The 2014 Benefit Auction Opens Tomorrow!

Aspens in the Fall
Marie McEachern - Alberta

Monday, September 15, is the kick-off for the 2014 SAQA Benefit Auction.

Aspens in the Fall, contributed by Alberta member Marie McEachern, is in Section 1 -- the section for which online bidding begins tomorrow at 2 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

Modern Circles 3
Terry Aske - B.C.

Also in Section 1 is Modern Circles 3 from B.C. member Terry Aske.

A third in Section 1: Mountain Pass from Patti Morris of Alberta.

Mountain Pass
Patti Morris, Alberta

On the Grid from Saskatchewan's Jaynie Himsl is in Section 2 (opening September 22 and running through September 27), as is Flywheel from Susan Purney Mark of B.C.

On the Grid
Jaynie Himsl - Saskatchewan

Susan's Calgary workshop, Colour It, Fuse It! on September 10 was a great success -- despite the heavy, wet snow.  Almost a dozen intrepid students made it -- stay tuned for a blog post about all the fun!

Flywheel 
Susan Purney Mark, B.C.

Yours truly's Reach for the Sky! is also part of Section 2

Reach for the Sky!
Margaret Blank, Alberta

while B.C.'s Anne Rayner-Gould contribution, Grey Sky, Bright Forest is in  Section 4 which opens for online bidding on October 27 and 28.










Section 4 is the section that will be available for in-person bidding at the International Quilt Festival in Houston, TX, October 29-November 2.  Congratulations Anne!!

Grey Sky, Bright Forest
Anne Rayner-Gould, B.C.

Be sure to take time to check out these and all the rest of the creative contributions to this year's auction.  Perhaps you'll be inspired to purchase one for your own enjoyment -- and to make one to contribute in 2015!

By Chance -- Another Exhibit!

I continue to encourage members to send me information about exhibits and shows in which they're participating -- whether affiliated with SAQA or not -- so their work can be shared with all of us.  Sometimes, however, these things are brought to me serendipitously.   For example, I stumbled over this item from member Diane Duncan of Calgary while browsing Facebook this afternoon.

Diane's piece (the windmill, centre of the poster) is only one of what looks to be a fabulous exhibit of textile art by members of the Fibre Art Network (FAN).  If you happen to be in Duncan and area before it closes, do take it in!

Workshops and Exhibits

Susan Purney Mark

I know I sent out a newsletter earlier today...but to clarify: the date of the September Calgary workshop/Parlour Meeting -- featuring Susan Purney Mark -- is Wednesday, September 10 - at Shaganappi Community Hall.

Pat Pauly

The organizers of the Pat Pauly Workshop/Evening Talk (in Langley, B.C. in October) have advised that there are 2 spaces in Pat's class for interested parties!   Follow the link (above) for information.


And today the Alberta Surface Design Association (SDA) chapter has posted some wonderful exhibit information about up-coming and current exhibits.

Dana Roman has a solo exhibit opening in Canmore in late September and running only briefly -- Sept. 25 - October 7.
She works in acrylics, mixed media and textiles, creating silk paintings and semi-abstract landscapes (from her website).

The textile group Contextural has completed another ACAD residency and will be exhibiting the results in a show entitled "Organic Matters"
at various locations around the ACAD campus between August 25 and October 15th.  The opening reception is Sept. 4th at 6-8 p.m. on the ACAD Mall.  Check the SDA Alberta blog for details about both of these exhibits.

The 2014 edition of the SAQA Benefit Auction begins September 15th.  A selection of the submissions has been set up as a slide show (see the right-hand sidebar), but you can see all of these fine works -- including pieces from seven Western Canadian members -- HERE.

The Burgess Shale exhibit begins a new tour shortly -- check for an up-date as to locations and dates on our "Networking" page.  Members Deborah Bray and Patti Morris have been working with the folks at the site -- and it is a distinct possibility that this exhibit may be shown there after it finishes it's tour of Southern Alberta venues with TREX/The Alberta Society of Artists.  There may be a permanent home in store for this exhibit one day.  This would be an exciting outcome for the artists involved, for the SAQA WC Region and for SAQA and textile artists as a whole.  Stay tuned for developments!

Mis(sed) Communications

Sigh.  As Robbie Burns would say, "The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men/Gang aft agley..."

Regional Reps and Co-Reps for SAQA have varying goals for their terms as your humble servants (grin). As some of you may remember, when I came on board as a Co-Rep for our Region in late October last year, I wrote a newsletter with the title, "May I Have a Word?"  Since then, I've put out 2 more volumes of MIHaW, and a few miscellaneous news mailings.   My goal is to improve the communications within the Western Canada Region.  Because our Region is so vast, this means using technology, for better or for worse!

Recently one of our members called to tell me the difficulties she was having receiving and/or reading the bulk e-mails I send out from time to time to update the Region on various events etc.  This service is provided to Regional Reps by SAQA, which updates and maintains the e-mail address records in the data base from its membership records.   This member is the only one from whom I've heard -- so far -- about the challenges of receiving the mass mailing.  (She has a MacBook Pro and iPhone. I have a PC with wireless internet service, and a land-line phone.)

Hoping to help her (and others out), I posted a query on the SAQA Reps' Yahoo group yesterday evening.  So far I've had little in the way of reply but one Rep did tell me that the person who called this to my attention is likely very definitely not the only one out there.  In her experience, there have been a variety of problems over the years, to the point where many Reps no longer use the SAQA mass e-mail service -- while others use it with impunity, and apparently no difficulties.

The issues have been raised with the tech people behind the scenes, she reported, but she has no idea if any have been resolved.  Typically, the issue isn't a simple one; these problems have a variety and combination of sources, such as:

• The e-mail server being used by the member(s) doesn't communicate well with the server used by SAQA for this data base program. (@yahoo, @gmail and @hotmail -- all free e-mail servers -- tend to have particular problems; 'DOTedu' -- from educational institutions -- also sometimes has problems.)
• The member may have significant security and firewall protection on his/her computer.
• The Mac and the iPhone and/or Smart Phone may have problems unique to their technology.  The second Rep who responded to my query suggested that Apple users might visit their local "genius bar" for advice (found in Apple Stores).

You might be wondering, "Why don't I create an e-mail list and send out messages from my personal e-mail server?"  Well...I could do this -- but that means I have to make sure that every time I get a membership list update from SAQA, I go in and update the list.  Right now, the data base is maintained for Reps by SAQA and it's a piece of cake to use to send e-mail.

Keeping up a list on my own computer would not be an onerous task -- just time-consuming...but I'm prepared to do that if I hear from enough of you that it's what's needed to solve this problem and improve communications.

So here's the deal: if you are having trouble receiving and/or reading the mass e-mails I send out from the SAQA-provided data base, send me an e-mail directly, describing your problem.  I will pass the problems on to SAQA tech support and meanwhile, if there are more than 3 of you with ongoing problems, I will construct a regional e-mail list and communicate that way.

If you didn't get the information in the mass mailing I sent out recently, here's a summary of the information:

September 10 Workshop: Registration Deadline Extended!

Summer is a busy time, so if you haven't managed to get your registration form and cheque in the mail for "Colour It, Fuse It!", the workshop/Parlour Meeting on September 10 in Calgary featuring B.C. member, artist, author and teacher, Susan Purney Mark, you now have four (4) more weeks for it to reach me (Margaret) -- through Friday, August 29.  That's the start of the Labour Day weekend, and the workshop is just 10 days later, so to be courteous and considerate of Susan's time to assemble the number of kits needed, please make sure meet this next deadline.  The fee is $45.00 for members; $50.00 for non-members.  This includes the workshop kit (a $20 value).  (As of today -- August 6 -- 8 spots remain. We can take a waiting list.)  Contact me (margblank@xplornet.ca) for a registration form if you don't have one.

SAQA Trunk Show F is Available for Sharing!

Our Co-Rep Katie Stein Sather of B.C. has acquired the 25th Anniversary Trunk Show -- Section F -- for use in Canada till at least April, 2015.  Ideally this 51-piece show (each is 7" x 9" in size, mounted on black mat board and encased in a clear wrapper) will make its way east across Canada. 

Katie has advised that the following dates for the Trunk Show F have already been booked:

• Sept. 17, 2014: FAN (Fibre Arts Network) Retreat;
• Sept. 24, 2014: Langley Quilt Guild meeting;
• Oct. 1, 2014: SAQA BC meeting;
• Oct. 25-26, 2014: (to be confirmed) Blue Mountain Quilt Guild Show.

It is hoped the trunk show will be available for Alberta in November/December, and move to Saskatchewan and Manitoba for January and February.  There is a pending request for it to return to B.C. (Vancouver Island) in March.  It will also be offered to Central Canada and Atlantic Canada, so if anyone else in the Western Canada Region would like it sooner rather than later, please contact your Co-Rep -- Katie in B.C., Dawn in SK/Manitoba, or me (Margaret) in Alberta.

(Please note that the SAQA Trunk Show Calendar has this show --Trunk Show F -- scheduled for Canada only through April 2015.  Arrangements can be made to with SAQA to extend this tour if there is enough interest in it across the country.)*

*One member has since suggested I contact the CQA re: Quilt Canada's show in Lethbridge in June 2015; if anyone can advise me who the contact person would be, I would be delighted to do so.

And thank you for your support!

Gone to Connecticut

Vicariously, that is.  Alberta member Margaret Blank's piece, "Tree Study III", is touring in SAQA Trunk Show "C" which is currently touring the Connecticut area through year-end, including a stop at the New Britain Museum of American Art in New Britain, CT from October 4 through January 4, 2015.

Thanks to the efforts of Katie Stein Sather, Trunk Show F is available for exhibiting in Western Canada -- and possibly across the country -- through April 2015.   Ideally, it will be shown first in B.C. and then travel east.  To acquire this show for exhibit at your local guild or art group meeting, contact Katie directly via her blog.  She'll fill you in on what's needed to get the show to your group and/or venue.

Have any SAQA WC members contributed to the 25th Anniversary Trunk Show?  Please share the relevant information -- contact Margaret via her blog or by e-mail: margblankATxplornetDOTca.

A Great Summer for SAQA WC Artists!

This summer is a great one for taking in work by our Western Canadian members.

"Western Threads", the collaborative show that includes our exhibit, "Meet the Best of the West", is up for a few more weeks (till August 4) at the Royal Alberta Museum in Edmonton.

Several members have pieces in the Focus on Fibre Arts Association's Biennial Juried Show, "Prairies", on through the end of August at the upstairs gallery at Enterprise Square in Edmonton.

And "The Burgess Shale" exhibit is currently on at the Beiseker Station Museum in Beiseker, Alberta through July 30.  It will move to the Sundre Municipal Library for July 30 through August 25.

Alison Cowitz's piece, "Ozzie" has won a red ribbon at this year's Calgary Stampede!  You can see it on display there through Sunday.  Here's what she wrote me yesterday:

I entered a One Block Wonder quilt in the Stampede Western Lifestyles Creative Arts & Crafts Competition last year, and I was really surprised to get a 3rd place ribbon for my first time entering!

As a young girl I loved going to the Calgary Stampede and seeing all the creative things that people would make and enter into the Showcase. I think the competitive nature in me just wanted to enter again, so I raised my bar and pushed hard to finish Ozzie in time for the June 23rd deadline (remember I had him on my design wall over the winter?). A deadline reason to finish is more motivation for me than anything.

Let me mention that the quilting part of finishing a quilt is not my strong suit. I have a background in Graphic Design, so the design and colour part comes easier to me. I had more fun designing and building the piece, but when it came time for the quilting I was almost paralyzed with fear. Where do I start? How do I build this? What do I do in this area? How much is too much? I did take a one day free motion quilting class with Lorraine Stagness (excellent teacher!) a few months ago to warm up my skills. There came a time when I just had to let go of the practicing, put my fears aside and gather the courage to just go for it with Ozzie! So I put my “big girl panties” on and tried. It was really scary at first, then some things started to turn out well, then I became addicted to the possibilities. It was going well until my thread started breaking a lot and my usually wonderful Bernina 820 would only sew in one direction. ...my doubts came flooding in, and then I visited Michael at My Sewing Room here in Calgary, who gave me a crash course in tension, threads and needles (I owe him a 6 pack for that).

I stressed about the finishing, had my quilt done on the day of the deadline and in the end I am very happy with the results. This work represents who I am today. I heard on Friday, the opening day of this year’s Stampede, that there was a red first place ribbon beside my Ozzie! I went down for a look myself, thinking that I must have been the only entrant in this category. It was a VERY humbling experience to see my work hung amongst the many other beautiful works. In fact it's what gives me the jazz to make art quilts. It’s not about the ribbons for me, but to stand up and be counted among other talented traditional and art quilters. To be amongst such talented people is encouraging me to keep doing this with enthusiasm. I am already plotting about what to enter in next years Stampede Competition.

Now Saskatchewan member, Jaynie Himsl, has work in this show in Duncan, B.C.:

She posted about her piece recently on Facebook with this photo:

If you're in the area next month, be sure to stop by and take a closer look at what looks to be a fabulous exhibit!

Spam and Anti-Spam

Many thanks to all the members of SAQA WC who've thus far replied to our regional e-mail re: Canada's pending Anti-Spam legislation which will come into effect July 1.  As of this writing, I have received replies from 48 of 89 members.  If you wish to continue to receive Regional e-mails with news and information about workshops, exhibits and issues concerning SAQA and its Western Canada Region, please reply before July 1.  New members after that date will receive a request for consent in a welcoming e-mail.

If you have not received the mass e-mail requesting your consent to future e-mails and newsletters, check your spam folder.  If you still cannot find this e-mail, contact Margaret, the Co-Rep for Alberta, who is collecting the consents, and she will send you a copy.

Knowing that there are differing views of spam globally, we'll leave the final word to Monty Python -- and thank you for your support!

Yvonne Porcella

Ms. Porcella was a founding member and the first President of SAQA, in 1989.  Here is her address at the 2014 Conference, celebrating 25 years (!) of SAQA:

http://youtu.be/PZ64IQmGWBQ

NOTE that she taught in Calgary in 1983 -- at a conference held at the University of Calgary...

So Canadian, eh?

Cruising down my Facebook "home" page and what do I see?

A blurry photo of SAQA member (and Canadian SAQA pioneer), Anna Hergert.  The report?  She was accepting the award of "Teacher of the Year" from the Canadian Quilters' Association at its annual conference, Quilt Canada -- this year being held in St. Catharine's, Ontario.

Anna is a former Alberta resident (who launched the art quilting career of many of us, thank you!) who now lives near Moose Jaw, SK...and she was initially the only rep for the Western Canada Region of SAQA...until she made our American friends see reason (grin).  She convinced yours truly to join SAQA in 2008...and my life has never been the same since!

CONGRATULATIONS, ANNA!!

Upon checking out the CQA site, I tripped over last year's winner -- yet another SAQA Western Canada member, Margie Davidson of Edmonton.

Whoa!  Are we great, or what?!  ;-)

On and Off Our Walls

If you check the "What We Do" section of the main SAQA website, you'll find this about exhibits and exhibiting art quilts:

SAQA is dedicated to bringing beautiful, thought-provoking, cutting-edge artwork to venues across the United States and around the world. We also offer online galleries to display our member artwork and a yearly Benefit Auction. 

SAQA Western Canada member Karen Jurek of Calgary sent this note to me last week about her experience entering a piece in one of the newest exhibits, Radical Elements.  I think you'll agree that this work is definitely "beautiful, thought-provoking [and] cutting edge"!

Karen wrote:

I was honored to be selected to participate in Radical Elements which opened in Maryland [in May].  

I was in Alexandria for the SAQA conference a few weeks ago and we had a bus trip up to Maryland to see this unique show. 

It is the first exhibit since the new definition of ‘what is an art quilt? was released last year. The exhibitors were told to use as little or no fabric at all.

[The] exhibition catalogue includes artwork created by 40 artists.  Each selected [and] created a new work influenced by an element from the periodic table.  The artists were also asked to move quilting beyond the usual materials of fabric and thread, exploring the function and decorative properties of different surfaces and stitching materials.

 I enjoyed working with only copper or copper like metals. My husband was a little ‘unsettled' when I got out the blowtorch and melted copper wire and flamed the sheet copper to give it more color.  Here below is my art ‘quilt’. 

CU Later - Karen Jurek, (C) 2013

CU Later - Detail

Radical Elements will be showing next at the Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts at the Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Florida - May through August 2016.  (Information current as of June 7, 2014; for updates to the touring calendar for this exhibit, check back with the SAQA website.)

You can read more about Karen on the Featured Members page of this blog (scroll down).