In Search Of: Andrea Balosky

"Salute to the Sun" 2011, AAQI quilt by Andrea Balosky

One of Andrea Balosky's quilts in the Bits and Pieces exhibit in Salem

I feel a little guilty for not blogging so much during the last couple months. It's been busy here. My mother is visiting from Maine for three weeks, and I've had a lot of quilt related activities on the calendar.  In the midst of all this activity, my friend Nyima Lhamo, aka Andrea Balosky has popped up once again - in two places. Three of her quilts are part of the Bits and Pieces Exhibit at the Bush Barn Art Center in Salem, Oregon; and several new quilts are on the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative web site.

"Piet Meets Rube" by Andrea Balosky

Pueblo, by Andrea Balosky

Two of the three quilts in the Bits and Pieces exhibit are smaller, along the lines of the doll quilts in the Small Wonders exhibit earlier this year at Latimer Quilt and Textile Center in Tillamook. The third quilt is a full-size piece, and it is really the first thing I saw when I entered the gallery. The quilt is made of simple strips and squares, but somehow creates a dazzling optical illusion, as if each of the four quadrants is bulging out toward the viewer. I don't know how she did it, but it's epic!

"Quadrille" 2011, by Andrea Balosky

Recently, I was very pleased to find NINE new quilts by Nyima (Andrea) on the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative web site. Of course, I wanted them all...and I'll be bidding when they're up for auction. The quilts are every bit as lively and exuberant as her previous work, and looking at them makes me happy. The quilts made by Balosky in 2011 are her first since she left the United States to live in the Himalayas around 2004, and with the second batch this year, it seems she's really hitting her stride. I don't think I can do them justice with words, so I'll just share some pictures of the quilts, courtesy of the AAQI web site.

"Hithertoo Squares" 2011, by Andrea Balosky

"Lost in Poem" 2011, by Andrea Balosky

"Monsoon Polka" 2011, by Andrea Balosky

"Patch 22" 2011, by Andrea Balosky

"Sudoku Serenade" 2011, by Andrea Balosky

"The Brill" 2011, by Andrea Balosky

"The Three Sisters" 2011, by Andrea Balsoky

Every time I see something she's done that I hadn't seen before, I'm blown away. The quilts at Bush Barn Art Center were made before she left the U.S., and the AAQI quilts were made in India. They are all wonderful in my opinion, and there's something enchanting about the new quilts. These are very small quilts. Most are the size of a standard piece of letter paper, yet they are packed with color, design, and movement. What started out as a chance meeting has grown into a die-hard love and appreciation for this newly rediscovered artist. I'm a big fan, and can't wait to see what she does next!