Is it in the Mail Yet?

Or were you able to deliver it at the Conference in San Jose last week?

To what am I referring?  Your 2019 SAQA Benefit Auction quilt -- that's what!  😊

Yes, it's that time of year again.  The Call for these pieces seems to arrive earlier every year, but that's due in part to the fact that opportunities to show them at Houston or other special venues have earlier deadlines.

There's only one deadline left now, though: the June 1, 2019 received by date.

Looking through the quilts collected so far, I see that in SAQA WC, Jaynie Himsl is an early bird, with her piece, Pansy Patch:

And Karen Johnson is too -- with her piece, Skinny Strips #6:

Then there's our Rep, Jennie Johnston's piece, Ragged Soul, featuring one of her signature ravens:

while Judy Leslie has submitted her work, The Open Door:

Karlie Norris McChesney has contributed another one of her colourful geometrics, MO 4:

And Debbie Plett has submitted Moon Birds Dance, evoking West Coast native heritage:

Terry Rammell's piece -- for me, resembling sun and shade -- is entitled Traces:

Nancy Riemersma has chosen to remember those who have died in war, with her piece, We Remember:

Susan Selby has created this colourful and textural autumn piece:

Nine early contributions!  That's a great start!

Mine went in the mail this morning; it's from my Scotland Series:

Mac's Garden: A Tribute
to Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Margaret Blank   (c) 2019

There's still time -- one whole month -- but remember: it's a received by deadline and there is that Customs and Border Patrol to consider. 

What are you waiting for?!  😉

Are You Up for a Challenge?

New from SAQA WC member, Val Wilson!

A free 5 day Challenge - Create a Dynamic Fabric Portrait by Focusing on Value

Click the link above to take this journey with Val, wherein you'll...

• Learn about value and its importance in fabric portraits.
• Gain confidence in choosing skin tone fabrics that look blended, rather than patchy.
• Understand how the use of value creates the contours of the face.

Starts Friday, April 26!

Congratulations, Jaynie!

This was shared on FB earlier this evening. 

In a nutshell, SAQA WC member Jaynie Himsl of Saskatchewan has been selected as "...one of 35 crafters whose works will be included in an upcoming exhibit by the Saskatchewan Craft Council, 'Dimensions’."  The show will run from May 4 to July 6 at the Saskatchewan Craft Council Gallery in Saskatoon.

I don't know how else to share the article here...except with  this link, so click it for full details. 

Her striking, graphic piece, Listening (shown below), will be part of the exhibit.  

Listening - Jaynie Himsl

Congratulations, Jaynie!

What's On? What's Coming?

SAQA WC member Lesley Turner recently posted about her contributions to an exhibit now on at the Portals Gallery, located in the lobby of the Islands Saving Recreational Centre of the  Cowichan Arts Council in Duncan, B.C.

The Articulation Textile Group, of which she and SAQA WC member Wendy Klotz are a part, attended the Artists' Reception on April 13 for the Group's show, Forest and Sea and the Place Between, on NOW through April 19.

At left is a detail from one of Lesley's pieces in the show, entitled "Cedar Wind Drawing".

The Group's next planned exhibition -- Icelandic Culture in Gimli -- will take place July 1 through August 31 at the New Iceland Heritage Museum, Gimli, Manitoba.


Meanwhile in Calgary, Spectra Textile Arts Group is showing their work at the Fish Creek Public Library -- on NOW through April 29:

SAQA WC members in this group include Ilse Anysas-Salkauskas, Joyce Brown, Margaret Jessop, Marie McEachern, Beverly Patkau, Linda Van Gastel and Barbara J. West.

And in central Alberta, SAQA WC member Margaret Blank has been juried into the 20th Annual ENCORE! Lacombe Art Show & Sale, taking place at the Lacombe Memorial Centre, Lacombe, Alberta, on April 26 and 27.  This is Margaret's eighth year participating in this event, which includes work from a variety of art and fine craft artists.

A Reminder: Mary Pal's Coming to Calgary!

Morning Conversations - Mary Pal
A portrait of the late Peter Gzowski

Yes, there are still tickets available for artist Mary Pal's Trunk Show in Calgary on the evening of Thursday, May 30!

Location: Foothills Mennonite Church, 2115 Urbana Road N.W., Calgary.

Time: 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

For info and tickets, contact Margaret Jessop.  It's bound to be an inspiring evening!

Congratulations are in Order!

B.C. member, Janet Scruggs, can be justifiably pleased and proud.  Not only is her piece, Plastic Chowder, part of the soon-to-open SAQA Multi-Regional Exhibit, Shifting Tides*, but also her piece Under Your Wing is part of the current exhibit, "Shelter" on now at the Gallery Vertigo in Vernon, B.C. (see THIS POST for details).

And now...her piece, Tree Lichen -- an embroidery on photo --  was selected for a 'First' as Juror's Choice in an exhibit sponsored by the Kamloops Arts Council.

And she's just reported that the piece will now travel to the Ukraine -- having been juried into the Scythia 2019-2020 -- the 9th International Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary Mini Textile Art! 

The exhibit includes work by 130 artists from 35 countries. 

Well done, Janet!  What a beautiful way to represent Canada and SAQA -- and to showcase your unique textile art style.

Tree Lichen with it's winning ribbon -- and Janet's smiling face!

*Editor's Note: two other SAQA WC members have work appearing in Shifting Tides: Clare Atwell and Diana Bartelings.  The exhibit will appear in numerous venues once it leaves San Jose -- including travels to Hawaii, Alaska, California and Vancouver, B.C.

And While We Wait for Spring...

Those in the Okanagan area -- even if just passing through! -- might enjoy this latest from   gallery, featuring several SAQA WC members.

Note the Opening Reception which is this coming Friday evening!  

SAQA WC members participating include Janis (Jan) Clark, Mary Ann Cox, Sandra Lounsbury and Janet Scruggs.

Would that I could be there with you for that Opening!  If there are photos to share in future, please let me know by e-mail.  Thanks!

Is It Spring Yet?

There's lots going on with our members this month and next -- so let's leap into Spring (even if there's still several feet of snow on the ground and you've just come out the other side of an Extreme Cold Warning!) with these wonderful shows:

Shifting Tides: Convergence in Cloth -- the multi-Regional SAQA exhibit -- opens in San Jose, CA at the "Works" on April 19, and a tour thereof will be part of the itinerary at the SAQA Conference this year.  This piece was one of 3 accepted from SAQA WC members...Congratulations to Janet Scruggs!  

Plastic Chowder - Janet Scruggs, B.C.

Also opening in April is this exhibit from the Vancouver Island branch of the Surface Design Association (SDA):

Several SAQA WC members are participating in this exhibit, including Judi MacLeod, Lesley Turner, Lesley Comassar, Donna-Fay Digance, Karen Selk and Barbara McCaffrey.

And then there's this ON NOW!

Pieces by SAQA WC member from B.C.,
Karlie Norrish McChesney

If you're anywhere near any of these exhibits, DO be sure to take the time to enjoy the work.  Congratulations to all of our members participating!

P.S. Remember about a month ago I mentioned the deadline for the Spotlight Auction this year?  And asked if anyone else had made a contribution?

Well...she didn't tell me directly, but I follow her blog, so...I was able to see the delightful piece submitted by B.C. member Terry Aske:

Black Lines + Bright Colors (sic)
(c) Terry Aske, 2019

Inspired by the artist Mondrian, I'm thinkin' it's sure to bring a pretty penny at the auction, and to make one particular collector very happy every time s/he sees it!

Another opportunity to have your art seen -- without the jury process or a fee to enter! -- is SAQA's Annual Benefit Auction.  The Early Bird deadline has now passed (March 1) but never fear -- you have till June 1 to have your contribution received by the Auction curator.

For us Canucks, that means -- get it in the mail by May 8 (or so) to avoid delays at the border! That's just over two (2!) months away...so...get on it!  😉

Please accept my apologies if you've got a piece in one of these shows and I've missed your name and/or photo of your piece.  I am not on ALL social media -- just Facebook and my e-mail.  If you think I'm going to see something on Instagram or Twitter...sorry.  Please get in touch to share with your colleagues across Western Canada, TROC (The Rest Of Canada) and the world.  Yes, we have readers from the other SAQA Regions.  So please let me know...and thank you for your support!

Coming to Calgary in May!

A private quilting group is hosting one of Canada's art quilting celebrities for a workshop in Calgary near the end of May.  In addition, this wonderful artist will also be doing a Trunk Show and talk about her unique work in cheesecloth and portraiture!

Yes -- it's Mary Pal!  For further information and tickets to attend, see the poster below!

Put a Spotlight on Your Work!

The 2019 SAQA Conference will be here before we know it, and with it, the popular Spotlight Auction.

This event is the perfect way to put your work out there for SAQA members and conference guests -- some of whom are avid collectors -- especially if you are new to the art quilt scene.

It's a way to volunteer for SAQA and "be" at the Conference even if not in person.

And it's a way to create a small sample of something in a new technique or style you'd like to try.  To whit, my effort this year -- inspired by the some of the work of SAQA colleague and friend, Susan Lenz:

New Directions 3 - M. Blank, 2019

The deadline for entry is March 1, 2019 -- and the pieces have to have arrived at the curator's address in Virginia by March 8, 2019.  This means, shipping from Canada, that it's time to "git 'er done!" if you want to participate.

I mailed my little "tracked packet" on January 28 from our tiny hamlet post office.  Our mail goes up to Edmonton, then to Calgary, then out of the country.  As of this writing, my piece "has arrived in a foreign country" (meaning -- per the tracking page -- the U.S)  and that update on February 1 is the latest information available as to its whereabouts...so you see what I mean! 

No time to waste!

That said, if you've finished your piece and have a photo to share with your colleagues, please send it to me by e-mail.  Don't forget to tell me its title!

And thanks for your support!