Virginia A. Spiegel

I am pleased to announce the invited SAQA artists for A Sense of Direction: Sightlines.  It was a difficult decision with 166 Requests For Consideration received, but it was also a complete joy to spend time with so much remarkable artwork.

The fourteen artists are:

Britta Ankenbauer
Regina Benson
Shelley Brenner Baird
Yael David- Cohen
Linda Colsh
Sue Dennis
Anne Helmericks-Louder
Fulvia Luciano
Wendy Lugg
Kathy Nida
Pat Owoc
Mirjam Pet-Jacobs
Jayne Willoughby Scott
Leni Wiener

The most important task of a curator, I believe, is to have a vision for a particular exhibit.  My vision for Sightlines is an exhibit that transcends any thoughts of the continuous sightline as a “gimmick” and instead focuses on the sightline as a unique invitation to a conversation between and among the artists.  The conversation will also include viewers who will engage with each artwork in turn and then follow the thread of conversation through the exhibit.

I looked at every jpeg, blog and website three times before making any decisions.  I took a quick glance upon submission, then studied all Requests twice with several days between each complete survey.  I then made a shortlist of 40 artists I wanted to consider for invitation.  I looked at their Requests and artwork two additional times, leaving several days between surveys so my eye would be fresh.

The Sightlines artwork will be created without me or, probably at this point, the artist knowing what it will look like.  I wanted art that would undoubtedly be powerful at its premier in the distant date of November 2011 and continue to be so as it toured.  This requires art that is About Something.  Not necessarily something momentous or earthshaking, but it has to be about something that motivates the artist to create artwork that is of the highest standards both in its materiality and its meaning.

The best conversationalists bring to the table knowledge, wit, passion, maturity, and a point of view. So, too, do the invited artists to the Sightlines exhibition. It should be quite a conversation.

It was an extremely strong pool of artists and I thank each artist who submitted a Request.  I also thank Peg Keeney for her mentorship and the exhibition committee for the opportunity to serve SAQA as curator for this unique exhibit.

Note about Sightlines:  This innovative exhibit will feature 14 invited artists who will create five to eight artworks on the theme of their choice. There are specific specs for some of the artworks, but each artist will have a ten foot wide by 7 foot high panel for his/her artwork. It is an innovative concept inspired by this exhibition by tACTile, an Australian group of textile artists.

The exhibition premiers at International Quilt Festival in Houston in 2011 and travels to the International Quilt Festivals in Chicago and Long Beach. A Sense of Direction: Sightlines will also be available for travel; visit the SAQA website for more information if you would like this innovative exhibit to be shown at your venue.

Water, Tree, Rock and Sky:  Boundary Waters
White cotton cloth, textile paint, oil paint, black duck cloth, polyester cloth,velvet fabric, tree warp, silk organza inkjet printed with artist’s photos, rice paper, ink, foil, rayon thread.

The  Meet SAQA’s Artists:  20th Anniversary Trunk Show, including my artwork above, will be traveling by request to Studio Art Quilt Associate’s regions throughout SAQA’s 20th Anniversary celebration.  Each artist was asked to create a piece of artwork that showcased a process, technique, or style that represents her/his artistic voice. Of course, I wanted to show my layering of materials, use of typography, and the Boundary Waters as subject matter.

Each small artwork was placed in under 12″ square mat with an 8″ square opening.   Vou Best brought many of the artworks to my residency Open Studio in February in Texas and you can see the presentation of each artwork in the photo below:

I’m holding Jamie Fingal’s artwork with Vou Best, 20th Anniversary Trunk Show Curator
Photo by Jamie Fingal

A portion of Meet SAQA’s Artists will be selected to become a study collection at the International Quilt Study Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. IQSC is devoted to the preservation, study and exhibition of quilts and to sharing its resources with the public. The donation of the selected works from the “Meet SAQA’s Artists” project will create an important archive representing both SAQA and the artists who are working in the studio art quilt medium in 2009 – a historical benchmark to assist future historians, academics, writers and others tracking the art quilt movement.

Boundary Waters 25

In celebration of its 20th year as an international community of artists, Studio Art Quilt Associates will be touring a special exhibition: SAQA@20: Art & Excellence.  This invitational exhibition was curated by Patricia Bolton, Editor-in-Chief of both Quilting Arts and Cloth, Paper, Scissors magazines and a SAQA board member.  

The premier of SAQA@20:  Art & Excellence will be October 15-18, 2009 at International Quilt Festival, Houston, Texas and includes my Boundary Waters 25, shown above. This artwork is part of the Boundary Waters series and is a study of the tall cliffs that surround many of the Boundary Waters’ lakes.

Portage:  Set Forth

The Studio Art Quilt Associates benefit reverse auction, One Square Foot, opens tomorrow.  My Portage: Set Forth is in the first group of 12″ square art quilt that will be available with the price dropping each day. 

SAQA is “a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote the art quilt through education, exhibitions, professional development and documentation.”  I am happy to donate this artwork to further the goals of this professional organization.

I actually took photos during the creation of this artwork; read my Technique Talk here.