Aminah Robinson Exhibit at the Springfield Museum of Art

"Along Water Street" is a collection of work by Columbus (Ohio) artist Aminah Robinson. Most of the works are paintings with facials and hand details drawn in. As a quilter what I find fascinating is the way Aminah uses fabric glued to the painting for the clothing the people wear. Because her works are fairly large, she's pieced several pieces of paper together by sewing them with buttons. They have a function but are also artistic.

There is one quilt in the exhibit, although it is really more than one quilt, it's a piece that is a "RagGanNon" (because it keeps ragging on and on). The title of this piece is "Water Street (The Legend of Chipo Village)" and it's 60 feet wide. It is impressive to see it all at once. There are thousands of buttons of all colors and shapes.

The exhibit is currently at the Springfield Museum of Art, a real treasure located in Springfield, Ohio. It runs until Nov. 28, 2009. The museum, located at 107 Cliff Park Road is open Tues.-Sat. from 9 am until 5 pm and Sun. 12:30-4:30 pm. Admission is free on Sundays and $5 for non-members on the other days. Aminah will be at the museum on Sat. Nov. 8 from 2-4 pm.

Also on exhibit at the museum is Gretchen Cochran's "Bounty or Burden" whose colorful, giant basket-type figures represent women in Africa who have to carry items on their heads and Gretchen is exploring the concept of whether what they carry is a bounty or a burden. The pieces are so animated I almost expect them to start moving around the museum. This exhibit will be up until March 7, 2010.

If you're in the area, I highly recommend checking out both exhibits.