Yesterday I had two wins. I had set in motion two ideas for artist circles and both ideas were accepted. It is a testament for not being afraid to ask for what you want. It gets you a lot closer to actually getting what you want.
The first meeting resulted in a go-ahead in forming a local/regional SAQA circle. I have hopes that it would fill a hole in the San Antonio and surrounding area that I am feeling. I miss show-n-tell! I used to belong to two great groups before I moved back to San Antonio--Front Range Contemporary Quilters in Denver and Minnesota Contemporary Quilters in Minneapolis. Both of these groups featured show-n-tell and I'm a believer that is a great way to learn from each other.
The group will also feature member-run programs that will encourage and aid Active SAQA members to becoming Professional SAQA members. We have so many resources on the Internet: SAQA's University, artist blogs, and quiltart.com to name a few. But it is still nice to get to know like-minded folks in person and see their artwork up close.
As the details for this group are worked out, they will be posted on the Texas regional sheet on the SAQA site, emailed to members in this area, and promoted at the International Quilt Festival in Houston. We are hoping to have our first meeting before the end of the year.
The second yes came from the Southwest School of Art and Craft. I was fortunate to have participated in a phenomenal 3D design class this summer. But when we were finishing up, I realized that I had more learning to do and really wanted a structure to integrate the learning we had in class with the work that I do in my studio.
Our teacher, Diana Kersey, and my classmates supported the idea of meeting roughly once a month and working on one--design element, principal of arrangement, or purpose of art--at a time. The color class that I had with Heather Thomas was set up like this. She lectured. We worked on that one color problem during the month. Then we shared our piece with the class. Through that process, I really learned about color.
If all goes well, this offering will be in the Spring 2009 catalog at Southwest School of Art and Craft.
