San Diego Dream'n at the Del

~ An original hand-crafted art quilt to be auctioned at the Good Samaritan Auction Dinner and Fundraiser

Artists: Mary West and Kim McKee -- “San Diego Dream’n at the Del”

Machine Quilted by machine quilt artist Robin Ruiz


Artists Mary West and Kim McKee have joined forces to create an original contemporary art quilt that pays homage to the culture and beauty of San Diego and the Hotel Del Coronado.  Where else in San Diego captures the excitement and charm or our amazing city more than the Hotel Del? Inspiration came from the theme “Under the Sea.”  Kim in particular has a passion for deep blues and the idea of incorporating the majesty of the Del with the beauty of the San Diego water and wildlife.

ARTISTS: Kim McKee specializes in intricate cross stitch, quilting, sewing, hand crafts and painting. As a young child Kim was in a tragic car accident with her family which left her with only partial mobility on her right side and various neurological and physical challenges that she has dealt with from that point forward. Despite life’s challenges, Kim has gone on to be an extremely accomplished and independent woman. Mary West originally from Los Angeles, has lived in San Diego for over 25 years with her husband.  Mary is an extremely accomplished in painting, quilting, hand crafts, and ballroom dancing. The two originally met volunteering at Momma’s Kitchen in Downtown San Diego, where they became fast friends.  The two have collaborated on a multitude of projects over the years.

METHOD: The pair have developed a successful way of working together that enables Kim to have great interaction and creative design in spite of limited mobility; Mary does all the cutting, Kim the drawing, both take turns ironing and giving creative input. The majority of the fabrics are batiks; cloth that is traditionally made using a manual wax-resist dyeing technique. The quilt design is NOT from a kit but rather hand drawn.  The image of the Hotel Del was created by projecting an image up onto a large wall and then hand tracing the pattern onto the fabric.  Texture and depth were created by both layering fabrics of different design and hand painting pieces until the desired effect was captured.

The piece features sea creatures from off the coast of southern California; harbor seal, dolphins, crab, garibaldi, and a lobster. The piece also incorporates the famous kelp beds that played a great part of San Diego history and industry.

The project has been in the works for over twelve months. The total amount for supplies alone has cost above $500.  The total of man- hours is well over 144 hours.  If you one were making minimum wage that would equal $1,152 in labor costs alone.

The machine quilting was created by Robin Gammel by using a long handle quilting machine.  She changed the thread color to either match or contrast the area that she is working on. For example, the stitching on the water will be in the pattern of the movement of the sea.  The stitch length is regulated by the speed at which she moves and manipulates the machine (this is extremely uncommon these days.)

Love of Light

by Beth Dugan 

Why would I donate a piece of art that I love dearly to an auction to be held at Good Sam at the end of this month?  Partly because it is too beautiful to hang on walls anywhere in my condo—there is not enough light on any wall in any room to display the fine quality that defines rays pouring from behind a dark cloud through a wave breaking on a Hawaiian beach.
My own vision is of the sun breaking through after a storm is over, but the artist, Scott Munzig, titled it GATHERING STORM. When I first saw the picture hanging inside a gallery as I passed the store’s open door, I was struck by a quality of light that seemed to emanate from the picture itself, filling their space, inviting me inside.  Returning home I asked my husband Russell about buying it, but he wasn’t interested in having a seascape such as I described.

Passing by the gallery again the next week, and struck once more by the depiction of light by the artist, I decided to buy it anyhow if I could get it for half of the $4,000 quoted price. The gallery owner and I then tried hanging it, but it didn’t show well anywhere in my home.  I hung it in a corner where I hoped Russell, might not notice it—a darker corner than any other wall.   I still loved my painting, but it really didn’t show well there. During the next seven months while my husband remained away, working on the east coast, I totally enjoyed my purchase.  I also appreciated the excitement of hoping that Russell would accept it.  He didn’t.  But like parenting a difficult child or caring for an ill and grumpy parent, once the beauty that is possible has been experienced, it is always present in our mind’s eye.

When my daughter came with me to the church office to deliver the painting, we showed it to Kieu who received it.  Standing there together under the skylight in the office, the image was brilliant and stunning.  My daughter was amazed—she had never seen the painting’s beauty when it hung in my home.  She exclaimed, “Now I can see why you love it!"

I hope that through the auction this image will find a loving and well-lighted home.  I myself know that love is eternal, people change, and circumstances change, but the memory of all  love endures forever even after separation.