Coming Up in Calgary

SAQA members and friends from Calgary have a new exhibit!

Persistence Pays Off!

I'm grinning as I write this because at last -- after posting reminders at the end of most blog posts -- I'm hearing from people I've missed, who want to share their accomplishments!  😊

Kudos to B.C. member Wilma Brock, who just e-mailed to say "add me to the list" -- the list of members with pieces juried in to the Canadian Quilters' Association National Juried Show.  She has three in the show...and once she's permitted, I hope she'll send me photos to share for those of us who can't be there.

P.S. this goes for any of you in that show.  Any volunteers to take photos of SAQA members' work there and send 'em along for sharing?  Just e-mail them to me with a brief description (name of artist, title, size of the piece).  And if you win a prize, that's an extra-special reason to share! 

I'll be waiting and watching for the mail in June...

More Exhibits -- This Month and Beyond

In early March I mentioned that a number of SAQA Western Canada members had been accepted into the Canadian Quilters' Association National Juried Show.

Those names have increased by one, as Margaret Inkster of B.C. e-mailed me to say she too was in the exhibit.  Congratulations to Margaret -- and to all whose work will be on display at Quilt Canada 2018 in Vancouver -- May 31 through June 2 at the Vancouver Convention Centre's West Building, 1055 Canada Place.

Next weekend, a very special one-day-only showing of SAQA WC's "Burgess Shale" exhibit will be held at the Banff Trail Community Centre.  I know I posted about this earlier -- but I decided to send a reminder out as it's up for only one day.  If you blink, you'll miss it!

Also next weekend, the City of Lacombe, Alberta is having its 19th Annual Encore! Art Sale and Celebration of Creative Expression -- in the centre of town at the Lacombe Memorial Centre.  

Yours truly has had the pleasure of being juried into this show for a booth consistently since 2011, so I hope you'll drop by to see my new work as well as that of featured artist, water colourist Sandra Bingeman, the Student Art Exhibit and Competition, and the delightful "Sip & Shop" from 6-8 p.m. Friday and 2-4 p.m. Saturday. 

LACOMBE MEMORIAL CENTRE

5214 50 AVENUE, LACOMBE

April 20 & 21, 2018

Friday, April 20

1 pm – 8:00 pm
General Admission $5
under 12 free

Saturday April 21
11 am - 5 pm
 Admission $5 
under 12 free

Here's a sneak peek at what you might see at my booth...based on a photo taken by a dear friend, and used with his permission:

After the Storm: Granada
8" x 10", mounted on
painted stretched canvas
12" x 12" finished

Finally, last weekend, I ventured to Red Deer for the 27th Annual Central Alberta Quilters' Guild Show.  This is one of Alberta's largest shows, and it is pulled off with aplomb every year.  There were two featured quilters -- Marie Barkley, a senior who creates traditional quilts exquisitely, with a particular eye for colour in her interpretations, and Jasmine Travers-Charbonneau, a 34-year-old who's been quilting for only five years; her style is Modern.  Her quilt, "Brassica" was selected for exhibit at QuiltCon 2018!

But aside from the Featured Quilters and the terrific vendors (Hamel's Fabrics, the Superior Thread reps, 

and a wide range of shops from around Alberta and Saskatchewan), I enjoyed most meeting up with SAQA colleagues -- and former ones, such as former Co-Rep for Alberta, Patti Morris.  She's still quilting, but too busy with family (aging parents, a new grand-baby) to keep her membership, but she sends along her best wishes to the Region and was thrilled to hear about the 2020 Conference in Toronto.

And I had a great chat with Alberta member Wendy Greber of Red Deer, who took a ribbon for this delightful piece:

Little Red Wagon
First Place, Challenge Quilts

In her statement about the work, Wendy wrote that she designed it in response to the Guild's Quilt Challenge to make a piece inspired by a song.  She chose a Country song entitled "Little Red Wagon" sung by Miranda Lambert.  She said it reminded her of the little red wagon she had as a child, and concluded, "...now this one has a new purpose in life".  😊

In addition, Wendy took a second ribbon -- for this fun piece featuring wonky trees!  She wrote that she designed it following a technique described by Australian quilt artist Jan Mullen, but using her own layout and lively colour selections.

Inferno Trees
First place, Small Quilts

Congratulations on your prize-winning work Wendy!

And in other news...B.C. member Susan Purney Mark, who in early May of last year was one of our terrific workshop leaders at our first Regional Retreat, is currently trundling on foot along the Camino de Santiago in Spain.  If you're curious about her journey, she is posting fairly regularly on Facebook.  Best wishes for a safe and memorable pilgrimage, Susan!

Remember, if you have exhibit information to share with your SAQA colleagues in Western Canada, across Canada and world-wide (yes, members in other Regions read this blog!), please e-mail blog editor Margaret Blank.

SAQA Conference 2020!!!

Did you know that SAQA is hosting its first International Conference outside the U.S. in 2020?!

It's TRUE!  And it's in Toronto.  The Central Canada Region is...well...central as far as location, and has a significant number of members available to make this happen...

But...they STILL NEED ALL OF US to help make it a success!

Two years is short when you're planning a large conference

SO...

The call has now gone out for volunteers in various capacities.

And yes, there will be things we can do from afar, and also on site during the conference!

The following is a message from Chair of the Local Organizing Committee, Maggie Vanderweit, shared by Bethany Garner on the SAQA Central Canada blog this morning.  It's time for us to join our colleagues, figure out what we're able to contribute, and work together to make this the best SAQA International Conference ever!

Here is a list of committees/tasks that we will be doing for the 2020 SAQA conference at the downtown Hilton Hotel in Toronto. I hope you will consider joining us to help create a spectacular event.

My role, as Chair of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) will be to interface with SAQA and help the committees run smoothly.

Regional Exhibition (Canada)

- Tracey Lawko is chair of this committee tlawko@sympatico.ca

- we are looking for a theme/name for this show ASAP, please send ideas to me and Tracey

- this committee needs to get to work right away

- we hope it will travel and have a catalogue

Possible Exhibition at the Hilton during the conference?

- invitational for regional reps/board members to hang in hotel

Conference Theme/Name

- please send ideas to me ASAP - brief, sassy, smart, something we can build a conference around

- e.g. 2018 TEXtiles is in San Antonio, Texas (clever, right?)

Restaurants

- Friday night we will go out in small groups for dinner

- organize this event, choose and reserve great local restaurants

Spotlight Auction

- help SAQA mat the pieces and place in cellophane envelope, plus add label

Local Gallery and Museum Tours

Pre and Post Conference Bus Tours?

- e.g. Niagara, St Jacob’s/Elora

Local Transportation during Conference

Welcome Package

- gather tourist materials from galleries, museums, restaurants, Toronto maps

- program guide, lanyard, banquet tickets, hotel floor plan etc

- gifts from sponsors?

Volunteers for each presentation/workshop during Conference

- man the doors, run errands etc

- can be any conference attendee

Local person to receive boxes of Conference supplies

Conference Program

- recruit advertisers and sponsors

Please let me know by email where you best see yourself and if you are willing to chair a committee, or would prefer a helper role. I will be sending this invitation to participate to the other regions in Canada as some jobs can be done with email/internet and the more all Canadian SAQA members are involved, the better!

Cheers,

Maggie

Maggie Vanderweit
Central Canada Regional Representative
Studio Art Quilts Associates
maggie@stonethreads.ca

Exhibition News!

On NOW in Kamloops!  

B.C. member Janet Scruggs has shared this information...as she has pieces in this exhibition.  Please note the special evening hours on March 15, and the fact that the pieces are available for purchase!

The Return of the Burgess Shale Exhibit

Hectori Trilobite 
Jaynie Himsl

In 2013, then SAQA Co-Rep for Alberta, Patti Morris, curated an exhibit of the critters (fossils) of the Burgess Shale, inspired and assisted by member Deborah Bray.  Member Barbara J. West was then President of the Alberta Society of Artists, and was instrumental in arranging for this exhibit to tour schools and libraries throughout Alberta as part of the TREX (TRavelling EXhibit) program.

Dinomischus
Judith Panson

On that tour, it was seen by a fellow who was connected to the Burgess Shale Interpretive Centre.  After some discussions and deliberations, at the end of its TREX tour, the Burgess Shale Exhibit was delivered to the Interpretive Centre in Field, B.C., with a view to having a permanent home there.

Sadly, this has not happened.  It is reported that the Federal government, the Alberta Government and the Parks Department were unable to agree on how to manage this exhibit, and so Deb Bray has brought it back to Alberta, in the hopes of finding an alternative permanent place for it.

The good news is that there's to be an introductory exhibit!

Deborah Bray and Patti Morris have teamed up with the Bow River Quilters for a one day only return exhibit of this very special project.  If you have never seen it in its entirety, and are in the area, do make your way to the Banff Trail Community Centre in Calgary for a unique, colourful and family-friendly exhibit -- the fossils of the Burgess Shale, interpreted in fabric, fibre and floss.  Enjoy!

It is hoped that this reprise exhibit will stir interest and help find a permanent home for these special pieces.

The artists involved are especially invited to attend this one-day-only exhibit.  Some of them are no longer SAQA members...and may not follow this blog.  If you know them...please pass the word along!  

In addition to organizers Deborah Bray and Patti Morris, the artists who brought these creatures to life include:

From Alberta:

• Bush Eastep;
• Barbara West;
• Diane Duncan;
• Hanne Seidel;
• Ilse Anysas-Salkauskas;
• Wendy Klotz;
• Leslie Barnes;
• Margaret Blank;
• Linda Mackay;
• Susanne Loutas;
• Christine Wiggett.

From British Columbia:

• Terry Aske;
• Katie Stein Sather;
• Jennifer Cooper;
• Catherine Nicholls;
• Mardell Rampton;
• Lesley Mayfield;
• Coreen Zerr.

From Manitoba/Saskatchewan:

• Jaynie Himsl;
• Judith Panson;
• Rena Holma;
• Susan Wittrup.

And...Linda Sharp, no longer a member, whom I cannot place -- with apologies!

I regret, as one of the artists involved, that I am unable to attend because...I will be busy with my booth at the Annual Lacombe Art Show and Sale, Lacombe Memorial Centre, April 20 and 21...So I send my best wishes to all involved for a successful return to the Burgess Shale.

Who's Showing?

The Canadian Quilters' Association (CQA) show -- Quilt Canada -- is in Vancouver, B.C. this year.

I hear tell that at several of SAQA WC's members have just had pieces accepted into the CQA's National Juried Show!

Congratulations to Terry Aske, Diana Barteling, Alison Dean Cowitz, Robin Fischer, Jaynie Himsl, Karen Johnson, Paula Jolly, Judy Leslie, Karlie McChesney, Anne Rayner-Gould, and Susan Selby!**

AND

Terry is to be congratulated as well for having two pieces accepted into SAQA's Juried Exhibit, Dusk to Dawn.

Moonrise - Terry Aske, 2018

Aurora - Terry Aske, 2018

Congratulations to all of you!

In Other Exhibit News...

The Mountain Cabin Quilters' Guild of Canmore, Alberta, opens its Annual Artistic Visions show this weekend at Elevation Place.  This show runs from March 4 through March 20.  Admission is free, and there will be 29 quilts on display.* 

And...B.C. member, Karlie Norrish McChesney has work in the 5th Annual Fibre Arts Show at the Gallery Vertigo in Vernon, B.C.  The exhibit runs from March 6 through March 31, 2018.

The Opening Reception is March 10, 2018 from 7 - 9 p.m.  NOTE: this is a change from the date posted in the advertising photo (below), so if you are planning to attend, please make careful note of this revised information!

*EDITOR'S NOTE: I've written to a contact about the Exhibit for permission to post a photo and to mention SAQA members, but have had no response.  Should I receive word, I will update this post ASAP.  Thank you.

**ED. NOTE II: Thanks to Judy Leslie for helping me up-date the list of SAQA WC members showing at the CQA Nat'l. Juried Show!

If you have exhibit information to share with your SAQA colleagues in Western Canada, across Canada and world-wide (yes, members in other Regions read this blog!), please e-mail blog editor Margaret Blank.

Thank you for your support!

Winter Got You Down?

Time to check out the art on show by our SAQA Western Canada members!

Looking for some colour to offset cloudy skies?

As mentioned in the post at the end of December, members who also belong to Fibre Art Network (FAN) and Fibre Arts Voices have exhibits now running in the Okanagan and on Vancouver Island, respectively. 

Also in B.C., member Lesley Turner* and her artistic partner, Sarah McLaren have just mounted their show, Colour: A Personal Response at Place des Arts in Coquitlam.  Below is just a sample of this project, which is being featured in the Atrium Gallery there.

Photo: Lesley Turner

All three exhibits have Opening Receptions this week:

• Fibre Arts Voices - TODAY at 2 p.m.; 
• Colour: A Personal Response - Friday, January 12 - 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
• FAN's Ekphrastic - Saturday, January 13 - noon - 3 p.m.

*If you've never installed an exhibit, check out how Lesley and Sarah went about it (with help from the Gallery) HERE.

Caught in the Deep Freeze?

Warm up with a Festival!

This weekend in Edmonton, Alberta is the 11th Annual Deep Freeze Festival, organized along 118th Avenue by the good folks at Arts on the Avenue.  Events run Saturday from noon to 10 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. -- family-friendly indoor and outdoor fun: sports, games, music, entertainment, food -- and ART!

Dervish!
15" x 15"
Monoprint, machine quilted
(C) M. Blank, 2016

Alberta member Margaret Blank has two pieces accepted into this juried show, and both will be available for purchase.  She expects to be at the Festival on Sunday afternoon to enjoy the festivities and take in the full art exhibit.

The Festival's Art Exhibit is up now at the Gallery in the Nina Haggerty Centre for the Arts, 9225 - 118 Avenue, Edmonton, and may be previewed prior to the Festival. 

Gallery Hours: 

Preview: January 10 & 11: 10 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

During the Festival: Saturday, January 13: noon - 8:00 p.m.

and Sunday, January 14: noon - 6:00 p.m.

Opening Next Month!

SAQA WC members are showing their work as part of two group exhibits opening in British Columbia in January:

The Fibre Art Network's Ekphrastic will grace the walls of the Peachland Art Gallery in the Okanagan Valley, from the Opening Reception -- Saturday, January 13, 2018, noon to 3 p.m. -- through Saturday, February 10, 2018.

Participating SAQA members include Terry Aske, Diana Bartelings, Janet Bednarczyk, Joyce Brown, Alison Cowitz, Gloria Daly, Donna-Fay Digance, Diane Duncan, Dianne Firth, Robin Fisher, Jaynie Himsl, Karen Johnson, Judy Leslie, Judi Macleod, Pippa Moore, Jenny Perry, Dawn Piasta, Katie Stein Sather, Susan Selby and Mary Wilton.

And Pippa Moore and her colleagues will present their Fibre Art Voices exhibit at the Old School House Arts Centre, Qualicum Beach.  This exhibit runs from January 2 through January 27, 2018, with the Opening Reception being held January 10 at 2:00 p.m.

Both will be a feast for the eyes to those fortunate enough to be in the Okanagan or on the Island next month!

On NOW in Alberta...

I've been asked to share news of this exhibit in Canmore, Alberta.  Three SAQA members are participating: Dawn Hunt, Lynn Cooper and Jillian Roulet.

NOTE: If any of these three participants have photos of their work and/or of the show as whole to share, please contact Margaret (blog editor) by e-mail.  Thanks!

MOUNTAIN CABIN QUILTERS’ GUILD

CELEBRATE CANADA 150

 Members of the Mountain Cabin Quilters’ Guild were challenged to make a quilted item to commemorate Canada’s 150th year of confederation. The resulting quilts portray our wilderness and natural beauty, our adventurous and storied history, and our vibrant peoples and innovations.

Work in this show varies from more traditional pieces, some made from commercial fabric that was created to celebrate Canada’s birthday, to original art pieces.  Despite the variety, they are all quilts as they contain at least three layers of fabric held together with stitching.

The Mountain Cabin Quilters’ Guild is based in Canmore, Alberta, serving quilters of the Bow Valley since 1995. The guild of over 75 members,  provides an environment of friendship, mentorship, sharing and appreciation of traditional quilting, modern quilting and art quilting to quilters of all levels.  Quilting is a creative art form, constantly evolving with new techniques and materials.

More about the guild, our quilting, our shows and the charitable work we do for our community, can be found at mountaincabinquilters.ca

The show will be on until January 4th in the Hub Gallery at artsPlace, 950 - 8th Ave, Canmore, Alberta.  artsPlace is open 9 to 9 on Monday to Friday, Noon to 9 on Saturday and 9 am to 1 pm on Sunday.  Over the holiday season, visitors should check for holiday hours.

Are you a 'Craftivist'?

Quilters have long used their work as a way to express what they were seeing in the culture around them.  Sometimes this was simply 'daily life'...but often it was the course of social and political events. 

This is eloquently expressed by SAQA Artist Member Dr. Carolyn L. Mazloomi in the introduction to Part VII of the documentary series, Why Quilts Matter.

Dr. Mazloomi is the founder of the African-American Quilt Guild of Los Angeles and the Women of Color Quilter's Network, and an art quilter whose work is exhibited internationally.

While the above-mentioned episode begins with a very American focus, women from all countries with a needlework and/or quilting tradition have long used their art to send important messages about their culture, their political views, and the history going on around them.

Perhaps it is typical of the 21st century that a label has now been created for this form of expression, resistance, and empowerment through craft.

Betsy Greer, in "Craftivism" (Encyclopedia of Activism and Social Justice. 2007. SAGE Publications) defines the term 'craftivism' this way:

Craftivism is a way of looking at life where voicing opinions through creativity makes your voice stronger, your compassion deeper & your quest for justice more infinite.

Craftivism is the practice of engaged creativity, especially regarding political or social causes. By using their creative energy to help make the world a better place, craftivists help bring about positive change via personalized activism. Craftivism allows practitioners to customize their particular skills to address particular causes.

Starting in 2016, SAQA member, quilter and embroiderer Jeanne Hewell-Chambers of North Carolina has stirred individuals and groups internationally to make blocks for her 70273 Project which commemorates the murder of 70,273 physically and mentally disabled people by the Nazis, during the period from January 1940 through August, 1941.  (Yours truly wrote about her contribution to the project HERE.) 

Yours truly working on
an SJSA block

Also in 2016, a group of artists took what began as a summer program in California, to a workshop in Chicago, and east to Massachusetts and created the Social Justice Sewing Academy.  The staff and volunteers of the Academy work with youth through schools, workshops and community organizations to teach them how to express their thoughts and ideas about social issues, social justice and cultural changes -- using textiles as their medium.  Quilt blocks are being made that use largely free-form cutting and pasting -- and volunteers are recruited to embroider and embellish the blocks -- receiving a batch, doing the stitching, and returning the finished blocks by mail.

Logo - the Pussy Hat Project

And it comes as no surprise that especially in the past year, with the shifts and upheavals in the political climate and culture globally, quilters and needle-workers have picked up their needles and hooks, have taken to their sewing machines...and expressed themselves in their work.

The rush to make "pussy hats" last January for the Women's March on Washington, D.C. -- which became an international event -- seemed to kick this off -- and that alone has become a global project in and of itself! 

Then there's the Threads of Resistance project, founded by a group of SAQA artists who call themselves The Artist Circle Alliance.    Hundreds of quilters answered the Call for Entry into this exhibit -- and so all were considered so worthwhile that even though only about 25% of the submissions were selected for the Travelling Exhibit, all were categorized according to subject matter and are shown online HERE.



Which brings me to the most recent news I've received about 'Craftivism' -- practiced by SAQA Western Canada's Gloria Daly and B.C. Rep, Jennie Johnston.

Some months ago, SAQA put out a Call for Entry to a juried exhibit entitled "Loaded Conversations" -- about guns and gun violence.  Thirty-three artists have been selected for the touring exhibit, of whom one is from the UK, one from Switzerland, and one from Canada.  Gloria is that one...with her piece, Reclaim Reload Rejoice The Perfect Game 2 at low 8.  The exhibit will open at the  San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, San Jose, California, in April 2018.

(Gloria, if you're reading this, I'd love you to email me a photo to share here.  Thanks!)

Eleanor Roosevelt with the Spanish version of
the UDHR
Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Meanwhile, Jennie answered a Call for Entry she found on Instagram -- to interpret a portion of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was first created by the United Nations in 1948.  A year from now will mark the 70th anniversary of its enactment.

Like the "Threads of Resistance", the original call for thirty artists was overwhelmed by the submissions -- and their quality -- so now four quilts of thirty blocks will be made.


Jennie was one of the artists chosen to be interviewed by the publication Bust about the project -- and you can read the full article HERE.  

I managed to catch up with Jennie just long enough to get her to send me a photo of her piece...

In addition to the information she provided in the magazine interview, Jennie has documented her progress with this piece in a series of three blog posts, which you can read by clicking the links below:

• Tuesday, June 13, 2017;
• Monday, June 26, 2017; and
• Thursday, September 7, 2017.

I realize that not everyone is called to practice 'craftivism' on an ongoing basis.  I, for one, admit that for me, to do so would require I remain in a state of high anxiety much of the time!

That said, sometimes an issue (or two or three) speaks to the heart, mind and soul of an artist...and something must be said -- and done -- to bring it from the inside out into the world.  With all that's out there -- from horrific illness, to racial injustice, gender inequality, political instability, sexual harassment, terrorism and government corruption -- well, there's a great deal to choose from about which to make a statement, loudly...or more quietly...in fabric and stitch.

Congratulations to Gloria and Jennie on the recognition of their recent work in the realm of craftivism.

Will we see more from our members in 2018?

*********************

On a different note...in the midst of all the holiday preparations and celebrations at this time of year, thank you for your readership and your help in writing the posts for this Regional blog.  I can't share the news with your colleagues unless you share it with me! 

And now...I want to share with you best wishes for the holiday season and a healthy, happy, creative New Year!

-- Margaret Blank, Blog Editor