Guest comment: Cindy Grisdela on what it means to her being a member of SAQA

The recent newsletter to regional representatives included a comment by Cindy Grisdela on what it means to her being a member of SAQA. With Cindy's permission, I would like to share this comment on our blog here.

So, You Don't Get Anything Out of SAQA?

I've been reading the recent thread (on the Yahoo list) and trying to stay out of it. But I'm very concerned with the assertion from many that they "don't get anything" out of their SAQA membership.
This list alone is a valuable resource for anyone who chooses to use it to ask questions or get encouragement or support.

• If you donate a quilt to the SAQA auction, your name and website, if you have one, is up on the SAQA website along with your work for several months. 
• You have the opportunity to enter many SAQA shows--some juried and some not. 
• If you make a quilt for the SAQA trunk shows, your work travels all over the country, if not the world. 
• You have the opportunity to participate in yearly conferences that bring in speakers and offer workshops to advance your career and your art. 
• You may have the opportunity to participate in parlor meetings or other gatherings, and if there are none currently in your area, you can go on the SAQA website, search for members who live near you and start one. 
• The website is also a great resource for members and it is in the process of being upgraded. 
• The SAQA journal appears four times a year and always makes for interesting reading.

These are just the things that come immediately to mind. And all of them happen because of the membership dues we pay.

You only get out of any membership group what you put into it. We have many volunteers who put in countless hours to make sure the organization runs smoothly for the benefit of all of its members. If you don't like the way something is being done, step up and offer to help. I'm sure they can always use more volunteers.
I've recently joined a committee to help organize the next SAQA conference and I'm impressed with the drive and dedication of the others on this one committee. Their concern has always been the membership as a whole, not just one group or another.

My two cents--

Cindy Grisdela

The Region Europe/Middle East in Statistics

Do you know your SAQA region in numbers? 

This picture (taken from here) only shows the European part
of the region highlighted in green, SAQA boundaries are
not really those that you can find a map for on the internet.

The newest official count of SAQA members has brought the following results in terms of pure statistics:

The region Europe/Middle East has a total of 218 members.

1 from Finland (plus 1 who has Finland as 2^nd country)

1 from Iceland

1 from Saudi Arabia

2 from Ireland

2 from Norway

4 from Denmark

5 from Spain

5 from Sweden

8 from Czech Republic

10 from Belgium

10 from Italy

16 from France

16 from Israel

22 from Germany

23 from Switzerland

27 from Netherlands (plus 2 who have Netherlands as 2^nd country)

52 from United Kingdom

the remainder consists of US-members who have countries from our region as 2^nd countries.

Who wants to do the calculation as to which country has the highest percentage of SAQA members per capita? I would just guess it is a close tie between Iceland and Israel, but I might be mistaken...

Our regional newsletter is usually sent out in four different languages - English, German, French, Italian. Sorry – we can’t do Dutch, or Hebrew, which would be the next two languages in terms of numbers of members!

And the 2013 Gallery continues.

SAQA Europe/Middle East member Hilde van Schaardenburg has also sent notice that her quilt "People" will also be sold at The IQF in Houston.

"People" by Hilde van Schaardenburg

Hilde will also have an exhibition at the OEQC in Veldhoven, from October 17 through 20, 2013.

After the auction...: A first glimpse at a Gallery already!

In response to the post "After the auction is before the auction" a few days ago Meta Heemskerk rightly pointed out that this year's SAQA Benefit Auction is not finished yet.
A selection of mini quilts that were donated very early will be sold at the International Quilt Festival in Houston later this month.
This is a picture of the quilt she donated:

"From Rembrandt to Mondrian"
Meta Heemskerk,
mini-quilt donated for SAQA Benefit Auction 2013,
to be sold at IQF Houston 2013

Meta wrote about the making of the quilt on her blog here and here.
Keep checking for the report of SAQA member Sandy Snowden, whose donation will also be part of the auction at Houston, which will appear before the auction.

The making of "Wide Horizons"

SAQA Europe/Middle East is as large region, with different sensibilities, and a mixed bag of cultures, landscapes, and languages - but with an interweaving of history and creative expressions in a large, rich and interesting diversity.

In 2006 Gül Laporte and Linda Colsh had the idea of a special SAQA Europe/Middle East show after seeing what SAQA was doing in Houston, and I applied to be the curator for the 1rst edition.

Finding a name for this show was a pleasant and puzzling task... and “Wide Horizons” is the perfect one.

A lot of details had to be decided on, and I had great fun doing it! My wish was to give every SAQA artist of the Region the possibility to enter a quilt; so there was going to be no size restriction, no prescribed theme: it just had to be new creative work respecting the SAQA rules of an art quilt, and fitting with the title of the show.

Then began the real work with the choice of the jury, the advertisements in Magazines, the reception of the cds, the computer work (at that time it had to be done by the curator) of writing the acceptance and the rejection letters by e-mail, being very careful to avoid any mistake... and finally the arrival of the quilts with opening the packages, and at last the hanging on the walls for Wide Horizons I at the Espace des Tisserands in September 2008.

As a the location, the Carrefour Européen du Patchwork in Sainte-Marie-aux Mines was absolutely perfect; and thanks to Christophe Crupi, Director of EPM at that time, we had a very strong support from the Carrefour’s Committee. SAQA Europe/Middle East is very grateful for this support, which has continued ever since. M. Crupi originally wanted Wide Horizons to be an exclusive exhibition of the Carrefour; but since Wide Horizons III – and thanks to Gül Laporte who found all the locations - the exhibit travels for one year through many important venues in Europe.

Whenn it all began, I wanted to be sure to have enough entries, so I took the time to write a personal e-mail to every SAQA European artist., As a result we had entries from 41 artists from 9 different countries, and 81 quilts to be juried. Not bad for a first try! The jury made a selection of 30 quilts and we added a quilt from each juror and from the curator to the show. This rule is still on.

To prepare Wide Horizons II for 2010 was much easier; and with the introduction of the SAQA online entries system, there was less paperwork to do. 58 artists from 11 countries registered 111 quilts. The jury again made a selection of 30 quilts.

Now we are waiting for Wide Horizons IV. Curator Alicia Merret is currently figuring out last details about the call for entry, and negotiating with the SAQA board whether a  catalogue will be published. This would be an interesting addition to the Wide Horizons spectrum. More details about this will be published in the general SAQA newsletter and on this blog in approximately two weeks. I hope many of you will participate and make the fourth round of Wide Horizons a great success.

Elisabeth Nacenta de la Croix

SAQA co-Rep Europe and Middle East

After the auction is before the auction...

SAQA's annual benefit auction of miniature quilts donated by members has just closed, and raised an impressive amount of ....for the organization. Thank you to all members who have donated, and especially to those who have done so repeatedly already.
I was impressed by SAQA Oceania's special effort at promoting the auction: the Oceania Collection Blog Hop, which was published over an extended period of time on their regional blog. SAQA Oceania is a region with fewer members than Europe/Middle East, yet they have shown an impressive presence at the auction by their number of donations.
Linda Robertus, a Dutch quilter who has moved to Australia, but is still a member of the region Europe/Middle East through her second region, participated in the SAQA Oceania blog hop. Her little quilt "Black and White no. 3" was sold during the first week of the auction.

See her featured on the Oceania blog hop here, and read more about the making of this quilt and the black and white series here.

Have you ever considered donating a mini quilt towards the auction? Then now is the time to start planning. Because on this blog we will be featuring for the first time

The Grand Gallery 

of Europe/Middle East's 

Contributions to the SAQA Benefit Auction. 

What do you have to do to be a part of this?

When making your quilt, take a few pictures of the process - inspiration, actual process of making, and the final piece, and keep a few notes. When you are finished and sending off your donation to SAQA, at the same time, send this little documentation to the blog's e-mail address given in the submission guidelines, and we will publish this report on the blog. Entries may include your personal website or blog address, so this will be great chance to show your work to a larger public. If you would like to participate, you can send a note ahead of time so we could arrive at an estimate of how many posts we will be having. But you can just send in your post as well, and we will post it as soon as possible.

Let's show a strong presence at and for next year's SAQA's Benefit Auction! Donate in large numbers!

SAQA meet and greet in Prague

April 4 - 6, 2014 is the date for the 8th International Prague Patchwork Meeting.

Jana Sterbova has agreed that SAQA will also get a meet and greet reception as has been established in Birmingham and Ste. Marie-aux-Mines. Exact date and time need to be set, but will be published on this blog, and in the newsletter for the region. Any SAQA member from all over the world who happens to be in Prague at that date is welcome to sign up, just send an e-mail to Uta or Elisabeth.
SAQA President Sandra Snyder has also agreed to come to Prague for a visit, and she will be attending the meet and greet as well. Come and meet the President, and the Europe/Middle East reps.  
Check back here for announcement of exact details.