Regional Meeting this Saturday

Find out what’s happening in CT and meet Laurie Russman who will be sharing how you can use ProCreate and the Cricut machine to enhance your art quilts. View her work at https://neonkittyquilts.com/2020/08/13/cricut-maker-procreate-%e2%9c%a8/

SAQA CT Regional Reps, Laura Lugo and Kathy Nutley, are inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting: Topic: CT Regional Meeting November 2020 Time: Nov 7, 2020 10:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Check your SAQA-CT email for the Zoom link and password   A frequent teacher at IQF’s Open Studios and the beloved City Quilter in NYC, Laurie appeared in Series 2000 and 2100 of Quilting Arts TV on PBS. Laurie is a regular contributor to Quilting Artsand Art Quilting Studio magazines and is a featured artist in Quilted, Volume Q of the Uppercase Encyclopedia of Inspiration. Her art quilts have been juried into International Quilt Festival in Houston, AQS QuiltWeek Paducah and the National Juried Show at Quilt Canada. Laurie is a two-time Aurifil Artisan, devoted MistyFuse fan and frequent collaborator with Windham Fabrics. She blogs frequently about projects featuring these amazing threads, fabrics and effects made possible by the best fusible web! She is a former board member of the Quilt Alliance and is an enthusiastic member of SAQA. Laurie lives Connecticut with her husband, angelic German Shepherd Dog, and three mischievous felines. See you there!

Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc. · PO Box 141 ·

Don't Miss This Month's Spotlight Artist Diane Cadrain

 

Read about our Spotlight Artist and other news and events on the SAQA-CT November Newsletter!

Artist Spotlight: Christina Blais

She's a former SAQA-CT Rep, a prolific artist and the founder of SAQA-CT's yearly retreat. Learn more about Christina Blais in the OCTOBER 2020 Newsletter.

Living in a Virtual World

We are living in strange, isolating times but SAQA-CT is still here for you. Many of our events and exhibitions are digital and virtual, but there is still a lot happening in Connecticut.  You can keep in touch with our members and upcoming fiber art news via email, Facebook, and the SAQA-CT Newsletter.

If you haven't caught up in a while, our previous newsletters are stored on this blog. Have any news to share? Contact your regional reps, Kathy Nutley and Laura Lugo.  Please use those colorful fiber art masks and stay safe everyone

This month's ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: Kate Themel

Don't Miss the SAQA-CT Newsletter

Check the link on this blog for the latest SAQA-CT Newsletter

AUGUST 2020 is full of great information about exhibitions, meetings, publications and more. 

Don't miss the ARTIST SPOTLIGHT featuring Sally Rogers. Her life experiences and artist perspective will inspire you!

Excerpt from the newsletter, TIME SENSITIVE:

Drop off for artwork at Gallery 53 is today and tomorrow!

New Book by SAQA-CT Artist Dawn Allen

Attention cat lovers, practitioners of meditation and fans of fiber art! SAQA-CT artist Dawn Allen has published a new book

The Art of Meditating with Cats features 27 colorful, whimsical fiber art quilt cat portraits and over 20 heartfelt meditations for all humans to enjoy. 

Written and illustrated by well-known animal communicator, author, and artist, Dawn Allen.

This book offers the calming benefits of meditation and enhances the already close bond people have with their cats. 

Each meditation includes a fun, colorful illustration of a cat and clear instructions for different meditation themes and techniques. It is an uplifting book.

The Art of Meditating with Cats is available on Amazon and on Dawn's website dawnallen.net

VIsit the LOCAL COLOR Exhibition as a Gallery Guest

Here's your chance to explore Local Color 4: Rails, Roads & Rivers at the Windsor Art Center. This exhibit has been extended until June 27, 2020. The Windsor Art Center is currently accepting guests into the Gallery by appointment only What does this mean?  If you’d like to see this extraordinary exhibit, simply call Willa Nemetz at (860) 841-0368 or send an email to willanemetz@comcast.net  Let them know which day/time you would like to visit (please choose from the days/hours below).  Gallery visits will be scheduled in 1/2 hour increments and are limited to groups/totals of five or fewer people. · Thursdays from 6 PM to 8 PM · Saturdays from 10 AM to 4 PM · Sundays from 11 AM to 4 PM They will get back to you and confirm the time and date of your visit. For more information, please visit the Windsor Art Center at http://www.windsorartcenter.org/

Artist Spotlight: Meet Phyllis Small

"The Artist Spotlight" is a new feature on the SAQA-CT blog. 

During this pandemic, we are all trying to stay safe and keep others safe. Social distancing and avoiding large groups make it impossible to hold regional meetings for now. As artists, we often find ourselves isolated in the studio. So maybe we are better prepared to shelter in place. But that doesn't mean we don't miss our regional get togethers! It's important to keep in touch and stay connected as a group. But for now we'll need to find creative ways to do that without seeing each other in person.

Check in with us at least once a month, to get to know your fellow CT artists. We will highlight one artist at a time, sharing their thoughts and photos of their work. All interviews will be saved on the "Artist Spotlight" page of this blog, so you can easily find them. 

Stay safe and healthy, everyone!

From your SAQA-CT Reps

Kathy Nutley

Kate Themel

To kick off this new tradition, please welcome Phyllis Small, from West Hartford, CT

(This interview is featured in the June 2020 Newsletter)

Check Phyllis' Facebook page to view her "Quarantine Quilts":

https:www.facebook.com/phyllis.small.9

Connecticut Hang-A-Quilt Day - June 20, 2020

Bring Some Art and Color to your Neighborhood on Connecticut Hang-a-Quilt Day

This community building event is sponsored by the Farmington Valley Quilt Guild. 

You can participate simply by hanging a quilt outdoors on that day. It can be in your front yard, in a park, at a local business, with a sign or not. You can hang it from a tree, a fence, a gate, a rail, a chair, a clothes line, or any other creative way you can think of.

Take a photo of your quilt outdoors and send it to SAQA-CT Rep Kathy Nutley at: knutley1223@gmail.com and they will be posted on this blog.

Be inspired by the 100+ photos of the 2019 Hang-a-Quilt Day posted on Instagram and Facebook #CTHangAQuiltDay  Let’s share our wonderful art form!

Rain date June 21, 2020

Windsor Art Center Reception CANCELLED

The WAC opening reception for Local Color 4: Rails, Roads, and Rivers, originally scheduled for March 21, 2020, has been cancelled due to concerns about Coronavirus.      

At this time we are being told that the exhibit will go on and the WAC will remain open during its normal operating times.   The public is invited to visit during those times.   

Guilford Art Center - Call for Entry

Guilford Art Center:   CALL TO ARTISTS

FIBER FORWARD 2020: BIENNIAL EXHIBITION
Call for Submissions

Fiber works have evolved throughout history from utilitarian usage as clothing, for warmth and traditional décor, to innovative, “outside the box” and nonfunctional uses (sculptural, conceptual, installation-oriented), particularly in the realm of contemporary art and practice. This exhibition calls for works in all fiber media and techniques that reflect the best current explorations by contemporary American artists.

Exhibit Dates: June 12-July 19, 2020

Juror: Marcia Young, Publisher/Founder of Fiber Art Now, a quarterly print and digital magazine for the contemporary fiber art community, and the Fiber Art Network, which supports artists, collectors, enthusiasts, and leaders in the fiber art and textiles community.

Eligibility: This exhibition is open to works in all fiber media, including mixed media. Open to U.S. residents.

Awards: $500 in prizes to be awarded by the juror.

Entry Deadline: April 24, 2020

• Click here to download CFE

Countdown to March 7th Meeting - WHAT, WHO, WHERE

March 7th is fast approaching!  You need to know:

*  The Windham Textile and History Museum opens at 10:00 am.

*  Maureen Lopes and Kathy Bagioni will be collecting LC4 art work.  Maureen will be delivering the art work to the Windsor Art Center the following Saturday, March 14th.

*  We will be enjoying a presentation and display by Catherine Whall Smith entitled,  “Documenting What You Do”.

*  Catherine Whall Smith will also be collecting pieces for Gallery 53 show at the meeting.  She plans to have extra Gallery 53 forms available for entry. Remember this is an all-pieces-welcome show. Check the last newsletter for entry fee. 

*  Rita Hannafin has been instrumental in arranging for Lois Palmer to appraise art pieces at the meeting. Lois requests that you email her directly at lpalm5647@gmail for further information and scheduling.  

WTHM Meeting - March 7

UPDATE - March 7^th, 2020 – Windham Textile & History Museum, Willimantic, CT. 
Meeting in Dugan Mill next to WTHM

-     Program  “Documenting What You Do” presentation and display by Catherine Smith

-     Bring the following things to share:

Bring a favorite publication or maybe a show booklet.

If you have a daily diary – feel free to bring to share

Plan to spend the day and visit the new Special Exhibit at WTHM: “Unlacing the Corset, Unleashing the Vote” On View - February 15^th,  September 13^th 2020. There is a small admission fee to this exhibit.

https://millmuseum.org/whats-happening/

NOTE: 

 1 - Parking is across the street from the museum

2 - SAQACT members and their invited guests are WELCOME!

3 - Bring your own lunch. Dugan Mill has a kitchen and bathrooms for your use.  

4 - Drop off for Gallery 53 show and; SAQACT Local Color Show

*     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *

Announcing Artists for Local Color 4

Thank you to everyone who submitted entries to Local Color 4.  Thank you to Martha Wolfe for jurying!

Grief Journey	Carol	W.	Capozzoli
Bails and Bugs On the Trail	Catherine	Whall	Smith
Sunset over the Pawcatuck River	Cathey		LaBonte
Crossroads	Christina		Blais
Homage to the Dutchman	Christina		Blais
Limelights	Clara		Nartey
Lighthouse, Playhouse	Dawn		Allen
Trout Brook II	Diane	Lillian	Cadrain
Boat Meadow Creek	Diane	Lillian	Cadrain
Roadside Dandies	Diane	M.	Wright
JW's Way	Evelyn	Oliver	Knight
Casting Shadows	Judy		Ross
Shadows on the Roadways	Judy		Ross
Crazy Train	Kate		Themel
A Morning Well Spent	Kathleen		Bagioni
Braided River - Denali	Kathleen		Bagioni
The Creative Road to Happy Town	Laura	M.	Lugo
River Rocks	Lin	J.	Elmo
Flying Over Connecticut	Margaret	A	Phillips
Parkway Dawn	Mary		Lachman
Road to Dinosaurs	Maureen		Lopes
Road To Brodgar	Meredith		Brooks
Making Tracks	Phyllis		Small
Sanctuary in the City	Rita	Daley	Hannafin
Metamorphosis II	Susan	K.	Ober

Shoreline POD Meets on March 10th

The Shoreline Pod Group 
Tuesday, March 10, 10:00 to 11:45 AM.
Location: Madison Senior Center, 29 Bradley Road, Madison 

Topic: Value/Tone from SAQA Seminar 2018 on Visual Design

Value "refers to relative lightness and darkness and is perceived in terms of varying levels of contrast".  

Recommend viewing, in advance, the following, from the SAQA Seminar resources: Johnlovett.com/tone and Elements of Art: Value/KQED Arts on Youtube.  

Please bring several small pieces of fabric (about 3" of any shape), solid or figured, that represent, to you, a range of values.  We will use the pieces as part of a hands-on learning experience.  

There is a fee to use the room and we ask that attendees each bring $2 to help cover the cost. 

Dawn Allen - Great American Road Trip Opens March 14, 2020 - Easthampton, MA

Dawn Allen's New Exhibit

Great American Road Trip: Fiber Art

Mill 180 Park 180 Pleasant St #217 

Easthampton, MA 01027  

OPENING EVENT: March 14, 2020 from 3:30-5:30 p.m. at Mill 180 Park in Easthampton MA with fun facts tour of the states in a great indoor park which can be enjoyed by the entire family.

The Great American Road Trip will be on display the the Mill 180 Indoor Park in Easthampton MA March 14 - April 6 2020

"The Great American Road Trip" series features fiber art pieces colorfully depicting vintage cars and trucks “traveling” all over the United States. The inspiration behind the show is my experience as a mother of young children, feeling trapped at times, lacking the freedom to go where-ever, when-ever! I chose to feature vehicles because the car is a symbol of total freedom. You can jump in and go anywhere at a moment’s notice. The nostalgia of the antique vehicles from 1940-1970 is an important aspect of my work. The intention is to evoke a sense of “the good old days”. Conveying the idea of being young and free and perhaps of “simpler” times.

Most importantly “The Great American Road Trip” series is uplifting. The pieces are brightly colored, cheerful images of places we can all relate to, or places we would love to go.

*$25 donations to the artist get a print of one of the Great American Road Trip pieces or an animal print at the opening event only.

https://dawnallen.net/events/2019/12/11/great-american-road-trip

Dawn Allen, Artist

dacpublishing@gmail.com

413-585-8268

http://dawnallen.net/

Instagram: artistdawnallen

Facebook

Gallery 53 - Call for Entry - PRIZE MONEY

The SAQA-CT Meeting at Gallery 53 on Saturday May 2, 2020 is also the drop-off date for the exhibit. 

Reception and Awards - Saturday, May 9, 2020 from  12 - 2 pm, 

Pick up date - Friday, June 12, 2020 from 12 - 3 pm & Saturday June 13, 2020 from  10-1pm.

SHOW -  Saturday May 9 – June 7, 2020

Entry Fee  - $15 for 2 entries

Judges: Jan Doyle and Mary Lachman  CASH PRIZES

Eligibility: Limit 2 entries “READY TO HANG” There are no size or date restrictions. Mounted or sculpture in fiber also accepted. Artwork does not have to be For Sale.

THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX

A 30% commission will be taken on sold items

Price On Request (POR); and, Not for Sale (NFS) are acceptable entries

A big thank you goes out to Catherine Whall Smith for coordination with Gallery 53 to make this happen.

 

Accepted LC4 Art - Important Detail

Another point that was made clear by Maureen Lopes at the Saturday meeting -

Accepted art MUST be wired and ready to hang. The exhibition committee will not be doing this!  

Highlights from Today's Meeting

Local Color 4

• Deadline for online submission is February 20, 2020 (window Jan 20-Feb 20, 2020)
• Submission link: http://www.saqa.com/memberArt.php?ID=3716
• Acceptance notification is Feb 28th.
• Drop-off of accepted works is March 7th at the SAQA-CT meeting at the Windham Textile and History Museum - if you cannot be at that meeting send it there with a friend

Trove of Twelves

• Troves can be mailed to Maureen Lopes, 25 Old Farms Road, Madison, CT 06443 (phone 203-245-9682 and leave a message)
• Be sure to include check for submission fee 
• Send an email to LocalColorExhibit@gmail.com to notify the organizers that it your work(s) are on the way. 

Dawn Allen 

solo exhibit reception March 14, 2020 from 3:30-5:30 p.m., Mill 180 Park, Easthampton, MA

Kate Themel and Carol Vinick and Phyllis Small exhibiting in and around Hartford

See Newsletter for exhibit and reception dates 

SAQA-CT MEETING - January 11, 2020

Come one and all to the SAQA-CT meeting this Saturday in Watertown!

All meetings are open and free to friends of fabric and stitch.

Meeting from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
We will be having a sharing table (clean out your studio) of freebies. Members can also bring a small table to set up their own art to sell.
As always there will be show and tell.
Bring your lunch!

Address:
The Princeton Center East
Siemon Business Park
76 Westbury Park Rd
2nd floor
Watertown, CT 06795