FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- 1/3/11
Morgan Arts Council • Berkeley Springs, WV
www.macicehouse.org • 304-258-2300

NOTE TO PRESS -- Photos will be available (1/6/11) once the show is 
hung. Press is invited to the show hanging on Wednesday, January 5. 
Please contact Jane Frenke to arrange entry. 304-258-4582



UNCOMMON THREADS ON DISPLAY AT ICE HOUSE GALLERY

BERKELEY SPRINGS, WV ---- More than 30 art quilts stitched by a group 
of seven fabric artists from Virginia and Maryland provide a visual 
spectacle at the first curated gallery show of 2011 at the Ice House 
Gallery in Berkeley Springs. The show opens with a special meet-the- 
artists reception on Friday, January 7 at 7:30pm. An Artwalk begins 
at Mountain Laurel Gallery at 5pm. Produced by the Morgan Arts 
Council (MAC), the show hangs through February 27. Gallery hours are 
Friday through Sunday from 11am to 5pm.

"When a fabric artist of Jane Frenke's reputation recommends a group 
show of quilts, we know it is extraordinary," said Mary Hott, MAC's 
Executive Director. "From the work we've seen, the art is as 
innovative as Jane said it was."

Curator, Lois Smith is a prime example of the talent on display. 
Smith is an international quilting teacher, certified quilt judge, and 
award winning quilter. Her quilt, Golden Memories of Christmas, was 
the first machine quilted piece to win Best of Show in the prestigious 
Houston Quilt Festival. Another Smith quilt, Summertime Sampler, was 
chosen for the permanent collection of the American Quilters' Museum 
in Paducah, Kentucky.

The Uncommon Threads group have met together for 14 years to exchange 
ideas, encourage, and critique each other’s work. Their passion for 
experimentation with fiber, fabric dying, and a variety of surface 
design techniques can be seen in the quilts on display which include 
designs inspired by nature or the built environment as well as 
inventively pieced abstractions. In addition to Smith, exhibitors 
include: Floris Flam, N. Amanda Ford, Margaret Hartranft, Myania 
Moses, Sarah Pavlik, and Jill Ruspi.

"Uncommon Threads" is funded in part by the National Endowment for the 
Arts, West Virginia Commission on the Arts and hotel taxes from town 
and county. The Ice House is located at Independence and Mercer in 
downtown Berkeley Springs. For more information call 304-258-2300 or 
check online at www.macicehouse.org.