SAQA NY Region Survey Enclosed - We Want To Hear From You!

Hi Everyone,

Check your email boxes! Gilda and I have sent you a survey in order to learn a bit more about you, the NY Region members. We want to understand what you currently get out of your SAQA membership that you feel is beneficial and also welcome any suggestions you have for us about enhancing the membership experience.

Please send your responses in a Word or Pages attachment or directly within an email--whatever method is easiest for you, to lorilight808@gmail.com.

Thanks in advance for taking the time to give us your feedback. We look forward to hearing from you!

Your NY SAQA Co-reps,

Lori Light
Gilda Hecht

Quilts=Art=Quilts Exhibit opened yesterday, October 27th, at the Schweinfurth Art Center in Auburn, NY, and runs through January 5, 2014. Read more about it here:
http://www.schweinfurthartcenter.org/exhibits/current.html

Helene Kusnitz has a piece in the Long Island Craft Guild's show Feast or Famine

The piece (shown below) is a quilt called So Many Flowers. 

You can see more of Helene’s work on her website: www.helenekusnitz.com

An Introduction to Your New NY Co-Reps

Hello Everyone,

As you may have heard, Gilda Hecht and I are your new SAQA NY co-representatives. 

What follows is a bit of information about Gilda, in her own words:

“I have been quilting since 1975, when as a volunteer in the local elementary school, I was asked to work with the third graders on a bi-centennial quilt. I had made a reputation as a sewing person and instead of being a reading or math helper, I had the children design and create individual blocks representing Long Island. It was a success and I was hooked.

I proceeded to learn as much as possible about the craft and was taught the basics from whatever sources were then available.

I then progressed to Quilting by the Lake, and became more immersed in quilting than I would have thought possible.    

There was a local quilting organization, Long Island Quilters that I also joined as well as the LI chapter of the EGA. In addition I am a member of the Pomegranate Guild of Judaic Needlework and a small art quilt group, Signature Art Quilters.  

Quilting has become a major passion in my life. It carries with it storage problems, time loss, and some frustration, but I love it. With the passing of my sweet husband two years ago it has kept me vital and happy, if one can say that.”

And as for me:

Under her watchful eye, my Nana put a needle and thread in my hands when I was five. By the time I was twelve, I’d saved enough babysitting money to purchase my first sewing machine, a Brother™ Straight Stitch for $60. During my high school and college years I was sewing my own garments. 

My mom was a painter, working in oils and pastels. In my late teens and early twenties I, too, painted in oils. Over time, I grew tired of the need to constantly wash brushes and deal with the storage and safety issues of linseed oil and turpentine. So I turned to fabric and thread and never looked back. That was nearly thirty years ago.

Quilting combines my love of sewing and passion for creating art and is as necessary to me as breathing.

My work reflects my response to life experiences, events and feelings--sometimes whimsical, sometimes serious. 

Happily distracted by bright, shiny objects, my abstract quilts almost always contain beads and metallic thread; I sometimes think I quilt as an excuse to work with glass beads. I love the feel of them as I work them into a design and the resulting texture and color enhancement of the finished piece. I am a cartoonist and that imagery has also found its way into some of my quilts. 

Please feel free to contact me at lorilight808@gmail.com with any art quilt-related news that you would like shared with the NY membership via this blog.

We are very excited to be able to serve as NY representatives and welcome any and all comments and ideas from you, the NY members. 

Your SAQA NY co-reps,

Lori Light 

Gilda Hecht

Sally Dutko Exhibit September 15 - November 10

Sally Dutko will have a solo exhibit called "Fabric Journey" at the beautiful Sheldrake Winery Tasting Room on Seneca Lake. Works from the beginning her fabric explorations, as well as many created in the last year will be shown in a wonderful, large and new tasting room overlooking Seneca Lake.

The reception is Saturday, Sept. 21 from 3:00—6:00.  Exhibit dates are September 15—November 10, 2013.

Sheldrake on Seneca is located in Hector, NY at 5930 Route 414. For directions visit their website: www.sheldrakepoint.com/tasting-rooms

Aid for Sandy Victims until September 15, 2013

Martha Sielman has asked that I forward information on aid for those who were affected by Hurricane Sandy. Relief for those who live in the five borough area of NYC is available through NYFA.

Pat Pauly

Here is more information.

New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) has announced they've received additional funding to continue providing awards through their Emergency Relief Fund. Artists are urged to apply to NYFA by September 15th for priority review. Funds are limited. Eligible artists can be working in any discipline, but must reside in one of the five boroughs of New York City. Review NYFA’s emergency relief guidelines and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) at: http://relieffund.nyfa.org. CERF+ continues providing assistance to craft artists affected by Hurricane Sandy, as well as other disasters, on an ongoing basis. We encourage craft artists to apply for our emergency relief grants, loans, and in-kind assistance. Please see our Sandy-related resources and ouremergency relief information.