Art Quilt Quarterly #31 (SAQA)

art quilt Studio Art Quilt Associates

Copyright for collectors Recent quilts from DAMSS

Focus on commissions

87

art quilts

quarterly 2023

Issue No. 31

Sleight of hand?

As part of SAQA’s ongoing initiative to promote and situate art quilts in the larger Art world, I spend entirely too much time obsessing over forecasts concerning the art market. Perhaps because of the pandemic surge in online artwork, especially NFTs that usually consist of music or a digital image, quite a few experts have predicted that 2023 will be a banner year for NFTs and other forms of online art.

While half of NFTs sell for less than $200, several have sold at the equivalent of more than a million U.S. dollars, and their overall estimated market value as of the end of 2022 was close to $11 billion. While artists creating tangible works may feel frustrated with so much focus on ephemeral art, perhaps we should appreciate the fact that the majority of NFT collectors are young people, and approximately 40 percent of them also collect tangible art. This level of recent enthusiasm for collecting could extend to fiber and textile art, given an opportunity to offer it within the Millennial and Generation X

photo by KOM Studio

communities. A recent article in Urth Magazine1 contains information about linking the sale of an actual object to the sale of an NFT image. One way to do this would be for the first purchaser of the NFT to buy, for example, an art quilt in the purchase price of its NFT. If your contract with the sales platform includes a royalty clause, you should receive payment each time your NFT is resold. Offering an NFT for sale requires a fee, but entering the NFT market might be beneficial for those with the patience to jump through the hoops of minting and offering an NFT in the online marketplace.

Sandra Sider, Editor editor-aqq@saqa.com 1

https://urth.co/magazine/physical-nft

Contents Kalbelia quilts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Copyright for collectors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Art quilts from DAMSS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Focus on commissions: Daren Redman. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 SAQA Global Exhibitions: Primal Forces: Wind. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Artists to watch Joe Cunningham. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Sue de Vanny . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Cat Larrea. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Michael J Ross. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Portfolio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 Spotlight on collections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

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. ©2023 Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc. All rights reserved.

Reproduction without permission is strictly prohibited.

SAQA Art Quilt Quarterly is published by Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc., a nonprofit educational organization.

Publications Office: P.O. Box 141, Hebron, CT 06248 ISSN 2379-9439 (print) ISSN 2379-9455 (online) Editor: Sandra Sider Managing editor: Martha Sielman Artists to watch contributing editor: Diane Howell SAQA Global Exhibitions contributing editor: Patty Kennedy-Zafred Designer: Deidre Adams Subscription: $39.95 for four issues — $34.95 for SAQA members Outside USA: add $15.00 Subscribe online: saqa.com/aqq Now available in digital format. Details: www.saqa.com/aqq-digital Questions: aqq@saqa.com

Cover: Iphigenia at Aulis

by Joe Cunningham 2 | SAQA Art Quilt Quarterly

69 x 69 inches (175 x 175 cm), 2021 see story, p. 20

Snake charmers, dancers, and their quilts Patrick J. Finn

Mewa Sapera, Kalbelia dancer, with one of her quilts

U

ntil about forty years ago, the nomadic ­Kalbelia, a Jogi Nath sub-caste, practiced snake charming in the vicinity of Bundi, Rajasthan.

In 1972, catching poisonous snakes and selling their venom became illegal under the Wildlife Protection Act. The community’s other traditional occupation, an internationally known exotic dance form, ceased due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Both events devastated the already marginalized community.

However, while conducting a survey on nomadic communities in 2020, Dr. Madan Meena of the Kota Heritage Society discovered the Kalbelia women hand stitching their traditional godadis, or quilts. To help them escape homelessness, rag picking, and begging, Dr. Meena encouraged them to revive their almost extinct quilt-making activities. Thus, the Kalbelia Craft Revival Project was launched; subsequently, this group began creating their traditional quilts to sell commercially.

In March 2022, they participated in their first commercial exhibition at Nila House, Jaipur, Rajasthan, where I met up with Kalbelia quilters Mira Bai and Mewa Sapera and master’s degree candidates/support staff Aditi Misra and Pallavi Singh. As I watched this unique type of quilting make a comeback, I noticed

how much these traditional quilts looked like art quilts.

Motifs, quilted or embroidered, from the Subcontinent vary depending upon the location and culture.

Furthermore, the same image may go by various names or signify dissimilar associations. Implemented in multiple techniques including embroidery, appliqué, or patchwork, much of the Kalbelia imagery is derived from the natural and built environments.

Their godadis reveal an undercurrent of snake charming and dance. Often, their imaginative visual lexicon is abstracted beyond recognition, and a local interpreter is required to decipher the motifs.

Motifs The Kalbelia prefer diamond and triangular shapes. A western hourglass block becomes a damki or damru (double-headed drum), while the conjunction of four diamonds turns out to be narial ka phul (coconut flower buds). What appears as a small, embroidered mountain is the khada sapera, or standing snake, and the maindel zigzag represents a centipede. The ankh, or eye, and the chidiya ka pag, or bird’s feet, are used alone or in multiples to accentuate the overall design. A kangra (comb) works its way onto the quilt to accentuate borders, while an out-facing triangular SAQA Art Quilt Quarterly | 1

Kalbelia community, godadis and table runners displayed at Nila House, Jaipur, Rajasthan, March 2022

border is called singhora, or water chestnut. Used alone, the sankal ka dabba represents a chain; however, when featured end-on-end, it becomes a line of children holding hands. Other motifs include the date fruit, lion’s feet, snakeskin, and elephant’s footprint.

Techniques and embellishments Two types of techniques dominating this quilting genre are patchwork and the doda taga (stepped running stitch). Unlike the asymmetrical running stitch seen on Bengali kanthas, the white doda taga forms the basis for complex and innovative interlacing. The quilter marks the warp and weft threads to

Natti Bai and Laad Bai, Pink Godadi, 57 x 79.5 inches (142.5 x 199 cm)

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ensure uniform stitch distribution. Earlier, the quilter had joined contrasting sections of fabric to attain the desired size, which allowed for additional design elements. Although many of Kalbelia’s stitching methods are seen in other genres, their application is quite inventive.

Depending on the desired effect, their interlacing fulfills several purposes, such as defining a line or drawing a solid motif. Mira Bai explained that the method for filling solid motifs follows the trail of a snake, which curves in and out of the white running stitch. This was only one of many snake metaphors she used in describing her work.

Mira Bai, Damki Motif (Damru or DoubleSided Drum)

Mira Bai, Khada Sapera (Standing Snake Motif)

Mewa Sapera, White Godadi, 45 x 69 inches (112.5 x 172.5 cm)

Mirror work appears in other genres, for example in Kutch, Gujarat; however, the stitching method to attach them differs.

The Kalbelia follow the curved edge of the mirror, working a whipped stitch, while the Kutchi quilters stitch across the top of the mirror, which is then worked to reveal an open center. The Kalbelia embellishments include cowrie shells, pompoms, tassels, and beads, with most of them used as decorative devices accentuating the corners. Some traditional quilted items include the batua (small purse) and a sanata (pillow cover), which often display a ruffle of lace or pleated cloth. Two other items are a kataliya (baby quilt) and a jholi, a bag traditionally used to keep and carry snakes while begging.

Natti Bai and Laad Bai, Naturally Dyed Red-and-Tan Godadi, 40 x 42 inches (100 x 105 cm) Designer: Pallavi Singh

Materials and color In the past, the Kalbelia recycled worn-out saris to create their godadis. The yarn came from unraveling worn-out sweaters or acrylic yarn from the market. The Revival Project introduced other materials — new handwoven cotton for the base cloth and eri silk or cotton embroidery thread.

Natti Bai, Black Godadi 2, 34 x 38 inches (85 x 95 cm)

see “Snake Charmers” on page 78 SAQA Art Quilt Quarterly | 3

Get it in writing Copyright for collectors

by Dorothy Raymond

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ou’ve paid the artist and taken possession of your new art quilt. That’s it, right, as far as this transaction goes? Well, no. Copyright law recognizes that the person making a work of art owns an intangible right to that expression, separate from the physical work of art. This right is automatic for any artwork; the artist does not need to mark it as copyrighted.

The basic concept is that you own the physical work of art, but the copyright stays with the artist. Collectors should have a basic understanding of the scope of the rights the artist retains with the copyright. If your plans for the art involve more than just ownership and private display of the physical work of art, you will need to request permission from the artist. And it is best to get it in writing.

The first piece of documentation you as a buyer should have is a “certificate of authenticity.” Signed by the artist, it provides provenance that what you have is a true artwork from the artist. In the certificate, the artist will retain rights in the artwork you have just purchased, with language something like this: “This artwork is an original, one-of-a-kind art quilt. All copyright and reproduction rights are retained by the artist.” The certificate might also include a photograph of the art, the artist’s statement, materials, care instructions, and where the art has been exhibited or prizes it has won.

The certificate of authenticity does not, however, identify the artist’s rights that are being retained; for that you must look to copyright law. Almost every country recognizes copyright. While the laws about how long a copyright lasts and what constitutes infringement do vary by country, those variations do not change the basic relationship between collector and artist.

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A copyright gives the artist both economic rights and moral rights to the art. The economic rights give the artist control over monetizing the art­ ­— copying or reproducing, distributing copies, making a “derivative work” (in the legal sense, not the artistic sense, such as putting a reproduction of the artwork on a product) and public display for a fee; essentially, anything which could be monetized.

What does this mean for you as a collector? In essence, you own the physical artwork. You cannot photograph the artwork and mass produce that image onto products such as tote bags or greeting cards, and sell them. But can you include your photograph of the art in your holiday cards? It depends on the interpretation of the legal doctrine of fair use, which does vary from country to country and is also beyond the scope of this article.

Dorothy Raymond, Whirlpool 44 x 25 inches (112 x 64 cm), 2020 photo by Ken Sanville

The author sold Whirlpool to a musician who wanted to use the image of this art quilt and of some of the author’s other art quilts in and on the cover of an album he was publishing. The author and the collector negotiated a license agreement as part of the sale negotiations.

Certainly, you can display the physical artwork.

Sharing photos of it broadly on the internet can be tricky. It is probably acceptable to post photos in order to sell it; less clear is posting photos of your collection as a collection. If, for example, your house is used as a movie set and the artwork is visible as part of the scene, you would need the artist’s permission.

If you think you have something additional in mind for artwork beyond mere display, such as including a picture of your acquisition on the cover of your new record album or printed on ceramic tiles for your remodeled kitchen, you should get that permission in writing from the artist.

The same laws apply when you commission an artwork. Unless it is explicitly stated in the commission agreement that the artist agrees to transfer the copyright of the commissioned artwork to you (a work “made for hire” in legal parlance), the artist still retains the copyright. Note that in the European Union, the artist cannot transfer the copyright. The commission agreement could also include license provisions allowing you to use images of the artwork, such as on holiday cards.

Understand, too, that the rights inherent in a copyright can be unbundled in a myriad of ways, depending on what the parties want. For example, the license may be exclusive or non-exclusive, or the type of use may be limited to personal and non-commercial. A transfer of a copyright may be entire, or the artist may transfer only a part of those rights, such as the right to use the image to make ceramic tiles, or for a limited amount of time. The possibilities are endless.

The other area of copyright law governs what you, the owner, may do with the physical copy of the artwork itself. The “first sale doctrine” in the United States applies to ownership of the artwork. You may display the artwork, sell it to someone else, even use the actual object as part of a high-fashion garment.

But your ability to alter the physical piece is not unlimited. This is when moral rights come into play.

The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works requires countries to recognize moral or “reputation” rights in addition to economic rights. The artist has the right to claim authorship (the right of attribution), and to object to any distortion or mutilation that would ruin the reputation of the artist.

Thus, you cannot mutilate or destroy the piece of art.

To comply with the Berne Convention, the United States adopted the Visual Artists Rights Act, or VARA. This law gives the artist the right to claim the piece as their artwork and the right to prevent intentional distortion or mutilation. What this means to you as a buyer is that, if you think that the artwork would be more effective as a triptych, ask the artist before you start cutting.

Other countries have given artists much broader moral rights. In addition to the right of attribution, in Canada artists also have integrity rights — the ability to preserve the intended meaning of the artwork (the artist’s reputation or honor), not just the physical integrity. For example, if you buy an artwork about the risks of global warming, in Canada the artist can prevent you from showing it in an exhibit that denies climate change.

Moral rights in the European Union include the right of attribution and integrity rights. France and Germany were the first countries to recognize moral rights of artists; it is generally recognized that artists in the EU have stronger moral rights than artists in other countries.

The final legal point to consider is, if you sell the artwork, whether the artist is entitled to any of the proceeds. The U.K. and EU members are among 93 nations that recognize the artist’s resale rights. The circumstances under which it applies vary by country; most auction houses have the process systematized.

Canada is considering adopting resale rights, but they are not recognized in the United States.

Copyright law balances the interests of the artist and the collector. Knowing your rights as the owner see “Copyright” on page 79 SAQA Art Quilt Quarterly | 5

Milano 3000 13 x 34 feet (4 x 10.5 meters), 2017

Cities on Fire The latest art quilts from DAMSS

by Sandra Sider

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or two decades, the wife-and-husband team of Daniela Arnoldi and Marco Sarzi-Sartori, known as DAMSS, have created textile art as true collaborators. They both will tell you that three minds focus on their art quilts: the two of them individually and then both together.

As the panels of one of their quilts progress via machine stitching and other techniques, Arnoldi and Sarzi-Sartori switch back and forth to build the surface, to the extent that upon completion they cannot distinguish who did what on each panel.

Detail of Milano 3000 photo by the author

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Inferno 3000 13 x 39 feet (4 x 12 meters), 2021

In November of 2022, I was fortunate to be able to interview DAMSS in Milan’s capacious Superstudio Maxi during a textile and fashion expo where their Milano 3000 art quilt was on display. Illustrations of their gigantic pieces cannot possibly convey the overwhelming presence of a work like Milano 3000, which towers over and seems to absorb the viewer into its densely textured surface. In her article on DAMSS in the SAQA Journal, Cindy Grisdela compares the art quilts by DAMSS to Impressionist paintings (2018, 28/3), an apt analogy since their large-scale compositions appear packed with abstract patterning up close, coalescing into dynamic scenes when viewed from a distance.

DAMSS use recycled fabric scraps from high-­ fashion ateliers in and near Milan. The sheer volume of fabric required for one of their city installations is impressive—approximately 175 pounds (80 kilograms). Their manipulation of textiles results in numerous three-dimensional effects in their quilts,

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especially felted fibers in swirls and tendrils. For the backing of their panels, DAMSS sew on lengths of thin, waterproof fabric with a plastic texture. When they pass a hot steamer over the front of the panel, the backing shrinks slightly, creating intricately crinkled shapes across the surface, just one of their many subtle techniques.

In 2021, the 700th anniversary of the death of Italian poet Dante Alighieri, DAMSS premiered a monumental installation inspired by his Inferno.

DAMSS are expanding their vision concerning the uncertain future of humanity during their millennial 3000 series, previously expressed in the textile masterpieces of their art quilts dedicated to the cities of Milan, Rome, and Venice. The Inferno 3000 project took form very slowly, developing into a unique composition of nearly 180 square feet (50 square meters) — a powerful narrative that addresses recent human history, which Dante could never have ­imagined. Flowing across the visual expanse of

Roma 3000, 13 x 34 feet (4 x 10.5 meters), 2018

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the installation, we can witness the most distressing chapters of the 21st century, with many references to the future. DAMSS tell us, “We would like for Inferno 3000 to have significance for the past, for the present day, and for a distant future, portrayed through a dystopian vision of a turbulent inferno caused by the characteristics of contemporary society.”

Viewers of this spectacular work of art are moved to reflect on the dangerous state of planet Earth, and to consider the succession of natural and biological phenomena that our planet is sacrificing because of our own selfish activities. This millennium is represented

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by terrorist attacks, massive fires caused by arson, devastation of our forests, overpopulation especially in our huge cities, maddening industrial production, unregulated use of fossil fuels, and irresponsible nuclear testing.

Nature manifests itself through furious volcanic activity, catastrophic tornados, successive earthquakes, melting of large glaciers triggering severe climate change, with increasing drought and destruction of our major water reserves. We see asteroids crashing into Earth, acid rain, and awakening of an implacable millennial virus released upon the world

by uncontrollable melting of the permafrost. Incapable of confronting these subjects, with their inevitable consequences, humanity is abandoning the planet in Inferno 3000, looking for alternative solutions in outer space.

Another commemorative installation, in honor of the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci, positioned DAMSS’s version of the Last Supper of Christ at an angle with their huge Pop Supper filling an entire wall. The installation took place in Milan, where Leonardo’s famous painting of the same subject is exhibited in a church. Themes of human commu-

nication and connection dominate Pop Supper, as dozens of figures seem to interact with gusto, mirroring the more static dialogue of the Last Supper.

Convivio, their latest work, sweeps across a vast expanse, inspired by two enormous 16th-century paintings by the Venetian artist Veronese depicting convivial scenes of festivity. Unlike the dire warnings of the 3000 series, Convivio celebrates the post-­ pandemic possibilities of social interaction, where groups of people enjoy the company of friends and family. DAMSS imagines welcoming banquets that encourage participants to exchange ideas, discuss ideological stances, delve into philosophy, and share experiences — all through the shared rituals of dining within the spectacular expressiveness of monumentally narrative textile art.

Art critic Marta Lock in her Italian article on DAMSS for the online magazine l’Opinionista sums up the conceptual genius of their recent work, which “brings a new sense of moral values to the art of recycling” (Nov. 23, 2018). Many of their technical innovations are illustrated in their 2015 how-to book Le basi della Fiberart (The Basics of Fiberart) and are used in the master classes they teach.

[Ed. note: Parts of this essay are from Gabriello ­Anselmi’s English text in the book Cities of the Future featuring the works of DAMSS, and translated by the author from the artists’ website: https: www.damss.com]

left:

Pop Supper (partial view), 13 x 39 feet (4 x 12 meters), 2020, displayed with their Ultima Cena (Last Supper, after Leonardo da Vinci) in the background, 9 x 31.5 feet (2.5 x 8.8 meters), 2013 above:

Convivio (Banquet) 9 x 108 feet (2.5 x 30 meters), 2022 SAQA Art Quilt Quarterly | 11

focus on commissions

Quilt art in a healing environment

by Daren Redman

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y art quilts represent abstract landscapes with the endless colors of flowers, leaves, grasses, and trees within the Indiana landscape. Four of them have been accepted for Quilt National exhibitions.

I’m known for my hand-dyeing, and during the fall of 2015, I was artist-in-residence at Grand Canyon National Park, where I dyed 100 yards of silk in the colors of the rock formations. I have had many commissions in Indiana for public art and private residences.

Most of my commissions have been recreated from a previous work or installation. People see my quilts and then ask me to recreate them in specific sizes and colors. Usually, my past work influences my commissions rather than my commissions influencing my work.

I’m addicted to the vibrant colors in nature and love abstract art. This inspires me to create art quilts distilled from what I see in the real world. Everywhere I go, I look at the natural surroundings to generate new ideas. My abstract style involves sketching, enlarging the sketch to a paper pattern, cutting my hand-dyes, and appliquéing ribbons onto the composition. After classes with Nancy Crow and inheriting grosgrain ribbon from a relative, I now make large-scale art quilts with bold solid colors and small lines created with Petersham ribbons that have finely woven edges.

My commission for Indiana University Health’s new hospital started with a call for art. This new hospital measures 625,000 square feet and cost $500 million to build. I attended a meeting called by the project team, along with about 100 other artists. The initial meeting provided information for the Phase I requirements for art works that could be transferred onto eight large 12 | SAQA Art Quilt Quarterly

mosaic installations. I submitted a proposal, but my art was not selected for the mosaics. I was, however, selected to create a work for Phase II, which would consist of original works of art to be displayed in public areas throughout the hospital.

The project team involved the architecture firm, Indiana University staff, their art collection curator, and an art consulting firm based in Indianapolis. In addition to the project team for the commissioned art, many more people were involved with the overall project, including the firm that installed the art and signage.

I was commissioned to create art quilts for one of the public areas that would use colors from our local landscapes. This commission was spelled out in a five-page contract with specific artistic details which included the size, colors, theme, deadline, and a fabric audition session with the art consultants in Indianapolis. It included architectural schematics of the wall where my art is now hanging.

With my commissions, solo shows, SAQA shows, grants, and calls for art, I have many deadlines. I have never missed any. My husband once hung a show for me when I had a ruptured disc in my back. Deadlines must be considered as sacrosanct. Planning a timeline for a project starts with the deadline. I work backwards from there, adding time to allow for unforeseen happenings.

The timeline for this commission started after I signed the contract in mid-April 2021 with Indiana University. In May, I started dyeing. The fabric audition took place in June. I sewed and quilted the composition in July and August, and I delivered the three art quilts to the framer by September 1, 2021.

This commission also involved emails showing my hand-dyed mock-up in PowerPoint, as well as a 110mile round trip to the office of the art consultant.

For preparation, I studied the details of my art space, the fifth-floor Family Waiting Lobby. The contract included the theme “water in the brooks and streams in Indiana.” The final work was to be three art quilts measuring 36 inches high by 12 inches wide, each inside a metal frame without a mat.

My typical art quilts are quite large. Anywhere from 84 to 98 inches wide would be typical, and my largescale textile installations can be as wide as 30 feet.

This project was truly a challenge for me to “go small.”

I began by mixing dyes to use with cottons and silks that I dyed in my yard over a three-week period.

I dyed various shades of blues on swatches that were each 45 by 36 inches. Then I over-dyed these fabric swatches using the arashi shibori technique, creating patterns resembling waves or ripples. The art consultants chose fifteen of my forty hand-dyed fabrics.

I used twelve of the fabrics that passed the audition.

Some were used as background and some to make

Indiana Streams (triptych) 36 x 42 inches (90 x 105 cm), including frames not pictured here, 2021

nine rectangles. To make the design more complex, I decided to hand sew three small quilts on top of each of the three quilted backgrounds. After I delivered my finished work to the art consultants, each of the three art quilts was mounted on foam board with stitching and framed at the art consultants’ large workshop.

My price for this project was $1890, and I was paid promptly upon completion. Everyone on the Indiana University Health Bloomington Regional Academic Health Center (RAHC) team and the Building On Our Promise project team were true professionals.

I enjoy the commission process. This way I can create art for the public to enjoy. Most of my commissions are for buildings in Indiana working with interior decorators and art consultants. I look forward to more traveling, continuing to gather ideas for composition from new surroundings.

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Primal Forces: Wind

by Patty Kennedy-Zafred

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s the world continues to experience turbulent, unpredictable, record-breaking weather, the speed and power of wind has become a prevalent and often destructive force of nature. Offering artists from around the globe an artistic prompt and opportunity to reflect on this natural phenomenon, SAQA presents Primal Forces: Wind, the second in a three-part elemental series, focusing on earth, wind, and fire.

Premiering at the National Quilt Museum on August 4, 2023, the work of thirty-seven artists will be exhibited, juried by curator and author Elizabeth Rooklidge of San Diego, California.

Primal Forces: Wind inspired the creation of art that expresses movement and sound as well as the strength

Judy Hooworth Dust Storm over the Lake 52 x 46 x inches (131 x 116 cm), 2022

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Paulette Landers NUNAVUT: Vent du Nord 55 x 72 inches (140 x 183 cm), 2018

and invisible nature of wind and its impact on our daily lives. The varied and intriguing interpretations offered by the selected artists reflect personal experiences, weather, technology, and abstract gestures. As Rooklidge states, “Wind represents the possibility of art quilts to engage with the natural world around us in all its complexity.”

The effect and mood created by wind within the personal geographic locale of artists inspired several works, including Judy Hooworth’s Dust Storm over the Lake. Her representation of a dust storm that blanketed the east coast of Australia in thick, orange swirls resulted in the creation of a surreal landscape. Utilizing various surface design techniques, including mono-printing, painting, and discharge, hues of color move across this intensely quilted piece.

Paulette Landers’ highly gestural work, ­NUNAVUT: Vent du Nord, speaks of the harsh sounds of Nunavut winds, a locale in northern Canada where the snow-covered ground cracks under each step. Her use of hand dyes and paints on cotton and silk create a painterly collage filled with movement and expression, held together with a tight grid of quilting. Weather patterns and their associated radar images are represented in abstract SAQA Art Quilt Quarterly | 15

Mary Tyler Hurricane and realistic forms in this exhibition, including tornadoes, snow storms, and wild fires. In Hurricane, Mary Tyler explores this natural phenomenon through computer-generated fractal imagery, resulting in an abstract, yet highly detailed, intriguing image. As part of her ongoing Geometry of Nature series, Tyler’s quilt was digitally printed utilizing hand-dyed cotton.

Harnessing the power of the wind for electricity is among the climate concerns and ecological issues addressed by several artists, including Kathryn Jahnke in her quilt Renewable. The familiar blades of wind turbines are featured on brilliant hues, printed as a whole-cloth quilt from an original digital image. Yen-

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25 x 31 inches (64 x 79 cm), 2022 Photo by Myron Gauger

Chiu Chen contemplates the beauty and efforts of trees to create the air we breathe. In her work, Breath, she depicts a pastural landscape, constructed with vivid cotton fabrics that have been hand stitched, hand appliquéd, and hand quilted.

Wind can also be a positive, delightful force of nature, blowing through our hair on a clear

Kathryn Jahnke Renewable 18 x 20 inches (46 x 50 cm), 2022

Yen-Chiu Chen Breath 40 x 40 inches (102 x 102 cm), 2021

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Cathy Miranker Betwixt and Between 29 x 32 inches (117 x 80 cm), 2022 Photo by Douglas Sandberg

day at the beach. Cathy Miranker combines abstract design, color, and geometric elements to suggest a windswept seaside, evoking shore, ocean, and sky in a meditative calm in Betwixt and Between. Dorothy Raymond expresses the physical feeling of the wind buffeting her body in Turbulence. She drapes various textures of silk, wool, and cotton to create a dimensional quilt that clearly reflects the velocity and flow of wind.

The power of movement and wind is also felt within our internal sensibility, as expressed in Infinity VIII – Pas de Deux, a pseudo-landscape piece by Elena Stokes. Her work explores the color, line, and movement of the turbulence of life, creating the concept of wind from a psychological vantage point.

Stokes creates horizon lines and empty fields in her signature style of fabric collage using repurposed silk sarees from India that she fuses and quilts.

Viewers of Primal Forces: Wind will be delighted by the diverse and expressive works presented by SAQA members, and closer inspection will reveal a multitude of complex materials and techniques, many of which are uniquely created, combined, and mastered, with stunning results. After the premiere, the exhibition will continue to travel to various locations around the world for another two years, offering inspiration to a global audience.

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Dorothy Raymond Turbulence 30 x 42 x 4 inches (77.5 x 106.7 x 10 cm), 2022 Photo by Mike Dunnets

Elena Stokes Infinity VIII – Pas de Deux 46 x 91 inches (117 x 231 cm), 2020

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artists to watch “ Artists to watch” feature stories are edited by Diane Howell

Joe Cunningham San Francisco, California Joe Cunninghamis a contemporary artist who is unabashedly a quilter. While he creates works rooted in tradition, his themes and style are his own, giving his art quilts an authentic voice that is welcomed by fine art galleries and collections.

Learning to quilt I was a 26-year-old guitar player who wanted to be a writer when I met quilter Gwen Marston. She had been commissioned to write a biography of wellknown quilter and quilt historian Mary Schafer, plus create a catalogue of her collection. I offered to do the writing, and to prepare for the project I studied quilt history and learned how to quilt. Soon I wanted to make my own quilts, and Gwen offered to help me.

In learning to make quilts from Gwen, Mary, and other women, I learned how to make a quilt designed to sleep under.

After about thirteen years, I incorporated themes and abandoned traditional patterns. I did not abandon the idea that I was making something with which

photo by Henrik Kam

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Under the Ice 72 x 72 inches (183 x 183 cm), 2019

one could wrap up against the coldness of the universe, nor did I give up being a quilt maker to gain perceived legitimacy in the art world. So the message in all my quilts is that there’s no conflict between making quilts as blankets and making quilts as art. When I make a quilt from an emotional impulse, it somehow has more authority than those made with only decorative intent.

Setting a style At first, I created designs that were original interpretations of old quilt formats. I struggled to continue this sort of “neo-classical” style for a few years.

Eventually I realized that if I wanted to honor the old-time quilt makers, I would do what they did. They weren’t

Self Portrait 72 x 72 inches (183 x 183 cm), 2014 SAQA Art Quilt Quarterly | 21

Autoworld 72 x 72 inches (183 x 183 cm), 2015

keeping some old tradition alive, they were making quilts in any way they wanted, each one an original statement. They were expressing what was in their hearts. I started to see my use of traditional patterns and styles as a sort of armor against the vulnerability I would experience if I made things that were wholly original.

In an effort to find my own voice and to make myself vulnerable, I decided to start making quilts that, simple or complicated, calm or frenetic, were objects that only I would make. Since then, I’ve developed my own style, and I feel that I don’t have to consider whether my voice comes through. By making each one a wholly original exploration of a given theme, my voice is inevitably apparent.

When I start a quilt, I have an idea of its theme but not its appearance. All I know is the size, as I make all my quilts around 72 inches square. I use any technique for which I think the project calls. I try to make a complete statement within my size limitation.

Once the top is done, I start designing the quilting

The Bermuda Rectangle 67 x 68 inches (170 x 173 cm), 2019

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with ideas that I think will expand the metaphorical implications of the quilt.

Joe Cunningham with artist Sheila Frampton Cooper in his gallery with his triptych Mariupol.

Work in collections Since quilts were expressly excluded from the world of “high art” from the time they became widely made in the early 19th century, quilters have created our own ecosystem with our own shows, aesthetics, and institutions. These are all completely isolated from the world of art, such that one could win at Houston, at Paducah, at Quilt Visions, and at QuiltCon, take those prizes into any curator’s office and lay them on the desk, and receive no reaction whatsoever. Our honors do not translate into artistic legitimacy in the art world. So when one of my quilts is acquired by a major museum, we can see that it’s not impossible to make the leap. If I can do it, then any of my much more talented contemporaries can make that leap as well, and that is beginning to happen.

Career goals After thinking of myself for years as a writer in a guitar player’s body, I realized that writing was a sideline for me. I could not be a serious quilter, a serious musician, and a serious writer all at once. I write when I feel that I have something original to contribute.

From my earliest years reading the Collier’s Junior Classics books that came with Collier’s Encyclopedia,

all I wanted to do was to read books. In my teen years I started playing music in nightclubs, and only when I was 25 did I find myself teaching guitar at Colorado Northwestern Community College in Craig, Colorado, and taking freshman English classes. There I had some great teachers who saw that I wanted to study literature and writing more than most of their other students. They allowed me to create independent study classes that were like tutoring sessions. I thought I would become an English teacher, but the next summer I met Gwen, took off on quilts, and never returned to college.

What’s next?

I’ve toyed with the idea of writing my memories from the 1980s and 1990s. I think the next thing for me will be to produce a new retreat here at my studio/gallery in San Francisco. I have some solo shows coming up at museums in the next two summers, for which I will need to make new work. Whenever the horrible war is over in Ukraine, I will have a show there and I can donate my Ukrainian-themed quilt to the Kyiv History Museum. www.joecunninghamquilts.com

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artists to watch

Sue de Vanny Greenvale, Australia Sue de Vanny’s detailed works include art quilts and mixed-media collages, almost all incorporating fabric and stitch. They beckon viewers with lifelike poses and colorful details, and they never fail to captivate the imagination.

Finding art quilts Painting and sewing had been separate activities all my life. I made items on the sewing machine, but I was not into quilting until I went to a show and saw art quilts. I have been obsessed with them ever since, and now I’m excited to combine fabric and painting.

After I realized that art quilts were “a thing” and not just patterned bed quilts, I looked at the Internet to learn more. I bought a pattern from Australian quilt artist Lisa Walton, as well some of her hand-dyed fabrics. I enrolled in classes at the Australian Quilt Convention, where I met so many people involved with quilting and discovered magazines, tools, and techniques previously unknown to me.

Making art quilts is an addictive practice. The first call for entry that I responded to was Text On Textile, a special exhibition at the Houston International Quilt Festival. I made a piece entitled Time, hoping it would be juried in — and it was! I was one of 26 international artists to be

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Kiribu Binti Mflame 47 x 74 inches (119 x 188 cm), 2018

accepted. That success sparked further interest in competition, exhibiting textile work, and study.

A painterly touch My pictorial quilts are basically collage work. I use bits of fabric like dollops of paint, and the stitch is the detail work. My later works have considerably more stitching in them, with free-motion quilting adding interest. My quilting is so much better than when I started, because now I know what I am doing and I have better machines. I’ve learned about tension, needles, batting, and threads.

My approach varies between pieces that are made completely from textiles and mixed-media work. There are things I can do and things I can’t in both. While the textile-based work is done on batting and fabric backing, the mixed-media work is on a single layer of linen that acts as a canvas. The needle leaves permanent holes in this base. I work with the linen as is or primed with a medium such as gesso that dries clear and still

Take a Walk on The Wild Side 50 x 38 Inches (127 x 97 cm), 2020

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She Matters 41 x 74 inches (104 x 188 cm), 2019

allows the linen color to be part of the composition. On canvas, the stitch and fabric are treated with a primer after sewing to seal them so that they can accept more acrylics and even oils. You can paint on an art quilt, but it changes the hand of the fabric; on canvas it doesn’t matter.

Aurifil Artisan

Foresight to Capture 20 x 20 inches (51 x 51 cm), 2020

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I was introduced to Aurifil at the 2019 Houston Quilt Market. Sophie Standing, another textile artist, showed my work to an Aurifil team member. I had meetings with them and they asked me to apply. I became an Aurifil Artisan for 2020; my status was extended for another year because of Covid-19. I applied for 2022 and was accepted again. I promote their threads and create inspirational content on social media. Aurifil also gives their Artisans the chance to be part of their monthly challenges. You don’t have to take part every month, but you are expected to do at least four during the year. Then you write a blog or posts that they can use in their magazine or blog.

One reason I love Aurifil thread it that it has real darks that aren’t black. This is essential in my work as I very rarely use black. This fact is also true in my painting. I’ll mix a black but won’t necessarily use it from a tube.

clockwise from left:

Shape I’m In 70 x 72 inches (178 x 183 cm), 2020

Not So Innocent 8 x 8 inches (20 x 20 cm), 2020

Not Just Black and White 16 x 16 inches (41 x 41 cm), 2020

Inspiration I gain insight from all my loves and interests. I love to go to Africa to watch the animals and take photos which become my references. The first time I visited Africa, I came home with more than 8,500 images.

I’ve learned to edit each day! The animals or the photos all have a backstory. She Matters is one that I’m truly fond of. I had a hike to see the mountain gorillas in Rwanda in 2017. These animals are so highly protected, it was an honor to spend an hour with a family. The portrait is of a forty-year-old female who was seven months pregnant. I was in awe to be with her.

Typical day I try to work in my studio every day. It’s my happy place. Looming deadlines take priority, and I spend from two hours to a whole day on a project that’s due soon. I plan where I want to be on that project by the end of the day—if all goes well.

I don’t spend too much time on marketing efforts.

I don’t seem to have time. My husband and I still have a building materials business for which I do bookkeeping. I’m lucky we have it and it has always done well. The pressure is not there for me to earn

a living from my art, although prize money is nice to pay for art materials and machines for my studio.

I hope that in the next few years our son will take over the building materials business since he now works with my husband.

What’s ahead?

I hope to get one of my mixed-media pieces in a major art show and to exhibit in more galleries. I want people to see textile art so that they consider it to be like any other fine-art medium. www.suedevannyartist.com.au

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artists to watch

Cat Larrea Anchorage, Alaska Cat Larrea’s work creates a scene where viewers can dream.

Billowing clouds, trees, and wideeyed predators inhabit a world where color and shape focus attention on the power of nature.

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opposite:

Mesa Clouds 22 x 36 inches (56 x 92 cm), 2022 left:

Now You See Him 56 x 40 inches (142 x 102 cm), 2015 The Hendricks Collection below

Solitude 12 x 12 inches (30 x 30 cm), 2021

The first quilt I have sewn since I was a child, but I mostly made clothing. Decades later, in need of a baby shower gift, I made my first quilt and thought, “This was fun.” I wanted a hobby, so I took a few quilting classes. After a few years of patchwork, I realized traditional quilt making wasn’t for me. One of the last quilt classes I took was how to do curved piecing based on your own designs, and a portal opened to a more creative realm.

My first art quilt class was with Velda Newman at Art Quilt Tahoe in the early 2000s. I spent years perfecting techniques, learning from quilt artists, and developing my style.

Natural inspiration Most of my subjects are from nature. When I’m really attracted to an image, I try to understand why it appeals to me. What does one tree have going for it over the one next to it? Is it the form of the animal or its movement that I’m drawn to? Do I like the pattern repetition I’m seeing in the mud or am I sensing the

oozing texture? This analysis leads me to simplify an image to find its most compelling feature. Often this is as easy as seeing a line created by the edge of one shape against the background. In Now you See Him, the curved line on the left side of the polar bear spoke to me. Solitude began with a photo of a dead tree. I replaced the original background with a dramatically simplified scene, accentuating the tonal contrast as well as the textural contrast between the tree and its environs.

Materials & techniques For the past few years, I’ve focused on working with cotton fabric and fiber-reactive dyes. I’m fascinated by the physics of color, the physiology of how we perceive it, and the cultural biases we impose on its meaning. While I honor some of the colors as they appear in nature, I use a much broader palette, especially in landscapes. I prioritize line and shape more than I do absolute truth in color, though I pay attention to value. Although I still use commercially printed fabric, I use my own hand-dyed or dyepainted fabric in my most recent work. The subtle color variations from hand-dyeing matches my theme of simplification.

I almost always quilt by machine, using hand stitching only in rare instances. I use quilting to follow and SAQA Art Quilt Quarterly | 29

above: Waiting at Kaiteriteri

40 x 16 inches (102 x 41 cm), 2012 right: Silverware

44 x 29 inches (112 x 74 cm), 2014

enhance shapes. I quilt heavily, but my quilting is done to assist in understanding a shape or form rather than to introduce a contrasting or dominant element.

Some of my works are much more photographic, such as Silverware and Waiting at Kaiteriteri.

Photography is most often my first step, followed by fused appliqué. Perhaps a not-so-obvious technique is setting boundaries, sometimes severe.

In Silverware, I restricted myself to a limited, solid-color palette. I chose contrasting blues and oranges in only four or five values each, plus a bit of black and white. My challenge in Kaiteriteri was to use only four pieces of fabric to render the landscape. The realism is in the silhouette of the couple on the bench and of the tree, which I did by creating a screenprint from a photograph. Shiprock also involved a limited, solid-color palette, but was a transition piece because it was the first time I dye30 | SAQA Art Quilt Quarterly

painted a gradation beneath the clouds to enhance an atmospheric perspective; it’s the key element in this work.

Process pathway I typically start a piece with one of my photographs.

While I try to compose through the lens when I take a photo, nature isn’t always as artistic as we wish.

I generally do a lot of photo editing until I get an overall composition I like. From that edited image, I confirm my focal objects and identify enough shapes to convey the feeling of place.

Meares Glacier exemplifies my basic process.

Beginning with my photo of the glacier, I defined the sequence of hills and mountains to give perspective. I enlarged my images and drew an outline of each shape onto cotton fabric prepared with soda ash, which helps fabric accept the dye. Painting with fiber-reactive dyes, I turned each two-dimensional

Meares Glacier 21 x 40 inches (53 x 102 cm), 2020

Shiprock 48 x 32 inches (122 x 81 cm), 2017

shape into a three-dimensional form by varying the value of my colors. The landscape is wildly exaggerated in color to make each shape interesting and to give a sense of inaccessible terrain. Pockets and slopes of snow add dynamic interest through contrast of light and dark. Only the glacier itself and the quasi-reflective sea in front of it provide truer realism.

Once each shape is painted, I wash my fabric, apply a fusing material to the back, and trim each piece to its final shape. All pieces are then arranged and fused together.

What’s ahead I’m still building on simplification to communicate a sense of place in my landscapes. I learn something from every piece I make, and I continue to enjoy and benefit from the workshops that I take that get out of my comfort zone. I plan to teach, but there still is much travel to do and more beautiful places to experience. www.catlarrea.com

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artists to watch

Michael J Ross New Hope, Pennsylvania Michael J Ross is an inquisitive artist.

His explorations yield compositions that surprise and intrigue viewers. He continues to grow, finding colorful new avenues to explore as an artist.

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Magic machine As a child, I was intrigued by the sewing machine and wanted to learn how to use it, although I wasn’t allowed to. So I taught myself when my Mom was at work. She never used it, so she didn’t notice. When the time came that I wanted to buy fabric, I had to admit that I already knew how to sew.

After graduating from New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology (Menswear Design, 2013), I planned to design men’s sweater patterns. I enjoyed incorporating color work into my knitting, but it was a slow process. It was around the same time that I became aware of contemporary quilts. The medium was new to me and I was immediately attracted to its use of color. The fact that making quilts required sewing fabrics together was a bonus. I decided to make some quilt tops at the same time that I had reservations about entering the knitting industry.

Structures #2 98 x 73 inches (249 x 186 cm), 2022

I soon recognized that I needed to learn to dye fabric to get the colors I wanted. I also discovered that many of the artists whose work I admired had studied with artist Nancy Crow. I looked at class offerings at her Crow Timber Frame Barn in central Ohio, and found Carol Soderlund’s Color Mixing class, which I took in 2016. Everything then fell into place to study composition with Nancy for six years.

Inspiring process I’m inspired primarily by color and its effect on perception, particularly a sense of depth and the rendering of space on a two-dimensional surface. The shapes are secondary and depend on the effect I want to achieve. My work is all machine-pieced and quilted on a long-arm. I use cotton fabric for my tops and backs, and the batting is usually bleached

Mutations #7 80 x 78 inches (203 x 198 cm), 2022 SAQA Art Quilt Quarterly | 33

above:

Below The Surface 69 x 62 inches (176 x 158 cm), 2018 below:

Mutations #2 80 x 78 inches (203 x 198 cm), 2018 photos by Andrew Pinkham

c­ otton or wool. My piecing thread is cotton, and for quilting I begin by using a monofilament clear polyester thread; it rarely breaks and is an instant color match for the top fabrics.

Most of my shapes are cut freehand. I’ve made a few pieces with rulers to achieve a specific effect on the edges of shapes. After years of improvisational work, it was a challenge to work with rulers.

I approach each piece as an exploration of an idea. I give myself some rules and limitations and then dive in to see where they lead.

I don’t usually select a color palette; if the fabric is in my stash, it’s available to be used.

My color choices are more instinctual. Dyeing fabric has allowed me to appreciate color in a new way, and I also began letting go of the concept that certain colors don’t go with others. I may find two colors that I don’t want to use together, but that decision is based on how they would interact in a particular piece, not because of art-school rules.

I now recognize that I don’t approach my work with the idea of the final product being a quilt. My focus is on the shapes I place on my design wall and how they can connect with other shapes and colors to create an interesting composition.

Quilting philosophy Using quilt stitches to stabilize a piece is a concept that evolved over time. I didn’t come to this medium with a personal history or love of quilts. I was intrigued by working with color, sewing, and challenging myself with engineering puzzles. I saw that many abstract art quilts were finished with lines rather than patterns or motifs. Early on, I quilted with lines because that was being done by other artists.

Gradually, I realized that my main focus is on colors and shapes, and I didn’t want to place attention on the quilting other than

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Study In Scraps 70 x 71 inches (178 x 181 cm), 2022

what’s necessary to allow a piece to hang flat.

My aim is that viewers see through those lines as a theater patron looks at the stage through a scrim — it’s there, but you see past it.

Series work I have a few series, some more developed than others. They are named when I’ve made a few pieces and realize that they belong together.

My Mutations series is the most extensive. It focuses on using one or more configurations in a variety of ways within one piece. Various color and value combinations are applied to create interesting results. This series was on pause for two years while I explored other ideas, but I returned to it in 2022 and it currently includes seventeen pieces.

Studio flow My workflow moves in waves, each day depending on what needs to be done. I’m not regimented as to following a routine, but when it’s time to work, I turn off my computer and all phone notifications except for a few family members.

I’ve worked pretty much nonstop since 2016, when I focused full time on creating art quilts.

I’m aware of the growth I’ve experienced, and despite all that I’ve accomplished, I feel like I’m just scratching the surface of who I will be as an artist. I’m not ready to give up on quilts, but I’m at a point where I’m feeling the drive to create new work using other materials and different media. I’m exploring surface design and I am also going to explore paint.

Mutations #12 87 x 85 inches (221 x 216 cm), 2021

www.michaeljross.com

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Portfolio Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) is pleased to present our Portfolio gallery. Each issue of Art Quilt Quarterly features a selection of artwork by juried artist members of SAQA, the world’s largest organization devoted to art quilts.

We hope you enjoy this opportunity to immerse yourself in these pages of wonderfully innovative artwork merging the tactile, technological, and traditional aspects of quilted art.

Founded in 1989, SAQA is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the art quilt through exhibitions, publications, and professional development opportunities. We host an annual conference, publish a quarterly Journal, and sponsor multiple exhibitions each year.

www.saqa.com

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Mary Lou Alexander Hubbard, Ohio, United States

Growth #12 51 x 41 x 4 inches (130 x 104 x 10 cm) | 2020 photo by Rudinec and Associates

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Portfolio Geneviève Attinger Arradon, Morbihan, France www.attinger-art-textile.odexpo.com

La Longue Route 55 x 42 inches (140 x 106 cm) | 2020

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Marilyn Belford Caldwell, New Jersey, United States www.marilynbelford.com

Medea Escaping 82 x 102 inches (207 x 259 cm) | 2009

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Portfolio Charlotte Bird San Diego, California, United States www.birdworks-fiberarts.com

Migration 108 x 126 x 8 inches (274 x 320 x 20 cm) | 2018

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Hélène Blanchet Margaree Valley, Nova Scotia, Canada

Down the Shore 19 x 39 inches (48 x 99 cm) | 2020 private collection

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Portfolio Sandra Bruce Grass Valley, California, United States www.sandrabruce.com

Blue-Violet Hand 45 x 15 inches (114 x 38 cm) | 2022

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Lisa Call Paraparaumu, New Zealand lisacall.com

Long Way Home 38 x 38 inches (97 x 97 cm) | 2020

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Portfolio Maryte Collard Siauliai, Lithuania www.marytequilts.eu

Inferno 36 x 36 inches (91 x 91 cm) | 2021

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Vicki Conley Ruidoso Downs, New Mexico, United States www.vicki-conley.com

The Color of Heat - Diptych 50 x 90 inches (127 x 229 cm) | 2021 photo by Doug Conley

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Portfolio Phyllis Cullen Ninole, Hawaii, United States www.phylliscullenartstudio.com

Grandma Are My Wings on Straight?

30 x 22 inches (76 x 56 cm) | 2022 private collection

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Rosalind Daniels Cabot, Vermont, United States www.rosalindsdaniels.com

Bucket Lips 37 x 32 inches (94 x 81 cm) | 2021

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Portfolio Donna Deaver Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, United States www.donnadeaver.com

Emergence 31 x 44 inches (79 x 112 cm) | 2021

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Chiaki Dosho Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa-ken, Japan www.chiakidoshoart.com

The Crossing Times / Black 47 x 63 inches (120 x 160 cm) | 2020 photo by Akinori Miyashita

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Portfolio Petra Fallaux Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States www.petrafallaux.com

Horizon (Holland) 65 x 42 inches (165 x 107 cm) | 2017

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Dianne Firth Turner, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

Floriade #3 52 x 26 inches (133 x 67 cm) | 2021 photo by Andrew Sikorski

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Portfolio Pat Forster Mount Pleasant, Western Australia, Australia patforsterblog.wordpress.com

Red Cloth 2: Opulence 31 x 34 inches (77 x 85 cm) | 2021

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Judith Quinn Garnett Portland, Oregon, United States www.blackdogdesignpdx.com

Syncopation No.1 56 x 36 inches (142 x 91 cm) | 2020 collection of Lisa Ellis | photo by Nora Quinn Garnett

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Portfolio Doria A. Goocher San Diego, California, United States www.designsbydoria.com

Reaching 45 x 30 inches (114 x 75 cm) | 2010

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Gunnel Hag Toronto, Ontario, Canada www.gunnelhagstudio.com

Sun Under Water 23 x 37 inches (58 x 94 cm) | 2022

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Portfolio Barbara Oliver Hartman Flower Mound, Texas, United States barbaraoliverhartman.com

Reclamation: Debris 50 x 47 inches (126 x 118 cm) | 2021

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Rosemary Hoffenberg Wrentham, Massachusetts, United States www.rosemaryhoffenberg.com

Monuments III 48 x 46 inches (122 x 117 cm) | 2020 photo by Joe Ofria

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Portfolio Michelle Jackson Sandia Park, New Mexico, United States www.quiltfashions.com

After the Rain 28 x 24 inches (71 x 61 cm) | 2022

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Jill Kerttula Charlottesville, Virginia, United States www.jillkerttula.com

Just Thinking 36 x 51 inches (91 x 130 cm) | 2021

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Portfolio Paula Kovarik Memphis, Tennessee, United States www.paulakovarik.com

Morph 46 x 45 x 8 inches (117 x 114 x 20 cm) | 2021

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Judy Langille Kendall Park, New Jersey, United States www.judylangille.com

Street Scene 33 x 32 x 2 inches (84 x 81 x 5 cm) | 2021 photo by Peter Jacobs

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Portfolio Sandra E. Lauterbach Los Angeles, California, United States www.sandralauterbach.com

Chanced 52 x 62 inches (132 x 157 cm) | 2021

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Susan Leslie Lumsden Brooksville, Florida, United States www.rebelquilter.com

Mangroves: Coastal Haven 43 x 43 inches (109 x 109 cm) | 2022

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Portfolio Kathleen A. McCabe Coronado, California, United States kathleenmccabe.art

Big House by the Sea 16 x 24 inches (41 x 61 cm) | 2020 photo by Phil Imming

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Denise Oyama Miller Fremont, California, United States www.deniseoyamamiller.com

Seaside 31 x 42 inches (79 x 107 cm) | 2021

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Portfolio Bobbe Shapiro Nolan Eagle Lake, Texas, United States bobbeshapironolan.weebly.com

Flyover 8-Pathways 57 x 36 inches (145 x 91 cm) | 2019 photo by Rick Wells Photography

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Tina Sommer Paaske Slangerup, Sjaelland, Denmark www.tinasommerpaaske

The bench 36 x 40 inches (91 x 102 cm) | 2022 photo by Henrik Nielsen

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Portfolio Pixeladies (Deb Cashatt & Kris Sazaki) Cameron Park, California, United States www.pixeladies.com

The Fragility of Home 103 x 103 inches (262 x 262 cm) | 2021

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Susan Rienzo Vero Beach, Florica, United States www.susanrienzodesigns.com

Unknown Stories 32 x 28 inches (81 x 71 cm) | 2020

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Portfolio Helena Scheffer Beaconsfield, Quebec, Canada www.helenascheffer.ca

Underwater Blues 36 x 36 inches (91 x 91 cm) | 2020

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Sally A. Sellers Vancouver, Washington, United States sallysellers.com

Splendor in the Grass 38 x 45 inches (97 x 114 cm) | 2018 photo by Bill Bachhuber

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Portfolio Catherine Whall Smith Chaplin, Connecticut, United States catherinewhallsmith.com/blog-2

Joined By The Hand Cuffs Burning Embers 41 x 51 inches (104 x 130 cm) | 2021

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Karen Sunday Spencer Portland, Oregon, United States www.karensundayspencer.com

Teatime 36 x 43 inches (91 x 109 cm) | 2021 photo by Hoddick Photography

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Portfolio Tiziana Tateo Vigevano, Italy www.tizianatateo.com

Red Obsession 50 x 66 inches (127 x 167 cm) | 2019

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Maggie Vanderweit Guelph, Ontario, Canada www.stonethreads.ca

Calling All Angels 45 x 43 inches (114 x 109 cm) | 2020

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Portfolio Grace Harbin Wever, Ph.D. Birmingham, Alabama, United States www.weverart.net

Bereaved 51 x 28 inches (130 x 70 cm) | 2022 photo by Jeff White Photography

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Snake Charmers from p. 3 Additionally, the master’s degree candidates initiated the use of natural dyes like indigo, turmeric, pomegranate, and manjistha (Indian madder root), a natural red dye. The candidates also presented design interventions that preserved the authenticity of the motifs while cultivating a spatial symmetry. They also helped to ensure the quilts’ marketability by diversifying the product line, thus fostering sustainability.

The Rajasthani monotone desert provokes an affinity for vibrant colors among many indigenous communities, although previously the Kalbelia employed subdued tones. Today, Mira Bai prefers a vivid, saturated palette. She strikes a balance between a personal penchant and the customer’s preference, resulting in harmonious

and lively colorations. Black symbolizes kaal (death), as seen on the Kalbelia dancers’ costumes, and lends an air of grace when applied to godadis.

Conclusion Due to the time and effort required for this textile art, it tends to take over the duties normally performed by the woman of the house. Living in tents which have no electricity or running water contributes to an increased domestic workload. Fortunately, other family members support creative activities by hauling water and collecting firewood. Additionally, a male family member accompanied each woman who visited Nila House for the exhibition. The quilters’ dedication to the craft is extraordinary, as is the community’s cooperation. Their artful Shared Foundation by Marisa Marquez

SPIRITUALITY • PEACE • HEALING • GRIEF • INSPIRATION • JOY

2022 Traveling Exhibit

Visit our website for dates and locations throughout the USA SPONSORED BY:

Sacred Threads Seeking New Leadership Interested? Visit the website to learn more.

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godadis captured the imagination of a number of international textile merchants who met the quilters for the first time at Nila House. It is remarkable that this traditional quilting looks so contemporary, proving that good design created with heart prevails over time.

With community support and public encouragement, the Kalbelia strive to rise above the challenges presented by an ever-changing world.

Patrick J. Finn has written professionally since 1993, focusing on Indian art, culture and textiles. He consults with museums and private textile collectors including the International Quilt Museum. He was awarded Second Place for Reference Books for Quilts of India: Timeless Textiles (Niyogi 2014) at the New Delhi World Book Fair, 2015. Other publications: Quilt Story: The Cultural Heritage, Field Guide for India, Bangladesh & Pakistan, and India Up Close. He is a featured author in Masterpieces at the Jaipur Court.

Copyright from p. 5 of the artwork and the rights retained by the artist can make you a more knowledgeable collector.

[Ed. note: This article is for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Neither SAQA nor the author accept any liability or responsibility for the information contained herein. If you have specific legal questions, consult an attorney.]

Dorothy Raymond is a retired intellectual property law attorney who now devotes her time to making art quilts. Her works have been in numerous invitational shows and juried into regional, national, and international fiber art exhibits, including Visions, Sacred Threads, and Art Quilt Elements. She is a former board member of Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA), and now coordinates the Juried Artist program for SAQA.

Hudson River Valley Fiber Art Workshops Create, experiment, and learn with us at our historic Victorian property in New York’s inspiring Hudson Valley.

2023 Workshops Sue Spargo Apr 2-8 Sandra Mollon Apr 12-16 Sue Stone Apri 16-22 Denise Labadie Apr 23-29 Apr 30-May 6 Sarah Ann Smith Jul 30-Aug 5 Joe Cunningham Lisa Binkley Aug 6-12 Cindy Grisdela Aug 13-19 Deborah Fell Aug 20-26 Aug 27-Sep 2 Jane Sassaman Katie Pasquini Masopust Oct 8-14 Sue Benner Oct 15-21 Lesley Riley Oct 22-28 Jen Duffin Nov 1-5 Marjolaine Arsenault Nov 5-11 Susan Lenz Dec 10-16 www.fiberartworkshops.com | info@artworkshops.com | (518) 966-5219 | @HudsonRiverArt SAQA Art Quilt Quarterly | 79

spotlight on collections

photo by Doug Conley

Picnic on the Pecos 35 x 64 inches (87.5 x 160 cm), 2017 Collection: North Valley Senior Center, Albuquerque (purchased via New Mexico Art in Public Places)

Vicki Conley

80 | SAQA Art Quilt Quarterly

Around 1912, my friend’s family migrated west to make a new home in New Mexico’s Hondo Valley. The casual, relaxed nature of this photograph, taken as they journeyed through the eastern part of the state, stands in stark contrast to the stiff, formal portraits characteristic of that time. The family picnics in the shade of their wagon while the little girls play in the grass with their parasols. The scene perfectly encapsulates the idea of home as a haven, traveling with everything and everyone you need.

The techniques for this quilt are machine appliqué and machine quilting.

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new acquisitions

Twisting the Plot, 68 x 79 inches (173 x 200 cm), 2008

photo by Pol Leemans

Collection: International Quilt Museum, University of Nebraska, Lincoln

Linda Colsh

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This work is about mystery, beauty, and the complexities of growing old. As I was watching people in the Istiklal Caddesi (a pedestrian street) in Istanbul, the finely dressed woman in her à la mode hat caught my eye. My mind filled immediately with questions about the mystery woman: Who is she? Why is she carrying a bouquet of roses? Where is she rushing to? What reason for her hurry?Answers that seemed so evident began to unwind in my imagination. I recalled stories about Agatha Christie’s time in room 411 of the Pera Palace Hotel, where she hid a key under a floorboard. The key is said to open a box containing her diary with the explanation for her mysterious 11-day disappearance in 1926. In my mind I named the rose lady “Agatha.”

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