Sacred Threads

Sacred Threads Experience Weekend - November 7-10, 2025

Register NOW

We are pleased to announce that our Artist in Residence will be Valerie Poitier. Ms. V is a wonderful choice for the Artist in Residence at the Sacred Threads exhibition due to her remarkable ability to weave emotion, spirituality, and storytelling into her artwork. Her creations not only showcase exceptional artistic skill but also invite viewers on a deeply personal and transformative journey. Valerie's work embodies the mission of Sacred Threads by exploring themes of joy, inspiration, spirituality, healing, and grief with authenticity and grace. Her unique perspective and expressive use of color, texture, and form create a powerful connection between the art and the audience, making her an inspiring and deserving choice for this honor.

Her artworks have been exhibited in galleries and museums across the country. She completed her first bed quilt in 1971. Her professional art training began in 1981 and ten years later exhibited her first textile art works. The past 30 years of teaching and lecturing guided her towards her favorite process, stitching together her take on an historical event. The focus is mainly on the part Africans in the Americas played. The inspiration is stoked when viewing or touching wooden sculptures. Her years of mastering various crafting techniques help push past the limits of traditional quilting. Her textile art works include mixed media, collages, portraits, works depicting human rights issues, often set on a landscaped background. To augment the process, you will find her choice of colors and stream of conscious writings are the building blocks used to draft or sketch the work. Look closer and you will be able to detect her use of a wide range of sewing and fine art techniques. The result has been that her writing and stories, in cloth, have been captured in books, shown on television, and her favorite, in person when she teaches or gives lectures both online and in person.

Valarie Poitier is a formally trained art administrator, lecturer, writer and multimedia artist. She weaves, paints, and is a performance artist who creates art quilts. She received her BA in Art Administration from Pfeiffer University and has also studied at Moore College of Art and Design and Harvard University. She mentors, teaches professional development courses, teaches fiber art and quilting classes, shares multimedia techniques. She leads workshops and seminars at local, regional and national conferences. Her work has been published in books and college textbooks, exhibited in museums and galleries across the US and abroad. She has also served terms as a regional rep, board member, independent curator, quilt exhibit coordinator, and recruiter and is also a performance artist.

To learn more about Ms. V - Lectures and photos of her works are on her blog

https://msvpoitier.blogspot.com/p/gallery.html also, works are on Instagram at #val_poitier, and Facebook at Val Quilting Poitier.

Here is an overview of the Experience Weekend:

Each workshop, designed for all skill levels, is also available as an independent experience, focusing on the Sacred Threads themes: Inspiration, Spirituality, Healing, Grief, Joy, Peace, and Brotherhood. Participants may choose to use paper and or fabric for their projects. If primarily working with fabric, sewing machines and sewing paraphilia will be required.
General Materials and Supplies
Look in your stash for different types of paper: book pages, tea-dyed paper, watercolor paper, brown packing paper, sheet music, velum, old manila file folders, napkins or magazines with images and designs, tissue paper, card stock, lined paper and old greeting cards. A variety of fabrics less than 2 yards total can be precut, fat quarters, a variety of scraps, denim, shirting and lace.
·Other supplies: ribbon, string, embroidery threads, needles, buttons, beads scissors.
·Adhesives suggestions: ½ yard adhesive backed paper like heat n bond, glue sticks, white glue (PVA), for fabric use fabric glue, or hot glue gun double sided tape.
·Decorative elements: stamps, stamp pads, and rubber stamps. (A few small dyes and a small dye cutter optional.)
·Themes: seasonal or holiday, photos, pictures of butterflies, people, printed on photocopy paper, light card stock, or fabric.
·Crafting supplies: lace, ribbon, string, buttons, and clips.

On Friday, Saturday and Monday we will offer a catered lunch box for those visitors that are signed up for all day events. It will be $20 and will have dietary options.

Friday Interactive Lecture: How to Promote Yourself and Your Work Without Apologizing (10:00 am - 11:30 am): ($20)

Friday Workshop: Inspiration Journal (1:00 pm - 4:00 pm): ($50). Kits and supplies optional $10-$25.
Each journal, memory book, or small quilt will reflect your unique style and color palette. A set of instructions will be included.
Participants will use various types of paper and adhesives or fabric, thread, glue sticks and glue gun. Then we will fill it or decorate it with the memorabilia we make, like pockets, belly bands, clusters and inspirational words and pictures.

Saturday Morning Workshop: Healing Through Art (9:00 am-12:00 pm): ($50) This workshop is paired with the theme of Healing.
Participants will create a fat quarter sized piece, collage style. This can also be accomplished either using fabric or paper. If you think about it most quilts are a form of collage. The gathering of bits of paper or fabric to make a pictorial artwork or a design that displays an emotion or feeling. For this workshop, we will be creating with the theme of healing as our guide. The colors, images, inspiration, message and feeling we want to get across will be part of the focus. See General Materials and Sewing supplies above.

Saturday Afternoon Interactive Lecture: Finding Joy and Peace Through Art (1:30 pm - 3:00 pm): ($30)

Saturday Evening Story Share Dinner ($80)

Sunday Afternoon: Docent Tour of Church (12:30 pm - 1:00 pm): ($5)

Sunday Afternoon Lecture: Art & Activism with Luana Rubin (1:30-2:30): ($20)

Sunday Afternoon Interactive Lecture: Empowering Your Voice (4:00 pm - 5:30 pm) ($20) Encompassing all themes of Sacred Threads. Opportunities to hear uplifting and empowering responses after viewing the exhibition

Sunday Evening SAQA Meet and Greet (At a local restraurant)

Monday Workshop: Developing Your Story (9:00 am - 4:00 pm): ($100) How to Develop Your Story From Start to Finish: brainstorming ideas, planning the piece, executing the work in order to finish and complete this piece all the way through including sleeve/labels. We will design an artwork using a wide range of techniques. Bits of writing, mark making, choosing size, fabrics or papers, backing, sleeve and different types of labels. There are two goals. Jot down ideas and steps. Next we will create a muslin or light color fabric model of a finished quilt. Paper and fabric examples of each step will be available. A finished sampler and quilt are the goal. When you finish the sampler, you will have an original Master you designed and a plan for the quilting.
See General Materials and Supplies.
You will also need a journal and writing materials, at least one permanent marking pen and a pencil, for your notes.
Kit fees $25
*1-2 yards of Muslin 1/2 yard adhesive backed paper, like heat n bond needed for Master.

Registration for the Experience Weekend OPEN: July 1, 2025

Register NOW for the Experience Weekend


We have two hotels with limited blocks. Bottleworks is closest to the venue. Hilton is cheaper but a little further away.

Hilton Hotel and Suites:

t: 317.972.0600 

120 West Market Street, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204

Hilton Reservation Link

Bottleworks:

(317) 556-1234

850 Massachusetts Ave., Indianapolis, IN 46204

BottleWorks Reservation Link