Check out the new information about the Maggie Weiss workshop coming in July of 2011 under “Upcoming Workshops.”
“Canopy”© (closeup) by Maggie Weiss
Posted by Rita Faussone 7/29/10

Check out the new information about the Maggie Weiss workshop coming in July of [+]
I have posted an interesting discussion of what constitutes originality and what does not featuring [+]
After rethinking our space limits for the Silent Auction at Barnes & Noble in October, [+]
Some of you may have caught episodes of "Art in the Twenty-First Century" on [+]
Check out the new information about the Maggie Weiss workshop coming in July of 2011 under “Upcoming Workshops.”
“Canopy”© (closeup) by Maggie Weiss
Posted by Rita Faussone 7/29/10
After rethinking our space limits for the Silent Auction at Barnes & Noble in October, we think now that you will be limited to 3 pieces rather than 2. The Call for Entry/Entry Form has been updated.
Remember, this exhibit will work just like our Mesa Verde exhibit, with the exception being that you must set your minimum bid price and there is no commission.
Photography is not required for this exhibit. If you want to have your piece(s) photographed either personally or professionally, please make arrangements to have that done prior to the turn in day, as the Silent Auction Commitee will not be able to help you.
You must still send your AS & Bio to Rita by September 18th 6 p.m., or I can use the information you submitted for Mesa Verde. If your Mesa Verde Artist Statement was written specifically for Mesa Verde and not a general statement, you may have to rewrite the information. If you have questions, please contact either Rita Faussone or Susan Strickland. Thanks
Photo: “Sierra Vista” by Rita Faussone
Posted by Rita Faussone 7/6/10
Some of you may have caught episodes of “Art in the Twenty-First Century” on PBS over the past few years. Well, now you can watch most of the episodes for free on your PC at the PBS site http://www.pbs.org/art21/
Or, if you have a Netflix account, most of the seasons are now available from Netflix either on DVD or on Instant Download. This series is a wonderful way to get an ‘art fix’. If you haven’t seen it, this show features a very wide range of practicing artists in all types of mediums, talking about their work, process and vision. Most episodes are interesting. Not all of them are ‘established’, but most are full time artists, more or less.
Information provided by Sue Van Vorhees
Posted by Rita Faussone 7/6/10
Gayle Gerson described herself as “blown away” by the quality of the 101 pieces which she juried for our Mesa Verde Canyon Voices II exhibit. Her juror’s statement reads as follows:
“The quality and diversity of the work is wonderful. Many times, I considered a whole series in my comments and my judging for the top spots. A consistent quality of work counts for something as each square relates to the other in a series. It was a pleasure to have these beautiful pieces of art decking out my dining room for the week it took to make my final choices.”
Happily, Gayle juried no one out of the show! She also wrote comments on each piece or group of pieces by each artist, and those will be e-mailed to you soon.
Gayle said there were so many wonderful quilts, she found it hard to limit herself to choosing a top “5″, so she went one step further and choose a top “10″, while noting that there were many others which could have been chosen.
The top 5 (which includes the postcard image) and Member’s Choice are now at the photographer and should be ready in a week or so. Please note that these pictures were all taken by me (Rita). Because my photographic skills are pretty low, I took each picture and cropped them to square them up a little so that they would look nicer on this post. Be assured when Frank Nored finishes his work, they will all be perfect. After Frank finishes his work Kathy Pfeufer will put the Top 5 and Member’s Choice in the Exhibits section of our website.
We think that Gayle Gerson deserves many accolades for wading through 101 entries. Gayle is a well-known collage artist. Please visit her website at www.gaylegerson.com to see some of her award winning work.
Photographs by Rita Faussone
Posted by Rita Faussone 6/30/10
Come play with dye and design some beautiful fabric at the Dye Play Days at Jane Aldoretta’s Fabric Arts Studio, 2297 Tall Grass, Unit #9, Grand Junction., 263-7907.
The play day is Friday, July 23 9 am to 4 pm. Jane will either be charging an hourly rate of $5.00 per hour per person or $160.00 for the whole day divided by the number of participants. We may have so many that we need to schedule some people for one day and some for the following day.
Remember this is not a teaching day, but a playing, experimenting and fun day to do your own thing. You will need to provide your own dyes. Jane sells dyes and fabric at her store. AQuA has some soda ash which will hopefully be enough. Please remember to familiarize yourself with the basics of dyeing (see Bev’s following info).
Information from Bev Hart:
If people only want to buy a bit of supplies to get started (or see if they like it), I would recommend they either choose warm or cool colors. Warm colors would be light red, sky blue, and golden yellow. Cool colors would be light red, lemon yellow and turquoise or cerulean blue. If they want, add charcoal gray. You will also need soda ash (maybe–if we run out), and measuring utensils in addition to recycled plastic containers to hold fabric. That is bare minimum. If you think you’re are going to get serious about it, I’d also recommend urea. For fabric, I’d recommend the bleached cotton bamboo from Joann’s, or any good PFD fabric.
Dharma Trading has information on dyeing on their website (www.dharmatrading.com), as does Pro-Chem (www.prochemicalanddye.com) They should look for directions for low water immersion dyeing, I know they are there. If someone wants to invest in a book, Joyce Mori’s “Dyeing to Quilt” is the best beginner book I know. Vimala McClure’s book “Fabric Dyeing for Beginners” isn’t bad either- I started with it, although I don’t use it anymore. Both books are available on Amazon.
Please send me (Susan Strickland) an email indicating the specified date that you would like to attend. Click here to send message.
Fabric by Mary Reamer, Photo by Bev Hart
Posted by Rita Faussone 6/29/10
Susan Strickland and her art quilts were the subject of Sherida Warner’s weekly quilting column in the Sunday, June 27th issue of the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. What a good article! For those of you who may not have seen it this is the link to the article on the internet: http://www.gjsentinel.com/lifestyle/articles/american_indian_culture_inspir
Although not all of the pictures are shown, the article is printed in full.
Congratulations, Susan, and thank you Sherida for your wonderful columns in promoting the art of quilting.
Posted by Rita Faussone 6/29/30
Carol Wilson was our professional and dedicated leader for the pillowcase challenge. From left to right, the members who cut, ironed, measured, sewed and serged are: Back row - Kathy Schattleitner, Rita Faussone, Angela Kenley, Susan Strickland, Emmalee Blender, Carol Patten, Christie Barton, Jean Roesler, Gjeneve Hopkinson and Jan Rickman. Kneeling in front – Carol Wilson, Jan Warren and Jane Aldoretta.
Thanks so much to Carol for organizing this effort. She did a magnificent job.
Posted by Rita Faussone 6/25/10
The June 19th turn-in for our Mesa Verde exhibit “Canyon Voices II” was a spectacular success. One hundred and one pieces were submitted. That amazing number is the most we’ve ever had turned in for any show.
Photo at the left: processing the quilts as they are turned in, from left to right, Rita Faussone, Susan Strickland, Christie Barton, Pat Sprague and Nancy Vanaken.
Just one table of the four covered with quilts. The members were looking at all of them to vote for their favorite.
Member’s choices from left to right: Terry Lee tied for 3rd, Barbara Scott 1st, Carol Patten 2nd and Kathy Schattleitner tied for 3rd. Congratulations ladies!!
Posted by Rita Faussone 6/25/10
Lots of new Calls for Entry (non-AQuA) have been posted under Member Information.
“Glacier Study #1 – Crevasse” by Nancy Dobson
Posted by Rita Faussone 6/7/10