Balancing Art (SAQA Global Exhibition)

n a l a B t c A

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This catalog is made possible due to the generosity of SAQA’s members.

ISBN: 978-0-9896896-8-7

Cover artwork (top to bottom): Susan Polansky, Elke Jordan, Elaine Millar Catalog design: Deidre Adams Contents copyright Š2015 Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc. Images copyright the individual artists.

Images may not be reproduced or used in any way without written permission. All rights reserved.

PO Box 572 Storrs, CT 06268-0572 860.487.4199

www.saqa.com

Foreword Throughout history, women have had to balance responsibilities to community, home and family while pursuing other interests, jobs, or careers. From those who helped farm the land or worked in factories during wartime, to those who stand shoulder to shoulder with men pursuing careers, or serve as caregivers; women have always had to juggle the various aspects of their lives. This show celebrates women past and present; what we have accomplished that we now enjoy as rights and freedoms that our grandmothers and their grandmothers did not; and what obstacles we have left to conquer.

As art quilting is a predominantly female pursuit, this exhibit is particularly personal. It is an opportunity to show works that explore the daily lives, both internal and external, of women. As artists we were free to explore what and who inspires us; what we find frustrating; what we are most proud of. It is not only about how women balance it all, but it’s an invitation to consider whether we want to have it all, or if balance is even possible. Where do each of us find ourselves

on the tightrope that is daily life? With a theme that speaks so directly to the majority of practitioners of the show’s medium, it’s no surprise that the artworks in Balancing Act appear predominantly autobiographical.

From serious to lighthearted, from literal to abstract, there are many ways to find balance. It can be found in formalism; in the pursuit of compositional balance and mastery of the medium that is fabric and stitch. It can be historic, spotlighting the people and events that contribute to our ability to achieve balance. But mostly, it’s personal. Balance here is about how we manage each day.

It’s what we’d rather be doing. It’s inward priorities versus outward priorities. It’s physical, and it’s emotional. It can be ordered, or it might be chaotic. It’s mostly about family.

Viewers are invited to find their own stories in the pieces presented and ask, what does balance mean to me?

— Kristin La Flamme, SAQA Education Committee

Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc. (SAQA) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the art quilt through education, exhibitions, professional development, documentation, and publications. Founded in 1989 by an initial group of 50 artists, SAQA now has over 3,000 members worldwide: artists, teachers, collectors, gallery owners, museum curators and corporate sponsors. Since its establishment, the organization has grown alongside the evolution of the quilt as an art form. Today, SAQA defines an art quilt as a creative visual work that is layered and stitched or that references this form of stitched layered structure.

One of the many member benefits SAQA offers is to bring beautiful, thought-provoking, cutting-edge artwork to venues across the United States and around the world. The exhibits not only give artists the opportunity to show their work, but also expose the public to the variety and complexity of the art quilt genre. In addition to mounting museum-quality exhibitions that travel the world, SAQA documents the art quilt movement through exhibition catalogs such as this one. These catalogs serve as not only as preservation and educational tools, but also as sources of inspiration and beauty to be returned to again and again.

Juror’s essay I am a costume and textile historian who studies women’s history to provide context for the clothes that women wore and the quilts and other needlework that they made. I feel a particular connection to this year’s SAQA exhibition, Balancing Act. Women’s letters and diaries of generations past speak to the sometimes overwhelming number of responsibilities that they managed, and of society’s expectations. Like women today who have been told that they can “have it all,” women in the past found that the reality of having it all (as determined by the period’s values) required compromise, balancing priorities, and self-determination.

The art quilts submitted for this exhibition communicate the work and skills of women—today and in the past, in America and elsewhere in the world—that are required to balance all of the conflicting priorities in life. The artists speak of family members and national and historical figures, of women as wives, mothers, workers, friends, community members, athletes, and artists. They address issues of age and health, and of balancing society’s expectations versus their own.

As the issues and challenges today’s women face in balancing their lives are

both shared and different from those of our foremothers, the materials and techniques used by today’s art quilters are also both the same and different from quilts in the past. Batik and other resist methods of patterning fabric have been used commercially for centuries, but today’s quilt artists create their own fabrics using these ancient techniques rather than relying on whatever is available in the marketplace.

Taking another example, women have incorporated photographs on fabric into their quilts since at least the late nineteenth century. Enlarging and printing a photograph onto fabric and machine-embroidering over the image with hundreds of thread colors to recreate the image, however, is more akin to the technique of photo-realism, in which an artist will paint over a projected image, than to the Victorian practice of piecing a cyanotype into a silk crazy quilt. Computer-aided design is a technique that quilters of earlier periods never could have imagined.

Indeed, the range of materials and techniques employed by the artists in this competition demonstrate how the craft of quilting has developed into the most versatile and expressive fiber art.

The art and design of the submitted quilts ranged from representational to abstract expressionist, from monochromatic to wildly colorful, and from serious to humorous. In jurying this exhibition, I also kept balance in mind, both in creating a fair overall representation of artistic styles and respective messages, and in weighing the pertinence of the artists’ written statements against the eloquence of their quilted art. Of course, the success of the design and mastery of the artistic technique were the ultimate factors in determining those quilts that would tour and be published. While women of the past would recognize many of the issues represented by these quilts, surely they would be amazed—and, we can hope, pleased—by the progress many women have made in the modern world and the progress quilts have made in the world of contemporary art.

—Lynne Zacek Bassett Lynne Zacek Bassett is an independent scholar specializing in New England’s historic costume and textiles. She is the author of Homefront & Battlefield: Civil War Quilts in Context and Massachusetts Quilts: Our Common Wealth.

Lynne is also the editor of Uncoverings, the annual journal of the American Quilt Study Group.

Juror’s essay I have great respect and admiration for those women who came before me and had the courage to demand and fight for the rights and freedoms that I enjoy today. While it’s true that women have been living a balancing act existence since the dawn of time, I think that it’s never been more of a challenge for women to find and strike that balance.

Certainly as a woman and an artist myself, I am constantly striving to find a way to balance my time and energies between the things I have to do and the things I want to do.

As one of the jurors for this exhibit, my task was a challenging one because the works submitted ranged in style from pictorial to abstract. I decided that my focus when selecting pieces would be that they were pieces that would entice the viewer to stop and reflect on the Balancing Act theme. I began the process by doing a quick overview of the images submitted, making notes about the ones that made me want to stop and look for more details. Then I

went back to those images and read the accompanying artist statements.

I also went through all the images that I originally rejected and read through all the artists statements for those as well. I wanted to make sure that I didn’t pass over a piece that may not have spoken to me visually at first but may have moved me after reading the artists statement. After working through this process over the course of several days I met with my co-juror and we made the final selection of pieces for the exhibit.

As you walk the exhibit you’ll find a wide range of styles. I encourage you to stop at each one and reflect on each artists’ interpretation of the theme. Take a moment to read their statements after your first view of the work and then go back and look at it again with the voice of the artist’s statement in your ears while you look more closely at the details and artistry in each piece.

And then as you walk away from the last piece in the exhibit, take a moment to

pause and think about how far we have come. Think about the obstacles that the women before us had to overcome so that we can enjoy the rights and freedoms we have today. Reflect not only on that but also on those women who do not have those rights and freedoms yet and are fighting for them just as our grandmothers before us did.

I am honored to have been one of the jurors for the Balancing Act exhibit, and I look forward to seeing its debut at the International Quilt Festival in October of 2015.

—Sue Bleiweiss Sue Bleiweiss is a full time fiber artist living in Massachusetts, where she is the SAQA regional representative. She is the founder of the sketchbook challenge blog and the author of the companion book: The Sketchbook Challenge, Techniques, Prompts, and Inspiration for Achieving your Creative Goals. Her work resides in private collections all over the world.

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Judith Ahlborn Littleton, Colorado USA I have a lifelong love of gymnastics and respect for all women athletes. This is a celebration of women in sports and the tremendous effort it takes to not only balance one’s family with work, social, or school life, but to add the challenge of keeping up with a busy training schedule.

Since the 1970’s women have enjoyed more freedom in competing in sports at the international level and professionally, as well as earning athletic scholarships to college that were not available to our grandmothers.

Cotton, paint, colored pencils Digitally design and printed, free motion stitched, painted, colored

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Three Handstands 2015 25 x 18 inches

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Ruth Baker New Smyrna Beach, Florida USA My quilts are inspired by my need to see people smile. I like to bring back memories of experiences that represent the good side of life.

Cotton, inks Raw-edge appliqued, inked, free-motion quilted

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I Rather Be 2015 20 x 18 inches

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Bobbi Baugh DeLand, Florida USA She came of age in 1917, moved from a northern farm to a southern city, and married a biggerthan-life man. What expectations she had to balance! She carried society’s expectations--to adapt, to accept, to fill an assigned role; the ones she had for her own life; and the ones she had for her offspring. Family photos and stories provide only clues about the weight of this balancing act, and the costs of the process.

Acrylic paints, muslin, cotton sheeting, sheer fabric, polyester felt Monotype on fabric, painted fabric, collaged, machine stitched

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Lillian’s Expectations 2015 41 x 30 inches

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Pat Bishop Appleton, Wisconsin USA Sister Nature is a Picasso-ish self portrait. I enjoy nature and birds and wouldn’t mind if a bird made a nest in my hair. This piece brings to mind the dilemma we all struggle with as we to try to balance our love and appreciation of nature versus our struggle to live comfortably without endangering that natural world.

Hand-dyed damask, hand-dyed cotton, paint sticks, commercial fabrics, one bead, pheasant feathers, painted felt Fused, machine quilted

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Sister Nature 2008 24 x 18 inches

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Debra Blake Santa Barbara, California USA Capacity to pursue one’s most personal goals can be fleeting amidst the sea of demands that make a life. This work reflects on four particular aspirations, pregnant with promise, set apart and made foremost, while still honoring the less enticing commitments – striving for equipoise between desire and duty.

Cotton Dyed, mono-printed, machine pieced, machine quilted

photo by Lou Ann Smith

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Seeking Balance 2014 51 x 37 inches

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Deborah Boschert Lewisville, Texas USA At my core is a continuing desire to foster growth.

Progress, change, and nourishment take different forms throughout the stages of life and require a broad vision. Sometimes I just need to stand still and be aware of all the possibilities around me.

Commercial and originally-designed fabrics, paint, thread, embroidery floss Fused collage, surface design, free-motion quilted, hand embroidered

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Waning Crescent Meditation 2014 60 x 24 inches

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Deborah Boschert Lewisville, Texas USA I embrace the challenge to rise to my potential.

The process of growth and change takes different forms through the stages of life and requires a broad vision. Sometimes I just need to stand still and be aware of the possibilities around me.

Commercial and originally-designed fabrics, paint, thread, embroidery floss Fused collage, surface design, free-motion quilted, hand embroidered

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Waxing Crescent Endeavor 2014 60 x 24 inches

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Sandra Palmer Ciolino Cincinnati, Ohio USA Life events often create challenges in achieving physical, emotional, and spiritual balance.

Commercial silks and cottons Machine pieced, machine quilted

photo by Roger Rowitz

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Voluta #3: Release 2013 23 x 40 inches

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Misty M. Cole Bowie, Maryland USA I think of my life as divided into many compartmentalized sections, with my art soul at the center. The small circles are things on my to-do list swirling around my mind; and the quilted, almost invisible circles are all the things I am ignoring or forgetting or am afraid of forgetting.

Commercial cotton, embroidery floss, perle cotton, buttons, beads, found objects including 3D printer waste and circuits Hand appliqued and reverse appliqued, hand embroidered and embellished, machine and hand quilted

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Centered 2015 40 x 40 inches

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Jennifer Day Santa Fe, New Mexico USA I met Judy one day in the checkout line at a grocery store. She is the epitome of a woman balancing her life. Is she working because she enjoys people or because the state of her finances does not meet her needs? I was immediately drawn to the stories that her countenance tells.

Her wrinkles are many, but also are graceful and emblematic of her fabulous personality.

Photograph on fabric, canvas Photograph printed on fabric, thread-painted, freemotion quilted

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Judy 2015 41 x 40 inches

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Regina Dunn DeLand, Florida USA We’re surrounded by chaos and struggle to deal with demands that are put on our shoulders. Throughout history women have faced this with amazing grace.

We have the ability to take in the chaos, process it internally, and focus on what’s necessary to keep an inner balance and maintain an internal peace.

Digitally printed cotton fabric Hand-painted crinoline photographed and digitallyprinted, stitched, thread-sketched, machine-quilted

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Inner Balance 2 2015 30 x 23 inches

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Bodil Gardner Lystrup, Denmark Women’s lives are a frequent theme of my quilts. In 1985, I actually made a quilt entitled ‘Woman’s life, a balancing act’. So many wishes to fulfill, so many dreams to pursue, so little time of your own. Little has changed since then.

Recycled fabrics, mostly cottons Raw-edge appliqued, machine quilted

photo by Peter Gardner

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Woman’s life – a balancing act – 1 2014 51 x 40 inches

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Doria A. Goocher San Diego, California USA We cut and shape our goals. Goals take time but eventually they find their completion. Often, we start with a suble shade that advances to a deeper concentration of color. We review, revise, redo our concept before we settle on a permanent solution.

This process often becomes a balancing act. This design shows the process of cut out goals that reach their destination and finally achieve a total balance.

Cotton fabrics, yarn Bias appliqued, hand embroidered, hand couched, machine quilted

photo by Gary Connaughton

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Release 2014 43 x 35 inches

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Gunnel Hag Toronto, Ontario, Canada My mother was one of the first female organists in Sweden. Nobody cared if we could tell what day of the week it was by the dinner she prepared. The beauty of waking up to her playing the piano lives on in my memory more than any food.

Cotton with silk photo transfer Screen and block printed, painted, photo print on silk, pieced, machine quilted

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Waking Up To Music 2015 19 x 15 inches

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Betty Hahn Sun City, Arizona USA Many women care for their children and also have a job or a career. They must organize their time in order to fulfill their obligations.

Emotions must be managed as well.

Canvas, acrylic paint Painted, quilted

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Baby...Briefcase 2015 36 x 36 inches

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Phillida Hargreaves Kingston, Ontario Canada During World War I, my grandmother had to perform a daily balancing act while her husband was at the front.

She raised their young son alone and maintained the household, at the same time controlling her worries about her husband and offering him the sanity of a home life through her letters, which she wrote every day. Some of his letters to her remain in the family.

Unfortunately, hers do not.

Cotton, assorted sheers, embroidery floss, grandmother’s handkerchiefs, doilies, photo of her son aged 7, postmark from one of her husband’s letters Rust dyed, painted, photo transfers, appliqued, hand embroidered, machine quilted

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My Dear Old Girl 2015 17 x 23 inches

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Joan Hug-Valeriote Guelph, Ontario Canada For elderly women with osteoporosis, just staying upright is a balancing act.

Dupioni silk, raw silk Machine-appliqued, longarm machine quilted

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Pink Lady II 2011 44 x 12 inches

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Susan Jackan Madison, Wisconsin USA This piece is based on a photo of my grandparents taken by my mother in 1941. Grandma worked tirelessly: gardening, baking, milking cows, and sewing. In her youth she fashioned wedding dresses, and later, lovely frocks for me. I owe my love of stitching and creating art to her.

Cottons, batiks, fabric paints Fused, raw-edge appliqued, painted

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Working the Earth 2011 35 x 24 inches

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Elke Jordan Bethesda, Maryland USA In this quilt I describe the challenges of balancing priorities throughout life.

Something always has to give, especially as we age. Sometimes letting out a scream is the only way we can cope.

Cottons Hand-dyed fabric, raw-edge appliqued, machine stitched

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Juggling Life’s Priorities 2014 20 x 25 inches

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Kathleen Kastles Wailuku, Hawaii USA In undeveloped parts of the world, many working mothers must bring their children along to their jobs. This working Indian mother has just nursed her infant and suspends him in a makeshift hammock to nap while she carries stacks of bricks balanced upon her head to a nearby construction site.

Wholecloth cotton, acrylic ink, paint Hand painted, stenciled, machine stitched

photo by JosĂŠ Morales, Xinia Productions

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Hala Vara Karu 2013 41 x 31 inches

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Linden Lancaster Picola, Victoria Australia Pioneer outback women were called to balance: making do and surviving/forging a legacy living in islolation/creating a new community using precious resources like food and water /conserving such things working alongside husbands/nurturing emotional, educational and spiritual needs of children.

We honor and value their fortitude and ingenuity.

Cotton Hand painted with thickened dyes, discharged, free-motion quilted

photo by Cameron Lancaster

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Bath Time 2015 51 x 38 inches

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Elaine Millar Portland, Oregon USA In 2014, for the first time in American history, 100 women walk the halls of Congress. These women have given a lot to be there — absence from family and other life activities, the need to deal with gender bias, not being a part of the “good old boys” network. They persist.

Represented by 100 colorful circles placed on a cloth printed continuously with the number 100, they connect to each other. There remains room for the next 100. My hope is that it will not take as long.

Cotton designed by artist and printed commercially, hand dyed and digitally printed cotton Machine appliqued and quilted

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Swagger — 100 Women in Congress 2015 39 x 29 inches

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Susan Polansky Lexington, Massachusetts USA This schema represents my personal balancing act. I originally conceived of the idea as an alternative to the typical “about the artist� page for my website.

Cotton, paint, ink, beads, sequins, buttons Painted whole cloth, machine quilted, hand embroidered and embellished

photo by Artslides Digital Imaging

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SchemaDoodle 2015 25 x 35 inches

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Sheree Rasmussen Castleton, Ontario Canada The Firebird (she who rises from the ashes to recreate), represents women’s lives in the sense that their energy is so often consumed in service of family and community, but can be reborn to fulfill their primordial need to create anew.

The Firebird (or Phoenix) exists in many mythologies: Middle Eastern, East Asian, Native American, Slavic, African, etc. A sacred creature, she has magical powers, and though distinctly female, has both male and female characteristics. She is beautiful, powerful and dignified, and is often faced with a difficult quest.

Cotton, wool felt, silk, synthetics Machine appliqued

photo by Gary Mulcahey

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The Firebird 2013 58 x 38 inches

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Mary Ruzich Medford, Oregon USA Every day I walk through a labyrinth of many roles and responsibilities that arise in my life. My circle shows the universality of this situation; as women, we morph and flex with grace or anxiety from moment to moment. Life comes our way and we embrace it.

Cotton, buttons Hand-dyed whole cloth, free-motion stitched, discharged, hand-sewn

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My Circle of Life 2015 38 x 38 inches

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Sara Sharp Austin, Texas USA Amelia Earhart said, “The most difficult thing is the decision to act. The rest is merely tenacity.�

As a record-breaking, style-setting, female pilot, she altered perceptions of women’s roles. I have surrounded her image with art deco designs representing her era. Ocean waves symbolize her tragic final flight.

Commercial cottons and batiks, hand painted and printed cotton, inkjet printed fabric, colored pencils Pieced, colored, painted, stenciled, printed, raw-edge machine appliqued, free-motion quilted

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Amelia Earhart’s Tenacity 2015 47 x 32 inches

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Daniela Tiger Toronto, Ontario Canada Throughout my life I have had to work hard to balance my internal voices with those that are considered acceptable to others. Learning to be the chameleon early, I adjusted to fit. Balancing my truth with those of others is a delicate dance, requiring many balls, well-juggled.

Cotton, embroidery floss Batiked, hand dyed, free motion machine embroidered and quilted, hand embroidered

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An Autobiography 2015 44 x 28 inches

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Nancy Turbitt Smithfield, Rhode Island USA An immigrant from Italy, Angelina Membrino had no formal education. When my grandfather retired, she needed to supplement their income. Peddled from door to door, her eggs became known for their size. Angelina was one of many in her generation to exemplify the term “cottage industry.�

Commercial and hand-dyed cottons and batiks Fused applique, satin stitched, machine quilted

photo by Eric Zhang

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Angelina’s Eggs 2015 45 x 32 inches

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Maggie Vanderweit Fergus, Ontario Canada Regarding our empty nest, I am of two minds: celebrate or grieve. It’s a delicate balance, but I’m learning to be a “hands off” parent now, cheering from the sidelines. We’re enjoying our new life as a couple and the evolving adult relationships with our wonderful children and their partners.

Cotton, woven wool Wrap and rust dyed, machine pieced and quilted

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Hands Off 2014 56 x 26 inches

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Laura Wasilowski Elgin, Illinois USA At our house we lack gravity. It’s the only way to deal with this hectic life.

Hand-dyed fabric, batik fabric Fused applique, machine quilted

photos by Gregory Case

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Lacking Gravity 2009 41 x 37 inches

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Nancy Woods Lubbock, Texas USA With the average age of menopause being 51, many women are at the peak of their careers when beginning “the change” or “moon of pause.” Some women sail through with minor symptoms. Other women experience more, with hot flashes and night sweats being common. Many women compensate with hormone therapy, natural remedies, or just toughing it out. Other women don’t fare as well, losing sleep and experiencing major lifestyle disruptions.

Hand-dyed and commercial fabrics, beads Raw-edge fused applique, beaded

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Hot Flash 2 2015 47 x 29 inches

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Kathy York Austin, Texas USA This work blends a trifecta of symbols: yin/ yang, the yoga tree pose, and a fire hydrant. This moment is about integrating the parts of my life and finding that brief moment of balance during times of intense chaos.

Original batik fabrics, commercial cottons Batiked, discharged, overdyed, fused applique, reverse appliqued, machine quilted

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Balance 2013 60 x 24 inches

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Kathy York Austin, Texas USA As a new decade approaches, my body is beginning to look different with grey hair, new wrinkles, extra weight. I look beneath the surface for the inner qualities that will help me face the challenges ahead.

Artist-created cotton fabrics, altered commercial cottons Batiked fabric, discharged, overdyed, fused applique, machine quilted

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Fifty, Female, and Fearless 2010 48 x 36 inches