Wednesday, October 28, 2015

MEETING MINUTES: SAQA-CT Gathering at Sew Inspired, Oct 24th

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IT WAS A GREAT DAY!!! We had 50 people in attendance.
1.  Thank you to everyone who brought items for our "Meeting Door Prize." The total amount raised was $70. Thank you Kelly Caldwell for managing this meeting event - we are very appreciative. 

2.  THE DROP OFF - for the SAQACT TRUNK SHOW and LOCAL COLOR appeared to run very smoothly; Kate Themel, Diane Wright, Clara Nartey, and Carol Eaton managed to keep things moving along. At our meeting Kate and Diane gave an up-date on the jurying process for Local Color and that we would be notified Tuesday/Wednesday with the results.  Options for the photographing of the accepted entries was also discussed. All of this will be posted along with the jurying results.

3.  Hope Barton and her invited guest managed to collect a sizeable number of pieces for our own SAQACT Trunk Show. - At our meeting Members decided to extend our SAQACT Trunk Show deadline to our next meeting, which will take place in February 2016.  So there is still time to complete your piece.  For submission forms and all of the information please visit the Trunk Show tab on the SAQACT blog http://saqact.blogspot.com/p/saqa-ct-trunk-show.html

4.  Diane Wright encouraged everyone to register for the 2016 SAQA Conference in Philadelphia:  Inspire * Connect * Engage from March 31 - April 3, 2016. DETAILS HERE.  One of the highlights will be a bus trip to see the Opening of Art Quilt Elements. The Early Bird registration is only open until October 31st, so if you want to save $50 please register soon.

5.  Laureen Pekar - Connecticut Piecemakers Quilting Guild invites SAQA members to participate in their quilt show “Spring Shower of Quilts 2016” at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Southbury, CT April 16-17, 2016. The special exhibit in one of the ballrooms will be set up for participating SAQA members and would be free of charge. Artworks should be no more than 120 around, or smaller, and can be any shape. They could be new creations or other favorites, and would be protected by the guild’s insurance program. This would be great exposure for SAQA artists since we have had over a thousand visitors at our last show and more for our coming show. [This is special invitational exhibit will neither be juried nor judged.] Registration deadline is February 16, 2016. Quilts that are to be hung are to be handed in at the Crowne Plaza on Friday, April 15 between 3:30p - 6:00p. All quilts must have a 3-4 inch hanging sleeve sewn on. More details/registration forms are posted on the “Shows to Enter” section of the SAQA-CT blog.

6.  Catherine introduced Kelly Caldwell, who has volunteered to take over for Catherine as our new SAQACT representative.  She will be working with Barbara Adams. The SAQACT reps position is a two-year term. WELCOME KELLY!! We are still seeking a volunteer to work with her, as Barbara will be completing her term soon as well.

7. Catherine shared some of the perks of establishing a Parlor Group in the 8 regions throughout CT.  Attached is the master list.  To obtain more information, such as phone numbers, addresses, etc. please go to www.saqa.com and click on the Members Directory.  Feel free to contact Catherine smith.catherine62@gmail.com if you need any additional information or to discuss ideas for your region.  Since we will not be having another SAQACT meeting until February 2016 it would be great if we could all meet once in our parlor groups before then.  A local coffee shop, art center, or someone's home are all suitable locations.  Remember this is a low-key effort to provide additional support for and to one another.

8.  Norma Schlager (please check out her most recent blog post http://notesfromnorma.blogspot.com) shared her thoughts on her recent solo show at the Brookfield Art Center.  She stressed the importance of the shows "Opening Night". Works should be priced to sell!
Her agreement with the venue was a 50% commission. She made up 20 boxes of greeting cards (6 in a box) which sold for $15 a box.  Seventeen boxes were sold. Her printing was done by Vistaprint www.vistaprint.com/ (This site has lots of special discounts so keep checking their site.)  Norma also used Vistaprint for the 100 post cards that she distributed - mostly handing them out directly and mailing a few. The Brookfield Art Center provided the Opening Night refreshments as well as the publicity, and used their volunteers to assist in the hanging of the show.  Norma brought some samples of the small pieces that she made on her Epsom printer with Durabright inks. Her art items in the $75 to $125 price range sold well. Members followed up Norma's talk with many questions and then Diane Cadrain showed one of her current works that will be in her up-coming Solo Show in the Clare Gallery at the Franciscan Center for Urban Life (Hartford, CT) from November 12 to December 27, 2015. Questions and answers followed. One member suggested that at a future meeting we display and explain various methods of hanging, mounting, and framing our Fiber Art.

NOON - Lunch
1:00 p.m.  Another fantastic MEMBERS “Show and Tell”
2:00 p.m. End of meeting - more time to shop!

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