Whatever the materials, the sculptures all have one thing in common — music. One of the sculptures is of the jazz pianist Thelonious Monk. Others are more abstract pieces suggesting the shape of an instrument. Upright bass players are represented by a kind of straight object with a figure attached to it. By contrast, a saxophone player has a curve.
“When I’m working on a piece, in a way it’s like a performance. I want to have an impact,” Leon said. “I want people to feel uplifted and soothed at the same time.”
Cathy Mayhugh, Fitton’s director of exhibitions, deliberately ties the sculptures and the quilts together. She pointed out that some of the quilts refer to music, or to the physical rhythm of dancing.
Cris Fee of Lebanon created the quilt called “The Dancer,” which depicts a definite figure against more abstract shapes.
“It speaks of the things we do when we think nobody’s watching,” she said.
Other quilts by Fee include a self-portrait done in a somewhat exaggerated style. The piece is called “As I See Me.” Fee said she gravitates toward the quilt form because “it’s a very tactile medium. I’m a feeling person.”
Leon favors sculpture for similar reasons, and that’s the other common link between the sculptures and the quilts.
“They’re so tactile, and that’s what’s wonderful about the two mediums when putting this together,” Mayhugh said.
Eleven of the 14 fiber artists in this show are part of an area guild called the A.R.T. Quilt Group. The A.R.T. Quilt Group’s goals are to show and share work, offer critiques and support each other’s efforts, both individually and as a group. Besides Fee, the group’s artists represented in “Harmony” include Casey Collier of Cincinnati, Ann Hull of Madeira, Jess Kadish of Sardinia, Emily Lewis of Eustis, Fla., Elaine Plogman of Cincinnati, Carol Schlegel of Cincinnati, Lynn Ticotsky of Cincinnati, Leslie Vieth of Loveland, Susan Voegtly of Cincinnati and Martha Warshaw of Cincinnati.
Also in the show are Jean Cowie of Silver City, N.M.; Patricia Gould of Albuquerque, N.M., and Donna June Katz of Chicago.
The exhibit runs through Jan. 6. The opening reception will run from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14. Pianist Joshua Jessen and saxophonist Joe Duran from the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music will provide music.
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