Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Membership in SAQA

A cheque arrived in the mail last week, and once again I am reminded of the many benefits of belonging to SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates).

A couple of years ago I made a small (10" x 7") cityscape intended as part of a SAQA Trunk Show. This collection travelled all over the world, introducing many people to "art quilting".

View from the High Line, Heather Dubreuil

When it came time to retire the collection, many of the items were made available for sale, and I was delighted that View from the High Line found a buyer, Cindy Grisdela. Cindy is an artist whose work I admire very much (great colour sense, distinctive rectilinear compositions). She is a published author, and also contributes articles to the quarterly SAQA Journal. I have connected with Cindy a few times at annual SAQA conferences.


Cornflower Blues, Cindy Grisdela

Already I have touched on some of the many benefits of membership in SAQA: the opportunity to show and sell one's work, two quarterly magazines, and annual conferences. Did I mention that one of my pieces will be included in an upcoming SAQA publication? The book is tentatively titled "Art Quilt Retrospective: Fifty Years of Innovation", and I am honoured that Camden Town #2 will be featured in it.


Camden Town #2, Heather Dubreuil

Some of the other aspects of SAQA membership that I value are the Yahoo chat group, the list of international calls for entry, and the opportunity to connect with other members, both at conferences and at regional meetings. A mentorship program is also available, as are many on-line resources.

The Central Canada region of SAQA has a new representative, Maggie Vanderweit, who has planned a series of small group meetings in various locales throughout Ontario and Quebec. A meeting for the Ottawa-Montreal area is tentatively scheduled for late May, and I have offered to host. 

Maggie is enthusiastic about sparking more activity at the local level so, if you live in Central Canada and you think that SAQA might be helpful to you, I encourage you to go to the website. There is still lots of time to join!

1 comment:

Margaret said...

I'm not in the least surprised your piece found a new home, Heather! :-) Congratulations -- and good for you for hosting a SAQA group meeting. Perhaps a "POD" will come out of it...makes this former Western Canada Co-Rep's heart glad. :-)