Most art exhibitions are well thought out and planned months in advance, but "Piece by Piece" came together quite literally, through a series of accidental coincidences and connections. It started when local quilter Chris Sloan received a piece of mail meant for Coronado resident Lori Doyle. The mail was a quilting magazine. Both Chris and Lori have lived in town for years and quilted for may more but they didn't know each other until Chris tracked her down to deliver her wayward mail and in hopes of meeting a fellow quilter.
Lori and Chris talked about recruiting other quilters to form a group to meet and nurture their love for quilting. Chris made a call to the City of Coronado's Cultural Arts Commission and inquired if there was perhaps a list of local quilters. The Commission put out calls to local textile artists that had already been associated with the Commission and before they knew it, well a group of quilters was assembled to discuss how they could come together to share their art, learn new skills and assist others who had an interest in quilting but didn't know where to start. If you are a quilter or aspire to learn, join the newly formed group of quilters who are meeting monthly, the first Wednesday of each month at the John D. Spreckels Center. Contact Lori Doyle at revlori2016@gmail.com for more information.
So back to the exhibition. "Piece by Piece" was curated when the Commission realized there was a body of quilting art that would make a wonderful exhibition in the Spreckels Gallery. The show features 22 entries created by eight local quilters. Artists featured are April Atkinson, Lori Doyle, Sue Gillingham, Katy Green, Lois Maxam, Quita Darnell Nass, Chris Sloan and Melissa Sloan Strodtbeck. Like a quilt, the exhibit features unique pieces from local artists and the finished exhibition, like a quilt is pieced together so that with each entry you learn more about the art of quilting, "piece by piece."
The Spreckels Gallery is one of two city-owned and Cultural Arts Commission operated art galleries in Coronado. Located in the John D. Spreckels Center at 1019 Seventh Street the gallery opened in 2019. The gallery curates two exhibitions per year featuring local artists 50+ in age. The Thursday, March 9 opening is free and open to the public. The event is from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Many of the featured quilters will be on hand to meet the public and share their love for this art. For more information regarding the Cultural Arts Commission and their Visual Arts program contact Commissioner Roberta Korte at coronadoarts@gmail.com For more information contact kpurvis@coronado.ca.us or 619.522.2633.