Together: Betty Howe and Marianne Parsons

Betty and Marianne finished their projects in September, 2010 and get the 'early bird prize'!

Marianne and Betty have been friends and colleagues in art for years.

Betty with her painting

Betty Howe began her art career as a commercial artist, moved to fine art, then to quilting and has now returned to fine art.

Marianne's quilt is about 23"w x 45".

Betty's painting (22" x 28") illustrates their beauty.

Marianne's bio: I’ve been working in the fibre art field for over 40 years, first as a teacher of embroidery and fabric collage, adding quilting early on, and always building on the needlework skills my mother insisted that all 8 of her girls learn as children. For years, I did watercolour painting, and batik as well as teaching quiltmaking. I am inspired by scraps of fabric, it appears, and by themes, and enjoy the physical act of stitching. Belonging to the 13 member Fabricators art quilt group has enriched my quilting and artistic life, and given me many opportunities to grow. Betty joined this group when she lived near me in Oliver, BC, but has since moved to Whiterock, BC, where she continues to participate in our Fabricator projects. Betty was one of my design mentors while in Oliver.

The process

For this project, Betty and I tossed out themes, but the one that really inspired Betty, her orchid cactus in bloom, gave me pause. These blooms were lush and WHITE. Not my first choice of colour. The leaves were long, pendulous and dark. In the end, I enjoyed the challenge of doing a topic I would not have chosen voluntarily.

Betty sent photos of the cactus in bloom and the actual plant growth, and after my piece was well underway, I sent her swatches of the fabrics I was using to coordinate the colour scheme if nothing else. Because we live 6 hours apart, we have not seen the actual finished pieces together, so we look forward to that event.

Each pair of artists have been allotted a 40" width of space from floor to ceiling (+ or - an inch or two).

It will be interesting to see Betty's painting with the sense of depth her flowers display and Marianne's quilt with the texture fabrics create.