Direction Found

I went through my notebooks on my business -- from the early 1990's on -- last week. In the process, I came across a quote from Barbara Brabec about the difference between an artist and a craft person. She said the artist creates for themselves, while the crafts person creates for the marketplace. (Paraphrased)

It was an "Ah Ha!" moment for me.

I have been struggling for the last few years to define what I wanted to do with the business. What I realized, through Brabec's definition, was that, when I began the business, it was with an eye towards the marketplace. I was a SAHM and wanted to contribute to our finances. Now, I am retired, with sufficient income. I have no need to create for the marketplace. Instead, I can finally create for myself, while simultaneously using my skills to create gifts. As a result, I am feeling calm for the first time in years.

Wishing you peace . . . calm . . . and all good.

Artist's Voice

A couple of my friends recently moved, downsizing in the process, which reminded me of my need to declutter and reduce my possessions. My hope is that, when my husband retires, we will be able to downsize, too, but right now we have too much stuff for a smaller house. In light of that, I was intrigued by a method I saw demonstrated recently and the book written by its inventor: Marie Kondo: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. While I don't agree with some of her recommendations, I do believe her method of sorting through one's possessions warrants a try. So, I borrowed her book from the library and plan to attempt the process. (Thankfully, she states that doing it "quickly means about half a year.")

As part of my work on getting ready to set up a shop, I have also been thinking about what success looks like to me. I finally came to the conclusion that it encompasses three things: creativity, a flexible schedule, and supplemental income. Since I have health issues that are exacerbated by stress, it is crucial that I maintain a calm atmosphere and not try to do too much. To that end, I realized that I need to limit my work on the business to part-time. While that means I cannot do as much, it also means I have time to explore other interests and be available to my family as needed. (For example, I am also doing research for a book I want to write.)

I also recently purchased a copy of The Worldwide History of Dress as a reference book for clothing styles throughout the world. While it does not have quite as many examples of contemporary clothing as I had hoped, it gives details about many cultures that I know little to nothing about. For that reason, it is probably even more critical to my work, since I want my artwork to incorporate a global vision. Incorporating that vision is part of my artistic voice. Leni Levinson Wiener had an insightful post on weallsew.com this week about the artist's voice and how to find it. Though I have been creating for a lot of years, I have only just begun that work. 

What I do know is that I want to highlight the similarities between people around the world and my belief that we need to think more about how our actions impact everything on this planet we call home. That is part of the reason I want to downsize. I believe we use more of the planet's resources than is healthy for the planet and that people in many other countries aren't able to use enough, both for their own comfort and the health of the planet. It is also part of the reason I am a proponent of simple living.

I am looking forward to enjoying the simple pleasures of spring.

I wish you simple pleasures.

Peace.

Time Management

I have been busy working on a prototype for a doll or dolls.

At this point, I am not really satisfied with the parts or the direction. So, I may have to take a different tack with it. In looking for solutions, I stumbled across Agosia Arts. Not only is Carmen Alana Tibbets a wonderful artist, she is also quite generous in helping others who are interested in making dolls.

I have also been thinking about the other things that I need to start or complete to get the shop up and running. There are all kinds of details to work out in order to simply set up a shop, from designing a banner through writing out policies, taking pictures of products, even deciding on a name for the shop, which has to be different from anyone else's.

In addition, I discovered last week, after finally getting my blog post done early in the evening, that I have to monitor my stress levels more closely. One of the reasons for my desire to have my own business was the ability to take better care of myself by having control over my work time. As a result, I find that my ambition to post blog entries every week will have to be altered. In order to do my best on all fronts, including the blog, I will have to reduce my entries to once every two weeks. I may post my thoughts on smaller topics more frequently on my Facebook page.

Until next time, I wish you peace & all good things.

Autumn Activities

It has been a busy couple of months, with the birth of a new great-nephew, for whom I had to make a quilt, a niece's wedding, a quilt retreat, and completion of a quilt top my daughter and I have been working on for years.

We also experienced some "interesting" fall weather, as the tornadoes that hit Illinois and Indiana just missed our area. We did have extremely high winds. I am grateful that friends and family members in the affected areas were not hurt, and hopeful that things will return to normal for those who experienced property damage as soon as possible.

 

This baby quilt is based on a pattern in an old "Quiltmaker's" magazine. I made some changes, and resized it. The quilting pattern is my own free threadplay.

Here is a closer look at some of it.

This quilt top is the Ozark Maple Leaf quilt pattern from Nickel Quilts. We began it with the intention of hand-piecing a queen-size quilt, but after many years, I requested my daughter bring me the blocks she had finished. Between us, we had enough blocks ready to make a lap-size quilt. We were able to find materials in my stash for the first and third borders. The other fabrics used in the quilt run the gamut from leftover fabrics from my daughter's childhood through fabrics we purchased at a quilt shop in the town in which her grandmother lived. The placement of blocks and choices of colors are my daughter's. She now has possession of the top and is planning to dye the fabric for the backing. Once that is done, she will return it to me for sandwiching and quilting.

I have another couple of projects that I am currently finishing, but can't show since they are intended for Christmas gifts. I really appreciated the opportunity to go on the quilt retreat, since I was able to get a lot of work done in that time. One thing that it demonstrated for me is the value of working around other artists. This is also highlighted in this interview on Makers-In-Business-with-Liz-Smith. It gives me a greater appreciation for the idea of a studio space in a community of artists.

I hope that you have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving this year. I feel I have a great deal to be grateful for and hope you can also find things that make you happy in your life.

As always, until next time, I wish you peace and all good.

Strawberry Jazz Festival & More

It has been a fairly quiet month around here, though that doesn't mean it hasn't been busy. I have been spending much of my time recently doing research for a book I am working on. It means I am on the computer a lot and not spending much time in the studio. I did get out to the Strawberry Jazz Festival, though the weather that day was quite cold. They have a variety of musicians, vendors, and organizations represented each year, and the grounds are lovely.

One of my friends, an artist who was a vendor at the event, designed a line of fabric with In The Beginning Fabrics that will be coming out in December. You can see more of her work at
http://www.mooncookiegallery.com/.

I also wanted to remind everyone that time is running out to donate Priority Quilts to the Alzheimers Art Quilt Initiative (AAQI). Michele Bilyeu has a great reminder about that and information on other ways you can still help.

Talented Artists

I had the pleasure of going to the local Community Arts Council Fall Arts Stroll this past weekend. This year, they had close to 90 vendors, including a large number of artists. I thought I would share a few of my favorites with you.

Natalie Michalski of Moon Cookie Gallery has a fresh and vibrant style that makes you happy just looking at her paintings.

Curwick Creations creates astounding works of art with wood. I've never seen anything like their pieces anywhere else. They are truly beautiful.

World of Traegonia presented both their books and sculptures. I was impressed by the variety and detail, and enjoyed watching one of their young customers making a purchase of a dragon described as a mug guard. (It sits on the lip of one's drink container.)

Jesse A. Maricle's paintings have a realistic quality that vies with photography, while they simultaneously have a softness to them that is quite soothing.

Two additional artists I saw, who, unfortunately, do not have websites, included Pamela Baker, whose cross stich wall art is absolutely lovely, and Bud Hainzinger, who creates art pieces in wood by carving with a chainsaw.

I hope you enjoy their work as much as I did.

Possibilities

This spring has been quite unusual, but that has helped to provide some inspiration. For example, there has been quite a lot of this

and this

and a little bit of these

Altogether, they are enough to send my brain running after possibilities to draw, paint, stitch, and shape. At the same time, I am feeling really grateful for posts like Claudine Hellmuth's Finding Your Artistic Style, because I am in need of a lot of patience with myself. Sorting out a new career and artistic voice take time.

When I returned to college (what seems like eons ago), I didn't expect to have a degree within six months or a year. I am finding I need to cut myself some slack on learning about what has changed in technique and business since I last was a full-time artist (before I went back to college). Simultaneously, I also need to be open to a variety of possibilities. All this is to say that, while I would love to be ready to open shop sooner rather than later, the reality is that I may have to spend more time exploring first and give myself permission to do that.

In this season of new things and possibilities, I wish you time and permission to explore your talents and interests. Enjoy!

Inspiration

I had the opportunity to go to the Salt Creek Quilters Guild show this last weekend.

The wall hangings and miniature quilts were especially inspiring this year. There was also a hint of serendipity in the fact that one of the classes some of their members took resulted in quilts that suggested a different direction for the quilt I've been planning from my last Sketchbook Challenge piece. Now, I just have to work out some technical issues to get it to look like my vision.

One of the quilters whose work I consistently look for at this show is Denise Havlan. You can find her website here: Denise Tallon Havlan. Her work is always inspirational and stunning. She was showing this and this.

My priority quilt has been sent off to the AAQI. You can find the information here: Scattered Violets. (If the link does not connect to the quilt info, search for the title "Scattered Violets.")

Until next time, I wish you good weather, peace and all good.

Change & Pathways

I worked with some of these this week, designing a pattern, cutting the pieces, drafting the steps:

Slowly, things are coming together, and I am feeling as if I am on the right path.  There is much more work to be done, not only with this pattern, but also in filling out the details of this new life I am living. I've made some progress with that, too.

I am constantly being reminded that nothing stays the same, however. My youngest child is talking about leaving the nest, which will, of course, bring significant changes to my life. He is not only the youngest, he is the last child at home. Over the years, I have learned to communicate with these adults who just happen to be my children, but having them in close proximity is something I miss when they are no longer under my roof. Fortunately, they do continue to communicate and share their lives with me.

My daughter, who, as I've mentioned before, is also an artist, is teaching some classes over the next few months. If you are in her area, I invite you to check them out.  You can find out more about them here:
Fly'n Gypsy Arts & Graphics: Upcoming Classes at Expressions Graphics in Oak Park and the Elk Grove Village Park District: Fly’n Gypsy Arts & Graphics™

Until next time, I wish you peace and all good.

Goals

I've been thinking a lot about goals, recently. One of the things that has been helping me get focused is a series of expert interviews that Lesley Riley has been conducting. It is called SEEK. You can find out more here: Artist Success. Lesley's questions are designed to help artists get the most information possible, and the experts have been forthcoming with lots of thought-provoking material.

I've realized, again, that all of my experiences and training work together to create the place I am currently at, and that they will all help me to launch myself into the rest of my life. While I am an artist and work in mixed-media with a concentration in fiber, I am also a social scientist, with an MA in Political & Justice Studies. My focus, as mentioned in my profile, is on global equity and sustainability. In addition, I am a gardener and am beginning to realize I am also a photographer. It remains to be seen how I will meld all of this into future creations. That is why I am working on identifying my goals.

During the heat bubble of this last week, my husband suggested I take my camera out to take some pictures of the Tiger Lilies blooming in a side yard. It is fascinating to see how they grow and perpetuate themselves. Of course, they are lovely flowers, too.

I am inspired by things like this to consider how to incorporate the concepts of simplicity, functionality, and beauty into my own work. In a lot of ways, however, it is a return to previous work in other media, since my Master's Thesis was on sustainability with a focus on Voluntary Simplicity. (If you are interested in more information about that, I suggest reading Duane Elgin's book Voluntary Simplicity, What is voluntary simplicity? by Samuel Alexander, and/or checking out  Center for a New American Dream, Financial Integrity, and/or Northwest Earth Institute websites.)

I'm off to think more about my goals, try to get something defined more clearly, and create. Until next time, I wish you peace and all good.

New Life

I am now, officially, "retired" from the day job. This last month has been extremely hectic, between making sure everything was done at work and preparing for the youngest's graduation party. (For some reason, I scheduled that for the day after I "retired." Crazy!) Fortunately, I now have an opportunity to do some things I have been wanting to do for years.

I did take the time before the end of last month to do a quick set of sketches for the Sketchbook Challenge.The theme for the month was "Pathways," which put me in mind of those opening up to me. Here is the final piece.

Colored pencil, micro pen, computer manipulation.

My daughter has already asked me to consider joining her at a show in September, and we are finally trying to schedule time with one of my brothers, who is also an artist, to finish work on a children's book that has been in limbo for years. Since those are only two of the many projects I have up in the air right now, I don't expect my life to be quiet for long. I do hope to be able to build a rhythm into my days -- or at least my weeks!

For now, wishing you peace and all good.

Making Art

We are into week three of the Visual Journaling workshop with Pam Carriker. Pam is having us recycle our artwork. I am making slow progress, but combining it with the Sketchbook Challenge. The theme for January in that is Highly Prized. I started with a colored pencil sketch I had made of my children dressed up for Halloween when they were little. I copied the drawing (which I had to go over with my pencils first, as it was too light), glued it to 140# watercolor paper, and got part of the way through her instructions for week two. So far, I have used gesso, charcoal pencil, oil pastels, and watercolor brush pens. It is forcing me to be more mindful of techniques and the order in which I use the different media. Here is a look at the current status of the piece.

This is proving to be a great way to stretch myself out of my comfort zone and try new (to me) techniques.

While I am at it, I have to share a link to information about an exhibit my daughter is having: Urban Abstractions. As I have mentioned before, she is an artist in her own right. After you've checked on the exhibit, take a look around her website. She works in a variety of media and has some beautiful pieces.

I hope that you are enjoying new things, stretching out of your comfort zone, and living life to the fullest. Until next time, may you experience peace and all good.