Artistic Goals 2013

Frozen bush from Dec 2008
No snow yet this year!

     I've been working on putting my artistic goals down on paper (or in electrons) for some time now:

•      I defined what's working and what's not in my post "Painfully honest - Where am I Stuck?"
•     I thought through "Questions to Ponder While Writing Your Goals"
•      I structured a challenge to do a weekly small composition in "52 Weeks of Art - A Personal Challenge"
•      And I originally started thinking about "Goals for the Upcoming Year" back in November.

So, the clock is ticking towards midnight (and 2013) and I'm ready to state my goals and intentions, as well as to ask you to respond back to me what you are going to commit to doing.

Goals 2013:

1.      Find and define my artistic voice or style. 

a.      The first way I will work on this is through my work with Gail Harker.  Seeing the work of other students of Gail’s, I am struck with how each student makes artwork that is unique to each of them.  I believe Gail has an incredible skill in teaching her students skills and processes, as well as how to make design decisions, without specifically teaching them to make artwork that is a particular style or that is similar to anything that she herself makes. 

b.      From my previous studies, one of the main things I’ve learned is that one’s artistic voice is found through practice, practice, practice.  To this end I will do the following:

Ø  Make a5” x 7” composition each week, working to enhance both my design and technical skills

Ø  Make a 10” x 16” composition every 2 month as part of the Fiber Funster’s challenge

Ø  Do all the coursework from Gail’s classes with a serious attitude toward excellence

c.       Document my progress in my blog at least weekly (preferably daily) as well as documenting all my work for Gail.

d.  Open the 5" x 7" challenge to anyone who is reading this blog to give others support, encouragement, and critiquing.  

2.      Ramp up my pictorial / representational quilts.

           

What does “ramp up” mean to me? 

a.                  Increase my technical skill/proficiency to a high degree

b.                  Increase my composition skill-how the composition is placed/cropped, color usage, understanding innately and using good design principles with my compositions (balance, unity, contrast, value, movement, focal point, relationship (color, size, value, shape, texture, style, theme), visual bridges/elegant choices, integration.

c.                  Make and execute a plan to develop an intentional body of work that is authentic and expresses meaning to me.   Meaning includes work that expresses my interests, my feelings, and my values.  I will work on exploring meaning through writing about my work on my blog.

Beautiful icicles

3.   Work at increasing my competency at working in a clean and organized studio space.

           

4.     Explore opening my own Etsy storefront to sell my work by July 30, 2013

5.      Work towards my goal of having a solo show by September 2015.

     Steps to have a solo show:

            a.  Minimum of 12 finished pieces reflecting my integrated artistic voice

            b.   Find venues that would consider my work

                  i.    Talk with other textile artists to find out where they've shown

                  ii.   Make a running list of galleries 

                  iii.   Visit galleries and talk with gallery owners

            c.  Increased technical competence

            d.  Continued showing at national and local levels

            e.  Professionally marketing myself as an artist

                  i.     Re-do my artist statement

                  ii.    Update my website

                  iii.   Write out a description of key phrases to describe my work

                  iv.    Write up descriptions & diagrams on how to display my work

                  v.     Write/send out press releases on my shows (build reputation)

                  vi.    Create an artist portfolio

                  vii.   Develop 10 ways to promote my art

             f.   Continue working as CQA Exhibitions co-chairperson through March 2014, to gain knowledge and experience on putting on exhibitions.

Hope you're warm and safe
for the holiday!

6.   Complete at least 1 art quilt or art cloth to enter in the Salsa! show at Mighty Tieton.

7.    Complete at least 1 other medium-large piece and enter it in 1+ shows.

8.     Complete at least 1 driftwood art sculpture to enter in the show in May.

Well, that's my year for you (and a little beyond.)  I'd love your support and comments, as well as hearing what you have planned for the upcoming year!

Hugs and Happiness in the New Year to all of you!

                  

                  

Painfully honest... where am I stuck?

OK, it's time to get down and finish up my goals for 2013... yeah!  But first, that requires me to do a little soul-searching and figure out what I'm doing wrong and right in my artistic life (uh oh.)

Where am I stuck? 

            One area where I’ve made some incremental progress on is in my studio clean-up and organization, however, I’m still stuck to a certain degree with this.  Most times, I find it difficult to get into my studio to work.  In the past, I frequently have had it so disorganized and messy in my studio and my dyeing room that I can't work or I just don't want to go in.  I have so many things I'd like to do that I'm overwhelmed.  I sometimes feel as though I should finish projects I've already started. I don't know whether to consider it a blessing or not, but I have enough space in my home to spread out... so my sewing gets moved out of my studio to our rec-room and the dyeing can also end up there.  Anyone else struggle with being overwhelmed with their stuff and their space?  

            I’m also somewhat stuck with not being certain how much I should be attempting to show, how much time to devote to just increasing technical competence, how much time just creating for my own artistic pleasure versus trying to fit into a show theme, or whether my work as CQA (The Contemporary QuiltArt Association's Exhibitions co-chair will actually serve my artistic career.  I'm not sure whether taking a break from showing will serve me, however.  I think having a full artist résumé looks good to those interested in your art work.    

            Another area in which I’m struggling is in my definition as an artist.  While I’m comfortable with the definition of “fiber artist”, I’m unsure whether I should still focus on making quilts or whether I should or am moving beyond them.  This is a big dilemma for me.  Do I stop doing “quilt” art?  If so, does that mean that I’ve moved beyond CQA (which has become a rather big part of my life at this point.)  I know I love doing embroidery, but does it have even less potential for artistic recognition as art quilts?  If I focus on other areas than quilt art, where would I show?

What is working?

I am feeling like I’m in the process of moving on to the next level in my art.  I’ve increased my technical competence over the last year.  Specifically, I’m much more skilled in machine freehand quilting as well as dyeing.  I’ve gained a lot of knowledge through my working on the CQA Exhibitions.  I have a good strong understanding of color.  I have a strong work ethic and desire to be successful.  This helps me fit in time although I have a lot of demands for my attention... husband, two teen boys, work, CQA exhibitions, SDA (Surface Design Association)  steering committee and small group leader in WA state, and numerous hobbies and passions beyond my fiber art.

One of the thousands of photos I've taken for design inspiration

I’m very excited to have been able to work with Gail Harker this year and to be starting the Level 2 of her diploma program in May 2013.  I've come to recognize that most classes and teachers don't have much more to offer me, unless I need to learn a particular technique, since the majority of classes just teach you to quilt in that particular teacher's style.  The difference with Gail is that she teaches techniques and design in such a way that all of her students end up developing their own style and their work looks uniquely their own.    

Processes I have used/done quite a bit and am comfortable and confident with:

• Sewing, piecing, quilting, free-hand embroidery, machine applique with my Bernina 730
• Fabric painting (using brushes, syringes, spray bottles, stamps, stencils, silkscreens) with Jacquard textile paints and Lumiere and using resists with fabric painting (freezer paper or objects)
• Printing on fabric with ink-jet printer
• Intensive and in depth study of color, including color mixing, making tints/shades/tones, color theory, and color combinations (dyads, equilateral and isosceles triads, tetrads, hexads, monochromatic, analogous, complementary, near-complementary, complementary triads, modified triads, adjacent-complementary tetrads, and analogous complementary color schemes.)
• Highly proficient with Adobe Photoshop CS5 Professional
• Immersion dyeing (Procion MX)
• Multiple dye-baths
• Using different methods to create pattern in immersion dyeing (pole wrap, clamping, bunching, folding, pleating, shibori)
• Making printing blocks from found objects
• Stamping and making my own stamps from found objects
• Stenciling
• Making thermofax screens and silk-screening with them
• Photography (digital SLR) particularly nature scenes and macro photography (See Skagit Skies and Sunshine and Sand)
• Drawing/sketching
• Monoprinting

Technical Skills I need to develop:

 I think there are a lot of skills that I should develop, but I’m not particularly worried about them.  I think as I continue to work with Gail, I will have lots of practice and increase competency over time.  I do, however, feel I need to get more intentional about my design process.  My understanding of design elements while strong, is not necessarily intuitive in my working in fiber art.  I think I often am so driven to get going on a project that I don’t put the thought into it that could make an okay design into something with much more impact.  Or I’m pushing to get something made for a deadline, so I don’t end up with as good an effort as if I were to just be making it for my personal artistic pleasure.

I'm currently working on hand embroidery techniques, which I'm enjoying and expect will work its way into my art pieces, rather than just a samples.

And another.

Although I have a long list of potential topics I could make art about, as well as thousands of images for inspiration, I’m not particularly worried about my being too overwhelmed with possibilities  I feel confident that my work with Gail will help me narrow my focus over time.

More to come:

I'm not 100% certain that I've covered everything in these categories yet, but will revisit and think about it more over the next few days, in case there is anything to add.  I'll look more at my specific successes over 2012 have been as well as my 2013 goals tomorrow.   

I'd love to hear about where you're stuck, what's working for you, and what you feel you need to develop this year in the comments section below!

You might also be interested in:

Questions to Ponder for Writing Your Goals
Goals for the Upcoming Year
The Art of Organization

La Conner Art Walk, Dec 2012

Piece I purchased by artist Gwen Lowery

Last Friday, a new favorite of mine, fiber artist Gwen Lowery, had a special showing of her work at Gail Harker Center for Creative Arts in La Conner, WA.  I became aware of Gwen's work lately, when I purchased a piece she had made from an auction to support the new gallery being built at Gail's center.  To find out more about this auction see my post "52 Weeks of Art- a Personal Challenge."

Gwen's work is incredible dense machine stitching. She was in one of the first diploma classes given by Gail here in the United States, and holds a City & Guilds Diploma in Design and Embroidery from the Gail Harker Center for Creative Arts.  Her pieces she has been working on currently are quite large.  One of the pieces she shared with us was approximately 12 x 15 feet ( 4 x 5 meters).  Gwen's work is being shown internationally.  Unfortunately, since the pieces she shared with us are committed to shows, so I can't share photos of them.  However, you can see some of her work on Gwen's website and also on a page as an award winner from the Artist Trust Edge program for 2011.  Gwen was also a guest writer on Gail Harker's blog with her post "Going Big".  I look forward to keeping an eye on her progress as an artist and as an inspiration to my work, personally!

52 Weeks of Art- a Personal Challenge

OK, I know this has been done before, in fact it's been done in a much bigger way that I'm going to suggest. But you have to start somewhere and I know personally what my bandwidth might be able to withstand.

I'm so hesitant to type this out... I feel a tightness in my belly... fear. Can I really say that I'll do this? Will it compromise my other art and goals that I want to do?

Artist: Gwen Lowery

As part of my journey this coming year, I'm going to make one 5" x 7" composition each week. I'll post pictures along the way, here on my blog. Notice I didn't say fiber composition. Part of the reason why is that I consider myself a fiber and mixed media artist. While fiber is my favorite chosen medium, I think I can learn a lot through using different materials. I also think combining techniques can be quite effective. Why did I choose this size? It seems doable, but it's also more than an artist trading card... it feels like it can be be art in and of itself, rather than just a practice piece. Not that these items will necessarily be successful- that's part of the process. But I do hope to find satisfaction with some of these pieces I create. I think that having a manageable size will help me really work at producing, something I think I need to do, to increase my skills.

Artist: Deborah Zibrik

One of my favorite teachers, Gail Harker, had an exhibition and online auction of some of her student's work. The show was called Black White and Red and it was all 5" x 7" works in values of those colors. She still has the pieces up on her online gallery. I was extremely happy to be able to purchase three of these small works, which are pictured here, and which I am displaying as artwork in my home. I had planned to do a piece for this show/auction, but didn't end up making it a priority. When I went to the opening, I was somewhat ashamed that I hadn't. I could see that making a 5 x 7 piece wasn't all that unattainable, even with the demands of work, a family, my volunteer work for other fiber organizations (CQA and SDA, primarily), and everything else that puts demands on my time. So, it's time to put it to the test.



Artist: Judy Alexander

In case you're wondering about my fascination with windmills or 'moulins' in French, I am passionate about France and Paris. My husband, Randy, works in the international aerospace industry, and travels abroad regularly. He proposed to me on the shores of the Mediterranean and we've enjoyed visits to Paris and many areas in France numerous times. I started studying French in the fall of 2008. Between the beauty of the French countryside and the iconic portrayals of the Moulin Rouge in late 19th century art, I've developed a fondness for the imagery of the windmill. Guess I should add Holland to my list of places to travel someday!