Design Concept

In 2019 we took a cruise that circumnavigated Cuba, with stops in major cities along the way. Our last stop was in Havana, where we were free to wander through the downtown streets. Along the way my husband Ron Gentry shot this photo of a worker napping in his truck. Cuba is famous for its antique American cars from the 1950’s, many of which are beautifully restored. This vehicle is a 1953 Ford F800 dump truck. The gear crossed by a lightning bolt below the Ford logo identifies it. I added the Cuban flag below the logo and simplified the image with digital painting. The background in the photo was a bunch of random buildings that were confusing at best. I eliminated them and added a decorative grillwork gate, of the sort we saw everywhere throughout the country, although most were not this ornate. The collaged, digital image was printed on cotton fabric by Spoonflower. It is quilted with dozens of different shades of polyester and acrylic thread. The backing fabric is from my Caryl’s Feather collection for Benartex.

To see a slide show of our whole trip to Cuba, CLICK HERE.

Exhibitions:

• Color in Context: Red, SAQA Global Exhibitions
• International Quilt Festival, Houston Texas, November 2-5, 2023
• Australasian Quilt Convention, Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne, Australia, April11 to 14, 2024
  • Sydney Craft & Quilt Fair, International Convention Centre, Darling Harbour, Sydney NSW, Australia, July 3 to 6, 2024
  • Melbourne Craft & Quilt Fair, Melbourne Exhibition Centre, South Wharf, Victoria, Australia, July 24 to 27, 2024
  • Brisbane Craft & Quilt Fair, Brisbane Exhibition Centre, South Bank, Queensland, Australia, October 9 to 12, 2024           
• The Lancaster Quilt Show at Lebanon Valley March 26- 29, 2025
• The Paducah Quilt Show April 22 -26, 2025
• The North East Ohio Quilt Show July 17 – 19, 2025
• Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza- Oaks, Pennsylvania: September 11 – 15, 2025
• South Dakota Art Museum, Brookings, South Dakota: January 24- May 17, 2026

Publications

• Color in Context: Red, Studio Art Quilt Associates, 2023, pp. 20-21
• SAQA Journal, 2023/Volume 33 No.4, p 20