Revealing Hidden Meanings

June 2026 Blog

The Blue Bird of Happiness Takes a Holiday

New in the gallery: The Blue Bird of Happiness Takes a Holiday is modest in size, but don’t let that fool you. I got a little carried away with the hand stitching (which took nearly 30 hours). Regardless, I’m pleased with the result and I am grateful for the positive attention it has garnered on social media.

crib quilt

In addition, I took a little time away from art making to focus on a couple of practical projects, a set of placemats (a wedding gift for a cousin) and a crib quilt (for the next addition to the Stevenson clan). The wedding and the birth are still months away, but I always like to be prepared. Besides, such projects give me the opportunity to hone core skills and to cleanse my “artistic palate” in preparation for the next art project (which I assure you is well underway).

placemats and mug rugs

Exhibit Updates: I am delighted to report that Jumping Off Place won first place at the Wabash Valley Art Guild’s 46th Annual Spring Show. It will be on show for the month of June with the other ribbon winners at the First Financial Bank branch (on Spring Hill and US 41) in Terre Haute. This is a smaller show but well worth a stop, especially if you didn’t get a chance to see the Spring Show.

Jumping Off Place wins a Blue Ribbon

Bloom/Hum/Glow closes at Bank On Art Gallery in Brazil, IN on June 6 (www.bankonartgallery.com) with a sold-out benefit concert! Stop in to see it if you can.

The Expressions of Freedom exhibit at Carnegie Museum in Crawfordsville continues through July 18.

Featured Artist: Bobbi Baugh

I met this month’s Featured Artist, Bobbi Baugh, through SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) while living in Florida. In addition to creating inspiring artwork, she edits SAQA-Florida’s newsletter and is the motivating force behind their website (https://www.gallerytextileartsaqafl.com/). She also chairs their exhibition committee. I appreciate her continuing encouragement despite my departure from the Florida region.

Bobbi working in her studio

Having retired from a long career in commercial printing and graphic design, Bobbi is a self-employed artist working from her home studio in DeLand, Florida. She discovered textiles as a fine art medium in 2011 and has developed a narrative body of work focusing on the inner journey of a young girl. Using that interest in exploring what is unseen, Bobbi also creates landscapes and abstract works that give voice to what is hidden or beneath the observed natural reality in collaged paper and collaged and stitched fabric art quilts. She finds collage with hand printed fabrics to be the perfect medium for what interests her: low-tech, hands-on explorations of layers.

In her words, “My art quilts are an invitation to look beyond the surface. The surfaces are themselves interesting – comprising hand-printed monotype, screen printing, stencil, relief and resist printing. Beyond that, I use what’s printed, layered and collaged to tell stories or reveal hidden meanings.”

Recurring Dream

You can explore her work further on her website (bobbibaughstudio.com), on Facebook and Instagram (@bobbibaughart), and on her blog  (https://www.bobbibaughstudio.com/blog/2026/4/19/turn-it-over-one-more-time). Her solo show, Beyond the Surface: Symbols and Storytelling will be at the Museum of Art in DeLand, Florida, June 20 to August 16! She can be reached at bobbi@bobbibaughstudio.com.