I have been honored to participate in many of these workshop as a photographer and as a contributor, since David has used many of my sculptures as props/models. Here are some of my photographs from just a few of David's workshops!!!
'flirt ...' detail
The photographs that result from these workshops blow my mind!!! It is always a thrill and a treat to attend and for tomorrow David has put together an awesome line-up!!! hope you can join us!! XXXX
'lilith in blue ...', along with the beautiful and talented Melanie Moore and Kaya Alexandria Wadsworth Worthington, owner of CapeCodGypsea, were photographed in front of the Atlantic ocean. I thought that she looked so at home outside in the elements!!
During the lecture I spoke about 'lilith in blue ...' and the historical/biblical/mythical figure, Lilith.
talking during 'wake up and smell the poetry' 2015
Lilith's story can vary depending on the source. The one that I reference in the name of my sculpture is the Lilith that was Adam's first wife in the Garden of Eden. She was made like Adam, out of dirt, her own individual creation, not from any part of Adam. With this individuality came an independent spirit and a strong will which was not acceptable in Eden. So Lilith was banished from the garden and God made Eve, using a rib bone from Adam with the intention that Eve would be more obedient ... enter snake, stage right.
Upon relaying Lilith's story I recognized some similarities between my 'dressproject' and Lilith's strong will and eventual exile. 'lilith in blue ...' is a plaster dress sculpture on which I painted images which allude to life, nature, passion, pleasure, knowledge and femininity. As i spoke suddenly I saw this sculpture was an embodiment of my 'dressproject'.
After the lecture, I was planning to return 'lilith in blue ...' to my studio but in the driveway of my studio there was an old push grass cutter and I put 'lilith in blue ...' by the contraption. It felt like 'lilith' had a thought about this relic and suddenly I knew that 'lilith' had many thoughts and instead of going back into my studio, 'lilith' went back into my car to go out and contemplate the world.
She went many places last Spring and I witnessed a series develop -
be it in a book form, or in a gallery.
Sadly, I had to abandon lilith's adventures with the increasing pressures of 'real life', but I knew that her returned to the studio was temporary. If I can get funding for her travels we would be back on the road. in NO time flat. In fact when I envision this series I see lilith and I criss-crossing the country, contemplating the brooklyn bridge, the mississippi, a hay stack, an oil drill, the badlands!!!
the list can go on and on.
But until the lilith lottery ticket arrives,
here are a few of the photos from lilith's journeys so far.
'lilith contemplates evening ...' (2015)
'lilith contemplates single stream recycling ...' 2015
'lilith contemplates that freedom is not free ...' 2015
'lilith contemplates detours ...' 2015
'lilith contemplates the art of lisa barthelson ...' 2015
'lilith contemplates a change in careers ...' 2015
'lilith contemplates palettes ...' 2015
'lilith contemplates sanctuary ...' (2015)
'lilith contemplates the cost of parking ...' 2015
What a perfect way to start a week!!! In my FB feed, there was a link to this article from Country Living with the comment ... 'this looks likeVirginia Fitzgerald"
Well, it not only looks like Virginia Fitzgerald, it IS ME!!!
Many moons ago I 'modeled' for a local photographer who sells his photos to photo banks, like Getty Images, but I completely forgot about it until today!!! And now I am the poster child for embracing your MESS!!!! (happy dance)
And to add to the joy of this discovery, this photograph captures me working on one of my favorite sculptures, 'lush ...' , so that would be the summer of 2009.
Since reentering the world of surface design and freelance illustration ( I was freelancing few decades ago, pre-internet ) I am amazed by all the wonderful resources that are available!! besides being able to view so many illustrators works on Instagram and Pinerest, there are so many educational websites and online classes. Many a morning I can fall into the blackhole of the cyber-world just following interesting links that are delivered to my inbox. And that is exactly what happened today ...
Today I learned it was the last day to enter an online competition run by MakeItInDesign.com and to enter one needed to turn a positive mantra or uplifting quote you live by into a beautiful typographic design!!!! andthe winner would receive:
a place on The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design
So let's review ~ possibility to be in a class about building my illustration/surface design portfolio and creating an interesting illustration using typography and an inspiring quote?!?!? I'm in!!!
So I would just squeeze one more thing on my already full 'to-do' list today. And I figured I would work-up one of the quotes that I had done for my inspirational blog, with love, virginia, it won't take that long ... ha, ha, ha.
Also as I was ping-ponging between all my different 'to-do's I suddenly was curious exactly when the 'creation' needed to be posted, since with many a deadline I have learned that I can really focus and finish once the other part of my day is done, the girls are feed and taken care of, the dog walk, the evening hours ... But I am SO glad that I did check because the deadline was midnight, but midnight (GMT) (that is 7 PM EST!!!!! ACK!!!!) But all is well as I pressed share seconds before 7 PM (EST) (fingers crossed) and I am happy with the resulting illustration. In fact I hope/plan to do some more work on it as I think it would be great for a book bag?!? Which is another reason I love to enter competition and join challenges, as it is a great way to push yourself to make work!! So here is my entry, an illustration of one of my favorite Oscar Wilde quotes.
BRIEF: To enter this competition, your challenge is turn a positive mantra or uplifting quote you live by into a beautiful typographic design
LIMIT: You may enter this competition with up to 3 different designs / quotes
SHARE & SEND: Share your creations on your social networks using TWO hashtags: #makeitindesign AND #upbcomp and send your entry to submissions@makeitindesign.com before the deadline for your chance to win.
FORMAT & DETAILS: Images are to be provided in SQUARE FORMAT as low res cropped to 550px wide & ‘save for web’ jpg. Please provide your full name, country you’re from and one web link (i.e. your blog/website)
Craftivism: a form of activism, typically incorporating elements of anti-capitalism, environmentalism or third-wave feminism, that is centered on practices of craft - or what can traditionally be referred to as "domestic arts". Craftivism includes, but is not limited to, various forms of needlework. Craftivism is a social process of collective empowerment, action, expression and negotiation. In craftivism, engaging in the social, performative and critical discourse around the work is central to its production and dissemination. [1] Practitioners are known as craftivists. (definition from wikipedia.org)
I love the concept: craftivism, as it embodies two ideas that I feel passionate about: making my voice heard and making things. So when I saw this project, "Draw the Line" by @Whatchidid I just HAD to participate ~ Embroidery and Women's rights.
Many stitch-ins were hosted and swatches were sent from all over the world; as of yesterday @whatchidid stated that the quilt now represented 300,000 embroidered lines with submissions from 34 states and 6 countries and the project is still going. Today the quilt stood outside the Supreme Court of the United States but @whatchidid is still collecting swatches, her aim is to have
5.4 million lines to represent the5.4 million women of reproductive age from accessing the healthcare they need. So if you are interested grab your needle and hoop.
I learned of the project while taking my daughter on a college tour via Amtrak, but luckily for me I always travel with a needle and embroidery hoop and floss (I always think I would do really well on the Monty Hall version of 'Let's make a Deal' (Monty) "Let's see what you have in your purse" , (me) "well I have a paint brush, glue stick, pliers, ... )
It has been really interesting to see the different swatches and different interpretations on these swatches while just using tally marks!! Below is more information, links to articles about the project and photos, along with the link to Artist Chi Nguyen (@Whatchidid )'s web site where you can find all the information about how to participate.
"On March 2nd, 2016, the United States Supreme Court will hear the most important reproductive rights case in almost 25 years. The decision will determine whether Texas can shut down nearly all abortion care providers in the state and prevent 5.4 million women of reproductive age from accessing the healthcare they need."
DrawtheLine.org where you can see pictures of many of the beautiful swatches.
“Because this is a very public and collaborative project,” Nguyen says, “some might want to embroider one line and others might want to embroider all 5.4 million. I think that’s the beauty of it. When we surpass the original number, we ourselves become ‘and Counting.'”
I really wanted to use a quilt because it represents comfort, safety, and security, and the lack of access to abortion care and reproductive health care in general is anything but that. The quilt represents those things for me and also creates a sense of unity from supporters across the US who can send in swatches, which we will sew together. Right now, I have no idea how many swatches we will get by March 2. If we don't get enough, we will hold stitch-ins at the rally, but if we finish, we will use it as a banner. However, it won't just be a banner. It will also provide warmth.
Society6 will put my artwork on a number of products so that anyone can go and order different merchandise with some original virginiafitzgerald art on it!!!
I have ordered one of the carry-all pouches to make sure that the quality is to my liking, however I know other illustrators and artists who use this site so I am pretty confident that I will be happy with the end product.
As one of my goals for 2016 is to have an online shop, either on my website or via Etsy, I see posting some art on Society6 as the beginning of my foray into the land of online commerce.
Another perk of listing with Society6, is that they are running a promotion from now until March 6th - the link for the promo
This month I stumbled upon Francisca Nunes'#30daysofpatternstudies and knew it was perfect for me ... I love pattern and a post-it is the perfect size so that I can't spend all day working on it (need to be on the watch for anything that may be a #productiveprocastination possibility)
pattern 11/30
And it has been a perfect project, post-it are always available, and perfect for when you are on 'hold' on the phone, waiting for a carpool pick-up and lately they have been quite handy while traveling on the train and during the 'lovely, yet repetitive' college informational sessions. This week Francisca posted about her reasons for starting her #30daysofpatternstudies and has posted some of our patterns (make sure to click on the link at the bottom of this post to be taken to her blog!) and I figured I would share how this has been such a terrific experience for me on my blog.
Secondly, any of these daily or monthly projects/challenges are a great way to hone a certain interest or talent. Doing a certain assignment every day for an allotted time takes away the sense of the work being 'precious' or the need for it to be 'perfect', two words that can kill any creativity!!
one of the rooms at Charleston, Sussex, England
Creating these 3x3 pieces of pattern has reminded me about how much I LOVE to create pattern, how I used to envision living in a home that I covered with pattern. This explains my obsession with the Bloomsbury Group and the country home of Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, the Charleston Farmhouse, where the artists decorated the walls, doors and furniture!
pattern 13/30
pattern 14/30
Also this project got me to pull out my gouache paints, an opaque watercolor, which I used to use when I was creating illustrations and art for greeting cards (way back when). Via these post-it, I am thoroughly enjoying rediscovering the wonders of gouache, which is so timely as I am reestablishing my freelance illustration and design business this year!!
pattern 12/30 (pen and gouache)
Lastly this has been an awesome project to take on the road ... post-its are perfect for traveling as I taking my daughter on an eastern seaboard college visit via Amtrak. And it turned out to be a lovely mother/daughter bonding moment!!! Below is my post-it pattern which was inspired by Maya's beautiful mandala!!!
And lastly, as Francisca noted in her blog, JOIN the FUN!!!
"If you join us post your patterns with the #30daysofpatternstudies and #heartmakespostit, so every patterns will be in the same palace and we all can see the creations of each others!"
in post-blizzard D.C. it seems as though only women made the effort to go to work?!?!
“Something is genuinely different — and something is genuinely fabulous,” Murkowski said."
Click on the title of the article to go the Washington Post's site or you can read the article below. I felt this was a very telling event and should be celebrated and shared.
Women don't let a blizzard stop them from doing what needs to be done!!!
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) noted that only women turned up to run the Senate Jan. 26, following a weekend blizzard that brought D.C. to a standstill. (C-SPAN)
Something was a little different in the Senate on Tuesday morning. And Sen. Lisa Murkowski noticed it.
The Alaska Republican was one of only a few lawmakers in the Capitol building following the weekend blizzard, and it was her job to handle the formalities of delaying Senate business until her colleagues could get back to work. After finishing a bit of parliamentary business, she described what she saw in the ornate chamber.
“As we convene this morning, you look around the chamber, the presiding officer is female. All of our parliamentarians are female. Our floor managers are female. All of our pages are female.”
Murkowski noted that she and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who was wielding the Senate gavel, hadn’t planned the all-women session. It was, she said, just a coincidence.
“Something is genuinely different — and something is genuinely fabulous,” Murkowski said.
She theorized that the lack of men in the ranks of members and staffers might not have been a simple fluke. “Perhaps it speaks to the hardiness of women,” she added, “that put on your boots and put your hat on and get out and slog through the mess that’s out there.”
