Agenda for Portland Area Meeting, May 20

Here's the agenda for our May SAQA Portland meeting. Everyone is welcome! Please let me know if you would like to add an item. We will be meeting on Wednesday May 20th from 10 am to 1 pm at the Beaverton Library in Meeting Room B. Our program is member-driven this month, so please read carefully and come prepared.

BUSINESS.
- Welcome, introductions, new members.
- Debriefing from Fiberlandia: anyone who attended and would like to give feedback and perhaps give ideas for next time.
- Update on "Poetry in Motion" exhibit: Karen Spencer/Elizabeth Bamberger
- Looking for someone to take on/share a Co-Rep position starting in September 2015. Please give this some thought; yes, it means work (which can be shared), but it's also great fun, and a wonderful learning experience.
- Upcoming meetings: Program, Critique, Challenge committees as needed.

PROGRAM
Inspiration from books. What books have inspired you in your creative work? Everyone is encouraged to share your inspirational go-to book and bring a copy to show. How does this book inspire you? What specifically about this book inspired you when you need a boost? Everyone will have a few minutes to talk about their book (or books - bring several if you wish); after this the books will be placed on tables for everyone to see. The book does NOT have to be a quilt book. It can be about architecture, sculpting, one particular artist, a collection of photography, a design style such as bauhaus, or even comic books you read and love - well, you get the idea! Jan Story has kindly agreed to compile a list of the books presented, and will make handouts for the meeting. Please send her via email the book title, author, publisher and date of publication. If it is a textbook, please include the edition. Jan Story's email is: jansews327@qdot.com. Thanks, Jan!

SHOW AND TELL

We look forward to seeing you there!
Elizabeth Bamberger

News from Portland Area Group

Well, the National SAQA 2015 Conference, "Fiberlandia" is almost here; many of us will converge on Portland on Thursday, April 30th, for a terrific program of presentations, receptions and special events such as the Vendor Mall, Maker Space and local guided tours. We're looking forward to seeing many Oregon members there; if we haven't met yet, please do say Hallo if you see Leotie Richards or myself around at the conference; and of course we're hoping to reconnect with many of you we've already met. The Oregon Region members, I'm told, are especially enthusiastic and responsive about the conference - registration sold out really quickly. If you aren't able to make it, look for feedback on the conference we'll send out soon after the event.

So, what else is new? I hope many of you are working on pieces for our upcoming regional exhibit "Blending Poetry and Cloth". I think it's a really exciting theme, and we're looking forward to many outstanding entries. Online entry is from June 1st to June 30th 2015, so hurry! The complete Call for Entry and Prospectus are on our national website: SAQA.com.

The second Quilt!Knit!Stitch! show to take place in Portland is scheduled for August 13th to 15th at the Oregon Convention Center. Last year's show had some wonderful exhibits, including two by SAQA, and many very tempting vendors. Lots of classes to take also - registration is now open. Complete information and class signup can be found at www.quilts.com. As the time approaches, we'll be asking all you valiant volunteers to help us staff the SAQA booth - last year we had a lot of fun, sold a good number of books, and signed up over 20 new members for SAQA; so mark your calendars now!

In the Fall, we'll be continuing with planning for our next Oregon Region conference, to be held at the beautiful Willamette Heritage Center in Salem in September of 2016. We'll keep you updated as plans are made!

Meanwhile, our four local groups - Ashland, Central Oregon, Portland and Valley South, are all flourishing and meeting regularly; if you haven't attended any of the local meetings, I would strongly encourage you to visit a group and see what's happening; there's no extra charge to attend a local meeting once you have joined SAQA, you can visit any local group, and the local programs are a great way to meet art quilters in your area and share in the expertise of local members and visiting artists (not to mention showing your own work).

Keep on making art!

Warm regards,

Elizabeth Bamberger

News from Central Oregon SAQA

Many of us are headed for the Fiberlandia conference in Portland this week, including your upcoming NEW reps Jan Tetzlaff and Marion Shimoda. Thanks to Jan and Marion for graciously volunteering to lead the group. I think they will have fun with this if we all agree to help out where ever we can. Jan and Marion will start taking over the meetings in August of this year.

There will not be a meeting in May. The next meeting will take place June 18th, Thursday, 2-4pm at The Stitchin' Post. Tonye Phillips will show a selection of her work and talk about her fabrication and creative process. We’ll also hold the reveal for our Blending Poetry & Cloth quilts.

I am very near completion on my Blending Poetry and Cloth quilt. I hope many of you are also getting ready to submit your quilt photos at the SAQA website June 1st through the 30th.

Looking forward to seeing you in June!

Leotie Richards

Co-Rep SAQA Oregon

SAQA Oregon "Exploring Layers" at Pioneer Place, Portland

As you know, "Exploring Layers' will be having a glorious finale at the Air Gallery in Pioneer Place Mall in Portland from April 16 to May 16. It's a great opportunity for SAQA - a central and much-visited location, a beautiful gallery, we share opening and closing receptions with the other three art galleries on the 3rd floor of Pioneer Place - so we will have lots of visitors, roaming from one gallery to another - plus a special reception on Saturday May 2 (1 to 3 pm) , timed to coincide with the "Fiberlandia" conference.


Many of you have already signed up for shifts to host the gallery; thank you! but we still have a few shifts uncovered, and we really, really do not want to have to close the gallery for several hours at a time because we lack volunteer hosts. On behalf of Betty Daggett and Jean Wells, who have both been working really hard to set this up, I'm making a final appeal for people to sign up for these last few spaces. If you haven't signed up for a shift yet, we really do need you; if you have already signed up, please try to squeeze in one extra shift - it will be fun, and you'll be doing a real service to SAQA and to your fellow artists. 

Here is a list of the open shifts; please respond directly to Betty Daggett: Bdavis Daggett@gmail.com.

Thursday April 16, 12 noon to 3 pm - OPENING DAY!
Sunday April 26, 12 noon to 3 pm
Thursday May 14, noon to 3 pm
Thursday May 14, 3 to 6 pm
Friday May 15, 3 to 6 pm

We are so close; I know we can do this if everyone chips in. We'll look forward to hearing from you!

Let's make sure we also have a great crowd at the 3 (count 'em!) receptions:

Opening reception: Saturday April 18, 5 to 9 pm
Special SAQA reception: Saturday May 2, 1 to 3 pm
Closing reception: Saturday May 16, 5 to 9 pm