SAQA Benefit Auction - still on...

This year, once again, I entered a piece to the SAQA Benefit Auction.

Last year’s donation took a while before it finally sold just before Christmas, and that had a bit of a dampening effect on my eagerness to produce a donation quilt. But I had managed to send it off sort of on time, at least, paid a lot of postage for it. I did not get around to choosing or posting my personal dream collection, nor did I request a ‘bid on me’ promotion picture of my quilt. I had intended to post about the auction, before it started, but the recent developments in my professional situation plus the fact that Heather from 20 Perspectives was coming to visit and we then took off to Ste. Marie-aux-Mines together prevented that. On the day when Diamond Bidding started I thought about it once more, but we had insufficient internet at the accomodation at that point and as an aftermath of last year’s experience I briefly thought ‘aaghhh – mine won’t sell right away anyway’ and thought I could still do the promotion stuff on my side on the train after leaving Ste. Marie, which would still have been sufficiently early before the regular beginning of the auction. Imagine my surprise when I received Jennifer Solon’s mail on the morning of the Sunday when I left France that my piece had actually sold in the Diamond Bidding period of the auction. It’s gone… no promotion of my quilt necessary anymore. That’s what I thought.

This morning I received a mail from SAQA that there had been a ‘bidding error’ and my quilt hadn’t sold after all and was being ‘repositioned to section 3’ of the auction. So right now it is still for sale – currently at the price for diamond bidding, because as I am writing it is still section 1 in the running for US$100. 

 

Please take a look at the quilts still for sale – whether you like mine, or another, perhaps you feel like supporting SAQA in their annual fund raiser.

The auction will be on for a couple more weeks, until October 8.

Now I just hope mine won’t linger in the store until Christmas…

Unforeseen (?) developments, and EPM

 

Little did I know when I wrote my last post that it would mark the next step in development with my work situation. I should have known, I guess, because that last time, when I wrote about those pink socks and how they were related to being included and accepted in the team, it was that same, writing about it made a statement that brought some thoughts together and set more things in motion… Without going into too much detail here, I handed in my resignation from my job just before end of August, which now leaves me time until Dec 31 to find a new job.

Right now I am on vacation with my husband and have told myself I will be thinking about that problem seriously when we are back home, next week, but that is easier said than done. Ideas, thoughts and various scenarios are wavering through my head, but mostly I am pretty good about not actively searching. Mostly.

 

I went to Ste. Marie-aux-Mines with Heather Bennett, another member of the 20 Perspectives group, and friends from the German Guild. Heather and I put up the “Nature” exhibition of 20 Perspectives, and I had another quilt in the German Guild’s “Tradtion bis Moderne”.

 

Heather Bennett in front of the église Madeleine
after we had finished hanging the 20 Perspectives exhibtion.

"I'll follow the Sun" in 20 Perspectives: Nature

"Mellowed Yellow" in Tradition bis Moderne

Between stewarding in both these exhibitions I tried to see as much of the event, spread out through the valley, as possible.

Several exhibits were impressive, but the one that emotionally struck me most was by Pascale Goldenberg, the initiator of the Guldusi embroidery program. I have always admired her work, have taken two classes with her several years ago, and have been impressed with her involvement and dedication to start, run and maintain that program in Afghanistan, which she continues to do so even today, in the direst of circumstances. To have the strength and stamina to keep up producing own work, and at this degree of intensity is a sign of a true artist. She explains that a lot of her time is spent traveling, and so she has turned to handstitching as well.

 

"Nightdress" Pascale Goldenberg

"Flying Away" Pascale Goldenberg

 

Perhaps I will show some other pictures from EPM later, but right now I want to let Pascale’s stand on her own. Although my pictures don't do the expressivity of her works any justice.