Fiber Art Exhibits - Opening December 1st

 

Sisters in Cloth: Photo Challenge/Art Quilts at the Guilford Library

December 1 – 31, 2009
Guilford Free Library
67 Park Street

See art quilts by SAQA members:
Barbara Coleman Adams ∙ Janine Anderson-Bays
Debra Bento ∙ Vivika Hansen DeNegre
Yvette Howard ∙ Gail Kotowski ∙ Evelyn Judson
Carol Ludington ∙ Ruth Anne Olson
Linda Sexton – Patrick ∙ Marie Shepherd
Robin Wolek ∙ Martha Wolfe ∙ Diane Wright ∙ Linda Zimmerman

 

3rd Annual Fiber Art at the Garde: Standing Ovation

December 1 2009 – February 28, 2010

The Garde Arts Center
825 State Street
New London, CT 06320

The exhibition can be viewed before and after theater performances and during regular box office hours:  Monday--Friday, 9am--4pm. 

www.gardearts.org

You’re Invited: Artists Open Studios (Ashford, CT)

**November 28th - 29th, and  December 5th - 6th ~ 10 am to 5 pm**

Pat Ferguson Quilts studio located in Ashford CT /860-429-6999

Email: pat@patfergusonquilts.com

For the 5^th year, Pat Ferguson will be participating in the Artists Open Studio tour of over 80 artists in the Quiet Corner of CT.

Come and view quilts, wall hangings, quilter’s gift items, BROADS 108” wide quilt backings, supplies for printing photos on fabric, quilt care and storage products, and much more. Pat will have a quilt demo set up on her 12 foot Gammill longarm machine named “Gloria”. Men, women and children of all ages love to see Gloria at work!

Gail Ignatowicz of “Sarah’s Satchels” will be joining the studio again this year with her gorgeous felted purses. Gail will demonstrate needle felting techniques.

For more information visit  www.patfergusonquilts.com

Call For Entries: CT Fiber Artists - “Community Threads” city wide exhibition of quilts

Please consider participating in this exciting opportunity.  Community Health Services (CHS) along with program partners Hartford Stage and the Hartford Public Library are undertaking a community-wide fiber arts movement entitled “Community Threads”.

CHS is sponsoring a celebration of quilts by Connecticut artists in conjunction with the Hartford Stage Company’s performance of Gee’s Bend, a musical production  (scheduled to open on January 14, 2010). 

The Community Threads project will consist of the exhibition of historical quilts and contemporary quilts from Gee’s Bend and Connecticut artists.  Other events include quilting circles, stitching and pulling classes, lectures and story hours with books about freedom quilts and the role quilts have played in the progress of America.  Participants in the quilting circles will be encouraged to stitch a small square from donated materials to be used to create the Hartford Community Quilt. 

 

Should you decide to participate, please email Sharon Steinle [ssassociates@sbcglobal.net]; attach a photo of the quilt you are submitting, a resume and a brief artist statement. 

DEADLINE EXTENDED: Quilts must be received by November 20^th

Drop off or Ship to:

Community Health Services

Attn: Danielle Wong

500 Albany Avenue

Hartford, CT 06120-2599

You may hand-deliver artwork to this address, but please pack it securely along with the forms & all your contact information, addressed “Attn: Danielle Wong”.  There is a receptionist and security personnel who will accept the work and deliver it to Danielle.

I hope you’ll be part of this celebration of art quilts, past and present. 

Have a great day!

November Begins a Celebration of Fiber Art along Connecticut’s Shoreline

November is a big month for fiber art in Connecticut.  The holiday season is beginning and (hopefully) people are looking for unique gift ideas.   And although many people have less money to spend on shopping, artists looking to sell their work need not lose heart.  Items of fine craft and artwork are becoming more popular gift ideas as buyers look for quality over quantity.  SAQA volunteers, Sisters in Cloth and the artistic community of Connecticut’s shoreline have worked hard to organize an incredible celebration of fiber art, lasting from November through January and the city of Guilford is at the center of it all.

Guilford Art Center: 411 Church Street / Guilford, CT 06437 / (203) 453-5947

Guilford Free Library: 67 Park Street / Guilford, CT 06437 / (203) 453-8282

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Shoreline Arts Trail / Artist Workshop: Color Adventures in Glass and Fiber

November 12th, 6:00 - 7:30 pm 

The Shoreline Arts Trail artists will be hosting an exciting series of workshops at the Willoughby Wallace Memorial Library (Branford, CT) during their art exhibit in November.

This weeks' lecture is "Color Adventures in Glass and Fiber" with Carol Grave, Barbara Shulman-Kirwin, & Vivika Hansen DeNegre.  Artists will describe how they drew inspiration from one another’s work.

Willoughby Wallace Library: 146 Thimble Islands Rd/ Stony Creek, CT 06405/ (203) 488-8702

For more info visit www.shorelineartstrail.com .  Or download the brochure:

http://www.shorelineartstrail.com/downloads/Shoreline-ArtsTrail-2009.pdf

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Guilford Art Center presents “SAQA Transformations 09: Reflections”

Studio Art Quilt Associates presents their newest juried exhibition: 34 quilts from around the world, exploring the theme of reflection.  Juried by Laura Cater-Woods

Opening Reception:

Friday, November 13th from 5:00 – 8:00pm

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(image: Art quilts by Shelly Brucar, Leslie Carabas and Marie Jensen)

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ARTISTRY, Annual Holiday Sale of Fine Craft & Art: Discount offered for Members of the Guilford Art Center

 This year will be the 31st annual Artistry show featuring a wide-ranging assembly of crafts in many price ranges, including ceramics, candles, glass, fine art, metal, jewelry, fiber, wood, ornaments, cards, condiments, soap, leather, toys, and more. All proceeds benefit the Guilford Art Center, its school and gallery programs.  

Artistry 2009 runs November 13th - January 3rd   

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During MEMBERS' WEEKEND November 13th – 15th, GAC Members receive 15% off all items, and a discount of 10% throughout the rest of sale.

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Shoreline Arts Trail: Open Studios Weekend at the Guilford Art Center November 21st & 22nd

Vivika DeNegre’s open studio will be held at the Art Center from 10:00am – 4:00pm and will feature a new line of birds as well as a new series of modern linear works.

Linda Zimmerman’s open studio will be at her home in Madison CT, just 5 miles from the Guilford Art Center.  Linda’s studio is located at 66 Bishop Lane/ Madison, CT/ 06443

 

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Sisters in Cloth present their annual show including the “Green Challenge” at the Guilford Free Library

On display December 1st – 31st 

The challenge posed was to create an art quilt no larger than 30" on any side inspired by the word "Green".   Members of Sisters who participated in the challenge and are also SAQA members include:  Gail Kotowski, Barbara Adams,  Linda Zimmerman, Diane M. Wright, Ruth Anne Olson, Carol Ludington, Yvette Howard and Vivika DeNegre.

 Image: Green Challenge entry (detail) by Linda Zimmerman

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You are Invited To the Opening Reception of “Trois Pallettes”

Friday November 13th from 6:00 – 9:00pm at the Gertrude G White Gallery (Greenwich CT)

Mayann Weinberg will be participating in “Trois Palettes”, a collection of stitched and painted canvas, fiber and silk by three artists. 

Mayann’s work will be displayed along with work by Gay Lynette Morris and Roisin Reilly. 

(Image shown are: upper left:Mayann Weinberg with “Falling Leaves”, lower left: “Sunflower” detail, upper right: “Village” detail)

The show runs from November 2nd -  28th,  2009 at the Gertrude G. White Gallery, located at:  Greenwich YWCA / 259 East Putnam Avenue / Greenwich, CT  06830 

 

YWCA Phone:  (203) 869-6501
Fax:  (203) 629-8187

Gallery Hours are Mon - Fri  7:30 am – 10:00 pm / Sat.  7:30 am -  5:00 pm

 

Meet Nike Cutsumpas, November’s Artist of the Month

 “Making textile art with the color and the tactile pleasure of fiber materials is the stimulus and challenge for my creativity.
The observation of nature is a boundless source of inspiration. Demonstrating nature in its many forms through a fantasy perspective allows boundless diversity in creativity”.   

~Nike Cutsumpas

 

(Image: Nike at work in her home studio in Danbury, Connecticut)

 Meet Nike Cutsumpas (pronounced like “Nicky”, not like NIKE sportswear), an artist with a style as unique as her name.   Learn more about this accomplished artist living and working here in our home State.

In Her Own Words:

How long have you been creating art quilts?
Since the late 1980’s

How did you get into non traditional quilting?
I started out reluctantly with a traditional quilting class, but by the third session I was totally ensnared! I have a graphic design
background and I realized commingling that with needle, thread and fabric would be a wonderful combined medium for me. The possibilities were wide open.

(image left: Primeval Green)

 

What are your goals?
The mission we all have as fiber artists - to have it recognized as art
rather than a craft through exhibition and education; and to continue to feed my addiction to the process of creating.

What life experiences & skills do you feel you bring to your art?   What inspires you?
I have my skills and education as a graphic designer and certainly all the life experiences we gain as we have grown in age. Inspiration comes from the awareness of your surroundings in everyday life and being able to apply that knowledge and those perceptions to your art in some manner - not only from the natural world around us , but from the enthusiasm of my fellow artists and the graphic exposure we all have from current life.

 
How would describe your artistic style?
My work tends to be graphic and with bold colors.

Where do you do most of your artwork?
I took over the guestroom on the lower level and have insidiously commandeered the ping-pong table . . very handy!

What are you most proud of when it comes to your artwork?
I am proud of the skills and techniques I have acquired with time; the ability to be able to solve a challenge and be happy with the solution. 

Which do you enjoy more: the process or the results?
The process is what it is all about - and if the result is not satisfactory,
then the process, perhaps, was somehow lacking - so you go back to the process and continue until you get it right - that’s the fun of it!!

 

(image right: Catacanthus)