Encouraging words about Synthesis I

Margaret Blank's SAQA YouTube video has some very complimentary things to say about Synthesis I and provides a tour of her studio and commentary on the value of participating in the Visioning Group (anyone may join at any time).  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppj2JaiKcIg

Send Your Work Out There in the World

A propos of our discussion at the last Parlour meeting, here is an opportunity for you to send a small sampling of what you do out there into the universe. Guaranteed acceptance! How can you not? It should be in the mail by mid-January to arrive in California by January 21st.


Help promote the art quilt

Something YOU can do to help promote the art quilt as art is to create an outstanding piece for the 2011-12 SAQA trunk show entitled "THIS is a Quilt." Why should you do this?

1. It's a teaching tool. The trunks can be mailed to any group wanting to exhibit the variety of quilts made by SAQA members. This includes not only SAQA regional groups but also regular art groups and quilt guilds. We will be including suggestions for a variety of art critique exercises that groups can do to learn about art quilts and have fun with the pieces.

2. 50 of the pieces will be donated to the Kresge Art Museum at Michigan State University to become part of their permanent collection.The pieces will be selected by fine art gallery owner Michael Solomon of Solomon-Dubnick Gallery.

3. If you are unable to create a piece, would you be willing spread the word by hosting a viewing party to create a larger audience for the art quilt?

We hope you will consider helping SAQA educate the outside world. You can find the prospectus at 

http://www.saqa.com/media/file/ProspectusTrunkShow2011.pdf

Heather Dubreuil in "Small Pieces" show

Heather Dubreuil is pleased to be included in the "Small Pieces" show at her local gallery, À Temps Perdu, 76 Cameron, Hudson, QC.

The show continues until January 24, 2011. Hours will vary over the holiday, so please call ahead, 450-458-1458.

Mary Pal's work featured in Quilting Arts

Mary's work is featured in the December/January 2011 issue of Quilting Arts magazine.

Joyce Seagram's Show at the Dignam Gallery, Women's Art Association

Of her show at the Dignam Gallery, November 5 to 25, Joyce writes,"It was a great room in which to show my work, and the whole affair turned out to be very successful."  Congratulations, Joyce!

Pamela Allen's Work Highlighted in a Blog Post

There is a delightful piece of Pamela's, "Can't Piece Geese - Can Do a Loose Goose," depicted and described on SAQA member Del Thomas's blog today:
http://www.delquilts.blogspot.com/

An Invitation - No Rules, No fees, No limits

The Lanark County Quilters Guild invites regional SAQA members to submit a piece of their favourite fibre art for a special display at the guild’s show, Quilts on the Tay, 2011.  Our theme for the show is Tradition/Innovation and we can’t think of a better way to showcase the latest innovations in art quilting than to highlight the work of SAQA members.

There are no rules, no limits, no fees, no jury.   Our venue is large and flexible enough to accommodate a range of work.  The first 30 entries received are guaranteed hanging space.

While this is not an official SAQA event, the work will be displayed as a group in a prominent area of the show, and highlighted in our advertising.

Quilts on the Tay, 2011 will be held at St. John Catholic High School, Perth, August 12-14, 2011.

For an entry form, contact Helga Zimmerly:  helgazim@arctickayaks.com

BJ Reid's work in Oshawa Fibre Art Show

Hi Everyone,

The Oshawa Fibre Art Show 2010 is starting November 20 and I wanted to make sure you all knew about it. It's a wonderful show and I'm very proud to part of it again this year.

I hope you can make it.

November 20 - December 5

10 am - 5 pm  

Free admission

Meet the Artists reception Saturday, December 4, 7-9 pm

Centennial Retirement residence - 259 Hillcroft St at Ritson Rd, Oshawa

Summary of Nov. 24 Parlour Meeting

What a meeting!  Groundbreaking and exciting!

Thanks to our new member Dwayne Wanner, we took a giant leap into the world of modern technology and provided a live feed for members in Toronto and environs so they could watch and listen from the comfort of their homes as the meeting unfolded. Plans are already underway to use a surface mount microphone at our February meeting so listeners can easily hear the group's discussion. And we will extend an invitation to all our members to log in and join us this way.  The only downside was the lunch break when participants were savouring all the delicious dishes and out-of-towners could only listen in with envy. :)

We covered Topic 6 of Alyson Stanfield's Artist's Marketing Plan: Assess and Improve Your Exhibition and Sales Opportunities.  If you would like to have the materials, contact Karen to obtain a password and you can retrieve them from the Art Biz blog.  (In February we will cover Topic 7: Promote Yourself and Your Work. Gather together all your promotional materials and printing sources to share or names of software you use and prepare to take lots of notes!)

Then curators Pat Caffery and Cathy Breedyk-Law presented an update on Synthesis II, which was tremendously exciting.  Updates will be posted regularly on our special Synthesis II page on this blog, and today's information will be posted there this weekend. The call for entry will be posted officially in January, but they know you are keen to hear the details, so stay tuned.

Information about how to photograph your work was exchanged, ranging from settings on digital cameras to hiring a professional photographer. Quick glimpses of Artist's Butler (software for keeping an inventory of your work, resume, mailing list, etc.), a tour of our blog and discussion of Calls for Entry, and a look at SAQA-U followed.

There's a new page on our blog called "Recommendations."  If you read a good book, try a new product, or have anything you would like to recommend to our members, this is the place to post it.  First entry is a book review.  Enjoy!

Wendy Feldberg's work at Diagonale in Montreal

Wendy writes: The textile art association "Diagonale" (Montreal-based) of which I am now a member is running their annual silent auction fundraiser - see below.

If you will be in the area, or are curious about the vibrant Montreal textile art scene, check Diagonale out online and/or drop by from Nov 27 - Dec 5 at their gallery.  They figured prominently in last year's spring festival, Le Mois de la fibre (Fibre Art Month). 

Many of the Diagonale members have shown work at the Montreal Centre for Contemporary Textiles which is located nearby.

  

Meantime you can check out the Diagonale auction pics on Flickr, below.

DIAGONALE


5455, rue de Gaspé espace 203


Montréal (Québec)


H2T 3B3 CANADA

514 524 6645

http://www.flickr.com/photos/diagonale_gris/sets/72157625370296250/?page=2

Wabi Sabi textile exhibit

Until January 4th, 2011, 10 textile artists from the Ottawa group, Out of the Box, including some of our regional SAQA members: Marie-France Gosselin, Bev Hastings, Meredith Filshie, Lynne Morin, and Pat Hardie, are having an exhibit at Wabi Sabi, Ottawa's unique destination for knitting, spinning and weaving. The store is located at 1078 Wellington Street in Ottawa.

On Tuesday, November 30th, an open house will be held,  between 3 and 5 pm.  Come for a cup of tea and cookies, see the exhibit, meet some of the artists and visit the store.

Karen Goetzinger at Great Big Smalls

Cube Gallery

Great Big Smalls VI

Opening reception Dec 2  -  6 -11 pm

This is a seasonal group art show, this year featuring nearly 60 artists 

and 300 works of art.

the cube gallery
1285 Wellington W
Ottawa, Ontario
K1Y 3A8 
613.728.2111

Upcoming Parlour Meeting - Nov. 25th

Date: Thursday, November 25th

Time: 10:30 am - 2:00 pm

Place: Cathy Breedyk Law's in Perth, ON

On the agenda:

• 10:00 am - 10:30 - Mingling and Creative Buffet
• 10:30 - Intro's and Member News
• Exhibiting and Selling Your Work - based on Alyson Stanfield's Marketing Salon
• Update on our Regional Show - Synthesis II
• Potluck Lunch (please bring a card to place by your dish if it contains garlic, wheat or nuts)
• Hiring a Professional Photographer to Shoot Your Work - personal experiences shared
• Artist's Butler Demo

As ever, please email our gracious hostess, Cathy (catelaw@ripnet.com) if you will be attending, so we are sure we have room for everyone.

Hope to see you there!

Mary & Lynne

Have Your Work Critiqued

Sandra Sider, our new SAQA President, has established a presidential mission of encouraging SAQA groups worldwide to organize critique sessions, focusing on the aesthetics of our art form. You may not be aware that she and Lisa Chipetine provide a free online critique service at www.QuiltCritique.com where you may submit images of works in progress.  Artists are anonymous in the online critiques. We encourage you to give it a try!

Karen Goetzinger's work at Katie Gingrass Gallery

A Gap in the Traffic

Six works by Karen Goetzinger are currently being exhibited at the Katie Gingrass Gallery in Milwaukee, WI through December 31. The show, Urbane: Portrait of a City features works that celebrate the beauty of cityscapes.
A slide show of images is available on the gallery website.

Stephen Lewis Foundation Benefit

Members of the Westmount Quilters Guild are donating art quilts to the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign of the Stephen Lewis Foundation. Proceeds from all sales "provide grandmothers (community-level organizations in 15 sub-Saharan African countries) with much needed support, such as food, housing grants, school fees for their grandchildren and grief counselling."  http://www.stephenlewisfoundation.org/grandmothers.htm

At left is the work "Hunter Star" that Elizabeth Sacca is donating, and below is the invitation to the Vernissage -    6 pm Wednesday Nov 10th, and exhibit through   December 4th. Please bring your friends. 

Invitation to Joyce Seagram's Opening Reception

Seagram - Large Two In. Squares - 54 x 64"

You are all invited to the opening reception of Quilt Art at the Dignam Gallery in Toronto:

November 5, 2010

5:00 - 9:00 pm

Dignam Gallery 

Women's Art Association of Canada

23 Prince Arthur Avenue

Toronto, ON

Her work can also be viewed on November 6 from 10 am to 6 pm.

Helena Scheffer featured in IQA Journal

"Origins" by Scheffer & Perrault

Fantastic news - Helena Scheffer is the featured in the "International Spotlight" of the Fall 2010 issue of the IQA Journal.  The link is here - scroll down to page 18.  Congratulations on this honour, Helena!

Judith Martin's Work Juried into Quilt National!

Our enthusiastic congratulations to Judith Martin, whose quilt "Cross My Heart," has been juried into Quilt National - a biennial international juried exhibition of contemporary innovative quilts. Way to go, Judith!

Robin Laws Field Exhibition in Kingston

Fibre Art Retreat

Cathy Breedyk Law and Pat Lemaire have sent along this information about a retreat they are offering.  Please email Cathy for a registration form.

ART WITH

       Loose Threads
                

 

Catharina Breedyk-Law    Pat Lemaire        Wendo Van Essen

JOIN US FOR OUR  FIBRE ART RETREAT

at the Opinicon  Hotel  Resort,  Chaffey’s Locks         www.theopiniconresorthotel.com

Oct 29-31, 2009

$395 double or $445 single.

                                Exploring Natural Elements with Fibre

double needle bobbin work          silk screening          couching          quilting to create texture            

        free motion          hand beading          wire work          wash away          needle felting

Kits will be available for an additional fee

        Contact Pat, Cathy or Wendo for more details

       

V.B Simkins Sewing Machines will be on hand to tune up your machines

                      "WISHING WON’T MAKE IT SEW ..........WE  WILL !!!!

Laurentian Foothills Update

Laurentian Foothills

Mary Pal submitted an article to the SAQA Journal describing the process of creating our group quilt, and it has been published in the Fall issue.  You can read it online by going to SAQA-U and after you have signed in, at the bottom of the left-hand side menu, you will see "SAQA Journal - Back Issues."  Or you can wait for the hard copy, sure to be in your mailboxes very soon.

If you missed the full story, go back in our Archives to the Feb. 21 post.

Our fame is spreading.  Bethany Garner noted that Ellen Lindner's blog has a discussion of fractured quilts and ours is one of the examples she cites.

Synthesis II

It's time to begin organizing a follow-up to our very successful first show, Synthesis, organized by Karen Goetzinger.  The hope is that we will again be able to organize a list of venues across the country, so work must begin now if we wish to have a show for 2012 or 2013.

Members who attended the Parlour Meeting on Sept. 23 were so enthused, they began signing up right away, but there are still 12 openings.  Please peruse the volunteer descriptions available here. 


The chart below will be updated as members email Mary where they would like to help out.

Curatorial Staff	Pat Caffery	Cathy Breedyk Law	Helga Zimmerly (will assist)	Elizabeth Sacca (will assist)
Call for Entry	Shirley White	Margaret Dunsmore
Jury Liaison	Ann Bird	Judith Popiel
Venues	Ditte Cloutier	Elizabeth Sacca	Bethany Garner
Marketing	Elaine Quehl	Catherine Timm	Heather Dubreuil
Packing/Shipping	Sharon Collins
Karen Goetzinger: Consultant    Mary Pal: Treasurer

Parlour Meeting Summary

     We had a great turnout at Cathy's lovely studio in Perth on Sept. 23rd.
     After mingling and enjoying the Creative Buffet of extraordinary art works, the group introduced themselves and highlighted any recent news.  Then Mary discussed the results of the regional survey, including the fact that there is a split in the group - some members would like to have opportunities to learn surface design techniques.  many opportunities for workshops exist outside of SAQA, although Mary pointed out that individual members are encouraged to get together for technique days - she would be happy to advertise these on the blog, so that smaller groups could get together to experiment with any number of surface design techniques.  The survey discussion culminated with the questions surrounding the possibility of a regional exhibition.  Interestingly, 98% of members are in favour of a juried group show; only 31% are interested in volunteering to organize such a show. Karen outlined the duties (coming soon in a separate post) and members began signing up.
     Lynne gave a presentation explaining the importance of knowing your collectors, based on Alyson Stanfield's marketing salon.  The group discussed Calls for Entry, and several members extolled the virtues of subscribing to http://fiberartcalls.blogspot.com/ whereby you receive email notices about fibre-related calls. A technical glitch prevented us from viewing a demo of Artist's Butler, but a free download is available at http://www.lynnsoft.net/ so you can enter 10 works of art to see how it works, and if you like it, it's only $30. Mary brought a sample of a giclee of a piece of fibre art which she had done at Proulx Bros in Ottawa.
     Next parlour meeting will be some time in November.

Phillida Hargreaves - Studio Open House

Phillida Hargreaves is joining three other artists for a studio open house the week-end after Thanksgiving. She has new tree pieces to show off. Please do drop in to say 'hi.'

September - Members' News

Hardie: From Town to Country

From Pat Hardie:  My artquilt, From Town to Country, will be part of this year's International Quilt Festival in Houston as part of the 500 Artquilts special exhibit. The annual Merrickville Artists' Guild Studio Tour is this weekend and next - Sept.25-26 & Oct.2-3. Tour brochures are available from  the Guild's website at http://www.merrickvilleartists.com/.


From Elaine Quehl:  Two of my pieces, "Forgiveness" and "Losses 2" have been juried into "Art Quilts XV:Needleplay" at the Chandler Center for the Arts, Chandler, Arizona.  "In the Act" has been juried into Quilts=Art=Quilts at the Schweinfurth Memorial Art Centre, Auburn, NY.  I have been selected to be one of the featured artists in "Art Quilt Portfolio: The Natural World", a new book by Lark Books, edited by Martha Sielman, to be released 2012.


Jean Gerster has also had a piece accepted into Quilts=Art=Quilts.  Congratulations, Jean!

SAQA Benefit Auction Begins Monday at 2pm EST

On September 20th at 2:00 pm Eastern, the first group of 12 x 12 art quilts will go up for bid.
Since so many art quilts were donated by our generous members, SAQA will organize the auction in 3 stages:

• The artwork on Pages 1a and 1b will begin their Auction on Sept. 20th,
• Artwork on pages 2a and 2b will be auctioned starting on Sept. 27th
• and artwork on pages 3a and 3b will begin on October 4th.

The opening bid price is $750. Prices will decline over the days, but don't wait too long to bid on your favourite - the longer you wait, the greater chance someone else will grab it!
You do NOT have to be a SAQA member to bid on these beautiful quilts!
Check out our running slideshow (top right of this page), previewing over 280 fine art quilts. Anyone and everyone may view the auction quilts on SAQA's public website and place a bid. Take a look, pick your favourites and make a note of what day they will open for bidding.
You can read more here about how the Auction works.
We hope that you'll join in the fun bidding on great art quilts for your collection and support SAQA's exhibitions, publications, and outreach programs.
Thank you

Our Synthesis show

Hi All,

I wanted to share with you the email I received from FibreWorks Gallery yesterday. It is the last stop for Synthesis.
              Hi Karen

The Synthesis" exhibit was enjoyed by many - 1036 gallery visitors viewed the beautiful textiles. I am now packing up the remaining works, and am enclosing a return inventory with the shipment, along with photocopies of the comments pages of our guest book relating to the exhibition.  We sold Pamela Allen’s “Anniversary Couple”.  

Thank you for the opportunity to exhibit SAQA members' wonderful work – very best wishes to all of your members.

Yvonne Stowell

FibreWorks Studio & Gallery

As soon as I receive the box containing the remaining pieces (some were already picked up) I will get them repackaged and sent back to you. Those of you in the Ottawa Valley area, if you can pick them up from me that would be very helpful as our funds are getting low and it would save on postage. If I receive them in time for the Sept 23 SAQA meeting in Perth, I will bring them along then.

Congratulations to Pamela on the sale of her work, "Anniversary Couple!!"  That is good news for all of us!

Thank you all so much for entering this show two years ago. Thank you for allowing your pieces to travel throughout Canada for two years. Wherever Synthesis was exhibited, it brought many good comments and a new awareness of textiles as an art medium and that is what SAQA is all about!

Kudos!

Karen

Elaine Quehl has made a sale!

Elaine has recently leaned that her piece entitled "Reach" has been purchased. "Reach" has been part of SAQA's  Transformations 09- Reflections show which is currently on display at Visions Gallery in San Diego, the last stop on its tour. The exhibition was first seen in Birmingham, England and has been at several venues in the US. Two reviews of the Birmingham show (Quilters Newsletter Magazine and a Dutch magazine "Handwerken zonder Grenzen) included photos of "Reach". Congratulations Elaine!

 

Members might be interested in checking the Visions Gallery web site to see other pieces in the Reflections show. 

Fibreworks Kingston - Fibre Art Workshops for 2010-11

Brelih: Steps of Time

Fibreworks Kingston, headed by our members Hilary Scanlon and Bethany Garner, has lined up four dynamic workshops that our members may be interested in (three of them taught by SAQA members!). They have four great teachers lined up to teach the latest techniques in fibre art.  They are:

 

1st-3rd October, 2010:  Gordana Brelih
12th-14th November2010: Gunnel Hag
4th-6th March, 2011:  Susan Strachan Johnson
1st-3rd April 2011:  Marion Spanjerdt

For details of each workshop, click here to see their blog.

Hag: Quilt 7

To view and print their Fibreworks brochure, click here: FW Brochure 2010-11 3p.  This is a pdf file that can be read by your browser and then printed on 8 1/2″x11″ paper.  It is three pages long. To register, simply print page 3, fill it in, and mail the bottom part and your cheque to the Registrar, Donna Hamilton, whose address can be found at the bottom of the Registration form.

If you would rather receive the paper version, email them your name and address and they will put one in regular mail for you in a few days.   This looks like a very exciting program and they extend a warm welcome to all who are interested in joining them.

Lynne Morin at Up the River Festival

Lynne Morin will be exhibiting her work and doing some demos of  her painted faces and hair at Gananoque's Up the River Festival on Friday, August 26, from 10 am -     3 pm.  Please visit website for directions and other scheduled events. Her felted scarves and pins will be available for sale.

 

Call for Entry: Art to the Rescue

Once again, member Helena Scheffer's Galerie Ouest is going to the dogs - and cats- with an animal-themed fundraiser to benefit two local animal adoption centres: Rosie Animal Adoption and Animatch.  Artists are invited to show and sell their work, with 50% of the sales being donated to these animal charities.  This juried show will feature a wide variety of media.The exhibition will be held in the gallery from November 18-28, 2010. Proceeds from the art sales will be divided equally between the artists and the animal charities.
For more information, please call Helena Scheffer at 514-695-8249 or email helena@galerieouest.ca. 
To view artwork that was featured in "Art to the Rescue" 2009, please visit Helena's website. Entry form:  art to the rescue entry form 2010

Please submit your digital entries via email by October 8, 2010 to helena@galerieouest.ca. Please mail your nonrefundable $25 entry fee and form (cheque made out to Helena Scheffer) to: Helena Scheffer, 33 Lakeshore Road, Beaconsfield, Quebec H9W 4H5. Limit: 2 entries per artist. Jurying will be based on photos, so make sure your photos are of excellent quality. Maximum size of artwork: No larger than 100 cm (40”) in width. All media are welcome: painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, textiles, mixed media, photography, etc.

Notification of acceptance by October 22, 2010 - Vernissage: Friday, Nov. 19, 2010

Great news from Cathy Breedyk Law! This piece "A Leaf Has Many Stems" won the Viewers' Choice award in the Sparkling Flashes Juried Show at the Marianne Van Silfhout Gallery at St. Lawrence College in Brockville.  Congratulations, Cathy!

Next Parlour Meeting Thurs., September 23rd - 10:30 - 2 pm

Summer greetings to one and all! September is around the corner, and with it an exciting new year for our regional SAQA group. By now most of you have sent in your responses to the survey we sent around, so we are using your feedback to guide us as we plan our activities and topics.  If you haven't filled in your survey yet, please do so - it's your way of ensuring this group's activities are of value to you!

You will notice something new at the top of this page: a tab for SAQA Calls for Entry.  This came about as some members found it difficult to find previous Calls in the blog archives. Now they'll be in one easy-to-find place.  If you type your email address into the white "Subscribe" box at the top right of this page, you will receive an automatic notification every time the blog is updated.  As this is our central "message board," don't forget to send me your news as it happens: exhibitions, publications, articles about your work - and photos to post, as well.

At our June meeting, we worked through Alyson Stanfield's Marketing Salon, Parts 3 and 4, so our September meeting - at Cathy Breedyk-Law's studio in Perth (thanks, Cathy!) - will include a discussion of Topic 5: "Describe Your Collectors." You can find this at http://www.artbizconnection.com/members/ and Karen will give you the password if you don't have it yet.

Our agenda also includes going over the survey results, considering an exhibition for 2011, reviewing current calls for entry, seeing a demo of the software: Artist's Butler, and then enjoying our two buffets: both creative and culinary.  So please bring a sample of what you've been working on and a potluck dish.

Looking forward to seeing everyone next month - please be kind enough to send Cathy an RSVP so she can set up the appropriate number of chairs. Till then, hope life keeps you in stitches!

Mary

Threads: the Basics & Beyond: The Complete Visual Guide to Thread Techniques and Creativity in Projects and Embellishing

Wow! One of our members, Debbie Bates, has just published this wonderful new book! Here's the blurb:
Discover the amazing versatility of thread with this superbly illustrated guide to the basic techniques, and beyond. Be inspired by the surprising evolution of thread from a device used to hold fabric together into a creative tool that beautifies projects with designs, colors, textures, structures, and more. Whether you're expanding your knowledge of traditional techniques, or experimenting with thread painting or moulding thread structures, Threads: The Basics & Beyond is your one-stop guide to everything you need to know, including: dozens of techniques illustrated with step-by-step photos; more than a dozen original projects to practice on; a reference guide to materials and equipment; a gallery of inspirational thread projects; and, much, much more!
You can read lots of interesting posts about thread on her blog.  Congratulations, Debbie!

Parlour meeting for GTA members on August 28 - 12:30 pm

It looks as if August 28 is a "go."  Sandwiches, soft drinks, coffee, tea will be provided.  Salad(s) and dessert would be nice .... If anyone can supply one of those, please let me know. Are there any dietary restrictions we should know about? Speak up. The last meeting was delightful --- thanks, Carol M! It was suggested that now we
(a) continue to share our latest work and personal directions
(b) discuss where we would like to go as a group e.g., inform each other about exhibits/business opportunities/supplies, etc. Any topics you would like to bring to the table (I have a couple), please do! Please email me privately for directions to my house in Newcastle, ON. Looking forward to seeing you all!

Best regards,

Lesley

SAQA's Benefit Auction 2010

C Donati "Everyday Things #3"

A big thank you to all our members who contributed pieces to the auction!

If you weren't able to send in a piece, you can still contribute in another way:

P Caffery "Spring Irises"

M Dunsmore "Me First"

• Send out announcements about the auction to everyone on your email list - now, and then a reminder in September
• Inform students in workshops you teach
• Put up posters/notices at quilt, fabric and art stores
• Place a prominent announcement on your website/blog
• Send emails to quilt guilds in your area
• Post announcements/images on Facebook pages or LinkedIn

P Hargreaves "Hidden Places"

The funds raised in this auction benefit all SAQA members, and the more bidders we have, the more money we will raise. 

Information about the auction is at SAQA News

The auction begins on September 20 and details of how it works are found at the link above.