Meeting minutes 2/20/16 at Guilford Art Center

Another fantastic regional meeting on the books! On Saturday, Feb 20, 2016, 41 of us met at the Guilford Art Center (411 Church St, Guilford, CT), in conjunction with the first showing of our second regional exhibition, Local Color: Connecticut Stories. Diane Wright opened our meeting with a brief overview of the jurying process for the show and a summary of the reception the night prior. Outgoing CT co-rep Barbara Adams presented our Exhibition Committee leaders Diane (and Kate Themel  in absentia) with small tokens of our appreciation for spearheading this wonderful opportunity for our region.

Next, Betty Warner, as part of our regional Trunk Show committee, discussed the hopes to have a minimum of fifty pieces collected for the exhibition. Due to feedback from the group, it was decided to extend the deadline to our April regional meeting.  Note:  Please do not mail your pieces to Betty; bring them to the April meeting or mail after April 1.

As our dear co-rep Cathy Smith has retired from her position, we took a moment to thank her for her service and presented her with a thank-you gift of hand-dyed fabric created for her personally by Carol Eaton.

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 This meeting’s agenda highlight was a small panel on the SAQA Mentor program:
·          Jan Doyle spoke with enthusiasm and finesse about her experiences with her mentor, Linda Anderson  She briefly described how SAQA pairs you with a mentor based on your interests and how much time you are willing/able to invest. Some resources mentioned during this time were the Spoonflower website for print-on-demand and custom photo fabrics and the Dreamscape app to turn photos into artist-stylized images.
·      Carol Capozzoli started as a Mentee with the goal of entering the SAQA call for Turmoil. Her mentor, Phillida Hargreaves from Kingston, Ontario, offered gentle guidance via Skype and email, to edit her work down, further and further. Some tips Carol offered included – Don’t take it personally. Go with the flow. Always say what you need to say. She revealed her piece, Cancerous Turmoil, to much admiration and discussion from the crowd. One notable link from her discussion was http://www.terryaskeartquilts.com/Studio/tips-tutorials-and-more/my-new-favorite-quilt-facing-technique/ for a great how-to on facing your quilt, rather than binding it.
·      One major point that both mentors seemed to really push was “What are you doing NEXT?”.
·      Cathy Smith spoke about how working with her mentor, Sharon Bass  helped her prepare the application for Juried Artist Member of SAQA. Some tips were to keep good records of everything you do (whether that be on a website/blog or otherwise), to preview the application beforehand so that you can prepare and work toward it, and to prototype/thumbnail 10 pieces together so you can see if you have a cohesive body of work. This turned into a fantastic discussion on finding your voice as an artist. Takeaways included the importance of working in a series and that while it is vital to find your voice, your voice can also evolve over time.

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After a delicious lunch, we handed out a few large door prize sets of varying goodies generously donated by our members. Then we turned the show over to everyone’s favorite, Show and Tell.   A few links from that time include:
·      Cathy Smith mentioned advertising in Art New England Magazine, which publishes an artist directory two times a year.
·      The Windham Textile and History Museum will host a series “Textile Trio 2016” in June.  On Saturday, June 11 from 10-4 there will be a series of talks and demonstrations featuring at least eight CT/SAQA members.  Check the website www.millmuseum.org for more details.
·      CT Fiber Artists Collective will have an exhibition called “Soulful Journeys” at the Windsor Art Center March 12 to April 23.  As part of the corresponding programs, there will be a fabric collage workshop led by Carol Vinick and Linda Martin on March 19 from 10 to 12 and a “Felted Labyrinth” workshop led by Diane Cadrain on April 16.  Workshops are $30 each; see www.windsorartscenter.org for more information and registration.

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Be sure to follow the regional blog at http://saqact.blogspot.com - but bear with us as it is slowly undergoing a makeover. One thing to note so far is the addition of an Instagram feed – tag your Instagram photos with #SAQACT for them to show up on our site and let other members see what you’re up to!

Our next regional meeting will be April 9, 2016 at the Windsor Art Center (40 Mechanic Street, Windsor CT) We will be generously hosted by CT Fiber Arts Collective to view their “Soulful Journeys” exhibit. Hope to see you there!

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Bonus note: Members, have you been receiving our newletters and updates via email? Be sure that SAQA is on your safe sender list [esp if you use gmail!] - directions to do so can be found in the website/technical questions section of the SAQA FAQs here. Email Kelly or Christina if you are not getting our notices!

Brief reminders

OUR NEXT CT-REGIONAL MEETING is Saturday Feb 20th, from 10am-2pm at the Guilford Art Center. Email Kelly [art@kellyissuperneato.com] for lunch sign-up BY FEB 16TH. And don’t forget to bring those door prize donations!

The deadline for our REGIONAL TRUNK SHOW has been extended to Feb 20th. If you have not already entered a piece, bring it to our February regional meeting or contact Betty Warner. Details and participation forms are on the Trunk Show tab of the blog: http://saqact.blogspot.com/p/saqa-ct-trunk-show.html

Also - the registration deadline for the Connecticut Piecemakers invitational SAQA exhibition is MARCH 1st.  Details and the registration form are on the Shows to Enter tab of the blog: http://saqact.blogspot.com/p/importan.html Questions can be directed to Christina [christina.onebobbin@gmail.com].

Lastly, due to classic New England winter unpredictability, the reception for our SAQA regional exhibition, Local Color: Connecticut Stories, is now on Friday, February 19th, from 5-7pm at the Guilford Art Center.

Hope to see you all very soon!

Arts of Tolland Open Juried Art Show

The 13th Arts of Tolland Open Juried Art Show is now accepting entries. Art collection dates are Monday, March 28, from noon to 3pm, and Tuesday, March 29, from 4 to 6pm. The entry form can be downloaded from artsoftolland.org, or you can send a SASE to Arts of Tolland, PO Box 163,   Tolland, CT 06084.  If you have any questions, don't hesitate to call or email them (860-871-7405; artsoftolland73@gmail.com). There are $1700 in prizes up for grabs! Good luck!

Regional Trunk Show

Just a reminder that the deadline for entries to our Connecticut regional Trunk Show has been extended to February 20th. Send your piece to Betty Warner or bring it to the regional meeting at the Guilford Art Center. Forms and other information can be found on the Trunk Show tab.

Slater Museum exhibition

Floral Departure by Barb McKie

Congratulations to Barb McKie on her acceptance into this year's Connecticut Artists Juried Exhibition at the Slater Museum in Norwich. [Diane Cadrain also has work in this show - and won FIRST PRIZE!] The exhibit will be up until March 18, 2016. Details can be found on the Slater's website: http://www.slatermuseum.org/cf_news/view.cfm?newsid=694.

Revamped workshop at Stony Point

Sandra Sider will be holding a weeklong "Creativity Workshop: Art Quilt Inspirations" at Stony Point, September 25-29, 2016. Limited to a maximum of twelve participants, the workshop will allow Sandra to spend considerable amounts of time each day working one-on-one with quilters, evaluating their work and suggesting possible directions for developing each quilt. She will also teach the basics of monotype printing, stamp printing, and photo transfer, as well as cyanotype on fabric if we have a sunny day. The final morning will consist of critiques, with participants sharing and discussing their works in progress.

For more details, see the Stony Point website:
http://stonypointcenter.org/get-involved/latest-news/222-quilt0116#.VrdetPFs1jo

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Local Color Opening Reception POSTPONED

Unexpected weather... It is New England, after all. 
The Opening Reception for "Local Color: Connecticut Stories" will be postponed due to excessive snow and possibly unsafe road conditions.

We invite you to join us for the Closing Reception on Friday, February 19th!

Local Color: Connecticut Stories!!!

Diane and Kate hang Cathy Smith's piece, "Storm Coming"

Join us this Friday, February 5th at the Guilford Art Center from 5-7pm for the opening reception of Local Color: Connecticut Stories. Food, wine, and entertainment have been graciously coordinated by Sisters in Cloth, and it should be a fantastic time! Catalogs of the exhibition will be for sale in the gift shop.

A special thank you to Kate Themel, Diane Wright, Barb Adams, David Wright, and Roger Adams for their hard work in hanging the many beautiful and varied pieces for this show.

Unique opportunity in New London County

Cindy Barry, the Market Manager for New London Field of Greens Market, is looking for a fiber artist [or maybe a few?] with interest in joining some farmers markets in New London County. Some ideas might be a special family day demonstration of fiber art or for an artist to have this venue to sell their work.

For more information, contact:
Cindy Barry, Market Manager, 860-625-4896
www.fog.newlondonfarmersmarket.com
www.facebook.com/NewLondonFieldofGreens