Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Doing the grunt work

Doing the grunt work, otherwise known as getting quilts to the photographer, picking them up, dropping the slides off for duplicates, uploading the CD of 20 quilts plus all their bracketed images, sorting through them all to find the best of each. Cropping them. Trying to change the background color. Figuring out a postcard and selecting a company but having trouble getting the front and back of the post card on the front and back and not all on the front. Sitting at the studio all day Saturday and half of the day on Sunday for open studios which I had not signed up for but my studio mate, Jamie, has and everyone has to go through my space to get to hers. So cleaning up my space, putting work up, waiting for the hoards of people to come, which never happened...don't even talk about sales! And planning to do this again this coming weekend.

Wanting to start some more Life Circle pieces, getting publicity together for this series, getting my mailing list up to date so I can print out addresses for the post cards, creating invoices for students for my class on July 21 (I only have one open space!) Maybe I should do this every now and then...since I don't have to travel with all of my stuff and can make the same amount of money at my studio that I would get at a guild workshop. That would pay the rent!

Waiting for next Monday when I can go out to Cheryl's house and put the commission on the frame and get it quilted! Then sew the facings on, do the foiling and then getting it photographed and on it's way. Then getting the press out on it.

All I want to do is make art...but the only art I have made was to finish a bunch of postcards while I was sitting down at the studio. I have gotten a bunch done and will post them on the blog and also on the Art2Mail website for sale. I want to dye fabric, I want to discharge fabric using thiox, I want to play, play, play and stop doing all of this work, work, work.

This is the reality of being a professional artist. Not someone who makes some work and shows it now and then, but someone who has some goals to meet (get that solo show) and wants to make sales, not just show the work. I have been able to get my work in about 2/3 of the shows I have entered in, both art and quilt shows. Now I want the bigger stuff! And, that takes a lot of work. My father's health issues slowed me down somewhat last year but the residency has given me the opportunity to gear right back up.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I think you are really focused and on the right track. The residency gave you such a needed jump start for this year of creativity and I see only positive things for you.