Two Rivers Three Sisters: A Masterpiece of Contemporary American Fiber Art

The artwork formerly known as the Quilt for Two Rivers has a new name: Two Rivers Three Sisters.  Fiber artists collaborating on the installation are blogging about their quilt panels for the 40-foot masterpiece, which honors Sisters, Oregon’s Wild & Scenic Rivers.  Featured this week:

TWO RIVERS THREE SISTERS: A MASTERPIECE OF CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN FIBER ART

We’ve come to the last stitches in the fabric.  And we couldn’t be more delighted with the new fiber artwork that has been seven months in the making.

Two Rivers Three Sisters–originally called the Quilt for Two Rivers after the National Forest Foundation’s Tale of Two Rivers conservation campaign, and rechristened by Facebook contest winner Teresa Mitchell of Star, ID–is complete and on exhibit.

The completed Two Rivers Three Sisters quilt, with Wild & Scenic Whychus Creek running through it

True to its art form, the quilt tells a story.  It reveals how native steelhead and salmon are returning to our local streams.  It honors the traditions of Native Americans who lived along Whychus and the Metolius for generations.  It features the geography of Whychus Creek, shows the change of seasons in foliage, conveys the weather, is true to how the creekside landscape changes from high to lower elevations.

It’s an American original, a masterpiece of modern folk art.  The artistic styles of 19 quilters blend into a unified piece that can only be described as magnificent–if we do say so ourselves!

And what’s truly magical about the 40-foot quilt is the way it is going to live on.  It will live on in the new stewards we’ve created who care about two very special places, Whychus Creek and the Metolius River…

…in a traveling exhibition which will take the quilt all over the Pacific Northwest and beyond, following its display during the month of July at the 2012 Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show…

…and in those who view it in its eventual home. (Send inquiries about procuring the quilt to ann@sistersoutdoorquiltshow.org.)

The quilt is now available for viewing in the lobby of the Black Butte Ranch Lodge.  Join us there for a free reception to celebrate the artists and artistry of the work on June 15 at 5 p.m.

Two Rivers Three Sisters is the product of a unique collaboration between the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, the National Forest Foundation and the U.S. Forest Service.  We want to let the funders who made the project possible know how much we appreciate their support.  Thank you!

Presenting Sponsor – US Bank

Funders:

• National Forest Foundation
• Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show
• U.S. Forest Service
• Deschutes County Cultural Coalition
• Deschutes County Economic Development Fund Discretionary Grant Oregon Arts Commission with support from the National Endowment for the Arts
• Roundhouse Foundation
• Deschutes Land Trust
• Deschutes River Conservancy

–Ann Richardson, Executive Director, Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show