On my last day, I want to give a shout out to my challenge group within SAQA. Karol Kusmaul was our founder and is our leading light and has recruited 11 members from 8 countries. We take turns issuing a prompt and we have two months to finish our quilt. We are in round two now, and I’ll share a couple of my favorites. For one thing, this group has forced me to work bigger!
Finally, thank you for the honor of being Artist of the Week. It has allowed me to take pause and give an account of my journey. What I like about SAQA is:
a) it promotes a broad view of art quilts: defining them as “a creative visual work that is layered and stitched or that references this form of stitched layered structure.” That is a broad definition, and I love to see how creative our members are in stretching the definition of an art quilt.
b) We support our members in their artistic journey wherever it may take them. Our members employ so many different methods and styles. Some wish to sell their work, some do not. Some teach, some do not. Some work large, some small. And so on.
c) I’m grateful for my SAQA friends – virtual and in person. I wish I could know more of you, as we share and play and talk and learn together.
Here is my contribution to SAQA’s 2020 auction: From a Tiny Sapling Grows a Mighty Forest. 12 x 12,” hand quilted.
Where I Am, Where I Go. 40 x 29,” 2020. The prompt was “neighborhood.”
Masks from the 30-Years War. 30 x 20,” 2019. The prompt was “mask.”
Un-mown, 40 x 32.5,” 2020. The prompt was “non-human communities.” This piece is currently in “Art of the State” in Harrisburg, PA.
