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Whenever Studio Art Quilt Associates members gather, creative energy flows! Creativity and technology sparked many new ideas at the group’s 2019 annual conference, Threads of Innovation, held at the San Jose (California) Hilton April 25-28.

The conference opened Thursday, April 25, with an evening ice breaker that let members at each table brainstorm about a specific topic, such as creative rituals, innovative tools, or favorite podcasts. Mel Beach’s compilation of all 18 Table Topics allowed everyone to share the collective wisdom.

The next morning, Pokey Bolton opened the day’s sessions with a keynote address that proved you can succeed doing what you love. She traced her professional journey from founding Quilting Arts and other magazine titles—subsequently sold to Interweave and now owned by F+W Publications—to her current venture, Crafting a Life, based in Napa, California.  Her new company produces the growing Craft Napa art retreat, which will celebrate its fifth anniversary in 2020.

Other plenary sessions included presentations by: Nancy Bavor, executive director of the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles; artist Lisa Congdon, who provided the latest Instagram trends; RoCoCo, the artistic collaboration formed in 2015 by RC Rosenberg and Modesto Covarrubias; and Joan Schulze, who presented a reflective overview of her artistic journey.

Breakout sessions provided a chance to explore how to expand creativity. Photographer James Dewrance discussed fine art photography and Katie Fowler led a creativity exercise. SAQA members Valerie Goodwin and Susie Monday detailed their experiences with the latest technology in laser cutting and computer design. Valerie has created many intricate designs on a high-tech laser cutter and has recently mastered similar techniques on the Cameo Silhouette. Susie introduced members to the world of apps available to design pictorial and photographic art quilts. Both brought examples of their work.

Two panel discussions were highlights of this year’s event. The Social Justice Sewing Academy, founded by Sara Trail, is an innovative, intergenerational initiative that produces moving work. Included on the panel were two of the young artists and the women who helped bring their designs to life. The group received a standing ovation following its presentation.

Martha Sielman, Sandra Sider, Lisa Ellis, and Nancy Bavor, the four authors of Art Quilts Unfolding: 50 Years of Innovation, talked about the challenges and decisions that had to be made to create this comprehensive history of the art quilt movement. One important lesson for today’s artist is to keep your photography of high quality and up to date. The book is published by Schiffer Publishing and is available at saqa.com/aqu. 

A SAQA conference highlight—the Spotlight Auction—raised more than $17,000 for the organization’s exhibition and other programs.  Bidders vied for the 6 x 8-inch artworks, many winners taking home several of these tiny pieces made by their favorite artists. And, everyone got a piece of cake during the auction to celebrate SAQA’s 30^th anniversary.

(Ryan Israel, sales representative for ABM International, Inc., shows conference attendees a new Innova longarm.)

SAQA’s 2020 conference will be in Toronto, Canada, March 19-22. It will mark the organization’s first international outing and is themed MoSAiQA to reflect the group’s many diverse global, artistic, ethnic and cultural elements. For more information about SAQA and MoSAiQA, visit saqa.com.