Celebrating Yvonne Porcella

Yvonne Porcella, founder of SAQA, died on February 12, 2016.

Ms Porcella was a pioneer and legend in the art quilt world, an inspiration to many. She had a vision, to create a network of quilt artists who would pool their resources in order to support and expand the reach of quilt art. She turned her vision into reality when in 1989, 50 U.S. artists united to form Studio Art Quilt Associates. SAQA has since grown to include over 3500 members from around the world.


If you aren't familiar with Yvonne Porcella's vibrant artwork, take 10 minutes to view Bold Strokes, a retrospective of her creations.




Ms Porcella was keynote speaker at the 25th Anniversary SAQA conference. Her 45-minute address, History of the Development of the Art Quilt Movement: Early Exhibits and Studio Art Quilt Associates, will be of interest to all artists who work in textiles.  



To honour her legacy and to continue her vision, SAQA has established the Yvonne Porcella Memorial Fund for Regional Development.

Yvonne Porcella's vision and energy will be missed by many but will live on in the work of SAQA and its members.

Spotlight Auction 4

Have a look at Holly McLean's contribution to the 2016 SAQA Spotlight Auction! With other tiny quilts from around the world, Holly's quilt will be auctioned off at this year's SAQA Conference, raising funds for SAQA's exhibition programs.

Leaves Under Ice by Holly McLean, 2016

Leaves Under Ice, by Holly McLean, Bathurst NB  

Last fall, when leaves were plentiful on the ground, I gathered a few and used them in a printing session. When looking through my collection of prints for a piece to submit, I noticed a turquoise one that reminded me of cool winter colours reflected in ice and snow. I thought the leaves looked like they floated down to the water and were caught in the winter freeze.

You can follow Holly McLean's blog to learn more about her work.

SAQA Sighting! Susan Brubaker Knapp, Mooresville, North Carolina

Recently I had the pleasure of taking a class from fellow SAQA member, Susan Brubaker Knapp. Thelma and Louise (aka Nancy Elaschuk and I) loaded up the car and followed the long and winding road to the Vermont Quilt Festival from our little hometown in New Brunswick. At the Festival we saw beautiful displays, took some excellent classes, met some lovely people and were generally astounded by the generosity of a local Janome dealer, Mr. David LaValley who awards a brand new sewing machine to each new youth entrant, every year! Totally off topic, but well worth mentioning, we also had the absolute pleasure of eating the best crab cakes ever created at Pauline’s, a cafe in South Burlington, Vermont. 

Meeting Susan of Quilting Arts fame was a delightful experience and I was pleased that she displayed a selection of SAQA brochures on her work table during our class. During our afternoon session, she also gave a brief introduction to SAQA with reference to myself, Nancy and another class participant who was also a SAQA member.

Susan also graciously posed for a photo with me for posterity and proof that we did indeed meet.

SAQA Membership Drive!

REMINDERS: Membership Drive NEW!!!  Cherrywood Fabrics and MistyFuse are providing special gifts for new SAQA members -- while supplies last! SAQA has a lot to offer art quilters and art quilt enthusiasts -- that's why you're a member.  Keep spreading the word about how SAQA provides real benefits for people interested in art quilts! HOW TO BE A STAR RECRUITER: When a new member signs up, they just list your name when asked "How did you hear about SAQA?" and you'll be added to the list of Star Recruiters.  Star Recruiters are eligible to choose a thank-you premium gift at the end of each quarter. Do you teach workshops? You can offer your student a discount on a membership for taking your class - just contact me for a special discount code. Do you go to guild meetings? Make a presentation with your work or the SAQA Trunk Show and encourage folks to join us.  Are you participating in exhibitions? Offer to talk about your work and spend 2 minutes introducing listeners to SAQA. They may never have heard of us or the great benefits we can offer.   YOU are our most important recruiter for new members!  Join the Star Recruiters by recruiting at least two new members before September 30th!

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