Stewarding the SAQA Gallery at Festival of Quilts, Birmingham NEC

SAQA Europe & Middle East - Call for Exhibition Stewards at FoQ 2019! 

 Once again Sandy Snowden is volunteering to organize the stewards for the SAQA global exhibit "Dusk to Dawn" at this year’s Festival of Quilts from 1-4 August 2019 in Birmingham, UK.

 If you are planning to attend the FoQ this year, please consider donating a bit of your time there to steward the exhibit - after all, it’s YOUR exhibition and your your chance as a SAQA member to talk with the audience about SAQA, its benefits and its mission and it’s a prime opportunity to meet fellow SAQA artists not only from the UK and our region but from all over the world!

 It’s a lot of fun - and you are getting something in return, too. As in previous years, the time slots will be 1 ½ hours. AND each volunteer will receive a ticket for the whole 4 days of the show!

 Times are as follows: 10-11:30; 11:30-13:00(1:00pm); 13:00-14:30(2:30pm); 14:30-16:00(4:00pm); 16:00-17:30(5:30pm).

The list of volunteers will be submitted near to the time for the Festival of Quilts show. As in previous years, tickets will be held at the box office and can be collected there.

 To reserve your spot on the list, please email Sandy (snsnowden@harmonyinformation.com) with your preferred time slot and date soon! I’m personally looking forward to meeting many of you in person at the FoQ!

 See you soon,
Birgit

Birgit Schüller E/ME Regional Representative Studio Art Quilt Associates birgit.schueller@creativebits.biz 
www.saqa.com

Newbie co-rep in our region

Firstly, I would like to thank Maggi for her hard work as co-rep and her contribution to the SAQA group.  I know it was a role that was important to her.  I hope I can be a worthy successor.

As co-rep, I plan to support Uta’s activities and match her enthusiasm for SAQA in our region. She does a great job across a wide spectrum of countries, languages and cultures.

A little about me: -

I am fairly new to quilting – until 2012, I embroidered and behaved like a butterfly, flitting from one technique to another!  When I retired, I needed a challenge to replace a demanding IT job in the City of London, so as one does, I moved to quilting where the opportunities to enter competitions and show in exhibitions are more numerous and generally to a higher standard.

As part of my move to quilting, I decided to concentrate on abstract designs in limited colour palettes, improvisional cutting and piecing with simple machine stitch to integrate the design.  The design of the first 3 was good, but the quilting would not have passed the Quilt Police.  I was lucky with the 4th piece – it was accepted for the Fine Arts Quilt Masters gallery at Festival of Quilts in 2013.  And again in 2014, my entry was selected.  Here are images of them:

I am currently working on experimental pieces which have a collage feel.  Some of these will be displayed at the West Country Quilt and Textile Show, UWE, Bristol, November 12^th to 14^th where I am sharing a stand with a fellow SAQA member, Stephanie Crawford.  Other SAQA members are also exhibiting and include k3n and Alicia Merrett as well as SAQA members who have work in the CQ Elements exhibition. 

My reasons for accepting the rep role:

I do hope to make more of my SAQA membership and I know the only way to do that is to participate more and give time and effort to the group.  Contemporary Quilt group in the UK has been an excellent learning experience – I have organised and curated two of their exhibitions at FOQ.  I also set up a regional CQ group and was the group's first organiser.

I would like to enable other members in our region to also make more of their membership.  I have ideas but must first read all the paperwork I have received from Desiree Vaughn, SAQA Regional Rep Coordinator, on guidelines for the role.  So bear with me whilst I do that.  I know Uta has some great ideas for us as well.

I shall be at Knit & Stitch in Harrogate all day Saturday 28^th November with sometime late Friday and early Sunday.  I know some of you will be there as I have been putting the stewarding rota together so it will be good to meet you.

Keep making art and please feel free to contact me to nag, ask questions or make suggestions.

Christine
(ps I also answer to Chris and Chrisse)

Are you going to be in Ste. Marie-aux-Mines?

As is customary with the European Patchwork Meeting, we have scheduled a SAQA meet and greet for all SAQA members who will be present in the Val d'argent. The meeting is supposed to take place on Friday, September 18, at 12.30, at the Espace de Presse.
However, if you want to take part, you need to register with the rep! Send an e-mail to Uta Lenk (click on the 'submission guidelines' on the right hand bar for the address) and let her know that you would like to attend. There are still a few places open. But: SAQA members only, no partners, friends or dogs...

And: we still need people to staff the table at the SAQA exhibition. Please let Uta know if you could spare a couple of hours (and rest your feet) to represent SAQA in the context of the exhibition. You will receive a free copy of the catalogue for sale in return for your help. Thank you very much!

SAQA is Seeking Volunteers for Translations

Do you speak/write a non-English language well? Some SAQA members do not understand English well enough to be completely confident about participating in SAQA's events/calls for entry, and feel left out.

As you may have read in one of Martha Sielman's recent e-blasts, SAQA is searching for volunteers who would be willing to translate SAQA's various forms of communication into other languages. Would you be willing to volunteer to help translate the SAQA Journal, call for entries or other SAQA website pages? If so please  contact Christine Hager-Braun(Christine@soularpowerfabricart.com), the new Translation Liaison on the Membership Committee.  

Christine says:

Volunteers may commit short-term to translate only small sections of the website or commit long-term to translate updates to the website or new call for entries.

We are currently looking for translators with language skills in Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, Quebec French and German.