Happy Holidays 2015 and a Happy New Year 2016

Best wishes to all our friends!

December 2015 - Our show Opens in Newberg

A SENSE OF PLACE: The Allison INN
Exhibit
December 22, 2015 - February 27, 2016

at the Chehalem Cultural Center in Newberg, OR

November 2015 - Upcoming shows: Newberg and more

We got right down to business this month discussing the details of our upcoming show at the Chehalem Cultural Center in Newberg, Oregon. The show will hang from December 22, 2015 to February 27, 2016, with an opening reception on Friday, February 5, 2016 from 7 to 9. That opening will coincide with Newberg’s Art Walk which should give viewers lots to see in and around the CCC.

We are also making plans for our show at the Chessman Gallery in Lincoln City in October 2016. The group is excited to be including 3-D pieces along with the art quilts that will hang on the wall. Group members have several types of 3-D works in mind so this should result in a show with strength of variety as well as creativity.

Some concrete design ideas are emerging for our April 2016 show on the subject of Urban Landscapes. An exact title is still a little up in the air, but the subject matter is firm, and Portland is providing change in spades to inspire us!

Several people brought in "Show and Tell"to share with the group.
Elaine showed many pieces that she discharge-dyed at the last SAQA meeting, held at OCAC:

Valri shared a fiber bowl and samples from a recent paper making class:

Kathy shared two interesting books:

Here is a peek at Annette's new work ... ready for submission to a show:

Betty is having fun with color:

October 2015 - Starting to formalize ideas

After some show-and-tell, there was more in-depth discussion of next year’s project. A couple people have begun to formalize some ideas and are beginning to do sketches. We once again revisited the theme itself, asking if the pieces needed to show both “old” and “new”. Most seem to think we had broadened it by using the title “Urban Landscapes” so that this specific contrast is not necessary.

There was a reminder about the use of #2 lead pencil yellow in all pieces.

Melanie has been interested in Valerie Goodwin’s work, in particular her book Art Quilt Maps and is considering doing an aerial view of a section of the city, possibly the Pearl District. She talked about the use of crinoline as a backing right against the front base to give stability and a slightly stiffer surface.
Elaine would like to work with the bridges, possibly the St. John’s and the Tillicum Crossing to contrast old and new.
Kathy has been interested by building reflections in other building windows and to that end has taken a lot of photos which she shared with us.

September 2015 - busy summer

MIX members were busy over the summer - both working on fiber pieces and
traveling for new experiences and inspirations. We shared several works that
others had not seen previously and when asked, commented on design issues
that the artist wanted to discuss. The group can often help one of us get the
distance and perspective needed to find an elusive solution!

It was exciting to see a variety of styles, from completely abstract to somewhat
representational. There were aspects of one quilt that became three-
dimensional, as well as two bowls by the same artist with very different design
approaches. It was also fun to see a pink sky in one piece and yellow in another
- always good to shake things up a bit!

Having finalized the subject and size for next year’s joint show, we are all now
ready to begin the design process for these pieces. It will be good to tackle
something urban after our peaceful country sojourn with the theme of the Allison
Resort from last year.

New bowl by Melanie

New work by Valri

The Pearl by Valri

Shanghai by Betty

NOW by Betty

August 2015 - Continuing discussions regarding our next theme...

We are in the midst of fine tuning the theme for our April, 2016 Show.  As mentioned in our June post, having reveled in the countryside surrounding the Allison Inn and Spa this year, we decided to turn to city life for next year's theme.  Portland is undergoing a huge amount of change and renovation, some of it welcomed (new bridges and public works) and some of it controversial ("gentrification").  We are proposing a possible title of "Urban Landscapes" to allow enough freedom for this subject.  Several photo shoots have taken place and others are planned.  In addition, we are submitting proposals for shows in other regional galleries.

Here are some more pictures taken by Kathy and Hilde during our urban discovery outings and possible inspiration for 2016 show ...

July 2015 - "EXTREME STUDIES" in Sisters

Our exhibit Extreme Studies was featured as one of the Special Exhibits during the Sisters Outdoor Quilt show.  The reactions were diverse ... some viewers immediately liked the small size and variety of materials, some others where not prepared to see small quilts (18"x 18") during this show or didn't quite embrace the concept.  We were pleased with the attendance and enjoyed explaining our process and group dynamics to all show visitors.  Thank you all for visiting and for all your good questions!

MIX - Extreme Studies at the Sisters Library during the 2015 Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show

June 2015 ... and our next theme is ...

After some animated discussion, we decided on "urban transitions" as our next project theme. Portland has a lot of character as seen on many of our city streets. We'll explore and look for inspiration throughout the city. 

So far, we've decided to make one piece that's maybe about 24" by 48". We've also included the necessity of one common color . . . #2 pencil yellow. It can be prominent or just a bit piece. 

In addition, we'll each do a small (12' by 16") focus piece. The focus is yet to be decided. 

Our first inspirational street walk took a group of us to Williams Ave. in north Portland. These great photos were taken by Kathy. Later that day we were lucky to be able to take a ride on the new Orange MAX line that goes across the Willamette River on Portland's newest bridge - The Tilikum Crossing, Bridge of the People. We enjoyed the beautiful new artwork along the line as well as interesting city sights.

  

May 2015 - Pleased and looking forward

So many things to discuss in our May meeting!  We were pleased by the very positive responses of people from the National SAQA Conference who saw our “Sense of Place” show at the Methodist Church.  This show will also travel to the Chehalem Cultural Center in Newberg this winter for a month-long exhibit - very exciting!  And last year’s “Extreme” show will be in the Sisters Library during the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show.

We then had a great discussion about next year’s theme and the possibilities seem endless:  many landmarks in the Columbia Gorge, Timberline Lodge, old farm structures, ghost towns?  And what size should they be?  The final decisions will occur in June after people have had a chance to ponder the possibilities.

April 2015 - Opening of the exhibit "A SENSE OF PLACE: The Allison"

On Friday April 17 we opened our exhibit "A Sense of Place: The Allison" at the United Methodist Church in Portland with a luncheon organized by the women of the UMC.  Over 160 people were in attendance and our show was very well received.

 

Elaine Millar introduced our group and explained highlights of the exhibit:

Following, each of us talked about our pieces, inspiration, technique and challenges.  

We thoroughly enjoyed the event!

Make sure to visit our PORTFOLIO page to see all works of the exhibit.

From left to right: Valri Chiappetta, Betty Daggett, Kathy Blondell, Elaine Millar, Annette McFarlane, Hilde Morin, Diane Losli-Britt and Melanie Grant.

A Sense of Place: the Allison

Sixteen new works. 

Each artist created one hardscape and one softscape based on the structures and grounds of the Allison Inn and Spa in Newberg, OR. 

Opening soon:

March 2015 - All works are in / time for final photos

A look at our final pieces and ready for photos.  

Discussing the final details of the exhibit "A Sense of Place" ... invitation coming soon

February 2015 MIX Meet

Progress continues on the work for the April exhibit at the First United Methodist Church in Portland, OR. Several members showed and explained their work. It's always interesting to hear from the artist about the design decisions they make from start to finish.

VALRI

BETTY

MELANIE

ANNETTE

ELAINE

January 2015 meeting - A peek at our HardScape/SoftScape progress

Happy New Year to you!
We started off the year with a peek at progress towards our upcoming exhibit: Hardscape/Softscape.  Four members showed their work this month and the other four will show their progress next month.  Here is a peek:

KATHY

BETTY

HILDE

DIANE