Browsing for Inspiration

Yesterday I plunked myself down at a Barnes and Noble cafe, indulged in a tricked out coffee, and browsed* through my favorite periodicals. (Fiber Arts; Quilting Arts; Cloth Paper Scissors; The Artful Blog; Altered Clothing")

Armed with one of my trusty art journals, I...
TOOK NOTES
SKETCHED IDEAS
RECORDED COLOR PALETTES AND TEXTURES THAT CAUGHT MY EYE
JOTTED DOWN BLOG AND WEBSITE ADDRESSES
MADE LISTS OF THEMES FOR ART SHOWS
SUMMARIZED INSTRUCTIONS FOR NEW TECHNIQUES
PLANNED NEW PROJECTS!

Then I went home and looked up all the websites and made more notes. Today, I'm ready to create!

On that note - I'm closing down my computer and getting started.

*I bought the coffee to ease some of my guilt for hardly ever purchasing one of these magazines. I'm a pretty honest human being, and this may be one of the most sinful things I do. It's just short of stealing :(

New Boxes Born Today

FINALLY! Can't stay away from my passion any longer.

Boston State House exhibit

Our art was placed in 4 rooms at the State House. It's hard to get a good angle to view the exhibit because the rooms aren't very large. These photos are from 2 rooms. The 1st is the Executive Officer's room and the 2nd is Senator Rosenberg's office. One of my pieces in the exhibit is shown on the right of the 1st photo. It's a paper quilt titled "Koi".

Boston Exhibit

My work, along with the art of 14 other Shelburne Arts Co-op members, is now on display at the Boston State House in the offices of Senator Stan Rosenberg. The show runs March 16th - May 30th and is open to the public during working hours. If you live in the area, or are visiting Boston - please stop by and take a look.

Reminiscing

I have been extremely involved in my arts Co-op business issues lately and haven't had the big chunks of time I need to settle into creating art. I am going to try to set aside at least two hours every day to do nothing but CREATE. Probably I'll have to choose a regular time slot, but for right now it's just getting that 2 hours in somewhere.

What I HAVE had is smaller bits of time that have led me to reminisce. I've gone through some old photographs and had a great time thinking about the good old days. I've also thought a lot lately about my parents, who are gone now. I still miss them, even after 12 years. My mother and I had a very intense relationship, but time has mellowed out the worst of it. I think about the friends she left behind and then, one by one, their spouses passing. They all seem like such strong women in my mind, and I wonder if I have that fiber in my soul.

Anyway, I wrote this poem for them:

WIDOWS

Strong women
deeply lined
with names like
Marjorie
Doris
Myrtle
Ruth

Strong women
selfless
caring for
the grandchildren
teenagers
aging parents
dying husbands

Strong women
keepers of the
christening gowns
smudged report cards
Great Grandmother’s china
sepia poses
bloodlines
family secrets

Strong women
caring for each other now
with their own pains and cancers

Fine, strong women
who are
just fine
really –
thank you, dear

#1 fan?

I received a very special Christmas card this year. We lived for just over a year in Naperville, IL (from May 2003-June 2004). During our short stay there I was an active member of the Naperville Art League. I enjoyed the company of many dedicated, talented artists and was allowed to display and sell my own work in NAL's beautiful gallery. One of the League's members (Willard Smith) is a retired art professor and like-minded flea market/garage sale-er. He told me how he encouraged his students to collect old jewelry at tag sales so they could take it apart, melt down the metals, and re-use the stones in their own creations. He confessed to having a house full of things he intends to re-purpose and now has time to begin doing the assemblages he's been "saving things up for" for many, many years.

Willard was very fond of the boxes I make and he purchased quite a few of them. He sent me a Christmas card this year in which he described how he uses my theme-based boxes. In one he stores his collection of Beatles albums; one jingles with his stash of miscellaneous keys; another keeps precious photographs; in another he places his Coca-Cola memorabilia; one holds information about every car he has ever owned; one keeps safe all the love letters from his wife...the list goes on (he bought a LOT of my boxes).

I'm overwhelmed with gratitude. I wish Willard and his wife, Joyce, many, many years of good health in which they may continue to collect and create (they are both artists).

Holiday Sale Success

Our First Annual Holiday Art Sale was a great success! In fact, it was magical - Hurrah! We really had no expectations for how it would go this first time, and now we're already talking about doing it again next year.

What we did right:
Homemade (but professional-looking) signs with balloons, strategically placed at key intersections. Also balloons on my mailbox and front porch.
Postcard mailings to friends and previous clients (can't beat the deals from VistaPrint)
Free announcement in the local paper
Refreshments - Mulled Cider, brownies, cookies, misc. sweets
Variety of art media and prices
Each artist took responsibility for some part of the planning and preparation
Holiday decorations were kept simple
It was not a problem that we didn't take credit cards. No one even asked.
Free Raffle for Gift Certificate to the Shelburne Arts Co-op (each artist contributed $5)

What we'd change:
Make more art!
Send more postcards - These proved to be our best advertising, and probably 80% of the shoppers were people we knew.
Attach the signs to WOOD stakes! The ground was frozen hard which made it nearly impossible to push the wires in!
Personally, since the sale was at MY home, I'd start my housecleaning earlier - maaayyyybe

I promised photos of the new boxes I made for the show but 3 of the newest sold, along with some older ones. You'll have to wait.

I would love to hear from anyone who's done one of these types of sales. Any advice you have to share would be welcome. There's always room for improvement.