Aullwood: 2011 Lori Gravley

Lori Gravley Wrack Lines VIII:Tidelines 28" x 28" $850

Lori Gravley Wraklines VIII detail

Lori Gravley is another one of my Miami Valley Art Quilt Network friends.  Spurred by a workshop MVAQN member Liz Schneider's did on texture, Lori started exploring the use of yo-yos...and she became addicted.  Actually, making yo-yos is a great thing for her to do while attending her son's sporting events and waiting for him in practice.  While I generally abhor yo-yos, I love Lori's work.

Lori grew up near water, spending most of her teen years on the Florida panhandle.  Most of her work is inspired by the lines of debris that the tide deposits on the beach edges which are called wrack lines.


Lori had three pieces submitted to Aullwood and all three were accepted.  This piece is called Wrack Lines VIII:  Tidelines.  Lori wrote this about her piece:  "the first time I visited Half-Moon Bay on the coast of California, I was surprised by the multiple tide lines.  My father told me that if I looked carefully I could find moonstones among the many pebbles and I spent hours as a teen then again as a young woman walking the tidelines searching for the perfect moonstone."

While these pieces are fairly simple, you can see Lori's masterful understanding of line and composition.  She uses not only the yo-yos for texture but the quilting also gives that wonderful ripple effect you see in the sands.

Lori Gravley Wrack Lines IX: Moonjellies and Starfish 32" x 32" $1,050.00

Lori Gravley Wrack lines IX detail

This piece is called Wrack lines IX:  Moonjellies and Starfish.  She recalls that the beaches on the Florida panhandle are composed of fine quartz particles which in the sun can be blindingly white.  "Walking the wrack line of these beaches up near the sand dunes on a bright sunny morning, you can sometimes find red starfish.  The irredescent fabric of the yo-yos inspired this piece."

I think this is one of her most breath taking works..unfortunately, the white and iridescent fabric makes it almost impossible to photograph in any way which does justice to it.

Lori Gravley Wrack Lines IX detail

Lori Gravley Wrack Lines X Winter Tides 27" x 23" $750.00

Lori Gravley Wrack Lines X detail

At first,  I liked this one the least of Lori's pieces, but I have to say it grows on you.  Lori made this piece from a re-purposed silk dress she found in a thrift store.  Lori writes:

"The best time to walk the wrack line  is in winter.  There's less competition.When I saw a silk dress at a thrift shop, I immediately thought of the beach in winter.  Even in winter, the wrack line carries the shells, bones, kelp and other detritus that reminds us that life goes on and on.  The orange in the quilt is a reminder that summer will come again."

Usually, Lori combines both hand and machine sewing.  Wrack Line VIII is handsewn.

Lori recently completed another yo-yo quilt which is now showing at the Dayton Visual Art Center, entitled "Wrack Line XI:  Tides in Godlight."  You can see it, and more information on Lori's work on her blog, Laughing Girl Quilts.

Aullwood Nature Center Art Quilt Show:Pam Geisel and Mindy Marik

After the Rin by Pam Geisel, photo by Pam Geisel.  $23.5" 32.5"  $275.00.

Because I have standing permission to use images and works from my fellow Miami Valley (OH) Art Quilt Network colleagues, I'm starting out with Pam Geisel and Mindy Marik's work.


Pam has two pieces in the show, both of which are for sale on her website, but of course, they are not available until the show closes after August 21. 

This first piece (which is Pam's photo because I really didn't like the color cast on the one I took.) is entitled After the Rain.   Pam designed this in response to an online challenge which had her visit a hardware store. 

You can see that she took a drain cover and stitched through all the holes and threaded ribbon through some of the others.  It reminded one of my companions of a jelly fish, but I'm afraid I thought more of a dream catcher or aboriginal shield. 

Here is a washer that she used as an embellishment by wrapping it.  Her selection of fabrics in this piece are really great.  Pam discusses the construction of this piece on her blog.

Pam Geisel, photo by Pam Geisel, "Floating Feather."  10" x 8" $100.

Pam's second piece in the show is part of her feather series and is called 'Floating Feather."  It measures just 8" x 10". and uses a batik fabric from JoAnn's that both she and I love and tend to use a lot of.  Again, all of these photos are Pam's as I really didn't like the yellow cast which I got on my photos.

The water circles are outlined in a sparkly thread in quilting.  Beads are added to the bottom of hte quilt and along the copper strips she added to give it a little more interest.

Mindy Marik, "Crying Rain."  19"  28", $320.00

Mindy Marik's piece, Crying Rain measures 19" x 28" and is far more subdued than most of Mindy's work.

Mindy's piece depicts rain falling into puddles on the street. Each drop creates a series of rings as the wave moves outward.  Mindy constructed this with raw edge applique.

Aullwood Nature Center and Farm 2011 Art Quilt Show

Every year, the Aullwood Nature Center and Farm (Audubon Center) in Englewood, Ohio,  hosts an art quilt exhibition.  The themes vary from year to year, but all are nature based.  The show was started at least by 1996 in conjunction with the Miami Valley (OH) Art Quilt Network.  In 2004, the Audubon Center took complete control of the show. 

This year, the exhibition is called "Water, Water, everywhere" (a little nod to Coleridge's Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner." )  This is the description which went out in the call for entries:  Water is life. From the smallest vernal pool to the Great Lakes; from the warm Caribbean to the icy polar seas; from
the tiny brook to the mighty Mississippi River, water covers three-fourths of our planet. Without water, life is impossible. With pristine water a breathtaking array of plants, insects, animals, fish and birds may flourish. Clean water supports sustainable growth, recreational opportunities and many aesthetic benefits. This exhibit celebrates the world of water."

Although a small show, every year premiere quilt artists from around the country submit their work.  For the last three years at least, Diane Dover of Beaver Creek, Ohio has served as jurror along with the Audubon center's executive Director, Charity Kruegar.

The exhibition is held in a long hall which has "barnboard" on one side and painted drywall on the other.  While best for the conservation of the quilts, the lighting tends to be very dim and photographs of the works are difficult to achieve.  Using available light usually results in darkened photos while flash tends to wash out the quilts.

This year, Aullwood recieved 55 entries of which 42 were selected.  Exhibitors include:  Bonnie Dubbin Askowitz, Nancy M. Bales, Debra Bentley, Melani Kane Brewer, Liese Bronfenbrenner, Martha Lee Burleson, Sandra Palmer Ciolino, Georgie Cline, Anne Garretson, Pam Geisel, Lori Gravley, Maude Haeger, Marilyn Hamaker, Merry Havens, Joan Hersey, Kathleen Hughs, Pat Koth, Fran LaSalle, Mindy Marik, Marla Morris Kennedy, Susan Nash, Liz Piatt, Robbie Porter, Ruth Powers, Melody Randol Suzanne Mouton Riggio, Kathleen Irons Sweeney, and Anne Theobold. 

Although Diane Dover has served as the juror for several years, I do feel that this show continues to be fresh and interesting.  Diane Dover is from Beavercreek, Ohio and primarily makes qtuils with themes from nature.  When I think of the local shows of her work, I think birds..although she had a very interesting selection of pieces including three dimensional works at the Meadowlark Cafe a couple of years ago.  Dover uses both hand and machine work in her pieces.  Unfortunately, Dover doesn't have a web presence so I can't share a whole lot more with you about her work.

Charity Krueger, the executive director at Aullwood According to the call for entries for the exhibit, "she is an artist and has studied and worked in many media. Her artwork and photographs have been featured in books, newspapers, magazines and exhibits."

Ms. Krueger has a quilt collection and the Audubon Center does host a fund raising  auction of Amish Quilts each fall.  One puzzlement for me was a traditional quilt hung at the end of the hall near the entrance to the show.  The quilt had  a tag on it which said it was for sale and to inquire of it to a staff member if you were interested.  I'm not really sure if this was something left from the auction last year or something to entice you to come to the auction this year...a small blip.

I will be sharing the works in the show over the next couple of days.  If you are in the area, the show will run through August 21st. during normal operating hours (Monday-Saturday 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Sunday 1:00 - 5:00 p.m.)  The Aullwood Audubon Center is located at 1000 Aullwood Rd., across from the Dayton Metro Parks on State Route 40, very close to the intersection with I-70.  It's easy to get to and  a fun place to visit.  Admission is $4 per person for adults for non-members, but if you have membership at another Audubon Center or another institution which offers reciprocal membership benefits, admission is free. Just bring your valid membership card

Thoughts on Jurors and Guest Curators

There's a lot of talk recently on some of the blogs and message lists I belong to about jurors and reviews. Well, maybe in the greater scheme of things not much, but enough to get my brain cells going.  In addition, Terry Jarrard -Dimond (who I always want to call Terry Jaquard-Dimond) asked about blogs which review shows and such and then discussed what attributes a good reviewer has.  You can see the 2nd of her two posts  http://studio24-7.blogspot.com/2011/07/where-are-writers-part-two.html

Hmm.  Ok. so I meet most of Terry's criteria.  As a former museum curator, I have a minor in art history and lots of courses in connoisseurship  (yes, Graham Hood taught the course at William and Mary).  I go to art shows and museums when I can (lately not as much but that's just this year).  I have a strong background in historical quilts as well as having been a traditional quilter since I was 12 and and art quilter since the 1990s.  I'd like to think I can write...

I do fall down in one area.  Often the shows I'm reviewing I am doing so so that people who are in other parts of the country can see where their quilts have ended up...and sometimes I am just too tender-hearted to leave out the quilts that I don't think should be there.  Sometimes, I  highlight quilts not so much for their design or skill in construction, but  as I am curious.  For instance, how did a Marianist brother come to make a quilt? 

Needless to say, Terry's blog sort of made me want to crawl back into a hole...However, I'd like to share with you some observations on jurors and guest curators...Vivien Zepf got me thinking about this in her review of the 2011 Quilt National Catalog.  In it, she discusses Pauline Verbeek-Cowart's statement.  Verbeek-Cowart was a juror for this year's Quilt National.  Vivien described her as a weaver, which really made me wonder.   What's a weaver doing as a juror for Quilt National?  It seemed a little out of the ordinary until I looked at her portfolio on her website.  She IS a weaver, but some of her pieces aren't what you'd think of as a weaver necessarily...she's an art weaver...if that is a term...but more especially a fiber artist.

Pauline stated that she came to Quilt National with a preconceived notion of what Quilt National was about....a notion which while we all tend to hold it, is not stated in the call for entries.   Pauline, and for that matter I, thought that Quilt National was supposed to be a cutting edge show.  It isn't.  At least not by the description of appropriateness as put out by QN.   Submittals merely have to be quilts, as defined by the traditional definiation (at least 3 layers of fiber held together by stitching some of which can be seen on the back side.)

As artists, we know when we submit to a show that the predilections of the jurors is something to bear in mind.  This year, Jonathan Holstein was the juror for a show entitled The Art Quilt Experience in Cazenovia , NY.  I haven't actually seen the show, but know about it from reading Katherine Rushforth's review.  In her review, Ms. Rushforth makes the following statement:

" The pieces are split evenly between the two venues and provide a slightly narrow, but engaging cross-section of what's happening in the world of contemporary fine-art quilts. I say narrow because those who have visited the Schweinfurth show know that contemporary quilters are no longer content with fabric as their sole medium. Found objects, transfer printing, beading, text and other non-traditional media find their ways into their sewing kits. Their work is predicated upon ideas versus established patterns and while technique matters, it is not limited to their skills with a needle and thread. "

From what I can tell, it does seem slightly narrow to me as well...but not for the same reasons that Ms. Rushforth states.  While I believe that a show entitled "The Art Quilt Experience" should show a full spectrum of the types of art quilts which are being made, Mr. Holstein chose predominantly non-representational pieces, mostly ones which were geometrically based.  However, given the fact that Mr. Holstein was the lead juror and that he was the co-curator of the 1971 exhibition "Abstract Design in American Quilts" at the Whitney Museum, this doesn't surprise me.  I have to say when I'm looking into submitting to a juried show, I do look at who the jurors are and what they do before deciding to submit...rightly or wrongly.  I slso know that if you submit a piece to a show and don't get in, it doesn't necessarily mean that the piece doesn't have merit, but it may be that the piece doesn't fit in with the juror's vision, the space allowed, or with the rest of the pieces selected for the show.  There's always another venue and another show.

So, how do galleries and museums select jurors? It depends.  Some look for the "big names."  They want people to be jurors who have a certain cachet in order to bring high quality pieces in as well as give "star power" to the exhibition.  Sometimes it depends on who is available at the particular time.   Sometimes, it comes down to a matter of money...jurors of high caliber shows are paid for their time.  Often the institution is looking for someone who has a certain perspective which fits into their own mission statement or the direction they want the show to take.

The matter of paying jurors and getting high cailber jurors is what helps a show to grow and be a moving force.  One show that I sometimes exhibit in locally started out being a show which had some pull.  In the early years, they used local people but when one of the founders of the show felt that they needed to pay more and go farther afield the host organization balked and caused a split.  For the last several years the jurors have been the same.  Something I'm not too thrilled with, but they continue to attract artists with national recognition and it is a good, solid little show.  

Other shows are "juried" in that they only have to fit the parameters of the theme.  If you don't fit the theme then you don't get in.  Another show I participated in this year called itself "juried" but never named the jurors and while it charged a $25 fee, apparently was juried only by whether or not you wrote a check...I doubt I'll show there again.

The amount of involvement that jurors or guest curators play also varies.  Several years ago, I was working free-lance for a museum evaluating their collection of historical quilts.  I researched their pieces, wrote the catalog and made suggestions as to what pieces I would put on exhibition.  The show was to be curated by a quilter who lived in the area but who had a national reputation.  I met with the director and the guest curator after submitting my report.  Imagine my surprise when my suggestions were taken without question and the label copy was written by taking verbatim the information from my report.  The guest curator's name was on the exhibition and I hung the show with the museum staff.  

In two other cases, the guest curators were running into time constraints and the curators of the institution called me in to help get things on track time-wise.  The curators were still calling the shots, but I was acting as a gopher, technical whiz kid and general facilitator.  The curator's stamp was all over these exhibitions, I just helped move it along so that it could open on the opening date.

Recently, while visiting a show with some friends, we wondered, why was it that some people had three pieces exhibited and others, while they submitted others of equal quality only had one accepted.  We'll never know as usually juror's don't share their rationale.  We just know that the artist just needs to keep on submitting those pieces to other shows.   

Spooky Shoves from the Cosmos

Have you ever felt like you were getting shoved by a great cosmic hand? Lately, I have.  When I was a kid in high school, I took oil painting classes from a woman who was a friend of my parents. I loved working in oils, but I also messed around with watercolors.

Some of the pieces I did were water colored flowers, as if they were botanical prints. I've been trying to find a photo of one.  My mom has a ton of the paintings...and I think I may have one of a violet around here someplace...but I'll have to show you that another time.   My oil teacher kept on encouraging me to do more with the water colors.  When I graduated from high school, she gave me water color brushes and a book on watercolors.

Most of you are probably aware of my gardening passion.  But, I also grew up on a farm and my brother, brother-in-law and my sister-in-law all went to school to be foresters.  My sister has a degree in botany, so growing things and plants as well as their parts, habits, etc. were always part of the family.

It is little wonder that some of my quilts have botanical themes.  For the sketchbook challenge, the photo I uploaded a very brief sketch of a path along a birch stand from my memory of what they looked like from my childhood in Michigan.

I have been struggling with the Sketchbook challenge...and imagine my surprise when I found that I had won Botany for the Artist by Srah Simbley.  as donated by Tania Marien for Art Plantae.

So...I'm wondering...is this just another cosmic push?  I asked Sue Bleiweiss how winners were selected...and she said that they were picked at random and she just filled them by going down the list.  Hmm.  Here's the list of June prize winners and links to their sketches.

And here is my sketch.

jun749 Birchwood path, a photo by anonygoose42 on Flickr.

More MEEC Exhibition Part 4 Brother Andy's Quilt and a Piece of Wearable Art

I admit it, I am focusing on the textiles/fiber art at the Marianist Environmental Education Center's Show.  While I have shown some of the other pieces, there was a lot of very nice photography and other works...in fact, some knock your socks off sand paintings...  But I know that a lot of my readers are interested in the quilty, fibery bits.. One piece which was interesting was this quilt called "First Flowers" by Brother Andrew Kosmowski, SM.  The piece is fairly simple, it incorporates traditional applique with embroidered embellishment with broderie perse, the method of cutting out a printed element from a commercially printed fabric and appliqueing the piece down on a background.

I was interested in how a Marianist brother came to make a hand quilted, hand appliqued quilt..so, I asked him a few questions about his piece.  Here are his responses.



> How long have you been quilting?
I started First Flowers in Jan. 2009.  This is the first quilt I finished by hand.  I also worked at a parish school at that time, and the ladies' sodality quilted as a fundraiser.  They saw a quilt top I made and then outsourced to one of them and said, "If you can hand-appliqué like that, you can quilt."  So I saw them quilt and ran with it.


> How did you start quilting?
When I came to Saint Louis, where I now live, I expressed to one of the brothers that I wanted to do it.  He encouraged me, and so I started.

> What was the inspiration for "First Flowers"?
I saw a pattern at Jackman's Fabrics in St. Louis and wanted to do it.  This was before I got a sewing machine, and it was "Quilt with your embroidery machine" pattern by Smith Street Design.  Fortunately, it also had paper patterns, which I used.

I bought the panels on the cheap.  They were from a Jo-Ann's near my parents' house.  I think they set of the appliqué nicely.

> I am pretty sure that you didn't use any stamping or embellishing,  but I wanted
> to make sure that what I saw as a commercially printed fabric was indeed that
> (the center of the reddish colored flower with the line/print on it).

You are correct; just appliqué and embroidery.
>
> What would you like to share about your work?

1) The sashing material was a Halloween print. Those bright dots are eyeballs!  I just looked for the right material at one of the local quilt shops.  If they had it with the Halloween prints instead of the green, I easily could have overlooked it.

2) I wanted to make some of the flowers based on real ones, even if the scale was different.  I just made up the four lilies, located on the centers of the outer rows and columns.  I don't recall the panels, but they had boring names like "large leaf bouquet."  The others, not counting the panels or lilies, are as follows:

Top row: pitcher plant, purple trillium
2nd row: poppy, ox-eye daisy, purple coneflower, forget-me-not
3rd row: Indian blanket
4th row: aster, tahoka daisy, black-eye Susan, violet
5th row: white trillium, Jack-in-the-pulpit

3) I prefer hand-quilting because I feel I have more control over it.  This may be because I don't have a lot of experience quilting by machine.  It also makes it easy to work when I travel, wait for doctor's appointments, watch television or the fire, wait between sessions at conferences or retreats, etc.  I also find the rhythm relaxing (until the needle or thread breaks or the thread knots!).

4) I often piece my backings.  I know some people want the quilting to show, but I find a pieced backing can mean a pair of quilts in one.  The fish print you saw on the sleeve is part of the backing.  So is a bit of the blue in the purple and blue lily.

5) I appliqué raw-edge because that's the only method I know.  It adds a nice dimension to this.

6) The daisies are palest.  My blocks are not trimmed to square.  "Show me a perfect garden" was my attitude.  Not all flowers are the stars; some back up others.  The daisies back up the Indian Blanket, which is in my mind the star of the show.


Here at left, you can see one of the squares with the Broderie perse, and the right a needleturned applique with embroidered elements.

This is the flower which had such great use of the commercially printed fabric in order to give the flower the shading.

I was also pleasantly surprised to see this piece of wearable art.  This is another piece by Chris Bohmer Stewart called 'Gift of the Sea."  I'm going to include the text of Chris' artist statement because she says it better than I could paraphrase.

"The original incarnation of this gently recycled shirt was made in celebration of the 60th birthday of a lifelong friend.  I incorporated 'combings' from her beloved Florida Gulf Coast beach, gathered over several years of 'girls trips.' It was, as is this variation, a veritable I Spy The Beach, with prints and silhouettes of mandrake leaves, shore bird feathers, sponges, starfish, crab shell, fish bone, lightening whelk shell and egg casing , scallop and ark shells, and spirals from shell interiors.  Only, the ripples are made from Mt. St. John sycamore leaves.

One month after Alice's birthday, the Deepwater Horizon  exploded- the worst oil spill in U.S. History.  I feared that "Gifts of the Sea" might become "Elegy for the Gulf" , as the world watched rusty ribbons of oil snaking around rich coastal islands and oil-drenched birds struggling to survive.

One year later,miraculously  no elegy, but restoration? Hardly. The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration declared the Gulf "much better than people feared but the jury is still out on what the end result will be."

The earth as God's gift is a common metaphor but "gift" implies the recipient has no obligation to show how the gift is used.  The Earth is not ours to use and abuse, then hope to restore that which may be irreplaceable.  Creation is a trust , with the current generation not owners free to do as they choose, but stewards , honoring the Earth for those to come.  Can we prove worthy of God's trust?"

As you can see, most of the submissions to the M.E.E.C. show at Mt. St. John's are selected with care.  Artists who submit usually put a lot of thought in making sure that their pieces speak to the issue and theme that the center puts out.  The show is always a visual treat but is also stimulating for the mind as you can't leave without having something from the show resonate and provide food for further thought...and hopefully action.

So, artists..for next year's show, the theme is "Living Green."  M.E.E.C. has a facebook page in addition to their web page.  Details on the show usually hit in the fall or winter (deadlines...deadlines).  If you are so inclined, I suggest that you keep an eye out and consider entering your own work if you are so moved. Here's the website again: 

Sculptures on the Square: Opening Doors to Troy, OH

I think I have mentioned in the past that Troy, Ohio, where I presently live, was blessed to have a foundation started by Troy's "captains of Industry" in the late 19th/early 20th century.  The money they set aside was invested and has grown.  I suspect that others have added to it over the years, but it is used for the betterment and promotion of the city of Troy.  Each year they underwrite lots of projects, non-profit institutions and  scholarships.

In the past, they joined with the Troy Mainstreet organization which is composed of local downtown merchants and the city to host "Sculptures on the Square."  Every other year various sculptures are placed on the town square and for about a block or two beyond. The first couple of years were "rented" traveling exhibitions of one artist who didn't have a connection with Troy.

Then, I think under the "push" from Karen Purke, then the director of the WACO Aircraft Museum  (WACO rhymes with taco and stands for the Weaver Aircraft Corporation which was headquartered in Troy, OH) here in town, they held a sculpture exhibition. 26 fiberglass "blank" WACO designed airplanes were delivered to area artists, non-profit groups and schools who signed up for the project.  The idea was much the same as the famous "Cow Parades", "Flying Pigs" in Cincinnati, and various other fiberglass art.  These were absolutely fabulous and a great hit.  The airplanes were auctioned afterward with funds going to the WACO Museum/airfield.  Some of the purchasers were as far away as New Mexico.  Since most went for over $2,000 I don't have any flying in my back yard.

So, this year, the door theme was brought out.  Old, salvaged doors were provided to 28 local artists and organizations.  Each chose their own interpretation of "Opening Doors to Troy."   Logically enough, the exhibition was sponsored by Clopay, the garage door people who have a factory about 1/4 mile (I originally wrote 1/4"  I guess I really am a quilter through and through!) or less from me.  Other funders the Troy Foundation and the City of Troy.

The exhibition will be up from now until September 17, 2011 after which the doors will be auctioned.  You can find a list of exhibitors and more information here.  As I am able to walk a bit more (I was hurting last night), I will post more.  

Troy is blessed with wonderful restaurants in it's downtown area.  Last night we went to our favorite, The Caroline, which if you are ever passing through on I75 and need a place to eat you must veer 2 miles off the highway to the square and eat here.   About the same price as Applebees or Ruby Tuesday, it has an award winning chef and absolutely fantastic food for all appetites and people wearing casual attire (or not...I've seen really well dressed people there too....just not my spouse :) ).  It is, after all, small town Ohio (I think one of my husband's raves about this place is you can get Guinness on tap).  The interior is wonderfully decorated with art as well...but ..once again, I digress.  We visited last night in honor of what I hope to be my last chemo treatment.  When we went outside, the Cincinnati Symphony orchestra was playing (every Friday in the summer they close traffic to the square (a round-about or rotary) and have live concerts).  Just outside the Caroline was Karen Purke's door.

Karen is a great person and a wonderful photographer.  Here she chose to highlight the "quilt barns" of Miami County.  I have written about them before,   You can read an article about them here and a map may be found here.  You can pick up the brochure, but look at the map ahead of time as you can group them more effectively on your own. I believe we are up to 67 barns or structures with quilt patterns on them with more being added.  In addition there are some which are "unauthorized."  Quite a few are in really lovely areas.  All of the people who have barns painted with quilts from the official site have agreed to allow people to pull in their driveways to take pictures.

I admit, I'm a barn junkie and Karen did a really fun job with her piece.  You can see other pieces of Karen's artwork at her website, "McGuffey Press."  As a historian, naming your printing company after the early school book publishing company just tickles my fancy.