SAQA Benefit Auction Donation for 2013

Onions Galore will be my donation for the SAQA Benefit Auction this year. It is from a small watercolor made a couple of years ago. It was really fun to turn this little piece into a 12" x 12" quilt.

This auction raises money for SAQA to support a number of art quilt exhibitions around the world each year. Last year over $60,000 was raised by selling these little quilts. They are sold in a reverse auction starting at $750. Each year there are quilts sold by artists who get more than that for their small work. The final amount is $75. Artists donate hoping their work will sell for a goodly amount.

Many wonderful quilts are donated each year, and I think they get better and better each year. Some are already up on the SAQA website and this year looks better yet.

Here is Onions Galore. Hope the hand stitching of the stem and the roots shows up well.

Would love to get feedback on the piece.

Nancy

Suzanne Golden Presents - A Book of Beaders

Received a fascinating book on beading artists called Suzanne Golden Presents Interviews with 36 Artists Who Innovate with Beads.  While some of the artists do a variety of jewelry, the art of other artists in the book would be classified more as sculpture. Even the jewelry is art and highly sculptural.

The cover of the book gives a tip of the iceberg on the variety and exceptional artists and their work.

Several artists stand out for me.  I was not familiar with Betsy Youngquist's art. She uses porcelain doll heads and beads to create her humorous and slightly menacing sculptures.They are most intriguing. Kay Dolezal creates both pieces for political commentary like Prayer Run #1 and some for her own fun like Bubble Wrap- Unpopped. This last piece looks like a roll of bubble wrap for wrapping something precious instead of being precious. Marina Dempster creates some of the most imaginative shoes I have ever seen using beads and other other a variety of other items, like feathers, antique false teeth, fur, thorns, antlers and others.

This is definitely a book for the lover of bead art.

Nancy