The SAQA Auction

By Marka | Published: 6/30/2010

I have been mounting my work on stretched archival canvases more and more. It seems easier for someone to see it as art and to immediately see that it’s ready to hang, because it has a wire the same way a picture has. I also like the way a canvas lifts the work away from the wall. It seems somehow even more dimensional and I like that, too. Some things I wrap around the stretcher boards and some I mount on a painted canvas larger than the work.

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SAQA Auction

By Marka | Published: 6/27/2010

I was glad to get the SAQA Auction 12″x 12″ sent off and get a message from Martha Sielman that it was received. It’s now on page 3b of the auction pieces, in stellar company. It’s hard to put something out there among all those wonderful other pieces, many by well-know artists, and not feel a little intimidated. Like, what if no-one buys it?!? Oh, well – it’s for a great cause, so I hope it brings in some $$! Once more, I am amazed at all the work Martha does. It seems as if she is always on top of everything.

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Work/Play and Play/Work

By Marka | Published: 6/9/2010

I have been working, but I obviously haven’t been writing. I just finished a piece to send off for the SAQA auction – a fine cause.

Summer has come upon us with a vengeance! With the highs in the hundreds and the lows in the 80s, I spend my mornings, after the dog park, sinking into the morass of Ancestry.com, getting to know my forbears bettter. One find leads to another and pretty soon it’s been 3 hours! Around 11-ish, I suddenly see my cutting table with the current project laid out, or my design board with something for me to decide on. But it’s a great life. Mostly, my time is mine in a way it hasn’t been since I was a child. And it’s a great time to be a woman in this society. I have such freedom! I have a car of my own and a schedule made by me. I can do my own work. I have a computer, an iPhone, a digital camera, a stash of fabric, thread, tools – I’m rich!!! And it’s time to get to “work”!

Is White Anonymous?

Study in anonymity.

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Blue Ribbons!!

By Marka | Published: 4/2/2010

I was so excited to win a couple blue ribbons in our Desert Quilters Quilt Show mid-March! There were some wonderful entries and it was a privilege to be involved with the show. The two categories I won in, were “Art Quilt, Pieced” and “Art Quilt, Framed” categories – of course original designs.

I also volunteered to be a “scribe” for some of the judges, which was pretty interesting. My job was to write down the judges’ comments as they looked at some of the entries. It was a great learning experience to hear what they said about each piece; how they assessed each. I found it interesting to note that as they went through all the entries in a category, they seemed to know exactly what they were looking for and seldom had to look at anything a second time in order to put it in the top three selections.

Another thing I noticed was the difference between being judged in a quilt show and being judged in an art show. An art quilt was set aside from the prizes because it did not lay completely flat. It seems that different standards are used in quilt judging. Art quilts are relatively new in the quilt world when it comes to being judged – especially in more local shows.

The show was well-attended and my first to be so involved. I will definitely volunteer again next year.

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By Marka | Published: 3/21/2010

What an inspiring place to work!!

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