Tuesday, May 11, 2010

SAQA's 2011-2012 Traveling Trunk Show

Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) invites all SAQA members to submit work for its 2011-2012 traveling trunk show. This trunk show is designed to showcase SAQA artists, to help educate the public at large about the art quilt, and to serve as a teaching tool for our members.*

Theme: This is a Quilt!

How do we as SAQA members explain what we do - create quilts - without people immediately thinking of a nine-patch that goes on your bed? By example, of course! SAQA defines an art quilt as "a contemporary artwork exploring and expressing aesthetic concerns common to the whole range of visual arts: painting, printmaking, photography, graphic design, assemblage and sculpture, which retains, through materials or technique, a clear relationship to the folk art quilt from which it descends." This definition is purposely broad to accommodate the wondrous and exciting art quilts SAQA members are creating.

General: Create one piece that constitutes an art quilt as defined above. All work will be photographed, matted, and prepared for exhibition by SAQA. The SAQA exhibition committee hopes to publish some or all of the quilts in a book exploring the diversity of art quilts. All quilts will be returned to the artist after the travel schedule has ended.

Size: Minimum 9" per side, maximum 11" per side. The pieces will be matted behind a 12" white or off-white mat with an 8" square opening in the center. Only 8" sq. of your quilt will be visible. Because the artwork will be behind a mat, the edges need not be finished. A very small number of three-dimensional pieces may be included. Please contact the curators for details.


Statement: Write a statement to the curators explaining why, in your mind, this quilt fits the definition. Why did you choose to create this piece as an art quilt and not in a different medium? (200 words maximum). The statement will be attached to the back of the mat.

Materials: Write a separate statement listing the materials and techniques used in the piece. Submission: Send the piece to curators. Email the statement and materials list in .doc, .rtf, or .odt format to the curators. In your email, please include: your name, address including country, email address, and the name of your SAQA Region (ex. “Europe/Israel” or “NJ/DE”).

Curators:
Deb Cashatt (deb@pixeladies.com) and Kris Sazaki (kris@pixeladies.com)
4061 Flying C Road,
Cameron Park, CA 95682
Tel. 916.320.8774

Dates:
Jan 21, 2011 - Art piece due at address listed above
Feb-Apr 2011 - Works mounted and made ready for travel
May 18-22, 2011 - Works premiere at 2011 SAQA Convention, Denver, CO
Through 2012 - Trunk Show travels to regions by request

* To learn more about the benefits of bringing a SAQA trunk show to your region and using it as a teaching tool, read the Winter 2010 SAQA Journal, pg. 14-15.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Find a Teacher!

SAQA members who teach might find the web site FindAQuiltTeacher.com beneficial. This is a service that makes hiring quilt teachers easier by providing detailed and useful information about teachers in one place and presenting this information in a standardized format.
FindAQuiltTeacher.com is a project of Mallery Press, Inc. and was created by Ami Simms to help teachers, guilds, shops, and conference organizers network better and work smarter.

Saturday, May 1, 2010




Our Michigan SAQA profile this month is:
Carolyn King
Ann Arbor, Michigan
http://www.carolynkingartquilts.com/

How long have you been sewing and when did you begin making art quilts.

I've been interested in sewing and needlework since I was a child. An aunt taught me about crochet and cross stitch and my mother had a sewing machine that I used even before I knew how to sew. Home economics in seventh grade taught me the basics and when I got married one of the first things I wanted was a sewing machine. I made garments, embroidered and crocheted but didn't make my first quilt until I was in my mid twenties, a baby quilt as a gift. I made a completely hand made quilt in the 1980's but it wasn't until I retired in 2002 that I began making art quilts.

Describe your art and its inspiration.

Caught up in the women's movement of the sixties and seventies, I didn't take needlework seriously for a long time. I continued to do it but considered it a vestige of the past and didn't give it the respect it deserved. Just before I retired from a career in social work in 2002, I joined a group of women knitters and through this group of talented women, was re-introduced to the world of fiber art, including quilting. I explored lots of things, felting, shibori, beading, fabric dying, weaving and, of course, knitting. After seeing a segment on portraits in fabric on Simply Quilts, I decided I wanted to see if I could do that. I made a portrait of my dog and was so taken by the process that I tried one of my grandson. The rest is history. I found I loved doing the quilts and since then have done mostly nature inspired pieces. I find that subject endlessly inspiring. I work from photos, taken by me or by my husband. Almost all of my subject matter comes from my own garden and back yard.

I can't emphasize too much how my relationships with other fiber artists and quiltmakers have encouraged and influenced me. They helped me explore, join guilds and groups and provided feedback and support.

Where do you do most of your artwork?

I work in a small studio space that I've carved out of one end of the utility room in my basement. It's small and not ideal but has a nice southern window, a design wall and I make it work. I'd love to have a bigger, dedicated space to work.

What are your goals?

My goals for this year are to enter one or two juried shows, to develop a better work space, and to devote more time to my work. I'm excited by the direction my work is taking and more confident of my style.

Do you teach, lecture, curate, or have a business of your art work?

I've just begun to sell my art work. As a result, I've just created a website, had my work professionally photographed, and had business cards made. These were things that I had on my list of goals for this year but selling some pieces sped up the process. I wanted to create a more professional presence but how this will all fit with selling my work is yet to be seen. I haven't taught, lectured or curated.

Where can your work be seen?

My work can be seen on my website, www.carolynkingartquilts.com , and in upcoming Ann Arbor Fiberarts guild shows at the Ann Arbor Library and University of Michigan Hospital. Paradigm, an art quilt group that I belong to, plans shows at the Northville Art House and Riverside Art Gallery in Ypsilanti. I have two quilts touring with the Michigan Quilt Artist Invitational.

What are your interests outside of art?

I love reading, dance, gardening, the arts of all kinds, genealogy, animals and politics.


Peony
29"x37"


November Dogwood
33"x39"


To see more of Carolyn's work, visit her web site at: http://www.carolynkingartquilts.com/