SAQA Conference 2019 – Part 2
Saturday’s schedule was jam packed with lots of art in the afternoon, followed by a banquet and the Spotlight Auction. I chose the tour with 3 museums, which was ambitious. There was so much art packed into such a short time that I felt like I just got a taste of each, but that was fine by me!
After visiting the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles (I wrote about this in my last post), we walked a few doors down to the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art. I was not able to spend much time in the front part of the museum but I was mesmerized by the work of Stephanie Metz, a “figurative fiber artist” . Her bio explains what that is: “biomorphic abstract sculpture that explores the tension created when opposing qualities coexist. She works primarily in wool and industrial felt to create detailed, complex, and mysterious forms that defy their humble origins.”
I’ve never seen work like this. We were able to touch this piece and I was shocked by how heavy it was. I love those organic, suggestive shapes!
Peas in a pod kinda sorta?
This made me wonder what she could do with a Basset:-)
This was both adorable and thought provoking.
There were interesting murals and street art as we walked from venue to venue. This is only a small bit:
Yarn bombing in front of the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles.
Depicts some of the history of the region.
Modern quilt?
Just one of many murals around town.
We eventually arrived at the Works/San Jose Gallery where Shifting Tides: Convergence in Cloth was on view, a great exhibit of SAQA art:
A Quiet Moment, Kathleen McCabe
Ripples Untended, Libby Williamson
Water, Nancy Ryan
Low Tide at La Jolla, Carolyn Villars
Pelagic Produce, Denise Oyama Miller
Break Up, Maria Shell
A few fun shots of attendees:
Libby Williamson photo bombing Maggie Vanderweit, Joan Barker.
Libby Williamson, Holly Brackmann.
Carolyn Ducey, Gul Laporte, Diane Nunez.
Joyce Ferrie, Gul Laporte.
Vivika DeNegre, Catherine Redford, Nancy Turbitt.
Conference was a LOT of fun! Saturday concluded with a banquet and the Spotlight Auction, a SAQA fundraiser. Members could donate 6″ x 8″ pieces, with the proceeds to go towards exhibition expenses. There were some strong pieces. The art was encased in plastic so my photos are not the best:
Martha Wolfe
Geri Patterson-Kutras
Judith Content
Dorothy Raymond
Cindy Thompson
My donation piece
And I won this exquisite piece made by Kestral Michaud.
Sunday ran half a day with two presentations. First up was a panel of the writers of “Art Quilts Unfolding“, which covers 50 years of the art quilt.
As I listened to the panel, I saw the art quilt movement in a new light, as a relatively new form of expression. The art quilt movement began in northern California and is now truly an international phenomenon and SAQA is a huge voice for the movement.
The panel spoke of the process of four opinionated women coming together to create a comprehensive, chronological history of the studio art quilt. What a task to include 400 images of iconic and masterful pieces as well as interviews and profiles of 58 influential people, organized by decade.
The authors were available to sign copies of the book and I will treasure my copy. Some of the founding artists have already passed, so this book is especially important as a way to preserve that legacy.
The closing presentation was given by Joan Schultze, a fiber artist of international prominence who is much admired and respected for her ground breaking work. It was a privilege to hear her talk about her work. Joan’s husband passed of Altzheimer’s in the last year or so and she talked about some of the work that came out of the period of his decline. Her talk was touching, sweet and inspiring.
At one point her computer went haywire and printed out a mess of words, unconnected. Joan saw art in that and began to play with the outcome. I marveled at what she saw in that garble.
As she returned home after visiting her husband, she took daily photos of a flowering plant as it bloomed, then decayed. She used those images in the work above.
Her work is deeply personal and she bared her soul to us. It was a moving end to the Conference. I can’t wait for Toronto in 2020!
I link up with Nina-Marie’s Off the Wall Friday – check it out, there are lots of great links there!
Great summary, Jenny. I visited Stephanie Metz’s studio on Sunday- hope you did too. Her construction method is fascinating. The studio is filled with great big works in progress and materials, including big bales of sheep wool.
I needed to get home and missed her studio. Of all the artists, her work fascinated me the most. Wish I had gone!
thank you so much for your report. I hate to have missed this year’s conference. I remember Stephanie Metz from fiber Art International several years ago. as I remember her comment on the pig like figure or a one like it, had to do with biological engineering, and maybe how we view animals as food. Thus ignoring their faces. But I might be wrong.
Intriguing! I pulled that statement from her website and left it at that. It makes sense though, I definitely felt like there was more of a statement than I could discern in the few minutes I viewed the exhibit.
Oh, WOW, Jenny! Thank you for sharing as much as you did. I’m overwhelmed just from your photos and what you’ve shared about them, and I’m sure that only about 5% of what you got out of the conference made it into this blog post. Your brain is probably like the tummy of a snake that just swallowed an elephant… ;-)
Yes – my brain is overwhelmed with ideas and new connections!