Stockinettes Published in Art Doll Quarterly

I'm very happy that my Stockinette series of dolls has been published in a feature article in the Spring 2012 issue of Art Doll Quarterly magazine.

Looking Forward to 2012

This year I am taking a different approach to my creative activity goals.  I am expanding them to include more aspects of my creative efforts.  Joyce Compton says goals should be measurable, obtainable, and tangible.  That makes sense to me.
Dolls

• Make progress towards a group exhibition with Chris Fondi and Joyce Compton.
• Finish the hard copy portfolio to show gallery owners.
• Artist statement
• Brief bio
• Resume
• Photos
• Identify 3 specific potential venues and communicate with owners.
• Continue to make and photograph dolls for the show.  This must be a coherent body of work.
• Submit work to at least one local exhibit and one magazine.
• Finish or toss works in progress that are cluttering the studio.  

Artisan Buttons

• Etsy Shop
• Build the shop to contain four pages of product.
• Develop at least six products that do not require unique photos and descriptions.  
• Learn to use the Facebook page and twitter account for social media marketing.  
• Learn to use the productivity tools that Etsy provides.
• Craft Fairs
• Maintain a separate stock of product for craft fairs.
• Participate in at least one craft fair.
• Earn more money from the shop than in 2011.
• At the end of the year assess whether or not Artisan Buttons has a realistic possibility of providing supplemental (and fun) retirement income.

Woodworking

• Work at least one day a month at Lillian St. wood shop.  Try for two days a month.
• Build a major project.  This will probably be the couch I need.
• Help Beth Rogers develop the shop.

House

• Finish the guest room.
• Build a closet.
• Build another section on the deck.  By the end of summer the deck should be big enough to host a dinner party.

Blog

• Update at least three times a month.
• Report on progress towards these goals.
• Refine and enlarge the galleries at the top of the blog.

Have Fun

Looking Back at 2011

2011 was, like most years, a challenging but rewarding year.  There were meaningful art making experiences but there were also life events that tested my ability to cope.  As I look back I appreciate family and friends as well as the privilege in my life.  


Last year I wrote some art related goals.  Let's see how I did.

• Submit 4 pieces of work for publication in magazines
• Chris Fondi, Joyce Compton and I submitted paper dolls to an Art Doll Quarterly competition.  We know the package was received by the magazine but we never heard anything nor did we get our dolls back.
• I submitted a plushie to Stuffed magazine.  They politely rejected my entry and returned the figure.
• I made a Momiji doll for a British competition held by Selvedge magazine.  My entry was published on their website but not in the magazine.  The doll itself was lost in shipping back to the US.  
• I found publication success when I submitted an article about the Stockinette dolls to Art Doll Quarterly.  It took all year to process but I just received the magazine and the article looks good.
• Submit work to 2 Pittsburgh juried exhibits
• I submitted photos to a Fiberarts guild exhibit instead of taking the work to the jury.  I did this because the jury was held when I couldn't attend.  The work was not accepted.
• This goal wasn't met.  Local events are more demanding than internet and publications in terms of being at specific places at specific times.  
• Have a gallery exhibit with Chris Fondi and Joyce Compton
• This did not happen.  We are working on developing our portfolios and locating a venue.  It is still a goal.
• Attend at least 2 events of local arts organizations
• Fiberarts guild show
• Fiberarts International
• Ellsworth Ave gallery shows
• First Friday down town 
• Worked at the Etsy table at the Hand Made Arcade
• Update this blog at least three times a month
• This goal was met for most of the year.  Near the end of 2011 life got demanding and I took a break.  This is the first post after the hiatus.  My goggle rank is much improved and I have 59 followers.  
• Publish a simple free pattern online
• Goal met at the AFIC doll makers conference.  
• Take professional quality photographs of 8 pieces of work
• Doree Baumgard and Tom Henkel both photographed my work.  I'm now working on learning more about taking professional quality photos of my work.  
• Attend Artistic Figures in Cloth conference
• I attended and won a second place ribbon in the original doll design with my Leafkicker.  His feet and legs are made from axes.
• Attend or host 10 doll club events
• This goal was met.  We get together most Tuesday evenings and all day one Saturday a month.  We are no longer calling ourselves a "club" and now use the term "collective" because it is more accurate.

In addition:

I spent time working at the Lillian St wood shop and I've begun regaining my old woodworking skills.  I have to thank Beth Rogers for the opportunity.

I opened and maintained an Etsy shop to sell hand crafted buttons.  This is an effort to develop a supplemental income stream in preparation for retirement.  There has been a steady trickle of sales.


In summary I feel OK about what I got done last year.  I also worked full time and I had significant caregiving responsibilities for an elderly family member.  The best thing that I have done to get myself art time was to hire a cleaning lady.  I do not have to spend precious weekend time on that!

I participated in a fiberarts supply crafts fair.

Learning from Photographs

When I see photos of my work I somehow see the work differently.  Its a fresh perspective that sometimes is helpful.  This happened recently when I had a series of shadow boxes photographed.  I liked the contents but the boxes looked shabby.  So shabby that I cropped away the boxes from the photos. 

 Yesterday I built a new shadowbox to accommodate this work. There are a lot of decisions left about how to finish the piece.  But my gut tells me it is much improved. 

The most challenging thing about making this box was becoming reacquired with using a router.  There were  several routers that I could have worked with but I choose the one that was most familiar to me.  It's been over a decade since I used a router.  It was scarey.  I had to finish building the router table.  I had to remember how to use the jigs.  I had to change a bit that hadn't been changed in years.  But I did all that and it feels good.  Now I'm ready to try the other routers. 

In other parts of the shop Beth Rogers oiled the pieces of her lovingly made trestle table.

Elaine Fuller painted some details on the tale that I made a few weeks ago.  

Craft Fair Success

The Indie Knit and Spin craft fair was a successful first time event.  There were steady crowds and sales were surprisingly good.  I sold more buttons than I expected.  Joyce Compton also had good sales of her felting kits.  Things went well enough that I will consider doing other craft fairs. 

Knitters and spinners tend to be passionate about their craft.

The displays I built worked well.  I was particularly happy with the spinner display racks that are made from old floor lamps, scrap lumber and PVC pipe.

Small children were attracted to the buttons on the table cloth.  This photo was taken just before the doors opened.

All of the displays were made from recycled materials.

Handmade Arcade & Craft Booth Design

The Handmade Arcade was held at the David Lawrence Convention Center yesterday.  This craft fair used to be held at the Construction Junction but it has grown and become better organized.  The new venue was roomy enough to handle the steady crowds that came to see the 140 creative local vendors.  I was there to represent the Steel Town Etsy team.  It was fun to work the Etsy table, interact with the crowd  and get to know some of the artisans.  I especially enjoyed working with the other volunteers at the Etsy table. 

I did a walk about and took a few photos of venders' booths.  I was looking at the craft booth designs with a critical eye to get ideas for our table at the Indie Knit and Spin craft fair next week.  Joyce Compton and I have a week to finish the preparations for our first vending adventure. 

A cheerful vendor with a well organized space, great use of color.

L shaped display, good lighting and creative use of old windows.

The fencing on the left is a compact vertical display wall.

Check out the banner and spotlights shining on the merchandise.

The best booths create a sense of space and have a distinct atmosphere that is part of the artist's brand.  They also make use of vertical space to have displays at eye level. 

Portfolio

Tom Henkel took photos of the dolls I am currently making.  It took a while to get the images from him but they have finally arrived. The first two characters are from a series of busts made from lamp parts and traditional doll making techniques. 

The girl on the scooter is the same scale and is about three feet tall.

A Crankie Folk Singer

Yesterday was a good day.  A group of six artists spent the day at the Lillian Street studio working on a variety of projects.  Elaine Fuller continued to paint the walls vibrant colors.  Beth Rogers and Chris Fondi built some storage units and worked on Beth's trestle table.  Joyce Compton made origami shopping bags from newspaper and pitched in on various projects when help was needed.  I built a quick drawing table.  It has mismatched legs, two of which are made from a tree branch.  Elaine will be adding touches of color to this one but most of it will remain wood. 

Ellen Gozian (the crankie folk singer) made her first visit to Lillian.  She wanted me to build a crankie box.  A crankie is a gizmo that displays a story scroll to illustrate a folksong.  It took a bit of design work but here is the crankie that I built for her.

                                            
Ellen brought an illustrated the scroll made with a paper collage technique.  The scroll attaches to dowel rods and the top lifts off to allow for changing scrolls.  We also built the crankie so that it can be back lit or front lit.  With back lighting the applied paper cutouts will appear as silhouettes.   With front lighting the colored papers will show.  When the crankie was complete Ellen gave us a performance.

It was the first showtime at the Lillian Street studio!  A good time was had by all.  I'm looking forward to attending one of her shows to see the crankie in a public performance.

Miina Äkkijyrkkä

It's so good to be home after traveling for work.

This post is part of an occasional series about artists that I find inspiring and would like to support.

I am charmed by the work of Miina Äkkijyrkkä.  She is a Finnish artist who sculpts large cows from cars.  She also raises cows on her farm.  I like the color, the scale and the exuberance of her work.   

To see more of her work check out her website.  http://www.akkijyrkka.com/en/

Ethernet Cable Joy

This morning I solved the internet connection problem for my computer.  I drilled two holes in my floor.  One near the router and one near the computer.  Then I strung an Ethernet cable across my basement ceiling.  It took a while to figure out where to plug it in on the computer.  Then the challenge was to learn how to change the computer settings to a local area network.  Now that I've done it I understand the logic of what I needed to do.  But when I was problem solving all of this it was a daunting task.  I'm looking forward to getting back to blogging. 

Today I'm purchasing a tabletop drill press and tomorrow I'm setting it up at the Lillian Street studio!  I'm really looking forward to that!