In This Issue… See Page 37 Art & Excellence
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SAQA Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc. Journal Volume 19, No. 2 Spring 2009 photo by F. Alfredo Rego Alfredo photo by F. Spring Thaw by Leslie Rego In this issue… see page 37 Art & Excellence. 5 Expanding your artistic production. 24 Evolution of an exhibition. .6 Studio space. .25 Highlighted artist: Susan McCraw. 8 What judges look for. .26 The meeting of art and quilt. 12 Video documenting your artwork . .27 Three-dimensional quilts. .16 Artist in residence: Summer Institute. 30 SAQA member gallery. 20 To publish or to be published – part II. 32 Considering sponsorship . .22 My first year as a SAQA member . 33 Letters and reports Thoughts from the president by Judith Content s I write my bition announcements, and images ASAQA Journal from magazines. report, the colors in I attached the papers to the wall my autumn garden with push pins, overlapping the edges are simply wonder- to totally obscure the cork. After ful. I collect Japa- that, as postcards came my way, they nese maples and went up on the wall. These accom- they are currently panied pictures from trips, business tinctive design element that ties that a riot of fiery hues. cards, magazine pages — anything year together. This year the unifying I recently painted the garden walls a and everything that inspired me. element is a color — deep tangerine. deep shade of garnet and the contrast The effect was a wonderful collage It turns up in the stitched leaves on a with the glowing maple leaves and of images, a profusion of ephem- postcard from Peg Keeney, as well as a fuchsia bougainvillea is magical, if era — the sorts of things collected and the rippling surface treatment of Hori- momentary. all too often forgotten. zon VII by Deidre Adams. A postcard Here inside my studio it’s easy to A year later the wall was full. Com- of Regina Benson’s Pele reverberates tell another year is coming to a close. pletely covered. I considered what with carnelian and black. Postcards How so? My ‘inspiration wall’ is virtu- to do. I could start covering other given to me by Robin Cowley, Carol ally full. Over the year it gradually studio walls. I did have two more, Larson, Catherine Kleeman, Kather- becomes a dense mosaic of compelling not counting my design wall. Or I ine Allen, Charlotte Ziebarth, Linda imagery, vibrant color, and intrigu- could start another layer — a colorful Gass, Connie Rohman, Kathy Weaver, ing design. In January 2009, it will be sedimentary deposit of the vertical and Patty Hawkins (to mention just a taken down to begin all over again. sort. Or I could take it all down, pack few) glow with cadmium. My inspiration wall started when it away in a box and completely start Soon I’ll take down my 2008 I removed a malfunctioning wall over with a blank canvas. I now have inspiration wall and pack it away. I’ll heater from my studio, thus leaving a eight boxes filled to the brim with art miss its vibrant warmth. However, huge gaping hole. I covered the hole and inspiration. I’m looking forward to discovering with cork, but this was almost as ugly From time to time I pull out a box what 2009 holds in terms of art and as the hole. I looked around for some- and reminisce. Sometimes I cull the inspiration, and I hope that many thing to cover the cork and reached boxes for collage materials or to find wonderful postcards continue to for a basket of artist’s postcards, exhi- a lost address. Usually, I note a dis- come my way. Board report by Penny McMorris n our last Journal, I asked you to to exhibit your artwork. example, if you live in Indiana just Ithink about your membership: You wanted more workshops and over the border from Illinois, you can what you got from it and what you more networking opportunities at select Illinois as your second state and wanted to get. Here’s a short list of conferences. The upcoming Art & receive SAQA news from Illinois as some of your requests, and how we’re Excellence conference (May 21-24) well as Indiana. responding: will offer lots of both. You can choose You wanted a board that was You wanted SAQA to exhibit more from the list of timely mini-workshop responsive to you. Now, contacting in museums. The exhibition com- presentations as well as from six the board is easier than ever. Write to mittee is hard at work getting venues practical, in-depth art workshops tak- [email protected]. If you forget that for 12 Voices and other exhibitions at ing place before the conference (May address, go to www.saqa.com > About museums, higher end galleries, and 18-20). SAQA > Board of Directors, and find art centers. I continue to be incred- You wanted a chance to choose the contact link there. We want to ibly impressed by how hard the your region. You can now select a hear from you. exhibition committee works and how second state or country to “belong” I look forward to seeing many of many possibilities they offer for you to as part of your member profile. For you in May at Art & Excellence. 2 • SAQA Journal • Spring 2009 Report from the SAQA executive director by Martha Sielman hanksgiv- dedication of our volunteers. The advertising, business cards, stationery, Ting is next twelve volunteers who make up the etc. Our Portfolio editor volunteers week, and I’ve SAQA board guide the organization, as manager of our marketing efforts, been reflecting plan the budget, plan the exhibition ably assisted by our press release on how thankful calendar, evaluate opportunities, writer. Our web site coordinator I am to be work- and develop new initiatives. Our 40 and our web site calendar coordina- ing for such an regional representatives work tire- tor keep the web site up to date and incredibly gener- lessly to reach out to their local mem- fresh. The SAQA-U committee does ous community. bers through newsletters, meetings, the same for SAQA-U so that we have Studio Art Quilt Associates depends exhibitions, and regional conferences, an incredible resource available to us on the donations of its members: as well as manage the SAQA booths at all times. donations not only of money and at the big quilt festivals and other Whenever there’s a need for a auction artwork, but of time, energy, events. volunteer, whether to create a survey, creativity, resourcefulness, and care. Members of the exhibition commit- proofread Journal articles, or staff In 2008, SAQA reached almost 2,300 tee plan and manage all of the SAQA a SAQA booth, SAQA members are members in 30 countries, worked exhibitions, have developed a new there giving their time, energy, and with SDA to put on a fantastic online entry process, and are in the expertise. And of course, my thanks conference, and created and man- process of creating step-by-step les- go out to all of the members who aged 14 exhibitions. We printed and sons for using various types of digital donated auction artwork, including distributed four exhibition catalogs, imaging software. Volunteer admin- the twelve members who created the four quarterly Journals and the PAM istrators and curators coordinate the beautiful artwork for our Art Gallery in Portfolio. Members staffed informa- minutiae required to put on each a Box IV auction at the Art & Excel- tion booths at six major events and exhibition. lence conference in May. participated in a dizzying variety of Our Journal editor volunteers her SAQA could not prosper without regional events. time to create the content for our the efforts and dedication of its won- All of this activity and achieve- quarterly issues. Our art director gives derful volunteers. Thank you all very ment was possible because of the her time to design and update our much! Meet your new treasurer: Nelda Warkentin efore conferences was especially rewarding, eleven times. I have also exhibited in Baccepting and it still is. I am glad I have this ArtQuilt Elements and was invited to a position on opportunity to give back to an orga- create artwork for SAQA’s Art Gallery the board, I was nization that has been so helpful. in a Box III. SAQA’s Alaska In 1995, I took a design class at Numerous galleries, museums, representative for the Museum of History and Art in and other venues, including the many years. The Anchorage. It connected me with a U.S. Embassies in Moscow and Cape skills I bring to group of fiber artists who inspired me Town, have chosen and displayed my the board include to become an art quilter. After taking artwork. Other quilts are in public, my artist’s perspective, as well as art classes at the University of Alaska private, and corporate collections. organization and management skills Anchorage and numerous workshops I create my abstract artwork in two acquired in my previous career as a around the United States, I developed studios — one in a condo in Anchor- community planner and programs my unique style of working, which I age, and another in the attic of a manager for the State of Alaska. call “layered paintings.” 150-year-old farmhouse in western When I was starting out as an art In 1997, jurors started selecting my Maine. To learn more about my quilter, SAQA offered me encourage- quilts for national and international artwork, please visit my web site at ment, direction, and useful informa- shows. My artwork has been juried www.neldawarkentin.com.