SAQA Monthly Update - December 2015

Dear Jennifer, 

I can’t believe that it’s December already!  Yesterday was “Giving Tuesday,” which made me think about what SAQA gives to me, not just on one particular day but all year ‘round.  I have the best job in the world because I get to work with you.  

I love meeting each of you, whether in person or online.  It’s so exciting to see what you’re creating and to hear about your successes.  Getting to work with so many wonderful people and so much incredible art every day — it doesn’t get any better than this!

We’re all part of a worldwide community of more than 3,400 artistic people in 33 countries, and we’re leading an art quilt revolution!  Do you realize that SAQA just juried THREE museum exhibitions back-to-back?  "Concrete & Grassland" will premiere at the Grants Pass Museum in Oregon.  "Stories of Migration" will be on exhibit at the Textile Museum in Washington, DC.  And the "My Corner of the World” exhibitions will begin their travels at the Stratford Perth Museum of Art in Ontario.  How amazing is that???

YOU make SAQA happen: your art, your enthusiasm, and your support.  Please join me in giving back to SAQA, so that SAQA can continue to grow in 2016 and offer you even more wonderful ways to share your art with the world. 

execdirector@saqa.com

Upcoming Deadlines

SAQA Journal Gallery (Landscape) - January 1

Juried Artist Membership Applications - January 1

2016 Conference Registration - January 31

Tranquility - January 31

Turmoil - February 29

A full list of SAQA Calls for Entry can be found on our website

New this Month

Each month, SAQA is pleased to highlight some of our members as Featured Artists. Click each image below to find out more information about these artists including samples of their artwork.

Other News

	Meet Your Representative Bev Haring is a Regional Rep for Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. Bev creates art quilts that are mostly representational. She uses InkTense colors, intense thread painting and a layer of silk organza to give the pieces a more “painterly” look.
	Meet Your Representative Melody McGinnis is a Regional Rep for Washington. Creating art has been a passion of hers since childhood. Melody states that there is something about working with gorgeous colors and touching various materials that brings life to her soul as nothing else can.

Holiday Sale in the SAQA Store!

Looking for an art-related gift for a special someone this Holiday Season? Then check out these great deals in the SAQA Store:

3 Book Bundle - Portfolio 19, 20 and 21 for only $60 »

50% off Masters: Art Quilts Volume 2 » 

50% off People and Portraits » 

Art Quilt Collector - Gift Subscription Bundle » 

Benefit Auction Quilts - now $75 » 

VIEW ALL SALE ITEMS

SAQA Member Tommy Fitzsimmons recently shared her beautiful collection of Benefit Auction quilts. Don't they look fabulous! Remember, we still have a great selection of quilts available in the SAQA Store for only $75. Add one (or more) to YOUR collection today!

2016 SAQA Conference

SAQA is bringing together hundreds of members for a great schedule of thought provoking and inspiring events guaranteed to “Inspire – Connect – Engage”. Don't miss your chance - register today before all the spots are filled!

Featured Speakers

• Hear keynote speaker Carolyn Mazloomi, one of the most influential African American quilt historians and quilt artists of the twenty-first century.
• Maria Shell captivated us at last year’s Conference-don’t miss her in Philly!
• David Kohane will guide us through use and misuse of intellectual property rights in the digital age.
• Kathleen Loomis shows us how working in a series expands our range as artists.

Scheduled Speakers: Carolyn Mazloomi, Maria Shell, David Kohane and Kathleen Loomis

Do you have a question about the Philadelphia area? Want the inside scoop on some local activities? Then email teamphilly@saqa.com, our SAQA team of Philly experts.

Volunteer with Us!

Looking for ways to get more involved in SAQA?
Why not consider volunteering - we have a diverse range of opportunities available. SAQA depends on each volunteer to be able to offer the breadth and depth of programming available - and there are so many ways that YOU can help!

Don't see something on the list that appeals to you? Contact Mirjam Aigner, our Volunteer Coordinator at volunteer@saqa.com or complete our Volunteer Interest Form. 

Finance Committee members
The SAQA Finance Committee is now accepting new members. Anyone with a financial or CPA background who might be interested should send a letter of interest and resume to Martha Sielman. 

Education Committee members
Please contact Education Committee Chair, Martha Wolfe
SAQA Education Committee is seeking creative, enthusiastic committee members to join us in shaping SAQA’s educational offerings! The Education Committee is responsible for coordinating and implementing information and opportunities to our diverse membership worldwide through activities that currently include our Webinar series, Student Panel and Scholarships for the Annual SAQA Conference, and the development of educational materials to accompany SAQA exhibitions.

Website Assistants
Please contact Website Coordinator, Jennifer Solon
We are currently looking for a couple of volunteers to assist with various website functions, including: updating event calendar, editing website content, assisting users with questions, editing images, special projects, etc. Applicant should have some familiarity with HTML / website editing. Image editing software (Photoshop) a plus.  

View all of our Volunteer Openings »

New Online Gallery - Orange, My favorite

Shin-hee Chin - Lake Autumn

Ann Moroz is our guest curator for this month's online gallery - Orange, My Favorite . She comments: 

"What would we do without orange in our art? Orange is one of the happy colors and works in so many ways for us. We can use it in the smallest doses to pop a subject. It can be the main color, and it does everything in between."

Selected Artists:

View More Online Galleries »

SAQA Calls for Entry

The following Calls for Entry are open to all SAQA Members. View all Calls for Entry »

Tranquility Tranquility is defined as a quality or state of being, possessing the concepts of quiet, peacefulness, calmness or serenity. Tranquility, as a mental and physical concept, is the primary focus of certain religious sects, whereby tranquility of the body, thoughts and consciousness are believed to lead to the path of personal enlightenment.
Turmoil This exhibition will feature work that depicts chaos, discord, imbalance and tumult.  Artists are requested to explore the meaning of turmoil in their own lives. Both abstract and representational styles of work are being sought.
Layered Voices Artwork may be two-dimensional or three, viewed from one side, two sides, or any angle. The layering of the media may be literal, inferred, or even digital. Realistic, representational, and abstract work will be considered.
H2Oh! Water - it’s everywhere!  This exhibition encourages the artist to interpret one of the most vital, desired, powerful, sacred, and enjoyed resources on earth in their own unique, individual style, whether abstract, graphic, or representational

Exhibition News

Strata Exhibition at the Harrington Gallery at the Firehouse Arts Center.

Strata - a Regional Exhibition by the Northern California / Northern Nevada region - is currently on display at the Firehouse Arts Center in Pleasanton, CA. Over 450 visitors viewed the exhibition in the first week alone - what a successful turnout! More Exhibition Images »

At the opening reception, SAQA founder Yvonne Porcella gave a fascinating 20-minute talk that discussed her journey as an artist, the founding of SAQA and jurying the exhibit. Watch the video here or click below.

 
Denise Oyama Miller and Yvonne Porcella

Other Exhibition News

	Artists selected for Stories of Migration This timely exhibition will showcase the wide range of talent of our SAQA members - selected pieces include art quilts, 3-D works, large installations and video. All works will reflect upon the theme of “Diaspora.”
	Artists selected for Concrete and Grassland Concrete and Grassland explores the juxtaposition of the natural landscape and the human constructed cityscape. This exhibit will focus on the contrasts of both color and line, and the ways in which the natural world has been altered.
	Dialogues - Contemporary Responses to Marie Webster Quilts This regional call for entry is open to SAQA members in: Indiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Iowa, Minnesota, and Tennessee. Deadline:  January 6th, 2016

Coming to a Venue Near You

Here are just some of the upcoming SAQA exhibitions on display around the world. To view a complete list, visit our Event listing, which can be filtered by region.

People and Portraits - Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts   * ENDING SOON
St. Bonaventure, New York  •  September 25, 2015 -  December 19, 2015

Text Messages - Morris Museum
Morristown, New Jersey  •  December 10, 2015 - April 10, 2016

SAQA Regional - Art as Quilt (MA/RI)
Brockton, Mass.  •  October 3, 2015 -  January 17, 2016

SAQA Regional - Piecing Together a Changing Planet (FL)
Lowell, Mass.   •  December 6, 2015 -  February 7, 2016

Central United States

SAQA Regional - Architexture (Nebraska)
Omaha, Nebraska   •  January 1, 2016 -  January 30, 2016

Mountain United States

Pacific United States

Earth Stories - San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles
San Jose, California  •  November 06, 2015 -  February 28, 2016

SAQA Regional - Strata (Northern Calif/Northern Nev)
Pleasanton, California  •  November 12, 2015 -  December 16, 2015

SAQA Regional - Oasis (Southern Calif/Southern Nev)
Oklahoma City, OK  •  January 7, 2016 -  January 9, 2016

Canada

SAQA Regional - Structures (Atlantic Canada)
Saint John, New Brunswick  •   January 15 - March 4, 2016

Europe

Redirecting the Ordinary - International Patchwork Festival
Sitges, Spain  •  March 15, 2016 -  March 16, 2016

Oceania

Food for Thought - Stitches & Craft Show
Sydney, Australia  •  March 3, 2016 -  March 6, 2016

Do you know a venue that might be interested in hosting a SAQA Exhibition near you? Contact Bill Reker at shipping@saqa.com

Current Exhibitions

	Balancing Act Throughout history, women have had to balance responsibilities to community, home and family while pursuing other interests, jobs or careers. This show celebrates women both throughout history and today.
	Celebrating Silver Silver is indispensable. From industrial use to decoration, technology, photography and medicine, its unique properties of strength, malleability, reflectivity and conductivity make it an irreplaceable force in the global market.
	Food For Thought examines the many aspects that food plays in our daily lives — from a single piece of fruit to a still life, from the family table to the significance of food in culture and the celebration of family milestones.
	Redirecting the Ordinary is about turning things around, upside down, inside out, backwards, or how even just a minuscule course correction can charge up the humdrum, turn the common into the uncommon, and make the expected unexpected.
	Two by Twenty Two works each by twenty artists equals forty art quilts to explore and a multitude of potential pairings to consider. From bold and graphic to subtle explorations of texture and nuance, there is plenty to explore in this collection.
	Wild Fabrications celebrates a world of animals both real and fantastical.  Let your imagination run wild as you create interesting and unusual interpretations of animals using unexpected or unconventional materials and adornment, and/or unusual techniques

Other Current Exhibitions

Earth Stories
People & Portraits
Radical Elements
SAQA 25th Anniversary Trunk Show
Seasonal Palette
Text Messages

Membership Drive

Refer a Friend -  and you get benefits too!
YOU are a valued member of SAQA. We love hearing your feedback, seeing your art and following your creative process. We're here to help you along. Bet you have friends who would love SAQA as much as you do.

Let them see how our community of artists, our Journal, website, webinars and other resources can help get them to the next level.

Member News 

Regional Rep News:  
Please welcome incoming reps Stephanye Schuyler of Maine/New Hampshire/Vermont and Kelly Caldwell of Connecticut.  

Welcome to our new members who joined in November:

Gate Alger, Cheryl Barron, Jane Bassuk, Sharron Begg, Julie Brandon, Marian Bressel, Susan Brewer, Nancy Cable, Roberta Cable, Erika Carter, Jocelyne Chaput, Nancy Cluts, Karen Coan, Christine Copenhaver, Susan Cornell, Christy Croix, Marin Croix, Michael Cunningham, Marjorie Curia, Karen Debbrecht, Kay Donges, Diane Dresdner, Barbara Driscoll, Marjorie Farrell, Gabi Fischer, Diane Foster, Sandie French, Barbara Gardner, Anna Mae Gazo, Dianne Gibson, Marlene Glickman, Sharon Green, Connie Griner, June Harper, Jessica Harper, Jenn Haxton, Marilyn Haynes, Justine Heavilon, Susan Henyon, Jo Anne Hill, Amanda Hohnstreiter, Ada Honders, Janet Huffman, Terry Hughes, Patti Hunter, Sharon Iyer, Jacqueline Jackson-Harvey, Marlies Janssen, Claudia Jochum-Baltes, Sharon Jordan, Katy King, Gloria Klutzke, Debbie Kuhlman-Hussey, Judy Leslie, Maureen Lindway, Susan Louis, Sandra Lounsbury, Anita Marshall, Ann Maxwell, Eileen Mikos, Jeanenne Morphis, Millah Nikkel, Jackie Nixon-Fulton, Betsy Norris, Susan Palmer, Lily Pang, Claire Passmore, Joyce Perz, Cathy Pfaff, Ruth Philliben, Vivian Wilm Pinto, Kouida Putman, Linda Rael, Yolanda Reardon, Gina Reddin, Wendy Richardson, Connie Robison, Jane Sassaman, Denise Schmidt, Joan Schroeder, Monika Sebert, Ricki Selva, Jolene Shindler, Terri Sibbet, Miki Speijers, Janet Starr, Edwina Steele, Sherry Steinway, Carol Stocking, Mary Anne Strauss, Cat Styvel, Suzann Thompson, Leslie Thorne, Irene Towler, Lynda Wellens, Joanne Wietgrefe, and Mary Zanher

Thank you to everyone who made donations to SAQA in November: 
Donna Anderson, Margaret Batko, Susan Brehm, Tricia Carson, Albert Cote, Nike Cutsumpas, Raelene Draheim, Jane Dunnewold, Fiber Art Now, Laura Fogg, Marilyn Fries, Gina Gahagan, Jill Hoddick, Donald Larson, Gay Lasher, Mickey Lawler, Sara Miller, Wanda Mills, Geri Patterson-Kutras, Melody Randoll, Barbara Schneider, Charlotte Scott, Chris Boersma Smith, Michelle Stolte, Leah Sullivan, Patricia Anderson Turner, Jean Tutolo, and Marcia Young

Make Connections!

New to SAQA? Or maybe you just want to connect with other members? You can contact your regional representative for opportunities near you or participate in the following:

Yahoo Discussion Group is only for SAQA members, and is private to the outside world.  We offer lively discussions on many art related topics. Please include your full name with your request, so we can verify that you are a member.

The Visioning Project revolves around visualizing goals and dreams - and making them happen. The Visioning Project members are wonderful in helping each other with support, networking, and resource information. If you are interested in joining, please contact Suzan Engler.

The SAQArtique group is open to all SAQA members. The critiques are all in the spirit of a shared interest in quilting as an art form and improvement of each person's talents.  If you are interested in joining, please contact Vicki Conley.

SAQA Blog
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Other News

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