MVUUF Chalicelight Gallery

The walls of the sanctuary of Miami Valley UU Fellowship offer space to display 2-dimensional art by local artists, both members of the Fellowship and from the community at large. There are approximately ten exhibits each year, rotating among photography, paintings in various media, and fabric art. The art provides a colorful and dynamic addition to the worship experience. The Fellowship receives a small commission on any work sold. We are always looking for artists to display their work.

The current artist:

Cathy Jeffers is an artist and teacher. She currently works for Dayton Public Schools teaching art to emotionally disturbed children and at Wright State University where she is an adjunct professor working with future elementary school teachers to give them the basics of art education philosophy, techniques and hands-on experiences. She also teaches art quilting. This combination is a lot of fun and keeps her busy.

In 2003, Cathy made her first quilt and entered into a competition for the Wright Brother’s celebration of flight. “I added a lot of bits of mechanical pieces and hardware.

It was huge and there was a lot of symbolism about Dayton in it.” It was so far from the rest of the quilts, they were delighted to give it back to me at the end of the exhibition.

I entered the same quilt in another show the same summer and got an Honorable Mention. Many quilts later, and many bits of this and that and many layers I discovered “my style” and have basically stayed with it.

I made it my goals to have one of my quilts shown in every state. Florida, Ohio, Texas, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Oregon, Kentucky and Arizona are but a few on the list. However, the biggest thrill was to be selected to be in Quilt National in May of 2009.

Quilt National is one of the oldest and most selective International quilt shows. Of the 1,200 quilts entered, about 85 were selected. My quilt, The Artist and the Mermaid is now on tour until 2011.

As I present this exhibition at the UU… I was thinking about my friend Cindi Remm a church member and Diane Dover who became a friend by way of her son Andrew. We have certainly enjoyed sharing our stitching stories and creativity together!

The focus of this show is about the many people with whom I have actually met, imagined or would like to know. I have a fondness for strong women, especially those with the ability to fly. (My dream in life!) A beautiful sunset and the animals that bring me joy. My urban series often includes architectural based abstractions from the guts of the urban environment.

I am an artist, still much like a child in love of color, layering fabric and asking why NOT? If it seems to work, I do it and I don’t really follow the rules. I want my quilts to seem powerful and whimsical at the same time and have the viewer looking deeply for little bits of the story outside of what appears to be the real subject. For more on Cathy please visit her website at: www.cathyjeffers.com or contact her at artworks1111@sbcglobal.net.