Helen and Peter Rosenblum shared what they learned when visiting the South Pacific island of New Guinea.
The community rooms at Ariel, the 18-story high rise building at The Landings, are well used by the residents. Weekly gatherings in the Library and Card Room attract players who enjoy bridge and Rummikub. The room also is used for a monthly Book Club in season and special events, such as plant clinics, are held periodically too.
The most recent special event organized by the Ariel Library Committee was a travelogue, courtesy of world travelers Helen and Peter Rosenblum. When they travel, they stay long enough to embrace and learn about the culture, food and habits of the country they’re visiting. This slideshow focused on New Guinea, the world’s second-largest island. Located in the South Pacific, it is south of the equator and north of Australia. The island also is home to the third-largest rainforest in the world. Sharing their adventures allowed the audience to learn about an important, but not often visited, part of the world. The slides were projected onto a large screen. In the photo below, a reflection of that slide can be seen in the upper right-hand corner.
Prize Winner in our Midst
Judy Kennedy, a resident at Ariel since 2015, scored two big wins at the Southwest Florida Quilters Guild Show, held at the Charlotte Harbor Event & Conference Center on February 27-28. This biennial event was judged this year by Maribeth Schmit, a quilting instructor, author and National Quilting Association Certified Quilt Judge. The judge’s expertise has provided the opportunity to travel throughout the United States, Asia and Europe. Her art quilts have been exhibited in museums, national shows, and fine art galleries.
More than 1,000 quilts of different types were on display at the conference center. Of those, 277 were entered in various categories for formal judging.
Judge Schmit awarded third place to Judy’s intricate wall hanging “Wild Horses”, featuring a pair of horses. The number of pieces of fabric that were chosen, cut out, then stitched together to make this artwork is astounding. And seven years ago, when Judy began quilting, she couldn’t operate a sewing machine!
Judy also received an honorable mention for a larger art piece, titled “Lady in Gold”, a work very reminiscent of Gustav Klimt’s masterful painting of the same name. Klimt’s painting most recently sold for $135 million dollars. Yet he didn’t have to cut out then meticulously stitch together very small pieces of fabric to create his art. While Judy’s quilted hanging probably wouldn’t match that price, it is gorgeous.
