Posts tagged achievement

Bountiful Blessings

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Mercury must be in retrograde because it’s been an exciting couple of days.

WornIt’s been quite some time since I’ve written. In late May, I spoke at the East Cobb Quilt Guild here in Roswell. I took my slideshow that I’ve been building to show a retrospective of my work — and one of the pieces I had in the slideshow I had entered into the the East Cobb show coming up in a couple of weeks. After I verified that the judges would not be in attendance at the meeting, I decided to leave that quilt in the slideshow but not take it to the meeting. I did, however, have someone pointedly ask me at the end of the presentation where that piece was — that they wanted to see it in person and why had I not brought it? So I fessed up that it was sitting at home, but that they could study it more closely at the upcoming show.

It’s a great guild, and I have several friends that are in it, so it was a lot of fun seeing old friends again.

Fast forward to last night, the awards ceremony and opening reception for the show. I went alone as everyone in my family was busy, but I was greeted by friends at the door and was invited to sit with others that were excited at having seen my presentation a couple of weeks ago. The only thing more fun than old friends are making new ones.

As I was sitting there, the art category came up. Well, I didn’t win anything, but at least Judy Alexander won 1st place. I was very happy for her. I enjoyed all of the categories, and it was fun to see the 1st place winners on the overhead screens.

And then they came to Pictorial. Well, maybe I entered in that category. Turns out, I did! And I chuckled. I was thrilled to see Worn come up on the overhead and win 1st place in its category. I got to walk up to the front and hug Lynn Rinehart and have my picture taken with the ribbon. The ribbon was mostly handmade — beautifully done. And then I sat back down.

They finished the categories and then started talking about the Best of Show winner. This is always a traditional quilt. I know this. It’s expected. Except — HOLY COW! It’s my quilt up there on the screen! I covered my mouth and the woman I was sitting next to had to push me into the aisle so I would walk up to the front. I couldn’t believe it!

IMG_0085

photograph by Ben Hollingsworth

So I am overwhelmed. I would do what I do anyway, but it’s ever so nice when people like your work. And to be recognized among your peers is a bountiful blessing.

This morning, I went over to the show to have a quilt appraised — both Worn and Golden Moment will be traveling to Sacred Threads soon and they both require a written appraisal — and my daughter had taken my car since she had been having problems with the Explorer. I had intended to arrive at the show with a half hour before the appraisal so I would have some time to browse the show quilts, but unfortunately, problems with the car took my time and frazzled my nerves. I did make my appraisal appointment on time though, and had just enough time to buy something I’ve wanted for a long time — a thimble from TJ Lane.

IMG_1744I had tried to buy one in Houston last year and couldn’t get near their table, but at this show, there was plenty of room for me to look. My initial choice was one with a jewel, and as much as I loved it, it just didn’t fit my finger. I found another one with a jewel that would work, but again, it didn’t cover my finger as well as this one with the bee — so I went with the bee — because I’m actually buying it to use it, not for jewelry. It’s really all Lynn’s fault. I was trying to talk myself out of it, and she walks up and tells me that I should get it as a reward for myself. It’s a nice present, but really, if it saves me from repeatedly sticking the needle into my finger as I’m sewing on the binding or the facing, I should consider myself pampered and happy. For ages, my thimble has been a cheap brass one that doesn’t fit right, and I think I inherited it from my mom. So now I have quilter’s bling.

Before I left, someone came up to tell me congratulations, that I had won Quilter’s Choice from the vote last night! Wow. So I went to see the new ribbon on my piece, and I was able to spend some time speaking with the docent who was so kindly showing people my work. The First Lady of Georgia, Sandra Deal, wife of Governor Nathan Deal, had come for the ribbon cutting of the show that morning. She loved my piece and wanted to have a picture of me with it, but sadly, that was during the hour that I was dealing with the car, trying to find Lynn, and then having the quilt appraised. Lost opportunity. Oh, well. I was glad to hear that she had enjoyed my piece and that her entourage had taken many pictures of it.

And then I came home to borrow a car, deal with the appliance repair man, and take my other daughter to the doctor (so I was glad that I had borrowed a car because it turned out that I really needed it).

It’s been a long day, I did not sleep well last night, but I’ve taken the ups and the downs and I’m moving forward. Before I left the show today, I converted my entry fee to a multi-day pass, thank goodness, and I hope to go back for some time tomorrow.

Georgia Celebrates Quilts will be open again tomorrow and Saturday 10am-6pm at His Hands Church in Woodstock, GA.

Houston Festival part 2

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After the Winner’s Circle, you can be certain that I hardly slept. I went to the hotel bar (perfect spot for a party of one), had some soup, and then went back to my room to try to sleep.

TWEET: Victoria Findlay Wolfe took this just before I walked on stage last night. #quiltfestival

stage

I wish I had a pic of me on the stage. There was a photographer there but I have no idea who he was working for. Anyway, I’m very grateful to Victoria for taking this.

The next day I had a leisurely morning and basically waited for lunch time.

TWEET: Luncheon!

luncheon

I was so pleased that my new friend Karen sent me a message asking if I wanted to join her for lunch. We met at the door and sat at a table with several of the winners from Japan. They didn’t speak very good English but they were incredibly kind and friendly.

TWEET: Takido Fusako on the left game me a hand sewn flower that is beautiful!

Japanese winners

The woman on the left, Takido Fusako (her piece Crest of Tulip won a Judge’s Choice award), gave me a hand sewn pin (which looked awesome on my black jacket). The woman on the right, Sachiko Chiba, gave me an autographed print of her beautiful quilt My Hope that won 3rd place in Hand Quilting.

TWEET: Flower that Takido Fusako gave me. #quiltfestival

flowerpin

On the stage, all of the top winners ate lunch and then spoke about their piece. The first speaker was Best of Show winner Melissa Sobotka.

TWEET: Melissa Sobotka winner of best of show Chihuly’s Gondola. It’s truly stunning.

BOS_Sobotka

bos_chihuly

TWEET: Melissa — “pay attention to the judge or blow them off” — love it!

She had shown this quilt at another venue and one of the judges told her that there was a problem with the binding. Melissa’s point is that you either take their opinion or don’t worry about it. She did ultimately choose to take off the binding and re-apply another one before sending it off to Houston for judging.

TWEET: Vicki Anderson owes 18 sewing machines! Her speech on Getting Published.

Thompson

TWEET: #judimadsen mentioned in her speech – on how to make a beautifully quilted quilt.

I’m Facebook friends with Judi and I follow her beautiful machine quilting so I was excited that Vicki showed her work and gave it its proper praise.

After the luncheon, there were a couple — just a couple —  of vendor tables outside. I loved these fabric cakes. It reminded me of the felted teacup I made a few years ago.

TWEET: Too cute!

cupcakes

TWEET: I bought this year’ spin & they gave me freebies for 2004, 2007, & 2012. The one on the top left is this year’s pin.

pins

It was strange walking back to my room, seeing quilters that are famous quilters.

TWEET: I feel like such a stalker. I know their names, I follow them on FB but I can’t bring myself to introduce myself.

I went back to my room and took pics of the Convention Center from there. It is such a large building, I couldn’t even get half of it in a frame.

Convention2

With time to spare before Preview Night at 5pm, I spent some time in the gym. This is the view from the west tower of the Hilton.

Convention

TWEET: Technology is so cool. Delta emailed me a check-in, they txt’d a link to my boarding pass, & I saved it in Passbook for tomorrow.

This is my first time to be completely dependent on my smart phone to check in. I’ll never print another boarding pass.

I had planned on putting everything in one post from this one day in Houston — but this post is growing by the minute. I think I’m going to split the rest of it into another post. So look for a part 3 in a couple of days.

Houston Festival part 1

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TWEET: While I’m in Houston, I’m sending my tweets to my personal FB & my FB Page. I apologize for double tweets but want everyone to see the pics!

This is how I started my exciting 48 hour adventure to the Houston Quilt Festival. I wanted to share it with as many as my friends as possible. I was so excited and nervous about going, I accomplished practically nothing in the last couple of weeks leading up to the show other than packing my suitcase.

I went alone. I haven’t traveled alone since I was much younger and I looked at it as a grand adventure.

TWEET: Checked into Hilton Americas — isn’t the Chihuly glass chandelier amazing?

chihuly

It’s impossible to mistake a Chihuly. There are two of them like this at Hilton Americas. I was lucky to find a room in the Hilton — it’s connected by a walkway to the Convention Center — something greatly appreciated by me when it poured rain on Wednesday and Thursday.

TWEET: Walked down bad streets to find this amazing place — District 7 Grill.

district7

But this Tuesday, the skies were clear. I checked into the Hilton. I was starving — it was so late — but I was determined to be more original than eating in the hotel. I turned on my iPhone & looked for a restaurant nearby with at least a 90% approval rating. The closest one was District 7 Grill. I crossed the street to the convention center and made a left — which unhappily took me in the wrong direction. I ended up walking completely around the convention center — which is huge and covers probably 4 or more city blocks. I had to be careful about the streets I walked down and stick to ones with cars on them. I eventually found this haven of wonderful food. I had someone tell me it was in China Town. It was certainly a place that the locals go.

TWEET: Did I mention — no calorie counting on this trip?

Lunch

I know it’s cliche’ to have a picture of my plate — but I couldn’t help it. It was 2:30 my time & I hadn’t eaten since 6am. This is a grilled veggie pizza on naan bread with feta cheese & pecans. I ate the entire thing. No regrets.

TWEET: An hour until I get ready. Decided I can’t eat dinner before I go — too nervous. Next tweet — Winners Circle.

I ate so late though that I wasn’t hungry later. Mix that with the excitement of getting ready for the Winners Circle — and the most I could get down was a banana. At least I was able to find some fruit downstairs in the lobby.

TWEET: The infamous Paula Nadelstern carpet.

rug

Many quilters know the story of Paula Nadelstern, a quilter famous for her kaleidoscopes, showing up one year, looking down, and seeing her designs on the rug leading from the hotel to the convention center in the walkway. She successfully sued them for copyright infringement.

TWEET: I’ve seen Charlotte Warr Andersen & Jamie Fingal in the halls — rock stars in the quilt world.

I kept passing people that I know — but I don’t know. It was very surreal. Although non-quilters won’t necessarily know these people, I’ve seen their work & followed them for years — some of them I’ve even spoken with on Facebook. And yet I couldn’t bring myself to say something to them. I suppose a part of me thinks that famous people should be allowed their privacy.

TWEET: I’m here!

winners

I finally found the correct ballroom. There are signs every 100 feet for a ballroom down the length of the convention center — none of them marked anything other than “ballroom”.

Karey Bresenhan

This is Karey Bresenhan speaking at the beginning. She is the the nexus of the entire International Market and Festival. She is the founder and without her, none of us would be there.

TWEET: Ran into my friend Denny Webster & her friend Marilyn Wall! I took pic with my camera so I’ll blog those later in the week.

Marilyn Wall & Denny Webster

Me with Marilyn & Denny

I was standing by myself in line waiting to go in to the ballroom when I spotted my friend Denny Webster! She used to live here in Atlanta but moved a few months ago to North Carolina. She was there with Marilyn Wall who I was delighted to meet.

TWEET: I’m in my red Vera Wang — I’m overdressed.

I did feel overdressed — although later I was glad that I had chosen it. There was a full range of dress code — from jeans to full kimonos.

TWEET: I’m really close to Sharon Schamber — too strange!

She was sitting in the front row. I’ve followed her work for years. I follow her techniques for my bindings. I have my pressing board built like hers. Thank goodness for YouTube — I’ve never met her in person though. She’s petite like me.

TWEET: Bonnie McCaffrey is videoing at the front & Luana Rubin is sitting next to her.

Again, two people who I find interesting and follow. Bonnie was videoing the ceremony from the 2nd row and Luana was seated next to her.

TWEET: My heart just stopped! Did you hear it? 1st place in Art-People.

That was a moment to remember. They called 3rd place — so I thought — oh good! 2nd place! And then they called 2nd place — and I knew. I whispered “I think my heart just stopped.” I certainly stopped breathing.

stage

I wish I had a picture of me on stage. I managed to get this picture from Victoria Findlay Wolfe.

TWEET: Fairfield Mastery Contemporary Artistry to Noriko Nozawa — gorgeous!

MastArtistry

I took this pic the next day but it came out better than the ones I took the previous night. I found this quilt (Photographer Darling) worth studying. The background is quilted with a grid of black thread on white (mostly) — the postcards are black thread-work on white — and the image of the photographer is cross stitch! I did wonder how she managed to keep this piece flat — given the change in thread layers across the piece, it had to be challenging.

TWEET: Babylock master award for innovative artistry — Jane Sassaman!

International Quilt Festival 2013

This is also a pic from the next day (Illinois Album). It has a black border that is difficult to see because of the black hanging background. The design is phenomenal, but what struck me as surprising is that the white background is not a typical cotton fabric — it’s an embroidered white, probably not cotton. She also used a lot of embroidery stitches from her machine. These are not details that affect the overall design but they are interesting details for close inspection.

TWEET: Superior Award for Thread Artistry — Masanobu Miyama! (He’s a man!)

MastThread

The majority of quilters are women so I’m always struck by a man that’s a quilter. He was the only man in the top winners. This piece (Wind) is very small. He painted the fabric with Tsukineko dyes, fused all the pieces down, and then heavily thread painted it. His wife was there and also had a piece in the show. They were from Japan. (30% or so of the winners were from Japan.)

TWEET: Pfaff Award for machine artistry — Shirley Gisi!

I didn’t get a great picture of this — but you can see it on the IQA Winners page here. It’s an abstract piece that effectively uses gradation fabrics to create 3D effects. Very clever.

TWEET: eQuilter award for WOB — Christine Alexiou — love this one!

Christine Alexiou

Christine Alexiou

This piece is called Septum Peccata Mortalia (Seven Deadly Sins). It opens like a book and has several pages.

That night, I was sitting next to Karen Ponischil (who won an Honorable Mention) and Christine on the other side. We shared our joy of the evening together and ended up meeting the next day to spend time together. My experience in Houston wouldn’t have been the same without them.

karen_me

TWEET: Founder’s Award – Karen Seivert & a 2nd one to Margo Hardie!

I was confused here. Karen Seivert won a Founder’s Honorable Mention. Then Margo Hardie and Janet Stone both won Founder’s Awards.

TWEET: Another one to Janet Stone!

TWEET: Best Of Show — $10,000 award — wait for it ………

TWEET: Best of Show — Melissa Sobotka — stunning!!!

bos

Melissa Sobotka

I don’t know that she could have found a better dress to stand beside her piece.

TWEET: Will get a better pic soon!

bos_chihuly

This, of course, is my better pic. It looks like a painting — or a photograph. It is raw edge  with commercially bought batiks. I was stunned that raw edge  has gained such acceptance. I hazard to guess that this is the 1st raw edge  that has won Best of Show in Houston. And when I saw raw edge — I mean that there is no appliqué stitch — only tight quilting. I saw this on many pieces at Houston — raw edge but tight quilting or thread painting. It’s making me wonder if I should continue to spend so many hours covering my edges with appliqué stitches.

TWEET: I stood by my quilt for an hour — wow!! Everyone was so nice!!

me&Linc

I’m so glad that my new friend Karen insisted on taking my pic as I didn’t get one with me later the next day when Lincoln had it’s blue ribbon next to it.

International Quilt Festival 2013: Winner's Circle

And the money shot. This is also Karen — I don’t know what I would have done without her.

TWEET: I took a bunch of pics that I’ll post on my blog when I get home.

And so I’ve incorporated them here — both my tweeted pictures and the ones on my phone.

And finally — I couldn’t ignore the coolest shoes in the room. These were Philappa Naylor’s boots. She won first place for Scarlett’s Crimson in the Wearable Art category. She does beautiful quilts usually around a medallion so I was surprised to see her in the Wearable Art category — but I understand that it can be thrilling to step outside your comfort zone. Even better to do it and succeed at such a high level.

coolest shoes

I had a blast. Although I didn’t get to stay very long, it was incredibly fun.

Part 2 will come tomorrow and I’ll show pics from my second day in Houston.

Happy Friday

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Amelia Earhart

I just found out that Amelia Earhart has won 1st place in the open division, original design realistic pictorial wall category at the La Conner International Quilt & Fiber Arts Festival. Life has been full of blessings lately. I wish I could see the exhibit but it’s on the opposite coast from me. Hopefully some kind soul will take a pic and send me a copy.

It will hang in the extended exhibit through December at the La Conner Quilt & Textile Museum in La Conner, WA.

Going to Houston

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I have been working away here on my Golden Retriever. This is what she looked like before appliqué and quilting. I have since completed appliquing her and just finished pinning her this morning in preparation for quilting.

Golden before appliqué I bought several backgrounds before I settled on this batik. I didn’t want anything busy to distract from the Golden — so piecing a background was out. I also had decided to stick with analogous colors on the color wheel — so I knew yellow green was the correct color choice. The first piece I bought was a lime green that I thought would be perfect, but the minute I brought it into my studio, I knew it was wrong. I also bought a yellow green with some gray in it — which worked, but it didn’t make the Golden sing. It was just too flat. There was a batik at the store I had decided wouldn’t work because it had too much yellow in it — but at home, looking at my other choices, I knew it would work — and it does. Sometimes you have to move out of your own way.

I have also had some exciting news — I’ve been given the honor of being invited into the Winner’s Circle at the International Quilt Festival in Houston this year for my piece Lincoln. I’ve never even been to the show before — but I’ve made my reservations and I’m looking forward to meeting other artists I’ve only met on the internet and feeling honored to be in their presence. When I find out my prize at the end of October, I’ll be sure to share.

Entering Shows

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This week I’ve been appliquéing my rabbit onto my background. It’s almost done. There isn’t a lot to show in that process. It’s been hard for me to concentrate as the routine of my girls is already starting to change. I fear I may be a victim of Spring fever.

I did think I would take a few minutes and talk about entering shows. Why do I enter shows? Well, why do I make art? I make art as a form of self expression. I enter shows so that people can see what I do. It is more satisfying for me to have my work in shows than for my work to collect dust in the closet. In fact, I have a growing collection in my closet — it makes me sad. Art is meant to be seen.

ChildhoodMy first show ever was back when I lived in Alabama. The fabric store advertised for the Alabama Quilt Symposium to be held (that year anyway) in Birmingham. I thought it would be fun to enter and take a few classes. It was my first time. When I walked into the hall, I was enthralled by all the pieces. I had been working with textiles for a couple of years. I turned a corner — and saw my piece Childhood hanging — with a blue ribbon beside it! Best of Show & 1st place in its division. (That was, by the way, the only time I’ve won a Best of Show.) It was shocking — and thrilling!

Dalmatian DownsI took that piece and Dalmatian Downs and entered them in the AQS Quilt Show in Paducah in 2004 — and what a surprise I had when they were both accepted. No ribbons, but I did visit the show and get to see them hanging. There was row after row after row of the most incredible quilts I had ever seen in my life. I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t process how a judge could pick a best in show.

I also entered one of the Mancuso shows — Pacific International (PIQF)– and the International Quilt Festival (IQF) in Houston. I had several quilts accepted over the years into PIQF — but I was not lucky enough to be accepted to IQF. I stopped entering AQS-Paducah as my work became artistic and fell outside of their size restrictions. (At one time, they wouldn’t accept a quilt whose width was between 24″ and 40″ — although I don’t know if they’ve since changed that rule or not.) I told myself year after year that if I didn’t enter IQF, I’d never get in — so I kept entering.

Faces in Cloth ISeveral years went by and I started to lose hope. We all do at one point or another — but then one year, I thought “one last time.” That was 2006, and my first monochromatic portrait Faces in Cloth I was accepted.

I have since entered Quilt National, Quilt Visions, and Quilts=Art=Quilts — but have not been accepted. I do admit that I haven’t been as diligent about entering as I had been with IQF. Sometimes it is because of the expense — and sometimes it’s easy to see from the other work accepted why mine was not.

I have also been accepted at some other wonderful shows — Art Quilts (at the Chandler), Sacred Threads, and the La Conner Quilt Festival — as well as some local Atlanta shows — Georgia Artists, Fiber Art Fusion (which I now co-curate with Rebecca Reasons-Edwards), SEFAA’s ARTlanta, and East Cobb Quilt Guild.

Right now, my desk is littered with folders — for quilts and for shows — as I try to decide shows to enter, how much it will cost, which quilts to send, how long they’ll be gone if they’re accepted, and how to enter pieces in such a way that I don’t enter a piece in more than one show at a time (because that’s just bad business). Decisions, decisions. I tend to enter & support the same shows that I have in previous years — but throw in a new one here and there to see if I get in — to expand my horizons.

Beach GuardiansI have had one piece juried into the East Cobb Quilt Guild Show this June — Beach Guardians. In July, both Beach Guardians and The Bowl Judgments will travel to Sacred Threads in DC. They have both also been chosen for an extended travel exhibit of Sacred Threads in Omaha, NE.

I also have been working on entries this week — but I think it’s bad luck to mention an entry before the jurying process is complete.

Sometimes I help Lyric Kinard with her list of Shows to Enter. At one point years ago, she thought about not keeping up the list and I offered to help. It was the only resource of its kind at the time and I wanted to see it continue. It’s a great way to look at the landscape and see what venues are available. Although many of the more local shows have not survived the current economy, there are still a lot of opportunities available.

2013 Goals

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Snowflake

Now that the new year has begun, it is time to start looking forward. This year, I’m planning more than I have in the past. Maybe by sharing goals on my blog, I’ll feel more accountable.

I went back and forth on some of these. The truth of the matter is that as much as I would like gallery representation, I know from my mom, a very talented impressionist painter, that the galleries in Atlanta typically demand 20 of your newest pieces with a regular rotation. My current mode of working requires a month or two to complete one piece. Last year, I completed only six pieces. So it comes down to the desire to enter exhibitions versus gallery representation (even if I could produce enough work to satisfy the inventory demands of a gallery). I could put both on my goals list, but I know that realistically, only one will work. I chose exhibitions.

Reverse Round Back

I am, however, considering starting a different series of smaller pieces that I could complete more quickly and that I could then list on some online galleries. I’m going to experiment with that. You’ll notice I put it at the bottom of the list with asterisks as caveats. I’m uncertain about these goals for several reasons — we’ll see how it goes.

I’m also planning to start writing more on my Facebook Page and my blog — and I’ll be visiting my local galleries, getting to know them, and then I’ll share all of that local flavor with you. There are a LOT more galleries than I thought in my town — but I think that it’s important to get to know your local art scene as intimately as possible. I’ve been cooped up in my studio a bit too much. Time to get out and shake things up a bit. EVENTUALLY I hope to add some galleries in downtown Atlanta — but for now, I’m starting small.

  • Have at least 2 years of my blog printed into hardback books (plan to use Blog2Print.com).
  • Design & print new business cards.
  • Take a photography class (probably lynda.com).
  • Develop a workshop on Choosing Fabrics Creatively.
  • Finish a piece to enter Sacred Threads 2013.
  • Develop new method for designing quilt labels on the Apple platform so that I can finally pitch my PC.
  • Complete the first draft of a book about Textile Portraits.
  • Join Southeast Fiber Arts Alliance.
  • Increase blog posts to once a week.
  • Create at least six portraits.
  • Create an Art Contact email and snail mail list.
  • Double the number of Facebook Page fans.
  • Enter at least 6 different exhibitions.
  • Update Facebook banner with newer work.
  • Post to Facebook Page 3x per week.
  • Visit at least 12 art galleries in Roswell and write a review of at least one exhibition per gallery.
  • Increase web traffic 20% from last year.
  • Make spreadsheet with goals and dates to monitor progress.
  • *** Make two small pieces per month.
  • *** List small work on artfire.com or artfulhome.com.

2012 Accomplishments

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One of my art friends on Facebook, Kimberly Baxter Packwood, asked yesterday what was our top accomplishment for the year. Lisa Call and Dale Anne Potter chimed in — and I began to realize that making a list of what I accomplished in 2012 was definitely something I needed to do. My first list was less than twenty, but after reading Lisa’s list (she lists 100 every year), I realized I wasn’t giving myself enough credit. So I’ve been working on it.

At first I also had a list of disappointments, but I decided that those were actually risks that I took that should be counted as accomplishments. Without risk, we’d never travel anywhere new.

Lincoln

Lincoln

– Accepted into Fulton County Artist’s Registry in Atlanta, GA.

– Accepted into the La Conner Quilt Festival in La Conner, WA (Bukonyan Elder).

– Won 1st place at the La Conner Quilt Festival (Bukonyan Elder).

– Accepted into the Georgia Artists Show at the Abernathy Arts Center in Sandy Springs, GA (Amelia EarhartBeach Guardians).

– Won 3rd place at the Georgia Artists Show (Amelia Earhart).

– Accepted into International Quilt Festival/Houston: World of Beauty in Houston, TX (Beach GuardiansA Walk In Twilight).

– Included in the invitational show International Quilt Festival/Houston: Pets in Houston, TX (Unconditional).

– Included in a IQF exhibit review by Sophie Rubin on Youtube (Unconditional).

– Accepted into the book Art Quilt Portfolio: People & Portraits being published by Lark Crafts in April 2013 (Celtic Woman).

– Included in the invitational show Fiber Art Fusion: Artifact at The Art Place in Marietta, GA (Arminta PattersonThe Ties That Bind Us).

– Spoke about my work at the Gwinnett Quilter’s Guild & taught my workshop on Pet Portraits.

– Gave a seminar on Textile Photography at Fiber Art Fusion in Marietta, GA.

Laura Margaret

Laura Margaret

– Created five portrait pieces, two of them with two figures.

– Made a portrait almost exclusively with ties from my stash and local thrift stores (The Ties That Bind Us).

– Updated my website for each of my new pieces.

– Reconstructed and updated my art resume.

– Updated my LinkedIn resume, adding my exhibition achievements.

– Wrote 22 blog posts (23 with this one) — averaging almost twice a month.

– Submitted work to Art Book Archive: Atlanta for inclusion (haven’t heard on e-book publication yet).

– Created a Page on Facebook for my art & syndicated my blog posts to it.

The Ties That Bind Us

The Ties That Bind Us

– Lost 11 pounds and dropped two clothes sizes.

– Developed a way to create figures in large sections so that I could construct them in manageable pieces on a temporary surface and then build a more complicated piece on the background.

– Went zip-lining in Honduras.

– Went cave tubing in Belize (after hiking over river rocks and breaking my toe).

– Went snuba diving in Mexico.

– Took thousands of sports photos and learned to share them through DropBox.

– Photographed the Fiber Art Fusion Artifact annual exhibit and holiday exchange.

– Indoor trained a new puppy.

A Walk in Twilight

A Walk In Twilight

– Converted hundreds of printed family pics to digital.

– Finally found the names of my paternal grandfather’s parents and was then able to take that part of my tree back to 466 AD with the birth of King Clovis I.

– Served as a Unit Leader and Troop Treasurer for my daughter’s American Heritage Girls troop.

– Created a 5”x7” piece for the Fiber Art Fusion holiday exchange that I’m using as a model for a larger piece.

– Visited Mary Jo’s Cloth Store in Gastonia, NC.

– Learned about head concussions and other soccer injuries from my daughter.

– Spent a week in Ponte Vedra, FL for Spring Break taking lots of beach pictures and exploring Saint Augustine.

– Helped Rebecca Reasons-Edwards curate Fiber Art Fusion: Artifact exhibit.

– Played roles of volleyball mom, lacrosse mom, soccer mom, and choir mom.

Beach Guardians

Beach Guardians

– Saw MacBeth downtown at Shakespeare’s Tavern.

– Applied for a part time job at local children’s hospital (not accepted).

– Applied for entry into Quilts=Art=Quilts for the first time (not juried in).

– As of 12/30/12, there were 12,680 views on my website for the year — which was down 23% from 2011. This was caused by a bubble in 2011 from a mention of my blog in Quilter’s Home Magazine, but although views dropped between 2011 and 2012, views increased 154% from 2010 to 2012 so I was able to keep a lot of my traffic after this unexpected marketing windfall.

– Created a Facebook banner highlighting my work.

– Learned how to make resin jewelry.

At this point, only half of the work is done. I’m still working on my goals and will share that in another post.

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