What most people don’t know about the roots of art quilting is that they are firmly based in Northern California. Art quilting is one of the newest art genres. SAQA(Studio Art Quilt Associates), the art quilters professional organization started in San Jose,California. SAQA has grown to be an international organization with over 4000 members. Northern California remains a hotbed for art quilting.
What many don’t know about the beginnings of art quilts
Yvonne Porcella
In 1989 in San Jose, CA, Yvonne Porcella http://yvonneporcella.net/bio.html invited about 50 art quilters to come together into an organization to promote quilting as an art. This local group became Studio Art Quilt Associates(SAQA). It currently has over 4000 members internationally. I am surprised at how many people including accomplished art quilters from our region are unaware of SAQA’s northern Californian roots of art quilting.
Yvonne Porcella was born and raised in Watsonville, Santa Cruz County,California. (I taught there for thirty years.) Ms.Porcella began her art career fascinated with the colorful costumes of her Croatian background. Her signature detail is a black and white checkerboard fabric she added to many of her pieces. Luckily, I was able to hear her speak at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles. Sadly, she passed soon thereafter in 2016.
What many don’t know about the beginnings of art quilts.
Studio Art Quilt Associates(SAQA)
SAQA promotes art quilts as an art form. The organization has been instrumental in the inclusion of art quilts into many museums and high level galleries. From SAQA’s website,
Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc. (SAQA) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the art quilt: “a creative visual work that is layered and stitched or that references this form of stitched layered structure.” Our vision is that the art quilt is universally respected as a fine art medium. SAQA’s core values are: excellence, innovation, integrity, and inclusion.
Over the past 30 years, SAQA has grown into a dynamic and active community of over 4,000 artists, curators, collectors, and art professionals located around the world.
With our exhibitions, resources, publications, and membership opportunities, we seek to increase the public’s appreciation for the art quilt and to support our members in their artistic and professional growth.
SAQA’s success in promoting art quilts has lead to an increased interest in the variety of techniques and styles of art quilting from museums and galleries to the local guild level. SAQA is divided into regions. There are 347 members in our NorthernCa/ Southern Nevada Region. https://saqanorcalnv.com/ However, it must be remembered that there are many more art quilters of all levels than are not SAQA members. Seemingly, the roots of art quilting in northern California have spread worldwide.
San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles
San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles formed in 1977 as the first museum in the United States to focus on quilts and textiles as an art form.Ms. Porcella was a board member of the SJMQT for many years. The meeting room and gallery is named in honor of her support for the museum. One might ask why is this museum in San Jose. Part of the answer is the local support from art quilters in Northern California.
Some Noteworthy Northern California Quilters
Marion Coleman, Castro Valley https://www.arts.gov/news/press-releases/2019/national-endowment-arts-statement-death-nea-national-heritage-fellow-marion-coleman
Therese May, San Jose therese@theresemay.com
Judy Mathieson, Sebastopol http://www.judymathieson.com
Judith Content judithcontent@earthlink.net
Denise Oyama Miller, Fremont deniseoyamamiller@comcast.net
Alice Beasley, Oakland abeasley@sbcglobal.net
Holly Brachmann, Ukiah hollyweave@sbcglobal.net
Katie Pasquini Masopust, Fortuna http://www.katiepm.com
Joe Cunningham, San Francisco Joe@joethequilter.com
Laura Fogg, Ukiah http://fogwomancreations.com
This is the short subjective list of talented quilt artists living in Northern California.
Extra Special Expertise
Nancy Bavor www.quiltworth.com Los Altos Hills Master’s degree thesis,University of Nebraska, Lincoln-The California Art Quilt Revolution
SAQA(Studio Art Quilt Associates) is the international professional level art quilt organization. It is open to any one who wants to elevate their expertise from quilters to collectors. Find more information at the website, http://www.saqa.com/. Due to SAQA’s success in promoting quilts as art, many traditional quilt venues include art quilt sections. In addition, local traditional quilt guilds offer classes in art quilts. In this way, art quilts and SAQA are inseparable.
A Little Northern California Humor
I was born and raised in Palo Alto, California. Then I went to UC,Irvine in Orange County, Southern California for my education. There I met my husband and got married. We lived in Orange County for 10 years including beginning my elementary school teaching career in Santa Ana. Before moving to Northern California, my husband and I traveled in Western Europe for a year. Upon our return we moved to Santa Cruz, California where we have lived since 1980. About that time I kept hearing about Silicon Valley. I know my California geography. But where was that? Little did I realize that my hometown and home county had become Silicon Valley in my absence.
https://annbaldwinmayartquilts.com/2023/03/why-i-love-my-unique-business-cards/
https://annbaldwinmayartquilts.com/2022/08/how-to-talk-to-the-public-about-your-art/
