Halpin, McKie and Themel in Fiber Revolution: Fragmentations, 919 Gallery Aug 18 – Sept 22 (South Windsor, CT)

This summer SAQA-CT artists Jutta Halpin, Kate Themel and Barbara McKie will exhibit their fiber art in "Fragmentations", a group exhibition by Fiber Revolution, at the 919 Gallery/ Unity of Greater Hartford. 



Fragmentations – August 18 – September 22, 2013
At the 919 Gallery, Unity of Greater Hartford
919 Ellington Road
South Windsor, CT 06074

More about the show:
Fragmentation is the act or process of dividing into parts. Often breaking things apart helps us to understand or see things more clearly. Sometimes looking at the parts makes us see the truth in the old phrase, “The whole is more than the sum of its parts.” Fragmentations does both.
In this collection of art quilts, you can see how each artist breaks apart the subject, examines it, takes a new perspective, or reinvents it. You can also see how the total exhibit presents an image where each work is itself a fragment that works with the others to create a whole.
Curated by Carolyn Lee Vehslage

Artwork by Diane Cadrain and Judy Ross to be Exhibited and Published in "Dare to Dance"

Dare to Dance: An Artist’s Interpretation of Joy

More than 55 artists, including SAQA CT artists Judy Ross and Diane Cadrain were asked to create an 18 x 30 inch art quilt interpreting the phrase "Dare to Dance". 

The project was spearheaded by Mary Kerr.  Selected quilts will be published in a book by Schiffer Publishing.

The "Dare to Dance" special exhibit will debut at The Lancaster Quilt Show in March 2014 and is tentatively scheduled for The Quilter’s Hall of Fame in Fall 2014.

Check Mary Kerr's website for additional information, venues and updates:  http://www.marywkerr.com/schedule.html

(image: "Shall We?" by D.Cadrain)

Mary Lachman Featured in Quilting Arts Magazine (Aug/Sept 2013 issue)

SAQA-CT artist Mary Lachman has developed an ingenious way to recycle and repurpose vintage crochet doilies into beautiful felted fiber art.  Her process is featured in the most recent issue of Quilting Arts Magazine.

The article "Felting Vintage Textiles: What's Old is New Again" contains step by step instructions along with color photos and helpful tips.

Quilting Arts is available on line through the Interweave Store:
http://www.interweavestore.com/quilting-arts-august-september-2013

Find out more about Mary Lachman's creative process on her blog:
http://marylachmanquilts.blogspot.com/

Congratulations, Mary!

Photos from the Local Color Exhibition at WCSU

One of the reasons curators Diane Wright and Kate Themel wanted Local Color to be a traveling show was to give people from all around Connecticut a chance to see it.  If you missed the premiere exhibition at Western CT State University (WCSU) Haas Library, hopefully you will be able to make it to another venue.  The Legislative Office Building in Hartford will host the show until July 31.  After that you'll have to wait until November to see it at the Slater Memorial Museum in Norwich.

Each location presents its own logistical challenges, therefore the arrangement and flow of the show can vary with each venue.  Captains Mayann Weinberg and Margaret Phillips had to arrange the artwork within the library environment.  Here Jeanne Marklin's Blowin' Glass and Pat Ferguson's Local Color of CT compliment the geometric patterns and colors of the books.

Please enjoy more photos from the show at Haas Library in Danbury, Connecticut, courtesy of Mayann Weinberg. 

 
Artists and viewers celebrated the opening of Local Color with a catered reception.  Diane Wright's Town Green and Barb McKie's Woodland Visitors are seen in the background.

The artwork added color and energy to the library's quiet reading areas.  Quilts (from left to right): Winter Marsh by Barb Adams, Cabbages and Kings by Norma Schlager, Thimble Islands Extract by Diane Wright, The Path by Betty Warner and Melting by Jeanne Marklin

 
Heating up the Hay by Cathy Smith, left and Forsythia by Ruth Anne Olson, right

Mayann and Margaret designed this lovely banner to welcome and inform visitors about the show.  To the left of the banner is Science Center by Kate Themel, to the right Barnum by Deirdre Abbotts. Rita Hannifin's Storm-tossed Memories hangs to the left of the elevator doors.

The library's columns provided a perfect surface for smaller work, such as Barbara Drillick's Red Fern and Gail Kotowski's Metropolis.  Mayann Weinberg's Uno Dos Tres and Judy Ross' Freak October Snowstorm can be seen on the far wall.

Seen here, Public Transportation by Cathy Smith and Backyard Color by artist and Sew-Craft sponsor Jennifer O'Brien.

These colorful pieces brightened the day for many library employees.
Top to bottom and left to right: American Chad by Christina Blais, Rounding the Mark in Stonington Harbor by Sandra Fromson, Reflection by Rosalind Spann, Take a Bow by Kendell Storm and Marsh With Cranes by Trish Hodge.

Hope you enjoyed this brief tour of the Haas Library show.  Of course, it can't compare with seeing these beautiful quilts in person!

Coming soon – photos from the exhibition at the Legislative Office Building in downtown Hartford.

Diane Cadrain's Artwork Featured in "Lowell Life" Magazine (August 2013 issue)

Congratulations, SAQA CT artist Diane Cadrain!  A full page photo of Diane's art quilt Buddhist Temple is featured on page 15 of the latest "Lowell Life" magazine.

The article "Lowell Festival Shows Off the World's Finest Quilts" promotes the Lowell Quilt Festival, August 8 – 10, 2013 in Lowell, Massachusetts.  Diane's featured quilt was part of the prestigious IMAGES exhibition at last year's festival.

(Image: Cadrain stands next to Buddhist Temple at the Lowell Quilt Festival 2012)

Diane actually created two quilts, Buddhist Temple shown here and Buddhist Temple II; both were juried into IMAGES 2012.  Diane describes her trip to Thailand and the inspiration for the temple quilts on her blog:
http://stitching-it-all-together.blogspot.com/2013/07/buddhist-temple.html

To see Diane's quilt and more images of beautiful fiber art, read the full article in "Lowell Life" magazine available on line:
http://emagazines.hibu.com/LOWELL

For more information about the Lowell Quilt Festival, visit their website:  http://www.lowellquiltfestival.org/

SAQA Exhibition Curated by Carol R Eaton: "Color Wheel of Emotions"

Congratulations to SAQA-CT Artist and Curator, Carol R Eaton!  From Carol's blog, http://carolreatondesigns.blogspot.com :

I am so delighted to have my first nationally curated exhibit ready to open! The Color Wheel of Emotions show premiers at the WORLD QUILT SHOW: NEW ENGLAND, August 15 – 18, 2013. I’ll share updates as the exhibit travels the US and hopefully you will have the opportunity to view this wonderful exhibit in your community. If you can get to the grand opening at 700 Elm Street, Manchester, NH in August I promise it will be a treat!

The Color Wheel of Emotions has it's own FaceBook page and each week I’ll bring you exclusive interviews with the 19 artists juried into the show. They allow us to peek into their studios and learn more about their approach to creating art. The interviews bring out the artists personalities complete with tips, humor and inspiration! Please click this link and “LIKE” our page. Check back frequently to learn more about the artists.

We have a limited supply of exhibit catalogues available at the SAQA store for purchase. Be sure to order early before it's too late!

SAQA CT Artists Featured in Quilting Arts Magazine (June/July 2013 issue)

If you love hand-dyed and hand-painted fabrics, don't miss the June/July issue of Quilting Arts Magazine.

SAQA CT artists Mickey Lawler and Carol R Eaton share their techniques for making gorgeous, colorful fabric in unusual ways.

In "Sand Painting: Create Special Effects with Sun and Sand", Mickey Lawler gives step by step instructions for using common beach sand to create lovely organic patterns and shapes in painted fabric.

Carol R Eaton describes a dyeing process that offers artists loads of creative freedom in "Confetti Dyeing: One Technique, Three Distinctly Different Results".

Also in this issue, SAQA Executive Director, CT artist and author Martha Sielman discusses the human form in fiber art in "Creating Realistic Portraits".  Martha's latest book, Art Quilt Portfolio: People and Portraits was published this year.

CT Artists Participate in "Quilts for Change" International Exhibition (Geneva, Switzerland)

Congratulations to SAQA CT artists Joan Blade Johnson and Melanie Johnston, whose artwork was juried into the 2013 Quilts for Change exhibition.  Melanie and Joan collaborated on a solar-power-themed quilt, on display now at the United Nations building in Geneva, Switzerland.  (see image and detail below)

‘Quilt for Change’ is an NGO that uses the American tradition of quilting to raise awareness of global issues affecting women https://www.facebook.com/quiltchallenge

This third exhibition of quilts features 23 masterpieces inspired by the work of the NGO ‘Solar Sister’, a Rhode Island based NGO that promotes women’s economic development through a network of small business selling solar based products in sub-Saharan Africa. http://www.solarsister.org/

Light, Hope, Opportunity:
Empowering Women through Clean Energy

Solar Sisters sell solar-based appliances that provide light and electricity to rural households in pats of Arica without access to ready source of power.  These appliances allow women to work from home, children to study longer hours, families to cook with less indoor pollution and associated health problems, and communities to connect with the outside world. 

Quilters were asked to create 24 inch x 24 inch quilts highlighting aspects of the Energy Poverty problem and some of the solutions programs such as Solar Sister offer.

Twenty quilters, from the U.S., Canada (including a sixth grade class from British Columbia), and England were chosen in a juried competition for inclusion in this exhibition. 

The exhibit opened on June 27, 2013 and will run through August 2013 before returning to the U.S. to tour other quilting venues.

Click here to see a video of the Opening at the United Nations in Geneva: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKgTkkckGrs

"Picking Up the Pieces" at the Flinn Gallery (Greenwich, CT)

The Greenwich Art Society presents "Picking Up the Pieces", a juried member exhibition, at the Flinn Gallery in Greenwich, CT from June 26 to July 15, 2013. 

The show was judged by Laura Phipps, curator at The Whitney Museum of American Art, NYC and chaired by SAQA-CT member Mayann Weinberg.  Included in the exhibit is a mixed media piece by Mayann and an art quilt by fellow CT artist Margaret A. Phillips.
(Images: Truck by M.Weinberg and Purple Kimono by M.Phillips)

Flinn Gallery, Greenwich Library
101 West Putnam Ave
Greenwich, CT 06830

Viewing Hours: 
Mon-Wed 10-5pm
Thurs 10-8pm
Fri & Sat 10-5pm
Sun 1-5pm

Barb McKie and Phyllis Small Juried into Art Quilts at the Whistler 2013 (Lowell, MA)

Congratulations to SAQA-CT artists Barbara Barrick McKie and Phyllis Small, who will participate in the "What's My Line?" exhibit at the Whistler House Museum of Art.

What’s My Line?  The Whistler House Museum of Art was seeking Art Quilts that explore the idea of using a line both literally and figuratively – a stitched line, a line of work, a line in a song or poem, a railway line, a line on a map, lines on a face…the possibilities are endless.

Art Quilts at the Whistler 2013 runs from Aug 7 – Sept 14, 2013
Gallery Night: Friday, August 9, 5 to 8 pm
Reception: Saturday, August 10, 1 - 3 pm

(Corinthian by P.Small)

(Iguana Headache by B.McKie)

A complete list of participating artists can be found here.

Whistler House Museum of Art
243 Worthen Street
Lowell, MA 01852
(978) 452-7641

Admission: $5.00, Seniors & Students $4.00
Hours: Wed - Sat, 11am - 4pm