Regional meeting recap

On Saturday March 28th we had a regional meeting at Blaine's in Cranston Ri and a great time was had by all who attended.  We had about 30 in attendance so it was a packed room!

Sue Bleiweiss opened the meeting with a few announcements and then we got right into the fun stuff!  Blaine's very generously had four BERNINA machines set up so that we could do some hands on free motion demos and that attendees could practice on.  Nancy Turbitt and Allison Wilbur shared all their tips and tricks for free motion quilting and Sue Bleiweiss talked about alternative edge finishing ideas for quilts and how to make a gusseted hanging sleeve for the back of quilts.  We split the crowd in half, did our demos and then switched places.

Here's Nancy Turbitt  talking to her first group about free motion quilting:

 
Sue Polansky brought a couple of her quilts with unique edge finishes on them to share with the group:

Once all the demos were done, members milled about using the BERNINA machines, did a little shopping and we broke for lunch...

and then we had a wonderful show and tell... (my apologies to anyone's show and tell I may have missed and whose name I got wrong)

 Nancy Turbitt

 Betsy Abbot

 Sue Polansky sharing a piece that she made in Judy Coate's Perez's workshop

 Michelle Leavitt

 Celeste B Janey

 Allison Wilbur

 Dawn Allen

 Barbara Chojnacki

  Barbara Chojnacki

 Heidi Proffetty

 Suzanne Monroe

  Suzanne Monroe

Emma Griffen

 Sharyn Raiche

Ellie Coffey

Karen McCann

Thanks to everyone who came out for the meeting!

Trunk show piece

This gorgeous piece for the trunk show was made by SAQA member Celeste B Janey...

"African Triangles"

Weaving is the creative way in which my cultural ancestry best explodes from my soul, in my work.  It finds its way through the various textures and mediums of fibers, in my workshops.

A few summers ago, a colleague and I were exploring thickened dyes used with silk screening.  Through this process, I realized I could continue my individual quest of finding backgrounds in which to continue to weave various fibers found in my "artist" environment.

This piece, background, is from this exploration.  This piece is screened from thickened dyes, layered on several passes on white PFD (prepared for dye) cotton.  It wasn't until recently, that the piece called to me to be woven with ribbons, machine embroidered and quilted.  The embroidered stitches enhancing the triangular shapes, exemplify the colours and feelings of my Africa.

Submission details for the trunk show:
Each piece must be 9”x 11” - unbound please as the edges will not be visible and the piece will be mounted on matboard.  Please keep any dimensional embellishments at least 1" from the edges.  Include a one page ( 8 1/2” x 11” sheet of paper) artist statement that has your name, the title of the piece, materials and techniques used and any contact information or other information about the piece you wish to include.   Please also email a copy of this statement to Sue at sue@suebleiweiss.com

Send the artwork Sue Bleiweiss to (or bring it to a future SAQA regional meeting) Please include $5.00 (make checks payable to SAQA) to cover the supplies needed to mount and frame the artwork.

Note that this is an open ongoing call for SAQA MA/RI members and there is no deadline to submit a piece for it.  This is a non juried show open to all members of the SAQA  MA/RI region so if you send a piece it will be included.

member news -

SAQA member JoAnn Janjigian will have a piece on display in the Pursuing Justice Through Art 2015 exhibit on view at the Whistler House Museum of Art in Lowell MA.

Opening Reception 

Pursuing Justice Through Art 2015

 

Saturday, March 21, 2-4 pm

Please join us this Saturday for the Opening Reception of "Pursuing Justice Through Art 2015," from 2 - 4 pm. 

Armenian, Jewish, Cambodian, Bosnian, Rwandan, Sudanese, and Native Americans are only a few of the nationalities that have been affected by genocide. The year 2015 marks the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the 70th Anniversary of the end of the Jewish Holocaust and the 40th Anniversary of the Cambodian Genocide. 

It is the hope that education and awareness through the medium of art presented in this exhibition can be used to help ensure a more peaceful future in the 21st century. 

Artists from around the world will display works rooted in genocide and holocaust memories and commemoration. 

The exhibit runs through April 25, 2015. 

Symposium
Saturday, April 18, 1-4pm

Mark your calendars for an informative and thought provoking afternoon. Symposium speakers include: Diana Der-Hovanessian, Kim Servart Theriault, Ph.D., Dr. Elliott W. Salloway, Amy Fagin, and Sayon Soeun. 

 

click here for More info about this exhibit. 

new trunk show piece

I received this beautiful piece for the MA/RI region trunk show in the mail this week from Wen Redmond:

“Be” was created using digitally prepared canvas, medium lift organza, free writing and text for a Chinese newspaper.

Submission details for the trunk show:
Each piece must be 9”x 11” - unbound please as the edges will not be visible and the piece will be mounted on matboard.  Please keep any dimensional embellishments at least 1" from the edges.  Include a one page ( 8 1/2” x 11” sheet of paper) artist statement that has your name, the title of the piece, materials and techniques used and any contact information or other information about the piece you wish to include.   Please also email a copy of this statement to Sue at sue@suebleiweiss.com

Send the artwork Sue Bleiweiss to (or bring it to a future SAQA regional meeting) Please include $5.00 (make checks payable to SAQA) to cover the supplies needed to mount and frame the artwork.

Note that this is an open ongoing call for SAQA MA/RI members and there is no deadline to submit a piece for it.  This is a non juried show open to all members of the SAQA  MA/RI region so if you send a piece it will be included.

member news - Wen Redmond

Wen Redmond has a couple of exciting workshop opportunities for you as well as some exhibition news.  Read on for the details:

Workshops with Wen:

Machine Quilters Exposition
April 8, a full day workshop- Holographic Memories
April 9th, a 1/2 day workshop- Thermal Facts
At The Center of NH, Radisson Hotel,
700 Elm Street, Manchester NH
REGISTRATION Opens November 15, 2014
Full faculty list here 


Quilting by the Lake
Session II: July 27-31
Holographic Memories and More (5-day Class)
As seen in Quilting Arts Magazine and Quilting Arts TV Show! Capture your loved ones or favorite subjects with life like imagery. Using your photographs, create holographic effects with my innovative digital fiber technique. We will create a 5x7” picture mounted on 12x14” bars with Thermal Fax screen-printing highlights on your hand painted fabric ‘frame’! Easy and so exciting! Add nature printing to the mix for create a unique art journal or additional highlights. Images for Holographic Image and Thermal Fax Silk-screens will need to be emailed to Wen one month before workshop.

Exhibition news:
Wen will have artwork on display in the following exhibitions:

National Exhibits
Quilt National Athens, Ohio 5/22-9/7
Westbeth Center for the Art, NYC, Women’s’ Caucus for the Art Exhibit 2/7-2/22
Textile Center Member Exhibit, MN 1/8-2/28
Grand Marais Art Colony MN 2/8- 3/8
SAQA Celebrating Silver exhibit travels various venues

Local Exhibits
Gallery Seven, Maynard MA 2/24-4/4
Branching Out: Trees Interpreted, Emporium Gallery, South Berwick ME 2/7-4/4
League of New Hampshire Craftsmen- Headquarters Exhibit, Concord- Blue. 1/22-3/30
Sharon Arts Center Exhibit, Peterborough, NH 1/16-2/28
 

member news - Valarie Poitier

Valarie Poitier has a piece in the "AND STILL WE RISE: RACE, CULTURE AND VISUAL CONVERSATIONS" exhibit at the Orange County Regional History Center in Orlando Florida. 

More information about the exhibit can be found on the centers website here.  There's also an article about the exhibit in the latest issue of the online magazine On View which you can ready by clicking here.

member news - Diane Franklin

Diane Franklin is having a solo exhibition at the Ormond Memorial Museum and Gardens from January 9 to February 8, 2015. More details can be found here. The exhibition will also include the work of bonsai artist Jason Schley.


Her piece Along the Path is currently being shown as part of Quilts=Art=Quilts at the Schweinfurth Art Center in Auburn, New York, from November 2, 2014 to January 7, 2015.

 along the path

Diane is pleased to announce the publication of her two-part book, Dyeing Alchemy:

Dyeing Alchemy: A Primer About Procion MX Dyeing teaches the basics of dyeing plant-based fabrics using Procion-MX dyes. The companion workbook, Dyeing Alchemy: An Interactive Workbook, automatically does all the complicated dyeing math needed to dye fabric by weight. More information about the book can be found here.