INSIDE: MEET LYNN CZABAN • FIND SUCCESS IN YOUR LOCAL ART MARKET • POETRY ADDS HEART TO ART QUILTS • BOOST YOUR CONFIDENCE LEVEL
EXPLORE PHOTO-EDITING SOFTWARE • MANAGE YOUR TIME • INSPIRED: LARRY CLIFFORD • HAVEN
JURIED ARTIST SHOWCASE • FEEL THE BEAT
BOARD MEMBERS PRESIDENT
Mel Beach
San José, California
VICE PRESIDENTS
Shannon Conley
Moore, Oklahoma
Dolores Miller San José, California
ACTING SECRETARY
Claire Passmore
Riviere du Rempart, Mauritius
TREASURER
Gwyned Trefethen Cohasset, Massachusetts
Lilo Bowman
Fort Worth, Texas
Holly Brackmann
Ukiah, California
Earamichia Brown
McKinney, Texas
Jette Clover
Lier, Belgium
Vivika DeNegre
Guilford, Connecticut
Carolyn Ducey
Lincoln, Nebraska
Cynthia Friedman Merion Station, Pennsylvania
Jaimianne Jacobin Silver Spring, Maryland
Kathie Kerler
Portland, Oregon
Candice Phelan
Boynton Beach, Florida
Sara Trail
Antioch, California
Maggie Vanderweit
Fergus, Ontario, Canada
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
To find out more about SAQA, contact Martha Sielman, executive director, by phone at 860.530.1551, or by email at execdirector@saqa.com.
Explore varied resources on our website at www.saqa.com. Annual membership levels for U.S. and international members, listed in USD, are: Artist/Associate, $90, and Juried Artist, $155.
Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc. (SAQA) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the art quilt. Through exhibitions, resources, publications, and membership, we seek to increase appreciation for the art quilt as a fine art medium and to support our members in their artistic and professional growth.
The SAQA Journal is published four times a year. To submit articles or story ideas, contact Diane Howell, SAQA Journal editor, at editor@saqa.com. Review submission guidelines at www.saqa.com/journal-submit
For delivery questions, contact circulation@saqa.com
For advertising information, visit www.saqa.com/ads
Martha Sielman
Hebron, Connecticut
SAQA JOURNAL EDITOR
Diane Howell Chandler, Arizona
DESIGNER YellowDog Denver,
Go
Margaret Abramshe wrote to ask if she could share her experience marketing her art to her local community. I was intrigued. I wanted to know what could happen if you did just that.
It turns out a lot can happen. By joining a local guild, building her social media presence, and being an active artist in the community, she has found great success, which you can read about on page 24.
And seriously, when have you had more fun than mingling with other creatives at an art opening? Many local markets present the opportunity to do just that. Why wait for one or two big national splashes? Get out and meet your neighbors, because then you will know them and they will know you. They will trust you. They will want to invite you and your artwork over for a visit. You can rely on them.
But first, you have to learn to rely on yourself. You have to have a respectful confidence in the way you conduct your business. How do you gain confidence? There’s the conundrum. It’s not good to just sit home
and think cloudy thoughts. Knowing that I often sit and think cloudy thoughts, and demur at the concept of finishing projects and entering exhibitions (someone is always better, more liked, or well-connected, you see), I asked Susan Lenz to write a reflective piece on gaining confidence. What is the secret? A lot of it is building a system that allows you to believe in yourself. You have to put in the work and you have to create work. Susan offers a sketch of how she overcomes doubt to face the world in this think piece on page 28.
In our Inspired column on page 38, Larry Clifford finds he can rely on his own interests in books and art to forge a new path. This former medical illustrator now creates work from his ample inventory of old books. His works are renditions of traditional quilt patterns that are the bee’s knees on the library scene—you gotta love a hexagon, plus flying geese, and so much more.
In this issue you also can rely on Kestrel Michaud to deliver a detailed article that helps you work smarter. On page 11, she covers photo-editing software with plenty of tips and illustrations to make your time at the computer a whole lot easier.
Margit Kagerer shares how she adds poetry to her art quilts, including the process she uses to hold those words in place; read her story on page 8.
And Cindy Grisdela interviews the talented Lynn Czaban to learn
about her reliable approach to portraiture. Czaban, our featured artist, earns the cover with her detailed work that always goes the extra mile to tell a story.
Enjoy the read! ■
“
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You have to put in the work and you have to create work.
It may have taken an extra three years, but our 2023 SAQA Annual Conference will take place in Toronto, Canada, from April 27-30. Many thanks go out to the Special Events Committee and the Toronto Local Organizing Committee for creating an exciting program that is true to the conference theme, Pathways to Possibilities. Highlights include:
• Pathways to inspiration and engagement by an amazing lineup of conference programs and speakers. Don’t forget to bring a small notebook to jot down the nuggets of wisdom you will glean from each speaker. You’ll receive artistic inspiration from stories of cultural traditions, international travels, ocean acoustics, moments of enlightenment, artistic crosstraining, language, and more. Elevate your own professional practice by learning more about art installations and solo critiques. And, of course, the jam-packed lightning talks are a special conference treat as each speaker shares a slice of their artistic journey in just 20 visual slides.
• Pathways to make and see incredible fiber art. Thursday evening’s Icebreaker Reception will include a Community Stitch project as well as the Chunghie Lee Fashion in Motion show. Saturday’s program is packed with fiber art, and includes a presentation from the next generation of fiber artists at the Ontario College of Art & Design University; visits to the Textile Museum of Canada and Campbell House Museum; and the evening Spotlight Auction, which will feature an incredible array of 6 x 8-inch pieces. Everyone can participate in this year’s Spotlight Auction by making a donation piece and/or placing bids through our online bidding platform. More information is available at saqa.com/spotlight.
• Pathways to explore Toronto. Buy fiber-related wares from local artisans at Thursday’s vendor marketplace. Check out the local dining scene by signing up for Friday Night Out. Visit local galleries and museums. Extend your conference
experience by signing up for one or both optional bus tours to visit the McMichael Canadian Art Collection on Sunday and/or the breathtaking Niagara Falls on Monday.
• Pathways to create new connections with fellow SAQA members. Strike up conversations with fellow attendees. Be sure to bring business cards to exchange contact information so that you can stay in touch.
We recognize it is not possible for all SAQA members to able to attend the Toronto conference, so I’m pleased to share that the Special Events Committee is already planning the next two events, which will be virtual conferences. Mark your calendar now for July 14-15, 2023, when the Virtual Mini Conference will be held via Zoom. Plus, the 2024 Annual Conference will be a virtual celebration of the Europe/ Middle East Region. Be sure to watch your email for more information on dates, program, and registration for these upcoming events. ■
Toronto Hilton
Keynote Speakers: Dorothy Caldwell and Chunghie Lee
NEXT: LOOK FOR TWO VIRTUAL EVENTS EVERYONE CAN ATTEND!
Art in Place: a Mini-Conference
JULY 14-15, 2023
This event condenses the best of our online conferences into a resourceful mini-event. Enjoy fantastic presentations and make connections with other SAQA members. Hear how artists from around the world are inspired by their locations and travels. Registration opens in May.
APRIL 12-20, 2024
Next year’s Annual Conference showcases our Europe & Middle East region and will take place online. Stay tuned for more details!
For more details, visit www.saqa.com/conference
The Soprano
19 x 39 inches (48 x 99 cm) | 2015
Fiddlesticks
40 x 40 inches (102 x 102 cm) | 2016
by Margit Kagerer
Germany is called Das Land der Dichter und Denker—the land of poets and thinkers. My teacher in eighth and ninth grades made us memorize many poems. We had to line up in front of the class to recite verses and ballads. Not everybody liked those “performances,” especially when you had not done your homework!
I liked reading the classics and learning poems. My favorites were from the Romantic and Expressionist eras. After becoming a math teacher, I lost contact with this kind of literature. Fast forward to my quilting life after retiring from teaching. One of my projects was a quilt with a spring theme. I tried to remember the words of a poem by Eduard Mörike. The first words became the title of my quilt Ribbons in Spring (not pictured). It was the beginning of going through my collection of German poetry books and reading the verses of my teenage years. For my quilt Moon Poems , I choose Mondnacht by Joseph von Eichendorff. In addition, I looked on the internet for moon poems in different languages. I ended up with four more poems that were short enough to fit onto a piece of blue gradated fabric: The Moon , by Henry David Thoreau; Alla Luna , by Giacomo Leonardi; La Luna Asonva , by Frederico Garcia Lorca; and Chanson de la Lune , a French lullaby.
I free-motion stitched the texts in different fonts which I found in my Word program. I printed all the poems as a reference. While I had stitched single words before, this time I did not stitch the entire text in a continuous line. Each word was separate, a very tedious stop-and-go process. At the end of each word, I lifted the needle, pulled about three inches of the top thread, and moved the fabric to the start of the next word. After all the stitching, I cut those thread loops open, pulled the threads to the back, and knotted them so that the thread ends could not reappear on the quilt top. I had layered only the top and the batting, so the loose threads were later buried between the batting and the backing. Therefore, the words do not show on the back; they would be in reverse anyway. This also means that I had to do more quilting to hold the three layers together.
My next quilt was a sentimental piece. Why would I long for the cold winters in Germany while enjoying balmy weather in Arizona? I choose three songs from Winterreise (Winter Journey) , a song cycle composed by Franz Schubert with twenty-four poems by Willhelm Müller. I stitched the words in
German and in English. Another music-related quilt was the text of J. S. Bach’s H-moll Messe (Mass in B Minor) . While quilting, I listened to the music which I had sung three times with my German choir. For the quilt Herbst Gedichte (Autumn Poems, not pictured ) I found a large collection of German poems. Autumn was a favorite subject for those romantic poets. I love them all, but I was restricted by the size of my hand-dyed yellow, orange, and brown fabrics. So, I had to make a selection.
For these quilts I experiment and try to find solutions for many technical questions. How small can I stitch and how much space do I need? First, I write the text by hand on paper and calculate that the machine stitching takes up even more space. How do I connect the letters in a word? The print fonts in Word help. Some capital letters must be stitched differently than the handwriting because I try to do as little backtracking as possible. And there are those little dots on the letters i and j, the commas, and the periods. I sew them by hand afterwards. I also must select the right threads so the text is readable. A high contrast against the background works the best. I tried thick threads, but the lines were not smooth enough. Therefore, I use mostly rayon or polyester with
a lightweight bobbin thread for smoother lines.
After my husband’s death, I found comfort in making a quilt with the title Tears (not pictured). I wrote my
own poem in German and included quotes about tears and grief. In another grievance quilt I stitched all the condolences on the cards I had received. The designs and illustrations
on the cards became the quilting lines. The third quilt was about being alone and trying to cope with the pain of losing a loved one.
I do not remember when I saw the terms “shape poem” or “concrete poem” for the first time. A shape poem is a poem that is shaped like the thing it describes. I was intrigued by this idea and started looking for appropriate subjects. Der Römische Brunnen (Roman Fountain) by C. F. Meyer was a good candidate. The poem describes how the water ascends on top of a three-tier fountain and then falls from one basin to the next. I stitched the words in the flow of the water (page 8). My second quilt featured a spider poem with the words stitched in a spiral way, like a spider web. While researching the subject, I learned about the different shapes of spider webs.
The words by Edward Abbey in my quilt Written in Sand follow the
by Kestrel Michaud
Using photo-editing software is akin to photographers in “the good old days” using a darkroom to manipulate and enhance the processing of their photos. It is an essential part of the toolkit every artist can use to make better quality images. Whether you’re tweaking the image color to match the physical quilt, correcting lens distortion, or just resizing an image, the use of photoediting software should be a standard part of your routine.
I use Photoshop CC as my editing software of choice, and it is the industry standard when it comes to photo editing applications. But there are many capable alternatives on the market—Photoshop Elements, Affinity Photo, and Gimp, to name a few. For the purposes of this article, all screenshots, instructions, and key terms will be from Adobe Photoshop CC 2023. However, all key terms will be underlined for quick reference. If you use a different software, Google that key term along with the name of the software you use to easily search for guides on how to use that function in your software.
A photo of a quilt should correctly match the color of the physical quilt in real life, and sometimes a bit of digital tweaking is needed to bring the photo in line with reality. Although Photoshop can adjust the color of a photo in any way you can imagine, you will save yourself significant time and stress if your quilt photo is taken in optimal lighting conditions. This means using 5000k lights to illuminate your quilt. More info on lighting can be found in my article, You can build a pro photo studio on a budget— here’s how, which appeared in the Volume 32, No. 4, issue of the SAQA Journal.
My preferred method to color correct my photos starts by opening a RAW photo. A RAW image (such as a .raw, .nef, or .dng file type, to name a few) is the digital equivalent of unprocessed film, whereas a .jpg or .png image is the digital equivalent of processed film. (It’s worth noting that not all cameras have the capability to record RAW images. Check your camera, even if you’re
using a cell phone, to see if that capability is offered.)
When I use Photoshop to open a RAW image, the photo comes up in a utility called Camera Raw, which is essentially a virtual darkroom, albeit one that has far more settings and adjustments than are available to someone working with actual film. This is important to artists, because the settings in the Camera Raw utility make it much easier for us to tweak the color, contrast, saturation, and so much more.
Figure 1 is a screenshot of the Basic adjustments, which are those I use most often when opening a RAW photo. Use the Auto button to let the software automatically choose optimal settings for each adjustment (Exposure, Contrast, Highlights, etc.). Photoshop’s choices aren’t always perfect, but each slider can be further changed as needed. I like to let the computer do its thing first, which gives me a starting point. I make further, individual changes as needed once I see the Auto results.
Another important aspect of correcting the color of our images is to set the white balance. Adjusting the
white balance will remove unrealistic color casts so that objects which are true white in real life will look true white in the photo. Photoshop makes this process easy by supplying an eyedropper—click on the eyedropper to the right of the White Balance dropdown and then click on an object in the photo that should be white. The software will automatically adjust the Temperature and Tint sliders to make that object white.
The settings shown in Figure 1 are not available to processed images, such as .jpg or .png formats, which is why shooting RAW photos—if your camera has that capability—is such an advantage. (Photoshop CC now offers a Camera Raw filter which makes RAW settings available to processed images, but it is the only software on the market that offers that exception to the rule.)
Of the other software mentioned at the beginning of the article, only Photoshop Elements and Affinity Photo have the capability to open RAW images. Gimp can only open processed images. Photoshop Elements uses the same Camera Raw utility as Photoshop CC, although it
may look slightly different depending on which version you have. Affinity Photo has all the settings shown in Figure 1, but they are arranged differently, and it does not offer an Auto option nor the white balance eyedropper; all settings will need to be manually adjusted.
If you want to adjust the color (or anything else) on a .jpg, .png, or other processed image, you will need to use a different array of adjustments. In Photoshop, these options can be found under the Image -> Adjustments menu, which is shown in Figure 2. Each of these adjustments will open its own pop-up menu. I’ve marked the three I use most often with red rectangles, but I unfortunately can’t tell you what specific settings and adjustments to use. That will vary depending on the photo itself and will change on a case-by-case basis.
Sometimes a camera’s lens can cause warping in the image itself. Look at Figure 3. The red reference lines are perfectly straight, but the edges of the quilt are curved inward. This
distortion is caused by the lens of the camera I used to take the photo. Fortunately, Photoshop has a filter that will correct this warping.
Photoshop’s Lens Correction filter (sometimes called Lens Distortion in other software) will open a new popup window that shows the photo on the left and menu options on the right (See Figure 4). The software will automatically attempt to detect the type of camera and lens used to take the photo. If successful, initial adjustments will be applied based on that specific camera/lens profile. Additional, individual settings can be accessed and adjusted under the Custom tab. (Once again, I like to let the software do its thing first before making extra tweaks on my own.) The corrected image should have straight edges and square corners, as seen in Figure 5.
Lens Correction/Lens Distortion filters in other photo editing software (if available) may or may not automatically detect the camera/ lens profile of a photo. If there is no automatic detection, you will need to make all adjustments manually.
Every website—be it for submitting to a call for entry or social media—has its own requirements when it comes to image size. SAQA’s Digital Image Submission Guidelines include these specifications:
• Finished images should be at least 2100 pixels on the longest side and not more than 4200 pixels.
• Files should NOT exceed more than 12 MB per file for two-dimensitonal submissions, 8 MB for three-dimenstional submissions (form max is 25 MB).
Set your camera to the highest resolution it can record and then take your photo. Depending on the size of that original photo, it’s highly likely you will need to resize that photo to meet the requirements of the submission. To do this, open the photo in Photoshop and then open the Image Size utility (Figure 6), which can be found in the Image menu (indicated by a green rectangle in Figure 2).
The left side of the Image Size window has a preview of the photo. The right side has all the settings. Let’s go through them:
• Image Size: This is the uncompressed file size of the photo. Photoshop uses a compression algorithm as part of the Save process to reduce the amount of space images take up on disk. Although this example shows the photo as being 369.9M (megabytes), this photo is actually 65MB on my hard drive after saving. The true file size — 65MB in this case — must be checked in a file browser (such as Finder on Mac or Windows Explorer on Windows) after saving the photo in Photoshop.
• Dimensions: By default, this area shows the size of the photo in pixels.
• Fit To: This dropdown lets us select a size profile for quick changes. You can ignore this box.
• Width & Height: The chain icon indicates these values are locked together; if one changes, the other will change proportionately. The text boxes contain current values by default, but we can type in new numbers as desired. We can also change the dropdowns on the right to be a different unit of measurement.
• Resolution: This is an indication of pixel density. Web standard is 72ppi (pixels per inch). Print standard is 300ppi.
• Resample: This setting tells the computer whether to add or remove pixels when changing the physical dimensions of the photo. If turned off, the computer will maintain the current number of pixels in the photo when changing the photo’s size regardless of the resolution (this means you could end up with a very large photo that has a small resolution, or a small photo that has a very high resolution). When turned
on, the computer will add/remove pixels when resizing the photo to maintain the current resolution.
Leave the dropdown on Automatic.
The photo used in Figure 6 is far too large for SAQA’s digital image requirements. (More pixels = more information the computer has to store = larger file size on disk.) We need to greatly reduce its file size, and that means reducing the number of pixels. Adjust the settings from the bottom up to do just that. See Figure 7.
Because we want the computer to remove pixels, Resample should be checked. As this is for a digital submission, and web standard is 72ppi, that’s what goes in the Resolution text box. SAQA allows a maximum of 4200 pixels on the longest side, so I changed the Width/Height dropdowns to pixels. Then I typed 4200 in the width text box, since that is this photo’s longest side. Width is linked to height, so the height box updated automatically.
Notice the Dimensions have changed to match the numbers in the
Width/Height box. The Image Size estimation has also changed, dropping down to 49.2MB. Remember: This is an uncompressed estimate. We have to actually save this photo at the new dimension to see what its size will turn out to be on disk. Click OK, save the image, and check its file size. (Pro Tip: Save a copy of the newly resized photo as a new file. You don’t want to accidentally overwrite the original, high-resolution photo.)
As it so happens, the photo saved in Fig. 7 turned out to be 14.7MB on disk, which is still too large for SAQA’s form. From this point, I need to re-open the Image Size window and try removing 50px or 100px at a time from the longest dimension, click OK, and save the photo. I’ll try it at 4150px, then 4100px, etc. until my file size is just under the limit. The goal should be to submit the largest photo possible within the constraints. For this specific example, that means I want to submit a photo that is as close to 12MB (or
8MB for three-dimensional work) in size as I can get.
Although it is safe to allow the software to remove pixels as needed to meet submission requirements, do not have the computer add pixels to make a larger quilt photo. The computer cannot manufacture detail that isn’t there and asking it to add pixels to create a bigger photo will only add “fluff,” not real clarity and detail to the artwork.
Let’s try another example (see Figure 8). This photo is one I took on my phone, and I want to resize it for print. I’ve changed the Width/Height units of measurement to Inches. Print standard resolution is 300ppi, but this photo is currently 72ppi. I want to change this photo’s resolution without having the computer add pixels, so I unchecked Resample (See Figure 9), and then changed the Resolution box to 300. The pixel dimensions are still the same, the image size is still the same, but the inch dimensions are significantly reduced. The photo
see “Photo Editing” on page 32
All living creatures need a safe place to heal, rest, or retreat. This forty-piece exhibition offers insight into such havens.
The curator for Haven, Eszter Bornemisza, is a mixed media fiber artist living in Budapest, Hungary. She selected a variety of scenes and abstracts to embody this exhibition. From a captured moment of a family relaxing on a sofa, to an abandoned structure found on open land, the mood of the exhibition is one of restoration. Serendipity is at play as well, as can be seen in the colorful selections on these pages.
The exhibition’s international roster of artists includes those from Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Israel, Italy, Japan, Poland, Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Exhibition benefactor is Frank Klein.
For more details, including all exhibition artwork, videos, and schedule, visit www.saqa.com/haven.
Sanctuary City II
36 x 65 inches (91 x 165 cm) | 2020
Nurture
36 x 47 inches (91 x 119 cm) | 2018
Hillside Gems
33 x 41 inches (84 x 104 cm) | 2020
Grasshopper Path
29 x 46 inches (74 cm x 117 cm) | 2020
Lynn Czaban approaches her portrait quilts with a novelist’s eye, creating backstories for her subjects and enlivening the pieces with meticulous details.
In Raising a Strong Girl, Czaban used a photo of a friend’s child as inspiration. The girl was dressed in a Halloween costume, but as she created the piece, Czaban asked herself why the child chose that particular outfit. She used ideas pulled from her musings to create the piece, which poses the subject much like the hard-working Rosie the Riveter, an illustration created during World War II to symbolize the women who labored in U.S. factories and shipyards.
With three granddaughters of her own, Czaban asks the question: “What is our responsibility in helping to raise these girls?” Some of her answers are stitched into the piece: Listen. Give her the skills to solve her own problems. Help her to identify her strengths.
Czaban grew up in northern Alberta, Canada, and learned to sew as a young girl. Creating with fabric appealed to her because it was something she was successful at, unlike the knitting her mother tried to teach her. She made clothing for herself and for her dolls, but there weren’t any quilters in her family. She got an artistic push from her maternal grandmother, who was a painter and
a potter. “She really encouraged all of us to purposely make art.”
Her journey as a quilter began with a welcoming group of friends. Her family moved a lot, and at one new place, Czaban was invited to join a quilting group. “They were so inviting and happy to see me.” The group was working on a self-portrait project using Kaffe Fassett prints and fused appliqué, a technique that bonds individual pieces to a background with a heat-activated adhesive. “I had an emotional reaction to the work,” Czaban says. All those happy faces and the cheerful fabrics drew her in.
Vermeer meets Fassett is a good example of the type of quilt that first engaged Czaban and started her
on her art quilt path. This work recreated Vermeer's iconic portrait Girl with a Pearl Earring . The rich colors of the Kaffe Fasset fabrics contrast with the flesh tones of the girl’s face, set against a dark background. The details of light hitting the girl’s face are achieved with a variety of fabrics and stitching that enhances the natural facial curves.
Now living in Eugene, Oregon, Czaban designs her creations in her home studio, a room above the garage that she and her husband converted from the previous owner’s den. The studio is colorful and inspiring, filled with all her favorite things. “It’s a place where I feel really productive.”
Several years ago, Czaban wanted to make sure she nurtured that productivity by being in the studio on a regular basis. So she set up a clipboard by the door and clocked in every day. Even if all she did was sort fabric and straighten up the space, it was important to create the habit of working every day.
Now, time in the studio is something she looks forward to. Her early mornings are spent doing household tasks, and then most days Czaban is in the studio by 10 a.m. She works until 3 p.m. or later, depending on what stage a project is in. She works on more than one art quilt at a time, so if she encounters a frustration with one, she has another to work
on as she ponders how to solve the issue with the first one.
Czaban’s portraits start with a photograph. Sometimes she uses the photos of friends or asks permission from a photographer to use a photo as inspiration—an important step to avoid copyright infringements. The Library of Congress is a good resource for photos in the public domain. She has an inspiration folder of images that have caught her eye at one time or another— sometimes it’s the person in the photo, or maybe it’s an interesting background.
Once she has decided on the image she wants to work with, Czaban uses PhotoShop to edit the photo for composition and design. Next she uses a black-and-white filter on the image and posterizes it, a step that allows her to create a pattern with clear plastic Mylar. The limited tones in the black-and-white version allow her to more easily see the shapes she wants to create or emphasize. The
Mylar pattern is used to delineate the shapes and, later, as an overlay to help with assembly.
Czaban uses commercial fabrics for her designs and the adhesive product Steam a Seam 2 for the fusible appliqué process. She likes that particular fusible because it sticks to the fabric, but pieces or sections can be lifted if she wants to make a change before heat setting. It’s also easy for her to stitch through.
The Memories That Remain illustrates this process. The man’s image is a composite of two photos from the Library of Congress. He’s sitting on a bench, perhaps in a park, with a pensive look about him. Once she has the shapes of the figure and background in place, Czaban uses thread-sketching techniques to add details before the quilt is sandwiched and the final quilting is done. In this portrait, her initial idea about this figure was that he was reflecting on his life—perhaps his wife had died? She had started to create this story
in the fabric and thread of the figure and the background when she happened to see a portrait by another quilt artist with this same theme.
It was back to the drawing board. Czaban deliberately peeled the figure off the background, carefully cut away the background, and gave the gentleman a completely new setting, all without disturbing the figure itself. All the hours of quilting in this piece were rewarded by a first place ribbon in the Human Image category at Road to California in 2021.
A detail of The Memories That Remain gives a closeup view of the intricate details in the man’s face and the hair of his moustache and beard. Czaban used contour quilting in black to create even more form in the facial wrinkles. The full image shows all the painstaking attention she paid to the folds in the shirt and vest he’s wearing.
Czaban has a longarm quilting machine, but she only uses it for basting and perhaps the larger sections of
see “Lynn Czaban” on page 36
Juried Artist Showcase is a gallery of work produced by artists who have each been named a Juried Artist of SAQA. A Juried Artist has successfully presented a portfolio to the Juried Artist Review Panel. This portfolio includes a selected body of work and documentation showing a professional approach to art.
Balancing Act IV
47 x 23 inches (119 cm x 58 cm) | 2021
Sassy Brass
50 x 30 inches (127 cm x 76 cm) | 2022
In the last year I discovered that opportunities to create a revenue stream are much more abundant within my local community than I had perceived. After I attended a conference at my local college on this topic, I switched gears and focused my energy on my local art market.
I saw an advertisement for a twoday Business of Art conference, and I registered. I had no idea what to expect but went with an open mind. The conference introduced me to a group of well-established professionals who were making a very good income from gallery sales, teaching,
products, lectures, social media streams, and commissioned artwork. The attendees ranged from students to retirees. It was a good mix of people, including those beginning their careers and those nearing an end.
The organizer was Kathy Cieslewicz, director/art curator of the Sears Art Museum at Utah Tech University in St. George, Utah. She summed up what we were about to learn in a straightforward manner: “Through the conference, all kinds of visual artists have been taught how to set up a business for their art. They have learned how to make money and contribute to the economy as prosperous artists.”
During the event I was overwhelmed with information. What I took away has been invaluable. As a retired teacher, I had zero background in marketing or business. The conference helped me write a simple plan with three components:
1. Be an active member of a local arts organization
2. Network consistently with other artists and collectors at local arts events
3. Create a social media presence
My first step was to join my local art guild, Southern Utah Art Guild, also in St. George. During monthly meetings, I learned about selling art locally from members who include designers, commercial artists, entrepreneurs, academics, and retired art directors. As a textile artist, my fellow guild members have the opportunity to examine an unfamiliar medium. The process helps to expand the perception of fine art within the group and within a community of galleries in the area. It has also helped me better explain both my process and the message I want to convey to an audience.
The guild has two galleries where I display and sell my work. One is a gallery in a city-owned building that hosts a group exhibition eight times a year and a solo exhibition
once a year. Each group exhibition is themed, and members pay a small fee to hang one or two pieces. The fees cover prizes awarded in several categories. Its purpose is to introduce members into the world of gallery sales. There is an opening for the public that is well-attended and offers artists the opportunity to get feedback from potential collectors as they mingle with the crowd.
The second gallery is downtown, adjacent to a well-attended city theater used for musical, dramatic, and other arts related events. This gallery requires the artist to submit
a portfolio for jurying. There is a modest monthly fee. In addition to the fee, the artist must work the gallery for two shifts every month. By working in the gallery as a juried member, I can talk to potential buyers. It has helped me understand a buyer's perspective. I have sold at both guild galleries and continue to use these spaces to test the waters with new work.
The second step in my “going local” journey was to network with members of local arts organizations during openings, lectures, exhibitions, critique nights, art fairs,
festivals, and other activities. Each event was an opportunity to build a network to help promote my business. This network has been productive. In the past year, I have been included in two local museum exhibitions, a commission sale, teaching at a local studio, demonstrations at an arts fair, filming of a documentary, and was hired as a juror.
An ongoing project is to grow a professional presence on social media. When I connected with younger artists and presenters at the conference,
Red Cliff Gallery is another St. George, Utah, venue available for use by the Southern Utah Art Guild.I found that every one of them had a focused and consistent social media strategy. Three attributes were highlighted during workshops for marketing on social media, and use of these has produced positive results.
• Maintain a daily posting schedule
• Use hashtags
• Create engaging content
As a workshop activity, I developed a plan for Instagram. My goal was to create a post each day for two weeks. I scheduled my post in the morning. The post was of a highquality image of my work, either completed or in progress. I wrote five hashtags each day. Initially the hashtags included the conference hashtag #Businessofart2022, #Utahartist, and #stgeorgeutah. In those two weeks, I gained 50 followers.
Hashtags are like magnets. To attract interest from artists and businesses in my local community, I
include location hashtags. To attract interest from members of a community of makers, I hashtag processes, such as art quilting or textiles. To attract a larger pool, I might hashtag general categories, such as contemporary art or portraits. When I see an artist that I love, I look at their hashtags and the number of followers they have. Gradually, I have taught myself how to select a hashtag that would increase my visibility as an artist.
The hashtag payoff is making connections. A location hashtag and series of eye-catching posts attracted an invitation to participate in the WOW: Women Out West Professional Artists of Utah exhibition at the Sears Gallery in autumn 2022. This invitational includes some of the best woman artists in Utah. The venue draws a nice pool of collectors. Now that I have been invited, I can participate every fall and use this exposure to promote my work in
the region. It is a select group, who might not have known about me without a social media hashtag.
Next in my daily routine, I added an image from my sketchbook to my Instagram stories. I found that adding music to my stories has drawn more daily followers. These are engaged followers wanting to connect. It is important to reach out in “conversations” with these followers when they comment. These are the kinds of interactions that have led to increasing purchases of my online classes and other endeavors.
Statistically the biggest driver of engagement is Instagram reels. Part of my schedule is to create a reel several times a week. Reels seemed cumbersome until I attended a session at the conference where the presenter had every attendee take out their phone, hit video, record, and post. It was simple. Watching other reels has helped me to understand the value of the process. I add features such as music, voice-overs, captions, fun filters, and animated gifs. It’s not difficult, it’s just a matter of practice.
My following increased from 100 to 1,300 followers in less than a year. This increase has helped me attract interest from magazines, teaching venues, local studios, and other revenue sources. When I am networking with potential collectors or business owners at an art event, I direct them to my Instagram feed. Potential employers can see my work, my marketing skills, and my community. This has been a great avenue for connecting with potential customers, such as the owner of an arts business in an exclusive enclave who wanted to hire someone who knows how to promote themselves.
During my research for this article, I reached out to three members of my local arts community to get their take on the potential for creating a local market, what they think an artist should focus on, what to prioritize, and why being involved is so important.
Deb Laux owns Roses Road, a company that works for a variety of clients on graphic design, marketing, and website development. She is currently on the board of the Southern Utah Art Guild and is an exceptional artist working in sculpture. As a professional with expertise in branding, she has a unique perspective on the value of artists working closely with their local community of arts organizations.
Laux believes there are collectors in every community. She pointed out that in our area a growing number of potential patrons are relocating from communities where they are used to buying art and have disposable income. Being involved in
the guild gives an artist the opportunity to connect with these local patrons at gallery events. She notes that local art communities provide an artist with an opportunity for feedback at formal or informal critique sessions, help develop selling skills during an exhibition, and offer venues to market original art.
Deborah Brice is a passionate photographer who started the Southern Utah Art Guild after realizing that our community needed a group which offered a diversity of styles and media. Her belief in the huge potential in our local community is based on realizing the increasing number of artists living in the area, organizations that are helping to promote art, and support through government grants.
Michael Grefe is a retired licensed interior designer. He has real world experience in working with buyers and with artists looking for buyers. I have found him to be a valuable resource in helping me create work that will have sales potential. I asked
him to give some advice to artists in general and to address the challenges of being a quilt artist in a fine art setting. He provided these guidelines:
• The first thing an artist should do is decide what success is for you. Is it sales? Is it creating a name for yourself in your community? What is your definition of success?
• Have a message in your artwork which resonates with the demographics of your community. That will create a connection and in turn create sales.
• The challenge for textile artists is to have their work viewed as fine art rather than craft. They can overcome that hurdle by having a message with their work that is unique and resonates with their target community.
• The textile artist needs to address how a customer will display their work in a home. Ensure a proper mechanism to show it off in its best light. It might look great stretched see “Going Local” on page 33
by Susan Lenz
Several weeks ago over lunch, I told my husband, Steve Dingman, that I had been approached to write an article on confidence. He nearly choked on his sandwich before saying, "Well, that's going to be hard!" Steve knows that for me, confidence is difficult to acquire and nearly impossible to maintain. He knows that I work daily on just this topic. Maybe that's why I was asked to express some of the ways that confidence figures in the studio and beyond.
The first thing I did was an internet search for synonyms. Any article would require a handful of synonyms in order to avoid writing “confidence” over and over again. Words like assertiveness, pride, fortitude, pluck, egotism, pretentiousness, complacency, conceit, hubris, vainglory, reliance, and bravado stared out from my computer screen. Some of these terms almost seemed like antonyms, but that list was even worse!
So, next I read definitions. Most of the entries were academic. The sample sentences were all ones I could have written. I was hoping for deep insights or a little inspiration—no such luck. Nevertheless,
I continued scrolling until I found a definition provided by www. kidshealth.org: “Confidence means feeling sure of yourself and your abilities—not in an arrogant way, but in a realistic, secure way. Confidence isn't about feeling superior to others. It's a quiet inner knowledge that you're capable.”
Although written for teens, this definition spoke to me in profound ways. I hope it will speak to other quilt artists stifled by ebbing confidence. Working alone in our studios, we are often starved for validation. Isolated, we question our design decisions and fabric choices. We have few, if any, like-minded artists with whom to personally connect. We read books by “rock star” art quilters and see congratulatory social media posts for international exhibition acceptances and solo show opportunities. These things make us feel small, unimportant, and thwarted on our own journeys. We assume that other quilt artists have loads of confidence. We fear they are superior, even arrogant. We fall into the trap of thinking confidence has something to do with comparisons. We worry that our work
just doesn’t stand up to this sort of scrutiny.
Confidence is a mindset. It is an attitude. For me, it requires regular work because it is just too easy to fall prey to the entanglements of comparisons, jealousy, and assumptions that my artwork is subpar. I acquire confidence through a simple reality check. It goes something like this: “Yes, I got rejected again from Quilt National, but I have work in an upcoming juried show in North Carolina. Unfortunately, I’m waitlisted for the Smithsonian Craft Show but the Grovewood Gallery just requested more of my work. Sure, I wasn’t awarded an art residency with the last five applications, but there are still other locations in wonderful places.” I also think about my future plans and the possibilities looming on the horizon of upcoming deadlines. These gratefulness exercises really help. They remind me of my hopes and successes, not my fears and failures. Confidence lives in positive thinking.
This practice was a lot harder when I first started making art in 2004. I had fewer bright and shiny moments
of personal validation. I didn’t even refer to myself as an artist. At that time, I found my way into an artist’s group that was studying and putting into practice precepts from Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way. This twelve-step program for artistic recovery gently taught me to harness my own talents, avoid unhelpful comparisons, and gain self-confidence. It encouraged regular statements of positive affirmation.
I found myself writing upbeat journal entries:
I am a good artist. I deserve acceptance.
My artwork represents quality.
At first, this felt totally silly and I would be embarrassed to have anyone see the page on which these statements were written multiple times. It would have been so much easier to swirl down the drain with negativity! Yet, the more I wrote nice things about my artwork and me, the more confidence I got. Positive thinking led me to enter some of my first juried shows and add to my budding list of accomplishments. It also led to a successful application to a now-defunct art residency program in Maine. Positive thinking is a self-fulfilling prophecy.
In the autumn of 2008, pioneering quilt artist Duncan Slade was the studio manager at the art residency in Maine. He explained that the embroidered Decision Portraits that I was working on had “three layers held together with stitch.” Therefore, they were all art quilts. I was stunned. I was also loaned Robert Shaw’s massive 1997 tome, The Art Quilt, and was treated to many stories of quilting fame and glory. This introduction was overwhelming, intimidating,
and almost sunk me into a state of creative depression.
I reminded myself of my fledgling accomplishments. I wrote positive affirmations. I continued stitching. By autumn 2009, I stumbled upon the SAQA website. Positive thinking made me seek membership, but it also led me to immediately submit for
isn’t headed to the Whitney Biennial or fetching giant prices in New York City galleries, but it is admired by many and gracing the walls in faraway homes. Be proud and happy! Smile! Think positive thoughts! Be the artist of your dreams!”
I’ve been dreaming for years. I dreamed of a website until I got one.
acceptance as a SAQA Juried Artist, which requires peer review. In January 2010, I was accepted.
At that time, I really didn’t know about four-inch sleeves, why going to Houston was a big deal, or that Paducah had an important museum. I didn’t know the difference between a juror and a judge. I’d never been a member of a quilt guild or seen a proper quilt show. I wasn’t a seamstress or a quilter. I did, however, have that “quiet inner knowledge” of what I was capable of doing.
I am capable of stitching layers together. I know that I have more to learn and that I am capable of mastering new knowledge. I know that bad art often informs better art, and that I don’t need to compare my results to others. Comparisons are most difficult when approaching an in-person art reception or other public event. Then, I work doubly hard on my attitude. I fight against the mental demon called doubt while I remind myself of my accomplishments. The internal conversation goes like this: “Sure, the artwork
I dreamed of a lengthy resumé until I earned the entries on it. I dreamed of gallery representation, high-end craft shows, a social media following, invitational opportunities, and peer respect. Positive thinking and putting forth the work brought the confidence needed to go after each goal. I am still writing positive affirmations in my daily, stream-of-consciousness journal, still fighting mental demons, still dreaming, and always working. Confidence is a process fueled by positive thinking.
Once upon a time, I wanted to write professionally. Like Julie Andrew’s character in The Sound of Music, I “longed for adventure, to do the things I’ve never dared” and “with each step I [grew] more certain” until…well…here is the article, written with the confidence of sunshine, rain, and the fact that spring will come again. ■
It would have been so much easier to swirl down the drain with negativity! Yet, the more I wrote nice things about my artwork and me, the more confidence I got.
from page 10
shapes of sand dunes. The quilting lines form the ripples in the dunes. Recently I found a little poem about a rainbow (page 9). I stitched the words in the shape of a rainbow with the colors of the rainbow. This quilt was a donation piece for a SAQA auction.
I have two goals for future projects. I hope to find more shape poems for my quilts. And I want to learn more about English poetry. Poetry is very language specific, more so than any other type of literature. As a non-English speaker, I would like to discover English poems that I can relate to and appreciate as much as I do German poetry. ■
This online fundraiser takes place during SAQA’s Annual Conference, which this year carries the theme Pathway to Possibilities. And the auction certainly of fers plenty of opportunities to fall in love with these small works. At a mere 6 x 8 inches (15 x 20 cm) —framed in a mat with a 4.5 x 6.5-inch (11.5 x 16.5 cm) opening —they are irresistible delights.
The art quilts are made and donated by SAQA members from around the world. Bid on your favorites in this oftfrenzied auction that supports SAQA programming!
Details: saqa.com/spotlight
Arlé Sklar-Weinstein
Arlé Sklar-Weinstein of Hastings on Hudson, New York, recently passed away. This talented artist received her BS and MA degrees at New York University in New York City under Professor Hale Woodruff. She studied advanced printmaking at Columbia University, also in New York City.
Quilting became a passion in 1981 after she saw a faculty colleague hand quilting and appliquéing during lunch. Starting with traditional block construction, she soon moved into improvisational piecing. Quilting techniques and painting concepts fused after she immersed herself in photo imaging on the computer in 1994. After that, she explored heat transferring digital imagery to fabric using computer-altered scans of her photographs, earlier art work, family albums, and/or actual objects.
The galleries where her work was exhibited include the Hudson River Museum, the Katonah Museum of Art, the West Broadway Gallery, and the Neuberger Museum, all in New York, as well galleries in San Diego, California, and Connecticut. Her work is in the collections of the Hudson River Museum and the PepsiCo Collection in Purchase, New York. She was the recipient of a purchase award at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery (now the Buffalo AKG Art Museum) and a study scholarship from The Museum of Modern Art in New York.
from page 15
still contains the same amount of data (detail, pixels, etc.) as before, but that data has been compressed into a smaller area to meet the requirements of printing.
What would have happened if I hadn’t turned off Resample? Look at Figure 10 (on page 15). In this screenshot, I left Resample checked but still changed Resolution to 300. The computer kept the photo’s original Inch dimensions and generated millions of new pixels to meet the updated Resolution requirement. Look at how much larger the pixel dimensions and image size are! This upscaled photo has seventeen times more pixels and data than the original photo.
The problem is that those extra pixels are “fluff.” Look at the image preview on the left. There’s no fabric texture, nor individual stitches. The preview looks bad.
The pixels added by the computer made the photo larger, but they didn’t add any image clarity. The computer cannot generate details that aren’t there. The only way to get a photo that shows the fabric texture and quilting details is to take one with a camera. This is why it’s so important to always start with a large, high-resolution image. A big image can be scaled down. But a small image cannot be scaled up.
The content of this article—color corrections, lens corrections, resizing—is presented in the order I follow when editing my own photos. Do some experimenting in your photo-editing software and take your quilt photos to the next level. ■
from page 27
over a frame or better hung naturally. If you want it to hang naturally, then a customer would have to provide a bar or another device. If the customer has any barrier, such as trying to figure out how to display the work, they are much less likely to purchase it, so keep that in mind.
What I have learned in the past year by participating in my local art community is more than I could have ever imagined. I am still learning. Don’t let being a quilt artist prevent you from defining yourself as a fine artist. Join me in going local.” ■
Margaret Abramshe is a SAQA Juried Artist who resides in St. George, Utah. You can see her work at www.margaretabramshe.com.
For complete details on all exhibitions, visit www.saqa.com/calls
Studio Art Quilt Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc. would like to express its gratitude to the following donors who have donated in 2022. Your support is critical to SAQA and our mission to promote art quilts. Thank you.
$5000+
Holly Brackmann
Lisa Ellis
Marvin Fletcher
Ralph James
Robert and Ardis
James Foundation
Frank Klein
Dan and Lee Schwimmer
Donor Advised Fund of the Dallas Jewish Community Foundation
Kate Stiassni
Linda Syverson-Guild
$2500+
Barbara Daly Blanchard
Margaret Moon and John J. Davies III
Ivy Jensen
Dolores Miller
Dorothy Raymond
Marion Shimoda
Sue Siefkin
Maggie Vanderweit
$1000+
Lynne Allen
Kathleen K. Azeez
Ron Baldwin (in memory of Rhonda Baldwin)
Nancy Bavor
Helen Blumen
Sonja Campbell
Giny Dixon
Ron Erickson (in memory of Nancy Erickson)
Joyce Ferrie
Mary Kay Fosnacht
Judith Quinn Garnett
Lynn Glesne
Rachel Gollub
Ann Johnston
Elodie Keene
Cat Larrea
Mary Ann Littlejohn
Mary Ann Nailos
Amy Nelson
Susan Nestegard
Jo Noble
Claudia Pearce
Barbara Schneider
Maria Shell
Martha Sielman
Jean Sredl
Sandy Teepen
Connie Tiegel
Jean Tutolo
John Walsh
$500+
Ann Anastasio
Brenda Bailey-Hainer
Mel Beach
Elizabeth Bennett
Stephen Berkenfeld
Vicki Bohnhoff (in honor of Anna Marie Peterson)
Deborah Boschert
Lois Bradshaw
Sharon A. Burns
Deb Cashatt
Lisa Charles
Carol Churchill
Vivika DeNegre
Machi Dilworth (in memory of Anne Datko)
Maria Doyle
Mary Louise Gerek
Jean Grimes
Maggy Rozycki Hiltner
Kathie Kerler
Lynn Koolish
Al Krueger
Susan Lapham
Jeanne Marklin
Melanie B. McFarland
Denise Oyama Miller
Susie Monday
Jackie Nixon-Fulton
Geri Patterson-Kutras
Carrie Payne
Candice Phelan
Margaret Phillips
Carol Sauvion
Joan Sowada
Jan Tetzlaff
Gwyned Trefethen
Carolyn Walwyn
Susan West
$240+
Mary Lou Alexander
Diana Bartelings
Heather Bennett
Charlotte Bird
Diane M. Born
Martha Bryans
Nancy Bryant
Shannon Conley
Judith Content
Janet N. Craig
Rhoda Crawford
Sherri Culver
Michael Cummings
Pamala Doffek
Jane Dunnewold
Lin Elmo
Susan Else
Sarah Entsminger
Ree Fagan
Judith Flaherty
Laura Fogg
Georgia French
Barb Gardner
Bethany Garner
Jayne Gaskins
Sandy Gregg
Cindy Grisdela
Barbara Grote
Tina Hilton
Jill Hoddick
Christine Holden
Douglas and Christina Hyde (in memor y of Patty Abeling)
Laura Jaszkowski
Leslie Tucker Jenison
Leslie Jennings
Patricia Kennedy-Zafred
Linda M. Kim
Judy Kirpich
Angie E. Knowles
Terrie Linn Kygar
Susan Langslet
Carol Larson
Cynthia Levis
Deon Lewis
Karen Markley
Mary K. Martin
Therese May
Sherri Lipman McCauley
Jean McCreary
Elaine Millar
Bobbe Shapiro Nolan
Diane Nunez
Susan Ober
Rozanne Deane Oliver
Cathie S. Osmun
Pat Owoc
Katie Pasquini Masopust
Claire Passmore
Jane Quimby
Carolyn Sue Reeves
Nancy Riffle
June Robertson
RUGiving2? Fund of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation
Vel Saddington
Arturo Alonzo Sandoval
Kris Sazaki
Mary Lou Schwinn
Kara Shafer
Annie Smith
Bonnie J. Smith
Ileana Soto
Jan Soules
Adriana Speelman
Kathy Suprenant
Rebecca Linson Szetela
Dionn Tron
Candace D. Tucker
Christine Vinh
Elizabeth Walters
Lisa Walton
Carla White
Kate Winegar
Martha Wolfe
Diane M. Wright
Adrienne Yorinks
FRIENDS OF SAQA
LESS THAN $240
Anne Abendroth
Mary Jane Aigner
Joanne Alberda
Angelia Alexander
Diane Andrea Alexander
Susan Allen
Deborah Melton Anderson
Diane Ansel
James Arendt
Meredith Armstrong
Susan Maynard Arnold
Linda Baccei
Diana Bailey
Jenny Tankersley Ballou
Nancy Balz
Elizabeth Bamberger
Nancy Bardach
Sonia Bardella
Betsy Barker
Catherine Anne Batty
Bobbi Baugh
KarenEve Bayne
Alice Beasley
Polly Dressler Bech
Carolyn S. Bell
Sher Beller
Astrid Hilger Bennett
Marie C. Bergstedt
Gail Berkesch
Susan Bianchi
Pat Bishop
Gay Bitter
Teresa J. Black
Margaret Blank
Beth Blankenship
Julie Bohnsack
Leslie Jackson Bok
Stephania Lyn Bommarito
Lilo Bowman
Esther Brabec
Lisa Breit
Karey Bresenhan
Marian Bressel
Melani Brewer
Tafi Brown
Jan Brown-Turk
Michelle Browne
Dianne L. Browning Knapp
Laurie Bucher
Nancy Bueti-Randall
Roxann Burns
Margaret Bushaw
Pat Perezcanto Caffrey
Carol Capozzoli
Ruth Carden
Ann Carlson
Fanny Carroll
Gail Casaday
Amy W. Cavaness
Sandra Champion
Linda Ruth Chase
Harriet Cherry Cheney
Carol D. Chewning
Jennifer Eden Clark
Paulette Clayton
Laura Ann Clifton
Jette Clover
Sharon Cohen
Sue Colozzi
Linda Colsh
Joyce Compton
Pamela Condie
Barbara Confer
Gerrie Congdon
Bonnie L. Connolly
Lori Cook
Shelley Valentine Cook
John Corbett
Carla Corbin
Judy A. Crotts
Phyllis Cullen
Nike Cutsumpas
Sandra K. Dadik
Rosalind S. Daniels
Pat DaRif
Elizabeth Anne Daughtry
Claire Davidson
Jacque Davis
Elizabeth H. Dickson
Robin A. Dintiman
Kathleen Dister
Lisa Dodson
Melanie S. Dossey
Katherine M. Dossman
Raelene Draheim
Margaret Jean Driscoll
Carolyn Ducey
Leti Duenas
Mel Dugosh
Heidi Edwards Dunn
Michele Eakins
Sharon Eastvold
Annabel Ebersole
Tulin Edev
Elizabeth and Herodotos Ellinas
Marion E. Emerson
Marcie Emily
Paula B. Entin
Carol Esch
Noelle Evans
Suzanne Evenson
Melinda Ann Farrell
Patricia Faulkner
Jane Fellows
Linda Filby-Fisher
Jennifer Dalyell Fish
Ellen Fisher
Floris Flam
Katriina Flensburg
Linda Fleschner
Christina Flores
Molly Eckes Flowers
Frances Anne Frederick
Taylor Freeman
Annette Friedlein
Cynthia D. Friedman
Kim Frisk
Darleen Fuller
Julia Gaff
Leesa Zarinelli Gawlik
Helen K. Geglio
Laurie Gibb
Andrea C. Gibbs
Margaret Gilbert
Lucinda L. Gilbrough
Robyn Gold
Jan H. Goldman
Sandi Goldstein
Ann Golob
Valerie S. Goodwin
Svetlana Gous
Patricia A. Grice
Melanie Grishman
Diana Guenther
Valetta M. Gyurci
Betty Hahn
Lynn M. Haia
Rivka Hamdani
Robin J. Hamill-Ruth
Patricia Hann
Kathy Hanoian
Barbara Hanson
M. Colleen Harrington
Nellie Jean Harrison
Jane Haworth
Martha A. Haynes
Cathy Heeter
Susan Heller
Susan Margarita Helmer
Janeene Herchold
Carolyn Higgins
Sharon Wiley Hightower
Greta F. Hildebrand
LeAnn Jackson Hileman
Jaynie Himsl
Holly Hirst
Arlene T. Holberton
Sue Holdaway Heys
Katherine Horne
Sharla Jean Hoskin
Ann Houle
Susan L. Howe
Linda Hughes
Doris Hulse
Debo OKeefe Hysack
Ann R. Igoe
Judy Ireland
Sharon Wallace Iyer
Laurel Izard
Susan Jackan
Jaimianne Jacobin
Lisa Jenni
Chriss Johns
Dolores Johnson
Kathy Johnson
Cheryle Jolivette
Arlitia Jones
Patricia Joy
Nancy Karst
Donna June Katz
Debbie Kauffman
Noel Keith
Rosie E. Kelley
Susan Gibson Kelly
Ann Nottingham Kelsall
Janet Kempf
Annette E. Kennedy
Darlene Khosrowpour
Sherry Kleinman
Kathy Knapp
Linda Knudtson
Anne Kobus
Ursula Koenig
Franki Kohler
Denise Konicek
Brigitte Kopp
Maureen K. Koski
Paula Kovarik
Carol Lynn Kunnerup
Lynn Kunz
Kristin La Flamme
Denise Labadie
Linda Boone Laird
Jennifer H. Landau
Judy Langille
Michele Lasker
Mary-Ellen Latino
Nanette LaVerdiere
Cassy LaVigne
Eleanor F. Lawson
Laura Lechner
Nancy Lemke
Kate Lenkowsky
Francesca Lenville
Sally Lloyd
Aurelle Locke
Viviana Lombrozo
Maureen Lopes
Lynnette Lubrant
Joan Lucchese
Joyce T. Lund
Linda M. Lunt
Jenny K. Lyon
Monika Machon
Joanna Mack
Judith J. MacNaughton
Donna T. Mader
Alice Magorian
Ruth E. Manny
Beverly Manuel
Sue A. Marcotte
Melanie Marr
Helen Marie Marshall
Lauren N. Maskowitz
Cecilia G. Mason
Penny Mateer
Christine Maute
Mary Evalyn Maxwell
Kathleen McCabe
Marianne Mccaffery
Suzanne McCulloch
Linda McCurry
Annette McFarlane
Margaret McGrath
Nicole McHale
Penelope McMorris
Salli McQuaid
Kathy A. Menzie
Judy L. Miller
Roberta Miller
MJ Millington
Carol Miraben
Cathy Miranker
Gwen Mitsche
Sherrie Moomey
Pamela Morris
Ann C. Morton
Pamela Morton
Alexandra Moses
Myania Moses
Bob Mosier
Randa Mulford
Ruth Murayama
Laura Murray
Marnie Murray
Laurie Mutalipassi
La Veda Longfellow Myers
Scott Myers
Jan Myers-Newbury
Nancy Neal
Jean Neblett
Alanna Nelson
Suzanne Richter Neusner
Carol O'Bagy
Nancy Orr
Carla Osterby
Tasha Ann Owen
Jerri Lynn Penney
Andrea Perejda
Michelle Perkins
Linda M. Perry
Cindy Peterson
Maureen Phillips
Kathy V Piper
Shirley Pittz
Stephanie Plaut
Susan V. Polansky
Carole Pollard
Terry Pottmeyer
Susanne B. Purvis
Barbara Quackenbush
Daren Pitts Redman
Erlinda Rejino
Nan Renbarger
Martha E. Ressler
Cynthia K. W. Reynolds
Cheryl Rezendes
Ann Ribbens
Mary Ann Rich
Emily Richardson
Dale L. Ricklefs
Tara Ritacco
Mary A. Ritter
Valerie Rodelli
Jan M. Rodgers
Kathleen Ruth Rodgers
Sally J. Rogers
Connie Rohman
Judy Ross
Michael Ross
Cassandra Rosser
Carole R. Rossi
Sarina Rostek
Jan Roys
Cyndy Margaret Rymer
Karen Sabbath
Linda Sabin
Elizabeth Salvia
Pauline Salzman
Claudia Cole Sammis
Ann Sanderson
Elizabeth Saunders Morris
Helena Schlafman
Norma Schlager
Dale R. Schmidt
Saralee Schneck
Cecilie Schulze
Joan Schulze
Ellen Schwark
Roxanne Schwartz
Charlotte Scott
Lynne Seaman
Carol Sebastian-Neely
Andrea Segura Smith
Rickie Seifried
Sharon Seim
Sally Sellers
Sara Sharp
Debra E. Shaw
Diane Smith Sheckells
Sandra Shenker
Stephanie Shore
Sandra Sider (in honor of Keidra Daniels Navaroli)
Patty Simmons
Carmela Simoncini
Carolyn Skei
Michael Skiles
Beth Smith
Brenda Hale Smith
Lottie Smith
Patrice Smith
Deborah K Snider
Mary Van Soest
Jennifer Solon
Aileen Solt, Deb Lyford and Susan Harmon (in
memor y of Judith Trager)
Trudi S. Sommerfield
Elaine A. Stairs
Donna J. Stalaboin
Andra F. Stanton
Carole Staples
Suzanne Snowgrass Steel
Nancy Steidle
Kathy Stewart
Patricia Stewart
Mary Jo Stipe
Teresa Stoller
Rita Summers
Kay Lynn Sutt
Mikiko Takase
Tiziana Tateo Raveri
Karin Tauber
Anne M. Theobald
Carolyn Thiedke
Catherine Timm
Jollyne Ann Toste
Betsy True
Barbara Trulis
Valerie Turer
Ann Turley
Lili Turnell
Kimberly Jan Van Berkum-Bates
Dee Dee Van Kirk
Charlene Van Van Walleghen
Desiree Vaughn
Shanna Vernon
Anita Vigorito
Mary Vinovskis
Tracy Sleight Visher
Margareta Vovk Čalič
Eileen Wagar
Clara Wainwright
Marcia Wallach
Eileen Patricia Walsh
Katie Walwyn
Geraldine Margaret Warner
Laure Warren
Judy Warren-Tippets
Torreah C. Washington
Laura Wasilowski
Denise Webster
Naomi Weidner
Mayann Weinberg
Deborah Weir
Lynn Welsch
Marie Welsch
Dorothy West
Sabi Westoby
Valerie C. White
Andrea Willey
Tina Williams Brewer
Sonja Winter
Gera Witte
Terri Wolf
Dale Wolfe
Joanne Woll
Solveig R. Wolstenholme
Gay A. Young
Charlotte Ziebarth
Juror Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi
Entries accepted: January 15 - May 15, 2023
Artists are invited to interpret the theme “No Boundaries” in an original piece of fiber-based artwork. Artwork will be considered in any media but MUST contain a minimum of 25% fiber component or fiber techniques.
from page 21
her backgrounds. The detail stitching is all done on her Bernina 750 QE.
Czaban advises quilt artists looking for inspiration to approach the work with a spirit of play. “Not every piece has to be your masterpiece.” She suggests entering challenges to stretch your creative muscles and entering juried shows to get your work out in the world. Even if you get a rejection letter, “don’t take it personally. We all get them.” She notes that a rejection doesn’t mean you aren’t good enough, it just means your work didn’t fit in that particular show. “Either try again or move on.”
Before the pandemic, Czaban did some teaching and lecturing to local guilds, but although she enjoyed it, she’s not sure that’s something she will go back to in an organized way. A local solo show in early 2022 resulted in several satisfying sales, and she wants to continue to enter shows as a fun way to share.
Asked if she does other kinds of quilting besides portraits, she laughingly says her last piece was a truck! That piece was part of a commissioned landscape, which is something she also does to stretch herself.
Czaban’s joy in her work is evident in her self-portrait, A Bright Idea, and in I Spy With My Little Eye (both on page 21). The self-portrait is nearly monochromatic, but the smile lights up the composition. The image in the other work is that of a young girl with a hopeful expression, her hands full of colorful flowers and several “I spy” objects that delight a child. She plans to continue making the quilts that bring her joy. ■
Cindy Grisdela is a SAQA Juried Artist who resides in Reston, Virginia. You can view her work at www.cindygrisdela.com.
SAQA continues to thrive financially with the support of our members. They contribute to SAQA through their dues, donations, and enthusiastic program participation. At the close of 2021, SAQA had 4,322 members worldwide. The financial data in this report are based on the year ending December 31, 2021, providing an overview of SAQA’s finances. Each year SAQA files an IRS Form 990, which is available upon request. The numbers below represent a summary of this filing.
Contributions and grants: $359,401
Membership Dues: $316,413
Products and publications $124,289
Exhibition income $ 97,536
Conference Income $78,330
Auction Income $118,060
O ther income $18,145
TOTAL: $1,112,174
Member Services $455,870
Exhibition Expenses $222,498
Administration $184,939
Fundraising $72,658
Art Quilt Quarterly $65,956
O ther Expenses $3,396
TOTAL: $1,005,317
As of December 31, 2021
Banking $199,384
I nvestments $328,088
Endowment $327,336
* A significant portion of these balances includes customer deposits on artwork.
The finance committee, chaired by the treasurer, is an advisory body to SAQA’s board and key staff members. Committee members review SAQA’s budget and financial documents on a quarterly basis. Respectfully submitted by Gwyned Trefethen, SAQA Treasurer.
Larry Clifford of Hampden, Maine, is a bibliophile who also loves art. A former medical illustrator, he produced awardwinning work in traditional media such as pen and ink, carbon dust, and watercolor. But his illustration work, like other graphics trades, changed as technology advanced. “The majority of the work that my clients requested needed to be computer-generated, and I lost interest. There is nothing wrong with digital art. I just prefer hand-rendered work.”
It was at this point that Clifford decided to use his ample stock of bound materials for a new artistic passion: replicating quilt patterns from cut-up books.
“I've been collecting old books since I was a teenager. Nothing of value, really, just an eclectic mix of covers and titles that I find interesting. After forty-plus years, I looked in my basement to find piles and piles of neglected, unwanted books that I couldn't bear to throw away. I thought to myself: there's got to be an art project here. They all have an aesthetic quality or patina associated with them that I try to enhance with the addition of dyes, inks, and acrylics. The quilt patterns were just happenstance. I wanted to start with simple designs, and traditional American quilts just seemed to fit the bill.”
His creations start with a design idea in his head or the serendipitous activity of contemplating the book covers and spines in his inventory to see what materializes. “Then I'll cull those materials that best fit my vision, and embellish them
when needed. To save time, I'll use the laser cutter at the University of Maine to carve hardcover books into the ‘tiles’ that I need for the piece—all other elements are hand cut. Those tiles are painstakingly applied to quarter-inch Komatex panels [rigid PVC sheets], then coated with satin varnish to prevent fading.” The entire process takes about 160 hours and results in a 48 x 48-inch finished work. His approach to choosing materials recalls how a textile artist gathers fabrics for a piece, whether it be a scrap quilt or a modern abstract. “The books I select have to be a good match for the piece I've created in my mind—not unlike quilters looking for just the right pattern and colors in the fabrics they choose. I attempt to use every part of those books—the covers, the pages, the spines—so nothing goes to waste.”
The most difficult part of the process is
finding the courage to cut up the books to produce the art. “I hate tearing up old books, and I'd never harvest one that still has aesthetic and/or literary value. But the hardcover books I use have been salvaged from the dumpster, so they were on their way to the landfill. The way I look at it is that I'm giving new life to old, moldy books that no one has opened or read for eighty to 100 years, in some cases. If anyone has unwanted, hardcover books that they'd like to see recycled, I'm always looking for donations!”
Sales of Clifford’s art also will be used to support libraries where his work is shown. In 2023, he has two traveling exhibitions making the rounds, and a portion of any sales from original art or his limited-edition prints will be donated to the library that is also the point of sale.
“My initial focus is on the six U.S. New England states; I'll expand from there.”
48 x 48 inches (122 x 122 cm) | 2020
Helping him reach more libraries and schools is a recent grant from the Maine Arts Commission. The grant will allow him to partner with underserved schools and libraries on commissioned pieces. These new works can be used to brighten up a facility’s interior space and/or generate funds for new books and supplies via his print sales. Plus, the new pieces will be a community effort. “I will work closely with local stakeholders on the design of the piece (students, board members, parents, library patrons, etc.), so that the final product reflects the aesthetics and values of that community. The artwork will be created out of old, beat-up books collected and donated by the community–giving the work an extra-personal touch.”
Clifford, whose current day job is a health-care consultant/grant writer, can help interested parties around the country collaborate on these types of projects. “I can write the grant proposal, if they're willing to serve as the nonprofit partner.”
You can see more of Clifford's artwork and contact him at www. flyleafgallery.com. ■
