March 2021

Don't Forget!

Vermont SDA members have been invited to a presentation by Susan Brandeis on Sunday, March 21st   3:00-4:30pm EST. 

Susan is Distinguished Professor Emerita following a 35–year teaching and research career as Professor of Textiles at North Carolina State University’s College of Design.  Her book, The Intentional Thread: A Guide to Drawing, Gesture, and Color in Stitch was reviewed in the Summer 2020 issue of Surface Design Journal. We'll be joined by several other regional groups and it'll be a fun opportunity to meet with members outside our area.

Keep an eye on your inbox. A Zoom link for the presentation will be emailed by Area Rep. Roz Daniels closer to the date.

February 2021

 Mark Your Calendars!

Area Reps, Eve and Roz, have planned another Zoom discussion program for the evening of Wednesday, February 10th at 7pm. The conversation will again be in response to an SDA Journal Release Party video -"Summer Journal Party - The Potential of Paper" with Antonius-Tín Bui, Grant Benoit, Elizabeth Kozlowski, and Lauren Sinner. 

Maine and New Hampshire members have been invited to join the discussion as well.

Plan to watch the video before the February 10th Zoom meeting, it's an hour long and can be found HERE. The link for the Zoom gathering will be emailed around February 3rd, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled.

✦

And looking ahead...

Michelle Lee, SDA Board Member, has invited us to a presentation by Susan Brandeis, whom she says is a wonderful speaker. 

SAVE THE DATE! A special meeting is being organized for Sunday, March 21 from 3:00-4:30pm EST with guest speaker Susan Brandeis. Susan is Distinguished Professor Emerita following a 35-year teaching and research career as Professor of Textiles at North Carolina State University's College of Design. Her book, The Intentional Thread: A Guide to Drawing, Gesture, and Color in Stitch was reviewed in the Sumer 2020 issue of Surface Design Journal.

We'll be joined by several other regional groups so it'll be a fun opportunity to meet with members outside our area. RSVP details to follow.

On Exhibit

"Right Matters" © Rosalind Daniels

Rosalind Daniels' stunning piece "Right Matters" will be included in the Modern Quilt Guild's annual quilt exhibition QuiltCon Together. The entire event will be online this year from February 18-20th. Roz notes that her piece is an abstraction of Colonel Vindman's statement that "In America, right still matters." It will also be included in the Guild's QuiltCon Magazine, available on newsstands February 23rd.

January 2021

Happy New Year!

Upcoming

On Wednesday, January 13 from 7-8pm, we'll be holding an online Pecha Kucha via Zoom for Vermont SDA members. 

A Pecha Kucha is a short presentation of 20 slide images, each displayed for 20 seconds. The name is the Japanese term for "chit chat". Pecha Kuchas are a popular way for artists to present their work in a concise, structured fashion. This event is open only to SDA members, providing a chance to practice presenting in a small, supportive setting, while also underlining how SDA works to foster artistic growth. 

We look forward to seeing presentations from Judy Dales: "I am Blessed", Marya Lowe: "Quilts in Memory of a Young Boy", and Elizabeth Fram: "The Secrets She Keeps". 

At the time of this posting there is still room for 1 or 2 more to participate.  If you are interested, please contact Eve or Roz @ RepVT@surfacedesign.org. 

Dancing on the Dark Side of the Moon ©Judy Dales

©Marya Lowe

The Secrets She Keeps (detail) ©Elizabeth Fram

On View

Beginning this month, Marya Lowe will be presenting a solo exhibit of 15 art quilts from her Seedpod Series. The exhibit includes early examples from when she was fascinated by the similarity between seedpod shapes and the much-loved traditional Double Wedding Ring "arc". Later pieces within the series show how she diverged from that visual and then returned to it. 

Seedpods: Promises of the Future

Seedpod VII,  Marya Lowe

January 26 - March 6, 2021

Studio Place Arts

3rd Floor Gallery

201 N. Main Street

Barre, VT

Admission is free

Hours: Tues - Fri: 11-2, and Sat: Noon-2pm

December 2020 News

As the colder weather takes hold and our virus numbers tick up, we in VT seem to be socially-distanced (physically, anyway) more than ever right now. The need to stay creatively connected is crucial. For many, the silver lining has been having a chance to work diligently in the studio without as many of the usual interruptions. Perhaps you have taken advantage of this time to attend an online workshop or have discovered (or are developing) a new process that you'd like to share? If so, we'd love to hear about it!

Don't forget, this blog is a forum for helping us to remain connected and for sharing our experiences along the way. We'd all love to hear what's inspiring you. 

Deadline for submissions is one week prior to the last day of each month.

Of Note

Eve Jacobs-Carnahan, Knit Democracy Together (maquette) ©2020

Have you participated in one of Eve Jacobs-Carnahan's Knit Democracy Together knitting circles?  If not,  you will want to check out the progress she is making with her ongoing project to bring greater awareness to campaign finance reform. Eve is creating a positive model of democracy, both literally and figuratively. And you can help!

There are several ways to learn more. Visit Eve's Knit Democracy Together website, read the recent SDA blogpost describing Eve's endeavor, or listen to Eve discuss the project with Alyson Stanfield on her Art Biz Podcast, episode #64.

On View

For those of you who may not have made it to see The Sheltering in Place project at the Highland Center for the Arts last summer, you can now view a short video of the exhibition. It conveys the extraordinary nature of the experience and is a work of art in and of itself. Created by Hasso Ewing (who conceived of and organized the SiP project), her husband Bob Hannan, and son Seamus Hannan, it includes the work of members Dianne Shullenberger and Elizabeth Fram.

✦

The Cultural Center of Cape Cod holds international exhibitions in both online and in-person galleries. Elizabeth Fram's piece "Caught Red-Handed" can now be viewed as part of their online show Wild Things, which pays homage to essence of power, vulnerability, and instinct that is intrinsic to the animal kingdom.

November 2020 News

On View

As I write this, 2" of snow have built up in our yard and the wind is blowing sideways past my window. With gardens put to bed and chilly winds making the studio seem even more attractive than usual, the creative season is now upon us.

 

What better way to welcome this time of renewed creativity than with Mandatory Color, the SDA juried members' exhibit.  You can enjoy the full exhibition online. Congrats to our area reps, Roz Daniels and Eve Jacobs-Carnahan, both of whom have work included.

October 2020 News

Despite the pandemic's restrictions, it's heartening to see that exhibitions are carrying on across the country, and that our Vermont members are actively pursuing them. This month we are represented in shows near and far, both in-person and on-line.

Editor's note: To keep this volunteer effort more manageable time-wise, I will no longer be including links to members' websites in the body of these notices. They are easily accessible in the sidebar to the right. Thank you.

On View

Art at the Kent has moved outside this year with a selection of outdoor works that explore historic trades and technology in new and surprising ways. Eve Jacobs-Carnahan's sculpture Energy stands outside the Kent Museum in Calais, VT as part of the exhibition. Using bright yellow yarn, Eve knit a lace cover for the lantern on the lamppost by the doorway of the historic tavern. The lace depicts old and new power sources for lighting. The outline of a wind turbine graces the knitted panels in a nod to the innovators of the Smith-Putnam turbine erected in 1941 on Granpa's Knob in Castleton, VT. Learn more about the artwork and the wind turbine: here.

Hindsight 20/20

Energy by Eve Jacobs-Carnahan

Kent Museum

September 11 - at least October 11, 2020

7 Old West Church Rd

Calais, VT

802.223.6613

thekentmuseum@gmail.com

✦

The work of eight Vermont SDA Members: Judy Dales, Rosalind Daniels, Elizabeth Fram, Eve Jacobs-Carnahan, Almuth Palinkas, Leslie Roth, Dianne Shullenberger, and Sharon Webster is included in an exhibition that was conceived of by Leslie, and which speaks to the diverse aspects of life during COVID. The emotional power of the work is amplified by its historic gallery setting.

DWELL

September 24 - October 24, 2020

The Grange Hall Cultural Center

317 Howard Ave.

Waterbury Center, VT

Gallery showings by appointment with at least 24 hour notice

802.244.4168

grangehallcc@gmail.com

✦

2020 South End Art Hop 

The South End Art Hop went largely virtual this year. Sharon Webster and Elizabeth Fram both participated in the annual Juried Show. View the exhibit and read the juror's statement online (for an unspecified amount of time). The exciting news is that a textile piece captured First Place!

Also, you can see several of Leslie Roth's sculptures in-person at SPACE Gallery, one of the Art Hop's in-person venues.

6' of Separation

Safer Than a Human, detail by Leslie Roth

Until October 17, 2020

SPACE Gallery

266 Pine Street

Burlington, VT

802.578.2512

spacegalleryvt@gmail.com

Hours: Thurs - Saturday, 12-5, and by appointment

✦

Rosalind Daniels is celebrating the upside of online exhibiting: no shipping! Her piece Self-Portrait in Blue will be on view virtually in

Who Are You

Self Portrait in Blue by Rosalind Daniels

October 10 - November 24, 2020

Sebastopol Center for the Arts

✦

Rosalind Daniels and Eve Jacobs-Carnahan each have work in the upcoming SDA exhibition Mandatory Color at the Museum of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX. It is scheduled to run from October 3 to December 6, 2020 and examines the use of color as a response to world-wide social distancing and quarantine.

Splattered by Rosalind Daniels

This piece represents Roz's protest against gun violence and the colors that follow violent acts.

Water's Edge by Eve Jacobs-Carnahan

Eve's piece Water's Edge embodies the precarious feelings of the early months of the pandemic. The sculpture of a brown and gray duck mirrors the colors of early March and her mood at the time. The duck stands, a little off kilter, at the edge between water and tangled vegetation. Its expression is indecipherable, its call unheard. Eve says she felt a similar unease this spring as the world felt vulnerable standing on the edge of the unknown.

Of Note

Finally, for your reading pleasure: 

Suzanne Loker sent in this link to the NPR article "If You Have To Wear A Mask, It Might As Well Be A Masterpiece".

 

September News 2020

Call For Entry

Dwell

Across Roads Center for the Arts with The Grange Hall Cultural Center presents "Dwell", a curated exhibition conceived in collaboration with Leslie Roth, about and in appreciation of the landscapes we inhabit during these challenging times (internal and external: real, imagined or allegorical). Submissions are sought that express and interpret your experience - whether positive or negative - in relation to this theme. To learn more, visit The Grange Hall Cultural Center website. 

All art forms will be considered. There is no fee to submit.  Deadline: September 6, 2020

Click here for Perspectus and application.

Upcoming

Eve Jacobs-Carnahan would like to invite you to another of her Knit Democracy Together knitting circles on Wednesday, September 2nd at 7-8:30 pm. The event will be part of Vermont Humanities Fall Conference which is free and online this year.

Eve writes: "At the Knit Democracy Together knitting circle, we'll discuss ways to change the way candidates finance their election campaigns. By changing where elected officials get their money, we can give them incentives to listen to a broader constituency. This translates into laws and policies that support the whole community. We'll knit too, though you don't have to be a knitter to participate. I've got instructions for making a finger cord if you prefer, or just come for the discussion."

More information and to sign up.

✦

Member Sharon Webster will be exhibiting one of her thought-provoking pieces during Art Hop this year.

Handed Down

24 x 53 x 2 inches

mixed media: mother's gloves, yarn chords, threads and needles, rope mounted on painted boards

Exhibited as part of the 2020 South End Art Hop, 9/11 - 12 - 13

and from September until November 15

in The Maltex Building

431 Pine Street

Burlington VT

Check Seaba website for instructions for viewing during Art Hop. They will be posted in early September.

Virtual Member Exhibition

Thank you to Marya Lowe for contributing to our ongoing virtual gallery with the following story about her piece "Glowing Cabins".

Glowing Cabins by Marya Lowe

"I saw a picture in an airline magazine (back when we could safely fly somewhere!) of a new hotel in the American southwest, in which each "room" was actually a cement pod, positioned so as not to be viewable by anyone else from their pod. What struck me was the color combination of gray and glowing yellow. So while I was on vacation, I crafted several log cabin blocks to capture that sense of a warm glow coming out of a great surround. Once home, a backdrop was added to set off the colors. I showed a picture of the in-process quilt to a friend, who recalled her senior class trip to the 1967 Expo in Montreal and seeing the newly built "Habitat 67" community on one of the islands in the St. Lawrence River. Based on that happy memory, she immediately purchased the quilt!"

In other news from Marya, she has just launched a newsletter in which she plans to write monthly about her activities behind the scenes in her art quilting studio. If you'd like to be added to her subscriber list, email Marya at mlowe@pobox.com. She will add you to her mailing list and send you the first "episode".