Blog Question of the Day: Do you like your Guild?

Back in the 80's when I first started quilting I couldn't find a guild to join. I didn't have a quilt store nearby so there was no connecting with other quilters. Eventually through a series of forgettable events I found one to join. It just so happened that their show was about to happen and they were BEGGING the membership for entries. I know you have been there.
I had a surplus of finished work that had not been seen outside my sewing room so I asked for entry blanks and began filling them out on the spot. (this was before I fused, mind you)
On my 11th one, a member asked me if I wasn't being a little greedy?

Red Flashing Light!!!

When the appropriate time for the drop off arrived, I loaded my little truck with every quilt I had entered, rods included, found the show site and began unloading. Apparently they had hung the show earlier, without my work and I was left with my husband to scrounge up any empty available spots .

Red Flashing Light!!!

A few of my larger works became bleacher drapes and some never got hung, since there really weren't any more open bays.

On the day of the show I had garnered several ribbons including a Judges Choice, which was hung in the middle of the room in the best lit spot. I was delighted as you can imagine.

Some of the members tried to let me know that I was some sort of upstart usurper and being a newcomer, I took it all in stride. I was so crazy about quilting and having the opportunity to show my work that I ignored the cold shoulder I was getting.

I stayed in that guild and eventually made a few friends, but the support for my work never really materialized. At show and tell I always had something new to show. We met once a month, for heaven's sake, and I had a full time job, while the majority of the members were retirees.

Towards the end of my time with them, I was walking up to take my turn at showing my quilt, when a nearly deaf woman remarked to her similarly afflicted friend:

"Wonder what weird thing she's made this time?"

I guess it finally dawned on me that I needed to find different friends. It was just about that time that I was asked to join an art quilt critique group and another textile art guild. While these were much more stimulating and art centered, they still weren't the fun group where I could be happiest. Several of us felt the same way and decided to form our own group. It would be all about the art, and networking with other art quilters/garment makers and be fun. NO business meetings, no officers, only a newsletter and monthly meetings. It would have an open door policy and be for the encouragement and professionalism of its members. Even if you weren't a professional at the time, but wanted to be, this would be the group for you. We found a free place to meet not far from the interstate, with good lighting, a stage and a microphone. We had a list of about 100 folks that were invited to our first meeting and we did brainstorming and polled the audience for suggestions, as to what kind of group they wanted to be.
We ate lunch after the meeting and laughed and shared and it felt right.

That was ten years ago, January 1995. We call ourselves the Professional Art Quilt Alliance.

Our members travel from the surrounding states of Iowa, Indiana and Wisconsin, and we have an offshoot called PAQA South which one of our members, Lyric Kinard started when she moved back to Cary NC.

At PAQA Nobody is in charge, but our newsletter person has all the addresses and emails our newsletter to over 80 members. Our treasurer takes our money and keeps it safe and this year we are spending it to bring over our Japanese friends Keiko Goke and Mariko Akizuki.

Most of the members are hoping to make it as art quilters and some are making a living doing it. We help our 'wannabes' get to the goals they want to reach. We don't have workshops because we all think we know everything, so we expect those members who seek particular in depth information will find it at other spots like Quilt Surface Design Symposium, Arrowmont, Asilomar or other places like that.

Mostly we want to see the work that we are all doing. That connects us to each other and helps develop deeper relationships. And of course there is STILL the best part, LUNCH.