Lois Bowden - Planters’ Barracks, Port Williams, Nova Scotia

It is always interesting to learn a little more about our members and what else besides fibre art keeps them busy. Lois Bowden and her husband have recently renovated and opened a beautiful boutique Country Inn located in Port Williams, Nova Scotia. Their four and a half star historical Inn, nestled in the picturesque Annapolis Valley, is called Planters’ Barracks. Along with providing information about the Inn, the Barracks website offers a bit of history, beautiful photos, and some insight into the relaxing, laid back lifestyle available in the Annapolis Valley area.  

Member Profile - Kathy Tidswell, Burtt’s Corner, New Brunswick

A warm welcome to one of our newest SAQA Atlantic members, Kathy Tidswell!

In Kathy’s words:

I have been producing fibre art for almost 25 years and teaching  since 1993.  I consider my speciality to be free motion embroidery and I love creating appliqués totally from thread. Initially I took courses  from machine embroidery and quilting teachers as well as oil painting and water colour lessons. From these I developed my own methods of painting on fabric and using free motion embroidery to produce thread painted works of art. In addition to these thread paintings I also create original wall quilts and wearable art.  My love of nature inspires me to often feature flowers, trees, birds or animals.

 Spring -thread painting- painted white cotton with free motion embroidery. Chosen for Threadworks 2010: Trees and travelled throughout Ontario for 3 years.

                                             Majestica wall quilt chosen for 2008 CQA/ACC NJS

My pieces have been shown in many exhibitions and Juried shows across Canada and my Wearable Art has received two awards in Canadian Quilters’ Association National Juried shows.

I love teaching and sharing my methods.  There is nothing more satisfying then seeing a student “ fly” under your tutelage. I offer a broad range of courses and am always happy to travel to teach for guilds or groups. I have taught across Canada, at four Quilt Canada conferences, and made my European debut by teaching in Luxembourg in 2012 and 2013. In 2005  I received the Canadian Quilters’ Association/Association canadienne de la courtepointe Teacher of the Year Award.

Night Watch 

Painted silk cape featuring 3-d thread appliqué great horned owl. Shown at 2012 Canadian Quilters’ Association/CC 2012 National Juried Show.

To find out more and please visit my website www.kathytidswell.com

Current work - Heather Loney, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia

My daughter, Liz, & I visited Ireland in Sept / Oct 2013. After a rather rainy day (they seemed to have a lot of them there!) the sun poked out and the fields in the valley below us glistened in the sunlight. I overheard an Irish guide say, "Ireland is made of forty shades of green!” 

My quilt depicts the 32 'green' counties of Ireland, surrounded by photos of places we visited. The photos were printed on fabric and the Celtic-knot style dark green binding was sewn by hand. The remainder of the quilt is machine-stitched.

Although difficult to see in a photograph, there are tiny 'green' glass beads sewn on counties showing the location of each photo. The quilting in the water area is based on the neolithic stone carvings found a Bru na Boinne in County Meath.

By the time I had 

finished, I realized I had used 39 shades of green in either fabric, thread or bead choice ..... so I decided the name plate on the back needed a bit of green to bring the Ireland quilt up to it's "40 Shades of Green".

Attention SAQA Members! Email Issues

Studio Art Quilts Associates and SAQA.com have been asked by their webhosting firm to share the information below with those who may be having difficulty receiving the official SAQA Blog sent as requested to their email accounts, particularly Gmail accounts. Many users with Gmail accounts have reported that SAQA email's are being marked as spam.  In order to prevent this from happening, please add our emails to your contact list.  Examples: membership@saqa.com ; info@saqa.com ; shipping@saqa.com ;  website@saqa.com , etc. You can also add a filter to your account to never send SAQA emails to spam.   To create a filter, open your Gmail and select the "gear" symbol in the upper right corner. Select Settings and then Filters. In theFrom field, enter saqa.com and click create a new filter. On the next page, check the box that says "Never Send to Spam" and then save your settings. More Info >   These instructions can also be found on the Members FAQ’s section.

Proposals Accepted by the SAQA Special Events Committee - Deadline July 18, 2014

The SAQA Special Events Committee is accepting proposals for the following at the Fiberlandia Conference in Portland, Oregon:

Four Breakout Sessions (1.5 hours).  

The presenter will present the session twice on Friday, May 1, 2015, once in the morning, and once in the afternoon.

We would like to see proposals on a variety of topics, including the business of art, social media marketing, principles of design and composition, understanding the jury process, and other topics you think might be of interest to the SAQA membership. 

Your proposal should contain:

·         Title of the session

·         Short outline of your subject

·         Audio visual needs (if any)

·         Short Biography

Compensation is as follows:

·         $600 honorarium ($300 X2 session presentations)

·         Up to $500 travel allowance

·         Half a hotel room cost for 2 nights

·         25% discount on conference registration

Breakout Session proposals should be sent to Cindy Grisdela at cpgrisdela@gmail.com.

Two Post-Conference Workshops (4 hours). 

The workshops will be offered on Sunday, May 3, 2015, 1-5pm.

Workshops could be hands-on technique classes, critiques, photography, marketing, voice and other topics of interest to the SAQA membership. 

Your proposal should contain:

·         Title of the session

·         Short outline of your subject

·         Room requirements

·         Audio visual needs (if any)

·         Short Biography

·         Compensation requirements

Post-Conference Workshop proposals should be sent to Susanne Jones at b_lee_ver@verizon.net

General Information

We are on a very condensed timeline and the deadline to receive proposals is July 18, 2014. We plan to have the decisions made by mid-August. 

The location of the conference is DoubleTree by Hilton Portland, 1000 NE Multnomah St, Portland, OR 97232

The dates of the conference are April 30-May 3, 2015. 

Feel free to forward this message to people you think would make great presenters. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Susanne, Cindy or me.  

We look forward to seeing your submissions!

Regards,

SAQA Special Events Committee

-----

Deb Cashatt

Special Events Chair

Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc.

www.saqa.com
916.320.5058

SAQA Call for Entry - Wild Fabrications

Wild Fabrications

IQF: Houston, Texas
Calls for Entry

Wild Fabrications celebrates a world of animals both real and fantastical.  Let your imagination run wild as you create interesting and unusual interpretations of animals using unexpected or unconventional materials and adornment, and/or unusual techniques.

Embrace the double meaning of “fabrications”, which refers both to our medium and to the fact that the animals do not have to be real.  Artists should think outside the box and create works that push their limits.  Both abstract and representational work is sought.  

Dimensional work that hangs from the wall will be accepted into this show, provided it meets the criteria listed in this prospectus.  Freestanding work will not be considered for this exhibit.

Premiere Location:  
International Quilt Festival (Houston, Texas) – Oct. 2015

Juror: Geoffrey Gorman Curator: Jennifer Day

January 1, 2015    Online Entry Open
January 31, 2015  Online Entry Deadline at 11:59 pm EST

SAQA Members: See more details at SAQA Calls for Entry (login required)

Current Work - Lois Bowden, Port Williams, Nova Scotia

Sun print on silk with free motion quilting and hand stitching.

Photo printed on organza and cotton, hand dyed silks and cottons and free motion quilting 

Photoshopped photo of beach log with algae and layers of stitching and mark making