I’m also a little blown away (is that possible? It really seems a contradiction in terms) that I’ve entered three times (2007, 2008, 2010) and was accepted all three. I wanted to enter in 2009, but I was, sadly, too busy buying a house and moving to actually make any art other than a few pieces of jewelry over a couple of days’ vacation last summer. I’m hoping “Fronds” will sell, but at the same time I’m concerned; sooner or later I’m going to have to get a business license and collect sales tax and all that, and I still find it a bit confusing.

I have added a whole lot of new images to my CafePress store and updated a lot of the old stuff. Particularly relevant to me at the moment are the Analog Mind-themed items (Texting it Old School and Analog Handheld) . My goal with the store is to get people acquainted with my art and have the shop pay for itself. It’s almost done that in the past. So I have to figure out all this marketing stuff, submitting to search engines, etc. etc.

The love-hate relationship with technology continues.

"Fronds" - Tissue paper on cradled birch panel

You can see a larger version here and on my Portfolio page (click on the pic twice from that page). For reference, I used a beautiful photo by Heather Thompson of Belle Etoile Designs, with her generous permission.

This collage is made entirely of bleeding tissue paper. What that means is that I had to take excruciating care that the colors didn’t bleed into each other while I was gluing, and that I used the tissue itself to lay down color on the substrate just by dampening the paper, then lifting the paper off after the color transferred.  I think it’s going to be tricky varnishing it, but I will just have to be incredibly careful. I always varnish my pieces using a UVLS (UV protective) varnish.

Man, it is so nice having a studio to work in. This is the first piece I’ve produced in my new studio (converted garage in our new house), and I have so much room to work now. It’s very exciting. Cleanup wasn’t too bad, either. No carpet, so the broom took care of all the flyaways pretty well.

I made some art! Finally!

I’m going to be working on my submission for the Lynnwood Library Gallery show using a photo by Heather Thompson of Belle Etoile Designs as inspiration– with her kind permission, of course. I hope it turns out as I envision it. Collage is such an organic process; it sometimes has a life of its own (like a party) and it’s hard to predict how or where it will wind up. I’m usually pretty good at guiding it, though.

I’m planning a solo excursion to SAM on Sunday; the museum will be open for Member Appreciation Days and members get 20% off everything in the museum store! I have to go every so often just to be alone with the art and visit my favorite Bierstadt. You can look at the piece online or in a book all day but you won’t feel it until you’re standing in front of it. It’s really breathtaking.

Backtracking:

June 2007: I had a piece (Three Crows) accepted in the Lynnwood Arts Commission Library Gallery show “Orange Crush.”

July 2007: I sold L’École des Mystères at the Mukilteo show! I was absolutely stunned. My first real sale! 

September 2007: Got the great new job at restaurant company. Despite a few stressful days, I LOVED it. I loved my boss, I loved the company, I enjoyed my work, and I liked my coworkers. I continued to work part-time for the old company doing some bookkeeping. I liked the extra money and I actually liked the work.

January 2008: Participated in a collaborative event with where the Collage Society created collages to go with poems written by members of the Cancer Lifeline writing group. It was a wonderful experience. I showed Grief, which, I am told, almost won a prize.

June 2008: Showed and sold Spinnaker at the Lynnwood Library Gallery themed exhibit “Mellow Yellow”.

August 2008: My daughter moved to Seattle! Now I get to see her fairly regularly.

October 2008: One of my kitties had to be put to sleep. He was 17 and pretty sick. It was an extremely difficult decision and I miss him terribly. I cried like a little girl for days.

November 2008: I got laid off from my terrific job. I was devastated and still feel very sad about it.

December 2008: Went back to work full time at present job, which is the former job I had in 2007. Nothing has really changed except the economy has affected us here, too, so the stress level is even higher. But at least I’m working.

Also December: Daughter married her sweetheart. He is a GREAT guy and I’m really glad she found him. They are blissfully happy.

January 2009: K & I adopted a dog. She’s a beautiful yellow Lab. She’s gi-normous, but very sweet.

So, still working (thank the gods), still making art, still hanging on and rolling with the punches.

She took the City job, natch. So far, she’s doing ok. We’ll see. We both decided that she’d kick herself if she didn’t take the opportunity, since she’s been trying to get on there for two years now, just not necessarily in that job. Thing is, she asked me if I wanted to give the restaurant company my resume. I said sure. The job is in IT, which would be cool; basically you sit at a computer all day and help code restaurant Point-of-Sale computers. I know, there’s more to it than that. But she loved the company and the people, and just didn’t like the work. We decided awhile ago that we should have just switched jobs!

Anyway, I have an interview with the restaurant people on Friday. Hey, they offer insurance and food! What could be better? Plus, I wouldn’t have to cross a bridge to get to or from work. Doesn’t sound too bad, until the bridge is up and you’re waiting.

Ok. Tomorrow, I deliver one of my pieces (Mandala #2, Sea) to the Edmonds ArtsNow NWCS Fall Members’ Show. Yay. I also had two pieces accepted into the Mukilteo Lighthouse Festival (L’École des Mystères (The Mystery School) and Forgotten Music, which started its life as Purple Prose and has been imaged and cropped and enhanced in my CafePress.com store (HINT, HINT) and has become Music Squared and Unavoidable Delays, which has absolutely no reference or significance but just sounds pretty cool. Been taking photos lately, too, and some of them are not bad.

Been busy with that, too. I entered three pieces in the the Northwest Collage Society Members’ Show, had two accepted, and one actually one a prize. Can you believe it? I’m stoked. No, I’m not on the web site yet, because I haven’t had the chance to send them a JPG and a bio. I just got some lights so I can take better pictures of my work. Some of the people in my office building like the work of mine they’ve seen, too, so I’m going to get a portfolio together.

Here’s the criterion for whether or not you’ve found your ideal work: Would you pay someone else to let you do it? If you can say yes, congratulations, you’ve found your calling. I love art!

Check out two of my favorite contemporary artists:

Wolf Kahn and Stephen Quiller

I feel so ignorant.

Now I have to find out where to buy (and develop) slide film, and hope I can take decent slides of my work, since I certainly can’t afford to hire a professional for that.

Oh, BTW, I’m going to try and get a couple of pieces ready for the Mukilteo Lighthouse Festival’s Juried Art Show in September. The mandala is one of them, and I’m either going to make a second mandala or develop another concept I’m percolating.