SAQA Tranquility and Turmoil Exhibitions

Congratulations to our regional quilters who had work selected for Tranquillity:

Jette Clover from Belgium - "River View"
Shoshi Rimer from Israel  - "Blossom by the Lake"
Maya Chaimovich from Israel - "A Window into Spaces"

and to

Claire Passmore from the UK - "Echoes of Demons" whose quilt was selected for Turmoil.

The odds of being selected were very low - Tranquillity had 26 quilts selected from 246 entries and Turmoil had 24 selected from 220, Really well done, Jette, Shoshi, Maya and Claire.

Here is Claire's quilt and her statement -

Echoes of Demons
25 ½ ” x 38”

Post-traumatic stress is suffered by millions, if not billions of people worldwide. It consumes the brain of those who have been profoundly affected by witnessing or experiencing great trauma. For them, what follows are turmoil, pain and torment. Whether asleep or awake, demons from the past are ever present, echoing on and on, tumbling around in the mind’s eye and hindering the sufferer from freely going about their daily life.

Overlapping tormented faces have been repeatedly screen printed onto whole cloth, emphasizing that suffering is unceasing; often dark and raging, at other times quieter, but ever present. These are the demons that need to be dealt with before recovery is made.

Materials: cotton fabric, synthetic voile, wool batting, water based screen printing ink, fibre reactive dye,  Markal Oil sticks, polyester, metallic and rayon thread and embroidery floss

Techniques: screen printed whole cloth, dyed, painted and partially covered with voile. Side panels are hand dyed, then overdyed with thickened dye. Heavily free motion quilted and embellished with hand stitch.

Claire Passmore February 7th 2016

Transitions – an exhibition by Etcetera

Etcetera is a group composed of seven nationally and internationally exhibited quilt and embroidery artists based in the North of England. Each member of the group has produced a series of works inspired by the word ‘transition’. Their personal interpretation of the theme ranges from the socio-political to the more physical explorations of how stitch transforms cloth.

The exhibition is on at the Ryedale Folk Museum until the 8th of May  -http://www.ryedalefolkmuseum.co.uk/

Linda Bilsborrow is driven by colour and the interaction of shapes. She enjoys the process of combining traditional techniques with surface design and machine quilting. Her Lifeline series deals with the transitions between different life stages – the phases of our lives that we all go through but cannot really see until we look backwards.

Julie Bunter creates textile art that explores the potential of hand stitch and reflects her fascination with the manipulation of materials. Her Transition work is an investigation of the making process: the accumulation of marks and stitches and the transformations that occur as a line of thread becomes stitch, pattern, structure and language.

Helen Conway has produced a body of work that explores the process of transition as experienced by immigrants, particularly in the Brick Lane area of London. Graffiti marks observed there are used to symbolize both the changing nature of inner city spaces and the experiences migrants have in transiting from one language and culture to another.

Leah Higgins has drawn her inspirations from man-made structures and constructs. Her Transition pieces, influenced by visits to Shanghai, seeks to explore the differences between the new public face of China and the government control and restrictions that still thread through every aspect of life.

Isobel Holland explores the question ‘quilts are stationary, safe and hopefully beautiful, but what if a quilt can transform into something else?’ In her Transition pieces she has created a series of work that incorporates an element of change and challenges traditional perceptions.

Magie Relph is heavily influenced by her travels in Africa: the movement of peoples and objects across vast distances and the changes that take place along the way.

Sandra Wyman has created a series of pieces that are autobiographical and represent a time of personal transition and self discovery.

Helen, Sandra and Leah are SAQA members. Report by Leah - thanks.

Maggi Birchenough

We had some very sad news today - Maggi, who has been very ill for almost a year, passed away this morning. She was able to stay at home until the end near to her relations which was her wish.

Thanks for all the work you did for SAQA and especially for our region.

Maggi's quilt which is part of the permanent collection of the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky,

Rest in peace, Maggi 

Don't forget to enter your piece for Wide Horizons!

As you all know, this month is the time to enter your piece for this year's Wide Horizons exhibition, exclusively for Europe/Middle East members of SAQA. If you haven't entered yet, you still have time to do so until the 31st of this month of March. Here is the link:

http://www.saqa.com/calendar-detail.php?ID=4692

Be part of this wonderful exhibition, which will open in September in Ste. Marie-aux-Mines (France) and then travel to various venues!

Maryte Collard's contribution to "Concrete & Grassland"

European SAQA-member Maryte Collard from Lithuania has sent information about her quilt 'Lust for Life' which was juried into the Concret & Grassland exhibition scheduled to open on March 31.
This is what she writes:

I usually get my inspiration from the nature. I take a lot of pictures but making a quilt I don't replicate the picture. I get inspired by colors, lines and shapes. 

Walking on the cement sidewalk, I noticed a dandelion growing  out through the crack. 

I was amazed by the power of this humble flower and a lust for life it had. It was so inspirational to think that we can always find ways to overcome our own hurdles.

I dye my own fabrics now. Living in Lithuania it is the only way to have a range of colors that would let me feel free working on quilts. I had 15 shades of gray and that was the start. 

15 shades of grey

I made this realistically looking quilt and then I thought: hmm... I don't think this is what I want. I made another quilt that I named Breaking Through and I submitted them both for Concrete&Grassland show.

Breaking through

 I was very surprised to learn that Lust for Life was selected.

Lust for Life - detail

Lust for life - full view

What else is new in my quilting adventure? I entered SAQA mentorship program last September. My mentor is Brenda Gael Smith from Australia. Having Brenda in my corner gave me a clear understanding of my goals and a new direction for my art. I am working on a new series of quilts that I call Water Marks. I made 6 quilts since December!


Congratulations, Maryte!

The Song of Songs - Encounter art quilt group

The book incorporated Love Songs: between a lover and his wife, among family members and the love of Israel and their God.

Many verses were composed into songs that are an inspiration to feelings and emotions, describes colors and intensity, and glorify landscapes and way of life.

Each quilter chose different symbols she felt expresses the verse of inspiration in the best way: flowers or thorns, fruits (apples, pomegranates and grapes), depicted places, use traditional images and symbols to create colorful, realistic and poetic exciting quilts.

Some of the topics you'll find in this exhibition:

"As the lily among thorns": symbolizes Israel surrounded by a hostile environment.
"My Beloved"; "Doves eyes"; "The fairest of women": an expression of a private love.
"Doves in the clefts of the rock": descriptions of nature viewed from a home window or caves in the desert.
"Refresh me with apples"; "Apple among the woods": the female's voice point of view, seductive, full of love and loaded with Garden of Eden features.
"And the vines in blossom give their fragrance"; "Beds of spices"; "Into the garden of nuts": usage of the seven species to symbolize blessing and abundance, a source for love of nature.

“Encounters” was established in 2009 and it includes 15 Israeli Art Quilt artists. Our meetings are bi - monthly, and the emphasis in each meeting is the exchange of opinions, ideas, mutual enrichment and fertilization, practice new techniques and work toward exhibiting our works together. Group member are: Maya Chaimovich*, Rachel Covo, Eti David*, Rachel Elran*, Niza Hoffman*, Bella Kaplan*, Hava Katzir*, Ziva Keidar, Yemima Lavan*, Shula Liss, Nava Lieberman, Shoshi Rimer*, Shulamit Ron, Orna Shahar, Gisha Wogier*.

The "Song of Songs" exhibition will be held at the Jewish Community Center (JCC), 536 Huron St., London, ON, Canada.

March 28 through April 21, 2016. Opening hours: 10am – 3pm weekdays.

Report by Shoshi Rimer
SAQA members marked with *

Worn Threads - Thames Valley Contemporary Textiles

Worn Threads: an exhibition by Thames Valley Contemporary Textiles in the Henley-on-Thames, UK

For their latest exhibition Thames Valley Contemporary Textiles have made pieces inspired by a garment. Not only is the work innovative in its wide range of textile techniques but the stories behind the garments are fascinating e.g. How does an image of a daughter in a Tyvek forensic suit inspire a colourful Richard 111 cloak?

For more details about the group and the exhibition visit their website: www.tvctextiles.co.uk

Kate Findlay

Sandy Snowden

Dorothy Crossley

Kate Crossley

Well done members of TVCT

Images and Report by Sandy Snowden - Thanks