Lyric Art

Monday, March 29, 2010

For Your Inspiration: Cherry Blossoms

In honor of a lovely day spent in our nation's capital.

Photography by Karina's Etsy Shop

Urban Pink Photography's Etsy Shop

Localcolorist's Etsy Shop

g(ART)en photography's Etsy Shop

jjbackman's Etsy Shop

This Years Girl's Etsy Shop

Sweetdejavu's Etsy Shop

Please check out work of all these wonderful artists at their shops.

Friday, March 26, 2010

Showing Your Work: part 4 - organizing your entries

Now that you've chosen which kinds of shows to enter (quilt, art quilt, fine art) how do you keep track of it all? You've seen the list of shows that feature art quilts. You're pretty sure you know which ones appeal to you. Now what? Well there are myriad ways to get your act together - here is how I do it. I like to see the big picture with my lists - all the dates on one page. I'm very visual. Waaaay back when I wrote an article about the topic for Quilting Arts Magazine, called Where and How to Show Your Artwork. April/May 2007.

I kept a notebook back when I was in the swing of things. Front page and pack page had two lists, one with shows by entry dates as seen here. This one is printed right from the list on my website. The other described below.

First - make a list of shows you are thinking of entering in order of shipping deadlines Make sure you note entry dates and which are postmarked and which are "received by." Note any other pertinent entry info such as size requirements or expiration dates (my personal pet peeve!) I also noted prized money, commission fees, or anything out of the ordinary such as a live jury (in which you are required to send your actual quilt in for a second jury round.) Oh! Don't forget the virgin quilt rule!!! If any images of your piece filter out anywhere, blogs and your Aunt Martha's Picasa page included, you are OUT!

Second - choose which quilts might go to which shows and note them. The reason my first list if by shipping window is so I can make absolutely sure that shows don't overlap. It's a BIG no-no to enter a quilt in a show, have it accepted, then to withdraw it because it already got into an overlapping show.

Third - when a quilt is accepted into a show I put the shipping date on my calendar in big bold letters. My worst nightmare is to forget to ship a quilt. Funny story. As I was packing down one show I had curated I noticed that there was a quilt missing. As far as I knew, it had never arrived and somehow I had missed seeing that. Immediate panic. Had the quilt been lost in the mail for months? I took a big gulp and called the artist. She had completely forgotten about the show and hadn't sent it. I was SOOOOO relieved. At the same time, I had to laugh because that is so like something I might do.

Inside the notebook:

Entry forms.

Sleeve protecter for copies of entries I had sent out. I wrote big and bold on the top corner of the form the names of the quilts.
Sleeve protectors for accepted entries. I wrote (again) big and bold the shipping deadline and filed them in order.
Sleeve protector for entry forms of quilts that were currently out.
Sleeve protector for quilts that had come back in.
Page with all the vital stats for my quilts: date, size, price, insurance info.
Page for each quilt with a sow history and awards, yes - I also fear I'll enter the a quilt in the same show twice. I have a sieve for a brain.
Sleeve for appraisals and their copies.

Of course all of this information can be kept on your computer now. (Then again, when is the last time YOU backed everything up?) It's getting easier with digital entries and burning a CD or mailing off a jpg is much easier than sending slides.

Robbi Ecklow's article Use Calendars to Keep Track of Your Show Submissions in Quilting Arts Magazine February/March 2010 brings things quite up to date. In it Robbi shows you how to use any calendaring program (she uses ical) to list the entry deadlines as well as shipping and show dates.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Just Foiling Around

Next month I'll be teaching one of my favorite classes at the American Quilt Festival in Paducah, Kentucky. This is one of the BIG shows in the quilt world and it will be my first time there. I'm excited! I've heard so much about Paducah's Artist Relocation Program, it sounds like a dream come true to me. Caryl Bryer Fallert has her studio there now and I've always wanted to be Caryl Bryer Fallert when I grow up.

But I digress. The class I wanted to tell you about is called "Just Foiling Around: Foil, Glitter, and Painted Wonder-Under." Yup. You heard right - painted Wonder-Under. It's fusible paint - you can tear it, cut it, play with it, and I'm completely addicted to using it in my work. It gives a lovely and mysterious texture to the surface of your work and is a very versatile.

I'm also addicted to the shine and whimsy and wonder of foil. It can be very subtle or flashy, smooth or textured, and yes, it comes in many colors other than gold - I just have a thing for gold.

There is still space available in the class. #6504 on Wednesday Evening the 21st of April from 5:30 - 8:30pm. Late in the evening I know - but I'm hoping to have enough room in my suitcase for .... chocolate! If that isn't worth coming for I don't know what is!? Hope to see you there.

And the WINNER is....

MARSHA!!! Who commented here on March 15th at 4:35.

Please contact me at Lyric at pobox.com.

Thanks to all of you for your comments.

Stay tuned for next month's artist.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Artist Spotlight part 3: Melanie Testa - up and coming

Our last week with Melanie Testa has arrived and I thought I'd give her the chance to let you know of a wonderful event she has coming up. If you can get to Hampton, VA - run, do not walk, to join her at Art and Soul.... in her own words:

Melly:

For me, teaching is about interacting with students, the exchange and interplay of knowledge to such an extent that I too learn and grow from the experience. The supremely awesome thing is that students have 'beginners mind', an attitude of openness and eagerness and a lack of preconceptions. Who wouldn't feel invigorated by this? In May, I will be teaching at an event called Art and Soul. This retreat is held in Hampton Virginia, just as the weather begins to warm up and all the flowers are in bloom.

I will be teaching two classes, Inspired Journaling, every-single-day! on Sunday, May 23 which will cover visual journaling and we will explore using resists, paints and glues to create luscious pages in our journals. No need to 'worry' over your drawing skillz! I will help push and cajole those fear where they belong.

And a Soy Wax Batik class on Monday, May 24 . Soy wax, beside being very easy to use, is an ecologically safe alternative to paraffin. It is a magical medium that yields almost instantaneous results. To make it even easier on you, we will be using paint instead of my beloved dye which has proven to yield just as lovely results!

So if you have the time and are near this fabulous retreat, please come and join in on the fun! I would love to have you.

I'd love to thank Melanie for taking the time to say hello to you all. As in our first introduction, she is an amazing artist and a wonderful person. Don't forget to leave a comment - especially if you've had a class with Melanie in the past. What was your favorite thing about the class?

You can leave one comment on each of the four Artist Spotlight posts about Melanie. Late Tuesday night I'll randomly choose one winner from among comments on the four posts to receive this original collaborative work. Melanie sent a lovely sheer organza printed with ginkgo leaves for me to work with. I've layered it with a peachy piece of hand-dyed cotton, printed with another set of ginkgo leaves. I also layered a few more leaves on the surface with a hint of gold foil. The 5"x7" piece is machine and hand stitched with a spray of gold beads scattered across the surface.

Wednesday morning I'll announce the winner so please be sure to check back so that you can send me your contact information.

If you can't get enough of gingko leaves head on over to Melanie's blog - where she has created a little work of art with the ginkgo fabric that I sent to her. Same deal there - comment on each of her four posts about me. I'd especially love it if you've had a class with me - tell them what you loved or learned.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

The Sunshine Award

So - if you've seen my studio you can't help but notice all the ribbons hanging up along the top of the design wall. I used to keep them in a box. Then I used to have them pinned to the wall but tucked behind the bookshelf. When I remodeled the studio I decided that they needed some sunshine up on the wall.

In that same vein, thanks to Robin for the lovely Sunshine Award. Most often I ignore all such things. But the sky outside it a brilliant blue, and the flower in the picture is one of my happy colors today. And of course I thought you might enjoy some of the same artists I love.