Shifting Tides co
nvergence in cloth
Art Quilts from Seven SAQA Pacific Regions
Shifting Tides co
nvergence in cloth
This exhibit focuses on the current state of the Pacific Ocean ecosystem, its marvelous natural diversity, and the human activities that both sustain and threaten oceanic life. Art Quilts from 7 SAQA Pacific Regions Alaska • Hawaii • Northern California & Northern Nevada • Oregon • Southern California & Southern Nevada • Washington • Western Canada
Venues: Works/San José San Jose, California, April 19 - May 5, 2019 Pacific Northwest Quilt & Fiber Arts Museum La Conner, Washington, June 26 - September 29, 2019 Chehalem Cultural Center Newberg, Oregon, March 3- April 25, 2020 CityScape Community Art Space North Vancouver, BC, Canada, May 15 - June 13, 2020 Wailoa Center Hilo, Hawaii, July 10 - July 30, 2020 International Gallery of Contemporary Art Anchorage, Alaska, September 4 - September 26, 2020 Pratt Museum Homer, Alaska, October 9 - November 28, 2020 Visions Art Museum San Diego, California, January 16 - April 4. 2021 Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History Pacific Grove, California, July16 - September 12, 2021 Prior to attending it is always best to check the exact exhibition dates with the venue. SAQA was founded in 1989 as a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote the art quilt through education, exhibitions, professional development, documentation and publications.
www.saqa.com
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How This All Came Together
Welcome to SHIFTING TIDES: CONVERGENCE IN CLOTH, an exploration of the effect of the Pacific Ocean on the lives of people living in the coastal states and province of the North American continent and in Hawaii! Merely because we live in this part of the world, we as individuals are part of the Pacific ecosystem. On a daily basis we may not recognize the changes that are happening, but they are of vital importance to our world. In the prospectus for this exhibit, we challenged SAQA artists to consider the ramifications and consequences of their Pacific connection. We were stunned with the variety and emotional intensity of their responses, as well as with the beauty and graphic impact of their work. An exhibit was born, and it far exceeded our expectations. We thank the many SAQA members from the seven Pacific-touching regions who took our challenge to heart and put in their time and talent to share their experiences, hopes, fears and artistic skill. We thank our juror for making the hard choices required to build the exhibition; for every quilt accepted there was at least one more equally qualified. With the opening of the exhibition and the publication of this catalog, we are sharing the results with you, the viewer, encouraging you to look, learn and listen to how forty-five SAQA artists have explored the shifting tides of the Pacific ecosystem.
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We must also thank the museum and gallery directors who reviewed our proposal and agreed that their patrons would not want to miss this major exhibit. Our gratitude also goes to our sponsors, and to the SAQA organization. We feel this exhibition serves SAQA’s mission to promote the art quilt as a fine art medium while showcasing SAQA artists in our wider “Pacific” region. We are happy to have you join us in this creative experience. Sonja Campbell and Georgia French
Our Steering Committee was diligent and dedicated, contributing hundreds of hours to make our vision a reality. SHIFTING TIDES: CONVERGENCE IN CLOTH Steering Committee: Sonja Campbell and Georgia French, Co-Chairs Phyllis A. Cullen Giny Dixon Carolyn Higgins Lisa Jenni Jennie Johnston Cat Larrea Jennifer Hammond Landau Sheryl LeBlanc Denise Oyama Miller Patricia Porter
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Ann Johnston, Juror It is a privilege to have had the opportunity to study all the artwork for Shifting Tides: Convergence in Cloth submitted from seven North Pacific regions of SAQA. The topic demands a passion we all feel, and the quilts dealt with the subject and the passion in many different ways; all of them hit me as having merit and value. The written statements expanded on the thoughts of the artists and helped me understand the works. Being a juror is a risky business because it implies falsely that I know what is “best.” I am a fellow artist and what I know is only based on my experiences as a viewer and as a maker. Choosing the pieces for the exhibit required me to try to set aside my natural preferences in order to look as objectively as possible at each piece, then look at each piece in relationship to all the others. The qualities I focused on for this exhibit are these: • Ability to engage the viewer • Integration of design elements • Complexity of presentation of the theme • Continuity of composition and artist statement • Visible hand of the artist in marks, stitches, shapes The choices were very hard—there are quilts that I did not select that could just as easily have been in the exhibit as some of the others. The intention of the exhibit was not only to choose good pieces but also to include a representative range of habitats and issues in reference to our Pacific ecosystem. I also wanted to include a range of design approaches and construction techniques. I think the resulting exhibit is a showcase of art that will enlighten the viewers about quilts and encourage exploration of solutions to one of our most anguishing ecological problems. 4
In the meantime, we all keep making and learning and growing with our own points of view and sets of skills. Your work is for yourself, and you are its ultimate juror.
Photographer: Jim Lommasson
Ann Johnston
37 h x 35 w
“Wave 15 (red)” I have spent a lot of time staring at ocean waves and wondering how to make that sensation into a quilt design, imagining the complex forces that create a wave, imagining what it feels like to be in a wave. As you can see, this is #15 in the series. This one came out RED because red is the color of—among other things—heat and anger. It won’t be long before the many of the changes occurring in our ocean will be irreversible. 5
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ART
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Clare Attwell
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada 56 h x 40 w
“Surging Tides of Consequences” Milton Friedman famously used the manufacture of a classic yellow pencil as an illustration for free market economics. Yet Friedman’s pencil metaphor meant many important but difficult to measure variables were not considered. The social and environmental consequences of this approach are now everywhere, from climate chaos to mass human migration and species extinctions. As though we are facing The Great Wave Off Kanagawa, Hokusai’s iconic wood cut print, there is a growing sense that life on earth is on an ominous precipice, driven by a system incapable of valuing what really matters. 8
Karen Balos
Oakland, California, USA
Photographer: Sibila Savage
33 h x 40 w
“Port of Oakland” The Port of Oakland links the West Coast to the Pacific Ocean. As an economic entity, it has both the problems (pollution, dredging spoils) and benefits (carbon-saving “green” routes, i.e., train to ship; ferry commuting service) of that connection. It is our portal to the world, and our responsibility to the ecology of the sea.
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Nancy Bardach Berkeley, California, USA
60 h x 38 w
“Rising Tides” Rising seas caused by climate change are threatening to all. Whether urban seawalls collapse or beaches for sea lions and elephant seals erode, human beings suffer and lose. We seem to be surfing uphill in our current battle to avert this tragic future. NOTE: This piece is one of my activity-packed series called Racing. 10
Diana Bartelings
Rock Creek, British Columbia, Canada 24 h x 37 w
“Help Me� A turtle tangled in a seining net spies a diver and swims for help. Thankfully the divers are all too happy to help these poor creatures whose ocean has become polluted by our carelessness.
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Alice Beasley
Oakland, California, USA
Photographer: Sibila Savage
57 h x 38 w
“In My Wake” We all know our oceans are “drowning” in our packaging. But this exhibition has forced me to recognize that ocean pollution isn’t just “somebody else’s problem.” Each item shown is a fabric replica of packaging culprits that I found in my own house – plastic, cardboard, glass, aluminum and paper. Here is the worst case scenario: my household disposables adrift in an ocean in the wake of a container ship bringing still more rubbish to me. 12
Beth Blankenship Anchorage, Alaska, USA
48 h x 27 w
“Nowhere To Run To, Nowhere To Hide” The Pacific Ocean is warming. This reality spells trouble for many sea creatures, especially those living in frigid northern waters. Cod, pollock and northern shrimp—seafoods we enjoy eatingrely on very cold water to feed and to breed. The range where they thrive is shifting farther and farther northward. Soon they will run out of “north”—Arctic Cod already have.
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Bonnie M. Bucknam Vancouver, Washington, USA
Photographer: Mark Frey
60 h x 30 w
“Estuary-Anaheim Back Bay” I grew up in Southern California where oil production sometimes blended into the environment. The estuary was a place where shorebirds flourished among the oil derricks.
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Sharon Carvalho Sisters, Oregon, USA
Photographer: Melinda Knapp
41 h x 32 w
“Colors of Melting Glaciers� Glaciers are ten percent of all land area and are melting at a rate that makes them critical signs for climate change. Glaciers in the Cascades have shrunk by about 50% since 1900. With this melt, sea level rise could reach 230 feet. The chilled waters from glacial melt will do nothing to mitigate warming ocean water. That means not only more frequent and severe hurricanes but also decimation of marine life, including coral reefs—all of which will result in limiting major food supplies for the world. 15
Barbara Confer Petaluma, California, USA
25 h x 36 w
“Requiem� On the North Coast, many old oak trees have become victims of a disease known as Sudden Oak Death, a sickness brought into the state on plants from South America. Hundreds of old oaks have perished from this disease. The tree pictured here lived in the large regional park behind my house. Even when no longer alive, it is still beautiful.
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Judith Content Palo Alto, California, USA
Photographer: James Dewrance
54 h x 22 w
“Sea Change” A sea change isn’t a modest change, but something that no longer resembles what it once was. If rising temperatures continue and increasingly massive Pacific storms result, coastal ecosystems could experience a perilous metamorphosis. As I worked on this quilt, images of storm surges and flooding swept through my mind and onto the cloth I was dyeing and quilting. “Sea Change” was inspired by an ocean on the brink of radical change.
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Phyllis A. Cullen Ninole, Hawaii, USA
33 h x 38 w
“The Burning Sea” A photo I took from a boat 10 feet from the lava rushing into the sea was my inspiration to depict the tumultuous events defining our island. The water around us was steaming, and lava bombs were flying.
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Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry Port Townsend, Washington, USA
41 h x 41 w
“Splash” In June of 2018 we took a photographic expedition to the north end of Vancouver Island in British Columbia. We spent two twelve-hour days on a small boat viewing wildlife. In the Broughton Islands we encountered a pod of 200-300 Pacific white-sided dolphins. They followed in the wake of the boat, jumping through the wake and splashing back into the water, looking like they were having lots of fun. My husband Ron was shooting ten frames per second with a fast shutter speed and caught several pictures of the frolicking dolphins. With Ron’s permission, this quilt is based on the most graphic of those photos.
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Judith Quinn Garnett Portland, Oregon, USA
Photographer: Sam Garnett
50 h x 41 w
“2050” As of 2018, China no longer accepts plastic recycling from the US due to the commingled abundance of contaminated waste. I was impelled to observe plastics in my own home. The pile of thoughtless waste multiplied - even our Portland newspapers arrive in plastic bags. As my concern grew, I began fusing the bags as the surface of this piece. Research states that by 2050 the plastics that have migrated into the North Pacific will be greater than the population of fish. Can we shift the tides of consumption before we drown in the plastic ocean we created? 20
Alisa Golden
Berkeley, California, USA 60 h x 44 w
“Undersea Colonies” Deep in the Pacific, where plates collide, the earth’s kitchen builds. The Juan de Fuca ridge has been home to tube worms, palm worms, and deep-sea creatures. Yet for how long? Disregarding life, probing tools now dredge for magnesium, cobalt, and gold. Like the ridge, the text fragments and collides: “We will not be planting a flag on Juan de Fuca ridge - The plates rattled before dinosaurs - The volcano will spew after robots - Tick tock - Tectonic.” 21
Louise Hall
Hanford, California, USA
Photographer: Rhames Photography
36 h x 36 w
“Atomic Atoll” The Dome on Runit Island is a legacy of the United States atomic testing from 1946-1958. Runit is one of 40 islands in the Enewetak Atoll, part of the Marshall Islands. Runit Dome, or The Tomb as the locals call it, is a legacy of the 43 nuclear tests the United States conducted there. The 18" thick concrete dome was constructed in 1979 in one of the old bomb craters. The crater, unlined due to cost considerations, is filled with nuclear waste and solid chunks of highly toxic plutonium. The sea level has risen and is penetrating the dome due to the porous nature of the sand and coral that comprises the atoll. With climate change, the increasing ferocity of storms is of enormous concern because Runit is only 2' above sea level. The contents of the dome, as well the surrounding sediments, are dangerously radioactive. 22
Janet Hiller Eugene, Oregon, USA
Photographer: Jon Christopher-Meyers
35 h x 40 w
“An Instance of Change” Every evening is the same–as regular and peaceful as clockwork. Yet every evening presents a different drama in that one instant before the setting of the sun. A shift in light, perhaps. Or the sudden, alarming change in direction of a flock of seabirds.
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June Jaeger
Sisters, Oregon, USA
Photographer: Paige Vitek
46 h x 36 w
“Topical Metamorphism” A great diversity of global climate and landscape come together in the Pacific Northwest. Seen from above, a topical map section of the northwest shoreline shows the complexity of where rivers meet the ocean. River sediments deposited into the ocean curb erosion and create a protective breakwater. The mixed ecosystem of sea and land form a shoreline of continual change: topical metamorphism. 24
Lisa Jenni
Redmond, Washington, USA 33 h x 41 w
“Rings of Eternity” A gigantic collection of plastic, trash and lost fishing nets is floating halfway between Hawaii and California. Its size is said to extend over an area bigger than the State of Texas. However, this floating mess is not unique to the northern Pacific; a similar patch of debris is found in the southern Pacific, North & South Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean. Much of the plastic trash, such as the little safety-seal rings on food and beverage containers, could be avoided if consumers, producers and waste managers worldwide would work together to find better alternatives. Especially these colorful rings have been found in carcasses of chicks of albatrosses, who die eventually of malnutrition.
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Jennifer Hammond Landau San Francisco, California, USA
Photographer: Sibila Savage
34 h x 38 w
“Mighty Mussel” Mussels thrive along the Pacific coast, providing a critical role in the ecosystem as well as a tasty meal. Like other bivalves, mussels are a natural filtration system, cleaning toxins from tidewaters. In using mussels to test the pollution levels in Seattle’s waters, disturbingly, scientists are finding high levels of caffeine and opioids. I admit that this “household cleaning” function makes me wonder a bit about what I am ingesting when enjoying the family favorite, Moules Frites.
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Cat Larrea
Anchorage, Alaska, USA 30 h x 36 w
“Tidewater Glacier” A tidewater glacier is one that reaches the sea. Having lived for over thirty years in Alaska, one of the most dramatic indicators of global warming I have witnessed is the alteration and thermal erosion of our sea level “ice rivers”. My representation simplifies how multiple glaciers, like rivers, can flow together. However, in a relatively short time, my imaginary glacier will become two independent ones as it melts and seemingly withdraws up each valley. Gone will be its icebergs, its thunder as it fractures and calves, and in its place will be new exposed earth, ready for the change vegetation brings.
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Sheryl LeBlanc Eugene, Oregon, USA
Photographer: Jon Christopher-Meyers
59 h x 41 w
“Pacifica� The vessel "Pacifica" symbolizes the rapidly diminishing livelihood of the single commercial fisherman. With the deleterious effects of rising water temperature, pesticide runoff, radiation mutation from Fukishima, oil spills, and continued silting of the ports and harbors, not to mention historical over-fishing, the future of this way of life is bleak. 28
Nancy Lemke Bonita, California, USA
Photographer: Gary Conaugton
27 h x 42 w
“Seaside 2” When I was little, my family vacationed on the beaches of Oregon and Washington each summer. We walked for miles along the deserted sand, dug clams, and at low tide we’d visit the odd creatures that live in tide pools. Sometimes my dad fished for salmon. Something about the beach dissipated my mother’s chronic depression, and we all basked in the warmth of her happiness. Despite growing development, Pacific beaches remain magical places for me, reminding me of the times when I could reach out for my mother, and she would be there for me.
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Jacqueline Manley Reno, Nevada, USA
27 h x 39 w
“Widening Gyre of Flotsam” The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a manifestation of harmful human practices on the Earth, perhaps more explicitly visible than overall climate change. Located between California and Hawaii and twice the size of Texas, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch formed within an ocean gyre of circular currents. Contents are estimated to weigh at least 80,000 tons and contain 180 TRILLION pieces of plastic—250 for each person in the world! Various plans are being created for cleaning up the garbage; none are quick fixes, and all emphasize reducing the use of plastics and the improvement of recycling efforts.
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Kathleen McCabe Coronado, California, USA
Photographer: Phil Imming
28 h x 42 w
“A Quiet Moment� The sound of waves crashing, the smell of fresh, salty air, the calm of the vast horizon; all these sustain us in an otherwise chaotic world.
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Amanda Miller Eugene, Oregon, USA
Jon Meyers Photography
42 h x 30 w
“Jumping the Gorge” Annual wildfires have taken on more intense and frightening aspects in the Pacific Northwest. Smoke chokes communities, homes are destroyed, and all life flees. One fire even jumped the Columbia Gorge to continue burning on the far side. There is not complete agreement or a single solution for reducing wildfires. Options include increased education, restrictions on fireworks and campfires, and changed policies for forest management, land use planning, and development of high-risk areas.
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Denise Oyama Miller Fremont, California, USA
Photographer: Sibila Savage
59 h x 24 w
“Pelagic Produce” The kelp forests are recognized as one of the most important and productive ecosystems in the world, providing shelter for fish and other animals and protecting the coastline from potentially destructive storms. In addition, they are a nutrient dense food that is low in fat/calories, high in iodine/calcium/vitamins, and that strengthens your immunity. Kelp are used to not only make the wrappers for sushi rolls, but are also included in products from toothpaste to ice cream. We need to continue to look towards the ocean to help provide healthy food for the world’s population and to protect that ecosystem from destruction and pollution. 33
Cathy Miranker San Francisco, California, USA
Photographer: Douglas Sandberg
57 h x 41 w
“Whither the Waterfront?” With sea level rise already remaking shorelines and cities worldwide, this quilt offers a deliberately alarmist vision of what might happen to San Francisco’s iconic downtown. It deconstructs images of real buildings that hug the water’s edge and reconstructs them…in different places, akilter, even partially submerged. Machine embroidery hints at an additional, ever-present threat: seismic upheaval. 34
Deborah Runnels Klamath Falls, Oregon, USA
Photographer: Ben Vallejos
46 h x 32 w
“Promise of the Pine Cone” The pine cone has been an inspiration to cultures throughout history. Dionysus carried a staff with a carved pine cone symbol on its tip. The pope’s papal staff has one, too. To the Celts, it was a fertility symbol and our own human pinal gland looks like a pine cone (hence the name) and is the epicenter of our enlightenment. There is hope that evolves naturally after the presence of fire. We can look to the pine cone as our symbol for the promise of new growth. 35
Nancy Ryan
Gardnerville, Nevada, USA 26 h x 37 w
“Water” Not all trash ends up at the dumps. The great Pacific garbage patch stretches across a swath of the North Pacific Ocean forming a nebulous, floating junk yard on the high seas. Plastic begins in human hands yet ends up in the ocean endangering our marine life. It is time to shift tides; we humans need to protect instead of polluting our waters.
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Roxanne Schwartz Berkeley, California, USA
Photographer: Dana Davis
60 h x 29 w
“Agua Caliente” Heat ripples through our Pacific Ocean as her currents undulate to sister oceans across the planet. Sinuous stitching lines and fluid shapes suggest streaming, bubbling movement. Color suggests both coolness and warmth, and perhaps a disturbing muddiness. A bright line breaks the flowing shapes, radiating change. Our oceans are connected but troubled. Since 1880, ocean temperatures have been tracked; they show a warming trend, with some dips in the midtwentieth century. But no dips have been recorded since 1985. Warmer oceans now surge through the planet, affecting sea life, food security, weather, and coastal habitats throughout the world. What is our next step? 37
Janet Scruggs
Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada 24 h x 22 w
“Plastic Chowder?” The issue of plastics causing harm to marine life and birds in our oceans has been widely publicized. But did you know you could be ingesting micro-plastics when you enjoy that bowl of clam chowder, steamed mussels or oysters? Researchers at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia have found that many shellfish farms are polluted by micro-plastics. These can come from plastic that is breaking down (fibres from clothing, carpets and other textiles), plastics used in the industry itself, or microbeads that are used in personal care products. These micro-plastics are being ingested by shellfish and then we in turn consume them in clams and other shellfish. This growing concern inspired me to create a collage reflecting the breakdown of plastic and how microbeads are becoming part of the clam food chain. 38
Maria Shell
Anchorage, Alaska, USA
Photographer: Chris Arend
40 h x 30 w
“Break Up” Northerners have special names for the mucky weather of spring. In Alaska, we call it Break Up. Snow melts and dirt roads become creeks. Ice rots and mud rules. We grow impatient wanting light, sun, dry land. I love this season. Everyone’s yard looks like a junkyard. There is no snow or leaves to hide your business. You spend your days adding and subtracting layers of clothing. It is a restless naked season, I think. 39
Sue Siefkin
Modesto, California, USA 41 h x 31 w
“Blue Reverie, in Peril� The deep, mesmerizing blues of our oceans are relentlessly threatened by the impact of global warming and thoughtless human activity. 40
Sigrid Simonds Reno, Nevada, USA
38 h x 25 w
“Oil On The Beach” While vacationing on California’s central coast and walking on the beach in early mornings, the patterns left on the sand by the ebbing water caught my eye. The patterns were dark lines. After a little research I discovered the dark lines are tar ground fine from natural oil leaks or manmade oil spills. This piece is my abstract version of these lines. These are the colors of the sand and oil, and the red is my interpretation of warning: the oil should not be there. 41
Gail P. Sims
Nevada City, California, USA
Photographer: John Sims
30 h x 23 w
“Spiraling Out of Control” Horrendous fires along the Pacific Coast of the U.S. and Canada are reaching into urban areas more and more. Wind patterns pushed extremely hazardous air, full of toxic pollutants, into the San Francisco Bay Area and the California Central Valley, as part of the Santa Rosa, Redding and Paradise fires. Although I live just an hour away from one of the fire areas, the worst air quality was over three hours away. 42
Bonnie J. Smith Oxnard, California, USA
Photographer: Spring Mountain Gallery
43 h x 39 w
“Moss Beach” So many times in my life, I have visited Moss Beach, on the Northern California shore. But in the last few years, it is different. The waves have gotten so wild, and almost mean, that rock boulders have been pulled away and I can no longer see the most perfect view that I once took for granted. I fear that climate change and dumped refuse has caused the Pacific to rear its head and say, “No more, I will teach you a lesson my way.” 43
Amanda Snavely Portland, Oregon, USA
Photographer: Sam Garnett
48 h x 33 w
“Life In Abstraction” Wandering along the water’s edge, one glimpses the magical world beyond the hazy veil of salt spray. Encrusted on the rocks are gooseneck and acorn barnacles, limpets, anemone and mussels packed tightly together. An abstract pattern emerges as the contrasting shapes compete for space in one small crevice. Delicate beauty such as this reminds us that we must look with our eyes instead of our hands to preserve this natural art form.
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Carla Stehr
Normandy Park, Washington, USA 28 h x 33 w
“Diatom 8” Diatoms are tiny, single-celled aquatic plants. A microscope reveals they have complex multilayered cell walls with stunning patterns. A liter of sea water may contain up to a million of these microscopic algae. Diatoms generate about 25 percent of our oxygen and absorb 30 percent of earth’s carbon dioxide. Water temperature and nutrients influence diatom growth, but this complicated balance is also affected by climate change and ocean acidification. Some species (including toxic ones) are becoming more prevalent while other species are declining or moving to colder waters. These changes may affect the future ability of the ocean to sequester excess carbon dioxide. Fish, bird and mammal populations may also change because they depend on the diatom-based food chain. The microscopic beauty of diatoms is a reminder that even the tiniest organisms are incredibly important for life on earth.
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Nan Thompson Moose Pass, Alaska, USA
Photographer: Kwangsook Schaefermeyer
46 h x 37 w
“Copper River Flats” Copper River Delta in Western Alaska, where my husband works as a commercial fisherman, faces changes in ocean temperature which affect the wild salmon runs. Commercial fishers harvest salmon on the river deltas like the one in this image. Over the last thirty years, Chinooks have gotten smaller in all of the ten rivers studied by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The allowable catch is now restricted for all fishers, be it commercial, sport or locals who are dependent on salmon as a food source.
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B. Lynn Tubbe Auburn, California, USA
41 h x 35 w
“Pacific Garbage Patch(work)” The Pacific Ocean has a huge garbage patch filled with plastic and trash. 80,000 metric tons float between Hawaii and California. Abandoned by fishermen and discarded by nations bordering the Pacific, the debris is killing wildlife, polluting our ocean, and fouling our beaches. Recently a dead whale was found to have over 1000 pieces of plastic in its stomach. Videos of rescuers cutting creatures free from entangled fishing lines are wrenching to watch. My little fish, curious about the plastic garbage around it, may suffer the same fate.
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Carolyn Villars Apple Valley, California, USA
43 h x 32 w
“Low Tide at LaJolla” A golden evening with the family at the tide pools was spent watching the sun sink into the Pacific. The long beach was a sheet of shimmering reflections; the children romped with bare feet on the sand; and even the teenager was present, phone in hand. 48
Deborah Weir
Rolling Hills Estates, California, USA 36 h x 24 w
“Haida Waters” Water is a daily concern for those who live near the Pacific Ocean. We experience its beauty, its life-giving powers, and its fragility. We also misuse it wantonly; billions of dollars and countless human hours are spent retrieving it and cleansing it. Life and death in one mighty resource. “Haida Waters” is the dance of wild salmon programmed to climb unimaginable heights just to spawn. 49
Jean Wells
Sisters, Oregon, USA
Photographer: Gary Alvis
42 h x 39 w
“SOLVE Works!” Oregonians are blessed with the pristine beaches of the Pacific Ocean. In recent years SOLVE, a volunteers based organization, has an annual event to clean the beaches of debris left behind by people who recreate on our coastline. This effort has positively impacted our beaches in Oregon. Manzanita is our family’s favorite beach. We are pleased the clean up allows us to continue our enjoyment of the seasonal rhythmic movement of the waves as the ocean meets the shore.
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Libby Williamson Villa Park, California, USA
60 h x 44 w
“Ripples Untended� Glaciers melt, seas rise, waters warm, and chaos ensues. While the absurd debate over climate change persists, consequential damage is hidden beneath the dazzling aquamarine currents, the cresting waves, and the steadfast tides. Giant kelp forests, harboring complex and balanced ecosystems, struggle to resist the destruction. Their demise triggers a cascade of turmoil, unseen from above. 51
Amy Witherow Campbell, California, USA
30 h x 30 w
“Sandpipers at Ebb Tide” At ebb tide, sandpipers forage in a reclaimed salt pond that was once part of the Cargill Salt Ponds—originally covering 16,500 acres in San Francisco Bay. These once-stagnant industrial ponds were returned to tidal wetlands as part of a 30-year project, the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project. Now, with a healthy flow of water pulsing through these ponds, the area provides habitat for waterbirds and other wildlife. Outdoor enthusiasts enjoy the scenery while walking and biking on trails in an area that once was inhospitable.
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ARTIST INDEX Clare Attwell
Kathleen McCabe
Karen Balos
Amanda Miller
Nancy Bardach
Denise Oyama Miller
Diana Bartelings
Cathy Miranker
Alice Beasley
Deborah Runnels
Beth Blankenship
Nancy Ryan
Bonnie M. Bucknam
Roxanne Schwartz
Sharon Carvalho
Janet Scruggs
Barbara Confer
Maria Shell
Judith Content
Sue Siefkin
Phyllis A. Cullen
Sigrid Simonds
Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry
Gail P. Sims
Judith Quinn Garnett
Bonnie J. Smith
Alisa Golden
Amanda Snavely
Louise Hall
Carla Stehr
Janet Hiller
Nan Thompson
June Jaeger
B. Lynn Tubbe
Lisa Jenni
Carolyn Villars
Jennifer Hammond Landau
Deborah Weir
Cat Larrea
Jean Wells
Sheryl LeBlanc
Libby Williamson
Nancy Lemke
Amy Witherow
Jacqueline Manley 53
To Preserve and Protect Our Pacific From personal memories to environmental issues and beyond, the 45 artists in Shifting Tides have drawn our attentions to the crucial steps we must take to preserve, protect, and recover our precious Pacific Ocean. If you feel inspired or compelled to support organizations that are working to care for our coastlines and ecosystems, we have included a list of a few of them below. We welcome you to visit these sites and learn more about how we can all work together to make a difference.
Alaska: Gulf of Alaska Keeper - http://www.goak.org/ California: Pacific Environment - https://www.pacificenvironment.org/ Hawaii: Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii - http://sustainablecoastlineshawaii.org/ Oregon: Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition - https://oregonshores.org/ Washington: Washington Coast Savers - http://www.coastsavers.org/ Western Canada: Emerald Seas Protection Society - http://www.emeraldseasociety.ca/
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Shifting Tides: Convergence in Cloth is coming to VAM January 2021 Tuesday – Saturday 10AM – 4PM Sunday Noon – 4PM Closed: Monday and major holidays visions@visionsartmuseum.org Visions Art Museum 2825 Dewey Road, Suite 100 San Diego, CA 92106 619-546-4872 Estuary, detail, Melody Money
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Quilted STrait
in historic Port Gamble
Exciting quilt shop with an eclectic mix of 4000 bolts of fabric, hundreds of embroidery and embellishment threads as well as hand-dyed, felted wools. Our 2O foot ceilings allow us to hang an everchanging assortment of quilts for inspiration and our class schedule includes a variety of local teachers and nationally recognized instructors.
www.Quiltedstrait.com
Back Porch Fabrics Pacific Grove, California
We sell fabric, books, patterns & notions. We offer quilting classes for the beginner and advanced sewers. See schedule on our website. When you visit, enjoy our gallery which shows the work of quilt artists. Hours: Monday - Saturday 10am to 5pm Sunday Noon to 4pm 157 Grand Avenue, Pacific Grove, CA. Phone: 831-375-4453
Website: www.backporchfabrics.com
E-mail: info@backporchfabrics.com
SAQA was founded in 1989 as a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote the art quilt through education, exhibitions, professional development, documentation and publications. All are welcome to join. To find out more, visit www.saqa.com
Front Cover Image: Phyllis Cullen, Ninole, Hawaii Back Cover Image: Denise Oyama Miller Fremont, California Catalog Design & Production: Robert & Patricia Porter San Rafael, California
Contents copyright Š2019 Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc. Images copyright by the individual artists. Images may not be reproduced or used in any way without written permission. All rights reserved.