Exhibition of 12 x 12s and other art quilts: Submit Soon!

Once again, we have been invited to exhibit our SAQA auction 12x12s prior to sending them to SAQA.  In addition, at one of the exhibitions, there will be space for additional pieces.  Please read Cindy B's information below and don't miss this great opportunity.

Are you working on your 12x12 SAQA auction pieces? For all the first-timers, these are to be 12x12 pieces (that's inches!) on any theme you choose. These are small, comparatively fast and easy! You may make ONE piece destined for the auction. This piece, if gotten to Cindy Brendzel by Feb 10, 2020, will exhibit for the entire month of March at the Shirley Stiles Gallery in Westwood, MO. In the past, we’ve exhibited there in February. We were given an option to change our month to a longer one! (every extra exposure day is good, right?) J We grabbed it to give more exposure for our region members. IF there is room and you make a 12x12 NOT intended for auction, we may include it in the exhibit as either a display piece only OR as a ‘for sale’ piece. All pieces must have labels AND 2” wide sleeves which are set in ½” from edges and from top. Ideally, your 2nd piece, if you choose to provide one, has not been exhibited here before.

Please note that this year, the 12x12's will be managed by Cindy Brendzel and her TBD assistant. Please contact her if you wish to help or have any questions. Her email is cbren588@gmail.com and her address is 10408 Grant Lane, Overland Park, KS 66212. Deadline is Feb 10. Earlier is better! IF you are local, you may also bring your 12x12(s) to the region meeting being held at her house Feb. 15.

When you ship/turn in your piece to Cindy B., PLEASE be sure to INCLUDE:

a) brief artist statement about the piece for gallery book
b) short bio for gallery book including contact info
c) title of piece
d) NSF or sale price
e) is it intended for auction when exhibits are done? Y/N
f) $1.50 for shipping IF your piece is intended for auction
g) return postage IF you are wanting the piece returned if not sold OR only intended for exhibition purposes
h) don't forget to provide 2" sleeve per instructions - hanging devices will be provided



These same 12x12 pieces will be on exhibit again for the month of May at the InterUrban Art House (IUAH) in Overland Park, KS. A NEW exhibit space for us!

In addition, the fabulous 50+ piece SAQA travelling trunk show will be on exhibit there at the same time with our 12x12 pieces. Our job is to FILL THE REMAINING GALLERY SPACE! That might be a challenge: it’s a good sized space so we need lots ‘o pieces. Per IUAH: "The price point is $150 and under for 12x12 pieces, BUT you can price larger pieces as you desire". The ArtHouse will take a very modest 30% commission. These pieces will hang towards the end of April with a reception on the 15th of May (usual 3rd Friday event). All pieces MUST have labels and sleeves: 1/2” from quilt edges top and bottom. Sleeves are 4” wide for the larger pieces. 12x12’s should have 2” wide sleeves to accommodate our slats. On these larger pieces, PLEASE LET ME KNOW ASAP your intention on providing a piece for sale for this portion of the exhibit. These pieces should be original works. If we are lucky enough to get swamped with works, IUAH reserves the right to curate pieces. We'll be accepting delivery in early April. Again, additional info will be in newsletter out late Jan/early Feb.

Regional Meeting Notes, November 2019

Happy New Year everyone.

It was almost 2 months ago that we got together at Marnie’s and seems like it was so much longer.  I’m glad the Holiday Season is over, what about you?

Marnie Clawson was such a good host  and if you missed this you missed a lot. First of all, her studio is to die for especially to someone like me that is grateful to have a small spare bedroom as a studio.  She did a trunk show for us.  She talked about her various processes and she had an indigo pot for us to dip things into. While we were busy with all that her husband was pressing grapes from their vineyard for this year’s vintage AND she sent everyone home with a jar of homemade grape jelly.  It was a fun day. 

We also took the time for a brief “business” meeting. Here is what was discussed…

The Cindy’s shared their efforts to try and convince  SAQA HQ to have the 2023 conference in KC.  Time will tell how this plays out. 

The Cindy’s are also scheduled to give their SAQA presentation in Columbia, MO at Booneslick Trail Quilt Guild on April 6^th, 2020. Hopefully, some Missouri SAQA members can attend.

We reminded those in attendance of the upcoming opportunities for the 12x12 auction quilts. We have been asked back again this year for a Small Works exhibit at the Shirley Stiles Gallery in Westwood, Kansas for the month of March.  In May the auction quilts will be shown along with a SAQA Trunk Show and other larger pieces our members create for sale at the InterUrban Art House in Overland Park, Kansas. 

There was a discussion about the tasks and responsibilities of a Regional Rep.  The Cindy’s will be stepping down after the May meeting to give someone else a chance to play a greater role in this wonderful organization.  If you are thinking about volunteering to take over we encourage you to check out the SAQA website and read through some of the info in the representative pages.  You can get an idea of what’s involved.  I can speak for both of us that it has been a very positive experience.

We all brought a bag lunch but one of Marnie’s friends supplied several homemade pies for dessert from her friends’ pie shop to-be.  Apparently we were testers for the bakery she will be opening in town soon.  The pies got rave reviews. 

Of course, we had our Show and Share.  Many of us brought our finished pieces from the Jo Alberda workshop.  It’s always fun to see the different varieties we can make from the same project. 

Regional Meeting Notes: May 18, 2019

Studio Art Quilt Associates

Minutes for May 18, 2019 at the Johnson County Central Resource  Library, Overland Park, Kansas

We started with a quick round of welcomes and introductions. There were 18 attendees, including one guest.

We gave a big congratulations to all members who were accepted into our upcoming de.light/FULL regional exhibit.  There are 31 works from 20 artists. The show premiers at the Leedy-Voulkus Art Center in Kansas City, MO on July 12^th 2019 and continues until August 31, 2019.  There will be a closing reception on August 31^st as well. 

Also, a big ‘thank you’ to May Kay Fosnacht (KCity), Shannon Conley (Moore, OK) and Karen Hansen (KCity) for their work on the promotional postcard and Gallery/Artist Bio book. Our exhibit is well represented by their hard work. 

We briefly talked about the SAQA booth at the upcoming Kansas City Regional Quilt Festival.  We need a couple more volunteers to step up and help by sitting with the booth during the show.  Please click https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0949a9a82eaaf58-saqa to sign up. 

Cindy P mentioned the Spring Quilt Market is wrapping up this weekend here in Kansas City.  It was a chance for some to see it live and in person by volunteering to help.  Thanks to those that did.

Cindy B gave a quick update on the ‘Variations on a Theme’ workshop scheduled for August 17th with Joanne Alberda.  Online registration and payment of fees will be through the SAQA Store and plans are that the site will be live by the end of the week.

Cindy B, Cindy P and Kathy Suprenaut (Lawrence KS) shared their experiences of the SAQA Annual Conference – ‘Threads of Innovation’ held in San Jose, California.  We were very impressed by the workshop that talked about incorporating drawing app technology into art quilting; another on how to use Instagram to develop your brand as an artist; and yet another that presented art quilting as a bridge for disadvantaged teens to engage in social justice issues.  Wow, who knew? 

Cindy P and Kathy Suprenaut gave the group a small taste of the conference by re-enacting their prepared ‘Lightning Talks’ at the meeting. Kathy’s talked was on her art quilt series titled “What did Ming Miss?” and Cindy P’s was “Creating Your Day” or how to say NO and to prioritize your art.  Everyone really enjoyed them. 

A member of the new St Louis pod, Candyce Grisham, joined us and gave a quick over view of their group and upcoming activities. 

Andrea Luliak (Oklahoma) was our ‘Member Spotlight’ speaker.  She proved what we already knew – she is multi-talented, and endlessly curious when it comes to quilting techniques and the use of color and textures.   During the course of her presentation we saw her full range.  She showed us samples of her earliest work including fabric pieces so small it’s hard to imagine handling them let alone hand-stitching them. She also had hand made dolls and art quilts that incorporated many different surface design techniques. She is certainly an asset to our group. 

We ended with a show and share and a door prize won  by Charlene Van Walleghen. Yay, Charlene! 

Correction! Next Meeting Date

Hi All,

The minutes from the last meeting incorrectly listed the date of the next meeting.  The next meeting will be May 18th at 12:00 at the Central Resource library’s Logan Room.

Thanks!

Regional Meeting Report March 2, 2019

March 2, 2019, Oak Park Public Library, Overland Park, KS

We started with introductions, as usual. There were 18 people in attendance. We started with Cindy P talking about the exhibit of 12x12 Auction quilts that had just been taken down from the Styles Gallery in Westwood, Kansas. There were 30 quilts in the exhibit and it was an excellent representation of what the region is doing. The exhibit was well received and they have already asked back again next year. Cindy P has been trying to find another venue for an exhibit before the quilts are due at the SAQA headquarters for the online auction. Only those quilts intended for the auction will go to global in NM. If you requested your quilt be returned, you can expect to see it after the end of the Kansas City Regional Quilt Festival where they will be last exhibited.

There was a discussion about whether or not we wanted the SAQA booth at the Kansas City Regional Quilt Festival, at the Overland Park Convention Center June 13-15. The question was - does the group want it there, and are there enough volunteers to manage the booth for the 3 days of the Festival. And we need to check with the Festival to see if there is still time to get the okay from SAQA and the Festival coordinators. Nine volunteers stepped up and Cindy P said she would follow up with SAQA and the Festival.

UPDATE: It’s a go. The booth will be at the Festival and Michele Dondell is heading up the project. It is likely that an online signup sheet will be in your inbox as time nears. PLEASE be sure to help your region out and sign up for a couple of hours at the booth.

Cindy B presented Regional Financial Report. With the speaker’s fees the Cindys earned for the region in 2018 we started the year with $1,293.98 in our account. We announced plans for upcoming meetings: in May Andrea Luliak is scheduled for a Spotlight presentation. In August we have arranged for JoAnn Alberda, a SAQA member based in Iowa, to give a full day workshop titled “Variation on a Theme” on August 17. More details will be available soon. The workshop is perfect for art quilters, but also for the traditional quilter willing to move out of a comfort zone. The class will be offered to SAQA members first. If it does not fill, it will be opened up to non-SAQA members.

There was a brief discussion on the “de.light/FULL” juried show. The SAQA Call for Entry closed on February 28th . Forty six quilts were submitted. The jurying process is just starting and all artists should except to be notified by April 15. The exhibit is scheduled to open July 12th at the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center in Kansas City, Mo. Next it will be at the Modella Art Gallery in Stillwater, Oklahoma in November-December 2019. In 2020 the exhibit is expected to be shown scheduled at The Quilter’s Hall of Fame in Marion, Indiana and lastly in St. Joseph, Missouri at the Albrecht-
Kemper Museum of Art. Don’t forget Modella is asking for mini-workshops/demos during
the exhibit. They are also asking for hand-crafted items to sell. You need to contact them directly to check on their interest in your particular items.

SAQA is looking for a conference venue for 2022 and there was a discussion on what it would mean to our region and should we lobby for it. We did our usual much enjoyed round of ‘Show and Share”
After a break we introduced a collage project. Everyone was given an identical packet of color prints, a word cut out of a magazine and a colored paper to use as a background. Using scissors and a glue stick we were to create collage in 25 minutes. After the collage was finished we shared our piece with the group and talked about the process. We did these three times. It was inspiring to see how different each of us approached the exercise and everyone was surprised by the finished pieces. The Cindys set a challenge to everyone to use one of the collages as inspiration for a finished quilt by the May meeting. Any size, any theme. It was fun!

Next meeting: May 18th at 12:00 at the Central Resource library’s Logan Room I hope you can join us. Denise Andrew won the door prize.

Meeting Report- November 17, 2018

Studio Art Quilt Associates
Meeting Minutes for November 17, 2018, Overland Park, KS at the
Lackman Library, Lenexa, Kansas

The meeting started with a welcome and introductions all around. Ten members attended including one new member Michele Dowdell. Andrea Luliack’s was acknowledged for a 3-hour drive from Oklahoma to get to a meeting. She is a valued regular member! The Cindys gave an update on their four SAQA regional fund raiser presentations in Edmond, OK, North Kansas City and Lawrence, KS. The presentations went well and they were greeted with appreciative audiences. After each of our presentations, several attendees expressed interest in SAQA and thanked us for the information.

Since the last quarterly meeting the Cindys also had the opportunity to visit Stillwater, OK to meet the Director of the Modella Gallery. Modella will be exhibiting our De.light/FULL show November 7th – December 14th, 2019. In addition to the show they are very interested in having small quilted
pieces to sell in the gallery while the show is on display. If you are interested in sending items for sale PLEASE CONTACT Valeria Zayat-Bloodgood at vzb2@yahoo.com directly and cc the Cindys. Let Valerie know your connection to SAQA and the show and what you have to offer for sale. You do not have to have a piece in the show to sell small items. She knows what her audience is interested in, and she may ask for digital images.

The Cindys are talking with two well-known textile artists about the possibility of coming to our region for a workshop in 2019, Deb Boschert (deborahsstudio.com) and Joanna Alberta (joannealberda.com). You may want to visit their websites.

This year’s 12x12 SAQA Auction Quilts are due mid-January. We are finalizing the galleries for exhibit before sending to SAQA. Contact the Cindys with any questions. idyllways@aol.com and/or
cbren588@gmail.com. The Cindys brought the SAQA Trunk Show they’ve been using in their presentations to our regional guilds. It is made up of 58 original quilts from members all around the world. In addition to the fun of seeing all these inspirational pieces we decided to use them in a mini jurying exercise. First we divided the trunk show into two random piles and attendees into two
groups. Then we informed them that they are jurying a quilt show and they have to pick the ‘Best in Show’. It was a blind jurying process, that is, they could not turn the quilts over to find out who made them. After 20 minutes they switched and did the same for the other quilt pile. There were some
spectacular quilts, both in technique and content and they had a tough decision to make. The question is: did both groups select the same quilts as Best in Show, and what does this mini exercise say about the quilt jurying process? Answer: No, they didn’t, and it says a lot about the judge’s expertise, personal preferences, favorite color, time of day, etc. We had a good discussion.

Then, what else? Show and Share!

Winner of the door prize was Karen Hansen.

The next meeting is scheduled for February 16, 2019, 11 am in the Pickard Room at the Central Resource Library, 9875 W 87th St, Overland Park, KS 66212.

SAQA KS/MO/OK Regional: May 19, 2018 Meeting Notes.

The meeting starting with introductions. There were 15 attending including 4 guests.
One of the guests, Merete Veian is a SAQA member all the way from Norway. She has
been visiting the US for a couple of weeks and we were lucky to have her join us.
Cindy P and Cindy B shared their impressions of the SAQA Annual Conference in April
in San Antonio, Texas. The first two days were devoted to Representative activities and
workshops. It was an opportunity to network with other reps and share their successes
and lessons learned. The conference was packed with speakers, Breakout Sessions
and a favorite – Lighting Talks, 16 fast and focused presentations, each only 6 minutes
long, and on a wide range of topics. If you get an opportunity to go to next year’s
conference, take it. Everyone is very welcoming and friendly and it’s in San Jose,
California!

Cindy B announced an Oklahoma venue has agreed to show our 2019 exhibit
‘de.light/Full’. Modella Gallery in Stillwater, Oklahoma has confirmed the dates of
November 7 – December 14, 2019. As a reminder: de.light/Full premiers July 12, 2019
at the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center in Kansas City, Missouri. It will then travel to the
Modellla Art Gallery, in Stillwater, Oklahoma. It is also scheduled at the Albrecht-
Kemper Museum of Art, in St Joseph, Missouri June 13 – September 13, 2020.
We have approached two venues in Indiana. Stay tuned.

Cindy B talked briefly about transitioning the next Regional Reps. It’s not too early to
consider stepping up and playing a bigger role in our activities and/or planning on
becoming the next Regional Rep(s). If interested, you are welcome to shadow us at
any time. We generally meet for at a Panera once a month to talk over what we want to
do and split up the tasks going forward. Most of the behind the scenes work is done
with email.

Linda Frost gave a ‘Member Spotlight’ presentation. Her transition from her earlier art
quilt experience to her current work is truly inspiring. Everyone commented on her color
choices and use of hand stitching to enhance each piece. (Can you add to this?)

The group shared “Show and Tell” and a couple volunteered to have their piece
critiqued by the group.

Our door prize went to Jane Bonachi. Next meeting will be on August 18 th .