2012 Accomplishments

I have been a member of a Creative Biz group for many years. Each week we share 5 goals for the week and 4 accomplishments for the last week. At the end of the year we summarize our accomplishments and stop to look forward. We find that keeping track of what we are getting accomplished provides energy for doing more and not getting bogged down and focused on our shortcomings.

Lisa Call has shared her list of 100 accomplishments for 2012. I gain courage from her sharing to do the same with you.

Here is what I will share this year. Do you keep track of your accomplishments? Would love to know what you accomplished.

Accomplishments 2012

Exhibitions: 2012-14

NCBG solo exhibition

MoNA ReCOLLections exhibition

Eat Your Art Out – Fund raiser for Packard Place Gallery

NCBG solo exhibition

The Natural World Mockingbirds Larder

Seasonal Palette: Winter Robins’ Feast (traveling exhibition through 2014)

SAQA: Earth Works (traveling exhibition 2014-17)

NC Arboretum exhibition:  2013

Arranged solo exhibition at Maria Howard for 2013

Contract with Caldwell County Arts Centre for 2 person show in May 2013

Publications/ Publicity

In Stitches article

Blog Round Robin on In Stitches article

Article for SAQA journal

NCBG exhibition reviewed on blog

SAQA featured artist for April

Portfolio 19

Seasonal Palette: Winter Robins Feast journal

Article published in SAQA on line magazine

Sales; Donations

Southern Heritage sold for Duke Cancer Center

Sold 2 small  pieces at NCBG exhibition

Sold 2 large pieces - After the Frost and Late Summer Dawn for Levine Cancer Center

Sold 5 quilts- Beauty of a Berry, Pine quilts: 4 coordinated 12 x 12s, 2 coordinated 4x4s

Sold Delectable Blues

Donated September Song to UUCC

Donated Squirrel Food to SAQA Auction

Commission for 12 x 12 Pine Cone

Commission for first clerical stole

Artwork completed

Finished Winter Robins’ Feast

Created 3 pairs of earrings

Finished SAQA donation quilt - Squirrel Food  

Completed Migratory Paths North, and sent with new name: Pathways Home

Completed 6 pieces and framed them (pine pieces from doing the commission on Pine.)

Completed Turkey Feastings

Completed Delectable Blues

10 quilted gifts

Preparation work for new art work

Created 12 sketches for new work

Completed watercolors exercises in journal

Ordered colored pencils for drawing and practicing botanical illustration

Began research on Nature Conservancy projects, developed project plan along with timeline for Earth Works

Designed stole; selected fabrics

Teaching

Gave hand embroidery workshop

Marketing

Completed watermarks for web images

SDA/SAQA conference got couple of leads for art consultants doing work in health care industry

Gallery tours of Fiber Philadelphia – one gallery owner receptive

Created proposal for workshop for hospital employees

Bascom Center for the Visual Arts

Completed update of website including new emphasis on commissions

Linked sign up for Mail-chimp newsletter to Website

Contacted Cabarrus Arts Council; sent submission package

5 pieces photographed

Contacted Gift Shop Director at DSBG about small work, cards

Wrote buyer of my SAQA quilt donation

2 proposals created and sent in on 4/6 for doing DVDs for Interweave publishers –

Professional Development

Museum of Modern Art in Raleigh

Imperial Art Centre (Maria V Howard) in Rocky Mount to see Handmade Exhibition

Chapel Hill – saw Ellen Kochansky exhibition

Van Gogh exhibition at Philadelphia Museum of Art

Pearl Fryar garden

Attended Christina Cordova presentation

Nasher Museum to see Calder exhibition – fabulous

Maria V. Howard Galleries to see current exhibitions – assemblages – terrific

Contemporary Museum of Art – pitiful

NC Museum of Art to see El Asante (?) – fabulous

JC Raulson Arboretum and found several great specimens for future work

3 exhibits at Mint

High Museum, Aquarium, botanical Gardens – lots of inspiration

Read design book 

Worked exercises with Botanical Illustration books 

Experimented with new pencil sharpeners; determined sequence for sharpening

Created color pencil charts and Color exercises with pencils

Read 4 botanical illustration books

Took 2 day workshop in inspirations from maps

Completed 3 day workshop on creating 3D fiber objects

Completed day long FAO surface design workshop

Watercolor and sketching Workshop at Random Arts with Jane LaFazio

 Attended 3 Creative Capital training sessions on marketing at ASC Board Room

Updated Portfolio and presented to Heather at Red Sky gallery for feedback

Attended SAQA/SDA conference- Goals – meet people; focus on getting health care sales/commissions; gallery shows-

Attended IQA – dinner on working with art consultants; made contacts; walks through of my work; helped with sales of books with my artwork autographed books, made contacts, had a ball

Working effectiveness

Created small works as created commissions, donations

Tried out blocking table for larger work

Organized photo files

Purchased display equipment

Worked out agreement for use of clerical stole pattern

Wrote up commission contract and submitted it to client

Determined to not participate as vendor at Random Arts art sale this time, make prep for next spring’s sale

Miscellaneous Business

Pulled Healthcare Linked In group information

Completed recommendation for Guggenheim Fellowship for Artists

Researched information on the contact for putting my images on tiles, etc.

Selected photographer for quilt

Home

Researched and selected 2 options for a CCRT for the future

Drawers in bedroom, bathrooms, living room cleaned out

Began plans/actions for DE-acquisitioning of household goods

Cleaned out 2 stuffed bookcases – donated books, clothing, house wares

Worked through 5 boxes in garage; Cleaned 2 shelves in studio

Signed up for new prescription coverage

 

Personal        

Advocated for arts in NC and in US Congress

Cleaned out @7000 emails

Began PT for knee

IQA Quilts - Water Inspired

A number of quilts were inspired by water including two that I saw with realistic 3D elements. The above photos are from Holly S. Altman's Tidal Pool: After the Storm. Is it not surprising  that Altman has marine biologist training. I loved the needle lace foam on the shell and the little sea urchins. This was another with an irregular edge that breaks the grid presentation.

Really enjoyed this piece by Linda Steele, called Natural Wonders. Loved the use of a border that framed the piece like an old oil painting, and the careful use of color and imagery to convey the water over the lower left starfish and the rocks on the lower right. This is a large piece, with wonderful dimensionality and depth conveyed with careful choices for sky, background land, stone arch and foreground. Steele really understands ways to convey depth and dimensionality. And then she has added exquisite little details in the foreground to catch the eye and delight the close up viewer. If you have a chance to see this piece in person, check it out carefully.

Carla Stehr created this delight, Moonglow Anemones with an irregular edge. She used organza quite effectively to convey the translucence of the anemone legs.

Pat Durbin created this lovely piece, called Beside the Still Waters, with great depth and intriguing foreground. This was another artwork with small pieced squares to give lots of visual interest.

This photo shows the lovely thread-painted trees on the right side. Her selection of quilting stitches for sky and water is well chosen.

More quilts of interest in my next post.

Let me know, are you bored with seeing an exhibition that is a couple of weeks old at this time?

Thanks for reading.

Nancy

IQA Trends - New to Me

This was the first year I had been to IQA Houston in many years, but I saw several trends that may not be new to others but were to me.

The artist name is Naoko Takeshita. She called the quilt "Green Message"

 
I loved the muted palette, the exquisite hand embroidered clover flowers and the wonderful quilting. The texture is wonderful. It is hard to see, but this was one of the quilts with muted, patterned background fabrics. They add a real richness to the piece.

This is another of the muted backgrounds. The artist used a small stripe for the background. Wonderful hand applique work. This is another quilt where I do not have records of the quilter's name.

Loved this piece, called Tulip Fire by Susan Stewart, with its lovely textures, the embroidery, the exquisite quilting and the textures. Notice the pin tucks in the center of the top photo. This is another with a muted stripe for the background.

Another trend I saw was pictorial quilts with small pieced elements to add interest and depth to the imagery. In the top photo look at the interest added between tree trunks with pieced elements, also in the path, and the front vegetation. Sizes of pieces reminded me of the "watercolor" quilts of a decade or more ago, but in a new presentation.

I have a couple more IQA groups of photos to add, so let me know if your find them of interest.

Thanks for reading,

Nancy

More Quilts from Houston- African American Exhibition

The exhibition of contemporary African American quilts was delightful with lots of variety, from abstract to photo realism.  Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi curated the exhibition: A New Legacy Revealed: African American Quilts. Dr. Mazloomi assembled some very well known artists for the exhibition and some who were lesser known to me at least.

Here are a few photos of some of the work. Just a taste to whet the appetite.

The first three pieces all have some aspect where they break the traditional rectangular presentation. The first piece is by Carolyn Crump called Mae's Dance. The dancing figures are really captured and they break free of the grid to really enhance the feeling of the dance. Great presentation choice.

The second piece by Marlene Linton O"Bryant-Seabrook titled Dizzy: Bopped Out of South Carolina is another that breaks the grid presentation. The well known artist from South Carolina used the outline of the state to underscore the message of the title.

The third piece uses just the feet of the young girl to break from the grid. This charming piece is by Alice Beasley titled All My Roads Lead Back to You. This is based on a photograph of the artist's mother and grandfather. Great use of value and I love the darkened wall shadows behind the girl to make her stand out.

This interesting collage includes a dress that has been appliqued to the background. It is by Marion Coleman titled Downtown. Before the malls all ladies dressed up to go shopping downtown and that included not only a dress but gloves as well.

This stunning piece is by Juanita Yeager titled Franciscan Rose (Rose of Sharon). The composition is lovely but the quilting blew me away. In the second photo, look at the variety of detail added to the background with her quilting. And in the third photograph, look at the wonderful use of color to add the details to the center of the flower. Love the shadow on the rose. Great dimensionality.

The piece below is also by Juanita Yeager titled Hibiscus Syriacus (Rose of Sharon).  Yeager combines the tradition of quilting with the tradition of botanical art.

This is just a small taste of the quilts in this exhibition. Hopefully this is a traveling exhibition and can be seen by other audiences. It certainly deserves to be.

Please let me know if you are finding this series on IQA interesting. I have some more photos to share.

Nancy

Seasonal Palette Catalog and My Piece

The Seasonal Palette exhibition was stunning at IQA - Houston. The 37 selected artists were given the challenge of creating an artwork that represented a specific season at a specific size: 78" x 32". The individual quilts can be seen on the SAQA website in the quilts for sale section.

The curators did a magnificent job in selecting which quilt to be next to which quilt to make an elegant flow from one season to another. The quilts were placed on hard panels that elegantly framed each piece and that were placed in a square with openings on two opposite sides. As you came in from the entrance, the flow of quilts began to the right with spring quilts, that flowed gently into summer quilts. At the opposite entryway, the fall quilts began and then merged into the winter quilts.

For various reasons, including a bad knee, one of the best things to me was the center of the room. Four benches were placed, each facing a different season. In the center of the room was a large draped table with the journals that each of the artists made of their processes. These were spell binding. They were so intriguing with photos and samples of the fabrics and even samples of some of the processes used, that I tried to read them all, but did not quite make it. From what I understand, the journals are being scanned and will be available as an e-book.

Winter Robins' Feast

I had a piece in the winter season, and was thrilled to be in such august company. Every quilt was stunning. And the variety was wonderful which made the job of the curators even more important in getting a highly cohesive exhibition. I blogged on my process earlier, you can see my embroidery work on this blog.

The catalog is hard cover and is worthy of the exhibition. Each quilt is presented full size and with a detail. At the back of the book are photographs of the processes used on a number of the quilts. It is a great buy at $20 and available in the SAQA bookstore.http://www.saqa.com/store.php?cat=36

You can see all the quilts in small icons on the same page. 

Let me know if you want to know more about IQA Festival. Feedback helps me know that I am not talking only to myself!

Nancy