SAQA Michigan

Exhibit Opportunities - Not for Members Only!

2012-01-30T12:02:00.000-08:00

Bonifas Fine Arts Center, Escanaba, Michigan

Bonnie Peterson, a SAQA member from Houghton MI, sent us information about Fabrications III, a juried show for Upper Peninsula fiber artists, to be held at the Bonifas Fine Arts Center in Escanaba. Here's the link (scroll down a little to find this particular exhibit). Exhibition dates are March 29 through April 26. 2012.

The entry deadline is 3 pm on February 28, 2012.

Bonnie is the juror for this exhibit and will also be presenting a workshop "Into the Mix: Machine Embroidery & Heat Transfer" on Friday, April13. Information is included on the pdf of the application form. Here's the link to Bonnie's website.

Although SAQA's Michigan region has only two members in the Upper Peninsula, many of our other members may know fiber artists living in the UP, so I encourage you to pass this information along to your friends and to other groups you belong to or know of.

Mary McLeod Bethune Performing Arts Center & Visual Arts Gallery, Daytona Beach, FL

Von Biggs, a SAQA member in Indiana and a friend from the Fabrications Retreat in Michigan, sent us a link to the website of Juanita Yaeger, a fiber artist and SAQA member in Florida who is coordinating four exhibits for the Mary McLeod Bethune Performing Arts Center & Visual Arts Gallery in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Two of the exhibits are for traditional 2-D media - oils, acrylics, watercolor, etc. However, there is also one, Glued Down, for assemblage and collage; click here for information.

And one for art quilts: Stitched Through. Click here for information.

Good luck, everyone.

And be sure to send information on exhibits and competitions, both on entries and on your successes. The SAQA website has an excellent list of calls for entries - open shows as well as SAQA member shows - but often there are other competitions and exhibits that are not posted there. Let's keep each other informed.

Happy New Year - Happy New Prize

2012-01-26T08:30:00.000-08:00

We're starting a new year but continuing an old tradition -- well, not that old: Mary Andrews and Robbie Payne started these give-away contests in 2010. Laurie and I intend to continue them in 2012, but with a twist.

First, here's the gift: the catalog of "Beyond Comfort", a SAQA exhibit from 2010.

This exhibit is best described in the words of the curator, Eileen Doughty: "SAQA encouraged its members to create radical art - art which departed from their own body of work. The theme called for fresh, adventurous work, work that may have been rejected from other exhibitions because it was so radical it could not have fit into a cohesive exhibition. In 'Beyond Comfort', radicalism provides its own cohesion."

The exhibit catalog contains 64 pages, softcover. A color photo of each artwork is accompanied by the artist's statement about the piece. The curator's statement by Eileen Doughty and the juror's statement by Marci Rae McDade are also included.

To add this catalog to your library, leave a comment (on this post only) and you will be entered in a drawing to win a copy of "Beyond Comfort".

BUT (here's the twist) not just any comment. Since it's a new year, tell us your new year's resolution relating to fiber art. You can keep it simple: "Work in a larger format"; "enter a SAQA exhibit"; "take a drawing class"; "master free-motion quilting"; or (my personal resolution) "finish something!"

You can enter more than once but be sure to leave your email address (in addition to your name) if you don't have a blog or website that provides your email. You have until Sunday, February 12, at midnight. The winner will be announced on February 14. This could be your Valentine's Day present to yourself.

Good luck!

By Way of Introduction....

2011-09-26T16:40:00.000-07:00

The new year, for me, has always seemed to begin in September. I know I’m not alone in this feeling: the anticipation of new classes, new subjects, new projects; the hope that everything will go well – and maybe a bit better than last year; and of course always the anxiety that comes with trying something new.

My new activity this September is acting as SAQA co-rep for Michigan, along with Laurie Ceesay who introduced herself on this blog in August. Now it’s my turn to write and introduce myself, and believe me, there is plenty of anxiety associated with that new task!

My name is Anne Hiemstra, and I’m now a fiber artist living and working in Farmington Hills, Michigan, and (for several lovely months each year) in Fort Myers, Florida. I have lived in Michigan all my life and attended the University of Michigan. I practiced law, specializing in commercial real estate, until I retired in 2006.

So you may be wondering where in that background there was any training in the visual arts. Well, there wasn’t much. I was one of those kids who couldn’t draw a straight line (although I was very good in geometry), and I didn’t take any kind of art class beyond sixth grade. But I did love fabric and yarn and textures, so I sewed many of my own clothes in high school and college and also learned to knit and embroider.

I also have always loved quilts. When I was growing up,we used quilts made by my grandmother and aunts. I wanted to learn to quilt, but somehow got the idea that all piecing and quilting had to be done by hand, and I was convinced that I would never have the time and patience to learn all that stitching, much less make a whole quilt!

But in 2000 I took finally took the plunge and enrolled in a quilting course that included piecing, applique, English paper piecing, and quilting, all by hand. I was completely hooked – although it didn’t take me long to buy a sewing machine and learn to do the piecing and quilting by machine. Hand applique, however, remained one of my great loves.

I enjoyed making traditional quilts but I never felt that I was making my own quilt, even when I devised my own patterns. “Quilting Arts” magazine introduced me to art quilting, and two workshops with Pamela Allen at Fabrications (2006 and 2007) convinced me that this was what I wanted to do. Since then I’ve attended workshops with Laura Cater-Woods, Fran Skiles, Cherilyn Martin and Els Van Baarle, and Laura Wasilewski. I’ve exhibited at a number of shows across the country, and even tried my hand at teaching a few times. I’m a member of Running With Scissors here in Michigan and of Art Quilters Unlimited in Florida.

I make art quilts because I love working with fabric and thread. I love texture and color and learning about design and composition. I love free motion work but also hand stitching. I don’t have any good explanation of my work - artist statements are always agony – so I’ll just show you two of my favorite pieces (both made, coincidentally for the Michigan Quilt Artist Invitational) and let them speak for themselves.

I look forward to serving as a representative for SAQA. Let me or Laurie know if we can answer any questions about the association.

The Art of The Kitchen: Michigan Quilt Artsits Invitational

2011-08-31T09:31:00.000-07:00

I am sharing information about an art quilt exhibit which begins in Flint MI and then travels throughout Michigan into 2012. The group is Michigan Quilt Artists Invitational and was created by Mary Andrews and Marty Calhoun. Each year there is a theme and this years theme is "Art in The Kitchen." I have been part of this group for two years so I am familiar with the rules. The quilts need to be sized to 20 x 24 either horizontal or vertical, any color or style, any embellishments need to be containdr because of travel and the pieces are available for sale. There will be an opening reception on Friday, September 9, 2011 at the exhibit location Greater Flint Arts Council Gallery in Flint MI from 6-9 EST. If you live near Flint or are in the area check it out because the exhibit is amazing. It's fun to see how aproximately 60 fiber artists interpret the theme of the invitational. Contact Mary Andrews for the complete traveling schedule.

Perhaps there is some crossover between the SAQA MI members and the MQAI members. If you are one of these artists and are willing to share your piece on this blog please e-mail me at ceesaylaurie@yahoo.com and I will post it. Don't be shy and share for the people who may not attend the exhibit. Thank you!

Have a creative and abundant day, Laurie

SAQA Michigan Profile of the Month: Lauren Strach

2011-08-17T10:03:00.000-07:00

The SAQA MI Member Profile of the Month is Lauren Strach. Please take the time to view Lauren's work, her perspective on her art and it's processes and her goals for the future.

Lauren in front of "First Snow" 2011. 60 x 55.

How long have you been sewing and when did you begin making art quilts?
I started taking traditional quilting classes about 13 years ago when my late husband became terminally ill. I was home with him, and two small daughters, and quilting became my release. After he passed away, and I went back to my career as a college professor of marketing, I didn't have time to quilt, but continued to buy patterns, books and fabric, and I would plan the quilts I would make when I had the time. That is all still in a corner of my studio, untouched, but at the time, it was an important artistic outlet!
As my girls got older, my interests in the type of quilts I was drawn to started to change. Then I picked up "Thread Magic" by Ellen Anne Eddy, and my creative world changed. I discovered that Ellen lived only an hour away from where I lived, and that she did private tutoring in her studio. I called her, signed up, and never looked back.

MAAC Solo Gallery Show

Describe your art and its inspiration.

My inspiration, like so many other quilters, comes from nature. I am a Master Gardener, and am lucky enough to have an extensive garden, with two water ponds, and many perennial beds. I live on a ravine, with a creek at the bottom, so I am daily surrounded by inspiration. Nature has always been an important part of who I am and it is an important part of the creative lens that I view my world through. So, it is only natural that that the vocabulary of my work comes from this inspiration.

Where do you do most of your artwork?

I am lucky enough to have a third floor studio space, with large dormer windows, overlooking my garden. I can look up and see the sun and the clouds and all the drama of the sky, I can look out into the branches of the trees and watch the squirrels and the birds, and I can look down, and see the tiny koi swimming in the water.

What are your goals?
My goals are to continue pursuing this artistic journey as fully as possible. I continue taking classes, learning new textile techniques. I am also expanding and developing my skills in other areas of art, such as pastels, drawing, photography (which I use to constantly document the changing garden landscape), and watercolor painting. I believe that if I continue to work hard, show up, and be dedicated, that there is a reason I have been given this passion.　

Do you teach, lecture, curate or have a business of your artwork?
Not at this point. I took an early retirement from my teaching position, so I have already had the experience of teaching professionally. I am still focused on learning and developing as much as I can.

Where can your work be seen?
I have had pieces accepted at the International Quilt Show in Houston for the past three years, and have two new pieces that I just mailed off for the 2011 show. I have also had quilts accepted into the AQS show in Paducah, the Minnesota Quilters Show, and various Mancuso shows. My quilt, "Saguaro Familia" won a third place ribbon at the Pacific International Show, and "Abundance: Pumpkins and Vines" was a finalist in the $100,000 Quilt Challenge.
I have also entered quilts each year in the local Michiana art competition at the Box Factory for the Arts in St. Joseph, Michigan. I have won "Best In Show" twice, which has been a great honor.

What are your interests outside of art?.
My other main interests are gardening and photography and garden photography! All of which feed directly into my art quilts! And, I love to travel, and taking quilting classes around the U.S. has given me the opportunity to spend time in many beautiful and interesting parts of the country. And, of course, my family is a blessing as they support my continued devotion to my art!
The SAQA MI member profiled this month is Lauren Strach. Please take the time to view Lauren's beautiful and colorful work and learn about her, the art processes she uses and how she is inspired.

"Flora in Wonderland" 2011. 55 x 69

"Flora in Wonderland" Detail

New Work "Spring Botanica" 2011. 18 x 42

New Co-reps for Michigan

2011-08-13T19:03:00.000-07:00

My name is Laurie Ceesay and I along with Anne Hiemstra are the new SAQA Michigan Reps.

Robbie Payne and Mary Andrews have finished their "tour of duty" and fulfilled their time as the Michigan Co-Reps for SAQA. We will be posting on the MI blog and managing what needs to be done for the MI area of SAQA. Anne and I will take monthly turns with postings-I have August and Anne has September. I see there are 60ish members and only about a 1/4-1/3 of the members follow this blog. Are some members not signing up and pop in now and then? If you know members that are not followers could you recommend this blog to them? I am a bit competitive since I noticed the WI/IL blog has lots of followers-we can do better than them!!!

I have lived in Michigan 4+ yrs. after living in Appleton, Wi forever. I live in Menominee, in the UP, and am not real familiar with the state and I have never been to Lower MI so learning all the cities the members live in will be a learning experience. I joined SAQA two yrs. ago and chose to take on this position to get more involved in this group which is so informative and has awesome opportunities. Are there any other members from the UP?

A few of my goals is to post upcoming call to entries, acknowledge members and their accomplishments, possibliy have a MI art quilt challenge and/or a mini seminar. Any feedback or suggestions would be appreciated!!

I have included a photo of myself so you know who I am.

Thank you, Laurie Ceesay, MI Co-Rep
www.laurieceesay.com
www.artsychickquilts.blogspot.com
www.facebook.com/artsychickquilts

Jim Hay Workshops

2011-07-07T15:38:00.000-07:00

By Jim Hay

The Dennos Museum Center is presenting two workshops with artist Jim Hay this September.
For The Love of Cloth Quilters Workshop

Dates: Saturday, September 24, 2011, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm

and Sunday, September 25, 2011, 1:00 – 5:00 pm
Cost: $75 for Museum members, $90 for non-members
To Register: Call Diana Bolander at (231) 995-1029, payment due upon registration. This workshop is open to beginners, intermediate and advanced artists.
Forget patterns, forget rules. Get your creative juices flowing.
"Give me your tired...yearning to breathe free" Statue of Liberty
This workshop will open doors to YOUR personal creativity. Each person's artwork will be an individual expression; your artistic vision, your interpretation of a subject, your use of materials. Making art is a path to awareness, a finding out who we are as individuals connected to all.

The Luck of the Sew Quilters Workshop

Dates: Monday, September 26, 2011, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm and Tuesday, September 27, 2011, 1:00 – 5:00 pm
Cost: $75 for Museum members, $90 for non-members
To Register: Call Diana Bolander at (231) 995-1029, payment due upon registration
Open to intermediate and advanced artists – it is recommended that you take the For the Love of the Cloth workshop with Jim Hay before this fun and challenging workshop, but not required.
A Game of Chance – Expect the Unexpected – Numbers being Actions
The Luck of the Sew is a play on words from “the luck of the draw” referring to card games.” Numbers beings actions refers” to 1234567, people, monkeys, dogs, etc. and actions are walking, running, driving, etc.

A little about Jim Hay...

"I am an artist first, a maker of quilts second. Cloth can be folded, stored and shipped. This is an advantage over other sculptural materials as well as large stretched canvas paintings. I taught myself how to use a sewing machine and have never attended a quilt class or workshop. The first time I went to a quilt festival was to accept a prize and I have been going to accept prizes ever since. These are not "Your Grandma's Quilts"; no maps, no patterns, no sketches. They are journeys of improvisation, full of energy, surprise and personal discovery. The sewing machine foot pedal is my gas pedal as I race around."

Diana Bolander
Curator of Education and Interpretation
Dennos Museum Center
Northwestern Michigan College
dbolander@nmc.edu
(231) 995-1029
www.dennosmuseum.org

Congrats, Gera!

2011-06-28T17:17:00.000-07:00

We'll be mailing out the SAQA catalog 'sightlines' this week!

Extension

2011-06-21T16:26:00.000-07:00

No we aren't into showing how to do proper extensions but we are extending our Give Away this month.
Appears some folks have had problems leaving comments so now you have until Sunday, June 26th to post a comment to possibly win a copy of the SAQA catalog 'SIGHTLINES'!

Remember to leave your comment on the post here and not on this post!
Good luck!

Michigan Quilt Artist Invitational 2011

2011-06-20T11:36:00.000-07:00

Jello Anyone?

by Laurie Ceesay

"Jello Anyone" is one of over 50 quilts that will be on display at the Michigan Quilt Artist Invitational, 'Art of the Kitchen' exhibit. The opening reception will be on September 9th from 6 - 9 p.m. Mark your calendars so you won't miss seeing some of these wonderful art quilts!

In case you can't make the opening, here is the schedule for the Art of the Kitchen exhibit and last year's South of the Border, which is still traveling.

Sept - Greater Flint Arts Council
Oct 15 - Nov 30 Ann Arbor Library
Dec - Southfield Library
2012 Schedule
Jan Ortonville Library
Feb-Mar White Lake Library
Apr-May Menominee Library
June - Marquette Library
July - Aug Les Cheneaux Historical Museum

South of the Border Exhibit Schedule remaining:
July-Aug Les Cheneaux Historical Museum
Oct - Marquette Library
Nov - Dec 1/2 exhibit to Menominee Library
Nov - 1/2 exhibit to Livonia Civic Center
2012
Jan - Flint Schools
Feb - Mar Oakland County Government Center
Apr - June U of M Hospital
July- Aug Charlevoix Library

Summer Give Away!

2011-06-16T07:47:00.000-07:00

Well, it's almost summer and therefore we'll start off the season with giving away a copy of the SAQA 'sightlines' publication. The exhibit 'Sightlines' premiered in November 2010 and contained art work from 14 world renowned artists from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, United Kingdom and the United states.

This catalog contains 64 pages, hardcover, with 6-page gatefold that opens in the center illustrating the entire exhibit.
Each artist has a four-page spread with an image of their installation, detail image, artist statement, and artist bio and also includes a curator's introduction from Virginia Spiegel.

Just leave a comment (on this post only!) and you'll be entered in the drawing to win a copy of 'sightlines'! You can enter more than once but make sure to leave your email address (in addition to your name) if you don't have a blog or website that provides your email. You have until Tuesday, June 21st@ midnight - start of summer! Winner will be announced on Thursday, June 23rd! Good luck!

SAQA Michigan May Profile

2011-05-01T07:58:00.001-07:00

May SAQA Michigan Profile

Gwen Jones
Bridgman, Michigan

How long have you been sewing and when did you begin making art quilts? I have an MFA in painting, printmaking and drawing, but though I taught some in the art area, I kept getting hired in Libraries. While getting my MLS I worked for the ALA (American Library Assn.) and the AHA (American Hospital Assn.) and ended up working for 20 years as a Medical Librarian while continuing to do artwork. It helps in this respect that my husband had rented out a large loft space and ran a gallery and rented out work spaces to artists. But someone in the family needed to provide the medical insurance for our family of 4. I saw my first art quilts out East at an exhibition of Japanese Art Quilts seventeen years ago and it opened up a new media to me. I had a lot to learn before feeling confident and joined the Illinois Quilter Inc. and enjoyed the monthly speakers for years. We are both now retired.

Describe your art & its inspirations I want to move the viewers eye and am often interested in having an irregular edge to the pieces I make. "Arroyo" is one of these pieces (see picture below). It was made while in our Arizona home which has a lot of ravines throughout the town. At times my art piece is inspired by the fabrics, and I feel very strongly that it is important to keep your fabrics around where they can be seen and not carefully stacked away. The piece Jane's Garden at Twilight (picture on Gwen's web site) was inspired by some fabric designed by Jane Sasseman that was given to me. The twilight part came from living in Michigan where we often walk down to Lake Michigan's shoreline to see the sun set over the Lake. I received a "special award" with $100. at the Senior Network Art Exhibit at the Chicago Cultural Center's Renaissance Center in September and I received a second prize on this same piece at the Member's juried show at the Sedona Art Center in Sedona, AZ this March.

Where do you do most of your artwork? I work in my studio space, which in Arizona is in our guest bedroom. In Chicago, it has been in a large attic with a very high ceiling. Now I am moving to a 19' x 19' studio in Bridgman, MI, which is finally, nearly finished, with the exception of the ceiling lights and moving everything over from Chicago. It is a terrific space with nice window lights and I will not have to take the stairs to the attic. When I travel to Arizona, I take along fabrics and threads, but I have another machine, and cutting board there.

What are your goals? I want to exhibit more. This is a hard economy for art and there are a lot of "artists". I have studied the color, design of art and worked at the craft of fabric artwork for years now and finally I am seeing more fabric art accepted in fine art shows. I plan to keep exhibiting.

Do you teach, lecture, or have a business of your artwork? No

Where can your artwork be seen? I have work in Gallery 225 in Gilbert, AZ. I will have 3 pieces in the MAAC juried show coming up at the Box Factory for the Arts in St. Joseph, Michigan which opens on June 10th. I was also part of "Art Attack" showing with 10 artists at the Burnison Gallery in Lakeside, MI.

You can see more of Gwen's work on her website: www.GwenJonesArt.com

Arroyo

33" x 51"

Earth Journey with Chinese Turquoise

Newest SAQA Michigan member

2011-04-23T15:10:00.000-07:00

Burning Bush

Fabric Collage by Gwen Jones

30" x 42"

Gwen Jones is a SAQA PAM member who is in the process of moving her studio from Chicago to Bridgman, Michigan. Her "guest house" is currently being renovated to be her new studio. To see more of Gwen's work go to her web site here.

Welcome to Michigan, Gwen! Spring is coming!

2011-04-21T11:43:00.000-07:00

Most of you are familiar with Ami Simms and her AAQI project. For those who are not, and for those who are!, check out the current YouTube to see the panels From Heartbreak to Hope premiered at the Hands Across the Valley Quilt Show in Amherst, MA last month. And while you're at it, check out some of the donation quilts that you could bid on each month or purchase and own one right now!

April SAQA Michigan Profile

2011-04-02T17:47:00.000-07:00

SAQA Michigan Artist Profile

Carol Tamasiunas

White Lake, Michigan

How long have you been sewing and when did you begin making art quilts? I have been sewing since I was a teenager. I started by making clothes for myself. I made my first quilt when I was in my 30’s. It was squares sewn together with an army blanket as the batting. I remember my step-daughter & I sitting in bed with the quilt laid out before us while we hand tied it. I didn’t make my first art quilt until 20 years later. I found it totally nerve wracking to work without a pattern at first. Describe your art and its inspiration. My work is pretty representational. I started out doing appliqué, but transitioned into painting most pieces. I like the freedom of creating my own “fabric”. I’m inspired mostly by what I see. One of my favorite pieces “Crocotile” was inspired by a mosaic done by a child. I’m currently doing work for an exhibit called “Inspired by the Masters”. By studying those artists I come up with ideas to incorporate into my work though we work in entirely different media. My van Gogh (see picture below) was a painted portrait of my mom to which I added hand stitching to imply van Gogh’s heavy paint strokes. I’m also inspired by my friends. They all do beautiful handwork which adds so much texture to their work. My latest pieces both had a lot of hand stitching which took me longer than the painting. Where do you do most of your artwork? My quilting/piecing is done in my “office”. My painting is done in the family room where I have a space with a table and cabinet. My husband trusts I won’t make too much of a mess since I have to tote all my water/paint pans up and down the stairs. What are your goals? To learn to add more depth and texture to my work, continue to explore other art avenues to open my eyes and add other techniques to my skill set. Do you teach, lecture, curate or have a business of your artwork? I don't teach or lecture but I do curate the Inspired by the Master's exhibit, which is shown at different venues in Michigan. Where can your work be seen? My work is traveling in several exhibits. Inspired by the Masters, has five of my pieces. I've also participated in the Michigan Quilt Artist Invitational for the past eight years. What are your interests outside of art? I’m a book lover who is currently work part-time at Borders. Spending time with my family & friends is a priority especially if it involves dessert. I enjoy my garden, museums, and attending concerts.

Hot Spot

20" x 24"

2010

"Hokusai"

16" x 20"

2010

"Mom Van Gogh'd"

16" x 20"

Carol's Mom and Carol

2010

New Websites

2011-02-17T16:23:00.000-08:00

Not just one but two websites are up and running for two of our members!

Check out Marilyn Prucka's new site here
and
Judi Blaydon here.

You may remember both Marilyn and Judi were each an Artist Profile on our blog. Now you can check out more of their work and what they're up to on their web sites.

The Winner Is!

2011-02-16T11:19:00.001-08:00

Our Valentine SAQA catalog winner is:

Mary Vinovskis! You may remember Mary from our December Artist Profile. You can reread that post and see who won our catalog here!

Congrats, Mary! Your catalog will be sent out this week sometime!

February 2011 Artist Profile

2011-01-31T15:32:00.000-08:00

Beatrice Hughes
East Lansing, Michigan

How long have you been sewing and when did you begin making art quilts?
Sewing was part of my rearing. I used my mother’s fabric scraps to make doll clothes for my and my niece’s dolls. Home economics formalized my sewing and quilting sprang upon me when I discovered and purchased a box of sewing notions and Mountain Mist quilt batting at an estate sale. Once I found that batting with a Lone Star quilt pattern wrapped around it, quilting gradually grew into a passion. Yes, my first quilt was the Lone Star and I made two—but oh, the centers, how they peaked! Now that I’ve been sewing for over 50 years, my centers lay flat. I am both an art and traditional quilter. My first “art” quilt came together in 1990 and my philosophy is that a well made traditional pattern is also a piece of art.
Describe your art and its inspiration.
My art is inspired by graphic design, in which I have a degree. I like line and texture and love color. Many of my designs begin by using computer graphics, where I can test shapes, colors, change arrangements and print patterns. Photos also play a part in my work and I take most of the photos that appear in my books.
Where do you do most of your artwork?
I have been blessed with and appreciate space dedicated to quilting, sewing and an occasional craft project. There are no picturesque views or finished ceilings but my well lighted large basement area houses myriad fabrics, tools and supplies. My old model 2010 electronic Singer sewing machine and my new 2010 Janome Memory Craft model 11000, which includes quilting motifs, get along fine. I now realize how much I like having two machines. An 8’ x 8’ pin-up board is an important spot where I pin quilt designs before sewing. The 4’ by 8’ work table, covered which cutting mats, facilitates cutting, piecing and design layout. Other quilters also gather from time-to-time to work on projects. A 2’ x 5’ ironing board, which my husband made (he has helped quilting friends make a similar board), is ideal for ironing a full width of fabric. An office upstairs is where I physically draw, design, and publish on computer and work on business related tasks. It has a pleasant view where I can watch birds at the feeder.
What are your goals?
Striving to improve my quilting and computer skills is an ongoing goal. I am still thinking about 2011 quilting resolutions and usually vow to complete a project that is in the design stages and sometimes I get that done. My next quilting book, which is in progress, will continue to keep me busy. That can take so much time that art and traditional quilting both take a back seat. And of course this year, I want to get my recent, “Crazy for Lemoyne,” quilting book into more hands. The web site, FullCirclePublications, features this book. Creating a photo gallery of my quilts to post on a web site is another task on my to-do list. Learning more about digitizing is another goal so that I can create and stitch my own quilting motifs.
Do you teach, lecture, curate or have a business of your artwork?
For many years teaching has been a part of what I do. Four wives of Japanese visiting professors were my first students and I taught basic quilting skills. Each student got a “quilting diploma” to frame after finishing their project. At least one of these women went on to teach in Japan. In 1991 I began co-teaching a group of MSU women who initially came together to make a scholarship raffle quilt. After completing that project, we continued on to learn new techniques and to make and donate quilts to International Aid and MSU Safe Place. That group has grown to about twenty members. I continue to belong to this group and teach on occasion. I have also taught at local quilt shops and at the MSU Adult Evening College. In 2009 I gave a trunk show and slide presentation to the Roanoke, Virginia Star Quilters.
Where can your work be seen?
Lou Anna K. Simon is the 20th president of Michigan State University. To commemorate the Sesquicentennial of MSU and honor women, like her, who contributed to the development MSU, I steered and worked with women in the MSU quilting group to make the photo quilt that hangs outside the president’s office. The foyer of MSU Safe Place houses another quilt. More recently I had a quilt in the SAQA “A Sense of Humor” travelling show with venues in places like Houston, California, Chicago and New York. This quilt can be seen in the SAQA publication that features all the quilts in that show. Three of my quilts can be seen in my book, “Crazy for Lemoyne.” And some are featured here.
What are your interests outside of art?
I just finished a wood working project (with a little help). I have strips of fabric in a rainbow of colors that were part of past quilting projects. I made a decorative wall-mounted hanging board with 7 long dowels. I now have my fabric strips hung by color. I also play trumpet in the Meridian Community Band, at church and sing in choir.

My best wishes to all quilters, Beatrice

Nebulae

80.5" x 85.5"

Broken Hearts

45" x 45"

Ties at the O ffice

29.5" x41"

Crazy Patch Lemoyne

52.75" x 52.25"

We hope you enjoyed meeting Beatrice and seeing some of her work! Be sure to check out her book 'Crazy for Lemoyne' which can be purchased here.

If there is a SAQA Michigan member you'd like to see in one of our monthly artist profiles, just email us at robbiespawprints@aol.com.

Valentine Give Away!

2011-01-30T06:18:00.000-08:00

Sure, you'd like to have some chocolate for Valentine's Day but how about one of SAQA's catalogs instead!
Our February give away is the SAQA catalog, Transformations 2008: Icons & Imagery.
The following is a description from the Transformations 2008 exhibit:
Each of the artist members of Studio Art Quilt Associates who are represented in Transformations 2008: Icons and Imagery used the idea of an icon, with its ability to elicit symbolic meaning beyond the object represented, as a starting point for the quilts in this exhibit. German textile expert Rudolf Smend, who served as the sole juror of Transformations 2008, chose work he felt "focused primarily on artistic originality, perfect craftsmanship and innovation," while providing a new take on the meaning of iconography through the use of fresh imagery and interpretations. Transformations 2008: Icons and Imagery, is composed of 32 quilts from nine countries, traveled to South Africa and the United States after opening in the UK.
This catalog contains 72 pages including the juror's essay, full and detail images and artists' statements. You'll find some great inspiration from this catalog.

Just leave a comment on this post only. If you don't have a blog or website, you can select 'Anonymous' in the comment section and leave your name and email address. You can enter more than once but make sure to leave your name along with your email address!!

You have until Friday, February 11th @ midnight! Winner will be announced on Valentine's Day. Good luck!

Bonnie Peterson: After the Glaciers Exhibit

2011-01-10T14:59:00.001-08:00

Bonnie Peterson developed an early passion for the outdoors while skiing on Wisconsin's glacial moraines and sailing with her Dad on Lake Michigan. She lived near Chicago and the lake so close and vast, that she didn't give the other Great Lakes a thought beyond memorizing the acronym HOMES (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior) in grade school. She finally saw Lake Superior while kayaking to Raspberry Island in the Apostle Islands where she heard stories about her great-great-grand uncle Francis Jacker who was a Raspberry Island lighthouse keeper in the 1880's.

Bonnie's Exhibit will run from January 19,- March 11, 2011 Monday through Friday 8am - 5pm in the Besse Center Galleries. The gallery is located at the Bay de Noc Community College, 2001 North Lincoln Road in Escanaba, MI 49829

Jim Hay SAQA Japan Rep

2011-01-08T07:59:00.000-08:00

Jim Hay, SAQA Japan representative, will be having an exhibit at the Dennos Art Museum in Traverse City. The exhibit opens January 16 and runs until March 27. This is the first time that the international award-winning "Five Natural Elements" series has ever been seen in one place. Jim plans to be at the museum around March 18-27 time frame. You can check with the museum for exact dates. There will also be an opening reception on January 15th. To see more of Jim's work go to his website here.

You can click on the picture to read more about this exhibit and see some of Jim's artwork.

January Artist Profile 2011

2011-01-02T15:41:00.000-08:00

Artist Profile for January 2011:

Judi Blaydon

Milford, Michigan

How long have you been sewing and when did you begin making art quilts?
I guess my first quilt would be classified as an "art quilt" [only because it was non-traditional], but certainly not because there was anything particularly artful about it. It was so unskilled, anyone else would have said "nice try" and taken up tennis or sumo wrestling instead. I'm amazed that I made any more. Really!

It was very encouraging when the next quilt, "Hot Mobius", won a Merit Award in Quilt National 1981 - - - but when I made that first quilt in 1976, I had done everything wrong and nothing right - - - no intersections intersected and no points were pointed . . . . . and no one has seen it since Ami Simms talked me into showing it in an exhibit she curated. If you can recall the most inept quilt you have ever seen and multiply its faults a thousand fold, you'll understand why no one will ever see it again.
Describe your art and its inspiration.
For a long time, my quilts were always about something I wanted to record and remember or celebrate. My quilt "The Mountain and the Magic: Haiku Moon" is an example of that approach, recording memories of teaching trips to Japan.
Currently, I've been focusing on the process that's described in my recent book, "Collage+Cloth=Quilt: Create Innovative Quilts from Photo Inspirations" / C&T 2010. [There's a nice book review on Barbara Brackman's Material Culture website [August 20, 2010] and ordering information will be on my website: http://www.judiwarrenblaydon.com/ - - - which is coming soon.
I begin by exploring experimental collage compositions using fragments and elements gathered from photographs I have taken - - - layering, combining and re-arranging them so they function as 'sketches' for abstract quilts. It's kind of like a work-wall on a small scale. Although the designs are inspired by photos, they are not in any sense 'picture quilts'. When I have an abstract composition I'm drawn to, I’m ready to enlarge the design and interpret all the colors, patterns and textures in the collage, transforming the 'paper quilt' composition into pieced fabric, to make a quilt that reflects the design elements and visual content of the collage. The quilts are very personal, because personal photographs are the inspiration. The collage serves as the "map" of the quilt.

What has resulted is a series "Sub Rosa" quilts that make reference to an abstract horizon line that allows me to suggest imaginary landscapes where things happen 'above' and 'below' that line. The "Sub Rosa" series got me out of a comfort zone of left-right symmetry [which came very naturally to me] and sent me in a new direction that always challenges and surprises me.
I use commercial fabrics, and combine them with Skydyes, Lonni Rossi, Judy Robertson, and Laura Wasilowski fabrics. (You can see pictures of this series of Judy’s quilts at the end of this profile.)
Where do you do most of your work?
I don't have a swanky studio with skylights and a view of the garden - - - - I have half of the basement of our house, with an inspiring vista of the washer and dryer. But there's lots of fluorescent lighting, a Bernina for dark value thread and machine quilting, and a 1960 Singer sewing machine [always filled with light value thread. I work at a 4' x 8' architect’s drawing table, an 8’ x 8' flannel-covered work wall and another 4' x 8' panel that I can move around the room . . . and most of my students have larger fabric stashes than I do. I also have a separate room beside the studio for doing my Stitched Paper prints, which are off-shoots of my quilted Icons.
What are your goals?
To learn something from each new quilt and then make the next one. And the next one. And to make every day count. . . .
Do you teach, lecture, curate or have a business of your art?
I teach and lecture, mostly doing 5-day Color and Design workshops for guilds and quilt conferences. At the end of January, I'll be offering a new workshop at Monarch Quilts in Brighton, Michigan. In the coming year, I will be teaching for East Bay Heritage Guild in Berkeley CA, at Katie Pasquini-Masopust's Alegre Retreat in Colorado and 2-weeks at Quilting By The Lake in Syracuse NY. What I love most about teaching is the chance to meet so many fabulous, funny and industrious women.
Where can your work be seen?
There will be a retrospective collection of my work in The Gallery section of my up-coming website; and my quilts are also in several books, including "Uncommon Threads: Ohio's Art Quilt Revolution" by Gail Pritchard; "The Art Quilt" by Robert Shaw" and "88 Leader's of the Quilt World Today" published by Nihon Vogue. "The Mountain and the Magic: Night Lights" is in the permanent collection of The National Quilt Museum in Paducah KY.
What are your interests outside of art?
Spending time with my husband Frank, [a retired architect and restorer of sports cars]; I love being with my children and my funny wonderful grand-daughters, The Detroit Tigers, reading, writing, Lake Michigan, and keeping in contact with old friends and fellow quilt artists.

Haiku Moon

84" x 73"

Sub Rosa: Aquifer

52" x 52"

Sub Rosa: Portal

53" x 70"

Sub Rosa: Venice II

54" x 54"

Jurors Choice Award

Quilts=Art=Quilts / Schweinfurth Art Center 2010

Sub Rosa: Venice I

47" x 38"

1st Exhibit for 2011!

2010-12-31T15:27:00.000-08:00

If you happen to live in the UP in Michigan or are having a winter ski vacation in that area, be sure to check out the exhibit, Venus Rising: A Celebration of Women in Art at the Spies Library Gallery in Menominee, Michigan. The exhibit is showing the work of the following artists:

Laurie Ceesay

Kathleen Eaton

Patricia Johnson

and Glenda Banta

The exhibit will run from January 4 thru January 31, 2011. A reception will be held on January 6th from 4 - 7 p.m. Don't miss this opportunity to view art work from these women. A great way to start out the New Year!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T09:22:00.000-08:00

From our families to you and your family!!

Happy Holidays!

Your SAQA Michigan Reps
Mary Andrews
and
Robbie Payne

Just some news...

2010-12-13T14:59:00.000-08:00

For those of you who don't receive update posts from the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative blog, you need to check out the current entry by Ami Simms. To quote Ami, "We now have proof that what we do with a needle and thread can truly make a difference." It's a wonderful post and perfect for this time of year.

Also, Marilyn Prucka, our October profile, has her web site up and running!! Check it out here and make sure to look at her calendar page here. Marilyn has a workshop and a presentation in the spring of 2011.

Don't forget to send us any update or news you would like to share with our SAQA Michigan members. You can't beat the cost for us to post! Just email your update to RobbiesPawPrints@aol.com.

Artist Profile for December

2010-12-01T11:02:00.000-08:00

Our Artist Profile this month is:

Mary Vinovskis
Ann Arbor, Michigan

How long have you been sewing and when did you begin making art quilts? I learned to sew from my mother, who helped me make clothes for my dolls, then, later, for me. My grandmothers taught me to knit and crochet, and, over the years, I used all these skills to make things for myself, my family, and my home.

My first quilt was a baby quilt for my son. He was also the recipient of additional quilts (all traditional patterns) as he grew. My first art quilt was made in 2004 after I took some workshops at the Greater Ann Arbor Quilt Guild's weekend retreat (called Quilt University then.) In the quilt, I combined all the techniques I had been introduced to at QU: dyeing, texturizing fabric with Tyvek, and stack and slice fabric mixing. I had also started to watch Alex Anderson's TV show, Simply Quilts, at about that time, and that first quilt included many of the techniques I learned form her show: chenille strips, wired petals, free motion stitching, applique (hand and machine.) See description of "Bouquet for QU-2003" below.

Describe your art and its inspiration. My art is evolving - I'm trying to find my own style. It is more abstract than realistic. The fabric is often the inspiration. The interaction of shapes, patterns, colors, line and layers is what I focus on.

I have worked in several art media: watercolor, acrylics, serigraphs, but working with fabric is now foremost. An early influence in art quilts came form the books of Ruth B McDowell. Her techniques appealed to me because they combined careful piecing and any level of abstraction of the source idea you wished. Her fearless combinations of fabrics was also a big influence. Another important inspiration came from Rosemary Eichorn's book, The Art of Fabric Collage. Her use of a variety of fabrics and her raw edge applique methods were very liberating for me. I've taken many workshops and continue to try to learn additional ways of working.

Where do you do most of your artwork? I work in a spare bedroom that I have filled to bursting with fabric and books. I'm working on reorganizing the laundry room so I can do some dyeing.

What are your goals? I want to create more of my own fabric using the new methods I've sampled recently: soy wax batik, gelatin monoprinting, screen printing, and painting. I also want to continue to enter shows - the deadlines help me focus.

Do you teach, lecture, curate or have a business of your artwork? No.

Where can your work be seen? None of my work is currently on exhibit. I had a piece in the Threadlines 2008 exhibit at Missouri State University Art & Design Center in Springfield, MO. Another quilt has been traveling for two years with the SAQA Points of View exhibit. It just returned from the William Bonifas Fine Art Center in Escanaba, MI.

What are your interests outside of art? My other interests include gardening, cooking, and bridge.

The quilt in Mary's picture above is called, Bouquet for QU-2003. It is 24 x 28 inches and was created in 2004.
Description/Technique: Many of the petals and leaves are three-dimensional. Some have wire satin-stitched to them and can be bent into various positions. The snail shell was texturized with Tyvek that was stitched to the back and then heated until it wrinkled the fabric.

Riga Remembered
37" x 48"
2006

Description/Technique:
This quilt commemorates our family's trip to Latvia. I used Ruth B. McDowell's pattern for the sweet peas and then used her design methods to adapt my photos of the cathedral and the surrounding buildings for the background.

Opposing Forces
39" x 49"
2008

Description/Technique:

This quilt has fabric strips and shapes, dressmaker trims, cords, ribbons, tapes, yarns, rickrack, rayon and metallic embroidery threads, suede strips, and beads applied to a pieced batik background. The title refers to the two forces necessary to move an object in a spiral path.

Drum Roll, Please!

2010-11-20T13:40:00.000-08:00

Our winners of the SAQA catalog, Transformations 2007: Reverberations' are:

True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 10 (Karen Olson)

And

True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 2 (Donna Hamilton)

Congrats! Your catalog will be in the mail next week! Thanks for entering and hope you enjoy your inspiration!

Book Signing

2010-11-19T06:00:00.000-08:00

Judi Blaydon will be signing her newest book, 'Collage + Cloth = Quilt, Create Innovative Quilts' from Photo Inspirations, at the Arts & Green Holiday Market in White Lake this Saturday, November 20 from 1-3. For more information, please visit Arts & Green site here.

Also, check back as we'll be announcing the winners of our SAQA catalog give-away!

November Give-Away

2010-11-07T14:12:00.000-08:00

Yep, it's that time again! We're actually giving away two copies this month of the SAQA catalog, Transformations 2007: Reverberations!
This catalog contains quilts that were juried in by Sandra Sider. Sandra's goal for this exhibition "was to select a group of quilts in which ideas or emotions were successfully expressed through color, line and texture." You'll find some great inspiration from this catalog.

You just need to leave a comment on this post only. You can enter more than once but make sure to leave your email address (in addition to your name) if you don't have a blog or website that provides your email. You have until Thursday, November 18th @ midnight! Winner will be announced on Friday the 19th! Good luck!

What to do...

2010-10-31T13:47:00.000-07:00

So your weekend is over with but what about next weekend! What to do! Here's something to put on your calendar for November! The Aussome fiber group, which is made up of SAQA Michigan members, Mary Andrews, Lois Ann Fulton (from Italy), Karen Kiley Olson, Robbie Payne and Carol Tamasiunas, is having their exhibit, "Inspired by the Masters" on display at the Novi Parks, Recreation and Cultural Center starting November 5th thru November 28th.
This exhibit consists of 31 pieces of unique and colorful quilts that explores the ideas, color and methodology of several art Masters, such as Friedensreich Hundertwasser and Gustav Klimt, just to name a few. Here's a sneak peak at some of the art work on exhibit.

Lois Ann Fulton, Inspired by Katsushika Hokusai

Mary Andrews, Inspired by Friedensreich Hundertwasser
Karen Kiley Olson, Inspired by Gustav Klimt

Robbie Payne, Inspired by Helen Frankenthaler

Carol Tamasiunas, Inspired by Aubrey Beardsley

The opening reception for the Inspired by the Masters exhibit will be on November 5th from 6-8 p.m. Mark your calendars and make sure to get out to Novi to see this art exhibit. The Novi Cultural Center is located at 45175 West 10 Mile Road in Novi, Michigan. You can read more about this exhibit and other events on their website here.

October SAQA Michigan Profile

2010-09-30T11:14:00.000-07:00

Our October SAQA Michigan Profile is:

Marilyn M. Prucka
Monroe, Michigan

How long have you been sewing and when did you begin making art quilts? I’ve been drawing, painting, sewing and making fiber things ever since I can remember. My paternal grandmother was a tremendous influence. She made and did about everything. My grandfather only had to mow lawn. I can still hear the clickety-clack of her treadle sewing machine. I’ve always had the notion that ‘hey, I think I can make that.’ Under the direction of my mother I started using a sewing machine when I was 14. I started formal quilting classes in 1998 and making art quilts in 2002 while in graduate school. In 2001, I was studying printmaking and by chance took a dye and fibers class as an elective. I fell in love with the possibilities of fibers as an art medium. I now have an MFA in Textiles from Eastern Michigan University, 2005.

Describe your art and its inspiration. My work is abstract expressionist. I love to dye and do any kind of surface design technique. I’m particularly interested in texture both real and implied. For many years Monroe’s River Raisin and its surrounding landscape has been the seed for my art. I’m fascinated by the colors of fleeting light whether early morning or late day. Where do you do most of your artwork? A year ago I found a unique little house along the river and have since converted it into a fiber studio. I weave as well and between my sewing tools, looms and related paraphernalia I had really crowded my family. It took me 23 years to get through art school. I have a lot of supplies! The only thing about a studio away from home is that now I have to set a timer to remind myself to go home. I have two etching presses but those are at home in the basement. I still do print sessions a few weeks a year.

What are your goals? The first and already in motion is to spend more time in studio. So, I’m cutting back on being active in local fiberart groups. The second is to finally get my website going. I took a couple website classes from Ypsilanti artist, Dee Overly, last fall. I want to be able to make my own site and maintain it. I’m considering taking more web classes at my local community college. The next is to apply for exhibition venues outside of the state of Michigan and to find a gallery to represent me.

Do you teach, lecture, curate or have a business of your artwork? Yes to all of the above. I’ve been a guest lecturer at Wayne State University, Adrian College and Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia. I’ve taught workshops in indigo, textile paints, chemical resist, potato and corn dextrin, collagraph printmaking and polymer clay. I’ve coordinated several local fine art and fiber exhibitions mostly as an officer of various groups. That started in graduate school. I find that it gives one confidence and a good idea of organization. It’s also a great way to meet all kinds of artists and patrons. My art has been a part-time business for a long time. With graduation 5 years ago and the new studio it’s now fulltime.

Where can your work be seen? I try to schedule at least one solo show every year. Plymouth Community Arts Council in Plymouth, MI, the latest was September 1-30, 2010. “Confluence” Of 18 quilts on display, I had 8 new little quilts from a series I called River meets Land. It reflects the area around my new studio. I’ll have two quilts in a show sponsored by the River Gallery of Chelsea, MI, and curator assisted by Ann Arbor fiber artist, Susan Moran. The show “From Tradition to Innovation” will be September 27 – December 6, 2010 at the University of Michigan, Rackham Building. I enter several local competitions a year. I recently had a quilt that won an honorable mention at the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center’s Michigan Fine Arts Competition. I think it’s important to enter general fine arts competitions. I’ve gotten into the Toledo Museum of Art’s, Toledo Area Artists several times as well, with a quilt and prints.

What are your interests outside of art? 1st, is my family: Bob, my hubby of 40 years, and I now have grandchildren. We are blessed with one grand baby from each of our three sons and their spouses. 2nd, I always have something crafty that I’m working on. I learned to spin 2 ½ years ago and so now I’m incorporating that into my crochet, knitting and weaving. And of course I love to dye those fibers. I like to collect old crochet patterns, especially anything baby or doily or thread crochet related and older than 1950. My weaving is getting more intense. I’m in my 5th year of membership in Cross Border Weavers, a weave study group, with members from across southern Michigan and two in Ontario, Canada. I’ve met some fabulous artisans and made grand friends through my various fiber group affiliations. That dye and fiber class in 2001 and the late EMU professor Pat Williams, opened the doors to something really exciting.

Waterbug Wake

2010

56"x42"

Detail

Technique: the cloth is a linen-like heavy textured cotton, the piece uses textile paints for the shibori work. there's devore to 'cut' out holes and pieces for rough-edge applique' the 'bugs' are hand-dyed rayon, hand embroidery -- that rya rug influence of fields, reeds and bug wings. 56" x 42" machine quilted, whole cloth with machine rough-edge applique.

Glacial Tracts

2009

60" x 45"

Technique: From the River Mudflats Series: originally black Kona cotton. Heavily discharged shibori work, over dyed with indigo and walnut hull dye, hulls gathered from the river’s edge. Devore’ reveals walnut dyed cotton batting. The binding was left off to reveal the walnut dyed batting on the edges as well. Machine quilted, appliqué’. I was inspired by the islands revealed by a period of little rainfall. I imagined the mud scoured and marred by the spring ice break-up. **There’s a detail picture in the lower right hand corner.

Floral Reflections

2010

14” x 14”

Technique: Background is textile paint on white Kona cotton, the binding is a black and white commercial fabric that I stained with textile paints. The yoyos are white cotton with textile paints. The ‘foliage’ and French knot ‘water spots’ is hand embroidery, hand dyed 5/2 rayon. Machine quilted. I was inspired the by the order of the fields across the road from the studio, seed heads and flower colors. They reflect into the sky lit waters. I see rya rugs (A rya is a traditional Scandinavian rug) everywhere in the fields and reeds in the river. It’s my new inspiration for this coming year.

This is one of Marilyn's 'inspiration' pictures! Images from the river and land – rya rug influence.

We hope you enjoyed getting to know Marilyn and make sure to look for her work at exhibits in and out of state. Marilyn is in the process of getting her website up and running, until that time you can reach her at:

Fine Arts and Design Studio
8923 North Custer Road
Monroe, MI 48162
Studio Phone: 734-868-0013
mmprucka@aol.com

Upcoming Exhibits

2010-09-23T08:59:00.000-07:00

The exhibit Rare Threads, Eclectic Meanderings will run from October 3 - November 12 at the Jordan River Arts Council in East Jordan, Michigan.

'The Three Furies' by Shannon Maisel will be on exibit at ART PRIZE, Water's Building (161 Ottawa Ave. NW, Suite 112, Grand Rapids, Michigan). This exhibit runs September 22 - October 10, 2010

Shannon also has work at GVSU, Allendale in the Womens Center at the Kirkhof Building. You can see more of Shannon's work on her web site: http://www.shannonmaisel.com/ and get the inside scoop of Shannon's studio work by checking out her blog here.

September Winner Is......

2010-09-18T06:49:00.000-07:00

True Random Generator
Min: 1
Max: 8

Result: 5

And the winner is!!
Laurie Ceesay!

Congratulations Laurie! Your book will be in the mail this coming week!
Don't forget to either sign up for post updates or check back for new posts. We'll be having another 'give away' for a SAQA publication in October!
And remember to send us any updates for our Michigan region or ideas on posts you would like to see. You can email us at SAQAMI@aol.com.

MQAI Exhibit

2010-09-11T15:59:00.000-07:00

For those who couldn't make the opening of the MQAI - South of the Border Exhibit, here are a few of our own Michigan SAQA members art quilts on display. You can click on the photos for a 'closeup' view, but nothing beats seeing these wonderful quilts in person. The exhibit will be at the Greater Flint Art Gallery thru September. In case you can't make it to the gallery this month, you can check the schedule of the MQAI exhibit, which travels throughout Michigan, here. We'll post more of our own SAQA members quilts tomorrow. Enjoy!

Laruie Ceesay
FRIDA KAHLO

Kathleen Campau
PAPEL PICADO

Mary Andrews
PRELUDE TO JAVA

Barbara Bushey
MAYAN MYSTERIES

Kathy Briggs
HOT, HOT, HOT!

Donna Hamilton
MEXICAN SUNFLOWER

Anne Hiemstra
KHIPU

More MQAI Exhibit photo's

2010-09-11T06:06:00.000-07:00

Because curious minds want to know....the director of the Greater Flint Art Council, Greg Fiedler, estimated there were around 750 people at the MQAI opening on Friday! It certainly was crowded to say the least! So lots of eyes got to see some great art work.

Here are some more of our own SAQA members who participated in creating artwork for South of the Border! And yes, you are seeing correctly..those are wine bottles on the table! See what you missed!

Gretchen Jackson
OAXACA ALEBRIJES

Barbara Kilbourn
GOD OF THE AIR

Lynn Krawczyk
THE SACRED HEARTS

Linda Larsen
VAYA CON DIO’S

Karen Kiley Olson
FRIDA’S FOLIAGE

Robbie Payne
IMITATING AMATE – PAINTING ON BARK

Bonnie Pennybacker
QUETZALCOATL

Carol Tamasiunas
HOT SPOT

Chris Worland

THE QUILTED POT

Upcoming Fiber Events

2010-09-09T05:55:00.000-07:00

PRELUDE TO JAVA

by Mary Andrews

The MQAI South of the Border Opening Reception is on Friday, September 10, 2010 6:00 - 9:00pm at the Greater Flint Arts Council Gallery, 816 S. Saginaw St., Flint • Admission: Free

Art Lunch - Wednesday, September 15th 11:45am
Featuring PCAC’s September exhibiting artist Marilyn Prucka’s presentation “Not Afraid to Dye” about fiber art, creativity and process.
Tickets are $15 at the Plymouth Community Art Council, 774 N. Sheldon Road, Plymouth, MI 48170 734-416-4278.

Also, Marilyn will also be having an Artist Reception on Friday, September 24th 6-8 pm with refreshments (no charge). Marilyn Prucka’s quilts are abstract impressions of the landscape around her riverside studio in Monroe. She sees her fiber work as graphic, painterly and sculptural and, at the same time, a source of comfort.

SAQA Give Away for September!

2010-09-04T14:32:00.000-07:00

It's SAQA Michigan give away this week! All you have to do is leave a comment on this post (only) and you’re automatically entered to win the publication, SAQA@20 and Sense of Humor (a combined catalog).

SAQA@20: Art & Excellence, a juried exhibit which celebrated Studio Art Quilt Associates’ 20th Anniversary juried by Patricia Bolton, contains 35 art quilts. Curator was Cindy Rinne.

The Sense of Humor exhibit catalog contains 27 artworks from 24 artists which were juried in by Pam RuBert. This exhibit was curated by Patricia Gould. The exhibit was shown at the IQA shows in Houston (2009) as well as Chicago and Long Beach, California in 2010.

If you are NOT a blogger, select 'anonymous' as your profile in the comments section and then make sure to leave your full name or email in the comments section. Remember we have many members with the same first name so we need to know who you are to contact you.
This give away will remain open until midnight on Monday September 13th. The winner will be announced on Thursday, September 16th.

Thank you so much for participating! The WINNER will be selected using random.org and yes, you can comment more than once!

New Book by Judi Blaydon

2010-08-15T05:53:00.000-07:00

Judi's vision is now a reality! COLLAGE+CLOTH=QUILT is finally a book.

C&T did a fabulous job with the book design and photography. Included in the book are photo montage collages that inspired the quilts made by Judi's students from both the east and west coasts - - - as well as some of Judi's own work.

Judi's book shows techniques you can use to create an endless array of adventurous quilt designs inspired by your favorite photos. You'll discover simple ways to transform your photography into collage-inspired quilts that speak to your soul and you'll see your fabric stash in a whole new light!

If you would like to have an autographed copy, send a check for $27.95 plus postage (total check for $30) to:
Judi Blaydon
555 E. Commerce
Milford MI 48381

Congratulations, Judi!

Busy Summer for Laurie Ceesay

2010-08-13T15:27:00.000-07:00

Our own Laurie Ceesay has been having a pretty good summer!

Her art quilt "1974"Good Hair" was juried in the wall quilt-pictorial category and will be on display at the Wisconsin Quilt Expo, Alliant Energy Center, Madison, WI, Sept. 9-11.2010. You can check out the show at www.wiquiltexpo.com

Another one of Laurie's art quilts, "Geisha", has been selected to be part of the traveling exhibit for the 2010 Hoffman Challenge. This quilt will travel the rest of 2010 and through next summer at various quilt venues.

And one more piece of good news for Laurie, her art work has been selected to be on the website, ArtShow as an associate artist. So congrats, Laurie for a great summer! You can see more of Laurie's work on her website.

'1974 Good Hair'

40.5" x 33"

'Geisha'

Upcoming Exhibit & Reception

2010-08-03T12:22:00.001-07:00

Looking for something to do this weekend? How about starting it out by attending the opening reception for one of our SAQA members and your Co-Rep for the Michigan region! Mary Andrews is having a show at Gallery 194 in Lapeer. The show runs through September 4th with an opening reception on Friday evening, August 6th from 6 to 8 PM.

The exhibit, "Glass and Fibre", will also feature hand blown glass by David Hilte along with the art quilts by Mary, which were inspired by Chihuly glass from the Botanical Gardens in Arizona. This is a great way to start your weekend out or just add to your 'places to go' sometime in the month of August! The gallery is located next to the Pix Theater at 194 W. Nepessing, Lapeer. For more information, check out the Gallery 194 web site: http://www.gallery194.com/.

Drum roll, please!

2010-08-02T13:18:00.001-07:00

And the winners of our give away this month are:

Donna Hamilton &

Ruth Anne Olson!

Congrats, ladies! Your catalog, SAQA: Creative Force/2007, will be in the mail this week! Don't forget to keep watching our blog for SAQA member updates, exhibits and our next give away coming in September!

August SAQA Michigan Profile

2010-08-01T16:50:00.000-07:00

August SAQA Michigan Profile:

Gretchen Jackson
Ann Arbor, Michigan

How long have you been sewing and when did you begin to make art quilts?

I began sewing while in Junior High School and made my clothes and those of my family for many years. I hand pieced my first bed quilt at age 16, using scraps from my sewing and I continued to do traditional functional quilts for many years always using traditional patterns. Following my retirement in 2000, I decided to see if I could create my own designs which gradually led to art quilting.

Describe your art and its inspiration.

My art and its design takes many forms. Some of my pieces are quite contemporary and abstract. For others I draw my inspiration from nature. Recently I have been dyeing much of my fabric, often utilizing various Shibori techniques. This has led me to a number of pieces that employ hand dyed fabrics in simple designs which have been heavily stitched and embellished with beading. Even though my current work is more contemporary, I still hand quilt all of my pieces.

Where do you do most of your artwork?

My studio is a small room at my home and this is where I do my design and construction. My dyeing is done in the basement and my hand quilting, stitching and embellishment are done on the sofa while I watch movies on TV!

What are your goals?

My goals are to explore many different techniques and styles, to entertain myself, to share my work through exhibits both locally and nationally. I am blessed by not having to support myself or even the expenses of my work – having a very supportive husband. So while I do occasionally sell a piece and/or do a commission, this is not my focus.

Where can your work be seen?

My work can be seen in various locations in Southeast Michigan. I occasionally have a one-person show, but also exhibit through two fiber groups of which I am a member: Ann Arbor Fiberarts Guild and Paradigm Art Quilters.

What are your interests outside of art?

My education and early professional career was in music where I was an organist, church choir director and public school music teacher. Music continues to be important to me and I attend concerts regularly. I have also restored 5 old homes that had been badly neglected as well as created extensive perennial gardens for each of them.

We hope you enjoyed getting to know Gretchen and look for her work in venues throughout South East Michigan. Here are two of Gretchen's art quilts for you to enjoy.

URBAN ABSTRACT

STOPPING BY THE WOODS

SAQA Michigan July Give Away!

2010-07-22T04:19:00.000-07:00

It's SAQA Michigan give away this week! All you have to do is leave a comment on this post (only) and you’re automatically entered to win the publication, SAQA: Creative Force/2007.

If you are NOT a blogger, select 'anonymous' as your profile in the comments section and then make sure to leave your full name or email in the comments section. Remember we have many members with the same first name so we need to know who you are to contact you. As an added bonus, we're giving away TWO publications so your chances of winning have just increased!

“Creative Force 07/A Sense of Place” is a double catalog which has two front covers, one for each exhibit. Printed in gorgeous color, “Creative Force ’07” includes 50 large works by 35 artists, juried by Rebecca A. Stevens, curator at the Textiles Museum in Washington, DC, while “A Sense of Place” is an invitational exhibit curated by SAQA board member Peg Keeney of small works created in series by 16 artists which explore various landscapes. The catalog includes introductory essays by juror Rebecca A. Stevens, curators Kim Ritter and Peg Keeney, and the president and vice president of Janome America.

This give away will remain open until midnight on Friday, July 30th. The winner will be announced on Monday, August 2nd. Thank you so much for participating! The WINNER will be selected using random.org and yes, you can comment more than once!

“One of a Kind” Fiber Exhibit

2010-07-11T09:10:00.000-07:00

Blackbird on November Winds

By Kathie Briggs

The “One of a Kind” Fiber Exhibit curated by featured artist Kathie Briggs will be at the Charlevoix Circle of Arts on July 16th. Artists include Pamela Allen, Mary Andrews, Jill Ault, Kerry Bowes, Barbara Bushey Kathy Campau, Laura Cater-Woods, Rosemary Claus-Gray, Sheri Cooper, Lenore Crawford, Carolyn King, Virginia Spiegel, Patricia Turner, Desiree Vaughn and Gera Witte.

The Fiber Artist Coalition (FAC) traveling quilt exhibit, which was inspired by the Wallace Stevens poem "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird", will also be on display at the gallery. The FAC is a group of SAQA PAM artists in the Great Lakes area. Members of FAC are: Frieda Anderson, Astrid Bennett, Kathie Briggs, Shelley Brucar, Cheryl Dineen Ferrin, Clairan Ferrono, Peg Keeney, Pat Kroth, Casey Puetz, Joan Potter Thomas, Laura Wasilowski, and Trish Williams.

As an added bonus, you'll also be able to see the SAQA 20th Anniversary Trunk show on exhibit. As part of the celebration of SAQA's 20th anniversary year, SAQA created and organized the SAQA Trunk Show. SAQA members responded to a call for small works which would represent their artistic voices. Each 8"-square art quilt was matted with archival mat board. This is a great opportunity to view these pieces of art up close!

Opening Reception for the 'One of a Kind' Fiber exhibit is Friday July 16th from 5 – 7 p.m. The exhibit will run July 16, 2010 through September 18, 2010

Charlevoix Circle of Arts

109 Clinton Street

Charlevoix MI 49720

The gallery is open Tuesday through Sunday from 1 – 5 p.m.

And while you are visiting Charlevoix, drop by the Charlevoix Library to see the final showing of the Michigan Quilt Artist Invitation “Ciao Italy” exhibit. July 1 through August 31, 2010

Hour and directions to the Charlevoix Libary can be found on their website here.

Modern Quilting lecture at the Northville Art House - You're Invited!

2010-07-08T09:07:00.000-07:00

The Green Quilt by Rosie Hutchinson

Have you ever heard of the phrase "modern quilting"? What's it all about? What makes this classification different from other forms of quilting? Come and find out! Rossie Hutchinson will be giving a lecture on this topic at the Northville Art House. Rossie will give a one hour lecture about modern quilting as well as displaying her beautiful quilts. It's sure to be an exciting lecture so please join us!

Lecture: Modern Quilting by Rossie Hutchinson

Where: Northville Art House

When: Sunday August 15, 2010 beginning at 2pm

Cost: $15 per person (advance payment required)

RSVP: please reserve your spot because space is limited! RSVP to Lynn at FibraArtysta@earthlink.net

**Note: Your space is not reserved until the lecture fee has been paid. Fees are non-refundable but can be transferred to a friend.

Deadline Fast Approaching!

2010-07-06T12:01:00.000-07:00

This is just a reminder that there is still time to submit for the 2010 Blurred Boundaries exhibit but the deadline is fast approaching. Blurred Boundaries is a mixed media exhibit that will hang during the week of the Fabrications Retreat in Kalamazoo, MI from August 30-September 3, 2010. The Fabrications Retreat is a phenomenal retreat featuring an outstanding lineup of instructors. You can view all the details for the retreat here.

This year's exhibit seeks artwork that focuses on surface design techniques. The juror for the 2010 exhibit is Jeanne Williamson. You can view her work on her website. Blurred Boundaries also offers sales opportunities as well as cash prizes for three artworks chosen by Jeanne.

July SAQA Michigan Profile

2010-07-01T15:12:00.000-07:00

July SAQA Michigan Profile is:

Laurie Ceesay
Menominee, Michigan

How long have you been sewing and when did you begin to make art quilts?
I have been sewing since middle school when I made clothes for myself. I went to the University of Wisconsin-Stout in the mid ’70’s and took a Fiber Arts class. It was there I made my first quilt top. I dabbled through the ‘80’s and joined the local quilt guild in the early ‘90’s and never stopped! I made my first art quilt in 2003 after taking a year off from traditional quilting-I was bored with BOM, log cabins, Ohio stars, and Thimbleberries.
Describe your art and its inspiration.
I love to draw the human figure. I am a hairdresser and love hairstyles especially anything from the ‘60’s or ‘70’s. A friend recommended finding a niche so I combined my figure drawing and quilting. I tend to do a lot of portraits because I love to create the facial features and hairstyles the best. I find inspiration in hairstyle books where I work. I am also inspired by regional and national quilt challenges.

Where do you do most of your artwork?
I have a studio in my home in which I work. It is not as big as I prefer so I end up “expanding” into other areas of my house.

What are your goals? I have a goal of winning a ribbon in a national juried show. My art work has been juried into several shows but haven’t won a ribbon yet. I also have a goal of teaching for quilt guilds and quilt shows. I have had a continuous goal of spreading the news that art quilts are worthy at an art gallery or museum and not a blanket for the bed. Also to expand my creativity to the next level and continue to grow as an artist

Do you teach, lecture, curate or have a business of your artwork? I do teach and lecture.

Where can your work be seen?
I have some of my work at The Old Church Gallery in Cedar River Mi. and I will be in two exhibits back to back at The Bonifas Art Center in Escanaba Mi this summer. I'm participating in the Michigan Art Quilt Invitational exhibit which begins in Flint MI this September. I also have my work in various local exhibits in Menominee Mi where I live.

What are your interests outside of art?
I love to garden in the summer and make garden art. I love old wooden chairs which I paint in funky colors and stencil designs on them. I collect rusty garden, hardware and farm items for my garden. Walking for exercise and bike rides, when the weather permits are high on my list of other interests. I also have three cats that are my sewing buddies!!

To see more of Laurie's work visit her web site:
http://www.laurieceesay.com/

Tina Turner

8 1/2" x 11"

This piece appeared in Quilting Arts Magazine

April/May2009 Issue

The Blue Wig

35" x 25"

Call For Artists

2010-06-24T05:33:00.000-07:00

Great Lakes "Small Works" 2D - 3D Juried Exhibition
September 2-25, 2010

The Riverside Arts Center, 76 N Huron St, Ypsilanti, MI 48197 is presenting the 2D / 3D "Small Works" Juried Competition for artists of the Great Lakes states (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania Wisconsin). 2D work not to exceed 12 x 12" including the frame. If framed, 3D work not to exceed 12 x 12 x 12" and weigh no more than 40 lbs.
Deadline: July 3, 2010 Exhibit: Sept 2 - 25, 2010
For more information on guidelines and entry form, go to the Riverside Arts Center web site here.

One of our own in Quilting Arts magazine!

2010-06-20T06:42:00.001-07:00

Cover art by Diane Núñez

For those who receive Quilting Arts magazine (if you don't receive QA, pick up a copy) and check out the 'cover girl' for this month! It's art work by Diane Nunez from Southfield, Michigan and a SAQA member!

Diane made the cover and also has a great article (page 38) on making 3-D floral embellishments and brooches. Her article is filled with clear instructions and photos of the process and some of her work. And that's not all! Diane has filmed a segment for the QA TV series 600. Her show should air sometime this summer so check the QA website here to find a station in your area.

Congratulations, Diane!

And the winner is!

2010-06-18T15:51:00.001-07:00

True Random Generator

Min: 1

Max: 16

Result: 4

And the winner is!!

Lynn Krawczyk!!

Congratulations Lynn! Your book will be in the mail on Monday!

Don't forget to either sign up for post updates or check back for new posts. We'll be having another 'give away' for a SAQA publication in July!

And remember to send us any updates for our Michigan region or ideas on posts you would like to see. You can email us at SAQAMI@aol.com.

Quilt Show Entries & other items!

2010-06-16T05:59:00.000-07:00

Make sure you let us know of any upcoming quilt shows or exhibits where your art work will be shown. This is a good way of letting folks know where they might see your work in person or giving folks an opportunity to plan to attend some events in or out of our state!

Also, don't forget we'll be announcing the winner of our SAQA catalog on Friday. If you are the 'Mary' or 'Barbara' who posted a comment, please post a new comment with your last name. We have more than one 'Mary' and 'Barbara' in our membership.

Laurie Ceesay has two quilts in the following shows. Also, Laurie will be our Artist Profile in July!
"The Blue Wig" (32" x 25") is at the Minnesota Quilt show in St. Cloud MN June 17-19, 2010 in the pictorial wall quilt category

"1974:Good Hair" (40.5" x 33") will be shown at the AQS Knoxville TN Quilt show July 14-17, 2010 in the pictorial wall quilt category.

The 1st SAQA Michigan Blog Give Away!

2010-06-07T16:53:00.000-07:00

Catalog Design by Deidre Adams
Cover Art by Jeanne Llons Butler

We’re having our 1st SAQA Michigan give away this week! All you have to do is leave a comment on this post only and you’re automatically entered to win the publication, SAQA: The Creative Force.

If you are NOT a blogger, leave your e-mail so we can contact you if you are the winner. This give away will remain open until midnight on Tuesday, June 15th. The winner will be announced on Friday, June 18th. Thank you so much for participating! The WINNER will be selected using random.org and yes, you can comment more than once!

Each month, we'll be giving away a SAQA publication so make sure you stop by or sign up to be notified via email of new posts.

June SAQA Michigan Profile

2010-06-01T09:08:00.000-07:00

Our SAQA Michigan profile this month is:

Jacqueline Lams

Plymouth, Michigan

http://www.studiolams.com/

How long have you been sewing and when did you begin making art quilts?
Up until about six years ago I had never sewn anything in my life, then one day someone left a 1950's Singer sewing machine in its stand, out for the trash. With a little TLC and a tune-up from a local shop the machine up and running. I attempted to make a traditional wall quilt from a kit, but lining up my points was pretty much impossible for me so I ended up teaching myself decorative stitching to cover up my poor piecing job. Later, I had an old feed bag that belonged to my grandmother and I kept envisioning it as some sort of a cool wall hanging. I kept thinking about how to combine paint and images with the feed bag. I began playing around with different mediums and visiting the local thread shop, where I got involved with Running With Scissors, a local fiber arts group. I started participating in their group challenges and learning all sorts of tricks of the trade for mixed media fiber arts.

Describe your art and its inspiration.
While earning my Bachelors of Fine Arts from Michigan State University in Studio Art, I was exposed to various forms of visual art, such as painting, ceramics, photography, and print making. These are the basics from which I draw when I’m creating a piece. I love to experiment with new techniques and figure out how to combine them with fabric. My work usually has several visual layers in order to create a sense of dimension and texture for the viewer. Themes for my work usually come from an art challenge with my art group or a show theme. Often times though, the world around me gives me an idea to run with.

Where do you do most of your artwork?
A majority of my artwork is done in part of our family room at home. My kids can play with their toys and games and also get an art lesson or two while I work on a project. In the summers, I’ve been known to set up in the backyard to do large amounts of fabric dyeing and any other messy projects I can’t easily do inside.

What are your goals?
Creating mixed media fiber art started out as way to keep my creative juices flowing while being a busy mom, wife and graphic artist. Over the past year or so I have started exploring juried art shows, publications and generally getting more of my work out into the world. While graphic design is still primarily the bread and butter of my business, I wouldn’t mind if someday the artwork took over in that area.

Do you teach, lecture, curate or have a business of your artwork?
I run a freelance graphic design business called Studio Lams and I plan on having an Etsy shop up in running soon to sell some of my artwork globally.

Where can your work be seen?
I have two 4’ x 4’ installation pieces that hang at Michigan State University’s new recycling facility. 1000 Artisan Textiles: Contemporary Fiber Art, Quilts and Wearables by Sandra Salamony and Gina Brown features photographs of four of my pieces. I’m also providing two pieces to the Fiber Arts Show at the 577 Foundation in Perrysburg, Ohio, in June. A piece called My Muse Box will be at the Northville Art House in a show called West of Center in June as well. In addition, I participate in a recurring exhibit in the American Sewing Expo in Novi with my fiber art group Running with Scissors.

My latest artistic adventures are documented on my blog at http://www.studiolams.com/ . My blog links to my flickr.com page with extensive photos of all my work.

What are your interests outside of art?
Most of my time is spent with my husband and two boys. I also enjoy gardening, photography, and playing video games with my kids.

Be sure to check out Jackie's web site/blog to learn more about her daily adventures and creations! http://www.studiolams.com/

“Crescendo”
16" x 20"

Deconstructed screen print from relief rubbings with musical instruments
Cotton fabric, watercolor crayons and pencils, matte and fabric mediums, Golden Open Paints

“Unraveled”

20" x 24"

An exploration of reusing old materials to create something new. A hand-dyed old doily, mixed with silk fibers, paint, pencils, hand stitching and beading.

SAQA's 2011-2012 Traveling Trunk Show

2010-05-11T05:34:00.000-07:00

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.

Find a Teacher!

2010-05-06T15:57:00.000-07:00

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.

2010-05-01T15:56:00.000-07:00

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/

Small Works Exhibition

2010-04-23T04:50:00.000-07:00

Riverside Arts Center in Ypsilanti, MI is hosting a juried small works exhibition for September 2-25, 2010. For more information go to the Riverside Art Center web site:
http://www.riversidearts.org/gallery_2D-3D.htm
A printable prospectus is here:

http://www.riversidearts.org/call-for-artists.pdf
* the postmark entry deadline is July 3, 2010.

Artist Profile for April

2010-04-01T08:22:00.000-07:00

Our Michigan SAQA profile this month is:

Bonnie Peterson

Houghton, Michigan

http://www.bonniepeterson.com/

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

Like many women my age (54), I've had a variety of jobs while raising kids. I took sewing class in ‘junior high' and made all my clothes in 8th grade, but didn't pick it up again for many years. I had a career in marketing, did taxes, got an MBA at night school, and was a landlord. Most of my life I've lived in the Chicago area. About 25 years ago I was living in Tallahassee, FL. Winter was coming on, and I wanted to make a double Irish chain quilt similar to one my sister had made. I bought 4 blue & cream prints at The Quilt Shop but after a few hours I tired of strip piecing and returned to the Quilt Shop for different fabrics. I started making a Chicago skyline wall hanging. The women at the Quilt Guild of Tallahassee admired my efforts and this encouraged me to proceed with more small wall hangings. A few years later, a close friend died of breast cancer and the Yes Mam! Mammogram Challenge inspired me to use bras in Talk to Me. When it was displayed at a show, I stood quietly and watched people laugh upon first seeing the bras from afar. As they got closer and realized the subject was breast cancer, they often began to talk to each other about breast cancer. Its hard to believe now, but in the early 1990's the subject was taboo. My friend was isolated by people's fear of saying the ‘wrong' thing, and I wanted people to talk and bring the subject out into the open. In 1995 I received an Illinois Arts Council (IAC) Fellowship and 3 subsequent IAC Fellowships and Finalist Awards encouraged me to keep making political and environmental work and to try to get my work ‘out there.' My work was accepted more readily by art shows than quilt venues and I went in the direction of art exhibitions. I like to use the term: ‘mixed media textile' because I find people often do not get beyond traditional thinking when they hear the term 'quilt'.
Describe your art and its inspiration.
I enjoy backpacking and skiing and am interested in cultural issues. California's sierra mountains are my favorite and last year I backpacked the John Muir Trail solo in 16 days from Yosemite to Mt. Whitney. For many years a major portion of my work has been about Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. Probably the best entry to my work and inspiration is a short 5 minute WTTW-Chicago Public Televisio n segment filmed last year.

This is my basic artist statement: My textiles and paper maps chronicle my adventures in the wilderness and through life. I developed an early passion for the outdoors while backpacking at summer camp and sailing with my Dad on Lake Michigan. A pivotal change in my family's life occurred in 1971 when my father was hired to set up an anesthesia program at the university in Zaire (Congo). We moved to Zaire and that experience motivates my interest in human rights issues. I embroider text from wilderness journals and historic research using thick wool and rayon threads. I transfer photographs to silk then cut them into small scraps to fasten back together with large, irregular primitive stitches. I like to use velvet for its softness and deep color saturation; brocade for the complex thread design, and silk because of its reflectivity and color brightness. I want the work to resemble early 20th century Victorian crazy quilts, or old tapestries I've seen in dark museum hallways. From far away, the viewer is drawn in by the texture, richness and color; by the fantasy of touching the work. Closer up, the viewer deciphers a message, sometimes poignant, and sometimes just another adventure story.
Where do you do most of your artwork?
I recently moved from Elmhurst, IL (Chicago suburb) 420 mi north to Houghton, MI, near Lake Superior. I built a studio overlooking a major ski trail system. It's in town, but skiing, walking, running and mountain biking are just out the back door in the forest! This is usually the first thing I do in the morning.
What are your goals?
I am interested in social issues, the environment and history. These are huge topics and will keep me busy for a long time.
Do you teach, lecture, curate or have a business of your artwork?
A couple of years ago I was part of a rewarding artist-scientist art exhibition project about climate change in Wisconsin's northwoods. I am interested in numbers, graphs, statistics and demographics and the project resulted in some interesting work with climate data. I also made a globe. There were 20 artists and 5 scientists at the initial weekend workshop. The interaction was stimulating! I enjoy being in a community of artists and have found communities in Houghton as well as Chicago and even California. I spend a lot of time marketing my work, sending out proposals and working on my website. The art market is diverse and the business aspects are important. I've lectured at many Chicago area venues including a very interesting format: Pecha Kucha, and a small segment of that is in the WTTW-TV video.
Where can your work be seen?
My website lists current shows in red on the resume page. Some current shows include:
International Jewelry Quilt Project, Bihorel, France

St Michel l'Observatoire, Provence Luberon, Invitational May 13-24
Fresnoy-Le-Grand Textile Museum October 4 - March 4, 2011

International Juried Show, Visual Arts Center of New Jersey, Summit, NJ through March 19

Firelands Association for the Visual Arts, Oberlin, OH. May 16 - July31

Rockford Midwestern Exhibition, Rockford Art Museum, IL. through
April 18
What are your interests outside of art?
Art is integral to my life. I enjoy seeing all types of art. Of course I love being with my children and was able to combine that with museums in NY and DC in January. This year has been a transition to a different lifestyle with a new routine. I ski instead of running or walking, and have restructured my time. Being outdoors and making art are my focus.

Bonnie Peterson

630-673-5530

To see more of Bonnie's work go to her web site @ www.bonniepeterson.com

'It's Just Math'

Mixed media, embroidery, heat transfers, and stitching on silk, velvet, and brocade.

46" L x 54" W

Crater Lake Quadrangles

Heat transfers and silk transfers of maps, trail descriptions, historical stamps, stories from an artist residency, pen and stitching on topographic maps of Crater Lake National Park

27"(L) x 38"(W)

SAQA's 2010 Benefit Auction

2010-03-30T12:51:00.000-07:00

SAQA's Benefit Auction is one of the organization's biggest fundraiser. Last year they had donations from 235 members and raised $47,325!!! SAQA is again asking for your donation - an art quilt approximately 12" square. Your artwork will have both a thumbnail and full-screen version, with a description and a link to your website. This is also a great way to promote your art work.
If you can't or would prefer not to send in a donation art quilt, then do think about purchasing one of the pieces when the auction goes live on September 2oth! Either way, it's a great way to support SAQA's programs and exhibitions.

So here's a peak at a few donation quilts sent in by our Michigan SAQA members. To see more of the quilts already received for the auction, head to the SAQA web site here.

Carol Tamasiunas

Karen Kiley Olson

Kathie Briggs

Mary Andrews

Robbie Payne

2010-03-18T11:26:00.000-07:00

To save time, I'm copying an email we rec'd from Pat Gold as was sent. Please read.

Dear Reps:
The following opportunity was sent to me by new NJ Rep, Jessie Hudson. She only just received it today and asked me to forward on to all reps - it is very short notice but if you announce it to all your members, there may be some who have work already made they might be willing to donate. It is certainly a good cause and easy way for you to help with the efforts to rebuild Haiti.
Patricia Gould
Assistant Executive DirectorStudio Art Quilt Associates, www.saqa.com patriciacgould@gmail.com
505.670.6364
##########################################################################
Fowarded from Jessie:
I apologize for the late notice, but I just found out about this opportunity today. Art quilts are eligible for this benefit auction and would be displayed and sold in a traditional art auction setting along with other works of fine art including watercolor, acrylic and oil paintings. I spoke with Heather Goldstein, Vice President of Artist Resources at Jerry's Artarama today, and she would love it if we could put together donations of art quilts for this very worthy cause.All proceeds from the auction sales will go to Habitat for Humanity International's relief efforts in Haiti. The works in the live auction will be featured in their Auction Booklet with a color photo, artist's name, title of the work, Web site, and a short statement about the artist. Silent auction donators will be credited with their name, the title of the work, and their Web site as well. The deadline for the silent auction is officially March 28, although we can stretch it by a few days to April 1.

Silent Auction Criteria:
Silent auction work is usually smaller (no larger than 20x30). Pieces must be 2D and have no moving parts. Wet paintings will not be accepted and they suggest (but do not require) that work be prewired and ready to hang. All unframed works on paper will be displayed with clips.
Call For Artists Information
They are looking for donations of 2D art (all media) for both their live and silent auction. Silent auction donations must be received by April 1, 2010. To be considered for their live auction, work must be received by March 20, 2010. These are not post-mark dates. They highly recommend dropping off work at their Art-A-Thon for Haition March 20 to give all attendees a taste of what they will see at the auction.Auction donations may also be sent to:
Jerry's Artarama
Attn: Heather Goldstein
6104 Maddry Oaks Ct
Raleigh, NC 27616
Deadlines:March 20, 2010 – Deadline to be considered for live auctionMarch 28, 2010 – Deadline for silent auction donationsAlthough, again, we may can get them the quilts by April 1.For additional information, please go to: http://www.jerrysartarama.com/community/Art-Auction-and-Gala/Call-For-Artists.html or e-mail heather@jerrysartarama.com.

Artist Profile for March

2010-03-01T16:04:00.000-08:00

Our Michigan SAQA profile this month is:

Sidney Savage Inch
Lake Orion, MI
http://www.savagefiberarts.com/

How long have you been sewing and when did you begin making art quilts?I first started sewing in high school. I spent much of my high school art hours dyeing silk in a gutta resist style. When I had made my (what felt like) 100th scarf, I decided there had to be more I could do with this technique. I designed a pattern for a quilted jacket with the signs of the zodiac on it. The trouble began when I tried to construct the actual jacket. I did not have much experience with a sewing machine and after the tenth time I destroyed the tension and my poor mother had to step in and finish the construction in order to save her sewing machine! The good news is that over the years my sewing skills improved and now that same machine is my trusty friend (I mean machine!)

Describe your art and its inspiration
I tend to work in a whole cloth method and appliqué and embellish from there. Sometimes I work with realistic figures but more often I work in the abstract. I see the fabric as a canvas and the stitching (machine or hand), beadwork and embellishments as the message. I like to take inspiration from the relationships we are surrounded by. Relationships with others, our relationships with ourselves and our relationship with the natural world are a never-ending fountain from which to draw inspiration.

Where do you do most of your artwork?
I have a wonderful walkout basement studio that is next to my daughters’ playroom. That way we can all play at the same time! The room was bare studs when we bought the house and I was able to design the layout in a way that best suited my working style.

What are your goals?
I do not enter competitive shows. My art quilts are sometimes in exhibitions and exhibits, but I make art quilts for myself. They are the way that I confront and deal with the turmoil and/or the joy inside and around me. My goal is to continue down the path I have found for my art. I want to continue to find my voice and create artwork that I am proud of. This past November I also put on my first art bazaar with the help of my friends from the Running with Scissors fiber art group. We had a wonderful time and a successful show. I hope to continue this show as an annual tradition.

Do you teach, lecture, curate or have a business of your artwork?
While my art quilts are made for myself; I do have a business selling my other passion. I create jewelry from unconventional and repurposed items. I use quite a bit of fiber in my jewelry but I also use items like dominos, hardware store washers and paper. Many of those unconventional items can be found in my art quilts as well! I find that there is crossover everywhere. Anytime I am inspired by a new technique I try to use a version of that technique in all of my creative outlets.

Where can your work be seen?
I always take part in Lynn Krawczyk’s “Breaking Traditions Art Quilt Exhibit.” She finds the most wonderful causes to support each year. This year it is Art Now for Autism. With my jewelry I do a number of outdoor art festivals and I sell them at galleries throughout the year. A list of all the places that I am exhibiting and /or selling is available on my website www.savagefiberarts.com.

What are your interests outside of art?
Running my own business, raising my two daughters and trying to find time to spend in my studio creating keeps me pretty busy, but when I have some spare time I like to get outdoors. As a family we enjoy camping, hiking, swimming and letter boxing. My girls and I spend as much of the summer as we possibly can in the lake!

You can see more of Sidney's artwork on her web site at http://www.savagefiberarts.com/

'Sacred Spaces: Dead River Falls'

18” x 22”

I went to college at Northern Michigan University and I will always remember those days fondly. Deep in the woods of the Upper Peninsula I fell in love, had my heart broken, made friends for a lifetime and took the first steps on the path to growing from a girl into a woman.

Materials: cotton batiks, hand-dyed cheese cloth, glass, bone and resin beads.
Techniques: hand beading, matte medium photo transfer, machine and hand quilting.

　
'My Muse; I Must Wait While She Grows'

40” x 30”

My muse starts as an nucleus of an idea. I must be careful, take my time and nurture that tiny nucleus of an idea into fruition.
Materials: batik cotton fabric, hardware store washers (brass & steel), yarns, fibers and assorted beads.
Techniques: machine quilting, hand embroidery and hand beading.

Art Quilt Exhibit - Menominee, Michigan

2010-02-28T14:49:00.000-08:00

Laurie Ceesay will being having an 'Art Quilt Exhibit' at the Spies Public Library , March 1 thru March 31st. The library is located on 940 First Street in Menominee, Michigan. An Artist’s Reception will be held on Thursday, March 4, 2010 from 4-6 p.m.

If you can't attend the show during March, you can see more of Laurie's work on her web site here.

Breaking Traditions Art Quilt Exhibit - Open call

2010-02-12T07:34:00.000-08:00

Breaking Traditions is an art quilt exhibit Lynn Krawczyk has curated each fall. The exhibit hangs at The American Sewing Expo in Novi, Michigan.

This is an open call exhibit. It is an excellent show opportunity and includes various prizes.

Breaking Traditions has become a community effort, helping to support the fundraising projects of fellow fiber/mixed media artists.

logo by Jeanelle McCall

"Every one Fits In" quilt by Karen Newman Fridy

The 2010 exhibit will benefit Claudine Intner's Art Now for Autism. In honor of Claudine's efforts to raise money for autism research, the theme for 2010 will be "in my words..."

The exhibit features 12"x12" art quilts. Participants for the 2010 show will express the ways in which autism has effected their lives. If you do not personally know anyone who has autism or has been effected by it, you can still participate by making a quilt in support of autism research.

From the Autism Speaks website: "Autism is a complex neurobiological disorder that typically lasts throughout a person’s lifetime. It is part of a group of disorders known as autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Today, 1 in 150 individuals is diagnosed with autism, making it more common than pediatric cancer, diabetes, and AIDS combined. It occurs in all racial, ethnic, and social groups and is four times more likely to strike boys than girls. Autism impairs a person’s ability to communicate and relate to others. It is also associated with rigid routines and repetitive behaviors, such as obsessively arranging objects or following very specific routines. Symptoms can range from very mild to quite severe.”

$10 of the $15 entry fee will be donated to Autism Speaks through Art Now for Autism.

This is an open call exhibit, everyone is encouraged to participate. Prizes are donated for those in the exhibit and an Exhibit Favorite is chosen.

All the information for participation in the 2010 exhibit and to see last year's exhibit can be found here. Lynn hopes our SAQA members will join her and others in making this another successful year!

SAQA Artist Profile for February

2010-02-01T05:05:00.000-08:00

Our SAQA Profile this month is:

Karen Hoekstra

From Grand Rapids, Michigan

http://karenhoekstra.com/

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

My mother and grandmothers were wonderful seamstresses who taught me much, but I never felt I could equal their expertise. While earning my art degrees in college, weaving classes drew me back to textiles and I continued weaving during the years of teaching art. However, physical limitations (my back didn’t like what I was asking it to do) slowly made operating the loom more challenging than enjoyable. Upon retirement, when finally I had the time needed to pursue my own art was the time I returned to my sewing machine and quilting.

Describe your art and its inspiration.

Before I could even begin to quilt, I decided I had better learn some “correct” quilting techniques, so I started with classes in strip piecing and free motion quilting. It was fun and the outcome was pleasant, but it wasn’t satisfying for me. It was when I added a class in free motion embroidery / thread painting taught by Carol Shinn, that the inspiration hit. I couldn’t work fast enough to keep up with all possibilities of putting these three techniques together. Piecing, layering, appliqueing, texture, integrating became a consuming process.
I basically have been working in two different ways. One method is to begin with a wash of paint on canvas just to suggest placement of forms that will be developed with thread painting. The overlapping and building of threads creates the image, usually completely obscuring the original painting. Some images are inspired from the world I see, others are reflections of an idea expressed abstractly.
The other method is to begin with a quilt. The bottom layer consists of an alternating integration of two strip pieced quilt designs. Shapes of transparent fabrics are then appliquéd to the quilt with the purpose of extending the existing block of color beyond their boundaries and adding an organic element to the rhythmic design. The thread painting further extends and integrates the existing shapes and colors.

Where do you do most of your artwork?
I do all of my art in a studio space in our home. It’s a loft area with wonderful lighting of a northern skylight and eastern windows, with a sense of space in every direction. The space is an inspiration in itself.

What are your goals?
I only started entering competitions during 2009 and was pleased to be accepted into shows and even more pleased to receive a couple of the awards. The response, of many positive comments and especially the thoughtful questions, that I experienced at my currant solo show was enough to make me quickly slip back into my teacher role. So who knows where that might lead but my goals right now are to simply continue with what has thrilled me for the past few years; exploring, designing, creating and showing my work. Since much of what I have done is now showing, it’s a good time to reflect on the direction I’m going. A pretty good guess is that it will not be in a straight line.
　
Do you teach, lecture, curate or have a business of your artwork?
I taught art for 39 years and now I take great pleasure in being selfish with my art time, spending my hours developing my own work.

Where can your work be seen?
From now till the end of February I am in two shows; a solo show titled Capturing Spirit, One Stitch at a time, in the Keeler Gallery at Fountain Street Church, Grand Rapids, MI., and a group fiber show at Second CRC church in Spring Lake, MI.
You can also check out my web site at http://karenhoekstra.com/

What are your interests outside of art?
As the years go by the importance of family and friends are of prime important. Since we, my husband and I, are still raising our grandchildren, I am still savoring my mother role.
We designed and started building our own home 30 years ago but since parts still need to be finished or refinished there are always ongoing projects. Just this morning we were designing exterior light posts. Even light posts need a personal and creative touch, which demonstrates that art is not a separate part of my life. It affects the total quality of life.
Traveling has always been high on my list of priorities and we have been to many places in the world, but have many more yet to visit. While teaching I enjoyed taking students on local as well as overseas trips with emphasis on culture and art.
I push myself to do the physical routine challenges. I succeed better at some than others but always enjoy cross-country skiing, roller blading and biking.

You can see more of Karen's art on her website at http://karenhoekstra.com/

No One Is an Island

The close interrelatedness of us humans with our environment is depicted with layers of transparency and thread. The symbolic images often change, become blurred or almost disappear as each shape interacts with its neighboring image.

Size: 36" x 32"
Medium: fabric, thread
Technique: quilting, applique,free motion embroidery

Finding Focus (detail)

Life experiences are not always clearly defined as the whole or as the part. Remember the question of whether we are seeing the forest or the trees? In this piece I'm using the woods as an image to play with both the whole and the part of our life experiences and how we move in and out of focus between them. Circles of light aid the focus, yet edges still blur as colors change and fade.

Size: 18"x40"
Medium: commercial fabric, thread
Technique: strip piece quilting, applique, free motion embroidery

Earth, Artists' Perspectives

2010-01-21T12:33:00.000-08:00

Earth, Artists' Perspectives, a multi media show of art works inspired by photos of Earth from outer space, opened at Two Twelve Arts Center, in Saline, Michigan, with a reception Jan. 15th, 2010. A group of art quilters, the Baguettes, challenged two groups of artists to interpret their vision of the planet. Art quilts are among the 62 pieces on display through January. The results are intriguing, including pottery, painting, felted items, and jewelry. Visitors are welcome at the center during business hours. See http://www.twotwelvearts.org/, for hours. Photos of the event are available at http://www.katcampau.blogspot.com/.
Curated by Kat Campau

Capturing Spirit Exhibit by Karen Hoekstra

2010-01-11T15:22:00.000-08:00

These are some candid shots from Karen's opening reception. You can see more pictures and add'l information on Karen's web site here.

SAQA Michigan Artist Profile - Aniko Feher

2010-01-01T14:45:00.000-08:00

Our SAQA Profile this month is:

Aniko Feher
From Oak Park, Michigan
http://www.quiltsbyaniko.com/

How long have you been sewing and when did you begin making art quilts?
I started quilting in 1992. I begin my first art quilt 'Goldie' in 1998 and finished in 2001. It did not take me 3 years to make the quilt, but the project scarred me so much that I set the project aside and totally stopped quilting for 3 years.

Describe your art and its inspiration.
I have always been fascinated by people and their faces and I've always loved to draw portraits, but my quilting inspiration comes from old family photos. Fabric portraits are not like any other quilts, they are truly a labor of love.
I have yet to have a student that brought a photo of some pretty face that came in their new wallet. Instead people bring photos of a loved one, some living and some who have passed away, often wanting to make a memorial to a mother or father that they loved and lost or a grandchild they never get to see. It is a therapeutic experience for them. It seems like an ultimate gesture of love and dedication that they exercise when they do these portraits. They are trying to capture the essence of a person, so much the same way that I been doing since the first time I started drawing.

Where do you do most of your artwork?
I have a basement studio where I can work without messing up the house and where I occasionally teach.

What are your goals?
My goal is to let people know that they can do quilt portraits. They should not to be afraid to give it a try and not waste time on fears like I did. I teach very simple skills that anybody can do, peppered with a lot of good advice and a little hand holding.

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

I started my business 'Quilts by Aniko' this spring. I have also been lecturing and teaching. Lately people started to ask me about the portrait class I teach and could they purchase the pattern without taking my class. I started to develop a series of 4 patterns which will be available in a few months. The first one "Nadiia" is ready for printing, but I want to complete all four patterns before I release them for sale.

Where can your work be seen?
I have a website where all my quilts are displayed. It also shows what lecture and workshops I offer and my schedule. When the patterns are published, they will be available for sale on my website. www.quiltsbyaniko.com

What are your interests outside of art?
When I took up quilting most of my other interests fell by the wayside. A few things I could not give up are reading and watching movies. When I quilt there is always a movie or book on tape playing in the background, but the eyes and hands stay focused on my quilting.

Some background on the making of 'Survivors'

This 2"x 3" group photo was taken in 1945 in sepia tones that faded with time. It was a photo that was part of Aniko's family history and pictures both Aniko's mother and 4 other survivors of the Holocaust. It was taken somewhere on the road several months after the liberation as they were traveling, mostly walking back home to Hungary, from the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. This picture became Aniko's inspiration for Survivors.

Because some areas of the photo were totally dark, Aniko came up with the idea of combining her mother’s last photo as she looked before she passed away. Aniko took great care to trace her mother’s features and then placed the enlarged face over the knee area of the photo that was faded, creating her own double exposure and the eerie affect everyone senses when they see this quilt. Aniko feels this quilt turned out to be the best piece she has ever done. Aniko strongly feels that "if the picture is important enough you will use it and all will be well".

'Survivors'

41" x 43"

'Kati' is a quilting friend of Aniko's and was made using a photo of her friend when she was 7 years old, 50 years ago.

'Kati'

26" 26"

Be sure to visit Aniko's web site for a look at more of her wonderful art work and for a schedule of her workshops and lectures (http://www.quiltsbyaniko.com/).

Artist Profile

2009-12-14T09:34:00.000-08:00

Starting in January, 2010, we will be featuring a monthly Artist Profile of a SAQA Michigan member. We hope by presenting a monthly artist profile our members will get to know each other as well as see what interesting and different works each of us create. So look for our January profile on ANIKO FEHER! Until then, Happy Holidays!

Links

2009-12-07T14:40:00.000-08:00

A new sidebar item, 'SAQA LINKS', has been added to our blog. These are links of other SAQA regions across the states! We hope you find these links of interest by seeing what other regions are doing as well as what their members are up to.

Don't forget to send your photo's and updates of exhibits, workshops or other news worthy items to Robbie Payne at RobbiesPawPrints@aol.com. This is your regional blog and will only be as good as the information you provide to us. This is a free service to all members in our region, so take advantage of this technology tool for promoting your art.

New Web Site

2009-11-30T07:51:00.000-08:00

SAQA member, Laurie Ceesay, has a new web site! You can check it out at
http://www.laurieceesay.com/

Holiday Art Bazaar

2009-11-13T08:40:00.000-08:00

Several SAQA Michigan members are also members of the Running with Scissors group. Lynn Krawczyk (FibraArtysta@earthlink.net) sent the following information on their upcoming holiday bazaar. Looks like some really interesting and unique gifts for Christmas!

Running with Scissors, a group of artists from southeast Michigan, is holding its first annual Holiday Art Bazaar. Our members consist of art quilters, art doll creators, knitters, weavers, felters and mixed media artists. I hope you will join us for this exciting sale, see you there!

Saturday November 28, 2010

10am-4pm

Berkley Knights of Columbus

2299 Twelve Mile Road

Berkley, MI 48072

Another ribbon for Laurie!

2009-11-05T12:37:00.000-08:00

Laurie Ceesay's quilt, VIOLETTA, received 3rd place in the Wall Art category at the Treasures of Tomorrow Quilt show in Marshfield, Wi. (Oct. 31-Nov.1). You can see some more of Laurie's work on one of our previous SAQA MI posts here. Congratulation, Laurie.

SAQA: A Sense of Humor Exhibit

2009-10-13T11:25:00.000-07:00

Two of our SAQA Michigan artists, Beatrice Hughes and Robbie Payne have pieces in the SAQA exhibit, 'A Sense of Humor'.

Laughter makes the world go 'round' and this exhibition celebrates the laughable, amusing, comical, whimsical, incongruous, and absurd aspects of humor. The exhibit will debut at the International Quilt Festival in Houston from October 15-18, 2009 at the George R. Brown Convention Center. The exhibit will then go on to the IQA shows in Chicago and Long Beach in 2010. This exhibit was Juried by Pam RuBert.

'Ties at the Office' by Beatrice Hughes

'Waiting to be Kissed' by Robbie Payne

Inspired By The Masters

2009-10-03T07:57:00.000-07:00

The Fenton - Jack R. Winegarden Library is hosting the Aussome 6 exhibit "Inspired by the Masters" through October 30, 2009. The library is located at 200 E. Caroline Street, Fenton, MI 48430Phone: 810-629-7612 and Hours are Mon-Thu: 9am-9pm Fri-Sat: 9am-5pm Sunday: 12pm-5pm

In 2005, the Aussome6 group was formed as a way to provide positive feedback and critiquing as each member designed and worked on their art work. SAQA members Mary Andrews, Karen Olson, Robbie Payne and Carol Tamasiunas are members of the group.

In this current exhibit, Inspired by the Masters, the group chose six Master Artists to be their inspiration (Beardsley, Frankenthaler, Hokusai, Hundertwasser, Klimt and Mucha). Each member then created a 16” x 20” art quilt based on the works of these master artists. To date there are over 24 pieces in the exhibit and more to come!

Inspired by Aubrey Beardsley by Carol Tamasiunas

Inspired by Gustav Klimt by Karen Olson

Inspired by Friedensreich Hundertwasser by Mary Andrews

Inspired by Katsushika Hokusai by Robbie Payne

The exhibit will move to the Auburn Hills Public Library for November and December of 2009.

"Common Threads" Exhibit

2009-09-30T16:00:00.000-07:00

The Charlevoix Public Library is hosting the Northern Michigan Textile Artists' exhibit "Common Threads" through October 31, 2010. The group was founded in November 2007 in response to interest created by the Michigan Quilt Artists Invitational Show at the library. Composed of fiber and mixed-media artists from Antrim, Charlevoix, Cheboygan and Emmet counties, the group meets monthly at the Charlevoix Library. Meetings include discussion of artistic and professional issue. demonstrations of techniques, informal critique sessions.

SAQA members Kerry Bowes, Gera Witte from Elk Rapids and Kathie Briggs from Charlevoix are members of the group. The show features small works created during the past two years: a series of color studies, photo-inspired pieces and collaborative works.

Kerry's "First Course Series: Blue Bass" is mono-chromatic study and is one of four color studies by Kerry in this series.

Kathie's "45 Degrees North: Still Waters" is an example of a complementary scheme.

Gera's "Ice Blue" is one of her two interpretations of a photograph of ice boats on Torch Lake taken by group member Babs Young.

Kerry, Gera and Kathie collaborated with Betsy Ross Doyle to interpret a photograph of fishing buoys which they have donated to the library.

In addition to the main show, in the gallery between the community rooms and the main library, three dimensional work is featured in the display cases in the Michigan Room. For more information contact Kathie @ kathie@kathiebriggs.com

"Winds of Change" Exhibit

2009-09-25T11:27:00.000-07:00

"Winds of Change" an exhibit by the Fiber Artists Coalition, a group of SAQA professional members, has opened at Gallery 50 in Traverse City, Michigan. It's a wonderful exhibit in an old state hospital that has been and continues to be renovated for retail, office and residential spaces. The setting is pleasing as with the brick walls as the background for the art quilts. The exhibit is representative of the work of a diverse yet professional group of quilt artists with each artist submitting up to three works. Michigan members with artworks in this show include Kathie Briggs, Joan Potter-Thomas, and Desiree Vaughn.If you are in the Traverse City area this September and October, stop in to Gallery 50 (www.galleryfifty.com) and enjoy the exhibit. Here are just a peak at 3 of the pieces in the exhibit.

'Autumn Visitor' by Kathie Briggs

'Blue Moon Rising' by Desiree Vaughn

'Arctic Storm' by Desiree Vaughn

Laurie Ceesay

2009-09-22T16:40:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Lauire Ceesay and her quilt, 'The Blue Wig' on her recent blue ribbon at the Michigan Quilt Network's "Share Your Colors" Quilt Show in Lansing MI on Sept. 11-13, 2009.

Lauire also had her quilt, 'BIBA 1' juried in to the Wisconsin Quilt Expo in Madison, Wi. This quilt will also be exhibited at the AQS IOWA Show late October.

Exhibit Reminders

2009-09-16T16:28:00.001-07:00

Michigan Quilt Artist Invitational

..AND IT WAS SO

by Barbara Kilbourn

The Michigan Quilt Artists Invitational featuring 'The Art of Nature' exhibit is on display until Friday, October 2, 2009 at Greater Flint Art Council gallery which is located at 816. S. Saginaw Street, Downtown Flint. (810-2138-ARTS).

Michigan Hospital Gifts of Art Exhibit

Mary Andrews

'Sunflower'

by Mary Andrews

Mary's quilts are currently on display at the University of Michigan Hospital Gifts of Art program in Ann Arbor. Her quilts will be in the Main Corridor West until October 12, 2009.

For further information about Mary's exhibit and future programs or exhibit opportunities, check out the Uof M Hospital Gifts of Art web site at http://www.med.umich.edu/goa/

Textile Extensions: Quilts in a New Context

'The Sun's Gon' Shine In My Backdoor Someday'

by Carole Harris

The Sun's Gon' Shine In My Backdoor Someday' is just one of 15 of Carole's work that will be in the exhibition “Textile Extensions: Quilts in a New Context” which opens at the Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum Oct. 2. A reception to meet the artist will be held at the Museum Saturday, Oct. 3 from 2 to 4 p.m. Those wishing to attend are asked to RSVP by calling 989-964-7082. Carole will talk about her work, the art of design and quilting, at the Museum on Wednesday, Oct. 21 at 4:00 p.m. The lecture is free and open to the public. The exhibition runs through January 28, 2010. For more information, call (989) 964-7125 or visit the Museum’s website at http://www.svsu.edu/mfsm/home.html.

Michigan Quilt Artists Invitational - Art of Nature

2009-09-07T07:36:00.000-07:00

HERON, HUNTING #3

Anne Hiemstra

NATURE’S SERENITY

Donna Hamilton

The Greater Flint Arts Council is presenting the Michigan Quilt Artists Invitational featuring 'The Art of Nature' exhibit. This exhibit is made up of original wall quilts by Michigan Artists and will be part of the Flint Festival of Quilts along with the Second Friday Artwalk which takes place Sept. 10 thru Sept. 12.

The opening reception for the 'Art of Nature' exhibit, is free and open to the public. Live music with Justin Scanlon on nylon string guitar, along with food and beverages, will take place from 6-9 on Sept. 11th. The exhibit will continue through Friday, October 2, 2009. The GFAC Gallery is located at 816. S. Saginaw Street, Downtown Flint. (810-2138-ARTS).

For further information on the MQAI traveling exhibit, visit http://maryandrewsartquilts.com/MQAI.htm.

“Textile Extensions: Quilts in a New Context” - Carole Harris

2009-08-22T08:42:00.000-07:00

'The Sun's Gon' Shine In My Backdoor Someday'

'The Sun's Gon' Shine In My Backdoor Someday' is just one of 15 of Carole's work that will be in the exhibition “Textile Extensions: Quilts in a New Context” which opens at the Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum Oct. 2. Carole is a well-known Michigan interior designer/fiber artist and a member of SAQA Michigan.

A reception to meet the artist will be held at the Museum Saturday, Oct. 3 from 2 to 4 p.m. Carole Harris and her husband Bill will attend. Those wishing to attend are asked to RSVP by calling 989-964-7082.

Carole's rhythmically constructed, non-traditional tapestries are composed of hundreds of richly colored fabrics which are cut, overlaid, appliquéd, pieced and quilted. A professional interior designer and fiber artist, she creates one-of-a-kind, improvisational works that provide warmth and texture to enhance commercial and residential interiors.

“This exhibition presents for the first time a large body of my work representing a period of almost 20 years, a retrospective of sorts. The exhibition will allow both me and the public to view changes and similarities in my work over a long period. One will see how I hold the tradition while expanding the process through the use of texture and by extending the form beyond the rectangle,” said Harris in a recent interview about her show.

Harris’ work has been exhibited nationally in museums and galleries over the last 30 years.
“Carole’s quilts are not ordinary or traditional. They are comparable to a good jazz composition, improvisational and unpredicted,” said Marilyn Wheaton, Museum Director. Harris will talk about her work, the art of design and quilting, at the Museum on Wednesday, Oct. 21 at 4:00 p.m. The lecture is free and open to the public.

The exhibition runs through January 28, 2009. For more information, call (989) 964-7125 or visit the Museum’s website at http://www.svsu.edu/mfsm/home.html.

Here is a peak at some more of Carole's work

'Rhythm-a-ning'

'Big City Blues'

'Down the Block & Across the Street'

Exhibition of work by Laurie Ceesay

2009-08-15T09:34:00.000-07:00

SAQA member Laurie Ceesay from Menomiee, Michigan is displaying some of her work at the following venues.

Purple Rain by Laurie Ceesay

Purple Rain was on display at the World Quilt Show-New England, Manchester NH, Aug. 13-16, 2009 in the Innovative Wall Quilt category.

BIBA 1 by Laurie Ceesay

BIBA 1 will be hung at the Wisconsin Quilt Expo, Madison WI. Sept. 10-12, 2009, in the Pictorial Quilt category.

The Blue Wig by Laurie Ceesay

Laurie's The Blue Wig will be on display at the Michigan Quilt Network's exhibit "Show Your Colors" in ' Lansing MI, Sept. 10-13, 2009. This display is part of the "show your colors" challenge.

Around Michigan

2009-08-14T13:24:00.000-07:00

Thanks to SAQA member Anne Hiemstra for providing these exhibit and show entries around town!

The following exhibits are currently at the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center, 1516 S. Cranbrook, Birmingham, MI: July 24 – August 21, 2009:

“Let the Silence Have Its Say”: A Graffiti Exhibit

and

The Great Lakes Beadworkers Guild: This beadwork exhibit has some magnificent neck pieces, handbags and sculptural art

Calls for entries:

17th Annual Juried Art Show and Sale, First Presbyterian Church, Northville, MI. Show dates: October 2-9, 2009. Entry deadline: September 17, 2009. Contact: 248-349-0911 There doesn’t seem to be an online version of this information.

“Liggett Celebrates Michigan Artists”, University Liggett School, Grosse Pointe Woods, MI. Show dates: November 6-7, 2009. Entry deadline: September 17, 2009.

Handmade in Michigan, Online Artisan Market. This seems to be a very new venture, based in Ferndale. No indication yet of what their marketing strategy is, but it’s a good looking site and an idea with a lot of potential.

Bead Bonanza, Bead Show & Sale sponsored by Great Lakes Beadworkers Guild, Sunday, October 11, 2009, Southfield Municipal Complex, Southfield, MI.

Mary Andrews Exhibit

2009-08-07T16:25:00.000-07:00

'Sunflower' by Mary Andrews, Grand Blanc, Michigan

Mary Andrews will be having a show at the University of Michigan Hospital Gifts of Art program in Ann Arbor. Mary's quilts will be in the Main Corridor West from August 24 thru October 12, 2009.

One of the first and most comprehensive arts-in-health care programs nationwide, Gifts of Art brings the world of art & music to the University of Michigan Health System. During times of stress and illness, the arts have the power to nurture and engage. The Gifts of Art programs utilize the arts to assist and enhance the healing process, reduce stress, support human dignity and renew the spirit.

This is a wonderful place for Michigan SAQA members to show their work. There are 7 galleries throughout the hospital and thousands of people pass through the hospital during the time your work is on exhibit. The University Gifts of Art program are very fiber friendly and welcome exhibits, such as the Michigan Quilt Artists Invitational, every year as well a few fiber artists. They usually have a call for entries in the spring every year. For further information about Mary's exhibit and future programs or exhibit opportunities, check out their web site at http://www.med.umich.edu/goa/

Peg Keeney's 'Together We Can'

2009-07-31T04:08:00.000-07:00

Peg Keeney's 'Together We Can', which was part of the Obama Quilters exhibit in MD earlier this year, as been invited to be included in Dr. Carolyn Mazloomie's new Celebrate Obama book and traveling exhibition. The exhibition will travel to Japan, South Africa and across America.

SAQA Musings Exhibit - Grand Rapids, Michigan

2009-07-27T15:38:00.000-07:00

"Dress Up" by Gera Witte, Grand Rapids, Michigan

The SAQA Musings Exhibit has been on display since June 19 at the Gerald R. Ford Musesum in Grand Rapids. The exhibit includes 29 quilts from across the United States and runs thru August 31, 2009. The selected artists for Musings are:

B.J. Adams
Mary Andrews
Polly Bech
Shelley Brucar
Benedicte Caneill
Cheryl Costley
Marcia DeCamp
Mary Diamond
Clairan Ferrono
Ann Harwell
Peg Keeney
Eileen Lauterborn
Denise Linet
Ann Loveless
Dottie Moore
Susan Sanborn North
Frauke Palmer
Pat Pauly
Marti Plager
Judith Plotner
Christine Predd
Casey Puetz
Tracy McCabe Stewart
Gwyned Trefethen
Gera Witte

So if you are looking for an art quilt exhibit to visit this summer in Michigan, look no further then the Musings Exhibit at the Gerald Ford Presidential Museum. Along with the quilt exhibit you can also see Caroline Kennedy's doll collection. These dolls were given to Caroline from visitors to the White House from all over the world. The Museum is also full of treasures from the White House and items given to the Ford family.

The Museum is located at 303 Pearl Street in downtown Grand Rapids and is open every day 9 to 5. For directions and more information on the museum you can visit their web site here.

To have a sneak peak at the exhibit, click on the video below!

WELCOME!

2009-07-24T12:11:00.000-07:00

The SAQA Michigan newsletter will be taking a sabbatical! In its place, we'd like to welcome you to the SAQA Michigan blog!

The best way to provide members immediate access to information about exhibit opportunities, announcements of upcoming events and other endeavors is by the creation of our own blog. With this venue we will be able to maintain links to SAQA members living and working in Michigan. In addition, our members can view SAQA news, member's accomplishments, and be kept informed of venues and exhibits where you can see SAQA artists' work in person.

This is your regional blog and will only be as good as the information you provided to us. So keep us informed of any news, events, corrections, etc. by emailing Robbie Payne at SAQAMI@aol.com. This is a free service to all members in our region, so take advantage of this technology tool for promoting our art.

We hope you enjoy your visit and come back often!

Sue Holdaway-Heys – Textile Art

2009-07-24T11:49:00.000-07:00

Shadows Fall by Sue Holdaway-Heys

SAQA member Sue Holdaway-Heys will be having an 'Artists’ Champagne Reception and Opening' on August 9th at the Button-Petter Gallery in Douglas, Michigan.

The Button-Petter Gallery represents over 80 artists both regional and national in reputation. With the Saugatuck-Douglas area being known as the 'Art Coast of Michigan' this is a great weekend get-away. You'll get to see some of Sue's wonderful textile work along with other art forms already on exhibit. For further information on the gallery and exhibits, check out their web site at Button-Petter Gallery.