Photos of Tulip Time

Ok - so before I go and have my own little messy paint celebration party, I wanted to just post a few photos!  After taking photos of tulips all day at our annual Tulip Time in downtown Holland, MI, I couldn't wait to see what kind of shots I ended up with!

When every single street corner in all of downtown and beyond looks like this, it is difficult to pick and choose which flowers to photograph!!

BUT - somehow I managed to pick out a few favorites from the masses...except I forgot to turn up the resolution on my camera, so I will be going back again to retake some of my favorites.

For now, here are some of my favorite shots:

In this last one, I asked Jason to hold the flower for me so I could get a better view of the center, without hurting the flower - but I actually liked his hand in the shot - very sweet : )

(shhhh, don't tell him it's on here!)

Today is a GOOD day!

Today has been a WONDERFUL day - for so many reasons!!

1. It is my middle daughter's (Bryanne's) 10th birthday today - double digits!! (I'm thinking of making a Cinqo de Mayo style art quilt just for her, especially since her favorite colors are orange and yellow...)

2. I got to take the afternoon and stroll around downtown with Jason, and we visited all around downtown during Tulip Time - we had amazing Chicken Fajita Gyros and took tons of photos of Tulips, enjoyed some Dutch Dancing in the streets, listened to several live musicians performing on the streets, and got to stroll leisurely through all of the downtown art galleries - my idea of a *perfect* day!

3. While we were downtown, we saw the Tulip Time quilt show, where one of my art quilts was on display - I was a little disappointed about the placement of my quilt (next to a window with barely any wall space) but that's OK, I was still accepted and it was my first art quilt in a gallery setting - so I still felt proud : ) I got to see a lot of other really beautiful quilts there, including traditional style, art quilt style, and a really neat one that inspired me - it was a 50th Anniversary Quilt made my the children and grandchildren, and included lots of photos printed onto fabric and arranged between traditionally quilted blocks and fabric that had personal messages written all over it - you could tell it was a true labor of love, and just amazing...I could only imagine receiving such a treasure on a 50th wedding anniversary from my entire family - wow!

4. Last but not least, when I got home today, I immediately turned on the computer to check Pokey's (Patricia Bolton, from Quilting Arts) blog - which listed the finalists for the "How Entertaining!" art quilt challenge.  There were only 13 finalists listed on her blog, and I was delighted to find my name among them!! This is SOOOO completely exciting - I was literally jumping up and down!! Now not only do I get to give an art quilt loaded with personal meaning to my grandmother for her 80th birthday, I can also tell her it was PUBLISHED, and that the entire world gets to see how her love and the values she has cultivated in our family inspired my gift to her. I'm excited and happy beyond words!!!! : )

Here is the link:   Pokey's Blog with "How Entertaining!" Finalist Artists Listed

This is the quilt I submitted for this challenge:

Here is a more detailed blog entry about this art quilt:

Little Prince Inspired Art Quilt - more detailed blog entry

Thank you so much Pokey, and everyone at Quilting Arts, for choosing my quilt!!

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Tonight is a night for opening up the windows to the warm spring night,

turning on a little music, and creating with messy paint to my heart's content.

CELEBRATION TIME!!!!!!!

Can one single day possibly get ANY better than THIS??? : )

Tulip Time Quilt Show - My Entry!

Here in Holland, MI, we have an annual "Tulip Time" celebration of Dutch heritage and culture, which includes parades, Dutch Dancing, concerts, theatre, Dutch attractions, Dutch Food, children's events, a carnival, trolley tours, and last but not least to me - wonderful art on display! It is always held in the beginning of May, when the tulips - which are planted everywhere!! - are at full bloom. It is absolutely beautiful and festive, lively and inspiring. (Here is the official link to the Tulip Time Festival website: http://www.tuliptime.com/)

This year, I entered an art quilt into the Quilt Show portion of the festival - and it was accepted!!
I was very fortunate to be granted a "VIP Exhibitor Pass" and will visit this week and see if I may take some photographs of my quilt on display! : ) But for now, I'll just post a quick photo of the quilt I chose, which I've already previously blogged (Impressionistic Style Art Quilt).

I'm very excited about visiting the show, and seeing the other local talent - and perhaps get a little inspiration for next year's entry! I plan to take lots of photos downtown to share on my blog, and I'm planning on taking lots of photos of Tulips - which I'll digitally alter and print out for layers of my future quilts. There will be more to share again soon! : )