Week in Review 2016 - 05/06

Seasonal Palette, an all SAQA Exhibition at Taiwan International Quilt Expo.
Photo by Betty Busby

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

Deconstructed Sunrise is included
in My Corner of the World. This
all SAQA exhibition opens at the
Stratford Perth Museum in Stratford,
Ontario on May 21, 2016.

I have heard from several of my art quilt peers who have work in the Taiwan International Quilt Exhibition. Some are even fortunate enough to attend. This morning Betty Busby sent SAQA's Exhibition Committee a photo she took of SAQA's exhibition Seasonal Palette. This exhibit opened at IQF in 2012 and still has one more contracted venue after Taiwan at the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan. No, I don't have work in this exhibition. I did enter, just wasn't juried in, sigh. However, I am fortunate enough to be in two of SAQA's exhibitions that open in 2016. The first is My Corner of the World, that along with its companion exhibition My Corner of the World - Canada opens at the Stratford Perth Museum in Stratford, Ontario on May 21, 2016. Both exhibitions have the same theme. The first was open to all SAQA members (over 3,400 from around the world) and the latter was open only to Canadian members. I also had a piece selected for SAQA's exhibition Tranquility, that will open at IQF - Houston in October 2016. 

I am one of SAQA's many, many volunteers that make the organization the powerhouse that it is. In February of 2015 I took on the role of SAQA Exhibition Committee Chair. This has me managing a committee of 17 incredible volunteers, staff and Board members who are the backbone of SAQA exhibitions. A question we get asked is why should I enter a SAQA exhibition if it means that if I am accepted my work will be unavailable to me for 2, 3 even 4 years? My response, "For a $40 entry fee your work could tour the world and you don't have to handle any of the travel arrangements or paperwork. What a bargain! What a CV builder." 

Adoration is one of 26 art quilts selected for SAQA's
exhibition, Tranquility. It opens at IQF - Houston
in October 2016.

Why do I take on this responsibility, which frankly is a major time drain, time that I could be spending in my studio? It is because I feel so grateful to everyone that has come before me and will come after me that have done the hard work while I reap the benefits. This is my way of paying it forward.

This week the Exhibition Committee required more of my time than some other weeks. I did a bit of this and a bit of that, just not as much as I might have wished to do. I made progress, as you can see:

1)  Finish Reflection #2  - Attach the label - Done!

2) Work on Sunrise Abstraction - Done!

I continued to free motion quilt the water section of the piece. I had hoped to finish the quilting phase this week. It just wasn't meant to be.

3) Free motion quilting practice - Done!

There is nothing like having a large quilt requiring quilting to keep my free motion quilting muscle memory trained.

4) Do some surface design work - Done!

If you follow my blog than you know, Lola, my studio
cat. This is an example of what happens when I start
with a photo and run it through multiple iPad apps, that
simplify, morph, change the palette and allow for text.

Technically this was a break week during my Art on the iPad class. However, we were encourage to develop a comfort level with the two apps introduced last week, by spending an hour a day playing. I didn't manage to work on the iPad daily, but I did have fun metamorphosizing doodles and photos to a point where they became a brand new image.

5) Beware of when I find myself shutting down and find a way to stay open - Done!

Sometimes my opinion is solicited about a new direction or project that SAQA Exhibitions might want to explore. It is so easy to see why these ideas may not work (finances, sell to the membership and more). I have to remind myself to stay open and not close down an idea just because the pitfalls are obvious. Instead I have learned to stay open to the possibilities and work collaboratively to overcome the hurdles. Such was the case this week. A new concept has been raised. I agreed to consider it. I didn't reject it outright, tempting as it was. What will happen? Who knows? At least I remained open.

I am ready to put the pedal to metal on my George and finish up the free motion quilting on Sunrise Abstraction. I am eager to get to the finishing stage, when the quilt is blocked and trimmed and faced. This is when the piece comes alive for me. Hopefully, my impatience will drive me into the studio so that I can attend to the following next week:

1) Work on Sunrise Abstraction

2) Free motion quilting practice

3) Do some surface design work


4) Beware of when I find myself shutting down and find a way to stay open


I am now linking up to two blogs on Fridays. The first is Nina Marie's Off the Wall Fridays and the second is Free Motion Mavericks.