Visionary (SAQA Regional exhibition)

Visionary How Do Artists See? A juried SAQA Regional Exhibition Presented by the Maine/New Hampshire/Vermont SAQA Region with work from New England and New York

Visionary A juried SAQA Regional Exhibition Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York Premiering at the Vermont Quilt Festival, Essex Junction VT • June 24 – June 27, 2020 Maine Fiberarts, Topsham ME • July 1 – August 29, 2020 Artist’s Reception, July 12, 2020 Mancuso, Springfield MA • August 2021 Other venues to be announced.

Juror:

Carol Larson

Curators: Sarah J. Aubry and Ellen Fisher

Visionary “Visionary” is an exploration of how and what artists see. The prospectus for this exhibit invited fiber artists to create a quilt that would capture their particular ways of seeing.

There are so many possibilities! Examples include seeing ahead to future events and seeing from an unusual visual perspective such as close-up or from a distant view.

Seeing can also mean finding a new understanding, such as through play or discovery or the creative use of color or light and shadow. The artwork which was selected for this exhibit demonstrates all these ways of seeing, and many more.

To enrich the viewer’s experience of this exhibit, each quilt is accompanied by a statement from its maker which includes the phrase, “I see.” Since the quilts were all required to measure 20” x 20”, the exhibit has a unity within which the vision of each artist is clear while that vision can be easily contrasted to that of the other artists.

“Visionary” is a juried regional exhibition of art quilts which were created by Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) members. Participating regions include Maine/New Hampshire/ Vermont, Massachusetts/Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York.

Debuting at the Vermont Quilt Festival in Burlington, Vermont, from June 24 to 27, 2020, “Visionary” will then appear at Maine Fiberarts in Topsham, Maine from July 1 through August 29, 2020. It will also be featured at the Springfield, Massachusetts, Mancuso Show in August 2021. Other venues may also be featured.

Curators: Sarah J. Aubry and Ellen Fisher Juror: Carol Larson 6

Juror’s Statement It was my honor to be asked to jury Visionary for the SAQA regions of ME/NH/VT, MA/RI, CT & NY. It was interesting to see how the artists interpreted the theme.

I was particularly drawn to those pieces which address climate change. Artivism is alive & well in this exhibit!

Burning Our Future is beautifully designed and bears such a powerful message, as wildfires continue to rampage much of our planet. Another important reminder comes in A New Day Dawns Promising Hope - Save Our Bumble Bees. The inclusion of the artist’s images and stitching add depth, interest and complexity to this piece.

Free to be Me brings awareness of our endangered species.

Where Grass Once Was is not only a sad reminder of climate change but a beautifully executed work. The sun-print is stunning, and the stitching only adds to its subtle yet powerful message. Plastic Heaven optimistically sees a future without single use plastic.

Living in a Material World struck me as the most powerful piece in this exhibit. The artist clearly conveyed the pensive child overwhelmed by the acquisition of stuff in a black and white world. It is both beautiful and haunting.

The two other pieces that commanded my attention, were Joyful and Circles. They both were intricately detailed in design, and striking in appearance as they reflected the skill of their maker.

Congratulations to all of the artists for their outstanding work in this exhibit.

Carol Larson

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Alice Cooper alicecooper@cox.net alicecooperquilts.com Trending controls everything in our media driven world and I see myself shamefully out of sync. I now resolve that moving forward, instead of confession, I will proudly proclaim: I am not trending, I am so not trending!

Technique Machine pieced, machine quilted Materials Fabric, batting, thread Not for Sale

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Proclamation 20” x 20”

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Cindy Bartosewcz cbartos@myfairpoint.net The Butterfly Effect says that a seemingly insignificant action in one place, such as the flapping of butterfly wings, can have a significant effect in another part of the world. I see acts of kindness by all people, rippling out to overcome chaos and inspiring a peaceful existence.

Technique Machine appliquĂŠ with some thread painting,

machine quilted Materials Cotton fabrics and thread For Sale

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$400.00

The Butterfly Effect 20” x 20”

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Cindy Bartosewcz cbartos@myfairpoint.net Nearly all species of sea turtles are endangered, due to climate change, environmental pollution, and hunting. I see a world where all plants and animals are safe from the threat of extinction, mankind lives in harmony with their environment, and all life is respected.

Technique Machine appliquĂŠ and thread painting,

machine quilted Materials Cotton fabrics and thread, tulle, organza For Sale

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$400.00

Free to Be Me 20” x 20”

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Diane Powers-Harris yearfive@hotmail.com Man’s ignorance endangers native bumble bees. As education and stewardship provide awareness and impetus for grass roots action, I see hope their extinction can be prevented.

Technique Artist images on fabric, machine piecing,

machine appliquĂŠ, domestic machine quilting Materials Bridal satin, Kona cotton,

Cherrywood hand dyes, silk leaves For Sale

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$1200.00

A New Day Dawns Promising Hope - Save Our Bumble Bees 20” x 20”

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Donna J. Stalaboin donnasta@roadrunner.com djstalaboin.com On earth a fire is burning every day. I see our grandchildren’s future going up in smoke if we don’t reverse climate change.

Alternately, I see rebirth for our great-grandchildren to enjoy.

Technique My altered photos layered, free motion quilted, faced Materials Printed (Fabric on Demand) on cotton/linen fabric,

cotton blend batting, cotton backing For Sale

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$525.00

Photo: Larcom Studios

Burning Our Future 20” x 20”

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Ellen Fisher ellen@fisher.cc A Japanese maple has so many aspects — changing seasons, colors that vary with the light, close-ups or distant views.

I see them all at once.

Technique Eco-printing, stamping, appliquĂŠ,

piecing, machine stitching Materials Silk, linen, cotton For Sale

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$400.00

Photo: Joe Ofria

Japanese Maple 20” x 20”

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Ellen Fisher ellen@fisher.cc I see organic lines everywhere: ripples on a pond, grasses in the wind, waves washing onto the beach, bands of snow in drifts.

Technique Bundled and eco-printed with string resist,

pieced, and free-motion machine quilted Materials Cotton fabrics For Sale

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$400.00

Photo: Joe Ofria

Organic Lines 20” x 20”

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Josephine Carubia jo.carubia@gmail.com Delight in movement animates a vibrant scene: I see the rhythms and flow of bright sensuous threads of sound orchestrated for enchantment.

Technique Contemporary abstract faux trapunto, free motion quilting Materials International and domestic fabrics, vintage and new For Sale

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$600.00

Specularia: Wild Dance at Night 20” x 20”

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Leslie W. Vieth lwvieth@comcast.net I see representations of modernism in 4000-year-old Egyptian pyramids.

Technique Hand-dyed by the artist

Machine-pieced, machine-quilted Materials 100% cotton Not for Sale

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Photo: William P. Vieth

Pyramid

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20” x 20”

Maya Chaimovich mayachaimovich@gmail.com mayachaimovich.com All my life I see peace, “Shalom” in Hebrew, in the distant future. Still, I believe and am confident that the long-awaited day will come and “Shalom” will prevail in our country.

Technique Small pieces on interfacing fusible fabric,

free motion machine quilted Materials Recycled different fabrics such as cotton, silk,

lace, synthetic, and velvet For Sale

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$1,200.00

Photo: Moti Chaimovich

Shalom

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20” x 20”

Nancy Ann Belsky nancybelsky@outlook.com I see shadow images of where grass once was as I remove spent blades from sun painted fabric. Is this a metaphor for the vanishing grasslands across our planet?

Technique Sun painted whole cloth on cotton

Free motion quilting, organza overlay in parts Materials Cotton For Sale

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$375.00

Where Grass Once Was 20” x 20”

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Rana O’Connor roconnor@maine.rr.com ranaquilts.wordpress.com Our world insists on the acquisition of material things as a measure of success even though our adherence to this path has created a colorless world for many.

I see this child, living a black and white reality, engulfed in a material world that clamors for attention.

Technique Raw edge fabric collage Materials Commercial cottons For Sale

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$525.00

Living in a Material World 20” x 20”

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Rebecca Szetela rebecca@createsew.com I encountered a perfect rose on a walk in my neighborhood, and I fell in love. As I made this quilt, I found that my experience was not only visual and intellectual and emotional, but spiritual as well. I see infinity in the depth of a rose.

Technique AppliquĂŠ with satin stitch, combination of free motion quilting

and satin stitch for contrast and accent

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Materials

Cotton, Warm and Natural 100% needled cotton batting, Guterman 100% polyester thread plus Mettler silver metallic and multi-color thread and Pearsall’s Gossamer Silk thread for hand embellishment

For Sale

$675.00

My Little Rose 20” x 20”

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Ree Fagan reefagan@gmail.com reefagan.com I see 20 more Novembers where the winds come up, the grass still has some green, the leaves are dying, the trees are bare, and the rivers are darker. “20 More” is not a countdown; it’s a reminder to be intentional on how I spend these Novembers.

Technique Fabric painting, thread painting, free motion quilting Materials Cotton For Sale

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$2,000.00

20 More Novembers 20” x 20”

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Rosalind Daniels rozdaniels@gmail.com rosalindsdaniels.com In the future, I see all of today’s plastic sparkling away in Plastic Heaven having been replaced here on earth by products that are biodegradable or more easily recycled.

Technique Original photos printed on cotton sateen, machine pieced,

quilted by hand and machine, trapunto, and beading by hand Materials Cotton sateen, beads Not for Sale

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Plastic Heaven 20” x 20”

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Sarah J. Aubry sarahaubry@vermontel.net sarahjaubry.com Each year, as I see the color draining from my garden, I gather seeds in anticipation of the new life that will burst out when the spring sunlight returns.

Technique Artist’s digital image, acrylic, watercolor pencil, gel medium,

pigma brush, carbon transfer and stencilling Fused, machine quilted

Materials Muslin, cotton/linen blend (Fabric on Demand) For Sale

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$900.00

Anticipation 20” x 20”

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Stephanie Shore shore@hsph.harvard.edu Despite the layers of confusion and disinformation, I see happier times ahead.

Technique A fabric collage was layered with pieces of fused fabric,

paint, and acrylic markers, then cut up and rearranged

on a background fabric that forms the grid Materials Cotton For Sale

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$450.00

Photo: Joe Ofria

Joyful 20” x 20”

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Stephanie Shore shore@hsph.harvard.edu I am extremely myopic. Here, variations in value and use of small dots create a vision of circles seen through a haze and represents how I see with and without corrective lenses.

Technique Posca pens and cotton fabrics, many hand-dyed by the artist,

fused, painted, appliquĂŠd Materials Cotton For Sale

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$450.00

Photo: Joe Ofria

Circles 11 20” x 20”

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Stephanye Schuyler stephsky@comcast.net stephanyeschuyler.com After the sad loss of our companion dog Angus, Scottish Terrier Pepper and I see the morning sunrise, tears, change and hope. We discover early morning walks at Rye Harbor as the sun rises and a new day dawns.

Technique Photo transfer and Photoshop filters, fabric painting,

raw edged appliquĂŠ and quilting Materials Cotton fabric, felt, cotton and metallic thread,

Intense blocks and pencils For Sale

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$500.00

Photo: Stephanye Schuyler

Pepper’s Mourning Vision 20” x 20”

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Stephanye Schuyler stephsky@comcast.net stephanyeschuyler.com We are a nation of immigrants, and I see a future of continued diversity, thanks to open immigration. Today’s G.O.A.T.s’ (Greatest Of All Time) ancestors were mostly from Europe and Africa. In the future, will they hale from other areas including Muslim and Central/South American nations?

Technique Photo transfer, fabric painting, raw edge appliqué, quilting Materials Cotton, felt, Angelina fibers, cotton thread, Inktense pencils,

acrylic paint, Shiva paint sticks, Sharpie pens For Sale

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$500.00

Photo: Stephanye Schuyler

Future G.O.A.T.s Heritage?

20” x 20”

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Suzanne Munroe smunroe@cox.net suzannemunroe.com Brenden sat poised and attentive as he listened to his grandmother reminisce about the days when he was young and full of mischief. “I see, I see” he quietly murmured with a sort of sad truth that those days were forever gone.

Technique Raw edge appliqué, free motion quilting

on domestic machine Materials Cotton fabrics, cotton batting, thread Not for Sale

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Seeing Inward 20” x 20”

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Suzanne Neusner suzanne.neusner@gmail.com quiltsbysuzanne.com I see the binding, which is usually secondary in the quilt’s formation, uniting all the floral shapes into a necklace of vines around a central motif.

Technique Cotton fabrics, textile paint; machine pieced,

appliquĂŠ, quilted, reverse appliquĂŠ; hand painted Materials Cotton fabrics For Sale

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$750.00

Floral Flames 20” x 20”

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Tamar Drucker tedquilt@gmail.com tamardrucker.com August last year was a sad month with gun violence. I see the young generation voicing strong protest. I see a voice of hope for our world.

Technique Raw edge collage, home Bernina free-motion machine-quilted Materials Cottons, cotton batting For Sale

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$450.00

Photo: Tamar Drucker

August

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20” x 20”

Veronica Mays conaky.quilter@gmail.com conakysquilts.com I see a day when we will have a female president! She will bring something fresh to the office including the wisdom, joys, and challenges of womanhood. From left to right: Michelle Obama, Elizabeth Warren, Oprah Winfrey, Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris.

They have each been encouraged to run.

Technique Raw edge appliquĂŠ Materials Cotton fabric, cotton batting, cotton and polyester threads For Sale

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$400.00

Madama President 20” x 20”

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Victoria Findlay Wolfe victoria@vfwquilts.com vfwquilts.com Sleeping under colorful polyester quilts, I’d see patterns, designs, shapes, and get all these creative ideas. I could not fall asleep with the visions of things I could create filling my brain. This still happens, but I have learned that meditation calms me as I drift off to dreamland.

Technique Machine pieced fabrics, embroidery, hand quilting,

machine quilting, digital printed image Materials Cotton Not for Sale

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Photo: Alan Radon

What Keeps You Up At Night?

20” x 20”

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Carol Larson, Juror tallgirl1207@gmail.com live2dye.com Due to climate change California is facing the irony of too little water & too much water in a year’s time. Both wildfires and floods have devastated communities, taken lives and forever changed the landscape. This foresees to be the new normal.

Technique Screen-printed with original imagery,

machine appliquĂŠ and stitched

Materials Commercial and hand-dyed cottons,

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cotton batt & thread

For Sale

$600.00

Fire & Flood 3 20” x 20”

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Curator’s Statements Sarah J. Aubry Artists see possibilities and patterns of connection with their mind’s eye as well as with their eyes and hands. Intuition, knowledge, and skill are combined to create something that didn’t exist before.

Artists hone their multi-faceted ability to see with every piece they create. They look to the future to find the path that will lead them to their next piece.

Artists are visionaries, through and through.

Both of my grandmothers were painters, and I had my first critique when I was 5 years old. They taught me not to assume, but to look with clarity, to see deeper.

I studied painting and printmaking at the University of Washington in Seattle, and was a graphic designer/art director in Seattle and Boston. I now spend my days at Cloud Hill Studio, here on my Vermont hilltop. “Visionary” is the first juried SAQA Regional Exhibition I have been included in.

A big thank-you to Ellen Fisher, co-curator. Ellen is a master of words, and her work on our prospectus played a major part in getting us to where we are today. Ellen is a positive force for goodness, and I’m so glad she volunteered her time and expertise. More big thanks to our excellent committee, whose names are on the following page.

It has been my pleasure to be a co-curator for “Visionary” during my term as SAQA Regional Rep for ME/NH/VT. The journey has been eye-opening — in the best way.

Sarah J. Aubry, Co-Curator

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Ellen Fisher I love plants, and I have been sewing for as long as I can remember. Eventually, those things, and my career in landscape design and conservation, led me to the fiber art I practice today. It seems almost inevitable.

I have been designing and making art quilts for about twenty years, but I have only been responding to Calls for Entry to exhibit my work for about three years. I find that I love the experience of meeting other artists and interested viewers and getting to talk about our art. What better way to do more of that than to volunteer to help create an exhibit? I am so glad I did.

A coherent collection of pieces, such as “Visionary,” is a work of art itself, one step in scale above individual artworks. Because of this, helping to put together this exhibit has helped me see my art—all art, in fact-- in yet another way. Organizing an exhibit is parallel to an individual artist choosing content and then executing a single work, but it is not done alone. Thanks to all our many collaborators.

I want to note two special thank-yous. First, to my co-curator, Sarah Aubry, a diligent and talented leader, especially expert in technology, who is a joy to work with. And also to our juror, Carol Larson. Carol was so responsive and supportive that we felt confident beyond our experience. We especially thank her for making a new quilt, in the 20”x 20” format of the exhibit, to add to “Visionary.” That was above and beyond!

Ellen Fisher, Co-Curator

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Thank You! Many thanks to the ME/NH/VT “Visionary” Exhibition Committee!

Your experience, knowledge, generosity, and energy are indispensable.

Cindy Bartosewcz, Donna Stalaboin, Rana O’Connor, and Stephanye Schuyler

And many thanks to the SAQA Regional Reps who have helped with planning and exhibiting “Visionary” in their regions. So glad you joined us on this journey!

MA/RI — Suzanne Munroe & Sue Bates CT — Jan Doyle & Mary Lachman NY — Vivien Zepf

Our juror, Carol Larson. Thank you for your warm and generous spirit, and for accepting our invitation to create a piece for “Visionary”. We are delighted to have had the opportunity to work with you, and to have one of your quilts hanging with ours in this exhibition.

Last but not least: a big thank you to the folks at SAQA: Desi Vaughn, Betty Busby, Jennifer Solon, and Diane Harris. Thank you for your assistance and guidance along the way. You helped us to make the most of our Regional Exhibition.

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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.

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 30 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

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What I See

Catalog Design:  Sarah J. Aubry Z Cloud Hill Studio, Wells, Vermont