Hallo, everyone, from your new Oregon co-reps, Leotie Richards in Sisters, and Elizabeth Bamberger in Portland. We are very excited to have the opportunity to work with you all on helping to continue SAQA Oregon’s role as a vibrant organization that provides artistic and networking opportunities. Welcome to the first of our planned quarterly newsletters to keep you all up to date with Oregon SAQA news and what the three parlor groups – Central Oregon, Portland and Valley-South – are doing. If there are major announcements about special events or opportunities, we will send separate emails to make sure you don’t miss anything. Jean Wells and Betty Daggett are now officially retired as Oregon co-reps, but are still spearheading the upcoming Oregon SAQA conference, and have been wonderful mentors for us as we figure out our tasks and responsibilities. Former rep Georgia French has also provided very valuable guidance. A big “Thank You” to all three.
SAVE THE DATE! On March 6, 2014 the first Oregon SAQA Conference will be held in Newberg. We are working hard on setting this up, and a notice with all the details will be going out to you very soon. The conference will also mark the debut of the “Exploring Layers” exhibit; we received a grand total of 64 pieces from 43 artists, and they will all be in the hands of our juror soon.
The three parlor groups all meet regularly and are very active; they provide great opportunities for networking with fellow artists, learning new skills, and being involved in special projects. We understand that some of you prefer to work independently and don’t feel the need to participate in local meetings, but we want to be sure that everyone is aware of the groups and how to contact them if you wish:
Central Oregon: meets from 2 to 4 p.m. on the third Friday of each month at The Stitchin’ Post, 311 W Cascade St (Hwy 20/126) in Sisters, OR. Contact Leotie Richards at lotidesignworks@gmail.com.
Portland: meets from 10 a.m. to midday on the third Wednesday of each month (tentatively the fourth Wednesday starting in February, 2014) at members’ houses. Contact Elizabeth Bamberger at elizabethbamberger@gmail.com.
Valley-South: meets from 2 to 4 p.m. on the third Friday of each month, at various locations in Eugene. Contact Georgia French at gfrench@rosenet.net.
Here’s the latest news from each of the groups:
CENTRAL OREGON. In September the Central Oregon SAQA parlor group met for dinner before attending a talk given by guest teacher and speaker, Patti Hawkins at the Five Pine Lodge. Twenty four members showed up for dinner and had a good time meeting new people and checking in with old friends.
In October we had an open group discussion about formulating artistic goals for 2014. Members had lots of great ideas to share about how to make the best personal choices for entering exhibits and participating in challenges, as well as how find direction in the creation of their art quilts.
In November we're all going to fabricate 7" x 10" art quilts for the SAQA Anniversary Trunk show. We're going to pin up all of the small quilts on the wall anonymously and practice our critiquing skills. Leotie Richards is going to present an overview of various grant opportunities for art quilters and we'll also talk about the New Horizons conference taking place in Newberg Oregon, March 6th in 2014.
We're taking the month of December off, but will be preparing our lists of goals for 2014 to share in the January, 2014 meeting. Leotie Richards will be sending out an online survey during December, to query members about preferences for the content for meeting in 2014.
PORTLAND. This year, the Portland group has focused on developing the professional skills we need as artists and making the most of exciting new resources available to us. In recent months, Steve Kaplan gave a presentation on downsizing digital photographs of quilts and preparing them for show entry; Gerrie Congdon and Terry Grant gave presentations on developing and using websites and blogs in ways that increase our professional opportunities; and in October we addressed the unpopular but important question of writing artist statements. We will follow up on this at the November meeting: each member will bring two artist statements for critique - one that introduces the artist, the other designed to accompany a specific piece of art, which will also be brought to the meeting. We will also start making plans for 2014. Upcoming plans include a December potluck lunch and social; and a January visit to the Portland Art Museum for a private docent-led visit to the Contemporary Northwest Art Awards exhibit. Also, two of our members, Diane Born and Chris Brown, will be helping SAQA develop plans for the exciting 2015 national SAQA conference “Fiberlandia”, to be held right here in Portland! More on that in coming months.
VALLEY-SOUTH. Valley-South is growing strong! We are celebrating the successful SAQA Showcase Passion Forward, which was part of Quilt County and hung at the MU Concourse Gallery at OSU in Corvallis. We're already thinking about a return visit.... Also in the works, a possible showcase at a venue in Eugene --- details to follow when we nail it down.
At our recent meeting we decided to focus this next year on art --- the elements and principles. We will continue to have constructive critiques at our meetings, as well as conversations about ART and how to look at it, understand it, make it. We're also thinking about trying some "virtual jurying" and maybe a "virtual exhibit" for our Yahoo Group. Our attendance goes up with each meeting --- remember, you are also welcome to bring a guest who might be interested in SAQA.
That’s all for now. Keep on making art!
Elizabeth Bamberger
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