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International World Poet and Author Challenge Quilt 2019

The International World Poet and Author Challenge Quilt 2019 exhibition opens in May 2019 at Quilt Time Festival in Yokohama. The show will appear in additional venues in Japan before moving on to France and the United Sates.

Constant Change ©Amanda Snavely 2019

Each country participating in the invitational chose 5 poets and authors of their country. Invited artists were assigned a poet or author to represent with their work. I was assigned Charif Majdalani, a Lebanese-French writer.

Moving the Palace, by Charif Majdalani, chronicles the journey of Samuel through Africa and the Middle East while transporting pieces of a palace and artifacts by camel.  Constant Change reflects the colors of the changing scenery -- red and ochre sand, acai and baobab trees, green and turquoise Morrish marble pools, and saffron rugs.  The asymmetrical and shifting patterns, evolving from mashribya geometry, mirror the constantly altered route of the journey.

Constant Change (Detail) ©Amanda Snavely 2019

Constant Change (Detail 2) ©Amanda Snavely 2019

Constant Change (Detail 3) ©Amanda Snavely 2019



Thread Selection

I have been talking with other artists about the importance of sharing our processes. Sometimes it is fun to peak behind the curtain, and see how an artist’s mind works. My mind is usually a tangle of thread. I attempted to be a little neater in my process this time just for your benefit.

Step 1

I begin with a tray or box and start tossing in tons of threads. I try to add a huge variety of colors, thicknesses, and textures to my selection. Tossing the colors together, somewhat haphazardly, allows me to see color combinations that I might not normally choose. I use this same toss in a pile method for selecting fabric.

Step 2

I place the tray next to the piece I am going to stitch. This allows me to get a feel for the color mixture. At this point, I weed out a few threads and/or add other thread choices.

Step 3a

I then check to see if I have enough variety in the color pallets I am considering for the piece. Many people think you should match thread to your fabric. I use the “matching” colors to ground the piece. But then, I add my traditionally non-matching colors. If you match all your threads, they disappear when your piece is viewed at a distance. The threads that stand out and catch your eye are the color shifts. These are the colors that work with your “matching colors” and support them in the overall effect of your design.

Step 3b

Step 3c

Now, it is time to begin stitching. Some threads will not be used and others will be added along the way.

Just Add Color

I’m excited to announce that my piece, Just Add Color, has been selected to be in the On the Edge exhibition at Oregon’s Historical Society Museum.  

The On the Edge exhibition opens on May 3, 2019 at the Oregon Historical Society (OHS) located in Portland, Oregon and runs through August 15, 2019.

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Life in Abstraction

I am extremely happy to announce that my piece, Life In Abstraction, has been selected as one of the 45 art quilts to tour as the Shifting Tides: Convergence in Cloth - SAQA Show from 2019 - 2021.  The show debuts in California to coincide with the SAQA National Conference. The show then tours via museums and galleries in Alaska, California, Canada, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.

©2018, Amanda Snavely, All Rights Reserved.

Photo by Sam Garnett

Detail of Life in Abstraction

©2018, Amanda Snavely, All Rights Reserved.

Photo by Sam Garnett

Tour Schedule from SAQA’s website as of January 2019:

First Venue:
Venue Name: Works/San Jose
Address: 365 South Market Street, San Jose, California 95113
Exhibition Run Dates: April 19 – May 5, 2019

Venue Name: Pacific Northwest Quilt and Fiber Arts Museum
Address: 703 South 2nd Street, La Conner, Washington 98257
Exhibition Run Dates: June 1 – August 24, 2019

Venue Name: Chehalem Cultural Center
Address: 415 East Sheridan Street, Newberg, Oregon 97132
Exhibition Run Dates: March 1 – April 24, 2020

Venue Name: Wailoa Center, State Parks, DLNR
Address: 200 Piopio Street, Hilo, Hawai’i
Exhibition Run Dates: July 1 – July 30, 2020

Venue Name: International Gallery of Contemporary Art
Address: 427 “D” Street, Anchorage, Alaska 99501
Exhibition Run Dates: August 26 – September 30, 2020

Venue Name: Pratt Museum
Address: 3779 Bartlett Street, Homer, Alaska 99603
Exhibition Run Dates: October 1 – 31, 2020

Venue Name: Visions Art Museum
Address: 2825 Dewey Road, Suite 100, San Diego, California 92106
Exhibition Run Dates: January 1 – April 4. 2021

Venue Name: Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History
Address: 165 Forest Avenue, Pacific Grove 93950
Exhibition Run Dates: July 1 – September 30, 2021 (working dates)

Metamorphosis - SAQA Global Show

I am extremely happy to announce that my piece, Unveiled Existence, has been selected as one of the 25 art quilts to tour as the Metamorphosis - SAQA Global Show from 2018 - 2021.  The show opens at the International Quilt Festival - Houston, Texas in November 2018.  The Metamorphosis show then continues on to other venues including the International Quilt Festival - Chicago, Illinois in April 2019.  

Unveiled Existence

38.5" x 33"

Silk Organza, Loosely Woven Fabric, Cotton Thread, Metallic Thread, Polyester Thread

Photo By: Sam Garnett

Detail of Unveiled Existence

Photo By: Sam Garnett

Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) is an international organization that promotes art quilts.  

An art quilt is defined by SAQA as “a creative visual work that is layered and stitched or that references this form of stitched layered structure”.
The word "references" allows for a broader understanding of the art quilt that welcomes growth and development of individual style. This may include:  
  • more 3D work and work in media other than fiber/textile/fabric/cloth
  • techniques and materials not found in traditional quilting
  • framed, unframed, bound, and unbound work
                                                                               - Definition from SAQA website

Detail of Unveiled Existence

Photo By: Sam Garnett

Detail of Unveiled ExistencePhoto By: Sam Garnett

Detail of Unveiled Existence

Photo By: Sam Garnett

Detail of Unveiled Existence

Photo By: Sam Garnett

Unveiled Existence consists of numerous layers of hand dyed silk organza.  A loosely woven fabric is used as the middle layer to add another level of texture.  I also used both silk screen and discharge processes to alter the hand dyed  silk organza.  The top layer is embellished with hand stitching using a variety of threads.  

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