NorCA/NV SAQA

Regional Meeting Feb 26, 2022

Kathryn Pellman was a wonderful speaker. She took us through her journey as a quilt maker from the beginning to her current work which includes Word Salad and Fashionistas. Her largest pieces are Fashionistas that are 8’ tall! Her biggest challenge was to figure out how to hang them, you can see more of her work here: https://www.kathrynpellman.com

We talked about our Regional Exhibition is now with Joen Wolfrom, our juror. Acceptances will be sent out on March 8th.

Barbara Kibbe talked about the opportunity for members to make monochromatic ATC cards to sell at the Prism Play Exhibitions as an additional fundraiser for our region. They will be packaged in sets of 3,6 and 12.  More information will be coming soon.

Denise Oyama Miller and Nancy Ryan have an exhibition at Bay quilts for the month of March called Bloom. 

Nan Hallberg was introduced. She will be our regional newsletter editor! 

Regional Meeting November 13, 2021

We had our first in-person meeting in over a year at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles. Twenty eight members attended the meeting where learned about planned Prism Play opportunities, SAQA Booth at the upcoming Santa Clara Quilt Guild show in April, new call from entry from the Greater Sacramento/Foothills Local Connection, the next Art Quilts 2 venues, and the 2022 Virtual SAQA Conference. There a many ways to get involved and volunteer – Be sure to check Regional and SAQA newsletters for details.

Show and Tell

Our next meeting will be on Zoom Feb 26, 2022.

Regional Meeting August, 2021

Paula Kovarik spoke at our August zoom meeting which was opened up to members outside our region. Over 80 people attended and enjoyed her talk. Paula shared her transition from graphic artist to art quilter. Her art influences include artists and authors. We learned about her work and how it evolves with the process being as important as the product. Be sure to visit her website paulakovarik.com and view her posts on Instagram @yellowbrickstudio. Her new book At Play in the Garden of Stitch is available on Amazon.

Announcements

Next meeting November 13, 2021 – We hope to meet in person at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles. The topic will be photographing your own quilts.

Prism Play sign-ups are completed and the color cards have been sent out to the participants. Cara set up a facebook group for participants to share their processes.

On September 23, we will have a special event at SCRAP in San Francisco where we’ll have the opportunity to buy unusual fabrics to add to our art quilts.

Be sure to check the September newsletter for more details.

Show and Tell

Regional Meeting May 15, 2021

Our guest speaker was Dr. Leslie Whitby, a Canadian environmental scientist and negotiator, who played a role in key environmental solutions to these issues in Canadian and International circles, the last 20 years in the circumpolar Arctic. She shared her stories about her journey as a scientist and art quilter. We learned how she merged her passion and respect for the planet, the First Nation and her art.

Barbara Kibbie our Chair of Exhibitions shared information about an upcoming regional call for entry called Prism Play. This will be an exciting opportunity for members to explore color in a new way. Barbara requested that members send her an email with ideas for future regional exhibitions and give feedback about making exhibits more accessible to members, especially newbies.

Breakout Groups – We broke into small groups and discussed ideas for regional exhibits. Each group will send their notes to Barbara Kibbie.

Show and Tell

Next Meeting – Be sure to join us at our next regional meeting on August 21, 2021 at 11 am. Our guest speaker will be Paula Kovarik.

Regional Meeting February 20, 2021

We had a great Zoom meeting with over 160 members attending.

Betty Busby was our guest speaker. She presented her lecture, Expect the Unexpected, where she shared her sources of inspiration which often come from unusual places, including the old, the broken, the cast aside. She took us on a journey through some of her works from the initial spark to the completed piece. She shared many of her unique techniques and materials that she uses in her work, including some 3-D pieces.

Break-out groups – We broke into smaller groups and brainstormed fundraising ideas for our region. We recorded the ideas and sent them to Jean and Cara.

Show and Tell – Several members shared recent work. Here are some highlights.

Click on the image to see more detail.

Regional Meeting September 14, 2020

Our September Zoom meeting was well attended with 98 members and guests signed in. Our guest speakers Phyllis Cullen in Hawaii and Cindy Richard in Israel presented their lecture It’s All About the Face (& Figures & Hands & Feet).

They talked about their fabric portraits including many examples of different types, how they are made, tips on making and quilting them and the stories that they tell.  Their book It’s All About the Face is now available on Amazon. You can see more of Phyllis’s work on her website  phylliscullenartstudio.com and more about Cindy at cindyrquilts.com.

In our breakout session discussion question, we got to know a few members and guests in a smaller group as we discussed our favorite color palette. Several members shared some of their newer work in our Show and Tell session.

Regional Meeting August, 2020

Our Regional Exhibit, Stitching California, was the star of our regional meeting. Sixty-eight people attended with a number of guests, two from Kansas. Everyone was given a task during the breakout session to come up with a THEME for a regional virtual exhibit for the Pacific International Quilt Festival (PIQF) virtual show in October. Many wonderful, inspired topics were shared. As it turns out, after consulting with the PIQF people, we are going to be able to share with them the entire Stitching California exhibit, including artist statements and the Guide to Call feature.

Regional Meeting June 27, 2020

We had a full house last Saturday at our virtual regional meeting with 97 members attending! We had SAQA members from all over the US as well as Canada and England. Hollis Chatelain’s talk on the Emotion of Color in Art was lively and enlightening as was all the beautiful work done by members revealed in Show and Tell. We were able to visit with friends, old and new, in our breakout rooms.

What Tess Black wrote about their Monterey LC virtual meeting applies to all of us; “It was wonderful to see everyone, share stories, and enjoy our continuing journeys through this time in our lives when everything alive (including our earth!) is in process of such immense transformation. Sometimes I think it’s luckiest to be an artist during times like these. Our lives are sustained on all levels – physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually – by our ongoing curiosity and exploration of ways to express what’s most intimate and unique within each of us.”

Regional Meeting     February 1, 2020

The February Regional Meeting was held at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts. This program was open to the general public as well as SAQA members. We began with an Artist Talk, where artists from both the Art Quilt exhibit and the How Did They Do That? exhibit spoke of their work. After a lunch break we reconvened for some announcements. Catherine Devriese, Creative Director of the Sebastopol Center for the Arts, had a few opening words, after which Bill Yoes and Jen Landau spoke about being jurors of Art Quilts. They shared their experience and then answered a number of questions posed by members, shedding light on a process that can seem mystifying to those who enter exhibits.

Regional Meeting November 13, 2019

The November regional meeting was at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles. We had an interesting presentation by Nancy Williams of the Social Justice Sewing Academy (SJSA) share the organization’s mission of piecing together youth voices, textile art, and community in a 21^st Century Sewing Circle. 

We learned about the history of the organization, the current curriculum, and future plans. We saw two large quilts and a few smaller ones. The large quilts, shown below, take about 40-45 volunteers to complete. People from all over the world can work with the SJSA by embroidering and finishing the blocks created by the artivists. If you are interested in working with them or have questions contact them at sjsacademy.com

Regional Meeting Sept 20, 2019

Some highlights from our regional SAQA meeting at the Grace Hudson Museum in Ukiah. We listened to a great presentation by Katie Pasquini Masopust and had an opportunity to see the Stitching California exhibit.

Stitching California artists who attended the meeting each gave a short talk about their quilts. A few are shown below:

To learn more about Stitching California, be sure to see the blog post about the opening reception here.

Regional Meeting July 20, 2019

Our meeting at St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church in Walnut Creek was a big success.

Jen presented news about the Stitching California opening on August 20 in Ukaih. Our next regional meeting will be there as well. We saw many of the pieces for the exhibit during our Show and Tell.

Regional Meeting      February 19, 2019

Our first regional meeting of 2019 was held at the Carmichael Library.  

We unveiled our new Regional website, saqanorcalnv.com at the meeting.  A huge thank you to Priscilla Read who created it and will keep it updated.  As usual, we had an inspiring show and tell. 

Past Meetings