Wicked Good Art Quilts
Regional Exhibit by New England SAQA members
Wicked Good Art Quilts Regional Exhibit by New England SAQA Members When we New Englanders use the phrase wicked, we are stating that something is very good or very bewitching or both. So the Vermont/New Hampshire/Maine SAQA Region invited New England SAQA artists to create a wicked good art quilt. This exhibit is the result of this call for entries, a showcase of innovative work and diverse styles of SAQA artists from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Wicked Good Art Quilts includes tributes to women, as in Nancy Belsky’s Nell - Calla Lily V; Janice Jones’ Poppies for Alta; and Nancy Turbitt’s Angelina’s Eggs. The exhibit also features a cityscape, Sue Colozzi’s Esplanade Sunset, and a “pondscape,” Alison Wilbur’s Spring Raindrops. There are explorations of printing techniques (block, silkscreen, batik, drawings, and digital photographs) as in M. Robin Cornwell’s Hands; Rosalind Daniels’ Egg Carton Flipped; and Wen Redmond’s A Page in a Life.
Wicked Good Art Quilts
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Some artists creatively challenged themselves, from Suzanne HouselyNoonan’s Wicked Thoughts to Kathy John’s Wicked Love to Diane Sheckells’ Dreamcatcher2. And then there are the flippered, furry, and feathered animals of Diane Powers-Harris’ Race to the Sea; Jody Scaltreto’s Suri; and Stephanye Schuyler’s Bird Behaving Badly Again. It’s a wicked awesome body of work. We hope you enjoy this cunning exhibit, and that it casts a creative spell so you can create your own wicked good art quilt!
Curator: Stephanye Schuyler
Wicked Good Art Quilts
Artists Nancy Ann Belsky
Surry, NH
nancybelsky@outlook.com
Sue Colozzi
Reading, MA
suecolozzi@gmail.com
M. Robin Cornwell
Wolfeboro, NH
robinsnest@metrocast.net
Rosalind Daniels
Cabot, VT
rozdaniels@gmail.com
Suzanne HousleyNoonan
Barrington, RI
Shousleynoonan@aol.com
Kathy John
Rindge, NH
nhlakema@gmail.com
Janice Jones
Methuen, MA
janicemaejones@gmail.com
Diane Powers-Harris
Monroe, NH
yearfive@hotmail.com
Wen Redmond
Strafford, NH
wenredmond@yahoo.com
Jodi Scaltreto
Hillsboro, NH
jodibird@rocketmail.com
Stephanye Schuyler
Portsmouth, NH
stephsky@comcast.net
Diane Sheckells
Kingston, NH
Smithsheck@gmail.com
Nancy Turbitt
Smithfield, RI
artgirlri@hotmail.com
Allison Wilbur
Barrington, RI
allisonquilt@me.com
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Nancy Belsky nancybelsky@outlook.com My “Calla Lily” series is dedicated to Wicked Good women who have touched my life. Nell was an early mentor who helped me hone my teaching skills at the beginning of my career. As I have worked on the series, the lilies have evolved to become three-dimensional like the people they are dedicated to. Technique Folded three-dimensional flowers, turned applique, free motion quilting Materials Commercial batiks include machine pieced layering and hand appliqué For Sale
$275.00
Wicked Good Art Quilts
Nell – Calla Lily V 23” x 18” Wicked Good Art Quilts 1
Sue Colozzi suecolozzi@gmail.com suecolozzi.com facebook.com/suecolozzi This sunset view of both the Charles River and the Boston city skyline highlights the beauty of each. The real challenge for me in fabricating this scene was to replicate the delicate warm hues created by the sunset. The reflecting glimmers of light in the water and the shadows cast by the buildings are created by layering organza. The shadowed foliage along the river is highlighted with thread sketching. Technique Raw edge appliqué, free motion stitching, and thread sketching Materials
Commercially printed cottons, batiks, hand-painted fabric, satin, organza, paper-backed fusible
For Sale
$1450.00
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Esplanade Sunset 27” x 27” Wicked Good Art Quilts 3
M. Robin Cornwell robinsnest@metrocast.net robincornwellembellishments.com This wonderful piece titled “Hands” is Wicked Good because of all the techniques I put into creating it. It contains layer upon layer of printmaking using real leaves, block prints, silk screen and soy wax batik. I also used numerous masks to block off areas while I fine-tuned others with sponge painting and more block prints. Lastly, I love this piece because it contains all my favorite images: hands, leaves and flowers! Technique Hand-dyed fabric (excluding pink fabric), hand-carved block prints, bleach discharge leaf prints, silkscreen prints, soy wax batik, hand-quilted Materials Cotton fabric, acrylic paint For Sale
$375.00
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Hands 45” x 23”
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Rosalind S. Daniels rozdaniels@gmail.com rosalindsdaniels.com This piece is based on the first drawing I did that I thought was wicked good. It’s a fragment of an egg carton turned upside down and I had a wicked good time working on capturing its shadows and its depth. Technique Machine-pieced, quilted by hand and machine Materials: Cotton fabrics, image digitally printed on cotton, Warm & White batting For Sale
$400.00
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Egg Carton, Flipped 27” x 22” Wicked Good Art Quilts 7
Suzanne HousleyNoonan Shousleynoonan@aol.com Everyone encounters wicked thoughts at one time or another. Frustrations, fear, sadness, envy, jealousy, shame, doubt, depression, and guilt are just a few emotions we all have. The loose threads are left to represent our scattered thoughts. Technique Six layers of fabrics cut away and quilted to reveal the lower level Materials Cotton fabric and thread For Sale
$890.00
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Wicked Thoughts 34” x 26” Wicked Good Art Quilts 9
Kathy John nhlakema@gmail.com I had a wicked good time trying to create a piece with a clear glass jar. Finding new and creative ways to portray everyday items brings me great joy. Why just one rose in a glass jar? Why is the jar set in the window of what one imagines to be small cottage on a pond in the woods? One can only assume that someone was having a wicked good time! Technique Piecing and layering, thread artistry to complete the work Materials Cotton, silk fabrics, and cotton thread For Sale
$175.00
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Wicked Love 26” x 19.5” Wicked Good Art Quilts 11
Janice M. Jones janicemaejones@gmail.com JaniceMJones.com My Mom taught me to sew, quilt and embroider and was my best friend. Her passion was gardening, and she was especially proud of her poppies. This quilt is a tribute to her and is an original design taken from a photo of her flowers. It is intentionally fabricated in the vivid colors that she loved; red was her favorite. The poppies capture her joyful spirit. She was always an upbeat, positive soul who blessed my life. Technique Collaged appliqué Materials Mixture of commercial cotton and hand-dyed fabrics and thread Not For Sale
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Poppies for Alta 23” x 18”
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Diane Powers-Harris yearfive@hotmail.com Inspiration for “Race to the Sea” was discovered in a recent flea market find - a “wicked cool” colorful scarf of stylized turtles by artist Balarinji. Removing the scarf’s center created a window to showcase photos depicting the life of baby sea turtles from egg to perilous trek to the ocean’s edge. “Race to the Sea” is a departure from Diane’s usual modus operandi. Wanting to experiment with cheesecloth, she utilized this gauzy “fabric” to create the foam made by waves crashing onto the shore. These eddies are enhanced with gel medium, glitter glue, paint and beads. The binding fabric, with a design reminiscent of turtle flipper marks in the sand, completes the work. Upon finishing this piece, Diane had to giggle when she noticed one little fellow who seems to be quizzically inquiring, “Did I win?” Technique Printing on fabric, fused raw-edge appliqué, scrunched and manipulated cheesecloth, trapunto, machine-quilting, paint, glitter glue, bead embellishments Materials 100% cotton, really “wicked” polyester scarf, cheesecloth, gel medium (gloss and matte), glitter glue, paint, beads, various threads, Warm and Natural batting For Sale
$825.00
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Race to the Sea 25.5” x 25”
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Wen Redmond wenredmond@yahoo.com www.wenredmond.com A digital image of my journal page has been printed and transformed into unique fiber art. Journaling has been a source of inspiration and introspection for years. The actions of drawing, painting, composing, scrap booking or just jotting down thoughts help guide me through challenges, art making, and the joys of life. That is wicked good! Technique A photograph of a journal page is printed on digital ready cotton canvas. The digital fiber photograph is creatively stitched and cut onto free segments. These are hand-tied using dyed pearl cotton. Edges and top are sealed with medium and paint. Materials inkjet ready cotton canvas, pearl cotton, medium, and paint For Sale
$1275.00
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A Page in a Life 27” x 30” Wicked Good Art Quilts 17
Jodi Scaltreto jodibird@rocketmail.com jodibird.com This is wicked good because of its colors and textures. Technique Piecing, appliqué, thread painting, machine-quilting in the ditch Materials Commercial cotton, polyester thread For Sale
$450.00
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Suri
Photo: Michael Brodsky
19” x 22”
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Stephanye Schuyler stephsky@comcast.net stephanyeschuyler.com Impish birds are used to portray a “fabrication” of the seven deadly sins: Pride, gluttony, lust, greed, sloth, anger, and envy. Perched on a wire, with the benefit of not being grounded, they wickedly bicker as they act out their sins. Technique Fusible fabric chips, raw edge appliqué, echo quilting Materials Hand-dyed and commercial fabric, yarn, beads, monofilament and cotton threads For Sale
$500.00
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Birds Behaving Badly Again 19” x 24”
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Diane S. Sheckells Smithsheck@gmail.com This project was part of #mqgfabricchallenge, using Michael Miller fabric with its bold black and white line of checks and half square triangles. This quilt meets the criteria of wicked good because it expresses my personal aesthetic and explores multicultural protection symbols, and I used a rich variety of techniques. I dyed the fabric, totally changing the look of the project. I appliquéd some of the original black and white fabric on top. I machine quilted a grid in some areas mimicking the fabric’s checkerboard. I added extra batting in the central circle continuing with the grid work. I hand quilted around the central motif. Design wise this is a geometric rendition of a dream catcher. There are also echoes of the Mandela and cross image used in many different cultures.
Technique Dyeing, appliqué, machine quilting, hand embroidery Materials Cotton For Sale
$600.00
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Dreamcatcher 2 38” x 22.5”
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Nancy Turbitt artgirlri@hotmail.com nancyturbitt.com An immigrant from peasant Italy, my grandmother Angelina Pesa Membrino had no formal education. My grandfather aged and retired, so she needed to think of a way to supplement their income. She turned to what she knew, her chickens. With her well-tended, jumbo-sized chicken’s eggs, she walked door to door selling her eggs and produce. Never without a smile, her tenacity kept their household whole. As I age, I understand her strength of spirit, mind, and body she as she sought a solution to her economic challenges when opportunities for uneducated women were few. My beloved grandmother was a “wicked” awesome pioneer in what is now known as a cottage industry in New England. Technique Fusible applique & machine stitching Materials Commercial cottons & batiks, hand-dyed cottons For Sale
$1800.00
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Photo: Eric Zhang
Angelina’s Eggs 45” x 32”
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Allison Wilbur allisonquilt@me.com AllisonWilburQuilts.com This piece started as a piece of white fabric which transformed into a peaceful pond dappled by spring raindrops. The lily pads are rubbings from the real thing from my pond, and other textures were achieved with stencils and textures plates. Shiva paint sticks, fabrico markers, and fabric paints all layered together to give the piece depth and movement. Technique machine-quilting on whole cloth Materials cotton muslin, shiva paint sticks and texture plates, fabrico markers and fabric paint For Sale
$450.00
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Spring Raindrops 43” x 36” Wicked Good Art Quilts 27
Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc. (SAQA) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the art quilt through education, exhibitions, professional development, documentation, and publications. SAQA defines an art quilt as “a creative visual work that is layered and stitched or that references this form of stitched layered structure.” Founded in 1989 by an initial group of 50 artists, SAQA now has over 3,400 members: artists, teachers, collectors, gallery owners, museum curators and corporate sponsors. A dedicated core of volunteers and staff keep the organization vibrant, dynamic, and progressive. SAQA is a world-wide resource for information on the art quilt and the artists who create them. In addition to mounting museum-quality exhibitions that travel the world, SAQA documents the artquilt movement through exhibition catalogs and the continuing series of Portfolios, the art quilt sourcebook.
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SAQA creates professional development opportunities for the membership that continue to address the ever-changing needs of the artist. From basic studio management to mastering current technology for both business and artistic purposes, SAQA members have access to a treasure trove of support for taking their artwork and career to the next level. Over the past 25 years, SAQA has evolved into an active and dynamic organization that offers many services to our members as well as to the community at large. Our website provides visibility to the accomplishments of the artist members and gives members immediate access to information about exhibition opportunities, announcements of upcoming events and conferences, and other resources. SAQA Website: www.saqa.com Cover Art: Regional members of SAQA VT/NH/ME, MA, and RI
Catalog Design: Sarah J. Aubry Z SarahJAubry.com
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