Jean M. Judd in Mesa Arts Center's 33rd Annual Contemporary Crafts Exhibition

The Mesa Arts Center in Mesa, Arizona has selected textile artist of Cushing, Wisconsin for inclusion in the 33^rd Annual Contemporary Crafts Exhibition. Artwork selected for inclusion in the exhibit includes: Sound Waves #1. This year is Judd’s third consecutive one in this exhibition.

This exhibition highlights the finest in contemporary crafts from around the country and is a benchmark of innovation and quality produced within traditional craft forms such as ceramics, fibers, basketry, metals, wood, glass, jewelry, paper making and book arts. Exhibition juror Katie A. Lee, Assistant Director of the Center of Craft, Creativity, & Design at UNC Asheville, North Carolina, selected fifty artworks by thirty-eight artists from a pool of 242 submissions.

The exhibition opens on January 27, 2012 and is open through March 18, 2012. The artists' reception and awards presentation is on January 27, 2012 from 6 to 8 pm. The address of the art center is:

Mesa Contemporary Arts
One East Main Street
Mesa, AZ 85211

Visit the art center’s web site at www.mesaartscenter.com for more information about the exhibition and art center or call 480-644-6501 to speak to Patty Haberman, Curator of Mesa Contemporary Arts.

Jean Judd's guest post on American Craft Council's blog

The American Craft Council asked regional member Jean M. Judd of Cushing, Wisconsin to write a guest post for an ongoing special section of its blog, "Why I Make." You can read her guest post at www.americancraftmag.org and see three of her art quilts.

November SAQA: "Inspiration" at The Lyric!

Thanks to Co-rep Jennifer Conrad for offering the use of The Lyric building's stunning common room for the November SAQA meeting! SAQA gets to use this space for free, because The Lyric is an "artist-friendly" residential development and SAQA is an artists' group.

Here's Jennifer C. (standing, right) giving her presentation on Artists' Inspirations, which included a slideshow of excerpts from SAQA Portfolio 18.

We viewed the slide show, then broke into small groups of 4 to discuss the following questions:

1. What led you to become an art quilter?

2. What presently informs and inspires your artistic process? What other mediums do you use when not quilting?

3. What would help you grow as an artists? What challenges you?

As a means of getting to know each other a little better, each small group member took a turn reporting the results of her "interview" of another group member, after a half hour of lively discussion. Some artists brought items to show, on the Inspiration theme, and presented these as their turns arose. We didn't quite get through all the group reporting, and will spend a few minutes finishing that process at the January meeting. It was a fascinating look at the inspirations and work habits of our fellow art quilters! I especially enjoyed getting to know some artists I've admired from afar at meetings, but haven't had the nerve to approach. :-)

Top 10 answers: "What would help you grow as an artist?"

1. More TIME and PERMISSION (from self) to work

2. More SAQA activities and interactions with other artists

3. Learning new techniques

4. Travel (time, funds) to workshops and symposia

5. PRACTICE/Increased confidence

6. Finding a VOICE/creating a body of work

7. Increased FOCUS and self-discipline

8. Dedicated STUDIO SPACE

9. Having a mentor

10. More knowledge of SAQA professional resources

Many thanks to Cyndi Meier, Susan Stein (former co-reps) and to everyone able to attend the meeting, for their positive feedback and enthusiastic participation!

NEXT MEETING: Saturday, January 14th at The Lyric. Short business meeting and Work/Play Day! Developing 12x12 square quilts for donation to the SAQA auction in April. Brown Bag! Please bring your own snacks and supplies; cutting stations and ironing board/irons as well as beverages provided. Stay tuned for more details.

Driving update

As of Friday, November 11:
The streets are slightly different again!  As of today Vandalia is closed north of University.  Your best bet is to get to University from 280 or Vandalia and turn either Right or Left onto Hampden.  The #16 bus stops right in front of the Lyric if you like to take the bus.  I will be at our meeting site at 9:30 to guide anyone in and direct them for parking.  
A prize will be rewarded for the best traffic tale.

See you tomorrow.

NEXT SAQA MN MEETING: Nov. 12, 10:00am

Hi Everyone,
I hope you all have been having a creative fall! Jen Schultz and I are looking forward to our new roles as co-reps for our region; we want to extend a special thank you to Susan and Cyndi for a wonderful two years. We hope we will be able to live up to what you have done for the group in the last two years. Many thanks!

Our next meeting will be on November 12th at 10:00 am, I will be hosting it at my apartment complex which is located at 765 Hampden Ave, St. Paul in the The Lyric. Due to the light rail construction it is a little bit of challenge to navigate. The best recommendation is to take 94 to the Cretin/Vandalia exit and head north towards University, at the traffic light you will go through it and head one block north of University and take the next left on Charles Street. You will be traveling on the street behind the McDonald's and the Holiday Station. At the end of the block there will be a stop sign which is Hampden Ave. There is street parking or if you turn left (looks like a dead-end due to the construction) there will be a parking lot on the left that on Saturday's we are allowed to use. The meeting will be in the main entrance to the The Lyric right across the street in "Johnny's Lounge". If any one has any problems with the directions my cell phone is 443-255-6740 please feel free to call me.

We will have a full kitchen, if you would like to volunteer to bring goodies please let us know who will be bringing treats. Jen and I both will be bringing some food and beverages to share.
We also will be working on a survey to determine what the membership would like to accomplish in our sessions. For our first meeting we thought it would be helpful as a group that we have a focus for our discussion. The first topic will be around INSPIRATION! One definition I found states the following:
in·spi·ra·tion/ˌinspəˈrāSHə Noun: The process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, esp. to do something creative: "flashes of inspiration".The quality of having been so stimulated, esp. when evident in something: "a moment of inspiration in an otherwise dull display".

We would like to have everyone share one or two ideas that you draw inspiration from for your artwork. Our goal will be to capture a list and share that after the meeting for all of us to have something to look at if we ever have a creative rut. . . of course that never happens : )
For show and tell please bring something that speaks to your inspiration; it doesn't have to be a completed art quilt.
If anyone has suggestions or questions, don't hesitate to reach out!
Thank you!
Jennifer Conrad & Jennifer Schultz

Re-posting from SDA MN news

Call for Entry: A Common Thread 2012, Textile CenterA Common Thread 2012 is an exhibition showcasing the exceptional work of Textile Center members. Non-juried, this exhibition gives every member an opportunity to exhibit a piece of their more recent work in Textile Center galleries. Entry deadline: November 21,2011See full listing of the opportunity at www.textilecentermn.org/gallery.asp

Minnesota Gynecology & Aesthetics is opening a new location in Wayzata on November 1st and they are looking to display local women's art in the practice. We are looking for large art work/paintings to display on our walls. Artists focusing on growth, renewal, health, inner spirit, strength, etc. would be wonderful. Western suburb/Lake Minnetonka area artists would be nice. We can display on an ongoing timeline as a nice marketing opportunity for several female artists to show their work to a specific demographic.Please email Angela Taylor of Minnesota Gynecology & Aesthetics at atsherlock@gmail.com if interested. www.mngaclinic.com. See full listing of the opportunity at mnartists.org: www.mnartists.org/article.do?rid=300622

The Rochester Art Center is currently accepting submissions for the 3rd Floor Emerging Artist Series, an exhibition program dedicated to promising young artists working in the state of Minnesota.Applications are accepted from September 24 - November 18, 2011 and are reviewed in early December by the Chief Curator and the review panel composed of working artists, curators, teachers, and arts professionals. From this review, a schedule is determined for the next season of four exhibitions, each approximately twelve-weeks long. Completion of the entire process can take up to two months, with artists being notified by the end of December. See full listing of the opportunity at mnartists.org: www.mnartists.org/article.do?rid=299852

If you are interested in political activity related to the arts in Minnesota you may want to check out this website regarding funding of the arts vs. football stadiums: http://capwiz.com/artsusa/mn/issues/alert/?alertid=55414501.

New Regional Reps & Other Tidbits

Greetings All!
Jennifer Conrad and I (Jennifer Schultz) have volunteered (as you've likely heard by now) to be the new SAQA MN Regional Reps, and will gradually assume the duties previously handled by our talented predecessors, Susan Stein and Cyndi Kae Meier. We thank Susan and Cyndi for their ongoing support, and for all the wonderful work they've accomplished during their tenure!

NEXT SAQA MN MEETING: Saturday, November 12, 2011 - time and place details coming to your inbox shortly from Jennifer Conrad. Please note, this will be a potluck! Feel free to bring treats.... Beverages will be provided.

BLOGSITE UPGRADES: I will be upgrading and changing some of the interface options on the SAQA MN blog in the near future. I'd like to upgrade the members list on the right sidebar to include links to all member websites, blog pages or SAQA pages. If you would like to promote your work through this blog please send me your web address, and I'll add it as soon as I'm able! alivealiveo42@gmail.com

SAQA MN MEMBERS LIVING OUTSIDE THE METRO: How often are you able to participate in meetings with other SAQA MN members? Do you drive more than an hour to attend a MN meeting in the Metro area? Have you and fellow members in your area formed your own sub-groups? Let us know! We want to keep in touch, and welcome guest writers for this blog.

In other news... "Optical Effects: 1970s Printed Textiles" at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Sept. 3, 2011-Feb. 26, 2012. Follow the link for full detail: http://www.artsmia.org/index.php?section_id=2&exh_id=4217
"Optical Effects: 1970s Printed Textiles" features a selection of fabrics, mainly produced for leading British textile firm Heal's Fabrics, that illustrate the dynamism and gradation of color that characterize this decade. The exhibition includes approximately ten graphically striking textiles from the MIA's collection, with several by top designer Barbara Brown.
FREE EXHIBIT.
If you haven't been to the MIA lately, come down and enjoy the recently revamped Native American galleries, as well as the exhibit "Worldbeats: Global Contemporary Art" including this "Soundsuit" by artist Nick Cave, made from metal, wood, plastic, pigments, cotton and acrylic fibers:
















Look for work by Kehinde Wiley as part of this exhibit as well. The MIA is showing one of the artist's signature portraits, but you can view his fabric/fashion work for PUMA: Africa HERE (click the link.)

At our last SAQA MN meeting, Nancy Wick gave a fine presentation on the use of Texture Magic, and asked that we post a link to Superior Threads, where this product is available: http://www.superiorthreads.com/shop/category/texture-magic/products/
Thanks Nancy!

More NEWS coming soon!