PAM Members - Your Portfolio 19 Submissions Call is up at SAQA Website

From Martha Sielman, Executive Director:

SAQA's Portfolio, the art quilt sourcebook, is the go-to resource for galleries, museum directors, architects, interior designers, and collectors considering art quilts for their exhibitions and collections. It's a wonderful opportunity for SAQA professional artist members (PAMs) to showcase their work. Portfolio 19 will be published in both print and electronic versions, broadening the opportunities for exposure to the art world and to the public.

Eligibility

Members with PAM status as of April 1, 2012, are eligible to participate in Portfolio 19.

If you are not currently a PAM,

you can apply for PAM status before March 7.

Complete requirements and instructions for the application process are available here: http://www.saqa-pamapplications.com

Submissions

Submissions will be accepted online April 1-30, 2012. You will be asked to provide information about yourself and your piece and to upload one digital image.

SYNTHESIS II Exhibition Opens at Greenwood Gallery in Guelph

We are pleased to announce that our SAQA Central Canada Exhibition, Synthesis II, has opened at the Greenwood Gallery in Guelph. The Gallery is located in the Greenwood Quiltery, 275 Woolwich Street, Guelph. Synthesis II is a unified and dynamically diverse show, and designated as a travelling SAQA exhibition that combines the work of 16 Canadian members of Studio Art Quilt Associates. SAQA is an international organization of artists, curators, gallery owners and collectors with over 2000 members.

Each work of the Synthesis II exhibit meets the SAQA definition of an art quilt: a contemporary artwork exploring and expressing aesthetic concerns common to the whole range of visual arts: painting, printmaking, photography, graphic design, assemblage and sculpture, which retains, through materials or techniques, a clear relationship to the folk art quilt from which it descends.

The selection process for Synthesis II took place in October 2011 by jurors: Yvonne Wiegers, Artist, Professor of Visual Art at Heritage College, Ottawa, Ontario; Sharon Godwin, Director at Thunder Bay Gallery, Thunder Bay, Ontario; and Lyndal Osborne, Artist, Professor Emeritus in Department of Art and Design, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta. The twenty juried works chosen reflect a skillful integration of diverse concepts into a mixed media fusion of colours, textures, and energy. Each stands on its own as an art work and as a synthesis of the materials and thoughts of each individual artist.

Synthesis II Artists

Pamela Allen

Penny Berens

Ann Bird

Robynne Cole

Sharon Collins

Heather Dubreuil

Margaret Dunnsmore

Robin Laws Field

Marie-France Gosselin

Catharina Breedyk Law

Lynne Morin

Elaine Quehl

Mardell Rampton

B.J. Reid

Helena Sheffer

Catherine Timm

The SAQA Central Canada group piece, LAURENTIAN HILLS, created by 20 members in 2010 is also being shared with the visitors to Greenwood Gallery during this exhibition and will not travel with the Synthesis II Exhibition, yet may be seen together with Synthesis II at some Gallery locations as space allows.

Visit http://www.greenwoodquiltery.com/location for location/hours of the Shop before scheduling your visit and do take friends. The exhibition runs January 14- February 25th.

JO FITSELL MARBLING WORKSHOP IN MOUNT DORA, FLORIDA

Thinking of a short winter break and need a reason to head South at the end of this month??? Canadian SAQA Central Canada member, Jo Fitsell, will be one of four well recognized Instructors working with Foxie Artist Productions as they present a Mixed Media Art Weekend Retreat. Visit their website for more details and the listing of all three weekend retreat workshops.

January 27-29, 2012
Lakeside Inn, Mount Dora, FL

Join us for an artist retreat in beautiful Mount Dora featuring four top-notch artists from around the country. There will be three intensive workshops offered over three days. The first workshop will be offered Friday. Workshops one, two and three are intenstive two-day classes and will be held concurrently on Saturday and Sunday.

For questions about the retreat weekend, please contact Heather Earnest at heather@foxieartist.com or call 407-310-7692.       

Retreat Workshops

Workshop One: Marbling with Jo Fitsell
Friday, January 27 - 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Marbling is an ancient technique remastered and made easier by teacher, Jo Fitsell. Students will play with color by floating paints on the surface of thickened water and then picking up the paint with either fabric or paper. You will be amazed at how quickly the intense colors transfer and the pure joy of spontaneously creating! Students leave this workshop with yards of finished fabric suitable for collage, quilting or clothing. More details »

Cost: $125 per person | Click here to register
Course Registration is limited to 20 students.

O CANADA 2012 Exhibition Call to Entry posted

The International Quilt Festival has posted their Call To Entry for a special exhibit which will showcase Canadian Quilts and Quilt Artists, O CANADA 2012. The exhibition is open to Canadian quilters and you MUST live in a Canadian Province in order to be eligible for this competition. Quilts may be traditional or art quilts, and all quilts made by residents of Canada will be considered. The special exhibit will open in the IQF Cincinnati Festival location and works may travel throughout the US at IQF locations during 2012 as determined by the organization. Quilts not chosen to travel will be returned by the end of May 2012. 

You will find the Call to Entry details posted at the following website link. Please take time to have a look. Each entrant may submit a total of two entries for consideration. Delivery of the quilts must be made to Houston no later than Friday, March 16, 2012. Questions may be directed in person to Carmen Valls, Quilts Inc. Special Exhibits Coordinator at 713-781-6864.

http://callforentriesocanada.com/

Completed submissions with visuals must be received online by January 31, 2012. Quilts must be a minimum of 25" x 25", and there are special instructions in the Call to Entry for submission of your digital images and the shipping instructions and claims for Insurance values are quite specific. Please read the Call to Entry carefully.

Hoping to see many SAQA Central Canada members on the list of works chosen for this special exhibit.

Wishing all SAQA Central Canada members a creative New Year

As 2011 winds down a peaceful week for visiting friends and family, we extend a warm wish for an exciting and productive New Year to each of our SAQA Central Canada members. This has been an exciting year as members work was accepted into a number of prestigious exhibitions both in Canada and internationally. A number of you have mounted either Solo or Collaborative Shows which have been attended by many Canadians as well as visitors from the US and beyond. Congratulations to each of you. It is exciting to see that you are persevering in your goals, entering competitions and answering Calls to Entry.

In the New Year, SAQA Central Canada is very pleased to know that our SYNTHESIS II travelling exhibit will be making it's way first to Greenwood Gallery in Guelph and then on to the prestigious Homer Watson House Gallery and John M. Parrott Gallery in Belleville as the year progresses. Special thanks to each member who met the challenge to enter this Juried Show competition and congratulations to those whose work will travel and be enjoyed by many in the coming months. We so appreciate all of the work that our SYNTHESIS II Organizing Committee took on before the actual Jury process. Special thanks to Cathy Breedyk-Law and Pat Caffery, our Exhibition Curators and their teams of contributing members, as well as to Ann Bird who managed the collection of the entries and moving them out to the Jury members for their selection of the final entries that will travel over the next several years.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

SAQA Central Canada Representative, Dwayne Wanner, has organized a meeting for the SAQA Western Ontario Group to be held on January 25, 2012 at the home of member, Barbara Chapman in Oakville. The meeting is scheduled from 1:00 to 3:00 pm and luncheon will be a sandwich buffet. Members are asked to arrive at Barbara's home at 2296 Hixon Street, between Bronson and Third Line between 11:30 am and 12 noon. Please RSVP your plan to attend this meeting to Dwayne at dwanner@sympatico.ca ASAP. A separate email will be sent to the Western Ontario Group which will include the Agenda. Please watch your email Inbox this weekend.

Eastern Ontario Group News

Our Regional Meeting on November 29th was attended by sixteen members and guests. Discussion centred around the ongoing work of the Synthesis II Committee and planning for the new year, including encouragement of members to take advantage of all of the many benefits of their membership in SAQA. We are pleased to welcome our new SAQA Eastern Ontario Group members including Joanne Batchelor  and four members Mary Andrews Minigan, Nancy Gall, Janine Gates and Diana Hogan who joined SAQA after attending the November 29th meeting.


National SAQA Board of Directors member, Mary Pal, shared greetings from the Board and news of the upcoming IDENTITY: Context and Reflection Joint Conference of SAQA/SDA in Philadelphia, PA in March of 2012. Several members have registered and plan to take in not only the three day conference March 30-April 1st, but attend the three-day courses with renowned International Instructors as well. There is still time to register for the conference and courses. Please visit the SAQA website for the links and information.

We look forward to seeing many of you at our Regional Meetings, as you enter your new work to the many SAQA Exhibitions and as a goal, upgrade your membership to PAM Status and become eligible for inclusion in the Annual Portfolio of SAQA artists' work. Please invite a friend or colleague to attend the next Regional Meeting with you and  do share the many rewards of SAQA membership with friends and colleagues.

Best wishes to each of our SAQA Central Canada members and to your family for a wonderful 2012.

Two Fibre Artists at the Tay Gallery's Christmas Exhibit

Two fibre artists, Karen Goetzinger and Lynne Morin, are featured at the Tay Gallery in Kanata.

Merry Medley, the Holiday show runs until December 24th with many small paintings from gallery and guest artists on display.

Paintings of all sizes perfect for a lasting and unique gift with soul. Visit the gallery Monday – Saturday 10 – 6 p.m. Thursdays 10 – 7 p.m. Sundays by chance or appointment in December.

Artists displaying paintings include Karen Goetzinger, Keith Burnett, Sharon Fox Cranston, Tricia Savoie, Martha Markowsky, Lynne Morin, Marshal, J.G. Morin, John Hiscock, John Day, Deborah Czernecky, Maureen Sheridan, Michel Pleau, J. Allison Robichaud, John Mlacak, Larry Deacon, Lorena Ziraldo, Marianna Mikhaylyan, Guy Cranston, Charles Spratt, Terry Ananny, Stephen Rothwell, Kathy Haycock.

Tay Gallery will be closed the week following Christmas from Dec 25 - Dec. 31st
Online ordering on our Online store on the website is available throughout December. Order directly through the store or contact us by email with any questions.
Have a safe and peaceful holiday.
taygallerykanata.com

All the best from Lisa, Dave and Paul.

Quilts of Denmark - and Workshops - in Ailsa Craig in May

This year, the Ailsa Craig Community Quilt Festival plays host to Quilts of Denmark from May 1st to 5th, 2012. There will be 16 Danish quilters, 100-plus quilts and, we hope, many visitors.  We are at the moment travelling the province doing trunk shows with 8 Danish quilts and samples of the workshops that are being taught.  I have, in fact, had one workshop completely sell out, and we still have at least another 20 trunk shows to go!

We will have 4 Danish teachers, Charlotte Yde, Lisbet Borrgreen, Bettina Andersen and Karin Ostergaard.  All details of the workshops offered can be found on our website.  The cost of all the workshops is $95 plus HST and we have one evening class which is $60 plus HST.

Ailsa Craig is about an hour northwest of London.

I would love to welcome any SAQA member who would like to come, and if anyone would like to volunteer to be a Quilt Angel, we would be delighted to have you. It is Jane's and my wish that the Angels are quilters who understand how to handle quilts and we will not be handing out out white gloves to the general public.

We will be arranging a quilt airing in the town the Sunday before the show opens, and a pot luck supper that evening; all are welcome. There will also be a closing banquet on May 5th after the show closes.

I think that's it! If any further info is needed, please do not hesitate to contact me directly by email or through the website.

Lynne Morin's works in "Collectibles"

Five works of Lynne Morin have been juried into the Ottawa Art Gallery's exhibit "Collectibles"

The piece shown above is called Exploring.

The opening reception will occur on the evening of Thursday December 1st, at 6:30pm – along with all other Ottawa Art Gallery openings (Contemporary and Firestone Collections), at 2 Daly Ave, Ottawa. It’s going to be a large but great crowd.

The event can be found on the Ottawa Art Gallery’s Facebook page or by the following link:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Ottawa-Art-Gallery-La-Galerie-dart-dOttawa/6895648041#!/event.php?eid=179823358771071