Region Rep: Diane Lochala	Region: AL, AR, LA, MS

Greetings to members of SAQA Region AL, AR, LA, & MS!

A friendly welcome to the new members of our region.

I am hoping the coming new year will bring health, inspiration, new dreams, and much success.

I am respectful of the request from some members to omit their names on our SAQA regional page, due to privacy.  If you name is NOT  there, and you would LIKE to have it listed on the regional membership page, please e-mail me with your information you want to list. I will update the regional page this week.

I do apologize for my delay in this newsletter.  I have been in Arkansas a lot recently as caregiver for a family member. Hopefully, the next months will be less hectic and I will be home more.

The results of  the July survey were interesting. We have a good number of members in this region who are comfortable in their level of success with their art. Many have contracts or agreements with galleries, local businesses, or a web-based business for private sales. I applaud you all and am thrilled. 

The majority of our members are interested in a regional art exhibit.  I am working to make this happen in the fall of 2008. This will be an open call, not a juried exhibit. There will be a panel of three professional artists to select a 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place winner, and a viewers choice. You will have the option to offer your pieces for sale.  More on this information as soon as the plans are finalized.  

Congratulations to Melissa Roberts for the opening of the BECA Gallery in the art district of New Orleans.

If you would like information on hosting an exhibit in your state, please let me know.  If you would like SAQA brochures or additional information for helping our SAQA membership to grow with more quilt artists among your art groups or guilds, let me know how I may be of assistance.

The holiday season and the end of the year are busy times for artists. It is  a time when your creative spirit can be infused with inspiration for your art. We know  to take notes, sketch images, make written or graphic notations as reminders of ideas we want to explore.

Have you considered how much of your creativity can be captured through the inflections and tones of your own voice? Leave an audible note for yourself on your phone, MP3 player, or Ipod in order to recapture the feeling or emotion you felt when you were inspired while in a park, a museum, or outside watching the stars. Try it....It Works!

If there are exhibit events,  publicity news, or ideas you would like to share with our members, let me know.  Send an e-mail, OK?

Have fun and enjoy much happiness!

Peace,

Diane Lochala

DiMac's Doodles & Heirlooms
http://www.dimacsdoodles.com
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SAQA/Regional Rep AL, AR, LA, MS