, 31 x 37 in.
Featured in Lesley Humphrey: Saved by a Horse
Featured in Lesley Humphrey: Saved by a Horse
As we get ready to celebrate Mother’s Day this weekend, we take a look at a work from our current exhibitions inspired by a mother’s love for her children.
“When my first daughter Lauren graduated from Concordia Lutheran High School, I became bereft at the thought of her leaving. And as Larry drove her to college in Kentucky, I painted this painting called Gone Away.
The ‘Gone Away’ is the sound the huntsman makes with his horn when a hound is lost. It is a mournful sound, a single blast that rises and falls. I tried to capture this sound in the abstraction of the background, because I wanted her to come home again.
Several people have tried to purchase it (even a congressman), but I could not part with it. I gave it to Lauren…when she came home!”
– Lesley Humphrey
“When my first daughter Lauren graduated from Concordia Lutheran High School, I became bereft at the thought of her leaving. And as Larry drove her to college in Kentucky, I painted this painting called Gone Away.
The ‘Gone Away’ is the sound the huntsman makes with his horn when a hound is lost. It is a mournful sound, a single blast that rises and falls. I tried to capture this sound in the abstraction of the background, because I wanted her to come home again.
Several people have tried to purchase it (even a congressman), but I could not part with it. I gave it to Lauren…when she came home!”
– Lesley Humphrey
Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry, Aquarium #1: Fish Tails, 2001, 60 x 44 in.
On loan from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Featured in Stitched: Contemporary Quilt Art from the International Quilt Festival Collection
On loan from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Featured in Stitched: Contemporary Quilt Art from the International Quilt Festival Collection
In this highlight from our current exhibitions, we explore the design and stitching of award-winning quilt artist Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry. Hand-dyed and painted, with all the curves machine pieced, this quilt is one of the artist’s enlarged semi-abstract studies of natural forms. Aquarium #1: Fish Tails began with a couple of small sketches completed by Fallert-Gentry after a trip to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, and was later inspired by marine life she encountered on a snorkeling trip to Kauai, Hawaii.
As in much of her work, she intertwines organic shapes, changing tonal values in the colors to pull bright elements forward and push darker motifs into the background. The artist's rhythmic repetition of dense shapes throughout this quilt, such as the circles, ovals and banding, helps the viewer's eye explore the dynamic composition. The quilted fish-scale and wave patterns add exciting textures to this underwater scene.
As in much of her work, she intertwines organic shapes, changing tonal values in the colors to pull bright elements forward and push darker motifs into the background. The artist's rhythmic repetition of dense shapes throughout this quilt, such as the circles, ovals and banding, helps the viewer's eye explore the dynamic composition. The quilted fish-scale and wave patterns add exciting textures to this underwater scene.
Highlights from The John Cooper School: Fused Glass Fish
Splash into the weekend with Museum Fish Friday! Students created these fused glass masterpieces by cutting clear glass into a fish body shape, then arranging pieces of colored glass on top – sometimes layering up to four pieces high. When heated in a kiln, the layers melted and fused together.
Hear more about the process from art teacher Amy Dietrich in our virtual tour of the “Fused Glass Fish” exhibition, featuring artwork made by 4th graders at The John Cooper School in The Woodlands. Click HERE to take the virtual tour!
Hear more about the process from art teacher Amy Dietrich in our virtual tour of the “Fused Glass Fish” exhibition, featuring artwork made by 4th graders at The John Cooper School in The Woodlands. Click HERE to take the virtual tour!
Lesley Humphrey, Victory, 2011, oil on panel, 24 x 18 in.
Official Art of the 137th Kentucky Derby
Limited edition print featured in:
Lesley Humphrey: Saved by a Horse
Official Art of the 137th Kentucky Derby
Limited edition print featured in:
Lesley Humphrey: Saved by a Horse
Excitement in the air – the crowd roaring – roses flowing – you can feel the thrill of it all in Victory! During what would traditionally be “Derby Week,” we take a closer look at this oil painting by Lesley Humphrey, selected as the official art of the 137th Kentucky Derby in 2011.
Its bold colors and energetic movement propel the victorious horse and jockey toward the viewer. The artist explains that she “approached Victory with you in mind. When you look at the painting, I want YOU to feel like the winner. You are part of the winner’s circle and this is your horse, coming to you, looking at you. Every gesture, shape, line, and layer was created with this intention in mind.”
So ride that energy and let it carry you through the rest of your week!
Its bold colors and energetic movement propel the victorious horse and jockey toward the viewer. The artist explains that she “approached Victory with you in mind. When you look at the painting, I want YOU to feel like the winner. You are part of the winner’s circle and this is your horse, coming to you, looking at you. Every gesture, shape, line, and layer was created with this intention in mind.”
So ride that energy and let it carry you through the rest of your week!
Charlotte Patera, Ancient Stories II, 1997, 64 x 61 in.
On loan from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Featured in Stitched: Contemporary Quilt Art from the International Quilt Festival Collection
On loan from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Featured in Stitched: Contemporary Quilt Art from the International Quilt Festival Collection
In this highlight from our current exhibitions, we see how a variety of cultures can influence an artist’s technique and design. Since the 1970s, award-winning artist Charlotte Patera has specialized in appliqué by hand, particularly in reverse appliqué – in which the top layer or layers of fabric are cut through to produce a motif below, usually in a contrasting color.
Patera studied mola textiles of the San Blas Indians in Panama, masters in the technique of reverse appliqué. In Ancient Stories II the artist appropriated prehistoric petroglyphs, cave paintings, and symbols from other sources to create the sort of stories that may have been told by their original users. Through shifting hues and tones, along with lively shapes, Patera directs the viewer through her narrative pathways.
Patera studied mola textiles of the San Blas Indians in Panama, masters in the technique of reverse appliqué. In Ancient Stories II the artist appropriated prehistoric petroglyphs, cave paintings, and symbols from other sources to create the sort of stories that may have been told by their original users. Through shifting hues and tones, along with lively shapes, Patera directs the viewer through her narrative pathways.
Highlights from The John Cooper School: Fused Glass Fish
Have you ever seen an “Aquatic Creature Dwelling in the Sun”? Learn what makes fish happy and cast your eyes on “The Ocean’s Most Liked Creature” in today’s Museum Fish Friday! Get a closer look at this fused glass artwork made by 4th graders at The John Cooper School by clicking HERE to take a virtual tour of the Pearl’s “Fused Glass Fish” exhibition.
Lesley Humphrey, The Golden Years, 1997, oil on canvas, 24 x 24 in.
Featured in Lesley Humphrey: Saved by a Horse
Featured in Lesley Humphrey: Saved by a Horse
In this “Highlight from Our Current Exhibitions,” Lesley Humphrey imagines an idyllic retreat for older horses to enjoy in their retirement. The vibrant forest in “The Golden Years,” with its dabs of brilliant color set against a glowing sky, remind us of the splendors our planet has to offer. On today’s 50th anniversary of Earth Day, we hope you get a chance to head outdoors and enjoy nature in a place as beautiful as this!
Judith Larzelere, Veiled Color: Darks, 1986, 58 x 57 in.
On loan from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Featured in Stitched: Contemporary Quilt Art from the International Quilt Festival Collection
On loan from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Featured in Stitched: Contemporary Quilt Art from the International Quilt Festival Collection
“Color, color, color. This is the passion that has carried me through my life as a fiber artist.” Quilter Judith Larzelere shared this secret of her success about her work, highlighted here from our current exhibitions.
This award-winning artist brings color into motion with her unique style and abstract compositions. Larzelere uses a strip-piecing technique with hand-dyed fabrics, then stitches her quilts by machine. Usually her quilts focus on pure abstraction as she manipulates color in waves and lines across the surfaces. “Veiled Color: Darks” produces double rhythms, through its undulating background and through its staccato vertical and diagonal movement from the many thin strips. The complex color theory at work creates a perfect harmony!
This award-winning artist brings color into motion with her unique style and abstract compositions. Larzelere uses a strip-piecing technique with hand-dyed fabrics, then stitches her quilts by machine. Usually her quilts focus on pure abstraction as she manipulates color in waves and lines across the surfaces. “Veiled Color: Darks” produces double rhythms, through its undulating background and through its staccato vertical and diagonal movement from the many thin strips. The complex color theory at work creates a perfect harmony!
Highlights from The John Cooper School: Fused Glass Fish
Make way for the “Legendary Fish of the Milky Way,” “Ice Cold Lake Fish," and their friends! These glass fish were created by 4th graders at The John Cooper School in The Woodlands, and are “Tiny but Mighty.” Explore more of their work by clicking HERE to take a virtual tour of the Pearl’s current “Fused Glass Fish” exhibition.
Lesley Humphrey, Passages, 2012, acrylic on panel, 30 x 30 in.
Featured in Lesley Humphrey: Saved by a Horse
Featured in Lesley Humphrey: Saved by a Horse
Our “Exhibition Highlights" series focuses here on a powerful painting that lifts spirits of those in our community. Whether it’s family, friends, or neighbors — we all rely on others to help pull us through challenging times. Lesley Humphrey conveys this notion in “Passages,” depicting two figures looking up and moving forward through a deluge of dripping blues and greens.
“Passages is from my ‘Lean On Me’ series. I paint two people on one horse/life’s energy when I’m exploring times when we help one another, until those we love can stand on their own two feet again.
It could be my aged mother, my sister, or my daughter … souls who at some point have faltered, and could not literally ‘make it’ without someone to lend their energy and their love, to lift them up and help them to carry on. It is somber. It is melancholic, but as always, it is filled with hope and love.”
– Lesley Humphrey
“Passages is from my ‘Lean On Me’ series. I paint two people on one horse/life’s energy when I’m exploring times when we help one another, until those we love can stand on their own two feet again.
It could be my aged mother, my sister, or my daughter … souls who at some point have faltered, and could not literally ‘make it’ without someone to lend their energy and their love, to lift them up and help them to carry on. It is somber. It is melancholic, but as always, it is filled with hope and love.”
– Lesley Humphrey
Pamela Studstill, Quilt #145, 2002, 54 x 39 in.
On loan from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Featured in Stitched: Contemporary Quilt Art from the International Quilt Festival Collection
On loan from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Featured in Stitched: Contemporary Quilt Art from the International Quilt Festival Collection
There is something thrilling about this exquisite art quilt by Pamela Studstill, a highlight from works in our current exhibitions. She activates an explosive and playful energy here, with her hand-painted dots and with the intricate patterns of fabric shapes and quilting threads. Studstill is well known as a pioneer of the Art Quilt movement of the 1980s, and her accomplished style was many years in the making.
Studstill learned to quilt as a child from her Texas grandmother, who would send her quilt blocks to work on as she traveled across the country with her military family. Later trained as a painter, she gravitated towards quilts after earning her B.F.A. and became known for hand-painting the details in each of her works. After piecing solid color fabric blocks together, she then paints each dot or stripe with a brush to achieve the energized color gradation she desires.
Studstill views each quilt as a study in light, and is often inspired by landscapes and color. She gives each quilt a number – rather than a title – so that viewers aren’t thinking of anything specific when they look at her work. If you could give this quilt a title, what would it be?
Studstill learned to quilt as a child from her Texas grandmother, who would send her quilt blocks to work on as she traveled across the country with her military family. Later trained as a painter, she gravitated towards quilts after earning her B.F.A. and became known for hand-painting the details in each of her works. After piecing solid color fabric blocks together, she then paints each dot or stripe with a brush to achieve the energized color gradation she desires.
Studstill views each quilt as a study in light, and is often inspired by landscapes and color. She gives each quilt a number – rather than a title – so that viewers aren’t thinking of anything specific when they look at her work. If you could give this quilt a title, what would it be?
Highlights from The John Cooper School: Fused Glass Fish
Let’s go fishing! Dive deep and find “A Deep Water Treasure,” or see the “Warm Colors in Forbidden Disguise.” Maybe you’ll run in to “The Lucky Fish in Paradise!”
See more of these fish and learn how they were created by clicking HERE to take a virtual tour of the Pearl’s current Fused Glass Fish exhibition, featuring artwork created by fourth graders at The John Cooper School.
See more of these fish and learn how they were created by clicking HERE to take a virtual tour of the Pearl’s current Fused Glass Fish exhibition, featuring artwork created by fourth graders at The John Cooper School.
Lesley Humphrey, Immersion, 2017, oil and mixed media on canvas, 18 x 24 in.
Courtesy of Christopher Humphrey
Featured in Lesley Humphrey: Saved by a Horse
Courtesy of Christopher Humphrey
Featured in Lesley Humphrey: Saved by a Horse
With so much going on in the world, here is an opportunity to take time to slow down and reflect. Find a #MuseumMomentofZen with this soothing piece by Lesley Humphrey. What do you see amidst the blues?
“Immersion is about the courage needed to go deep…deep below the surface of life, deep into the mystery, and deep into the subconscious.”
– Lesley Humphrey
“Immersion is about the courage needed to go deep…deep below the surface of life, deep into the mystery, and deep into the subconscious.”
– Lesley Humphrey
Angelique Hartman, To the Stars and Beyond, 2000, 84 x 58 in.
On loan from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Featured in Stitched: Contemporary Quilt Art from the International Quilt Festival Collection
On loan from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Featured in Stitched: Contemporary Quilt Art from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Go to the stars and beyond! Texas quilt artist Angelique Hartman created this quilt for the International Quilt Festival’s millennium exhibition. Using traditional techniques for a contemporary theme, she pieced small blocks of varying shades of blue to evoke deep, dark space, highlighting our own world with a burst of light.
Hartman unified her composition with a flowing ribbon of gold stars that traverses the quilt in two diagonal lines. Bright, ornamental stars around the border serve to frame the view beyond, emphasizing its distance. Details alluding to the new millennium and to space exploration are also included throughout the quilt – can you spot them?
Hartman unified her composition with a flowing ribbon of gold stars that traverses the quilt in two diagonal lines. Bright, ornamental stars around the border serve to frame the view beyond, emphasizing its distance. Details alluding to the new millennium and to space exploration are also included throughout the quilt – can you spot them?
Highlights from The John Cooper School: Fused Glass Fish
Ready for an adventure? Go fishing with us to see a “Mermaid’s Best Friend” up close, and to see just how much blue is in “The Whooshing Water of Blueness.” Bask in the “Sea Shine Amazement” of these fused glass fish created by 4th graders at The John Cooper School in The Woodlands, under the direction of art instructor Amy Dietrich. Reading the title of each charming fish is part of the fun!
Watch a special virtual tour of the full “Fused Glass Fish” exhibition at the Pearl by clicking HERE.
Watch a special virtual tour of the full “Fused Glass Fish” exhibition at the Pearl by clicking HERE.
Lesley Humphrey, One Horsepower, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 24 x 30 in.
Featured in Lesley Humphrey: Saved by a Horse
Featured in Lesley Humphrey: Saved by a Horse
“Have you ever driven a 300 HP car down the freeway and thought how exhilarating it is? Well I have, and I can honestly say that nothing, and I mean NOTHING is as exhilarating as galloping a 17 hand Thoroughbred down the racetrack at full gallop...and that is just one horsepower!”
– Lesley Humphrey
Artist Lesley Humphrey and her husband own DaVinci Artists Gallery in Tomball, Texas, where she sometimes does painting demonstrations for local artists and patrons. One Horsepower, featured below, is one such example. The artist wanted to portray mark-making, energy representation, and expressive painting, while encouraging artists to “leave themselves and their energy on the canvas.” Can you feel the energy?
– Lesley Humphrey
Artist Lesley Humphrey and her husband own DaVinci Artists Gallery in Tomball, Texas, where she sometimes does painting demonstrations for local artists and patrons. One Horsepower, featured below, is one such example. The artist wanted to portray mark-making, energy representation, and expressive painting, while encouraging artists to “leave themselves and their energy on the canvas.” Can you feel the energy?
Emily Parson, Trio, 2000, 56 x 79 in.
On loan from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Featured in Stitched: Contemporary Quilt Art from the International Quilt Festival Collection
On loan from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Featured in Stitched: Contemporary Quilt Art from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Looking for a pick-me-up to start off your week? Brighten your day and celebrate the coming of Spring with Trio, a contemporary art quilt by award-winning quilter Emily Parson. This third quilt in her butterfly series presents the delicate structure of a Monarch.
Parson begins her quilts by making a large drawing to scale, then slowly collages many pieces of fabric onto the background cloth before stitching them down. Only then does she position the composition over battingand backing, to quilt through the layers. Parson dyes all her fabric, and handling vibrant color is one of her favorite steps in the process of creating a quilt.
Parson begins her quilts by making a large drawing to scale, then slowly collages many pieces of fabric onto the background cloth before stitching them down. Only then does she position the composition over battingand backing, to quilt through the layers. Parson dyes all her fabric, and handling vibrant color is one of her favorite steps in the process of creating a quilt.
Highlights from The John Cooper School: Fused Glass Fish
Get excited for Museum Fish Friday! 🐟🐠 Follow along on Fridays as we swim through the schools of fish featured in our Community Gallery exhibition of fused glass art made by 4th grade students at The John Cooper School. Today’s post includes “Fire Coral Jelly”, “Forgotten Spirit Fish of Tomorrow”, and “King Cuteness of the Fishy Kingdom”, among others. Stay tuned for more!
Lesley Humphrey, Instinct, 2017, oil on panel, 12 x 16 in.
Featured in Lesley Humphrey: Saved by a Horse
Featured in Lesley Humphrey: Saved by a Horse
Known throughout the world for her equine art, local artist Lesley Humphrey showcases how art can be a vital component in overcoming challenges and navigating the unknown. Instinct, painted in 2017, is one such example included in our Cole Gallery exhibition Lesley Humphrey: Saved By A Horse. About this piece, the artist explains:
“Instinct is part of my recovery series. Have you ever been in a situation where you just don’t know which way to turn? Maybe you cannot see the road ahead – it is simply not clear to you? At these times, one must look inside of oneself, not outside, and rely on one’s faith and instinct…to just keep moving forward.
This painting is about moving ahead, and trusting you will find your way, no matter what.”
– Lesley Humphrey
“Instinct is part of my recovery series. Have you ever been in a situation where you just don’t know which way to turn? Maybe you cannot see the road ahead – it is simply not clear to you? At these times, one must look inside of oneself, not outside, and rely on one’s faith and instinct…to just keep moving forward.
This painting is about moving ahead, and trusting you will find your way, no matter what.”
– Lesley Humphrey
Katie Pasquini Masopust, Arpeggio, 2007, 62 x 42 in.
On loan from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Featured in Stitched: Contemporary Quilt Art from the International Quilt Festival Collection
On loan from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Featured in Stitched: Contemporary Quilt Art from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Music contributed to the inspiration for Arpeggio, this contemporary art quilt created by Katie Pasquini Masopust. She is a prize-winning artist and former president of Studio Art Quilt Associates who has taught and lectured internationally. Masopust usually composes her painterly quilts with music playing in the studio, and this quilt’s sequence of vertical blue forms suggests the broken chords of arpeggio – a term used to describe when notes of a chord are played one after the other, rather than at the same time.
The “music” seems to hover in the foreground, pushed toward the viewer by white and light-colored horizontal bands in the background. Like the effect of a pianist’s foot on the pedal, slight protuberances from the blue notes sustain and hold them visually.
The “music” seems to hover in the foreground, pushed toward the viewer by white and light-colored horizontal bands in the background. Like the effect of a pianist’s foot on the pedal, slight protuberances from the blue notes sustain and hold them visually.
Joan Frantz, Square Root Cubed, 2006, 51 x 51 in.
On loan from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Featured in Stitched: Contemporary Quilt Art from the International Quilt Festival Collection
On loan from the International Quilt Festival Collection
Featured in Stitched: Contemporary Quilt Art from the International Quilt Festival Collection
The Pearl is bringing its exhibitions to you! This bold quilt is hanging in our current exhibition, Stitched: Contemporary Quilt Art from the International Quilt Festival Collection. Joan Frantz's award-winning quilt subverts the rules of linear perspective and exploits a whole range of optical effects. She creates the intriguing illusion of layers twisting and protruding out into a 3-D space via the color choices and meticulously shaped strips. Amazingly, when you look at the overall design, the edges of the strips seem to pulsate. This is not your grandmother's quilt!
