Boys Just Wanna Have Fun Too and Wa Shonaji Exhibits

The Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum (RMQM) proudly presents two striking exhibits on display February 5 through May 26, 2018. Boys Just Wanna Have Fun Too, a call-for-entries juried contest for men quilters, is a dynamic collection of traditional and art quilts by men quilters from around the world. This men’s competition, the fourteenth biennial at the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum, received nearly 100 entries and was the closest competition to date. Juried by Luana Rubin of eQuilter.com, all entries were judged on their use of fabric, style, story, technique, and overall design. Forty-one quilts show an incredible range of creativity, from photographic quilts and striking colors to marvels of geometry, with many alluding to recent news event and the biggest issues of our age. While the realm of men’s quilting has broadened in the last few years, the continuation and popularity of this competition shows how fresh men’s quilting continues to be.

Boys Just Wanna Have Fun Too showcases quilts from artists previously shown in the last men’s show at RMQM, including Carmon Slater, Steve Bowley, Arlen Brown, Ken Casey, Jim Smith and Andy Brunhammer, Rod Daniel, Jeff Donaldson, Jack Edson, Tim Latimer, Matt Macomber, Leo Ransom, Bill Stearman, David Turner, and Jim Vander Noot. An added feature to this year’s exhibit is a special showing of quilted guitars from local artist Jim Fetterolf.

Also on display is a personal story collection from quilters across Colorado from the Rocky Mountain Wa Shonaji quilt guild. My Road to Denver chronicles how each member’s life journey led them to settle in and around Denver. These thirty-three quilts, while all the same size and vastly different in interpretation and story, all contain a winding road, allowing viewers to follow along with each journey. The Wa Shonaji Quilt Guild was formed in 1994 to preserve the heritage of quilting and fellowship, particularly within the African American community. The name Wa Shonaji comes from the Swahili language and means literally “people who sew.” The Guild is committed to supporting and educating the community by offering exhibits, quilting classes, lectures, and quilt documentation. Wa Shonaji celebrates the ethnic and cultural diversity in its membership as well as the tradition, culture, and history of quilting. Other quilts from the Rocky Mountain Wa Shonaji quilt guild will also be on display, showcasing the guild’s quilting techniques, pattern preservation, and love for our Centennial State.

An opening reception for the exhibits is scheduled from 6 to 8 pm on Friday, February 9. The reception is open to the public. The Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum is open every day: 10-4 Monday though Saturday and 11-4 Sunday.

For more information on the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum, please go to:

http://www.rmqm.org

Some facts about the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum:

--The Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum was incorporated as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization in 1982; RMQM opened in 1990 in downtown Golden, Colorado, with a gift of 101 quilts from the personal collection of Eugenia Mitchell, the Museum’s founder.

--RMQM was the third quilt museum in the United States in 1990 and is now one of eleven dedicated quilt museums in the country.

--RMQM has a global reach welcoming visitors from 6 continents, multiple countries and each of the United States.

--Two galleries hosts 8 exhibits a year—showcasing over 250 quilts, historical and contemporary art quilts from the museum’s collection, as well as quilts by national and regional quilt artists. Exhibitions range from traditional to contemporary, each with a unique style and theme.