spreading the love (art)!!!! in natick, attleboro and (wait for it ..... ) Sunny California!!!!

this past week i have been spreading the love ...

new cards at Renew in downtown Natick.
note the cards featuring their great merchandise

print of illustrated quote

First I replenished the stock of cards and prints at Uni-T at the Natick Collection. I brought new cards as well as many new prints, which included some of my illustrations. 

I introduced these illustrated prints at my open studio 

and they were received very well!! And at 

the owner, Eujin Kim Neilan, displays them so well.

one of the 'renew' notecards

Then on to Renew Arts & Industry, where not only did I restock their origami dresscards, but I added some of the new dress notecards, such as 'sizzzle...'  

AND also added some notecards featuring some of my photographs of their beautiful merchandise!!

new dresscard image, 'sizzzzle ...'

' #kitchentableseries V ...'  pen and ink.
 inspired by an instagram posting by another 'dress' artist, Karen Arp-Sandel.

In Attleboro, MA, you can find one of my #kitchentableseries drawings at the Attleboro Arts Museum as part of their Benefit Art Auction.  

Today is the last day that you can bid online so make sure to click this link to bid and to see all the beautiful offerings.  

click here to see online auction

And now for the big news!!! the California news!!
I am happy to announce that I made my first sale via/thanks to the internet!!

mixed media dress collage,  is now in CA!!! 

Thank you instagram's 'randomartist222', who saw my dress collage 

that I had shared on instagram and inquired if it was for sale!!!

YES!!! but .... she was in CA and I in MA?!?!

Well she made some suggestions and she waited patiently as I set up my paypal account and investigated shipping and then voila, she still wanted it!! the USPS got it there safely, she liked it in person ....

SO

 I successfully made my first online sale!!!!!!!

(the crowd goes wild!!!)

And with that under my belt ... there will be more!!! 

Oh yes there will be more!!! 

so til later!! 

peace, va

#wip wednesday: so many art happenings ....

a quick post from the road, as I am college visiting with my eldest and have a few minutes before I need to wake my teen. and there is so much going on ...

'kitchentableseries ... on the road' Yonkers, NY

first, tonight is the opening reception for 'Art on the Common' in Natick:

An outdoor art installation in celebration of our common connection to community and shared art. We have several interpretations from talented and well known local artists adorning the ground and trees @ Common Street Spiritual Center...the Opening Night is starting @ 6 o'clock in the evening Wednesday October 14 so we can capture some of the falling away sunlight....sun starts to set at 6:07P:-) 

But come whenever you can and then join us at Gallery 55 across Main St. to say hello, and please stay for Poetry Night at 7:30PM. The Art of the Common will be in place for a few weeks and just in time for Natick Artists Open Studios.

Local artists for Art on the Common include Scott Pressler Virginia Fitzgerald Carmine Saccardo Karin Stanley John Mottern Anna Coburn, and Molly Saccardo, and a huge thank you goes out to all of them and to Ian Mevorach at Common St. who facilitated and inspired the vision of ART on the COMMON.

Common Street Spiritual Center is at 13 Common St. Natick, MA 01760 across from backside of the Town Common and next to Post Office. 

'skywarrior II ...' is holding court again, on the corner of School st and Common St. Although this time she is being a bit shy!! Many folks have said that they can't find her, that i need to move her, add streamers to her, and I have declined.  I feel that she is who she is no matter where she flies.  If in this locale she is feeling the need to blend in, so be it!!! 

So if you are in the area tonight, stop by or any other time, see if you can find her. Maybe she will take a shining to you and appear!!!

Then this weekend is the 

Natick Artists Open Studios!!! 

I took off last year for personal reasons but I am back!! And I will be showing some matted illustrations, drawing from the #kitchentableseries and some paintings!!!!

one of a series of oyster painting in gouache

It will be interesting as this year I am the only artist in the upper floors of the building and it is only David Lang and myself in all of the Winchell Building?!?!?!

kitchen table series 

But David and I always have fun and I am looking forward to TWO days STRAIGHT in my studio!! 

well it is time to tour the campus of Fordham!! 

thanks for joining me here on my art blog!! 

 peace, va

did you know it was #INKTOBER ????

'kitchen table, boerenbont ...' 

Thanks to social media I have learned that October in INKTOBER ...

"31 Days 31 Drawings.Every October artists all over the world take on the INKtober drawing challenge and do one ink drawing a day the entire month." inktober.com

index card from #ICAD2015

 Now if you have followed me for any amount of time you will know that I adore 'challenges', daily assignments, & all this participatory :) and I LOVE working in ink!! However this past week I have made an commitment to myself to not spread myself, to practice focusing on the task at hand; 

enter dilemma!!!  

Enter compromise ... 

So I am not making a commitment to inktober,  posting everyday! though I'm sure you may see a new ink drawing here or there.) Also there will be posts, like today, that deal with ink drawings .... 

compromise?!?! I'm not sure,  I do KNOW that I am jonesing to find my pen and start drawing, but alas, taxes are calling :(

So on to the other  inky news: 

'once more with feeling ...'

'phases of the moon ...' subscription card series 

This weekend I once again applied for a Massachusetts Cultural Council Artist Grant, this time in the drawing category. I first considered submitting my "subscription card" series, especially as grant committees are mostly looking for the unusual, the unique, something different and usually cutting edge.

However as I was complying the subscription cards that I was going to submit to the MCC, I was also pulling together some of my "kitchen table" series to decide which drawing to donate to the Attleboro Arts Museum's benefit auction.

When I had both series in front of me, and even though I believe the subscription cards are a more unique series, I ended up submitting drawings from my "kitchen table" series, because these drawings really represent a quality of life that I wish to celebrate.  

Below are the images and a brief description that I submitted .... 

kitchen table I 

kitchen table II

kitchen table III

" These drawings are part of the ‘kitchen table’ series. This body of work is a celebration of the beauty and simplicity of everyday life.  Rendered mostly in pen and ink, these drawings are a return to basics; to line, to expressive marks, to black and white, dark and light.  A discovery of the wonders revealed from what remains on a kitchen table. "

kitchen table IV

'kitchen table V' was donated to be part of the Attleboro Arts Museum's Benefit Auction, I will post the link to the auction as soon as they do.

kitchen table V

 happy monday & peace, va

 

 

following the inspiring bread crumbs . . .

I always love how things just sort of unfold . . .

'kitchen table series . . .'

when considering today's dailydress inspiration's post I decided to post a quote that I said years ago, while having tea with artist Louise McCall.

I wanted to share a piece of Louise's beautiful work with my quote and while pursuing her website I was so inspired by the spirit and life of her work that I decided to create a  "dOse oF TaLenT" post about her.

And then as I was choosing what paintings to share I realized that the work that I am really drawn to are her still life's, and I have been really wanting to get back into my studio and paint some of  my  "kitchen table series" and pen and ink and that I have been doing for the ICAD challenge.

I can't think of a better way to light a creative fire under myself than to look at Louise's inspiring work and remember the many enriching conversations that I have had the pleasure of sharing with her.

So on this peaceful Sunday morn, I have been enjoying this treasure hunt of sorts, following these creative bread crumbs that all connect and that gives me a push in the direction of my studio.

Happy Sunday and peace,

#the100dayproject: distraction or solution?!?!? (part 1)

(warning: this post goes against all the social media guru's advise to 'keep it brief.'  However I have always viewed this blog as a chronicle of my current state of mind, and how that affects my art, my choices and my life.  x)

This world of social media exposes a user to many, MANY ideas, opinions, events, opportunities, recipes, projects and distractions (to name a few of its offerings).  Earlier this month I discovered a 'project' that really caught my attention, The Great Discontent 's  #the100dayproject.

kitchen table drawing

I was intrigued!! i LOVE challenges such as these! My brain started to explode with ideas about the best project for me to do for 100 days!!! Everything seemed like a perfect activity, heck most all of the examples in the graphic above excited me!! In fact the more I thought about doing 'X' for 100 day straight, the more my heart raced and my enthusiasm mushroomed.

However I am the QUEEN of productive procrastination and I started to wonder if this newest undertaking would fall into that category.  

 is this something i 'should' do now?!?!? 

in fact, what 'should' I be doing now?!?!? 

That last question has been tormenting me these past weeks, causing me to get in a rut. So as this mental debate about my #100 day project continued in my head, the start date of the project past and so did my excitement.

#fromthelandofdragons

But then, this weekend, I once again stumbled onto information about the project, along with the announcement that even though the start date has past, late comers were always welcomed!!

I took this as a sign that I DID need to join this 'movement', and for numerous reasons.  The first reason being that I AM in a RUT!! I am not one who is usually stuck, but I am paralyzed, stymied about the direction of my career, of my art, of my life.



In the past my answer to any and all ruts was to work, to make art, make a dress about the situation!! but since the divorce that has become a much more difficult response.

Sadly, making art, especially large sculptural dresses, has become complicated.  There is now a much greater pressure for financial success.  There is a much larger demand of my time and other resources.  One of the result of such constraints is that everything has become precious and for me that is the kiss of death!!

hand-lettering quote

My time feels precious, so my output feels scrutinized, mistakes are not welcome and everything must have a purpose and a successful outcome!! that is not a state that encourages any type of true creativity, especially not for me! So one of the perks of #the100dayproject is that by repeating an activity/practice it becomes less precious - and for me that is a very good thing.


Also, as I alluded to above, I am struggling with the direction of my career, art, life.  I am at a crossroads.  I wholly desire to make my living via my art.  I believe in my core that I have a unique 'voice' to add to our world, but I am scrambling to figure out how to share my creativity and vision as well as pay the rent.

Now this is not an earth-shattering life dilemma - most all creatives bump up against this quandary and usually the result is finding a 'job' for the rent and following your passion on the side.  However, I have been reading and learning a lot about a current movement that believes that by finding your passion and your purpose, and with that personal knowledge, you can make a financially successful business.  One champion of this theory is Ann Rea, the creator of Artists who Thrive.  Another believer is Scott Dinsmore, just listen to this TED talk, How to find and do work you love.

painting

I want to excavate my passion and my purpose and find my value.  In Dinsmore's talk he addresses the need to get out there, make mistakes and do work, to see where your passion lies.  As I see it showing up for 100 days of work would be doing the work!! And though that process I would think you would discover your true purpose?!? So reason number two, a good way to excavate my purpose.

cooking

Another positive is that to sign up you are making a commitment to a larger community?!?! Part of the project is to share your 100 days of on social media!! Nothing like a bit of cyber-peer pressure to help motivation?!?

Also I see sharing as another way to remove the preciousness of the work since during those 100 days you will put out work that you may not think is your best.  Even in the description of the project it is emphasized that it is the 'process' not the product that is important in this project!!

Lastly, the exercise of repeating a practice/an act/a project for 100 days is proven to help add that practice/behavior into one's life.  The number of days needed to change or alter one's behavior vary depending on the source, but it is clear that if you consistently practice a certain activity for X (definitely more than 21) amount of days, it will become part of your daily routine.  Here is an article by James Clear that explains this theory further, How Long Does it Actually Take to Form a New Habit? (Backed by Science).

embroidery

Those are all very good reasons to join #the100dayproject, however, I still have some trepidations: is this a good uses of my time, will there be benefits?!?

I already share my creative endeavors online, on a pretty regular basis and I am very comfortable doing it.  On my dailydress inspiration blog I posted a daily inspiration for over a year, possibly 400 days.  With my #fromthelandofdragons series I usually post at least one photo on a daily basis.  

AND I still have NO IDEA what to DO for the 100 days!!!
As I mentioned , almost everything appeals to my creative self - 100 days of recipes, of drawing faces, of embroidering, of doodling on post-its (how fun!!). The idea of 100 days of my kitchen table drawings, or ephemeral dresses or dressmats; it all excites me!!


Also,

So I believe to commit to this project I need something that pushes me out of my comfort zone, something that will contribute to my personal growth and/or something I wish to incorporate into my daily routine . . .

(again head exploding)
so many choices, so many endeavors . . .
so much more to say . . .
so , 'to be continued'.
va

a sunday snow day . . .

#kitchentableseries

in case you haven't heard . . . its been snowing A LOT here in the Boston area!!

and today is no different - we are experiencing yet another blizzard!!!! 

Now there is an odd tradition here in the Boston area when a snow storm is predicted, everyone and their uncle, races to their local grocery store. When I moved here it blew my mind!! I mean there is a mass hysteria!! 

Here is Scruffy showing us the scale of the snow piles as of a few days ago.

Recently I decided that it is more dangerous to go to the grocery store before a storm than to run out of milk during the storm. (I mean people are mean!!!)

chocolate and coffee #kitchentableseries

So when today's storm was forecasted and the grocery stores parking lots were full to capacity, I drove past and headed over to Michael's for my storm supplies!!!

 I love snow days,  its mother nature's way of  making everyone stop! the girls and I are safe and warm (thankfully) and I get to make stuff!!

today's experimenting 

As I mentioned earlier, this year, I have made some intentions to expand my art practice.   Another one of these intentions is to experiment a lot!!! 

I want to try more things, different materials, different opportunities, push myself out of my comfort zone. 

One way I have done that this year is by revisiting ink drawings, 

I call these my  #kitchentableseries. 

I love drawing!! but I have not been drawing in a long time. So I started to draw these small still life's on my kitchen table in ink.  

And as a way to keep me out of my comfort zone,  I have been posting them on instagram, sharing work that I don't feel completely 100% competent about, trying to break that ever present striving for perfection and only sharing images that i feel are complete!! (I got this from one of the many online classes that I am taking) 

So when i was strolling the aisles of Michael's in my pre-storm prep mode, I spied a real pen and ink set, with a nib and bottle of ink. For my drawings I was using a ink pen, one that already had the ink in it, I haven't used a pen with a nib since college. So besides purchasing some yellow yarn for my current crocheted project, I treated myself to a true pen and ink set, nib and all!!! 

And today, during this snow storm and between shoveling, I sat at my kitchen table, playing with my new pen, experimenting. I'll do some crocheting later while watching a movie with the girls!!!

I think Scruffy is getting a bit tired of all the snow, it is so deep!!

Hope all are comfortable, where ever you are today!! 

peace from the arctic tundra!!!