SAQA Exhibit and Conference and Belly Dancing

Southern Voices: Regional Exhibition of Contemporary Art Quilts is in the Main Library Gallery of the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies in downtown Little Rock, in the River Market area. The Opening Reception was held March 14 in conjunction with Little Rock's Monthly artwalk, and the large windows were inviting to people enjoying the evening. The show runs through Sunday, May 25.
The show features 16 works by 12 regional artists (LA/MS/AR/AL), and was juried by Paula Kovarik, graphic designer and quilt artist from Memphis. She said: "These artists are exploring the edges. They use time-tested methods of construction and stitching to create abstracts, landscapes, portraits and collage. Manipulating line, shape, form, texture, value and color, they are expressing inner truths. These Southern Voices move the medium of quilting from useful comfort to dynamic communication."

Indecision--The Storm Within, by Julia Graber

A Sense of Place, by Judy Momenzadeh

Color Bars #2-Black, by Martha Ginn

Beauty in the Lotus Garden, by Judy Tipton Rush

 An unexpected treat for the attendees at the Opening was a belly dancer performance by a local group of five dancers, two drummers, and a flute player. Part of Little Rock's celebration of the arts!

Paint 3:  Anticipation, by Connie Carrington

Paula Kovarik, Belly Dancers, Door #1, by Jane Hartfield

 Paula Kovarik's work is a fascinating study in detail. Her piece in this exhibit is a maze of black stitching on white cloth, using a single line of stitching. In other words, if you could start where she starts, you could follow the line throughout the piece--truly a maze! Truly amazing!

Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places, by Paula Kovarik

Ramona did not want me to go

 

SAQA Exhibit in Little Rock, Arkansas

Color Bars #2 (Black)
36.5" x 22"

I just shipped my entry (above) to the Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) Regional Exhibition of Contemporary Art Quilts at the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies in Little Rock, AR. The exhibit is in the Main Library Gallery at the Butler Center, in the River Market area in downtown Little Rock. The opening on Friday, March 14 from 5:00-8:00 will be a part of the Second Friday Art Walk when other businesses stay open for the public. The exhibit runs through Sunday, May 25. Twelve artists' works will be displayed in the exhibit. See the invitation below.

Juror for the exhibit is Paula Kovarik of Memphis, and she will give the keynote address, "Transitions" at the Conference on Saturday, March 15. The conference opens at 9:00 with time to meet and greet, followed by the keynote address, breakout sessions, catered lunch, door prizes, and critique session by the Juror. We hope to acquaint more people with SAQA and art quilts. Registration (including lunch) is $20 for SAQA members, $25 for non-members. To register, contact regional rep Deborah Kuster at dkuster@uca.edu.

Meanwhile, my three new kittens are settling right in. Ramona has given her wholehearted approval of the new website our web designer Holly Knott is  creating for Pine Belt Quilters.