art quilt Studio Art Quilt Associates
Paula Nadelstern Fuller Craft Museum
Arlé Sklar-Weinstein Color in Context: Red
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art quilts
quarterly 2023
Issue No. 33
The craft of art Fuller Craft Museum consistently promotes the craft of art. Vivien Zepf visited the museum in May, studying how fiber “conversations” can be encouraged in an exhibition venue, as pieces displayed side by side or facing each other in the gallery can prompt enlightening comparisons from viewers. She shares some of her fascinating revelations with our readers. This issue also showcases two grandes dames of art quilts, Paula Nadelstern and Arlé Sklar-Weinstein (d. 2023), who have influenced numerous younger artists. Working in very different styles, both women found their artistic voices early in their careers, experimenting with variations on their individualistic approaches to the genre. In her Artists to Watch feature, Diane Howell
photo by KOM Studio
brings us a broad sampling of art quilt talent, including Oregon artist Ann Johnston’s inspiring processes and the unique painting techniques of Canadian artist Gunnel Hag. By now, our subscribers know that the next issue of Art Quilt Quarterly will be our last. But it will be a good one, with feature articles on the career of Michael James and the Racine Art Museum, plus a comprehensive review of Quilt National ’23. We’re going out with a bang! Sandra Sider, Editor editor-aqq@saqa.com
Contents Fuller Craft Museum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Paula Nadelstern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Arlé Sklar-Weinstein. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 SAQA Global Exhibitions: Color in Context: Red. . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Artists to watch Amy Wilson Cavaness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Albert Cote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Gunnel Hag. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Ann Johnston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Portfolio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 Focus on commissions: Nancy Billings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Spotlight on collections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
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. ©2023 Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is strictly prohibited. SAQA Art Quilt Quarterly is published by Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc., a nonprofit educational organization. Publications Office: P.O. Box 141, Hebron, CT 06248 ISSN 2379-9439 (print) ISSN 2379-9455 (online) Editor: Sandra Sider Managing editor: Martha Sielman Artists to watch contributing editor: Diane Howell SAQA Global Exhibitions contributing editor: Patty Kennedy-Zafred Designer: Deidre Adams Subscription: $39.95 for four issues — $34.95 for SAQA members Outside USA: add $15.00 Subscribe online: saqa.com/aqq Now available in digital format. Details: www.saqa.com/aqq-digital Questions: aqq@saqa.com
Cover: Liberty Voided by Arlé Sklar-Weinstein 35 x 35 inches (87 x 89 cm)
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photo by Karen Bell
see story, p. 12
Installation view of Making History: Recent Acquisitions to the Permanent Collection, 2023
Fiber conversations at Fuller Craft Museum by Vivien Zepf
photo by Vivien Zepf
T
ucked into a grove of trees dotted with sculptures and bordered by a pond laced with water lilies, Fuller Craft Museum is one of the few museums in the United States focused on contemporary craft. Located in Brockton, Massachusetts, once a major textile and shoemaking center, Fuller Craft Museum was established by a trust bequest of the late Myron Leslie Fuller. Fuller, born in Brockton in 1873, aimed to establish an educational center in the memory of his family. The Brockton Art Center – Fuller Memorial opened as a visual arts and resource center in January 1969 and the institution has since evolved into Fuller Craft Museum with a mission and commitment to contemporary craft. The museum began collecting craft artworks in the early 1980s, now holding more than 900 objects in its permanent collection. The foundation of its collection consists of an expansive ceramics holding, but the museum has regularly sought out works
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Michael C. Thorpe in collaboration with Susan Richards Self Portrait #4 60 x 50 inches (152 x 127 cm), 2020 photo by Vivien Zepf
in other mediums to reflect the array of materials used by artists. In this article, we will explore Fuller Craft Museum’s relationship with one such medium — fiber — using the museum’s exhibition history and pieces acquired for the Museum’s permanent collection to help express the power of fiber as a material and an inspiration. Fuller Craft Museum has offered many textilebased exhibitions during its tenure. Artistic director and chief curator Beth C. McLaughlin says, “The museum has long found textiles, including quilting, to be firmly rooted in the fine arts traditions, thus expanding far beyond the craft genre.” Exhibitions at the museum such as Nancy Crow: Crossroads (2010) and Questioning Convention: The Studio Quilts of Michael James (2005) have introduced the public to pioneers who explored the potential of art quilts (also
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known as “studio quilts”) as an art form. Jacqueline Lupica, the Museum’s registrar and collections manager, reports that quilt exhibitions are often some of the museum’s most popular exhibitions, reflecting the public’s fascination and interest in humble cloth transformed into art. McLaughlin says, “Fiber encompasses not only needle arts such as quilting and knitting, but other approaches like basketry, bojagi, and papermaking. Fiber art offers strong relationships with other craft media, and we often see artists using textile techniques in the creation of their non-fiber works. This transference imbues the objects with a sense of familiarity, even nostalgia in some cases, illustrating the power of the handmade and the connectivity of fiber.” It’s no wonder, then, that the artwork presented at the head of the Lampos Gallery for the recent
Michael James Interference Effect Series: (Betrayed) Lover’s Knot #1 52 x 80 inches (127 x 204 cm), 2004 photo by Dean Powell
Making History: Recent Acquisitions to the Permanent Collection exhibition was Michael C. Thorpe’s 2020 Self-Portrait #4. Thorpe, a Massachusetts native now living and working in Brooklyn, New York, is an important new artist in the quilt tradition. Threadwork is a key element of his work. Thorpe says he used thread in Self Portrait #4 “to fill in my character much the same way a color pencil would.” Thorpe’s quilt joins three of Michael James’s pieces in the museum’s permanent collection. It’s interesting to consider how the works of these two unique artistic voices would interact if they were exhibited together. Both artists have used or are inspired by photography in their work: Thorpe with the recreation of his likeness and James with a printed image of a rope knot in Interference Effect Series: (Betrayed) Lover’s Knot #1, one of his pieces in the permanent collection.
Lover’s Knot #1 references the traditional quilt block of the same name and includes pieced squares in its composition, connecting it historically and visually to the pieced background of Self Portrait #4 created by Thorpe’s mother, Susan Richards, who took inspiration from Gee’s Bend quilts. The collaborative nature of Thorpe’s work also speaks to some of the long-held community traditions of quilting, echoed by the Boston Area Initiative Commemorative (BAMI) Face Mask Scrap Quilt hanging just a few feet away from Thorpe’s in the Making History exhibition. This quilt visually paired well with Thorpe’s on display and highlighted the possibilities of multiple voices joining to express a particular intent. Stitched together by volunteers from scraps of the 50,000 handmade masks provided to medical personnel, essential workers, and at-risk
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Boston Area Mask Initiative Commemorative Face Mask Scrap Quilt 100 x 94 inches (254 cm x 239 cm), 2020 photo by Will Howcroft
Lois Russell Blub Blub 14 x 14 x 14 inches (36 x 36 x 36 cm), 2008 photo by Will Howcroft
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populations during the COVID-19 surge, the quilt commemorates and honors volunteers who devoted themselves to helping others during the crisis. The BAMI quilt also connects to the long-held practice of using scraps and making social observations with a quilted piece. This approach is echoed in the work of Laura Petrovich-Cheney. Inspired by women’s art, she creates quilt-like compositions from a variety of repurposed materials to share her concerns about climate change. Her salvaged wood artwork Cornered in Fuller Craft Museum’s permanent collection exemplifies her purpose. Made from wood gathered after Hurricane Sandy and debris from the 2016 Gatlinburg, Tennessee, wildfires, the work challenges viewers to consider notions of home,
Laura Petrovich-Cheney Cornered 36 x 36 x 1 (91.4 x 91.4 x 2.5 cm), 2017 photo by Dean Powell
Tom Eckert Colt 20 x 14 x 2.5 inches (50.8 x 36 x 6.5 cm), 2018 photo by Will Howcroft
safety, and environmental impact. Cornered asks us to remember a time and a place, just as the BAMI quilt does. The thoughtful installation of objects in Making History: Recent Acquisitions to the Permanent Collection allowed visitors to appreciate how artworks and materials can speak to one another. For example, the BAMI quilt was in “conversation” with the nearby three-dimensional work by Lois Russell. The curved and flowing sides of Russell’s woven vessel Blub Blub are reminiscent of cloth waving in the wind, and the surface design calls to mind patchwork quilts. Across the gallery hung Colt, a trompe l’oeil wood sculpture by Arizona artist Tom Eckert. Looking like a white shroud pinned to the wall, Colt is part of Eckert’s series which regularly features wood manipulated and carved to give the appearance of cloth draped over another object, here a firearm. Instead of suggesting warmth, comfort, and safety, the cloth here is intended to reference concealment. The connections and contrasts between the BAMI quilt and Colt
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Soonran Youn Island No. 2 47 x 8 x 17 inches (119 x 20 x 43 cm), 2000 photo by Will Howcroft
in materials and concept were striking because they were in close visual dialogue with one another. To see the off-white linen form of Soonran Youn’s Island No. 2 in the same space was compelling as well. Installed in the corner of the gallery, this figure emphasized the grief, anguish, and isolation the artist intended to convey. However, the figure seemed more tender because of how vulnerable its soft form appeared when seen in the same gallery space as Colt, which looks supple and welcoming from a distance, but is not. Other pieces in the exhibition were equally captivating, including Green Waterfall by Martin Demaine and Erik Demaine, showcasing the wonderful malleability of paper. McLaughlin notes that, while always a work in progress, the Museum’s goal is to take a balanced approach to its permanent collection while building its fiber holdings, including art quilts. The pieces they have acquired are powerful and noteworthy. This glimpse into Fuller Craft Museum’s permanent collection and exhibitions reveals how potent, expressive, and important fiber is for makers and viewers alike. Vivien Zepf is a writer, photographer and maker. She recently traded her life in the New York suburbs for the wilds of Wyoming where she’s often traipsing in the mountains in search of her next photo op, from flowers to bears. When she’s not engaged with her creative life, Vivien is golfing, reading, or educating the public with a raptor on glove or helping to rehabilitate injured birds as a volunteer at the Teton Raptor Center.
Martin Demaine and Eric Demaine Green Waterfall 18 x 19 x 11 inches (45.7 x 48.3 x 27.9 cm), 2011
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Paula Nadelstern More is more by Meg Cox
Kaleidoscopic XVI: More is More 64 x 64 inches (163 x 163 cm), 1996 photo by Karen Bell
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Kaleidoscopic XLV: Omani Arches 65 x 55 inches (165 x 140 cm), 2022 photos by Adi Talwar
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nown for being the first quilt artist to garner a solo show at the American Folk Art Museum in New York (2009), Paula Nadelstern has enjoyed a long and remarkable career and lately has been racking up more solo museum shows, including a recent exhibition at the International Quilt Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska, and another that will be on view June 25 – Sept. 21, 2024 at the New England Quilt Museum. In August 2022, Paula Nadelstern was in Germany for an exhibition of her work and to teach classes. Nine of the hung pieces were finished and quilted, but she also brought her latest work, finished but for the quilting. Omani Arches is a complex piece loosely inspired by mosaic alcoves outside the largest mosque
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Kaleidoscopic XLI: The Prague Spanish Synagogue Ceiling 79 x 64 inches (200 x 175 cm), 2018 photo by Adi Talwar
in Oman. Like all her quilts, it featured her own densely patterned fabrics sewn together in dazzling kaleidoscope-inspired designs. But seeing the whole quilt on the wall caused Nadelstern to wince. “I realized that the lighter of two colors alternating in the sashing was just too bright, taking attention away from the important arches,” she said. This quilt was destined to arrive just two months later in Nebraska for her solo exhibition there. But that deadline didn’t stop her from ripping most of the quilt apart when she got home from Germany, spending three weeks replacing the rectangles with a calmer fabric, reassembling the piece and quilting it herself. She recalled another time she de-constructed a quilt at the last minute. It was 1996, and she was desperately trying to finish her 16th quilt in the Kaleido-
scopic series in time for an early morning photo shoot. The pieced background of the quilt was as complex as the 33 kaleidoscope figures, and she was having trouble making the border fit the quilt without cutting off some of the scopes. At 2:00 a.m., she almost took a rotary cutter to the edges to force it. “Something stopped me. I think I knew I was too tired to do this correctly,” she said, “So I basted on a fake binding to make it look straight for the photograph.” Nadelstern spent the next two weeks ripping, measuring, and revising until the intricate border and the body of the quilt meshed. That quilt, titled More is More, wound up in The Twentieth Century’s Best American Quilts and is now part of the Folk Art Museum’s collection. SAQA Art Quilt Quarterly | 9
Kaleidoscopic XLIV: Continue to Continue 47 x 57 inches (119 x 145 cm), 2021 photo by Adi Talwar
Early in her career, back when she still considered herself a “dabbler” and was designing and making quilts on the kitchen table of her Bronx apartment, Nadelstern struggled with the technical aspects of drafting and sewing her kaleidoscope patterns. But as her confidence grew, she loved immersing herself in creating complex designs others might consider tedious. Guided by “what-if ” questions, she keeps playing with the geometry, doing things like fracturing the kaleidoscopes and pushing them off center so they look like they’re leaping off the surface. She developed her own vocabulary of design, dividing the fabrics into several main categories. “The prima donnas are symmetrical and good for fussy cutting while all-overs are more versatile and more forgiving. I never use a solid, instead choosing an all-over crammed with an abundance of shading to
convey luminosity.” To add small, odd-shaped all-overs, she strip-pieces the all-over to a prima donna, then uses a template that incorporates both patches to cut the unit accurately. Observers are always astonished that Nadelstern isn’t fussy about matching points and only works with straight lines to create the illusion of curves. She works opposite to the way most quilt makers do: a general rule in quilting is to establish a design via contrasting fabrics at the seams so shapes stand out. Her method is to hide seams, resulting in smooth transitions and the illusion that there is no seam at all. What reads from a distance as an integrated whole is discovered up close to be a highly pieced work. Her mature style is to take the techniques and strategies she developed, bouncing fabric pattern against pattern even more aggressively. Kaleidoscopic XLI: see “Nadelstern” on page 102
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Kaleidoscopic XXXVIII: Millifiori 82 x 82 inches (208 x 208 cm), 2013 photo by Adi Talwar
Kaleidoscopic XL: Her Self/A Radiation Mask 19 x 14 x 10 inches (48 x 36 x 25 cm), 2016 photo by Jean Vong
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Arlé Sklar-Weinstein A legacy of innovation by Patricia Malarcher
[Ed. note: This article was in progress when we learned of Arlé Sklar-Weinstein’s death on January 16, 2023. She will be missed.]
I
n Arlé Sklar-Weinstein’s skylit studio in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, artworks covered every vertical and horizontal surface. Quilted, stitched, pieced, and printed textiles were hanging on walls, spread across tables, folded on shelves, and spilling from drawers. A work in progress lay beside a sewing machine. From an adjacent closet, the artist was pulling out works representing her first experiments with fabric and thread. On that afternoon last October, I was witnessing evidence of a prolific career that began with a seven-year-old’s awareness of herself as an artist and, amazingly, was still moving forward in her tenth decade. “What I’m loving now is making these meditative, slow-stitched pieces built around postage stamps,” Sklar-Weinstein said, bringing forth a pile of appli-
Cosmic Bucky
Pete Seeger
17 x 13 inches, framed (42 x 32 cm) 17 x 13 inches, framed (42 x 32 cm)
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quéd and embroidered artworks, each slightly larger than a legal-size page. Here, meandering lines of hand stitches punctuated small, irregularly cut scraps of fabric ranging from frothy organza to bits of lace to printed silk to denim. Some included scatterings of beads or buttons. At the heart of each piece was a stamp depicting a cultural hero or aspect of nature that held meaning for the artist. Her work was intuitive and playful in spirit, but mindful in content. For example, in Cosmic Bucky, stitched linear diagrams suggestive of geodesic domes float around an image of Buckminster Fuller. Floral prints beside a Pete Seeger stamp brought to mind his folk classic, Where have all the flowers gone? Soaring birds, evoking memories of Over the Rainbow, surround Judy Garland’s young face with a
Judy Garland
John Lennon
17 x 13 inches, framed (42 x 32 cm)
17 x 13 inches, framed (42 x 32 cm)
Guitar Riff 18 x 18 x 1 inches (46 x 46 x 2.5 cm)
Pagoda 20 x 20 x 3 inches (51 x 51 x 7.5 cm)
wavy c ancellation mark above her smile. Framed in turquoise, John Lennon’s head blends into a colorful medley of patterns reminiscent of the psychedelic 1960s. Those intimate pieces sharply contrasted with cooler canvas collages she had exhibited recently. Material for the latter had come from a stockpile of large acrylic abstractions Sklar-Weinstein had painted in the 1970s. Asked if it took nerve to deconstruct an artwork of substantial size, she said she never hesitated. “I simply started with the least successful painting and cut it into squares that I mounted on boards.” Further experimentation led to complex, layered compositions with variously shaped elements. The end results were abstract, though slyly referential. For example, in Guitar Riff, curves and parallel lines loosely allude to an instrument, possibly a subtle reference to Picasso’s guitars in Cubist paintings. Dimensional components, such as the broken saucer and hardware in Pagoda, give some collages sculptural presence. Several became prototypes when the artist re-imagined them in larger, softer formats as pieced
fabric quilts. To navigate the transition in scale, she created templates from computerized enlargements of the originals. Committing herself to a process, letting it evolve from one discovery to the next, then taking it to a new iteration was a regular rhythm of Sklar-Weinstein’s practice. Quilts were the lure that prompted her to pick up a needle and thread in the early 1980s. During a lunch break at the school where she was teaching, she spotted a colleague working on an appliquéd quilt. Attracted to the tactility of the fabric, as well as the portability of textile art, she immersed herself in acquiring the skills to master it. She credited her ability to stitch a curve to a technique she learned from Nancy Crow in a workshop. To ease her way into an unfamiliar genre, she worked with traditional block construction prior to finding her own path of exploration. Sklar-Weinstein entered the field of contemporary art quilts with solid professional credentials. After completing her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in visual arts, she taught art on different educational levels, including at Marymount Manhattan College and
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Liberty Voided 35 x 35 inches (87.5 x 89 cm) photo by Karen Bell
Jacob’s Ladder 40 x 39 inches (101.5 x 99 cm)
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a psychiatric hospital. She had been exhibiting paintings and drawings in museums and New York galleries, where her work was identified as “Neo-Surrealism.” While that description could be applied to some quilts she made with commercial printed fabrics, it was especially apt for her work with computer-designed compositions that became her signature in the 1990s. A course in Photoshop for no reason other than “I didn’t want to get left behind” introduced Sklar-Weinstein to the endless possibilities attainable with onscreen manipulation of photographic images. She developed a multistep process, first creating compositions with surprising juxtapositions of images, laser-printing them on paper, then heat-transferring them onto cotton. Sometimes an overlay of sheer fabrics added ambiguity. “Part of the magic is playing with scale to create surreal and symbolic imagery,” she said in an interview for Surface Design Journal (Fall 2006, 31/1). “For example, I’ve used a small [figurative] shadow next to a sunflower to make the flower monumental [and] I’ve infused gray rocks with brilliant colors.” She developed imagery from sources including travel photographs and scans of real artworks as well as reproductions in books. The quilt titled Liberty Voided was a response to political concerns at the time it was made. It started with Sklar-Weinstein’s discovery of an obsolete New York license plate with “Voided” scribbled over an image of the Statue of Liberty. She said the parade of newly hatched chicks not only served as a visual anchor but also symbolized a new generation’s choice to face the world’s uncertainties. A documentary flavor sets one group of quilts apart from the others. The series, titled Through the Eyes of My Father, features slightly altered but unambiguous reproductions of photographs taken by the artist’s father, Philip Sklar. He was the principal bassist with the NBC Symphony
conducted by Arturo Toscanini. The subjects were native people working and doing business on the docks at ports of call he visited while on a South American tour with the conductor. Sklar-Weinstein told an interviewer that she was struck with compassion for the men and women whose poverty “leaped off the surfaces of those small, shiny black and white photos.” A consummate artist in her own discipline, Sklar-Weinstein was grateful to have grown up in a musical household. She studied piano as a child, but when her talent for drawing clearly exceeded her musical ability, she was enrolled in children’s art classes at the Parsons School and later at the Museum of Modern Art. “Because of my father I could attend concerts free, but as I listened, I translated music into color,” she remembered. My hope for another conversation with Sklar- Weinstein, to fill in gaps in my notes including dates when her pieces were completed, collapsed with the sad news of her death. But there was one more chance to view the small pieces she took pleasure in making last fall. The Blue Door Art Center in Yonkers, New York, of which she was a founding member and past co-director, this winter presented a generous selection of those works along with examples of work from other periods in Thru Love/Thru Time: A Mother/Daughter Exhibition. Sharing the gallery walls were prints of mixed media artworks by Sklar-Weinstein’s daughter, Shula Weinstein. “As a young person, I had the very good fortune to be immersed in an artistic and musical environment,” Shula Weinstein recalled. “No doubt, I was informed by Arlé’s vibrant and creative life.” For countless others, it was their good fortune to encounter Sklar-Weinstein’s boundless creativity over many decades. Heeding the call of her adventurous muse, she built a legacy of unceasing innovation.
Reverb Guitar Riff 40 x 40 inches (101 x 101 cm)
Redux – Porch Swinger 40 x 40 inches (101.5 x 101.5 cm)
Patricia Malarcher, an independent writer and studio artist, is a former editor of Surface Design Journal.
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Color in Context: Red by Patty Kennedy-Zafred
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ed has played a major role in art, rituals, and spirituality, evoking excitement, danger, love, or luck. Color in Context: Red, the first in a series of color-themed exhibitions presented by SAQA, drew the attention of a record-breaking number of artists who interpreted red in a multitude of visually exciting works. Juried by studio artist Judy Kirpich, this exhibition is intended to cover the wide expanse of red’s interpretations and to showcase the breadth of styles and techniques of the submitted works. Kirpich carefully selected forty quilts to present a variety of the themes, including nature, politics, narratives, and war. Her choices reflect the ever-widening definition of “art quilt,” including sculptural three-dimensional works,
Karen Schulz One False Move 34 x 34 inches (86 x 88 cm), 2022 photo by Mark Gulezian/Quicksilver
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and how each artist’s singular voice can express a unique message. Several of the works included are abstract, artistic representations of this everchanging mode, designed in a formal way utilizing shape, color, and line. Karen Shulz’s One False Move began as a monochromatic work in various reds, a color not frequently used in her palette. Through printing techniques, stacked rectangles, and minimal piecing, the work took shape. Commenced just at the beginning of the invasion in Ukraine, Shulz’s work took on added meaning as the quilt was completed over subsequent months. Also influenced by international conflict, Cheryl Braswell created Under a Blood Red Sky. She considers red to be the color of blood, the color of war. Her work considers the chaos in Ukraine as she
Cheryl Braswell Under a Blood Red Sky 29 x 40 inches (75 x 103 cm), 2023
states, “Smoke and fire tinting the sky. Anything and anyone might become a target.” The circular quilting on her piece creates a stitched target, surrounding the fragments of screen-printed and mono-printed cloth of red and ash tones. For centuries, red has encompassed religion and spirituality. Lamb of God by Patricia Arensen addresses the color by translating her work within the context of Christianity and biblical references. Although the quilt initially appears to be primarily black and white, through the use of appliqué and
patchwork the restrained use of red is effective and symbolic. Considering the significance of ancient legacies, Helen Geglio designed Wisdom Cloak: The Grandmothers, made from wool, a found baby blanket, and other objects, with the addition of needle felting and hand stitching. Her work may be a coat, or perhaps a shield or protective cloth that reflects on the wisdom passed to future generations. “All of womankind is a
Patricia Arensen Lamb of God 48 x 20 inches (121.9 x 51 cm), 2022 photo by Brian Arensen
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Helen Geglio Wisdom Cloak: The Grandmothers 54 x 57 inches (137 x 145 cm), 2022
Linda Steele Autumn Song 37 x 40 x 2 inches (95 x 102 x 6 cm), 2022
sisterhood of time and place — our own stitches and threads connecting us to the past and into the future,” Geglio explains. The color red within the natural world was a theme used by several artists, including Linda Steele in Autumn Song. Her quilt, created with improvisational piecing of cotton fabrics, draws the eye back and forth into the intricacy of the shapes, sliced with hues of gold and tiny bits of blue, perhaps reflecting the sky peeking through fall foliage. Also reflecting on nature, her hometown, and the scientific research reflecting climate change and weather patterns, Paolo Machetta’s Heat Map represents infographics of heat and coolness with red,
cream, and a restrained blue. Red indicates the higher risk of fire bursts in summer, a relevant and ever- increasing fear around the world. The shift in coloration across her piece indicates places of both safety and danger in the city where she lives. Three-dimensional works take center stage in Red. Jennifer C. Solon celebrates the life-giving force of the heart, in a larger-than-life anatomically-shaped heart, both as a symbolic reference and as the core of our being, in Beat. Our hearts can break with sorrow or joy, a critical part of the daily rhythm of our lives. Mastery of multiple techniques and materials enriches Solon’s work, including printing, beading, see “Red” on page 99
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Paola Machetta Heat map 42 x 42 inches (107 x 107 cm), 2023
Jennifer C. Solon Beat 47 x 38 x 5 inches (119 x 97 x 13 cm), 2023
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Sometimes You’re the Ball 50 x 40 inches (127 x 102 cm), 2021
The story starts I have always loved working with fabric. I began sewing clothes at age twelve and had excellent teachers and mentors. I think being unafraid is my key to success. Pattern designing, sewing highly detailed garments, upholstery—I do it all without a qualm, a far different experience from the fear of performing I felt when I played the piano. At age forty, I wanted to commemorate a big family event in fabric. I didn’t know what I was doing, I hadn’t seen pictorial quilts — I just played. The result was a folk-art quilt, but it told the story, and people responded to it. Their love of the concept and its creative execution was encouraging.
Generating inspiration One thing that motivates me is that I absolutely love getting lost in the process of making art quilts.
artists to watch
Amy Wilson Cavaness Georgetown, Texas A cowgirl and a pool player are equally at home in the fiber art world of Amy Wilson Cavaness. Her representational images are alive with color and poignancy as she explores the human condition. photo by Henrik Kam
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Haskell News 54 x 40 inches (137 x 102 cm), 2022
I love finding that perfect little section of fabric for a certain area. I like to hang up my work, thinking it’s a mess, only to see it all come together when I stand back. Time goes fastest as I work on my art. I’m often inspired by books on my family’s history written by my father. He researched our genealogy and gave it historical context by including family events, pictures, and stories. My recent quilts tell some of those stories, just as my very first quilt did. It’s a challenge to create an image that also tells a story, and that in itself is motivation to keep working. I’m also inspired by stories where people survived difficult circumstances: the Lewis & Clark expedition, the Dust Bowl, the Great Depression. We have so many conveniences now, it’s hard to imagine what they went through, but their journeys are worth memorializing.
Honor, Dignity & Wrath 30 x 35 inches (76 x 89 cm), 2022
Building blocks I work with cotton fabrics to do raw-edge appliquéd collage. Batiks and hand-dyed fabrics work very well for that, but I also am drawn to newer commercial prints.
“ Artists to watch” feature stories are edited by Diane Howell
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Through My Father’s Eyes 40 x 64 inches (102 x 163 cm), 2018
My style is painterly, earthy, textured, organic, and innovative. I’ve created historic images using contemporary funky fabrics, such as those designed by Tim Holtz. I enjoy seeing how these modern textiles, which would be out of place in a past era, can be successfully incorporated into one of my historical studies. I love the juxtaposition.
Self-made process I have no formal art training and have never taken classes on how to make art quilts. I also don’t enjoy drawing — a blank page intimidates me. I love the photo-editing apps that have become available over the last decade. I trained my eye and expanded my creative ideas by editing photos in different ways just to see what they would look like. I never had the patience to learn Photoshop. Instead, I use the image-enhancing app iColorama and took an online class to learn more about it. I used to create artwork by editing photos (usually my own), then interpreting that photographic artwork in fabric. I start with a basic drawing traced from a
Red Door Dream 48 x 34 inches (122 x 86 cm), 2016 22 | SAQA Art Quilt Quarterly
Balustrade 60 x 44 inches (152 x 112 cm), 2018
projection onto a fabric base. Then I collage many fabrics to create an art quilt. When the image is complete, I layer it with batting and backing and add details, artistic elements, and textures with machine stitching. I’m finally at the point that my most recent works are made from black-and-white photos without leaning on photo editing to make them interesting. Being able to digitally cut out elements from different pictures and arrange them helps me compose a pleasing picture or scene. I have become comfortable and confident in my ability to choose fabrics that bring the picture to life in my own style.
Messages sent I think a primary message in my work is that an individual’s work does not have to follow someone’s rules or popular style to be successful. I don’t respond very well to strict rules or routine. I listen to my gut and encourage my students to do the same. Fear of “hitting the wrong note” doesn’t make for an enjoyable process. Sometimes my direction changes while I’m working on a large piece.
I’m an only child and none of my children want to have kids, so this branch of my family will end. My quilts tell the story of my life and our ancestors’ lives. Our stories matter. My father preserved stories in print, I’m preserving them in art. But, while my art quilts are personal, I’ve seen people view them and recall their own memories and experiences. I love that!
What’s ahead When people started admiring my early art quilts, and some were published in a Spotlight article in Quilting Arts, I wanted to share my work in national shows. My SAQA mentor, Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry, encouraged me and taught me about art and exhibiting. For the last several years, my art quilts have been exhibited in most of the large quilt shows around the United States. Next, I hope to share my work in fine art shows and venues. My next technical goal is to become proficient using my longarm to expand my quilting skills. www.imaginationtextile.com
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artists to watch Blue Ice
Albert Cote
13 x 8 inches (33 x 20 cm), 2023
Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada Serendipity and a little romance led to Albert Cote’s discovery of art quilts. He met his wife while teaching art and she taught him to sew. Then he learned to break all the rules on the way to creating fiber art.
Unexpected route From an early age, I was very observant of the things around me and I drew and sketched constantly. I remember doodling on anything that was handy, including the church bulletin and my father’s racing forms. I also would gather nails, broken glass, rags, and old machine parts to create “things” by embedding them in drywall compound. I had no idea that artistically what I was doing was called assemblage. Paintings followed using leftover house paint that was readily available at my house. My father seemed to paint everything we owned — we were the only family that had a blue refrigerator! 24 | SAQA Art Quilt Quarterly
Angels Always Wait 15 x 23 inches (31 x 58 cm), 2023
When Will It End? 16 x 12 inches (41 x 30 cm), 2022
You could say that my introduction to fiber came via my first career as a wig maker. That pursuit led to a successful 36-year career as a salon owner. At the same time, I went to university part-time and earned a degree in Visual Arts and Education. My painting career blossomed and I enjoyed several group and solo exhibitions. I was also a single father, and when my two sons left for university and marriage, I volunteered to teach art at a local public school. There I met my wife, Debbie, who was ready to retire after thirty-two years of teaching. Her dream was to open a quilt store. I suggested the empty store next to my salon. Once the bolts of fabric started to arrive, I saw them as huge tubes of paint. The last year of Debbie’s teaching, she taught in the mornings and worked in the store in the afternoons. I decided to work in the store in the mornings, as I also was ready to semi-retire. Debbie taught me how to sew and I was hooked. Once I knew I could break the rules, art quilts were my next step.
Sweet Song 18 x 12 inches (46 x 30 cm), 2023
Inspirational subjects I have always been fascinated with angels and crows. They crop up in many of my pieces. They are very simple in design and easy to recognize. I revisit my earlier paintings and reinvent them in fabric. This is a challenge I find very exciting. I get inspiration from the strangest things. I don’t know how many times I’ve created work
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Leaf Me Alone 40 x 24 inches (102 x 61 cm), 2022
Full Circle 18 x 16 inches (46 x 41 cm), 2023
from watching people sitting in chairs at the airport or seeing a broken brick on a building. You don’t have to look far — inspiration is everywhere.
Work process I tend to stay away from recognizable fabric collections. I find that a “name” fabric takes away from my original designs. People notice the line of fabric first, not the finished work. I like to paint my own fabric. I can control the colors easier than if I dyed the fabric. Lately I’ve been making smaller pieces from fabrics, embellishing them with found objects, hand embroidery, and stitching. I then take a picture of them with my phone, alter them in a very simple vector app, and have them printed on fabric at triple the original size. This “newer version” may then be cut up and resewn before I machine stitch, hand embellish, or even paint it. After facing the larger altered piece, I display the original small piece alongside it. I follow the same
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procedure with my older paintings, giving them new life and a modern look.
Style defined I lean toward an abstract style. There are elements of realism in my work, but you have to search for them. I try to keep my work simple. I like bold colors, large areas of space, and lots of hand stitching. I’m not too concerned with telling a story. I’m fascinated with the viewer creating the story for me. I like my work to be visual first. My work seems to be recognizable. This is a good thing, but something I try to avoid. My desire to remain somewhat anonymous forces me to constantly try something new.
Evil Eye 24 x 24 inches (61 x 61 cm), 2022
What’s ahead After eleven years of operation, we closed the quilt shop in 2012 when we sold the property. We still offer classes in our studio. I have learned to be very patient with my art career. If it is meant to be, it will happen. Never did I think that I would show my work internationally or teach at the Haliburton School of Art and Design. I want other artists to know that they can break the rules and let a piece evolve on its own. They can make lots of mistakes, as these lead to new ideas and great problem solving. This was to be my year to relax. So far I have become a member of Cloth In Common (a small group of international fiber artists), and a member of the very prestigious group of Canadian Fiber Artists called Connections. I try to tell my students at the college to take time to explore and perfect their art. It is good to have goals in your twenties, but time is the thing that will determine if they come true. I was not ready then. I am more than ready now. My goal is to keep observing and creating, never thinking that I am done. Even while looking out the window, I’m still working.
Three Men On a Staircase 15 x 22 inches (38 x 56 cm), 2023
Watching Three Men on a Staircase 16 x 24 inches (41 x 61 cm), 2023
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artists to watch
Gunnel Hag Toronto, Ontario, Canada Gunnel Hag loves textiles. She makes them her own through surface design, using textile pigments to transform are inspired by nature and her own environment.
photo by Maggie Vanderweit Meredith
modest cloth into colorful works that
Surface studies
Rocks on Lake Huron 23 x 22 inches (58 x 56 cm), 2015
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I have always loved the luxurious feel and look of fabrics. Like many children, I drew and painted obsessively. I learned traditional embroidery from my mother, tried my hand at weaving, and discovered batik dyeing. While I was studying English at Stockholm University in Sweden, I took a course in screen printing on fabric. I fell in love with the process, so much so that I decided to attend art college in London to study surface design. When I first came to Canada, I couldn’t find a design job, so I tie-dyed T-shirts. When the tie-dyeing craze ended (did it ever really end?), I started a business creating screen-printed fashion by hand. Soon I had to employ assistants, sewers, and salespeople to meet demand. I then branched out to printed and painted fabrics for costumes which were used in theater, musicals, movies, and television shows. On and off over the years I have incorporated some form of stitching into my printed fabric art pieces.
Sun Under Water 23 x 37 inches (58 x 94 cm), 2022
Surface design plays a more important role in my art practice than sewing or quilting. I think of my creations more as “art” and less as “quilting.” Using pigments, dyes, and other surface-design techniques to express my ideas on fabric is what inspires and excites me. The stitching and quilting adds another dimension that I’m still exploring and learning about. When I started teaching fabric printing at Quilt Canada conferences, I was asked to contribute to their teachers’ exhibition of quilts. My very first contribution was a painted and screen-printed version of the drunkard’s path quilt pattern. By the next conference, I had started to quilt and my contribution was more in keeping with the other pieces in the teachers’ exhibition.
Gaining perspective I love traveling. Visiting other countries, experiencing the richness of the designs and textile dyeing and
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The Boot Maker 30 x 24 inches (76 x 61 cm), 2020
printing traditions of different cultures brings me immense joy. As I travel, I specifically seek out cloth that is printed or dyed by hand. India is a wonderful source of these stunning fabrics. When I traveled there, I was fortunate to visit a master block maker. With hand tools that he made himself in his small village with no electricity, he produced exquisite wood blocks used to print thousands of yards of fabric for interiors, clothing, and accessories. My latest trip was to Morocco — my first plane trip since the start of the COVID pandemic. What a cornucopia of beautiful fabric is found there! While my own designs are mostly abstract and spare, I’m inspired by any design that is informed by the ancient techniques and traditions of different cultures. I believe you are always affected by your environment and experiences. For instance, my native Sweden will always be in my blood, even though I’ve lived most of my life in Canada.
Texture master class Forest Floor No. 2 34 x 26 inches (86 x 66 cm), 2015
My favorite method of adding texture to my work is with textile pigments. Starting with white cloth and painting with my own pigment system, Colour Vie, I build up several layers of pigments, which I then scrape away and manipulate to create visual textures and designs. It’s quite amazing how simple household implements like potato mashers, forks, credit cards, thread spools, and other found objects can create depth and interest on plain white fabric. Many of my whole-cloth quilts are created with this kind of visual texture. Ever since my art college days, I have experimented with photographs on fabric. I combine my photographic images in a fused or stitched collage and use my surface-manipulated fabric as a border or integrate it into the quilt in some other way.
Series approach I incorporate similar kinds of imagery in my work, just in different contexts and designs. Leaves, for instance, have been an important part of my art for many years, and I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of printing with them. For a long time I’ve incorporated
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Caught in a Whirlwind 35 x 39 inches (89 x 99 cm), 2016
leaf printing in my in-person workshops, and I offer an on-demand online workshop called Leaf, Fruit, and Veggie Printing.
happy to say that most fabric-printing inks are also water-based.
Materials and colors
One of my goals is to spend more time in my studio, experimenting and playing with surface-design techniques. Recently, I’ve explored using my own digital imagery and designs on fabric. Sharing my knowledge is crucial to me, and I’ll continue teaching in my studio and elsewhere. During the pandemic, I started lecturing and teaching online. While this was necessitated by COVID, it opened my eyes to how the Internet can connect me with fabric lovers all over the world.
I prefer working with natural fabrics: cotton, silk, linen. I almost always start with plain white fabric and build up a surface to print on. But I’m not averse to trying any materials that come my way, as long as I can print and paint on them. In my work I tend toward bright, often monochromatic colorways and work instinctively with any palette that appeals to me. Before committing to a particular color scheme, I do a lot of tests with color combinations.
What’s ahead?
www.colourvie.com
Inspirations My main inspirations are from nature and my environment. I blend abstracted images with realistic ones, such as leaves and rocks. My Colour Vie system is a water-based pigment-printing system. When I first started screen printing, all the printing inks and pigments contained mineral spirits, and I became severely allergic to this ingredient. The water-based pigment base, or medium, grew out of the need to be able to continue my art practice. Not only is it better for humans, it’s also eco-friendly. Nowadays, I’m
Lichen No. 2 10 x 22 inches (25 x 56 cm), 2015 SAQA Art Quilt Quarterly | 31
artists to watch
A colorful journey
photo by NashCO Photo
In the early 1970s, I made traditional quilts that were pieced and hand-quilted. Because it was a long drive to stores with limited selections of cotton fabrics, I learned to dye my own colors. Instructions were few and contradictory, so it was a learn-by-trying situation. I think that the power to make my own colors and marks on fabric led me to make art quilts. By the 1980s, all of my quilts included only my hand-dyed cotton and silk fabrics and were original, nontra-
Ann Johnston Lake Oswego, Oregon Ann Johnston paints dye on cloth, creating the perfect hue and at the same time capturing her gestures. The end result is a sweeping work that is a powerful and beautiful art quilt.
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ditional designs. In the early 1990s, a quilt teacher told me that my whole-cloth quilts —hand-dyed and hand-quilted — were not quilts because they were not pieced. After that I became dedicated to making quilts any way that I wanted and I intended all of them as art.
Finding new methods Immersion dyeing was cumbersome and unpredictable, so I started applying dye to the surface of the fabric, painting and printing. This required understanding how the dyes work and finding ways to fix the colors with a realistic process. I also wanted large pieces of solid colors, so by the 1990s I had adapted immersion dyeing to what I call low-water immersion. I got excited about the idea of sharing what I know. I wrote my first book, Dye Painting!, and started to teach workshops.
Wave #19 21 x 26 inches (53 cm x 66 cm), 2022
Wave #19
21 x 26 inches (53 cm x 66 cm), 2022
My quilts fall into broad themes developed over time: balance, waves, sunsets, games, gardens, rust, and woven textiles. I have too many ideas, so I sort and choose. I always have five to eight pieces in progress. Some take shape slowly, some have a clear path, and some evolve into something else entirely. Most recently, I pursued an idea that I call The Contact, a series of large quilts about the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California. This encompasses many of the aspects of the landscape, both real and imagined. I didn’t know how to handle a subject that seemed so big until I realized it wasn’t one quilt, but individual compositions joined visually as a series. The Martin Museum of Art in Waco, Texas, offered me a solo exhibition. In 2013, I exhibited fourteen quilts unified by their 7-foot vertical design. Today, some of the quilts in this series are horizontal and square as well.
Heart of inspiration Curiosity motivates me. I like the challenge of seeing what I can do with ideas inspired by the world around me. First, I decide what the quilt will be about and then answer the question, “Why am I making this?” I consider roughly the size and shape. Then I consider my construction options. As I work, I acknowledge that the original concept will either emerge or it
The Contact: Meander 84 x 29 inches (213 x 74 cm), 2021 quilt photos by Jim Lommasson
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The Contact: Tree Line at Dawn 27 x 119 inches (69 x 302 cm), 2023
might change entirely. Each time I arrive at a crossroads, I return to my original question. I finish my quilts because I’m curious to see what they look like and because it’s training for the next piece. The biggest change in my style occurred around 2010, when I figured out how to assemble organic shapes and lines with raw-edge appliqué and no adhesives, which stiffen the layers. I can compose freely and still create a soft quilt that responds to hand or machine stitching with corresponding wrinkles and shadows. The same year, I started on my large quilt series about the Sierra Nevada, requiring a new color palette, new printing and painting techniques, and more complex drawing and planning.
Construction concerns
Wild Garden-Pinedrops 13 x 13 inches (33 x 33 cm), 2023
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For small- and medium-sized pieces, I often start with a piece of fabric that I have dyed, adapting it in any number of ways with more fabric or stitching. For large quilts, I often start by drawing on scratch paper. When I have a rough composition, I may make a small-scale drawing to keep the elements in a particular relationship to each other. Then I decide how I’ll make it. Sometimes I work from the small drawing by placing fabrics directly onto my design wall, with tape
marking the rough outline and assembling it in portions. At other times, I draw the composition to its full size on paper. I may put the drawing under clear vinyl on the dye table and paint the whole design. Sometimes I use a full-size drawing to help know what size pieces of fabric to dye. Then it acts as a guide to place them on the wall. Occasionally I use the full-size drawing as a paper pattern, assembling the shapes and adding details almost exactly where I had placed them. I wait to decide about quilting until the top is done. Thread color and weight, density and pattern add a layer of design that enhances the idea in the quilt. Sometimes I first draw on tracing paper over the finished top to get an idea of what to do, but in the end, I just have to start and find out what will happen.
Meeting goals My goal is to make and exhibit eloquent quilts that speak in my voice about the things I see in our world. I have had more than twenty solo exhibitions in venues all over the world. The Contact now consists of more than forty large quilts, and I look forward to exhibiting them again together after I’ve finished a few more. It’s still a goal of mine to share what I know, and on my website I have made available my newest streaming video class, Beyond the Book: Paint & Print with Dye. Most recently, I’ve been trying something completely new to me — two three-dimensional projects, both in the problem-solving stage.
Sunset 17 35 x 27 inches (89 x 69 cm), 2020
www.annjohnston.net
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Portfolio Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) is pleased to present our Portfolio gallery. Each issue of Art Quilt Quarterly features a selection of artwork by juried artist members of SAQA, the world’s largest organization devoted to art quilts. We hope you enjoy this opportunity to immerse yourself in these pages of wonderfully innovative artwork merging the tactile, technological, and traditional aspects of quilted art.
Founded in 1989, SAQA is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the art quilt through exhibitions, publications, and professional development opportunities. We host an annual conference, publish a quarterly Journal, and sponsor multiple exhibitions each year.
www.saqa.com
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B. J. Adams Washington, DC, United States www.bjadamsart.com
Old Sewing Machine 14 x 10 inches (36 x 25 cm) | 2020 photo by Greg Staley
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Portfolio Joanne Alberda Sioux Center, Iowa, United States www.joannealberda.com
Blue Line 47 x 93 inches (119 x 236 cm) | 2022
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Ilse Anysas-Salkauskas Cochrane, Alberta, Canada
We Broke the Faith 50 x 43 x 2 inches (127 x 109 x 5 cm) | 2022
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Portfolio Bobbi Baugh DeLand, Florida, United States www.bobbibaughstudio.com
Neither Up nor Down 44 x 32 inches (112 x 81 cm) | 2023
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Regina V. Benson Golden, Colorado, United States www.reginabenson.com
Future Ruins Tower 4 74 x 18 x 18 inches (188 x 46 x 46 cm) | 2015
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Portfolio Hélène Blanchet Margaree Valley, Nova Scotia, Canada
Waiting for the Storm in the Big Saskatchewan Prairie 12 x 36 inches (30 x 91 cm) | 2023
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Peggy Brown Nashville, Indiana, United States www.peggybrownart.com
Re-Imagined I 38 x 38 inches (95 x 97 cm) | 2022
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Portfolio Betty Busby Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States bbusbyarts.com
Diatom Parade 52 x 68 inches (132 x 173 cm) | 2022
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Jette Clover Antwerp, Belgium www.jetteclover.com
Words 9 39 x 40 inches (100 x 102 cm) | 2019 photo by Pol Leemans
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Portfolio Vicki Conley Ruidoso Downs, New Mexico, United States www.vicki-conley.com
Sea Stack Sentinels 48 x 32 inches (122 x 81 cm) | 2023 photo by Doug Conley
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Phyllis Cullen Ninole, Hawaii, United States www.phylliscullenartstudio.com
Jewel of the Rainforest 42 x 27 inches (107 x 69 cm) | 2022
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Portfolio Rosalind Daniels Cabot, Vermont, United States www.rosalindsdaniels.com
Let Justice Roll Down Like Waters and Righteousness Like a Mighty Stream 98 x 21 inches (249 x 53 cm) | 2023 photo by Craig Harrison
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Donna Deaver Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, United States www.donnadeaver.com
Autumn Reflections 32 x 25 inches (81 x 62 cm) | 2019
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Portfolio Giny Dixon Danville, California, United States www.ginydixon.com
Winter Sky 41 x 34 inches (103 x 86 cm) | 2022 photo by Sibila Savage
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Susan Else Santa Cruz, California, United States www.susanelse.com
Night Night 18 x 12 x 17 inches (46 x 30 x 43 cm) | 2022 photo by Marty McGillivray
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Portfolio Susan Ball Faeder Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, United States www.qejapan.com
Yukata Play 48 x 36 inches (122 x 91 cm) | 2021 photo by Elise A. Nicol
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Linda Filby-Fisher Overland Park, Kansas, United States www.lindafilby-fisher.com
Unity 16. Medicine Wheel series 12 x 12 x 1 inches (30 x 30 x 3 cm) | 2020
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Portfolio Diana S. Fox Parker, Colorado, United States www.contemporaryquilter.com
Confetti 70 x 62 inches (178 x 157 cm) | 2021 photo by Richard Garduno
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Jayne Bentley Gaskins Reston, Virginia, United States jaynegaskins.com
Connections 51 x 36 inches (130 x 91 cm) | 2022
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Portfolio Debbie Grifka Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States www.debbiegrifka.com
Lake of Blankness 42 x 42 inches (107 x 107 cm) | 2022
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Gunnel Hag Toronto, Ontario, Canada www.gunnelhagstudio.com
Leslie Spit Revisited No. 2 15 x 20 inches (38 x 51 cm) | 2018
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Portfolio Bev Haring Longmont, Colorado, United States www.bevharing.com
Through a Glass Darkly 42 x 30 inches (107 x 76 cm) | 2017
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Rosemary Hoffenberg Wrentham, Massachusetts, United States rosemaryhoffenberg.com
Unearthed 53 x 43 inches (135 x 109 cm) | 2022 photo by Joe Ofria
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Portfolio Michelle Jackson Sandia Park, New Mexico, United States www.quiltfashions.com
Weathered 35 x 43 inches (88 x 109 cm) | 2022
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Ann Johnston Lake Oswego, Oregon, United States www.annjohnston.net
Fragment 5: bird glyph 13 x 21 inches (33 x 53 cm) | 2022 photo by Jim Lommasson
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Portfolio Natalya Khorover Mamaroneck, New York, United States www.artbynatalya.com
Mending 2 18 x 18 x 1 inches (46 x 46 x 3 cm) | 2022
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Catherine Kleeman Ruxton, Maryland, United States www.cathyquilts.com
Les Fleurs Jaunes 36 x 36 inches (91 x 91 cm) | 2022
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Portfolio Brigitte Kopp Kasel-Golzig, Brandenburg, Germany www.brigitte-kopp-textilkunst.eu
Water Delights 98 x 55 x 4 inches (250 x 140 x 10 cm) | 2022
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Pat Kroth Verona, Wisconsin, United States
Powerlines 72 x 100 inches (183 x 254 cm) | 2020 photo by William Lemke
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Portfolio Judy Langille Kendall Park, New Jersey, United States www.judylangille.com
Earth Elements III 40 x 26 inches (102 x 66 cm) | 2022 photo by Peter Jacobs
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Mary-Ellen Latino Nipomo, California, United States www.highinfiberart.com
Poetry of the Sea! 30 x 60 inches (76 x 152 cm) | 2022 photo by Forrest Doud
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Portfolio Susan Lenz Columbia, South Carollina, United States www.susanlenz.com
Mandala CXVI 39 x 39 inches (99 x 99 cm) | 2022 collection of Drs. Ed and Dorothy Kendall
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Fuzzy Mall Dundas, Ontario, Canada www.quiltedportrait.net
Miss Moco2 86 x 52 inches (218 x 132 cm) | 2023
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Portfolio Penny Mateer Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States www.pennymateer.com
The Influenza Blues #16 Protest Series A collaboration with Martha Wasik 85 x 85 inches (216 x 216 cm) | 2021 photo by Larry Berman
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Lea McComas Golden, Colorado, United States www.leamccomas.com
Women’s Work 92 x 125 inches (234 x 318 cm) | 2022
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Portfolio Alicia Merrett Wells, Somerset, United Kingdom www.aliciamerrett.co.uk
Code XYK 38 x 47 inches (97 x 119 cm) | 2020
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Denise Oyama Miller Fremont, California, United States www.deniseoyamamiller.com
Impressions of Siena 45 x 38 inches (114 x 97 cm) | 2022 photo by Sibila Savage
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Portfolio Melody Money Healdsburg, California, United States melodymoney.com
Blue Sky Theory 49 x 35 inches (124 x 89 cm) | 2019
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Hilde Morin Portland, Oregon, United States www.hildemorin.com
Wandering Through 48 x 108 inches (122 x 274 cm) | 2022 collection of Civic & Convention Center - Seaside, Oregon
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Portfolio Ree Nancarrow Fairbanks, Alaska, United States www.reenancarrow.com
Aspen Twilight 42 x 39 inches (107 x 98 cm) | 2022 photo by Eric Nancarrow
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Diane Nunez Southfield, MIchigan, United States dianenunez.com
Multifaceted 72 x 86 x 85 inches (183 x 217 x 216 cm) | 2022
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Portfolio Katie A. Pasquini Masopust Fortuna, California, United States www.katiepm.com
Bellisima-Griglia 45 x 35 inches (114 x 89 cm) | 2022
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Geri Patterson-Kutras Morgan Hill, California, United States geripkartquilts.com
Art is the Dance 47 x 45 inches (119 x 114 cm) | 2022
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Portfolio Laura Petrovich-Cheney Marblehead, Massachusetts, United States
Home Sick 48 x 48 x 1 inches (122 x 122 x 3 cm) | 2020
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Susan V. Polansky Lexington, Massachusetts, United States www.susanpolansky.com
The Fury of My Heart 53 x 51 inches (135 x 130 cm) | 2023
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Portfolio Wen Redmond Strafford, New Hampshire, United States www.wenredmond.com
Journey’s End 29 x 39 inches (74 x 99 cm) | 2022
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Susan Rienzo Vero Beach, Florida, United States
Sunshine Diaries 41 x 41 inches (104 x 104 cm) | 2021
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Portfolio Barbara J. Schneider Woodstock, Illinois, United States www.barbaraschneider-artist.com
Birch Bark Fragments 46 x 25 x 8 inches (117 x 64 x 20 cm) | 2022
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Alison Schwabe Montevideo, Uruguay www.alisonschwabe.com
Abstract Landscape Textures 95 x 190 inches (241 x 483 cm) | 2021 photo by Eduardo Baldizan
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Portfolio Sara Sharp Austin, Texas, United States www.sarasharp.com
Beach House Breeze 32 x 23 inches (81 x 58 cm) | 2022
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Terri Shinn Snohomish, Washington, United States www.terrishinn.com
Himalayan Birch 20 x 7 x 7 inches (51 x 18 x 18 cm) | 2023 photo by Susie Howell
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Portfolio Sandra Sider Bronx, New York, United States www.sandrasider.com
Seismic Shift 16 x 12 x 1 inches (41 x 30 x 3 cm) | 2022
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Deborah K. Snider Silver City, New Mexico, United States www.debsniderart.com
Encrustaceans I 41 x 41 inches (104 x 104 cm) | 2008 private collection | photo by Harold D. Snider
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Portfolio Jan Soules Elk Grove, California, United States www.jansoules.com
Stepping Stones #2: Strawberry Fields 48 x 49 inches (122 x 124 cm) | 2022
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Joan Sowada Gillette, Wyoming, United States www.joansowada.com
Kate and Theo 20 x 31 inches (51 x 79 cm) | 2022 private collection | photo by Tim Williams
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Portfolio Elena Stokes Clinton, New Jersey, United States elenastokes.com
Horizon XXIV – L’heure D’or 47 x 46 inches (119 x 117 cm) | 2023
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Tiziana Tateo Pavia, Italy www.tizianatateo.com
Inside and Outside 41 x 62 inches (105 x 158 cm) | 2012
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Portfolio Kit Vincent Ottawa, Ontario , Canada www.kitvincent.com
Fracas 55 x 76 inches (140 x 193 cm) | 2021 Quilt National Collection | photo by Paul Vincent
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Sylvia Weir Beaumont Texas, Texas, United States sylviaweirart.wordpress.com
Baum’s Oz 45 x 30 inches (114 x 76 cm) | 2020
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Portfolio Isabelle Wiessler Staufen, Germany www.isabelle-wiessler.de
Drought 2 45 x 37 x 1 inches (115 x 94 x 3 cm) | 2022
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Hope Wilmarth Houston, Texas, United States www.hopewilmarth.com
Passages 48 x 39 inches (122 x 99 cm) | 2022 photo by Rick Wells
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Portfolio Pamela Zave Summit, New Jersey, United States zaveartquilts.com
Purple, the Reconciliation of Two Extremes 21 x 32 inches (53 x 81 cm) | 2018 photo by Yolanda V. Fundora
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Red from p. 18 coil wrapping, and stitching on papers, fabrics, sari ribbon, cording, buttons, paints, and ink. In another sculptural work, ORIGIN, Yvonne Iten-Scott utilizes a multitude of techniques including felting, embroidery, folding, hand beading and stitching. ORIGIN reflects on beginnings, whether an emotion, relationship, or new direction. Each carefully created layer speaks to regeneration, eruption, or evolution. Iten-Scott best describes her own work: “Explosions between the layers emerge as tentacles reaching out for connections of materials, human contact, feelings, or experiences.” Judy Kirpich says, “There is a consistently high level of concept, design, and technique, and SAQA should be proud to take this show on the road!” Color in Context: Red will premiere on November 2, 2023, at International Quilt Festival in Houston, Texas, and continue to travel to venues internationally for two years, exciting viewers with vibrancy, diversity, and personal inspiration.
Yvonne Iten-Scott ORIGIN 27 x 20 x 1 inches (69 x 51 x 2.5 cm), 2023
Hudson River Valley Fiber Art Workshops Create, experiment, and learn with us at our historic Victorian property in New York’s inspiring Hudson Valley.
2023 Workshops Sue Spargo Apr 2-8 Sandra Mollon Apr 12-16 Sue Stone Apri 16-22 Denise Labadie Apr 23-29 Apr 30-May 6 Sarah Ann Smith Jul 30-Aug 5 Joe Cunningham Lisa Binkley Aug 6-12 Cindy Grisdela Aug 13-19 Deborah Fell Aug 20-26 Aug 27-Sep 2 Jane Sassaman Katie Pasquini Masopust Oct 8-14 Sue Benner Oct 15-21 Lesley Riley Oct 22-28 Jen Duffin Nov 1-5 Marjolaine Arsenault Nov 5-11 Susan Lenz Dec 10-16 www.fiberartworkshops.com | info@artworkshops.com | (518) 966-5219 | @HudsonRiverArt SAQA Art Quilt Quarterly | 99
focus on commissions
Getting comfortable with commissions by Nancy Billings
Y
ears ago someone who admired my work asked me to create custom artwork for her. I thought about it for a few days, froze, and then told her I could not possibly create something for her. The pressure was too great because at that time I had no clue how to convey my design ideas on paper for us to come to an agreement. I was unsure that I could create something that would perfectly please her. Years later, an interior designer asked me about creating textile art for her client and if I could make a sample based on the designs we spoke about. I went home and spent a few hours making what I thought she might like. Two days later when the sample was ready, she informed me that they had changed their minds. That was a turning point. To take the guesswork out of this process I decided to charge a small fee for samples if I think that the prospective clients can’t quite make up their minds to proceed with the project. I usually create four to six samples so that I get a better idea of what the client is looking for. The fee is deducted from the final payment if the client moves forward with the commission. Today I use the software Procreate to design my samples, which takes much less time and allows me to show different options easily. Now I rarely charge the design fee and have had several successful commissions. When someone is interested in hiring me for a commission, I have long discussions about where the piece will be hanging, what the lighting will be like, and how large a piece they want to purchase. If I can
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visit the installation space, I find that the most helpful. This helps me make sure that the lighting is appropriate and will present my art in the best way. I make sure there will not be direct sun at any time of day on that wall so that fading will not occur over time. If a visit isn’t possible, I request a photo of the space and superimpose one of my images in that space to give a clear understanding of what my artwork will look like, helping my clients envision the final result. We then discuss design possibilities, colors, textures, fabrics, and techniques. We talk about what brought them to me and what about my work is e xciting to them. My clients usually come to me because they’ve seen my work and appreciate the design, colors, or overall aesthetic of my art. After we select a sample and discuss details, two copies of my contract are signed and a non- refundable 50 percent deposit is paid. My contract includes a long lead time for construction and delivery, the number of parts of the artwork (diptych, triptych), description of the hanging method, color choices agreed upon, and the specific size. Payment in full must be completed before the art is shipped. Included in the contract will be the responsibility for costs of shipping, if necessary. I always include my custom hanging devices as part of the final cost of the project. In addition, I state in the final agreement that reproduction is granted only with prior approval by the artist, and the agreement includes the phrase, “all sketches and copyrights will remain the possession of the artist’.”
When the art is shipped, I add my artist’s statement about the piece and what thoughts prompted the design, along with how it was constructed. I have found that the more communication I have with my clients, the better understanding they will have of the final commission. Creating commissions has become a truly rewarding experience for me, especially interacting with the clients about my art practice. Nancy Billings, who resides in Miami, received her BFA in Fashion Design from Pratt Institute in New York City. Her movement from fashion design to fiber art was a natural transition using the same medium in new and innovative ways. She sells her art quilts through galleries and enjoys working with interior designers and private clients around the country. Her artwork is published in numerous books and magazines and shown in juried and invitational exhibitions.
Nancy Billings Hanging by a Thread IV 40 x 60 inches (100 x 150 cm), 2021
nancybdesigns@gmail.com
photo by Fabrizio Cacciatore
Microscape, a SAQA Global Exhibition
January 19 – March 31, 2024
25th San Angelo National Ceramic Competition
April 19 – June 23, 2024 July 11- September 15, 2024
In Conversation: Will Wilson, organized by the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
September 27, 2024 – February 2, 2025 Ceramics Invitational Exhibit, featuring Tom and Elaine Coleman and Frank Boyden 1 Love Street, San Angelo, Texas
325-653-3333
www.samfa.org
Pictured: Gretchen Brooks, Gainesville, FL. Chrysophyta, 2021. Cotton, silk organza, paint, photographs SAQA Art Quilt Quarterly | 101
Nadelstern from p. 10
The Prague Spanish Synagogue Ceiling contains at least a thousand camouflaged seams. Nadelstern’s typical busy schedule was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, provoking her decision to cut back drastically on travel. “For 30 years, I would travel to teach and lecture for up to 100 days per year. I have been to all but three states and many international venues. But the lockdown brought me to a full stop. It made me rethink pushing two 50-pound suitcases through airports in my 70s.” Nadelstern is keen to continue designing fabric, to keep making quilts,
and to lecture on Zoom. But for the first time, she is interested in starting to sell her quilts. “I think those who went to art school had a mindset that if I am an artist, I must sell my art. But it takes me a long time to make a quilt and I wanted to have a body of work to exhibit as much as possible. There are now 47 quilts in the art series (this doesn’t include quilts she makes to display her fabrics and for other reasons) and I don’t want my daughter to have to worry about what to do with all of them.” Her More is More quilt traveled the country a decade ago as part of the
spirituality
healing
PEACE
inspiration
joy GRIEF
Breaking Dawn by Linda Henke
Exciting News!
The next Sacred Threads will be held in Indianapolis in 2025. Check the website for all the details. Traveling Exhibit
Our 2022 exhibit is traveling through the summer of 2024. Check the website to find a location near you! SPONSORED BY:
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exhibition Self-Taught Genius: Treasures From the American Folk Art Museum. Nadelstern cops to the self-taught part but balks at the word “genius.” She will acknowledge that her risk-taking and work ethic have moved her further than she ever would have imagined. “What I know now is that I gave myself an invaluable gift by working in a series. When you work in a series, the questions you ask yourself get more complex but the answers get simpler. One of the perks is sudden intuitive leaps of understanding, actual breakthroughs to new and deeper perspectives. Sometimes it feels as if you now know something essential you didn’t
know the second before. The feeling is both surprising and fulfilling because that information will forever be yours.” Journalist and quilter Meg Cox is a soughtafter speaker at guilds and museums and a staff writer for Quiltfolk magazine. Her resource guide The Quilter’s Catalog was published by Workman Press. She has published her monthly newsletter “Quilt Journalist Tells All” since 2008. A former president of the national nonprofit Quilt Alliance, Cox serves on the advisory board of the International Quilt Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska. Learn more at www.megcox.com.
Fine art with southern hospitality, accredited by the American Alliance of Museums Gadsden Arts Center & Museum Quincy, Florida (just 20 miles from Tallahassee!) 850-875-4866 / gadsdenarts.org
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spotlight on collections
Healing Waters 52 x 154 inches (130 x 385 cm), 2021 collection Inova Schar Cancer Institute in Fairfax, Virginia
Sarah Lykins Entsminger
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Healing Waters was commissioned by Inova Schar Cancer Institute in Fairfax, Virginia, to be installed in their entrance lobby. Natural light floods the space, which is furnished to create a bright, contemporary area for patients, caregivers, staff, and medical practitioners. My goal throughout the commission process was to create textile art that would provide viewers with a peaceful and meditative visual space in which to gather, focus on healing thoughts, and rest during their time in the facility. Each of the individual pieces in the triptych is different, reflecting movement and depth across the installation, creating the impression of an expansive view of water on a clear day. Personal memories of water views in different seasons and locations provided the inspiration for the design. I created this triptych with hand-painted and hand-dyed fabrics, acrylic paint, inks, yarn, and a variety of threads.
new acquisitions
Cross Section 34 x 34 x 1 inch (85 x 85 x 2.5 cm), 2014 collection The International Quilt Museum
Diane Nuñez
As a landscape architect, I think three-dimensionally while drawing and designing, creating small “cross sections” within this work. Instead of drawing lines on paper, I use cotton fabric strips as my medium, using thread, ink, interfacing, O-rings, grommets, aluminum rods, and wooden Tinker toys. These strips, structured as a nine-patch quilt, graphically represent the bright texture of our earth’s subgrade. Cross Section won the Quilt Surface Design Symposium Award of Excellence in 2015. The International Quilt Museum recently acquired this piece for their Quilt National Collection.
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UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS
Primal Forces: Earth
Primal Forces: Wind
Layered & Stitched: 50 years of Innovative Art
Color in Context: Red
Brigham Young University Museum of Art, Provo, Utah March 24, 2023 – Dec. 29, 2023
International Quilt Museum, Lincoln, Nebraska May 5, 2023 – Dec. 16, 2023
National Quilt Museum, Paducah, Kentucky Aug. 4, 2023 – Jan. 10, 2024
International Quilt Festival, Houston, Texas Nov. 2-5, 2023
SAQA is dedicated to bringing thoughtprovoking, cutting-edge artwork to venues across the globe. Our members continue to challenge the boundaries of art and change perceptions about contemporary fiber art.
For complete listing: www.saqa.com/art
For more information, contact William Reker exhibitions@saqa.com | 216.333.9146