Friday, July 10, 2015

July 2015 Newsletter

July 2015 Newsletter:

Well, ladies,...it's July and I have more than 24 mosquito bites on my legs and feet!  All I was trying to do was enjoy the few rain free days we have been given.  But the mosquitos see me as a buffet of sorts, rain or no rain, so I am fair game to them.  Bat rastards!  Of course, this hasn't stopped me from enjoying my life, sitting around the fire in the backyard at night with as much of me covered as humanly possible!  Last night I had my jeans tucked into my socks.  Dan asked that we not walk to the front yard to check something out until after it got darker!  He just doesn't get it because mosquitos consider him to be icky-bad, and don't bother him much.  When he does get bit, I can hear tiny little coughing noises nearby as they try to get rid of that taste!

Denise Havlan's Surface Design Workshop:

The Naperville Art League is hosting a workshop to be given by the world famous Denise Havlan on October 31st, 2015 from 9 am to 4 pm.  (www.denisehavlan.com).  Samples of what we will be doing in this class were shown at the meeting.  It's basically aspen tree trunks on a background.  She will have us fuse the trees on, machine stitch them down, then use textile paint to make the piece your own.  Joan also brought one she had done with Denise.  They were each amazingly different, and one was more beautiful than the other.  I wrote my check right on the spot, and I suggest you do the same!  As you have heard, Divas get the first spots, but that time is running out.
The class fee is $75 to be made out to the Naperville Art League.  At the class, there is a $12 lab fee payable to Denise directly.  This is for textile paints.  There is also a $35 offering that would eliminate the $12 lab fee, and would include the textile paints as well as all the fabrics you would need.
I looked at her site, checked her class listing, and didn't see this offering.  As a result, I couldn't show you a sample on the site.  Sorry about that.  (her site is listed above)
Anyway, Denise is a wonderful, calm woman who is ubber talented.  She will definitely give you another tool for you to use in your work, and help in the advancement of our art quilts.

PAQA's Midwest Show at the Bloomingdale Park District Museum:

PAQA is having their art quilt challenge quilts shown at the Bloomingdale Park District Museum from June 27th to August 1.  The Reception will be on July 19th between 2 and 5 pm.  There are 25 quilts exhibited at 18" square apiece.  (It's interesting.  Their challenge size is usually 18" square because they then send them off to different venues, and this makes for easier shipping!  Something to keep in mind should we ever decide we'd like to move in that direction.)  Anyway, there work is always fun to see, and would be a fun little field trip!
http://www.bloomingdaleparks.org/facilities/bpd-museum/exhibitions.htm

Show of Nature Artist's Guild Work at the Wasco Floral Shop and Nursery:

This show is from September 6th to October 27th.  The site below will give you more info.
One has to love nature!  Okay, not the mosquito factor, but the rest is good.
http://www.wasconursery.com/upcoming-events.html

Wasco Floral Shop and Nursery wants to host a show of our work!!!!!!!

The Wasco Floral Shop and Nursery in St. Charles has an art gallery section, and are interested in showing our work!  Geez that sounds familiar.....  Anyway, our show will be in July 2016, and will hang for one month.  They will be in charge of hanging our pieces, hosting the artist's reception, and taking the show down.  I assume advertising as well, although we can certainly help out there which would maybe get us a chance to show there again!  Now, here is the really REALLY good news:  We do not have to exhibit strictly new pieces!  That means we can pull from the past, have a full show (or at least as much as the gallery can handle), and not be in panic mode!  Personally I HATE panic mode!!
Way cool!  (Yes, I'm living in some sort of time warp!)
http://www.wasconursery.com/upcoming-events.html

sewsweetness.com:

Check it out, ladies!  Nice site for free patterns and tutorial videos!  Some very nice things there.

Challenge:  Elements!  Fire, Earth, Water

Let's not forget about our challenge!  There's a 96" perimeter guideline, which can be added up in any way you'd like.  Square, rectangle, trapezoid, circle, oval,....  There are no restrictions, so go for it!  This is due by our October quilt show at the latest.  Enjoy!

We have a winner in our midst!

Joan Bratton has been a very busy little bee this year!  She has a wool applique piece, "Summer Garden", that has been accepted into the non-juried show in Quilter's Affair in Sisters, Oregon.  
In addition, her "Autumn Grasses" has been juried into the Professional Art Exhibit at the Illinois State Fair!  Way to go, Joan!  Knock their socks off!  (That will be hard to do if their jeans are tucked into them!...just sayin'....)

Renwick Inn, a crafter's sanctuary!

This is a B&B that is set up with crafters in mind.  There is room for 12 guests, and they have crafting areas set up for your convenience.  Gotta love a place like that!  It has been tried by one of our members, and passes muster!  Did I mention the food?
http://renwickinn.com/

July 27th, 2015 is our next meeting:

See you there at 7 pm at the Naperville Art League, hopefully with some show and tell, and maybe some demo ideas!  $3 to cover room rental charges, please.  Hope to see y'all there!
xo,
Laurie
http://renwickinn.com/