Monday, October 31, 2011

Fifteen Boxes, Two Tubes, Assorted Pails and a Steamer...




That's what I am bringing to Houston for my classes at the Quilt Festival this week. For the past week, my living room and studio have looked like a hurricane swept through.  Open boxes, supplies, fabric everywhere.  When I see it all stacked up neatly, it doesn't look so bad. However, I do have to cart it all to my classrooms!

I'm feeling very pleased with myself, since I finished up with two days to spare. (I'm leaving Thursday morning.) I also learned some things last year, so I've used the same size boxes for all but one.  It's a lot easier to stack and organize when the boxes are the same size.

The other thing I learned from last year is to teach full day classes rather than half day classes.  Last year I taught 5 half day classes, all back-to-back.  I never expected that all of my proposals would be accepted!  It was exhausting, and the set up and clean up time for each meant I didn't have time for meals. One day, I taught two daytime classes and a night time class and was fueled only by four Cokes and some cashews.

This year, I'm teaching three classes and a demo over the course of four days. That is much more manageable!   As of two weeks ago, there are a few spaces left in each of my classes.  If you decide to make a last minute trip, you can check out my workshops on my website. Or maybe I'll see you in the exhibit hall or vendor area.

Friday, October 28, 2011

New Artwork

This summer was supposed to be devoted to studio time. But, if you read my last blog post, you see that it didn't end up that way.  I accomplished a lot in July, finishing up a new body of work. I showed photos of a few of them on my blog in July.  But other than that, I only managed to finish four pieces (and only because I had deadlines looming!) The first two were mounted on canvas.  One piece was all wrapped up and ready to ship before I realized I had not taken a photo.  I just didn't feel like unwrapping, so no photo.

The Edge


This piece incorporates multiple layers of dying, hand painting, acrylic paint and hand needle felting.

The other two are large pieces of artcloth, 72" x 30".  Created on dobby noil (a really nice fabric available from Exotic Silks), they incorporate both rice baby cereal resist and soy wax resist along with multiple layers of dye painting.

Crossing the Line




Between the Lines


Sunday, October 23, 2011

Life Happens

I have noticed a connection among some of the blogs I follow lately.  A number of people lament how little time they have spent creating because of ...(insert list of obligations/distractions here).  I feel exactly the same way.  This summer was supposed to be dedicated to studio time. I had a light teaching schedule and I planned to start a new series.  I felt I had all the time in the world.  I was going to have so much completed by the fall.  But...life happened to me, as well.  Don't get me wrong, I wasn't completely unproductive.  I was very productive on the administrative side of things (updated website, new computer, etc.) And I managed to complete a number of works that had been in progress for months. (Actually they were in the closet for months - the progress came in August.) So I now have a cohesive body of work for possible exhibition.

I wondered why this seems to be so common.  Why do we often let other priorities take over our studio time?  Sometimes there is no choice - family responsibilities take precedence. But in my case, much of it was personal choice (did I really have to redo my website this June - couldn't it wait until fall?) There were also emotional distractions that kept me away, rather than demands on my time.

So that leads to the question - how to prevent this from happening again?  Right now, I'm planning December as my next "studio month". Oh, I know all the time management techniques and the creativity unblocking techniques - I just have to use them.  And ultimately, that self-discipline is the hardest part.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Fiber Exhibition

Yesterday I had a sneak peak at the entries for the Fiber Artists of San Antonio Annual Exhibition.  It seems like each year, the entries are better than than the last. Based on what I saw, the trend continues.

The exhibit was juried by Ilze Aviks.  Aviks creates amazing work using cloth she hand paints or dyes and then covers with hand stitching. The show runs throughout the month of October and the opening reception is this Thursday from 6-8 pm.  Hope you can make it! Below are some photos from previous exhibits.

When: October 6- 29
Where: Gallery Nord, 2009 NW Military Highway, San Antonio, TX
Gallery Hours:  Wed-Sat 12-5 pm


Sara Crittenden


Laura Ann Beehler


Sarah Burke


Laurie Brainerd

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