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I though I'd show a photo of a sunny day since it is so rainy here now and expected to be through the weekend. A sunny day where the sky is blue and the shadows are crisp and sharp.
The show package went off in the mail without a hitch yesterday and now my mind is turning to finishing some other pieces that are halfway to completion. I haven't tired of this process yet and seem to be coming up with more ideas as I go. Exciting :)
Hope you have great weekend !
We spent a beautiful day on Cape Cod on Sunday and made a visit to a fish pier to see the seals that seem to hover close to shore at this time of year. It just so happened that a fishing boat had just arrived to unload it's catch. Can't imagine a more difficult job, but also imagined the feeling of being out on the water every day and it made me smile to think about it...
A narrow look down into the boat......
And many cool shadows to be seen on a fish pier with Cape Cod light overhead:)
This guy looks interested...and hungry!
The CD arrived yesterday with my images for entering the drawing show. I am pleased with the result although the captions labeling each work seemed to have gotten lost in the processing :( I have decided not to obsess about it and just will be sure to label each photo clearly on the entry form. Today, I need to finish my artist statement and double check my check list before sending the whole package off. yahhooo..
I hope your week is going well and that you are able to check things off YOUR checklist ;)
take care
Good morning:) As you can see, I changed up the outlook on "Let it Fly" again. I thought it was time for an Autumn feel since the chilly nights and big blankets have made thier way back into our lives. It really is nice to snuggle up again....
Friday turned out to be a pretty successful day for taking photos of my work. It was a little frustrating figuring out the lighting stuff with my inexpensive Nikon camera, but I think I did it. I ordered the images to be burned onto a CD through an online service and should be receiving it in the mail by Wednesday. I'm keeping my fingers crossed (XXX) that the quality is appropriate to enter a show with. It seems that digital entries are the wave of the future for entering shows so I am educating myself as much as possible. Below is one of the pieces I am submitting. This is a drawing show and the prospectus talks about "celebrating the diversity of drawing". I think my "Shadow Stitch" peices are a good fit and I hope to have at least one piece accepted. Again....fingers crossed XXX :)
This was also a good opportunity to go over my resume and organize it to be presented more as an artists' resume rather than a traditional job-seeking one. Now I am onto finishing the artists' statement and filling out the entry form and the package should be on it's way by Thursday. Wish me luck!
In other news.....I have decided to move out of my current studio and set up shop in my home for now. It was a difficult decision to come to but now that I've made it, I feel relieved. I have been wanting to further my education and also have been dreaming about a new computer set-up for over a year. Everything just can't be done at once, so for now, the studio outside the home has to go. I have already renewed my membership here and signed up for a jewelry making class. I have been looking for interesting ways to frame and/or mount my small stitch pieces and lino. prints so I really want to learn how to work with metal. I can't wait to get started!
I will still be in the studio (outside the house) through October and hope to print a string of Autumn postcards in that time as well as finish up afew projects and pack up others to be moved. I have plans to organize a small space in my home to accomodate at least my printmaking set-up and a stitching area. Beyond that, I'll have to get mobile and creative with where I work.
In the mean time, there's a mountain of work waiting for me to sew in my work area/new studio, so I'm off to do that.
back soon... :)
Here are some shots of the studio messiness I intend to clean up......
And here's where I started the other day. A dedicated stitching area with everything within reach so I don't waste time hunting for needles and thread when I get in to work.
My mother-in-law gave me an old printers drawer that she found at an antique store quite a few years ago and I've always wanted to use it to hold my threads. Not all the chambers are wide enough to hold wide spools but I have all different sizes anyway so overall it works pretty well.
I took some old scarps of cork board to make corner tabs that will hold the whole operation in place on my drawing table. The drawer is slightly tilted toward the wall so threads will stay in place and the cork keeps it from sliding down. I just cut some "L" shaped pieces and attached them to my table with double-sided tape.
Work-station #1, complete!
Hope you had a great weekend and are off to a productive start for the week ahead :)
stay tuned......
Today I'm getting organized and getting some things off my plate that have been waiting to get done for weeks. The studio really needs some re-thinking and re-organizing. Seems like an obvious thing to keep your workspace organized but, I have sort of let my printmaking papers, carving tools and inks take up residence with threads, watercolor paper scraps, acrylic paints, magazines.......you name it! I like the idea of work stations but I have to admit that generally I am inspired more by chaos than organization. The whole "Let it Fly" attitude gets me excited to create :) However, I do see the value of having seperate work areas for different processes. (Printmaking, painting, stitching). So, in this spirit I am going to try and organize my workspace a bit and get myself together for a productive Fall. I'll show you some"before" and "after" photos next week .......
I also wanted to show you some shadow designs I did this Summer on one of our family hikes. My shadow stitch pieces have been growing in size over the past year. The first few were done on 5x7 pieces of watercolor paper but the most recent drawings are 20x24! This hiking experiment was to go back to a more hand-held size. I also wanted to be able to carry little squares of paper and a pencil in my back pocket on our hikes so it would be easy to capture tiny shadows in the woods. While intending to use these shadow sketches as templates for more stitch pieces, I ended up wanting to draw on top of them in color. I really like the idea of some type of garland or banner made with these....
Or maybe privacy screens for a birdhouse! ;)
That first photo came out pretty dark but at least you can get a better idea of the shapes.
I hope you are all well and enjoying your creating today. I'm off to organize!
back soon:)
"fly" 2''x3''-handstitch on paper-ALM 2008
New beginnings, new schools, new adventures to be had by all. The first day of school always gets my mind flowing. I've said this before but, to me, having children is alot like living your life all over again but this time as an observer. It feels more difficult and more joyful at the same time. It's hard to stand back and watch my children struggle or be anxious as they travel down the roads I was once on, and knowing they will be hurt at times. But, I also get to watch them as they sail through some of the struggles with this amazing grace that I know I didn't have at their ages! It's such a blessing to be a part of their lives and today I am feeling very, very lucky.
And, as always happens when school days begin, my thoughts are on my work and where I would like it to go in the next year. There are several shows I have my eye on submitting work to and there are quite a few projects itching to see the light of day. I'll be showing you what I'm working on and surfing around the web to see what you're all up to these days. I am so inspired by all the creative minds out there and have recently stumbled upon Christine's site where I have been scrolling through her archives to read all of her wonderful writing. She has been added to my "sites" list for future reference if you need some inspiration!
Enjoy your work (and play!) today.
back soon :)
