Wednesday, October 3, 2018

Explorations: Journeys in Creativity: Inside the Quilt Artist's Studio Opening

Explorations:  Journeys in Creativity:

 Inside the Quilt Artist's Studio

SAQA MA/RI Regional Exhibition

October 3 through December 30, 2018

New England Quilt Museum, Lowell, MA

Exhibition Opening October 13, 2018 at 1 pm


The MA/RI Regional exhibition, Explorations: Journeys in Creativity: Inside the Quilt Artist's Studio, Part 1, will debut on October 13, 2018 at the New England Quilt Museum (NEQM), 18 Shattuck St, Lowell, MA at 1pm in the Genre Gallery. A MA/RI meeting is planned at NEQM prior to the opening at 12 noon. PLEASE NOTE THIS CHANGE IN MEETING TIME!  The Museum closes at 4 pm. All are welcome to the meeting as well.

This exhibition is a two-part juried show on display from October 3 through December 30, 2018, featuring New England SAQA members focusing on art quilting techniques. The twelve artists in Part 1 have created a piece for the exhibit highlighting chosen techniques, and each piece is accompanied by a banner detailing their process.  Five of the twelve artists from Part 1 will give Lightning Talks about their creative process as part of the opening reception/meeting on October 13.

Lightning Talks will be given by:

Agusta Agustsson (MA) Intuitive Quilting
Madalene Murphy (MA) Leading Questions: How Did I Get From There to Here?"
Susan V. Polansky (MA) The Many Layers of Photoshop, Quilts, and Meaning
Catherine Whall Smith (CT) “How a Multi-Tasking Fiber Artist Really Works” or, “Getting the piece ready for the Hand Quilting seems like a sedentary activity - BUT IT’S NOT!”
Nancy Turbitt (RI) Solving Problems with Technique

You won't want to miss these interesting Lightning Talks!

Timna Tarr will be giving a Brown Bag Lunch talk at NEQM on Thursday, November 1 at 12:30 pm on “Cloth Cartography: Making Map Quilts”.

Susan Polansky will be giving a Brown Bag Lunch talk at NEQM on Thursday, December 6 at 12:30 pm on “Fused Applique Collage”.

Also showing at NEQM will be Susan Carlson, including her amazing crocodile, in the Main Gallery and Salley Mavor's exhibit, "Liberty and Justice: New Artwork by Salley Mavor". Many of you will not want to miss this amazing opening day at NEQM.

The Explorations catalog is finally complete, and it is marvelous! The full color catalog for "Explorations: Journeys in Creativity: Inside the Quilt Artist's Studio" can be purchased at the opening reception at NEQM. The 160 page full color catalog is priced at $24.95 and includes a 6-page section for each of the 24 artists detailing their chosen technique.

The SAQA artist's and their techniques included in the catalog are:

Agusta Agustsson - printing with gelatin plate
Sue Bleiweiss - raw edge fusible appliqué
Ann Brauer - quilt-as-you-go
Diane Cadrain - thread painting and felting
Sue Colozzi - layered fabric collage
Judy Dales - curved piecing
Janis Doucette - eco printing
Diane English - improvisational piecing
Janice Jones - surface embellishment
Mary-Ellen Latino - digital image manipulation and shibori, discharge & vat dyes
Marya Lowe - improvisational piecing
Jeanne Marklin - fabric dyeing
Valerie Maser-Flanagan - improvisational piecing
Sharon McCartney - printing and image transfer
Suzanne Munroe - painting/portraiture
Madalene Murphy - fabric manipulation
Susan V. Polansky - photoshop composition and fabric collage
Wen Redmond - digital photo manipulation and paste mediums
Cheryl Rezendes - surface design and hand embroidery
Diane Sheckells - applique and perle cotton embroidery
Catherine Whall Smith - hand quilting from reverse
Sarah Ann Smith - fused collage
Timna Tarr - applique and machine quilting
Nancy Turbitt - surface design with markers

Sales of the catalog will support future programs and exhibitions in the MA/RI region. Catalogs will also be available through the New England Quilt Museum gift shop during both segments of the exhibition in Fall 2018 and Spring 2019, and part of the proceeds will go to help the museum.

A big shout out to all of those who have helped create “Explorations”.  Curators Nancy Turbitt and Allison Wilbur formulated the Prospectus and Call for Entry and worked with the artists to gather the many elements that went into making this a multilayered exhibit.  The twenty-four artists devoted six months of their time pushing their techniques and documenting their process to share with their audience.  A thank you to the artists for their patience with the process of this exhibit, and to those doing extra work in the form of Lightning Talks, Brown Bags, and lectures.  Allison Wilbur created the banners and catalog (no minor accomplishment!), giving selflessly of her time, with tremendous support from Dixie Walker (photo management and editing) and Jeanne Holtzman (editing and technical support).  Nancy Turbitt kept this entire enterprise on course, dealing on a daily basis with every aspect of the exhibition. Karen and Bud McCann and Allegra Printing in Providence, RI did a beautiful job printing the banners that accompany the art work.  Janice Jones wrote an excellent Press Release.  Sue Polansky organized the Lightning Talks and assisted in hanging the show. Suzanne Munroe helped with publicity, and Margaret McGrath helped with publicity and file storage.  Special thanks go to Vicki Jensen and PRO Chemical and Dye in Fall River, MA, who provided much appreciated sponsorship for the banners and the catalog to accompany the exhibit.  Thanks to the volunteers who came out and helped to hang the exhibit:  Agusta Agustsson, Diane and Sara Sheckells, Janice Jones, Tricia Deck, Sarah Ann Smith, Sue Polansky, Nancy Turbitt, and Allison Wilbur.  A big thank you to the jurors of “Explorations”, Pamela Weeks and Jane Davila, for so carefully choosing the artists. And most of all, thank you to Pam, Nora and the staff of the New England Quilt Museum for inviting our regional group to create this two-part exhibit.

We hope you are as excited as we are about this amazing exhibit and catalog. Please use social media or your blog or website to get the word of the opening reception and catalog out. See you at the opening!

Please join us for our October 13 regional meeting at the New England Quilt Museum (more information below) at 12 noon, and the opening at 1 pm.

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