Monday, June 30, 2014

Book the SAQA Trunk Show for Your Next Critique Group, Guild Meeting or Art Class

2014 Trunk Show

Curated by Eileen Doughty, the 25th Anniversary Trunk Show was designed to showcase SAQA’s diversity of talent and its mission to “promote the art quilt through education, exhibitions, professional development, documentation, and publications.”

The trunk show is a wonderful way for members and non-members alike to view and engage with quilts made using a wide variety of styles, techniques, and fibers.

The 407 quilts are divided into eight trunks and each will travel a region of the world into 2017. To view all the quilts, access the alphabetical index, and view the travel calendar for each of the eight trunks, click here.

HELP SHARE THE TRUNK SHOWRuth A White

Here in CT we have "Trunk C" in our possession and available to show. Because each small piece is individually mounted and protected with a clear envelope you can look closely, compare, contrast, and be inspired. There is even a discussion guide included.

The schedule of showings in CT include the last regional meeting, a nursing home recreation program, guilds, art quilt small groups, and even a member’s birthday party. The exhibit will be mounted at the New Britain Museum of American Art from the end of September through January 2015.

The Trunk Show is currently committed for the following dates: July 15 - 29, August 21 - 25, and September 17 – 19, 2014. There are still plenty of dates open for additional venues!

If you would like to book the Trunk Show for a group, guild or shop this summer, contact Barbara Adams at b.c.adams@comcast.net

 

Monday, June 23, 2014

New Exhibition by CT Fiber Arts Collective: Jazz Tones

Please join the artists of Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective on Thursday, June 26 from 5 - 7PM at the 100 Pearl Street Gallery (Hartford CT) for the Opening of "Jazz Tones".

JazzTones2014

The Jazz Tones exhibition is a collection of fiber art and mixed media work that celebrates and depicts the diverse sounds of America's indigenous music. Participating artists include Christina Blais, Diane Cadrain, Carol R Eaton, Mary Lachman, Karen Loprete, Linda Martin, Wanda Seldon, Rosalind Spann, Antonia Torres and Carol Vinick.

The show runs June 15 – August 23, 2014 and features work by internationally acclaimed artist Ed Johnetta Miller.  Ed Johnetta will be at the Opening Reception, signing copies of Carolyn Mazloomi's book Textural Rhythms: Quilting in the Jazz Tradition

Carolyn Mazloomi is the recipient of the 2014 Bess Lomax Hawes NEA National Heritage Fellowship Award. The Bess Lomax Hawes Award recognizes an individual who has made a significant contribution to the preservation and awareness of cultural heritage.

Greater Hartford Arts Council, 100 Pearl Street Gallery
100 Pearl Street
Hartford, CT 06103
https://letsgoarts.org/gallery

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Mary Lachman's Aerial View Juried into Two Ohio Shows

Congratulations, SAQA-CT artist Mary Lachman! Mary's artwork Aerial View was juried into "Fiber 577" in Perrysburg, OH, June 7-8, 2014. Now the same piece is in "Fabulous Fibers 2014" at the Angelwood Gallery in Grand Rapids, OH from June 19-July 31, 2014.

FINALlachman_aerial_overall

Angelwood Gallery opened in 1993 under the ownership of Julie A. Beutler. The gallery, now in its eighteenth year of business features work of regional artists in all medias. Julie's pottery is a main focus of the gallery.

The Anglewood Gallery's "Fabulous Fibers" show features incredible fiber based work from talented artists across the US! It's the only show the gallery hosts each year that goes beyond their trademark regional Ohio artists.

Anglewood Gallery
24195 Front Street
Grand Rapids, OH 43522
419-832-0625
http://www.angelwoodartgallery.com/

Thursday, June 19, 2014

New Challenge for SAQA CT Artists!

Hard to believe that we have to start thinking "Holiday Tree" during this wonderful Spring/Summer weather we have been enjoying!
But this is a great opportunity for all of our SAQACT members.

Best,
Catherine and Barb

FROM: The New Britain Museum of American Art – Tree Decorating Committee: Anna Tufankjian, Laurie Dhandapani, and Ann Marie Gontarz

NBMAA_tree2013
(image: A paintbrush-themed holiday tree at NBMAA in 2013)

At our May 24th SAQA meeting, we received your enthusiastic response to the request to provide fiber art decorations for this year's quilting-themed holiday tree at New Britain Museum of American Art (NBMAA).  

Since the NBMAA exhibit "Stitching in time - American quilts 1758 to 2014" will be held between October 2014 - January 2015, this is a wonderful opportunity and venue for your work to be seen by an appreciative audience.

Suggested SIZE and SELLING PRICE*: 
(Note: New Britain Museum receives a 40% on all sales)

4" x 6"  - $25.00
7" x 9" - $100.00
12" x 12" - $125.00

*You may list your artwork as (NFS) OR you may set your own price for your piece.  Please contact Anna Tufankjian tufankji@cox.net if you wish to vary the standard size or price.

You may submit more than one piece – pieces that are not hung on the tree will be for sale in the Museum store. 

THEME and COLOR are up to you.

CONSTRUCTION: Must be sturdy enough to maintain its shape with one center hook on the back. (e.g. ornament hook thru a small plastic ring.)

DEADLINE:  October 15th, 2014 (Must arrive at the Museum by this date)

Mail to:
The New Britain Museum of American Art
Attn: Holiday Decorating Committee, Sarah Rohlfing
56 Lexington Street
New Britain, CT 06052

Your ornaments may be dropped off at our next SAQACT meeting which is scheduled for Saturday, August 23rd.

Even if you signed up during our May 24th meeting, PLEASE contact Anna Tufankjian tufankji@cox.net BEFORE AUGUST 1st to confirm that you will participate, and please include the number of pieces you think you will submit.

This information will be added to our blog, for future reference. Look for the NBMAA Fiber Art Tree tab above.  Thank you everyone!

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Fiber Art by Barb McKie in CT, MA and NY this Summer

Congratulations to Barbara Barrick McKie, whose fiber artwork will be displayed all around New England and New York this summer.

On display now: Barb McKie and Kris Moss have a two person show featuring traditional and contemporary quilts at the Shirt Factory Gallery (Glens Falls, NY).

Quilting, A Timeless Art
Exhibit Dates: June 6 – June 28, 2014
Opening Reception June 6, 5-8 pm

Shirt Factory Gallery
71 Lawrence Street
Glens Falls, NY
518-907-4478
www.shirtfactorygf.com

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Barb will also have three pieces at the Slater Museum (Norwich, CT) beginning June 15, 2014.

"The Animal Heart"
June 15 - Aug 10, 2014
Opening Reception: Sunday, June 15, 1-3 pm

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The Slater Museum will present The Animal Heart, a special invitational exhibition featuring Connecticut artists whose work focuses on the relationships between animals, humans and their environment. 
Slater Memorial Museum
305 Broadway
Norwich, CT 06360
http://www.slatermuseum.org/page.cfm?p=1213

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In July, Barb will be THE featured in the Art Quilt Gallery NYC
July 7 – Aug 16, 2014
Opening Reception July 7, 6-7:30 pm

http://www.artquiltgallerynyc.com/The_ArtQuilt_Gallery_NYC/Future_Shows.html

Sally-Lightfoot-Crab-450px

The Art Quilt Gallery NYC
133 West 25th Street, between 6th & 7th Avenues
New York, NY
Hours:
Tuesday to Saturday, 11 to 6 pm
Sunday & Monday by appointment only

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In August, Barb joins fellow SAQA-CT artists Judy Ross and Phyllis Small at the Whistler House Museum:

Art Quilts 2014: How Does Your Garden Grow?
Aug 20 - Sept 20, 2014
Reception and Awards: Saturday, August 23, 1-3 pm

Whistler House Museum of Art
243 Worthen House
Lowell, MA 01852

This year the exhibition features Art Quilts that explore the second line from the well-known nursery rhyme “Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary, How Does Your Garden Grow?" It was up to the quilt artist to take this line and interpret it for inspiration.

Participating Artists: Pamela Allen, Margaret Anderson, Nancy Bardach, Susan Bleiweiss, Betty Busby, Sue Colozzi, Janis Doucette, Atara Halpern, Ruby Horansky, Helene Kusnitz, Ellen Lindner, Barbara McKie, Patti Owens, Anneke Rebele, Wen Redmond, Ruan Robertson, Judy Ross, Jodi Scaltreto, Maya Schonenberger, Phyllis Small, Nancy Turbitt, Nelda Warkentin, Naomi Weidner, and Marianne Williamson.

Sunday, June 8, 2014

Meeting Notes: May 24, 2014 at Windham Textile & History Museum (Willimantic, CT)

If you were not able to attend the last Connecticut Regional meeting in Willimantic, please read the meeting notes to catch up on what happened.  Notes courtesy of SAQA-CT Reps Catherine Whall Smith and Barbara C. Adams

AGENDA:  MAY 24TH, 2014 10:00 – 1:30

WTHM_MPalmer_intro

INTRODUCTIONS:  Michele Palmer, Co-Curator of "Inspiration Quilts: Then and Now" – welcomed the group to the museum and gave a brief history of the building and its mission.

NEW BUSINESS:

1   Kate Themel and Anna Tufankjian (up-date on) - New Britain Museum of American Art – “Stitched in Time: American Quilts 1758-2014” quilt show in October 2014. 
Kate Themel, Norma Schlager, Barbara McKie, and Anna Tufankjian have all been invited to display pieces in this show.  In addition, the SAQA “Traveling Trunk Show” will also be displayed during this event.

SAQATrunkShow

2 -- Barb Adams has kindly volunteered to be the point person in charge of scheduling the SAQA Trunk Show.  PLEASE CONTACT BARB ADAMS  b.c.adams@comcast.net if you would like to schedule this trunk for a quilt meeting, etc. 
Before and during our meeting we had an opportunity to view the art in the trunk show.  So far Barb has had several requests for this trunk – it is quite amazing, beautiful, and offers a peek at the wide variety of our SAQA members techniques.  So sign up with Barb soon to be sure that you will receive it when you would like it.

Norma Schlager(S&T)

3. Diane Wright – informed the group on the possibility of our own SAQA-CT traveling TRUNK show – Rita Hannafin will be working with Diane on setting this up with a time line for submitting your piece. The plan is to have this “Connecticut Members” trunk show available to travel throughout CT – it could be a fund-raiser as well. More information to follow. Feel free to contact Diane Wright (dwrite@mac.com) with questions or feedback.

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4. New Committee – The fund-raising committee worked so well that maybe forming a few short and long term committees will move us in the direction of meeting the needs of our CT members.
Anna Tufankjian
shared information regarding a collaboration with the New Britain Museum of American Art.  Anna is a docent at the NBMAA and had been contacted to be involved with decorating the 15 foot high Christmas Tree that will stand in the entrance to the museum. 
Laurie Dhandapani
and Ann Marie Gontarz signed up to help Anna with this committee and work on the guidelines for submission, size, and theme of the pieces that will go on this tree. 
Anna also generated a list of members at the meeting that would make a piece for the tree – you still have an opportunity to sign up as soon as we receive more information from Anna’s committee. Anna will be meeting with the NBMAA on Thursday - so an email with all the details will go out to everyone as soon as the plans are finalized. 

OTHER FUTURE COMMITTEE SUGGESTIONS: A Meeting Idea Committee; A Photographer list Committee; A Connecticut Artist Bank Committee; etc.

WTHM2014 (1)

5. Barb Adams polled our members that attended the SAQA Conference in Alexandria Virginia and asked them to share their thoughts on their experience.-  Everyone was very positive.  Rita Hannafin gave a brief summery of one of the sessions that she attended;  “Finding Your Voice”. (see attachments) - Finding your voice—10 things to think about  SAQA Journal, Winter, 2011 by Leni Levenson Wiener and, Finding your Voice Quilters Newsletter Magazine, Spring 2012   by Leni Levenson Wiener

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6. Our SAQACT Spool Block Quilt – is on display in the “Inspiration Quilts: Then and Now" quilt show. A show binder that includes all of the donor’s thoughts regarding their block is on display with this quilt. THANK YOU TO ALL THE MEMBERS WHO DONATED A BLOCK!

WTHMpix (9)

7. WTHM - POST CARD CHALLENGE  – on-going – check the SAQACT blog for details http://saqact.blogspot.com. Thank you to Normajean Brevik for submitting the first of these postcards as well as Kate Themel, and Barb Adams – several of these post cards have already been sold for $25 each and the money raised will be added to the WTHM “soar shade” fund.   

PLEASE CONSIDER DONATING A POST CARD TO THIS WORTHY CAUSE – the submission is on-going throughout the show  - which closes on September 7th, 2014. Reminder the museum is only open on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, from 10:00 – 4:00

PhylissSmall

8. Up-coming opportunities:  “I love NEW ENGLAND” – open to SAQA members residing in New England.  Special Exhibit at World Quilt Show, Manchester,  N. H. August 14-17th, 2014    Entry deadline – June 1st, 2014

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9. SHOW AND TELL – This was a wonderful event with our members sharing their many accomplishments: books, quilts, shows, and present studio work.

NSchlager'spiece

10. NOON - LUNCH –we had a delicious lunch from “Moveable Feast” by Cafemantic–948 Main Street, Willimantic, CT (860) 576-9474

11. 1:30 – 3:30 – Opening of “Inspiration Quilts: Then and Now”
Members and their guests gathered on the first floor to view the “Then and Now” quilts and enjoy the WTHM/SAQACT 25th Anniversary cake baked by Motta’s bakery in Willimantic. 
Most of the quilters were on hand to answer questions in regard to their thoughts and processes in creating their piece for the show.  A show booklet is available at the museum which contains information on each of the “Now” quilts.

WTHMpix (6)

12. Next Regional Meeting – Saturday, August 23rd, 2014

Jane Davila has invited SAQACT members to visit her studio at the NEST - 1720 Fairfield Ave in Bridgeport, CT http://www.nestartsfactory.com which is easily accessible from route I-95.
The NEST includes lots of wonderful art in the hallways and has a variety of artists in the building that we might visit. After lunch there will be an opportunity to see an excellent documentary film (82 minutes long) called "Who Does She Think She Is?" which follows 5 women artists and their struggles with creativity and balancing family and art. 

Our full agenda is still in the planning stages - MORE INFORMATION TO FOLLOW and your suggestions are always welcome!!

Best,

Barb and Catherine

Friday, June 6, 2014

Laurie Dhandapani Invited to Participate in Gallery on the Green (Canton, CT)

Congratulations to SAQA-CT artist Laurie Dhandapani, whose fiber art "Prajna" is on display now in the Gallery on the Green Member and Guest Exhibition!

Spring Member and Guest Exhibition
May 30-June 29, 2014

CantonCT

Gallery on the Green is the showpiece of the Canton Artists' Guild, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting visual arts in the community and fostering talent. The gallery features three exhibit spaces--two indoor and an outdoor sculpture garden, showcasing pieces by artists from all over northwestern Connecticut.

Gallery On The Green
55 Dowd Avenue (c
orner of Dowd Ave & Route 44)
Canton, CT 06019
(860) 693-4102
http://galleryonthegreen.org/

Gallery Hours: Friday- Sunday 1-5pm

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Article by Diane Wright in Quilting Arts Magazine (June/July 2014)

Congratulations to SAQA-CT artist Diane Wright!

Diane shares her knowledge of using twin needles in free-motion quilting in her article "Double Down" in this month's issue of Quilting Arts Magazine.

Photo May 26, 2 58 46 PM

Look for the issue featuring a detail of Elaine Quehl's beautiful Hosta quilt on the cover. 

QAcoverJune2014

Inspiration, information and of course gorgeous examples of fiber art fill the pages.

You can purchase a copy or subscribe to Quilting Arts Magazine through QA's website: http://www.quiltingdaily.com/blogs/quiltingarts/

Quilt National '21 is Coming to Connecticut

Congratulations to Catherine Whall Smith , whose quilt "Transfusion in Two Parts" will be on tour with Quilt National '21.  Th...