Group challenge for Wyoming SAQA

Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc. has over 4,000 members internationally. Thirteen of us live in Wyoming. SAQA is dedicated to promoting the art quilt and the artists who create them. Whether you're an artist, a collector, or enthusiast, SAQA offers you inspiration and resources to support your passion for art quilts. This dynamic creative community is dedicated to making the art quilt universally recognized as a fine art medium!

Wyoming members participate in a monthly zoom call and do group challenges together. Art quilts we create are then shown throughout the state.

For this year’s challenge, each artist is creating a piece inspired by any of three photographs selected by the group. We agreed to create quilts in any orientation and shape, any technique and color palette. We also decided to make them not smaller than 15 inches and not larger than 30 inches on a side. I chose the photograph below.

Airport Walkway

I loved the colors and perspective, and I liked the shape of the photo, so decided to reproduce these features. At first.

Did you know that ideas are sometimes accidental? I had two black and white photocopies of the image lying on my studio table, staring at me. It occurred to me that they would look interesting used together with one being upside down.

AND what if I reverse the values? Black becomes white. Dark gray becomes light gray. Middle gray is the same,or perhaps replaced with a different color?? Hmmmm. This got me excited.

Boy oh boy. Look how those lines sing! I proceeded with my plan.

Top Portion

I had to decide how much detail to include, especially given how small some of the pieces were. I kept the parts I liked best. I did not include the many lines running across the pretty pastel lights on the left side of the photograph or the hardware hanging from the ceiling. I simplified the moving walkway and the people on it, and exaggerated the curved lines of the floor at the bottom. These decisions meant that the piece would take less time to create and be a lot more fun! Some bits would be done with stitching. When I started on the upside-down version, I allowed myself to employ even more time-saving tacyics. Notice the fun I had with the black-and-turquoise portion on the lower right side.

Bottom Portion

I repeated many of the same fabrics in these two renderings. The upside-down version is dramatic and no longer suggests an airport walkway. I was intentional in the placement of orange tones between the two halves, bringing them together.

Below is the finished quilt.

Are You Coming or Going? 20 X 15.5 $475

One other person in the Wyoming SAQA group created an art quilt inspired by the airport walkway photo. Laura Miller used Dr. Ph. Martin’s Hydrus Fine Art Liquid Watercolors on whole cloth to render her image. She then quilted the piece. The colors she used are really lovely.

Each month I share a recipe with you. Broccoli can be eaten hot, but I prefer it cold (using leftovers), and as the principal player in a salad. Healthy Broccoli Salad: Cut into bite size pieces a generous amount of cooked broccoli. Add chopped red or green cabbage, avocado, and optional red bell pepper, fresh dill or cilantro. Add olive oil, apple cider vinegar, and salt. Toss and serve in bowls. Top with raisins, small chunks of jack cheese, and toasted sunflower seeds. I don’t think of this salad as a ‘side’ but rather as the main event, so that I can consume a lot of greens and be satisfied!