Thursday, August 28, 2008

What a Night!

Monday night I went to San Francisco with Dianne Smith who has organized the Running Fence recycled art collection. She had been in Scottsdale not too long ago and had gone into a gallery called Art Space. She talked for a while with one of the owners, Shirley Crane, bought a scarf and then started talking to her about the art work with the running fence. Shirley was very interested.

Dianne, in talking with Shirley, indicated that Liz Berg was one of the participating artists. Shirley said, well, Liz Berg is one of our artists!

What fun! Two people who sell my work meet each other!

So, Shirley was coming to San Francisco for a medical appointment, arrived Monday early evening, and we met her at her hotel and went out for dinner. Just before dinner, however, Dianne showed her a bunch of the work she had brought and I also showed Shirley my new work. She took three medium sized Color Blocks with her and then told me how many other pieces she wanted. What fun!

So, Tuesday I was busy packing up art work for Art Space in Scottsdale and got a whole bunch of stuff shipped off. I still need to get some rings sewn on the back for hanging on some of the pieces. Then those will go off also.

Let me tell you how much fun it is to sit with two women who sell your art work and say all sorts of great things about your work!

I have received enough validation to last at least 2 weeks....in reality, far longer!

Now back to work!

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Art Decisions

I go through periodic times when I am not sure just where I want my art to go. I spend a lot of time looking at other artist's work, all of whom are so much better than me, that I begin to feel inadequate. However, the other part of me reminds myself that they are not necessarily better but are different. My work is different. But I reach a point in time with my work that I am ready to move on and explore some different ways of doing things.

This happened a number of times last year as I had put so much time and energy into my Life Circles pieces that I couldn't figure out what could come after that. So most of the year I didn't get a whole lot done (although I easily forget that I got California Dreams 2 done and California Dreams 3 started which go finished this year).

It wasn't until I went down to be artist in residence at Asilomar for the Empty Spools seminars that I got myself going again. I packed up prefused batiks and thus started Color Blocks. Well, now I have done almost 40 from anywhere from 4x6 to 50x50". I have framed a lot of them and now need to seek out gallery space for them. But they feel easy. They are fun but I am not feeling a depth in them that I would like.

So I am finding myself searching for a new meaning, a new challenge, some new ideas. I have come up with the ideas for California Dreaming 4 Foothills which I should be started as soon as I get some more images taken to create more silk screens. But I want something more.

I want something that is just the essence of what ever it is. I love simplicity. I love to keep people wondering. I love to have depth in my work. I love for it to grab you from a distance and bring you in.

But in what direction am I going to go?

I spend time doing some jotting down of ideas, reading books which offer to help, etc. I brainstorm ideas when I come up with a thought and write it all down. I am still searching.

I got really excited about the possibility of the commission but it is three weeks and the project has been put on hold so now I have to wait until Monday when I can call them again to see where we are. But that hasn't stopped me with the idea that I had and I have pieced together a section that is the beginning and am ready to start adding more....but I want to know I've got a commission!

Such is life. I still make art of some sort of other but I am looking for that challenge, the what if, the where will it go, kind of thing. Bear with me!

Friday, August 22, 2008

New Classes!

I have just listed two new classes for on line students!

Better Art by Design will begin on Sept. 19, 2008 and will go for six weeks. Cost will be $225. You can sign up by clicking the link on the right (sign up for classes) or go to the website and read the full description.

Also, for those who have already taken Better Art by Design and are gluttons for punishment, Advanced Design will be offered for 5 lessons started January9. Lessons will be two weeks apart. Again, sign up via the link to the right or go to the website.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Color Blocks 31 and other stuff

Color Blocks 31

This piece is 10 x 8" and is unmounted. It is square although the image in the above picture is not! $125

Other news: My journal quilt, California Fire did not get accepted in to the show for Houston. Ah well, so it goes. You win some and you lose some.

I need to get images made of my work...so much to haul off to the photographer but so necessary.

Today we received word that a young rising star named Lauren died this past week. My husband coached her in soccer for about 4 years. Lauren had gone on to college, then medical school and just took her boards for anesthesiology and had passed. She died at the age of 30. This young woman was such a bright star, I can only envision a dying star burst....her spirit will stay alive in all those who knew her.

Friday, August 15, 2008

Little by little it gets done

Late yesterday I received notification that I was not moved into the second round for the public arts program to create art for a new sobering center. But! five minutes later I got the message that I was moving on to the second round for the Juvenile Justice Center. This means orientation meeting, and getting my ideas down on paper...I will know more when the paperwork comes next week.

And, procrastinator that I am, I finally got my quilt sent off to Breaking Traditions. I also included a couple of fabric postcards for Lynn to use as incentives. Well, that's out of the way, now I just have to get my image in to SAQA for the auction! Ah, tomorrow....

And, I also got my reservations made to go to New York in November! I will be teaching at the Hudson River Valley Art Workshops starting Nov. 2 and ending the 8th. What a fun trip that will be! I hope I don't need heavy duty clothing as this California girl just doesn't have much!

I also got a call today from the Galesburg Art Center asking if I could move my show date from October, 2009 to May,2009. That actually works better for me since I will be having a show at PIQF in October, 2009. Then I don't have to worry about running all around to get everything ready!

Now, if this cold would just go away! I must say, I sure am getting my doses of vitamin C! Today I just went out my back door and picked five fresh, juicy, sweet oranges and stood over the kitchen sink while I wolfed them down...oh, but life is rough!

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Oh My goodness how time flies!

Well, am I ever behind...I really haven't dropped off the edge of the earth but have again been slowed down by another cold. I saw the doctor on Monday just to be sure it hadn't moved in to my lungs and his diagnosis was that I have a cold and should be better in 5-7 days (since about 3 days had already passed) and you know what? Today I am beginning to feel better. Still coughing a lot but feeling better!

So much has been happening, I think....my head has been a little groggy.

I went down to Long Beach for the Quilt Festival with Carol and Robin and we drove down 101 which is sure much prettier that I5 which goes straight through the middle of the state and is all about feed lots, farms and ranches and not very interesting. Had a delightful drive and stayed at a Marriott Extended Stay which was nice as they had full breakfasts, and we had a kitchenette, a living room, two bedrooms and two bathrooms. I ended up sleeping on the hide-a-bed which worked out just fine. We spent three days at the show. I was working each day, doing a two hour stint at the demonstration area for Quilting Arts. I just set myself up and talked to lots of people and showed them how I make my color blocks. I had taken a lot of precut 8x10 pieces of timtex and prefused fabrics and cut out and ironed away. Saw several people from the Art quilt list and got to connect some names and faces. Also saw a couple of past students from the Heart in Hand retreat in Cambria from earlier this year and met one of my on-line students...what fun!

I also got to chat with Larkin Van Horn whose table I would take each time she finished her stint. Jamie Fingal did time with me at her own table and Alisa Burke was also there. Beryl Taylor was there, too as well as Ruth Rae. What a great group of people!

Spoke briefly with Pokey about a couple of ideas for future articles which I will need to flesh out and get to her.

Barbara, from the magazine, took really good care of me while I was there and got my iron and everything else I needed! What a great group of people!

Came home an had an interested email from an advertising company which is interested in having a piece made for a book they are producing for an energy company. Responded and discussed ideas. But right now there are some things going on politically in the region where the company will be working so the advertising company is laying low for a couple of weeks. Ideas are flowing all over for a quilt which will be a background for graphics and text for the article. I really hope this comes through as it is exciting.

While I was in Long Beach, I created 9 of my color blocks so got them finished when I came home. Spent yesterday trying to get all of these silly things figured out...some have sold, some already have numbers and a bunch don't and some even have some pictures I have taken of them so tried to sort them out as to which image went with which number...got thoroughly confused (of course it was because I was coughing so much and peeing in my pants too much to stay focused!) so now I have to go through all the pieces and see what I don't have photographed. Then, on to the website.

Gloria Hansen and Derry have fixed my website and moved it to their server so I won't have outages any more. They have also given me a page for mixed media so now I have to get work up for that.

And, got my submission in for consideration to do work for the San Francisco Libraries with their Public Art program. Am still waiting to hear if I made the first round with Alameda County and their public art program. Those are so time consuming to take care of but I love the idea of doing public art!

My studio will be part of a tour for people going on the bus trip when they attend PIQF...right now it just says two well known artists but I know who we are!

Also, Jane Davila and Elin Waterston have put together another book and I have created a number of pieces that will be in the book, as well as work by a number of other great artists. We are doing a swap so we even get some art work out of this. It was really fun to do. I am not quite sure when the book will be out but their last book was really great!

Gotta go take pictures of new work. I did get a piece finished to enter in Quilt National...haven't done that in years!