Congratulations Valerie Maser-Flanagan

CONGRATULATIONS TO

VALERIE MASER-FLANAGAN

Valerie has two pieces on exhibit at the Migration Exhibit at the Umbrella for the Arts in Concord, MA.  The exhibit includes a variety of artists who work in fiber.

For more information visit:  https://theumbrellaarts.org/migration

See Valerie's two pieces below.

Between the Dark Spaces Shines the Light
by Valerie Maser-Flanagan

Portal #2
by Valerie Maser-Flanagan

Valerie Maser-Flanagan - Two Venues

Valerie Maser-Flanagan

Work Exhibited at Two Venues

Be sure to catch the work of Valerie Maser-Flanagan at two venues this fall.

The first venue will be at Quilt Visions 2018: Connections, Visions Art Museum: Contemporary Quilts + Textiles, San Diego, CA, October 20, 2018 to January 6, 2019, (https://www.visionsartmuseum.org/). Her work is titled "The Ground is Shifting".

The Ground Is Shifting by Valerie Maser-Flanagan

The second venue will be at Quilts=Art=Quilts, at Schweinfurth Art Center, Auburn, NY, October 27, 2018 to January 6, 2019. Those pieces are titled  "The Energy Between the Spaces" and "The Space Between Our Breath" (http://www.schweinfurthartcenter.org/).

Congratulations, Valerie!

The Energy Between the Spaces by Valerie Maser-Flanagan

The Space Between Our Breath by Valerie Maser-Flanagan

Metamorphosis Acceptances

Congratulations to MA/RI SAQA member

Suzanne Housley Noonan

Her piece called "Wicked Thoughts" was accepted into the global "Metamorphosis" Exhibit.  

"Wicked Thoughts" by Suzanne Housley Noonan

Suzanne Housley Noonan's Artist Statement:

Metamorphosis is not always a beautiful thing. A great number of people walk among us hiding our emotions. The feeling that hits us at times: Grief, Shame, Doubt, Frustration, Fear, Envy, Depression and Sadness. We have an outer shell for all to see. This fiber art is made of layers of cotton fabrics. Cut and peeled away to reveal the color below. The fabric is shredded along the edges to represent our fragile existence.

Congratulations also to MA/RI SAQA members

 Diane M. Bailey ("Fragmenting Circles"),

 Mary-Ellen Latino ("Dance of Life:  Tidal Pool"),

 and Valerie Maser-Flanagan ("Wood Grain #1"), 

who also had works accepted into the "Metamorphosis" call for entry.

Exhibition Schedule:

Quilt Festival Houston - November 8-11, 2018

Quilt Festival Chicago - April 2019

Art Quilt Elements 2016 & SAQA Convention

ArtQuilt Elements 2016

March 18 through April 28, 2016 

Coinciding with the SAQA Convention in Philadelphia, PA March 31, 2016 through April 3, 2016, Art Quilt Elements is the 12th Exhibition of this internationally acclaimed show. With 66 artist's work shown it promises to be an exciting exhibition. Several local SAQA members had their work accepted and will be showing at the Wayne Art Center this spring. Betsy Abbott, MA, Sandy Gregg, MA, Rosemary Hoffenberg, MA, Judith Larzelere, RI, Jeanne Marklin, MA, and Valerie Maser-Flanagan, MA, all have work included.

Sheer Wild Wonder

Betsy Abbott

Celebrating Autumn Glory

Sandy Gregg

Blooming

Jeanne Marklin

"One of the distinctions of our show is our professional presentation of art quilts. The exhibition has been widely praised by reviewers and artists not only for exhibiting the quilts in a gallery setting but also for promoting the art quilt as an art form."

Juror: Bruce Pepich

Racine Art Museum, Executive Director and Curator of Collections

Translucent Volunteer

Judith Larzelere

The Wayne Art Center is located at 413 Maplewood Ave in Wayne PA. For more information about the Wayne Art Center go to wayneart.org or call 610 688-3553. For more information about Art Quilt Elements go to artquiltelements.org. 

2016 SAQA Conference

Inspire Connect Engage

Center City Philadelphia, PA

March 31 - April 3

SAQA's annual conference is an opportunity for our members to gather together, to network and socialize, to attend informative talks and presentations geared to help one grow as an artist, and to visit local art venues and landmarks.

Hear keynote speaker Carolyn Mazloomi, one of the most influential African American quilt historians and quilt artists of the twenty-first century.

Maria Shell captivated us at last year's conference - don't miss her in Philly! 

David Kohane will guide us through use and misuse of intellectual property rights in the digital age. 

Kathleen Loomis shows us how working in a series expands our range as artists.

Gwyned Trefethen and a panel of Exhibition committee members will share their experience on the who, what and where of what it takes to manage a SAQA exhibition.

Be part of this year's PechaKucha mini presentations, which are like PowerPoint meets Beat-the-Clock! Art Quilt Elements, the exhibition above, will have it's opening reception on April 2. The Banquet and Spotlight Auction are always a fun night, with SAQA member work showcased and up for bid in a silent auction. 

The MakerSpace was awesome in 2015. More to do and better in 2016 it is a room of demos for you to play and engage with presenters. There is an optional tour of the Barnes Foundation, with it's legendary collection of art. The convention is held in a fabulous downtown location, the DoubleTree Hotel which is minutes from galleries, museums and restaurants.

Join hundreds of other SAQA members for a great schedule of thought provoking and inspiring events. Philadelphia is within driving distance from our region. Flying distance is relatively short and Amtrak runs directly into Philly. With the next two SAQA Conferences scheduled for long distances away from New England in Lincoln, Nebraska (2017) and San Antonio, TX (2018), this may be your year to experience the fun of a convention.

The deadline for signing up for the SAQA Convention 2016 general registration is January 31, 2016 as long as positions remain available. After January 31, the price jumps up and spots are on a first-come, first-served basis. Only current members of SAQA can register, so if your membership has lapsed, re-register as a member first. Don't miss your chance and register today. For more information: saqa.com. 

Regional Meeting Recap

SAQA MA/RI members gathered together on Saturday, August 8 for a fantastic meeting centered on identifying and defining an artist's voice. Sue Bleiweiss led a panel of three successful and prolific professionals from our region in discussing what defines an artist's voice and what their personal journeys have been. Those artists were Mary Ellen Latino, Valerie Maser-Flanagan and Wen Redmond. Each artist not only talked about their own philosophies but brought examples of their work to further define their vision. Sue video taped part of the lecture in an attempt to bring this exciting discussion to those who could not make the meeting. You will find this videotape on the SAQA website with other SAQA webinar recordings.

Mary Ellen, Valerie, Wen & Sue

To recap some of the gems that these women gave us I will start with a quote Wen read by Anais Nin, "And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." 

Development of voice takes a long time and it evolves with time. Wen was very philosophical about her thoughts on finding the artist's voice stating early that musing is the artist's voice and citing her early reading of the philosophical book Centering in Pottery, Poetry, and the Person by MC Richards as a clarifying point for her journey. Wen likes to let the materials speak to her. She uses journals filled with pictures she loves and her own writing to inspire her creativity. She also believes that writing a heartfelt artist statement is a good way to focus on what is important to you as an artist in finding your voice.

Valerie believes that doing a lot of work as opposed to looking at an individual expression is how you begin to develop a voice. How your pieces link together as a whole speak to what your voice is. Valerie talked about how after taking a class with Nancy Crow she came home to focus on her own work. Her drive to work steadily and with a strong commitment to working daily have paid off for her in a gradual, but steady development of her style. She talked about the power and emotional impact of seeing all of her work together in her first solo exhibition as she realized that it indeed had a clear voice.

Mary Ellen believes that focusing on your own creative imagery is what initiates an artist's voice. To this task she adds that passion and authenticity are very important. She draws on a wealth of life experiences in travel and a love of photography as well as other artist tools as she works. Mary Ellen has spent a good deal of time academically learning about art but stated that at one point the challenging thing was to take what she had learned and to make it her own. Her art has also been a way for her to heal and suggests that art can be a way to work through life experiences thus making a very personal statement. Mary Ellen also quoted a book by Dakota Mitchell, Finding Your Visual Voice: A Painter's Guide to Developing an Artistic Style, which would be a wonderful read for any artist trying to discover their voice.

A wealth of solid advice, suggestive thinking and great ideas for reflection were passed to the group. Thanks to Mary Ellen, Valerie and Wen for sharing their visions, ideas and processes to help us all understand the concept of what it means to have an artist's voice.

Members looking at Wen's, Mary Ellen's and Valerie's work

After lunch and announcements we wrapped up our meeting as we always do, by taking a look at what our colleagues are doing in a show and tell. Below are some of the photos.

Atara Halpern

Three by Valarie Poitier

Janis Doucette 

Alison Wilbur with a piece worked in Esterita Austin's class

DonnaJean Downer

Suzanne Munroe 

Two from Vicki Jensen

Patricia Faulkner

Madalene Murphy

Nancy Turbitt

Sue Bleiweiss (sorry I missed the right edge)

Sharyn Raiche with a portrait of her daughter

Dawn Allen with quilt business cards

Two from Nancy Belsky from New Hampshire

Ellen Fisher from New Hampshire

Our next meeting will be held at the Fuller Craft Museum, 455 Oak St. in Brockton, MA on Sunday, October 18 from 12-2pm. This meeting will coincide with the 2-5pm opening of the regional exhibition, Art As Quilt: Transitions in Contemporary Textile Media. 

Member Profile: Valerie Flanagan

Creative exploration develops in Valerie Flanagan's art quilts.   While she began as a traditional quilter, her transition to art quilt design goes back to 2009. The abstract work is linear, cut without the use of rulers and an intuitive piecing process. During the last five years, she dyes much of her own fabric herself. Usually working in a series, she says,
"I find this helpful because this pushes me to go deeper into the work and explore areas that may not have occurred to me initially." 
Valerie enjoys the voyage of the entire art quilt process.
"I love to walk and may see something that interests me and then think about expressing it in an abstract manner. But mostly, I work on a design and in the end it takes on a more specific meaning."

"I dye my own fabric and while it is mostly solid, some have a slightly mottled look. I select three primary MX dyes and mix colors from these three primaries. There is something very seductive about putting plain white fabric in a dyebath and watching the color emerge. My work involves intricate piecing. Lines and shapes are freely cut without the use of a ruler and assembled on the design wall."

"Strip-piecing is one of my favorite techniques. Each fabric creation is a composition of its own--and then it is sliced up and recombined with other fabric compositions to create a new composition with surprising configurations . Do you have a favorite color palette: I love all colors, but if I you look at my work, I tend to gravitate towards warmer hues and neutrals."

"I begin with a general idea and a palette of colors. While I have a form in mind, most of the design happens on the wall. I cut lines and shapes without a ruler and either assemble the large pieces on the design wall or create smaller units that are then arranged on the design wall. If possible, I lay everything out on the design wall before I sew it together. This works well with a linear construction. When I am working with curved shapes, I sew as I add each element... My titles usually do not come until I am quilting the piece and reflecting on the experience and process."

Opening her studio door and entering with judgment free creation inspires Valerie.  
"My studio is in my home.I have a cozy room with a large design wall. All of my fabric is in the studio and I have a large table that my husband made to support my machine and provide a large surface for machine quilting. This works for me. I don't have to think about going to my studio--it is the place I head to as soon as I wake up. My windows overlook flower gardens and the bird feeders. It is a lovely environment to work in."

What a joy to find Valerie's inspiration expressed in her art.

Member News - Valerie Maser-Flanagan

Two exhibitions this summer will feature the work of Valerie Maser-Flanagan. "Shape and Color" will showcase work from Valerie and painter Susan Lehotsky from May 2 through July 25, 2015 at the Gleason Public Library, 22 Bedford Rd. in Carlisle, MA. www.gleasonlibrary.org for more information.

Crevices #13

Explorations in Light and Line is open from May 14 - July 8, 2015 at the Bedford Free Public Library, 7 Mudge Way in Bedford, MA. It will showcase Valerie's piece, City Walk #2 and work from painter, Robin Herr. For directions and hours go to www.bedfordlibrary.net

City Walk #2

member news - Valerie Maser-Flanagan

Valerie Maser-Flanagan's quilt Cave Murmurs #1 has been accepted into the Quilt=Art=Quilt exhibit at the Schweinfurth Art Center.

and her quilt Cave Murmurs #2 has been accepted into the "The Sky's the Limit exhibit at the Visions Art Museum in San Deigo California.