Traveling quilt show extended through March at Sequim Museum

By Matthew Nash • February 21, 2024 1:30 am
Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash “Against all Odds: Abandonment to Olympian, A Tribute to Joe Rantz” by Catherine Bilyard is one of 41 quilts on display in Sequim Museum & Arts through the end of March as part of the “Inspiration/Exploration” exhibit.
Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash “Against all Odds: Abandonment to Olympian, A Tribute to Joe Rantz” by Catherine Bilyard is one of 41 quilts on display in Sequim Museum & Arts through the end of March as part of the “Inspiration/Exploration” exhibit.

Sequim Museum & Arts, 544 N. Sequim Ave., continues through March to be a stop for the “Inspiration/Exploration” juried exhibit by the Washington State Region of Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc. (SAQA).

Visitors from 10 different states viewed the 41 art quilts in the “Judith McInnes Tozzer Art Gallery” in recent weeks, museum leaders said.

One of the highlighted pieces is “Against all Odds: Abandonment to Olympian, A Tribute to Joe Rantz” by Catherine Bilyard of Kennewick.

She based the quilt on Rantz, a former Sequim resident, who survived abandonment, the Great Depression and was a key member of the University of Washington’s 1936 rowing team that won the gold medal in rowing in Germany.

“My heart was deeply touched by Joe’s story so much, I felt I needed to create a piece that told his story of resiliency and redemption,” she wrote of the quilt.

Sequim Museum & Arts is open 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, and on First Fridays from 5-8 p.m. For more information, call 360-681-2257.

For the juried exhibit, quilters were asked to identify the inspirational qualities of Washington and then explore that inspiration in their artwork. For more information, visit saqa.com.

Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash “Against all Odds: Abandonment to Olympian, A Tribute to Joe Rantz” by Catherine Bilyard is one of 41 quilts on display in Sequim Museum & Arts through the end of March as part of the “Inspiration/Exploration” exhibit.

Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash “Against all Odds: Abandonment to Olympian, A Tribute to Joe Rantz” by Catherine Bilyard is one of 41 quilts on display in Sequim Museum & Arts through the end of March as part of the “Inspiration/Exploration” exhibit.

Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash “Against all Odds: Abandonment to Olympian, A Tribute to Joe Rantz” by Catherine Bilyard is one of 41 quilts on display in Sequim Museum & Arts through the end of March as part of the “Inspiration/Exploration” exhibit.

Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash “Against all Odds: Abandonment to Olympian, A Tribute to Joe Rantz” by Catherine Bilyard is one of 41 quilts on display in Sequim Museum & Arts through the end of March as part of the “Inspiration/Exploration” exhibit.