Quilt Visions 2010: No Boundaries

Acceptance letters have been sent out, and the competition was tough.  Only 40 quilts have been chosen out of 600 entries for Quilt Visions 2010: No Boundaries. 

Quite a few SAQA artists have been accepted into this prestigious show, but their names will be announced at a later time.

Initial judging was done by digital photos, but the final hurdle will be when jurors to see all the work in person.  For many artists, excitement is tempered with a bit of anxiety.  One SAQA member received an acceptance letter but explains, “the final okay won’t happen until they see the actual pieces, and there’s a shy little girl in me who won’t exhale until that happens.”

The Oceanside Museum of Art will host this international juried, biennial event featuring the best of contemporary art quilts.  Quilt Visions has been highly anticipated as one of the most popular art quilt exhibits in the world. The show will run from October 24 through March 13, 2011.

Quilt Visions: No Boundaries
Presented by: Quilt Visions/Quilt San Diego

Location: Oceanside Museum of Art
704 Pier View Way,Oceanside, CA, 92054

website:

http://www.quiltvisions.org

Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 10 a.m.-4 p.m, Sunday 1-4 p.m. Closed Monday and major holidays

General Admission $8, Seniors and Students $5

Contact Beth Smith for more details: 619-546-4872 beth@quiltvisions.org

  (image: Shadowplay by Lura Schwarz Smith)

Congratulations to all the artists who had the courage to submit their creative work to the jurors of this year’s Quilt Visions.  To the 40 who were accepted as well as the 560 who won’t be included this time: You deserve KUDOS!

Are you ready to turn your art into a profitable career?

New Workshop to be held at the Guilford Art Center 

Saturday, Apr. 10th, 12 - 3:30 pm

ART BUSINESS &
MARKETING WORKSHOP
with LIRON SISSMAN

Develop a winning portfolio, professionally
present yourself to the right galleries, secure
shows, spread the word, and sell your art.
Learn how to: research markets, maximize
income, get the most out of a website and
what pitfalls to avoid. Gain a strategy and a
plan of action.

To sign up please call: (203) 453-5947

For more: www.artistadvisory.com.
Open to all levels.
Tuition: $50.00
Members: $45.00

The Guilford Art Center is located at 411 Church Street, Guilford, CT

“A to Z” Multi Media Art Show begins March 21 (New Canaan, CT)

SAQA Artist Susan Schrott will exhibit her fiber artwork “Adagio” in the Katonah Museum Artists Association (KMAA) 2010 Juried Exhibition “A to Z”.

The multi media exhibition runs from March 21 – April 17, 2010 at the Carriage Barn Arts Center in New Canaan, Connecticut.

Opening Reception: Sunday, March 21, 2010, from 4 – 6 PM

Carriage Barn Arts Center is part of Waveny Park

681 South Avenue (route 124)

New Canaan CT

203-972-1895

www.carriagebarn.org

Gallery Hours:

Tues. thru Fri. 12 – 4pm

Sat. & Sun. 1 – 5pm

“Who Does She Think She Is?” – film screening April 5 (Williamstown, MA)

From the producing team that won an Academy Award for Born Into Brothels, comes WHO DOES SHE THINK SHE IS?, a film that examines some of the most pressing issues of our time: parenting and work, partnering and independence, economics and art.

SAQA-MA artist Jeanne Marklin successfully lobbied her local independent theatre “Images” to screen the documentary.  

Images Theatre in Williamstown, Massachusetts, will screen the movie on Monday April 5, 2010.

The film follows five women artists as they navigate the economic, psychological, and spiritual challenges of making work outside the elite art world. From Hawaii’s Big Island to the suburbs of Ohio, from New York City to the deserts of New Mexico, we watch as these women—ranging in age from 27 to 65—fight to honor their vision and their families every day.

“(This film) is not about being a woman or being a woman artist but rather how to be a human, how to find your true place in life.” Jean M Murphy, Wellesley Centers for Women

Interviews with experts like Riane Eisler (The Chalice and the Blade), Maura Reilly (Sackler Center for Feminist Art-Brooklyn Museum) and the Guerrilla Girls add a cultural context for these women’s uplifting journeys. It is not accolades they seek; it’s simply the radical opportunity to live whole.

Check the movie’s websites for upcoming screenings: http://wdstsi.wordpress.com/upcoming-screenings/

Call for Entries “Roots, Mutations: Evolution” UPDATED GUIDELINES Deadline 5/1/10

Attention SAQA Artists in NY, NJ and CT

Please consider entering your work into this prestigious show.  Size requirements have been reduced.  Your work may be 24” wide on either side.  Maximum width 36” , maximum height 48”.  See below for a full list of requirements and submission process. 

ROOTS, MUTATIONS: EVOLUTION

Deadline for submission is May 1, 2010

No submission fee

Quilt Requirements:

• UPDATED Size Requirements: Quilts must be between 24" and 36" wide and between 24" and 48" high
• Quilt must relate to the show theme: "Roots, Mutations: Evolution"
• Quilt must meet the SAQA definition of a quilt-two or three layers of fabric held together with stitching.
• Quilt must lie flat for shipping-no frames, stretchers or mounted quilts
• Quilt must have a 4" rod pocket on the back for hanging
• Quilt must be labeled with the title; and name, address, email and phone number of the artist
• Quilt must have a protective pillowcase with title and artist's name on outside for identification
• Because quilts will be traveling to multiple venues and will be packed and unpacked many times, embellishments should be firmly attached. Delicate or fragile surfaces and items are not recommended.

Submission process:

• SAQA members in good standing from NY, NJ and CT may each enter up to three pieces.
• Deadline for submissions will be May 1, 2010
• Entry is by digital image only. Images must be 72 dpi and approx. 9" on any one side.
• Images must be clear and show the edges of the quilt; send one overall shot and one close-up of each quilt
• Please label each entry in this manner: Artist last name__title of quilt__size in inches
• Each entered quilt must have an accompanying artist statement which explains the relationship to the show theme and must include the title, completion date, dimensions and materials used.
• Send the image as an attachment and quilt title, artist's name, address, email and artist statement in the body of an email to:  Email Leni Wiener

Accepted Works:

• Chosen quilts must be available to travel from July 2010 until June 2011
• Artists whose work is chosen must pay a nominal fee for insurance (unless they carry it privately)
• Accepted works must arrive by July 15, 2010. Do NOT mail quilts until instructed to do so.
• Artist must supply pre-paid shipping label for return of quilt

Venues:

Presently, the show is scheduled to be presented at the following venues (this schedule may change, and/or other venues may be added):

• World Quilt, August 2010
• PNQE, September 2010
• PIQF, October 2010
• World Quilt Florida, November 2010
• Mid-Atlantic, February 2011
• New Jersey, March 2011
• Denver, May 2011

Please direct any questions to Leni Levenson Wiener:

click here to Email Leni Wiener

SAQA NY co-reps;

Jane Davila

Leni Levenson Wiener

Vivika DeNegre’s Artwork Installed at Smilow Cancer Hospital (New Haven, CT)

Connecticut artist Vivika DeNegre recently completed two large art quilts for Smilow Cancer Hospital, a new facility at Yale-New Haven.  This prestigious commission came about through DeNegre’s affiliation with the Shoreline Arts Trail and open studios event.  She describes the commission process:

“I was contacted by the interior designer of the Smilow building who specializes in a process called ‘Evidence Based Design’.  Her firm designs mainly hospital, clinic and doctors’ offices with the theory that the design of the building actually can affect the outcome of the patient.

…I was charged with making two large quilts that would be viewed mostly by the nurses' station and the families as they visited their loved ones.  They were to be calming and evocative of the landscape of CT.  I submitted three designs:  Farmlands, a view of patchwork fields cut up by stone walls (detail of Farmlands, upper right), Marsh View, a view of the brackish estuaries in Autumn (full view of Marsh View, top), and Sound View, a view of sparkling water. 

The first two were chosen, and a deadline of 5 weeks from the day of the signed contract was given.  It took a week to get the fabric, elongate my design wall to hold an eight foot quilt, and prepare for the sewing marathon.  Each quilt was made in two weeks, taking over 90 hours of piecing and quilting.  I worked between 6 and 15 hours/day...  They are quilted at the 1/4 inch, and I estimate I used between 1 and 1 1/2 miles of thread...”

Looking at the quality of workmanship in these landscapes, you would not have guessed the lightning pace in which they were done (detail of Marsh View, lower right). The time and effort put into it was a labor of love for DeNegre, who has seen family and friends battle this deadly disease.   “My greatest wish is that no one I know will ever have to go into the Smilow ICU” she says, “and that eventually, centers like this will have to close because the disease has been beaten.” 

Vivika DeNegre shares her personal perspective and some of the process involved in completing this project on her blog: http://vdenegrequilts.blogspot.com

Barbara McKie’s Art Quilts on Display this Spring

Barb McKie’s art quilts “Bluebird of Happiness” and “Iguana Headache” will be on display at The American Quilters Society (AQS) exhibition in Lancaster, PA from March 24 – 27, 2010.

Later this Spring,

Two more of Barb’s quilts will be exhibited in Celebrate Spring, part of the International Quilt Festival (IQF) in Rosemont, IL. 

“Shh… She’s Sleeping” (shown on left) and “Purple Spring” will be on display at IQF from April 16 –18th, 2010.

Congratulations, Barb!

Quilt Exhibition Extended to March 28 at Hill-Stead Museum (Farmington CT)

Due to popular demand, Hill-Stead Museum has extended their first loan exhibition of historic and contemporary quilts, thanks to the generosity of SAQA-CT artist EdJohnetta Miller.  Originally scheduled to end on February 28th, the museum will keep the quilts on display a full month longer.  The five quilts on load from Ms Miller were created by four African American artists: Charlotte McKinney of Statham GA, Qunnie Pettway and Polly Raymond of Gee’s Bend AL, and EdJohnetta herself.

(Coat of Many Colors by Qunnie Pettway, shown on left)

The exhibition was included in the Community Threads Project celebration of fiber art in Hartford, CT over the winter.  Community Threads featured displays of historic, traditional and contemporary quilts in public venues around the city, in coordination with the Hartford Stage production of Gee’s Bend: The Musical.

“We are thrilled with the community’s response to this exhibition,” commented Hill-Stead’s Director, Dr. Sue Sturtevant, “It has been even better than we imagined. And one of the best aspects of it is that the museum’s architect and founder, Theodate Pope Riddle, would be among the first to champion the Community Threads project and the importance of having these quilts on the beds here. From the project’s celebration of community and teamwork, to the strength and independence of the Gee’s Bend women, to the actual stitchery itself – Theodate ran a small sewing school in her earliest years at Hill-Stead – she would be thrilled that Hill-Stead Museum is a part of this exciting exhibition and all of its components.” (quoted from ConnecticutPlus.com News: http://www.connecticutplus.com/cplus/information/news/Art/Hill-Stead-Museum-extends-Gee-s-Bend-Quilt-exhibition-through-March-28-201076527652.shtml)

The museum’s period rooms are open for tours Tuesday through Sunday, 11 am – 3 pm, November - April, and 10 am – 4 pm May - October. The last tour of the day begins one hour before closing. Grounds are open to the public daily 7:30 am-5:30 pm.

For tour and program information, browse www.hillstead.org or call 860.677.4787.

Liz Alpert Fay’s “Food for Thought” juried into Fiberart International 2010

Fiberart International has chosen Liz Alpert Fay’s “Food for Thought” for their 2010 exhibition of contemporary fiber art. This year the competition was steep.  1,600 works were entered by 703 artists from 30 countries.  It was reportedly the largest and most diverse group of entries ever!

Only 87 pieces were chosen to be shown in the Exhibition of Contemporary Fiber Art, presented by the Fiberarts Guild of Pittsburgh, Inc. An opening reception will be held on Friday evening, April 16 and the exhibit will run until August 22.

This juried exhibition of contemporary works of fiber art is recognized among fiber artists around the world as a benchmark exhibition that documents trends and innovations in the field. The goal of the exhibition is to include innovative work rooted in traditional fiber materials, structure, processes and history, as well as art that explores unexpected relationships between fiber and other creative disciplines.

Congratulations Liz!

 

Catherine Smith in “Transitions” at the Artists’ Cooperative Gallery (Westerly, RI)

SAQA CT artist Catherine Smith will exhibit her art quilts in Transitions at The Artists' Cooperative Gallery of Westerly (ACGOW). 

The show runs from February 28 - March 27, 2010

(image: Brush Stroke by Catherine Smith)

"Transitions" is the name and theme of the new March show at the Artists Cooperative Gallery of Westerly, and is aptly named with the Cooperative's own recent transition.   After almost two decades ACGOW moved in February to a new  and larger Gallery location.  When you visit, you will see an exciting new Gallery, a gradual combination of more types of artistic work, and the familiar Cooperative warmth and hospitality to our friends and customers, old and new. "Transitions," as a theme, can reflect that spirit of change with excitement, artistic growth or thoughts of how art can progress from an idea in the artist's mind to the finished work. 

ACGOW is located at 7 Canal Street, Westerly RI 02891 **Please note new address!!**

Hours:  Tuesday through Saturday from 10AM to 5PM

Questions:  Call (401) 596-2221 or see www.westerlyarts.com