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Dear ALL
Next Meeting: 7 December, Christmas Lunch at Helga's - 11 for 11.30 am. A short meeting followed by a Christmas lunch. Helga is away from 26 November so RSVP before then if you can, and tell her what you would like to bring. Thank you once again, Santie and Graham, for the generosity of Sewula Lodge, its water-full gorge, thatched cottages and wonderful walks with friends, wild-life, histories and memory. There are so many layers of time embedded there amongst the rocks, trees and ragged paths. These retreats have become a legend for many of us. It was special to share with Cape members - Sheila Walwyn, Sally Scott and Margs Garratt. Thanks to everyone who made the time to be there and the effort to prepare slides-shows, papier-mache demos, breakfasts, lunches and dinners. Members present: Sue Stevenson, Sally Scott, Margie Garratt, Jeanette Gilks, Rosalie Dace, Sue Physick, Sue Akerman, Jean Powell, Judy Breytenbach, Santie McIntosh, Helga Beaumont, Margaret Ruxton, Sheila Walwyn, Jenny Hearn, Jutta Faulds Apologies: Odette Tolksdorf, Annette McMaster, Carolyn Zelenka, Leonie Malherbe. Kerry Langdon, Linda Jones, Ute Gilles, Margaret Letts, Kim Tedder, Dana Biddle, Carolyn Code, Karen Arbeter, Sue Funston. 1 ARCHIVES Sue Stevenson is keeping the archives for us. One of the jobs she has undertaken has been to file an ADDITIONAL set of newsletters. (I have one set). As I have written all the Fibreworks newsletters since the inception of the group in 1997, I consequently have a full compliment of the correspondence that has gone out to members over the years. The newsletters have recorded all the important events, dates and correspondence and we now have a pretty good history of our thinking and what we have done. Some of the Fibreworks documents pertaining to the group's membership procedure, assessment of work and so on have undergone some evolutionary changes. For example, the latest Document of Intent that was amended in June this year now states that prospective members will have their work assessed by the whole Fibreworks group every October, at our AGM. We all agreed to this at the 2005 AGM. (Interestingly, the part of the Document of Intent pertaining to our biennial national show and what Fibreworks members do regionally has not altered in ten years!) I have passed along a wealth of information to Sue, so please feel free to contact her if you are keen to find more information on Fibreworks past or you have information/photo's for her. She is doing a great job of cross-referencing information for us. Thank you, Sue! My hope is that the Fibreworks newsletters keep us all informed; so please read them and digest them THOROUGHLY before you choose to delete or forget them. Better still, keep them. CV's. We need TWO CV's from people: A detailed, long one for Sue Stevenson and a VERY SHORT one for the file that we exhibit at our National shows. This file has been available at various national exhibitions in the past and has proved popular with the public. They are very keen to read a SHORT PARAGRAPH on each one of us so keep THIS information brief. 2 EXHIBITIONS: There was some discussion at Sewula regarding the when and where of national exhibitions. The decision was taken to stick to the Document of Intent and for members to exhibit nationally every two years. Fibreworks TEN was an extraordinary exhibition showcasing our artworks to celebrate ten years of existence. Fibreworks V National exhibition 2008 We do not have a venue at this stage. We decided that we would try a themed show this time: MARK IN (G) TIME for our national exhibition. There are a million ways of interpreting this title. See what you can do…
The web site has been updated! Please check your page and let Helga know if there is anything incorrect. Quite a few pages are incomplete and Helga asked at the AGM for artists' support in filling in the required information. It makes is much easier if YOU supply Helga with the information she requires. She does not want to chase you! Every page has the same format - a photograph of the artwork with Title: Description - no more than 150 words Dimension Materials Exhibition 4 MEMBERSHIP We all welcome Rukaiya Essa and Ingrid Piprek to Fibreworks! Thanks for your interest and clearly felt enthusiasm in the submission of your work. We look forward to your new voices. Membership is still R150 per year, payable before April 2008. PLEASE, PLEASE make sure you put your name on the deposit slip. Margaret Ruxton cannot guess who you are! If you would like a copy or the standardized letter we send out to successful applicants, please get into touch with Helga. Unsuccessful applicants get a carefully phrased letter composed from the distillation of comments made at the AGM. Parts of this letter too, follow a standardized format. The standardized parts of this letter too are available on request. Please find attached an updated membership list AND the complimentary membership list for your records. If there is anyone who you think should be on the complimentary list please let Helga know. These people automatically receive information about us. A complimentary member does not pay subs, but they do not exhibit either. If they choose to exhibit with us, they are eligible for subs. I think this is fair. We continue to update our mailing lists. Thanks to Visitors Books at our various exhibitions and the work of Theresa, Margie Garratt's right-hand-woman at Nova Constantia, we are beginning to build a comprehensive 'Friends of Fibreworks' email address list. PLEASE forward the email addresses of interested parties to Theresa. Remember to let Theresa know WHERE the person lives. We envisage an address list that will be grouped according to geographic areas and if/when there is Fibreworks exhibition in that area, the people there will get invitations. In the recent past, people interested in joining Fibreworks were sent FOUR forms together with a covering letter: - Submission requirements for prospective members - Fibreworks Document of Intent - A short, updated history of Fibreworks - Latest newsletter It was decided at the AGM that in future we will send them an ADDITIONAL paragraph on the nature of 'fibre' to clear up misconceptions and somewhat limited understandings of the term. It appears that a number of people have a fairly narrow definition of 'fibreart': fibreart equals quilts and/or art quilts i.e. SEWN stuff! Of course fibre artworks DO include quilts and/or art quilts that are sewn, but NOT exclusively so. We want to entice and hopefully catch the paper-mache artists, the collagers, the 3D workers in found (natural) fibres, etc. Rosalie Dace has offered to write the paragraph and it will be printed in the December newsletter. I look forward to a broad definition of the 'fibre' term. FINANCE Margaret Ruxton, treasurer, told us that our bank balance is positive. This is nice to know, considering that we still have Major Minors II catalogues to sell. Please continue to sell them at any opportunity that arises. The slow but inexorable dribble of this money into our account is a constant reminder that the catalogue route was a worthy route to take. ELECTION OF OFFICE BEARERS Jeanette Gilks - chairman-, Helga Beaumont - secretary- and Margaret Ruxton - treasurer- were all unanimously re-elected. GENERAL There was some discussion on the pricing of work and whether our artworks are too expensive. Not many works sold during the exhibitions this year. No consensus was reached and pricing of artworks remains a personal matter. The professional presentation of slides was also discussed. Artists must ensure that ALL slides of their work are finely focused and that the slides avoid busy inappropriate backgrounds. Below is a proposal that Jeanette Bartlett has put together for Beadex 2008. She compiled this information after a meeting with Helga, Margaret Ruxton and me. (I include her preamble, to put you in the picture). I am SURE some of you who enjoy working with beads in your work will find this exciting. If you are interested, but feel that some of the points in this proposal need to be modified/clarified, CONTACT JEANETTE ASAP. Look carefully at the conditions of entry. She is keen to hear your opinion before she submits the final proposal to Beadex. Her contact details are at the END of the document. "I have become an enthusiastic bead artist and in May this year I entered a few of my beaded art jewellery pieces into the 2007 Beadex Competition and Exhibition which was held at the Sandton ICC. I befriended the organisers and in further stimulating discussions with the senior co-ordinator, a proposal came from them to introduce a quilt leg as in a quilt art category, embellished with beads, and whether such an addition could become a regular and permanent feature at future "Beadex" Bead Art Exhibitions. "To this end, I have been asked to investigate whether such a possibility could be realised and on what basis it could be executed. "The idea is that a special "Beaded Quilt Category" would be included at the annual "Beadex Exhibition" to be held at the Sandton ICC. This Event is organised and funded by Thebe Exhibitions and Events. www.thebetourism.co.za. Also look at www.beadex.co.za " Proposal to Beadex 1 Fibreworks comprises a multi-racial group of fibre artists, mostly women, living all over South Africa. In some cases ex-South Africans now reside overseas. 2 Basis of Artwork Entry: The artist enters the artwork and pays an entry fee of R…..…..(suggestion :R100), with the option to sell the artwork. If so, the participant states an asking price, Beadex adds a % commission - plus vat if applicable - and undertakes to carry the courier and insurance costs of the artwork back to the maker or buyer after the exhibition if the work is not sold, or to the buyer. The artwork must be couriered to the exhibiting venue (Beadex address in Sandton) at the maker's expense. 3 Conditions re the artwork and exhibition: The Beadex Exhibition & Events Co-ordinator's condition (rule) at this point is that the entry must be embellished with Beads. 3.1 Definition of a "Bead" : An object - any size - with a hole in it, made of glass, metal, acryl, bone, wood, clay, paper machè, washers from the toolbox, or other hand made 'beads' 3.2 To what % must the surface of the fibre artwork be embellished with beads described in 3.1? Is 'at least 5%' acceptable? 3.3 To what extent must the artwork be embellished with 'conventional beads' Is 'at least 5%'acceptable? To re-cap: At least 10% of the surface - or hanging from the surface - of the artwork must be embellished with any kind of 'bead' ? 3.4 Format of the artwork The medium for the artwork is a 'free choice of fabrics or fibre' and can be exhibited in the format of a wall mounted hanging, three dimensional art work, free standing or suspended from the ceiling, wearable - and not so wearable art. 3.5 The artwork must be submitted as a 'ready for hanging' entry with clear exhibiting instructions. Beadex will stage the exhibits. 4. In the Case of a Competition Category, questions put to Beadex are: 4.1 If judges are nominated, will it be acceptable to Beadex that a list of names are provided by Fibreworks from which Beadex can select? or 4.2 No competition and judging at all ? 4.3 It is understood that Beadex will be responsible for the remuneration of the judges ? 4.4 If prizes are awarded, what are we looking at? Monetary prizes are a strong incentive for participants. 5 Teaching Workshops and Marketing Stalls - many Fibreworks artists are esteemed teachers and can be invited to teach or offer demonstrations. Conditions: The workshop must include beads in the embellishments Thank you for your time. Jeanette Bartlett 031 73 61328 083 7970007 zebraquilting@absamail.co.za Lots of Love. See you all at the Christmas party. Jeanette |