Heading Towards France
- loisparishevans
- Aug 29, 2025
- 3 min read
It's been way too long since I last wrote a blog. To say I've been busy is both an understatement and an excuse but it is the truth! Today I am in at The Artists Window Gallery and because it is quiet it is a good opportunity to at least begin a blog!
In less than 4 weeks I begin my journey to France to take an exhibition of my work titled "Echoes of the Land" to the European Quilt Show # CarrefourQuiltShow, in the delightful looking village of Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines, in the Alsace Region. The Show takes over 4 villages and untilises all the public spaces they can to accomodate the 30+ exhibitions. This is an amazing opportunity for me to showcase an exhibition of my work in an international setting and I am grateful for the opportunity and experience. #CarrefourQuiltShow are focussing on Australia and New Zealand this year and so there are a number of Aussie and Kiwis taking either a group or solo exhibition. You can visit the official website to discover the other artists and also more about my exhibition theme at https://patchwork-europe.eu/en/artistes/lois-parish-evans-2/. I am well represented at the Show, not only with the "Echoes of the Land"exhibition but also with a piece in both group exhibitions from Australia(Ozquilt Networks "Australia Wide Nine") and New Zealand (Aotearoa Quilters members exhibition).
What does echoes of the land mean? Initially I thought of calling it Whispers of the Land but that didn't seem to fit the way I have been working with stronger colours and often bold patterns and shapes. I will often look up the meaning and synonoms of a word, and when I looked up echo I loved the idea of it used to "evoke memories". I had already named the EPM exhibition, prior to my Aussie exhibition, but during my Contours and Contrasts exhibition a number of people said to me that certain pieces took them back to a holiday destination or a memory of a place, so it felt like this was a good theme.
A lot of work goes into creating an exhibition, a lot of thinking, playing with possibilities, dreaming up themes, tossing around ideas, before the work begins. As much of my usual work relates to the environment around me it was relatively easy to extend that into a new theme to marry previous work and new work. Then begins months of looking through photographs(believe me, there are many!) and choosing ones that speak to me of moments in time captured and with good design bones. The photographs don't have to be great photos but they do need a few elements of design that will give the bones to an artwork - it might be interesting lines, shapes, pattern or colours. I will pare back or simplify and then expand out adding in other elements if I feel the image needs more. Sometimes I will combine two or more photographs into the image to create interest or add to the story.
There are many more images that I would like to have included but time did not permit...so they will have to wait for the next exhibition!
I cannot believe that it too weeks since I began this post - so much has happened in that time. The day after I began this post my mother had a fall and broke her femur. So if I thought I was busy before, the last two weeks have been crazy busy. (And I am back in The Artists Window! ) However my exhibition is ready and I'm working on putting a little catalogue of my exhibition together. I feel fortunate to have a hubbie who knows his way around a photocopier and has printed this draft catalogue. In two weeks we will be on our way!
