This Memorial weekend, I attended the Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) conference, held in conjunction with the Quilt National opening at the Dairy Barn Arts Center in Athens, Ohio.
Here are three very talented artists, Ruth Powers, Del Thomas and Rosemary Claus-Gray at the Saturday luncheon. Del is also a collector and owns Discombobulated, my earliest sculptural work. It was the best sale I ever made, as she has also become a friend. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to see her at the Quilt Visions opening last November, but she was not able to visit me when she drove through Kansas on the way to Ohio. The highway was closed going through the town of Greensburg, KS after it was devastated by a recent tornado.
This is my third time attending a SAQA conference and this one was particularly valuable, as it offered a number of marketing-related workshops. The day after I returned home, I went to the bookstore and bought books on search engine optimization, blogging and web design. In fact, I began this blog because one of the presenters finally convinced that I needed to create a journal of my art.
The best part of the conference was seeing old friends and meeting new ones. Here I am (in green) with Susan Ferraro. We are at the pizza party, held behind the Dairy Barn. Carolyn Lee Vehslage and Lisa Chipetine are in the background.
Just in case one conference was not enough, I spent four days at home then went to Kansas City for a couple of days, visiting the fiber art exhibits associated with the Surface Design Association conference. The best exhibits were at the Belger gallery and the H&R Block Artspace, which held the SDA members' show. Not surprisingly, I saw a number of people whom I'd seen just a few days before in Ohio.
Thanks to all the volunteers who made each conference so successful.
