Persephone Time

Well, it's that time again. The holidays approach, my hours at the day job increase, and I go into hibernation mode as far as art-making goes. I have just time and energy enough to go to work, eat, sleep. Maybe a hot bath at the end of a busy retail day. Everything else goes on the back burner until January. Fortunately, I enter this season on a high note: this past weekend I took my jewelry to the Arts Fair at the da Vinci Arts Middle School. It was a great show. I did pretty well, and had a lot of fun helping shoppers, looking at other folks' beautiful art, chatting with old friends, and making new ones. Sold a couple of my favorite pieces (one is shown above). It was especially enjoyable to be placed next to another artist who makes wonderful jewelry with bottle caps and jar lids. Our approaches are quite different though our materials are similar; a bottle cap exchange party is in the planning stages. So, with that to look forward to, I set my art activities aside for the rest of December (my Etsy shop is on vacation as well). I'll be back in action, with some fresh energy and new ideas. In the meantime, my work is available at The Real Mother Goose and Guardino Gallery in Portland, Mary Lou Zeek Gallery in Salem, and The Artshop at the Corvallis Art Center. See you in the new year!

Cycles

Well, I got a good start on the new body of drawings I wrote about last time. These are the first 2 completed, along with one for the Dios de Los Muertos show at Guardino Gallery. One more large one is begun, and I have more ideas than you can shake a stick at. I'm quite happy with how these are going, and would love nothing better than to hole up in the studio and draw all day. But everything must move in cycles, and so it is time to concentrate on jewelry for the holiday season. With several galleries, and the da Vinci Arts Fair coming up (on Dec. 4 & 5), I must move into the jewelry production cycle. My pleasure in all the different forms of art I make is fairly equal, so I don't mind moving from one to the other. I just wish I had more time for each of them. I'll try to post a couple of new jewelry photos soon. In the meantime, mark your calendars for the Dios show at Guardino, opening on Last Thursday October 28 from 6 pm to 9 pm, and for the da Vinci fair in December.

Regeneration

Recently I decided it was time to make some changes in my life as an artist. My experiences with showing different types of work over the past few years suddenly seemed to be showing me some lessons, and the time had come to act. I decided to start with my studio in order to clear the decks for a new direction. During the 2 week process of tearing the place apart and rearranging everything, I came across the treasure pictured above. Many months ago, I found a gnarled, dried piece of ginger on the sidewalk in front of our house, and brought it in to put with my collection of other found objects. It was so dry, it had crumbled into 2 pieces as I picked it up. Then I forgot about it. Here it was, sitting in a dark corner, with no soil, no available moisture - and it had sprouted. I took it as an omen that I was starting out on the right path, and continued my take-no-prisoners rampage through piles of old work and hoards of materials I'd once thought I'd use some day. Many trips to the recycle bin later, and after much hauling and pushing, I had a newly clean, more spacious, and more functional studio.

Now, the real work begins: new and different work. I've loved doing the collages using vintage photographs, beading, found papers and other found objects with the charming patina of age. I've gotten heaps of positive feedback from friends and strangers alike; people like these pieces, but I have sold very few of them. I even heard a few comments at my most recent show comparing them to scrap-booking.... Perhaps the popularity of that pastime, which satisfies the creative urge for a lot of people, makes my pieces seem like something folks would rather do for themselves. In any case, I feel that it's time to move on, try something different. I'll still do collage of some sort; haven't figured out yet quite what that will be - perhaps using the same kinds of materials in more modern, less reverential ways. The first thing I'm going to do is go back to my roots in drawing. Looking at some work from earlier periods while I was cleaning out, I felt the larger, freer drawings I'd done decades ago were a signpost. So I bought a large drawing pad, pulled out my pencils and oil pastels, and am poised to loosen up and just see what comes out if it. I'll continue with my jewelry, which I so enjoy (and remains the best-selling category of my work), and I'll be happy to continue my older collage style for those folks who are considering custom pieces using their family photos. For now, however, I'm really looking forward to cutting loose and doing some big, free drawings with no attachment to outcome or later sales. Time to make art what it was when I was a young girl who drew constantly: play!

Gresham Art Walk

On July 17th, I went to peddle my wares at the 9th Annual Gresham Artwalk. I took along my lovely assistant Dian (and her lovely assistant Bob, who came in the a.m. to help us set up). We met a lot of very nice people and had a lot of fun. The show was very well organized, the volunteers extremely helpful. Sales were rather modest, but I came out somewhat ahead. I did meet several folks who expressed interest in having me do my signature collage/beading treatment using some of their own family photos, so there's the possibility of a commission or two. That would be exciting!

I have to say, I'm not sure I have the stamina at my age to continue with these larger outdoor art shows. Getting up at 4:00 a.m., building a shop, tearing it down - by the time I got to sleep, I'd been up for 18 hours. That's a record for me! I'm still working on getting my energy back over a week later. I wouldn't have missed this for anything: it was an interesting, educational experience & I met some great folks. I just think it's taken too much out of me; I think I'll do better in the long run with the smaller school benefit shows I've been doing the last couple of years, looking for new retail outlets, beefing up my Etsy activity, and maybe my own website sometime soon. We'll see how it goes.

In any case, my thanks to all the customers who were kind enough to purchase my work, to all the friends who helped with advice and equipment,and to the organizers and volunteers who kept things running smoothly and were so helpful.

Lazy Afternoon

Having one of those lazy afternoons; can't quite get motivated to do much of anything. So, took the camera and went for a lazy walk around the neighborhood, taking just a few shots of odds & ends I noticed along the way. Here a couple of my favorites. Will I do anything else with them - make drawings, start a line of photo-image cards or prints? Not sure yet. At the moment, I don't feel like doing anything....

Another Marriage

I've managed to make another combination of two of my art forms; this time I've put together drawing and collage. I started with a drawing based on a vintage photograph, using a very soft, dark pencil and oil pastel, and added pieces of wallpaper from a 1932 sample book. It's a new thing for me after a long break from drawing. Not sure yet where it's going, but I'm intrigued.

Marriage

Finally! I've found a way to combine my two passions: jewelry and collage.

The Romantic

Balance

One thing I struggle with in my art life is balance. I'm concentrating on my jewelry lately, as that's where I have the most monetary success so far. But I love my collage as well, and have difficulty finding time to fit it in. Add to that an almost full time job, and the fact that I'd also like to fit some drawing back into the mix...

In any case, I recently realized that none of my non-jewelry work has shown up in the blog, and decided to post a few of my favorites. I may just throw one in without text now and then, so that more of my pieces will be out somewhere in the world for others to see.

A Bonanza of Buttons

Trust that the universe will provide, and the universe will provide. Not only did I enjoy quite respectable sales at galleries and shows this holiday season; but have received a bounteous supply of buttons as the new years begin. At one of the shows I met a generous young woman who'd collected a multitude of buttons at estate sales. She was cleaning things out, and ready to let go. Last week she dropped by to give them to me. Afterwards when I sat down to go through them, I was astounded by the volume and variety: mother-of-pearl, plastic, metal, walnut shells; all sizes, all shapes... hundreds of wonderful buttons. I felt as if I were sifting through a pirate's treasure chest, or that Santa had just come. And then there were more. A co-worker at my day job regularly haunts thrift stores, and she presented me with a stash of buttons she'd found. Not only that, but I've been commissioned to make her several pieces of jewelry from some of her favorites. I feel blessed, and grateful for all the folks who gather supplies for my work. And itching to get started on some new work to take advantage of my recent bounty.