Owls and Antlers…Wisdom and Strength
Artist Statement
It seems odd to give Thanks for a heart-attack..but that is what I do.
Standing in the studio, suddenly hit with the worst pain of this lifetime I was drenched in sweat and for some reason I knew immediately what it was and I laid my body down on the cold floor of the studio and steadied my breath.
Realizing that I had to get help quickly I slowly slid my body towards the studio door and called for Richard who was still out on the porch.
He heard me and I said, ‘’Please call the ambulance at Highlander Point , I am having a heart-attack.” ..In less than five minutes they were here!
As I lay on the floor I felt little or no fear..the overwhelming experience was one of Gratitude for this long Life, for Family and friends, for Art and Yoga.
This group of quilts made during this period are echoes of what helps us deal with Life..Wisdom and Strength.
In no way do I claim to have mastered either of them, but like all of us I do consciously strive to grow closer as this Lifetime winds down.
Exhibit Runs: October 11th – November 27th
Exhibit Dates and Hours:
Friday, October 11 – Opening Reception – 6:30 pm
Monday October 14 – 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Tuesday, October 15 – 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Wednesday, October 16, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Wednesday, October 23, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Monday, October 28, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Tuesday, October 29, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Wednesday, October 30, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Wednesday, November 6, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Thursday, November 7, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Monday, November 11, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Tuesday, November 12, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Wednesday, November 20, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Sunday, November 24, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Monday, November 25, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Tuesday, November 26, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Wednesday, November 27, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Place: St. Anthony Hall
Mount Saint Francis Center for Spirituality
101 St. Anthony Dr.
Mount Saint Francis, IN 47146
Meet The Artist
Penny Sisto
Penny Sisto is an internationally recognized artist who has exhibited throughout the United States and abroad. International presentations of her work include the exhibition of a grouping of Holocaust quilts at the Gatehouse of Auschwitz, and a selection of her slavery series quilts displayed at the Royal Armories Museum in Leeds, England, in 2008. She has won numerous awards and honors for her artwork and has been the subject of two public television programs. An advocate for social justice and peace, she is known for the difficult subjects, such as AIDS, poverty and racism, that she addresses in her works.
Born in the Orkney Islands off the northern tip of Scotland, Sisto began learning how to sew at age three. As an adult, she worked for the British Ministry of Overseas Development, utilizing her skills as a midwife to aid in health clinics for the Maasai, LuBukusu and Kikuyu tribes of East Africa. Her time in Africa inspired her to combine the quilting, embroidery and appliqué techniques she learned from her grandmother with the beading and collage methods of her African friends, resulting in the distinctive style seen in her work today.
Penny Sisto has received many commissions for quilts, including four works at the Abbey of Gethsemane, where a 28×9’ quilt entitled Risen Christ hangs at each Easter season and for funeral services. Some of the other collections containing Sisto’s works include: Sisters of Charity, Sisters of Loretto, Thomas Merton International Studies Center, Spalding University, Kennedy Family and the Peabody Essex Museum in Massachusetts. Selected grants that Penny Sisto has received include: Kentucky Foundation for Women, Indiana Arts Commission, Master Fellowship and New Directions and Southern Arts. In 1993, she was awarded a Baha’i Peace Award for Arts Promoting World Peace because of her promotion of peace and justice through her work.
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