Good Monday Morning.

As I look out my window, I can see the marsh grass changing from the brilliant greens of summer to the olive greens, yellows and browns of autumn.

We are so lucky to live in North Carolina and Virginia where we can witness Mother Nature's color show with the changing seasons.

If you love color, you gotta love the Fall season and I hope to post inspirational photos of this breath taking wonder for the next several weeks.   

I am keeping the blog short today because I plan to send out an e-mail too.  I have been thinking about all our SAQA members in NC and VA and how great it would be if we could get to know one another a little better.  So, to that end, I would like to begin a feature on our blog each month to introduce one of our members.

 More details about how this will work will be forthcoming.

Until then, keep creating!

Good Monday Morning North Carolina and Virginia.  Can you believe this is the last day of summer?  Wow, where does the time go?  I'm sure many of you know that time happily spent in our creative spaces seems to pass by in the blink of an eye.  So, for that reason, I want to give you all a gentle push to be thinking about the SAQA Studio to Gallery conference sponsored by the Florida region and thinking about getting some work ready to enter in the Southern Accents exhibit. SAQA members in the Southeast region....(that's us!) are eligible to enter this exhibit.  And since we all know that time flies,  the entry deadline will be here before we know it.  So, get to work!  Let's have our region well represented.

Another great piece of important news is that our own Lorie McCown, my regional co-rep, is the featured artist for the Artist Profile segment of the Oct/Nov Quilting Arts Magazine.  Way to go Lorie!!!  The article about Lorie is terrific so if you don't already subscribe to this magazine pick up a copy so you can read all about her.

So, on this last day of summer, I'll leave you with a few more inspiration photos from the beach.  Enjoy!

Good Monday Morning..........WHAT???  It's only Sunday, not Monday.  Well, I am a little ahead of myself but tomorrow is the start of the 2014 SAQA Fundraising Benefit Auction and I just wanted to give everyone a little reminder.  There are so many wonderful quilts this year that the hardest part will be to pick out a few favorites.  Here is the link to see the quilts  http://www.saqa.com/memberArt.php?ID=3220

See what I mean?...... they're fantastic!  So now you can have a nice slow quiet Sunday afternoon to peruse the auction quilts and be ready for the bidding.

Oh, and here's a sneak peek at a couple of the quilts I chose at random

Copper Seeds by Shelly Burge

Intersect by Nancy Dobson

Perfect Storm Jazzy Dance by Joan Sowada

Anyone in our region have a quilt in this auction group?  Let us know!

And one final note....please try to help out with the Fredericksburg Sewing and Quilt Expo if you have some free time.  It's a great way to spread the word about SAQA, and all the great people in our region, and if you haven't met many of the NC/VA regional members, this is a good chance to do so.  Plus, you get to see the Sewing and Quilt Expo.  Contact Lorie McCown if you can help.

So, happy bidding!

Fredericksburg Sewing and Quilt Expo

My friends in art...SAQA is trying to put together a table space at  OSQE here in F'burg Va. If you can spare some time, to help man the booth please let me know! The dates are Oct 2,3 & 4, 2014, that's Thrus, Fri and Sat. No Sunday.  If you've already responded to my email plea, no need to respond here. I've got you! ;)


If we'd like to have an informal meeting/social there are some nice eateries here!

Thanks !!

Lorie McCown

Lhmccown@verizon.net

Hope everyone has a Happy Autumn.!!

.Good Monday Morning.  We've been looking at color and how it can be inspirational in your artwork, so today let's look at white.  White is created when all color is reflected and the reflections of the colors give white a whole range of hues. What I mean is, there are a lot of "colors" of white and like many other colors,white can change it's appearance by what is next to it or around it. White absorbs colors as I am sure you all know if you have ever done laundry and washed your whites with something red.  (ha ha.....hate it when that happens!)

Ocracoke lighthouse NC

 There has been much discussion as to what color to paint gallery walls in art galleries because many feel that the starkness to white contrasts too much with the artwork that is to be the main feature.  A more subtle neutral grey is frequently chosen or perhaps an "off white" color.  I mention this because it gives us something to think about when choosing a color for a design wall.

Just look at the stark contrast in this photo of the against the other cool colors.






 White symbolizes purity, cleanliness, innocence, simplicity.  I'm sure you have all heard the term, "Pure as the driven snow",  but even snow is not one "color".  It is bright, blinding light on a sunny day, and a soft cool blue or gray on a cloudy day.


You may wonder why ocean waves always look white when the water may be green or blue or gray.  This is because of bubbles....yes. bubbles.  They may be very tiny and not visible to the naked eye, but they are there in crashing waves and foam and they scatter the wavelenghts of color and come together to form white.

So, let me leave you with an image of something white that is near and dear to our hearts, the cotton boll. You can see that if you are looking for something with strong contrast, place white against something dark.

Cotton Boll

And finally a quote from Leonardo Da Vinci;  "The first of all single colors is white.....We shall set down white for the representative of light, without which no color can be seen:  yellow for the earth; green for water; blue for air; red for fire; and black for total darkness."

As always, if any of you in the VA/NC SAQA region have any shows, exhibits or other information which may interest our members, just let me know!  Thanks.

Black.  Black as night, little Black dress, Black sheep, Blackmail, Black hole are just a few of the phrases associated with the color black.  Black is the absence of light, created when color is totally absorbed.  It is a strong color associated with mystery, sophistication, fear, death, and power.  A little black can go a long way but provides excellent contrast for intense colors.
Here are a few interesting quotes about the color black:
--"I've been 40 years discovering that the queen of all colors was black."  Pierre-Auguste Renoir
--"There's something about black.  You feel hidden away in it."  Georgia O'Keeffe
--"Black is not a color."  Edouard Manet

So, here are a few inspirational photographs taken by yours truly to illustrated the power of black:

Full Moon over Emerald Isle

Fireworks

Oliver, my adorable big black cat

Hope you all have a wonderful day today on Labor Day.  And as always, I'd love to hear from you if you have any news to share with your fellow regional SAQA members.......there must be something going on out there!
Eileen

SAQA 2014 Benefit Auction

The 2014 SAQA benefit Auction will begin on September 15th.  This is a wonderful opportunity to add to or begin an art quilt collection made by some very talented artists from all over the world.  By bidding on your favorite piece(s) you are also helping SAQA and supporting the art quilt movement.

You can view these unique art quilts on the adjacent slide show or click on the show to go to a link and the SAQA web site to learn all the details.

Here are a few of the art pieces made by our regional members that are being offered in the action.  Many more of our members have contributed so be sure to have a look at all of the beautiful quilts. Such diversity!  I'm sure you will have a hard time narrowing down your choices for bidding.

Sea Oat by Jenny Williams

Blueberry Fields #2 by Christine Hager-Braun

Piscis by Nanette Zeller

Looking at the slide show is so inspiring, that's all that needs to be said.  Until next week..........

Wow, is it Monday already?  Well, good Monday morning everyone!  I hope you are finding time to put your creativity to work this summer.  We have been talking about color and what a powerful artistic tool color can be.  It can affect your mood and how a viewer actually feels about a piece.
The color of today is Green.  Representing earth and nature, green is a soothing and relaxing color.  Green is the inspiration for many songs, titles, and phrases;  The Green Mile, How Green was my Valley, Green Acres, Green Green Grass of Home, and the eco-friendly phrase, Going Green.  
With so many refreshing sentiments associated with the color green, it's ironic, isn't it? that it is also associated with jealousy, as in green with envy or the green eyed monster.  Thought to have originated in Roman times, the association with envy was cemented into our language by Shakespeare and Othello. (1)
In the late 1800's and early 1900's, many famous artists such as Van Gogh,           Degas, Hemingway, Picasso, etc. enjoyed a popular drink of the times, absinthe, which was also know as the "green muse" or the "green fairy".  Getting it's green color from chlorophyll, absinthe became so popular in France that the "green hour" became the time that cafes filled up with absinthe drinkers. (2)
Chlorophyll is the green pigment from nature that is responsible for the production of oxygen which is what we need to survive.  So, green became symbolic as the essence of life. (3)

So, I'll leave you with some green inspiration and the following question......Is the grass always greener on the other side?

1,2,3.  Information and examples of the meaning behind the color green from, "The Secret Language of Color", by JoAnn Eckstut and Arielle Eckstut, Black Dog and Leventhal Publishers, 2013.

Good Monday Morning!  Well, it is still overcast, grey and rainy here in eastern North Carolina.  How I wish for some blue skies. Today is "Blue" Monday, but, I don't feel blue (ha ha, that's a little corny) because it's such a beautiful color.  The color blue is calming, tranquil, and is the most gender neutral color.  It is attached to a lot of phrases in our speech such as "got the blues", "out of the blue", "blue plate special".
The first things most of us think of are blue skies and blue seas.  So, here are a few blue inspirations for you.

Blue Pots

Blue Ridge Mountains

Ocean Blue

And here are a few fun blue facts you might not know.

The color blue has been shown to help solve creative problems.

Mosquitoes are attracted to the color blue twice as much as any other color

Blue is a favorite color choice for toothbrushes.




The color blue makes eating  unappealing so it's a good dieting color for plates.  (no, I did not make this up, I actually read it on the internet somewhere.)

Painting the ceilings of your porches a light sky blue color will deter spiders and other bugs from
making their homes there.















.

So, on this blue Monday morning, let me leave you with some blue skies.

Blue Skies over Cape Lookout, NC

Rainy days and Mondays always find me in my sewing room.  I don't know about the rest of you, but here in coastal North Carolina, we have been having torrential downpours for the past 4 days.  I love it because what else can you do except hole up in the studio and be creative.  I feel sorry for all the people who are vacationing at the beach, but really.....I can't be out playing in the sunshine every day!

whoooo loves a rainy day?

So I guess this weeks motivational Monday is all about rain.

But, there is a bright side.  Have you all seen this summers' edition of the SAQA Journal?   The featured artist is Eileen Doughty, our very talented SAQA member from Virginia.  Looking at Eileen's work is like seeing a rainbow after the storm....very beautiful and inspiring!

Rainbow altered in Photoshop 

After the Storm