textile paintings
Posts tagged exhibit
Hanging Fierce
09 years ago
by Virginia Greaves
in Exhibition
When I moved to Atlanta, I started helping Rebecca curate an annual exhibit at The Art Place in Marietta, GA. At first I just showed up and held things for her, but over the years she has taught me more and more about curating. This year, we hung Fierce Fibers, an invitational exhibit including Sharon Serrano Ahmed, Rebecca Reasons Edwards, Deb Lacativa, Leisa Rich, Karen Reese Tunnell, Hellenne Vermillion, and me.
This is the show card I created (I had great images to work with though).
Yesterday we gathered all of the work at the gallery for the hanging. Leisa came too — and she was a whirling dervish! I learned a lot from her too.
This is what it looked like with everything laid out before we started. (There are a few white circles on the wall of the two pics I have of the hanging. This was caused by the new studio lights and my camera — although they were not apparent on the wall in person.) Love the new wood floors.
This was the first time that we had too much work. It’s a much better feeling than not having enough to fill the space.
And then this is us after all of the work has been hung and arranged — Rebecca, me, and then Leisa. Less than two hours. I don’t know if you can tell but I had so much fun. To spend a day surrounded by art and then crafting it into an exhibit that people will enjoy viewing is the joy of curating.
We added the exhibit cards after this.
There are a few minor adjustments to make before the reception tomorrow. I’m still figuring out what I’m going to wear.
Professional Headshot
09 years ago
(I have reposted this blog post from 8/29/14 that appears to be lost due to a technical issue between my database and WordPress. If and when is recovered, I will delete this copy.)
Last week, I had SAQA inquire about a headshot of me to include in their announcement of new Juried Members. I gave them what I have used as a professional headshot — but unfortunately, they wanted something not just for the internet but also for print publication to send their galleries. I put it aside for the weekend and hoped that I had something in my arsenal of pictures.
But you know, like most moms, I don’t have many pictures of myself because I am almost always the one taking the picture. I tried really hard to pull something out of thin air — but it just wasn’t there. So I went back and asked when they had to have the picture. End of the month. A week away. Oh wow.
I spent a day or two fooling myself into thinking I could do it myself. I have all of the equipment — but I knew in my gut it wasn’t the right thing to do and it would take a lot of time if I did it all by myself.
In the end, I did something that I have a hard time doing — I asked for help. Beth Buchweitz is a counselor at my daughters’ school and both of our daughters have taken lacrosse together for the last couple of years. We both take team pictures. So I asked her — and yesterday, she took time out of her crazy schedule to set me down in the shade and take pictures of me in a suit.
I don’t have them yet — I’ll share them when I do — but they came out really well. She asked me to stick out my chin and then dip my head down to create a shadow along my chin — I’ve not been asked to do that before but it made perfect sense. She fixed my hair when it was out of place — and best of all, she refused to accept a plastic smile. I had to carry a natural smile and chuckle under my breath and it made a big difference.
I heard this week that my piece Dolce Far Niente was accepted into the International Quilt Festival special exhibit What’s for Dinner? 2014. This exhibit consists of 36 quilts to be debuted at the International Quilt Festival in Houston in October/November — and then it will travel to other IQF shows around the US. I’m honored to be included.
I shipped off The Cardinal — IQF asked me to donate a piece for their auction and given how kind they were to purchase The White Raven from me as well as to grace me with a prize last year in World of Beauty and to include so many of my other pieces in their wonderful exhibits, I was happy to send them something. It will be available in their silent auction at their Houston show October 30 – November 2, 2014.
Hoping for Fat
09 years ago
by Virginia Greaves
in Exhibition
Back when all exhibit notifications were mailed, you knew if a piece was accepted by the size of the envelope — a skinny one was a rejection — a fat one was an acceptance (brimming with forms and instructions). Now we get email — which is faster — but I still think of them as fat or skinny. (An irony given that our culture values skinny over fat — and in this ONE case we hope for fat.)
Yesterday, notifications were scheduled to come out for the International Quilt Festival: World of Beauty show in Houston. Due to technical difficulties, they did not come out until today.
And the news is . . . . . . . . . . . . . One fat — and one skinny.
Worry was accepted.
Golden Moment was not.
Although I’m not sad, I was surprised. This piece recently won first place in an art exhibit.
But hindsight is another matter. I had originally made this piece for the special exhibit It’s Raining Cats and Dogs — also in Houston at the same time as World of Beauty. I have been in this exhibit the last couple of years and was caught by surprise when they added a virgin rule — thereby excluding my entry from consideration (I had already published in process and completion pics of it on my blog when the rules were published). I was sad — but decided that this piece was one of my best ones for the year — and entered it as one of my two into World of Beauty (no virgin rules for this exhibit).
In retrospect, I realize my mistake. Dogs and cats as subject matter would be among the first logical cuts made. As a judge, I realize you wouldn’t want the entries in World of Beauty to compete with the other special exhibit.
Or — I could be completely wrong and it was some other reason entirely. No worries. I’m already planning its entry in another show. Rejection is part of the process.
I did receive the good news lately that I was accepted as a Juried Artist Member (JAM) in Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA). After seeing all of the SAQA exhibits at Houston last year, I definitely felt left out. I spent quite a while working on my resume and tracking down details I hadn’t included before (you’ll see a lot more detail on my Resume page now) to finish my application properly. After waiting several months, I was excited to receive my acceptance from Martha Sielman herself.
I continue to work on abstract pieces with Leisa Rich. I’m taking her the draft of the latest piece tomorrow. It’s her birthday and we’re planning to have lunch to celebrate. Good friends — a little art — a little food. What more could you ask for?
Creativity in Motion
09 years ago
Today I finally took pics of Worn (and finally decided on a title). It is so much easier to take pics when you have the right equipment and use a level. I no longer rely on my design board that leans against the wall — it was creating a keystone effect that I was having to counteract in Photoshop. I now use a photography support stand so the piece hangs from a bar and there is no distortion. I have also made friends with my level. I level the bar on the photography stand — and now also on my camera. I’ve always wondered by my pics lean to one side — and now I use the level to adjust the camera tripod until it’s level. I just ordered a level for the camera shoe which should make it even easier. You would think that if you opened the stand completely in all directions and the bubble level on the stand was level that you would be fine — and that’s just not true. So having leveled my stand and my camera on my tripod, I came out with perfect pics the first time. The only thing I did in Photoshop was crop — and for the website, I adjusted the size and added watermarks (so if they migrate to Pinterest it might generate some traffic back to my site).
I also drew up a new Page for Worn. There are a few recent changes in WordPress 3.9 that are making the pics act strange but I just worked around it. Overall I think the page looks fine.
I was worried when I finished this piece that I wouldn’t know what to do next — what my next piece should be. I spent a day this week looking at exhibits to enter this year and trying to decide how I wanted that to influence me. In the end, I decided that I wanted to think with my hands. I started working on a small piece for a very specific themed juried exhibit — but it isn’t large and will give me time to think about my next large project.
Tonight have the opening reception for the Georgia Artists show at the Abernathy Arts Center in Sandy Springs, GA. If you’re in the ATL, it’s 6:30-8:30pm. I will take pics and share them soon.
Acceptance
010 years ago
I am thrilled to share that two of my pieces, Worry and Golden Moment, have been accepted into Georgia Artists to show at the Abernathy Arts Center in Sandy Springs, GA May 6 through June 13. There will be a reception Friday May 2nd 6:30-8:30pm.
This is a wonderful show. It’s local for me — so this is a rare occasion that I can actually attend the opening reception — but it’s also an art exhibit. This is my 4th year to be included. That first year, I contacted the curator to see if they would consider my work. She said they would and I could enter under the Mixed Media category. This year, for the first time, I was proud to see that they had added a Fiber Arts category.
I am also proud to say that I have pushed further into accepting myself. In my last post, I was fretting over my taxes — which I prepare myself. For years, I’ve reported my work under Hobby Income and Expenses. Well — that wasn’t working for me any more.
After talking to some accountants and friends, I realized that I needed to change. I am a professional artist. I have business cards, a business plan, a website, a blog, social media accounts, even weekly goals. I just needed to take this to the next level and tell the government that I am a professional artist. If I can make money at it, then I’ve achieved enough success that I should be recognized for that.
Onward and upward!
Cardinal Longing
110 years ago
After I finished Worry, I had no idea what my next project would be. I get so involved in one project that I don’t tend to think ahead to the next — can’t really split my focus. I concentrate on one thing to the exclusion of other things.
But when I was done, I decided to make a small piece for the SouthEast Fiber Arts Alliance (SEFAA) Square Foot Fiber Art Pin Up Show. No theme — the piece just has to be 12×12 or smaller. I don’t usually work in this small scale — but I needed a rest and working on a small piece seemed like a good way to do that.
I had seen many pictures of cardinals in the snow being posted on Facebook — and I think that this is what I had in my mind’s eye when I began — a piece of hope flying across the frozen tundra (a little melodramatic, but we’re currently iced in for the second time in a couple of weeks and this southern girl is more acclimated to sunshine than snow.)
So I searched through all my reds and picked out a decent range. I wasn’t really happy with my first value — but then, what could I do? The weather was too iffy for me to risk a trip over to Marietta to pick out fabric — so I was limited to what I had on hand.
Just as I was getting ready to iron my WonderUnder templates down, I had the funny realization that I had paid for both sides of my fabric (obvious, I know, but a fact often overlooked) — so I ironed the templates to the front — so the back would show — which was exactly the shade I needed for the first value.
This is the second value — you can begin to see the outline of the cardinal.
The third value gives you even more — although I should have added to the lighting in the room before I took my pics.
The fourth value was all I got done before I heard that the news was telling me (I had the TV on while I was ironing) that I might lose power for several days — and I realized I needed to add a few things to my pantry. It was at this point that I ran out the door with fading daylight before the roads became truly impassable the next day (and they did).
I returned to this yesterday and added values five and six — the sixth one being black. Not bad but I really miss the eye.
Again, other blurry shot. I think the ISO on the camera I was using was way down — but you can see how I built up the eye in a similar way to the eye on The White Raven. I did add a larger highlight than I usually do — this guy has a small eye and the light coming off it gave the impression of the dimension of the eyeball.
Once he was done, I added the branches. I thought about adding a bunch of detail and then decided that it was so small, it made more sense to let the fabric do the work for me — so I found a brown wood batik and fussy cut it so I roughly had highlights and shadows where I wanted them.
And finally, I added his claws. They are really similar in tone to the branch — and I decided to stay with that. I used a purple with a lot of gray in it — but they are obviously the same value as the branch. I’ll define them more with texture in the quilting stage.
The last part is to add a background. This was my first pick. It’s a really bright acid green but it makes the cardinal pop. I tried other greens from my stash — but the greens with more gray in them make the cardinal more sedate — more like it’s a common wildlife scene.
And I could try something other than green — but the color wheel shows the green is the best choice — and holding up colors — it’s the one that makes the most sense visually — even if I did originally imagine more white and gray blues.
I’m not sold on this yet. I would love it if I could go to store and see if I could find something better — or validate my choice here — but there is still too much ice on the roads. I may go ahead for something to do. Sewing is a good antidote for cabin fever.
Worry Completed
010 years ago
This week I was intent on finishing my latest piece Worry. I quilted the background and then applied the binding. The hand work is getting harder for me to do. I’m a fairly thin skinned person and piercing my fingers with an extremely sharp needle seem masochistic at best — and my eyes are beginning to struggle to see the tiny stitches. I have only machine applied one binding but I may revisit that on my next piece.
You may have noticed that I missed Wordless Wednesday. That’s because I didn’t think about it until Thursday — and at that point, I felt like it was just too late.
Yesterday I finished sewing on the sleeve and blocking it — and today it was dry enough for me to take pictures. I took some for the website — but I’ve about decided it’s time I buy a photographic background stand. I have two design walls made from creosote that have black flannel taped to them which I have used for both blocking and a photography background. I started using them for blocking after I moved here when I discovered that you can’t pin into looped carpet — but sadly, blocking it warps the creosote — which wreaks havoc on the photographs if you’re using the same surface as a back drop. I have learned all the tricks in Photoshop Elements to straighten a pic. Once I realized that water was warping it, I kept one for blocking and the other for photography. Sadly, the one I kept for photography has still warped.
So I intend to order a photography stand this week and re-photograph the pieces I’ve done this year. I probably won’t re-do the images on the website — but I’ll have the proper pics for exhibition entries and publication opportunities.
2014 Goals
110 years ago
by Virginia Greaves
in Goals
The girls finally went back to school today & I’ve pulled together my goals for the year. I reserve the right to alter these as the year progresses — but hopefully I can get close to my goals.
Lincoln
– Make 2014 goals.
– Refine spreadsheet to monitor goals and progress (create one for 2014).
– Print blog books: 2009, 2010, 2011. One day I’ll catch up. I have all books through 2012 ready to print — it’s really just a matter of sending them to the printer.
– Change all icon references to eye on business card. Years ago, I made a small card with the blue eye of a pic I took — which I then used as my online icon — but last year I made business cards with a different eye. I need to change all of the online references.
– Update personal FB Page with new banner from business page.
– Increase web traffic 5%. Experience has shown me that this is a really hard stat to move. The biggest jump I’ve had in the site was from having my blog listed in the top 55 blogs by Quilter’s Home Magazine in 2011. Last year, I had work in two books and a magazine and traffic only increased just under 6%.
– Complete at least 6 large pieces.
– Participate in Journal52 with at least 40 journal entries. I have several journals lying around the studio but I’ve never participated in a regular one with a group so I thought I’d try it. My work is very different from the paper collage artists though — I may just show my pages on the Facebook Page or in blog posts.
– Enter at least 6 exhibitions. This is really a function of funding. I would love to enter everything under the sun but I can’t.
– Learn how to use the camera lucida. I bought one of these in a Kickstarter campaign and gave it to myself for Christmas. I haven’t had time to play with it yet though.
– Apply for SAQA Professional membership.
– Publish at least 2 blog posts per week. This is a big one for me. I think I may start another weekly concept post — maybe Wordless Wednesday. I think it would motivate me to work on my photography skills.
– Write at least 4 FaceBook posts per week (professional Page). Last year my goal was 3 per week — much easier than I thought it would be.
– Write at least 6 Twitter posts per week. My Twitter persona is about passing along information to other Creatives. In my reading, I find a lot of articles and encouragements that I think are helpful to others.
– Spend at least 15 hours per week in the studio. I thought about making this 20 — but the truth is that life gets in the way. Some weeks I can make 20 easy — some weeks I won’t come close to 15.
– Sell at least 2 of my pieces. I really debated whether or not to put this one on here — but I consider last year very successful in terms of making marketable work. I sold 3 of the 6 pieces I made — and I think that 2 of them will also be sold but just haven’t been exhibited enough yet. Time will tell. Concentrating on making work that I know is marketable subject matter is something I plan to continue.
I don’t have a goal to win anything or be published but I accept any of those opportunities fate throws my way. Maybe I should consider those more aspirations than goals. I also accept speaking engagements & lead workshops if they aren’t too far from home.
Here’s to a prosperous year! Let’s go forth with hope in our hearts and the wind of determination beneath our wings!
Houston Festival part 4
010 years ago
by Virginia Greaves
in Exhibition
There were so many quilts at Festival — I thought I had seen them all, but reading the blogs of other visitors, I realize how much I missed.
Obviously, I loved all of the art quilts. I’m not as interested in the traditional pieces — although I love to marvel over the handwork and stitching of Sharon Schamber’s work.
I did, by the way, really REALLY wanted to take pics of some of the exhibits — I had security guards follow me around since I had a camera in my hand — but other than the World of Beauty, most of the other ones had signs up declaring no pictures allowed. I loved SAQA’s portrait exhibit — which has made me think about re-joining.
These are the pictures of pieces that caught my eye. I have given attribution to each artist and a link to their website.
Sandy Curran‘s Jack
Marilyn Belford‘s The Wrath of Poseidon
Jennifer Bowker‘s The Quiltmaker — I particularly love this piece — not just for the color — but for the teeth. Few people are willing to appliqué teeth — I love seeing how someone else would do it.
Jennifer Day‘s Boy and His Best Friend
Barbara McKie‘s Caught in the Act — the use of trapunto in such a non-traditional way made this piece really come alive and feel dimensional.
Jan Reed‘s Ancient Echoes
Jane Haworth‘s Brian the Basilisk
Honey, I Can’t Find My Earrings! by Maggie Stimson, Edith Harmer, Donna Parker, Diane May, Pat Durbin, Rosalinda Brainerd, and Gerry Smetzer — fantastic slice quilt!
A close up shot of Christine Alexiou‘s Septum Peccata Mortalia (Seven Deadly Sins).
Kathy York‘s Windows
David Taylor‘s Did You Wash Your Beak?
The quilting on this was so fabulous I had to take a close-up shot.
David Taylor‘s Cock of the Walk
I hate to say that this is the end — but it is. Houston was such a grand adventure and I loved every minute of it.
Houston Festival part 3
110 years ago
by Virginia Greaves
in Exhibition
To continue from my last post, at this point in my adventure, preview night is getting ready to start.
TWEET: Preview night starts in 15 minutes.
5 hours of marathon-ing for me. I had high hopes. I knew that I only had 5 hours to see all of the quilts and then see the vendors with what little strength I would have left. After walking around the convention center yesterday, I had convinced myself that tennis shoes, however practical they may be, were going to be my shoes of choice. I admit to vanity — after seeing a certain someone looking incredibly fashionable in leather pants and low heels — I just couldn’t do it. I came to regret that later. This is the view of the vendor area from a portal on the 2nd floor before the show opened.
TWEET: Line to get to escalator to go downstairs to exhibit hall. Waiting for it to open. Quilters are such polite and friendly people. This was probably most apparent in the line of people waiting to go down the escalator to get in the show.
I took a lot of pictures of quilts at the show. Immediately as I started taking pictures, I could see myself being a hypocrite. For years, I’ve been concerned with people taking pictures of my work at shows and not giving attribution — or giving attribution but then putting their copyright image on the picture of my piece (which then gets pinned somewhere & causes confusion about copyright ownership) — or not putting the right permissions on something posted in FLICKR that allows anyone to print mouse pads with my images. I really need to just take a breath. I will show some pieces, I will give attribution, I will give links if possible, and if someone is uncomfortable with that, I will gladly delete the piece. First of all, I had another piece in the show — The White Raven.
There were many other birds in the show. I have to say that there were so many well done birds in the show, I may be done with birds. To say that the work was fantastic doesn’t quite cover it. This is Barb Forrister‘s Sunrise Serenade. I had to take this piece at a strange angle so there is some camera distortion — but the colors and the threadwork on this piece are inspiring. Barb really knows how to bring a peacock alive.
This is Ricky & Lucy by Nancy Sterett Martin and Karen Sistek. It’s painted silk. It is fabulous.
TWEET: My piece Firecracker next to Barbara Beasley’s Best Friend. I love hers. #quiltfestival
Remember my new friend Karen Ponischil?
This is her wonderful piece Princess Daphne that won an honorable mention in the Art-Miniature category. LOTS of thread painting to get that wonderfully furry effect.
I don’t want to forget to show you Christine Alexiou‘s piece Seven Deadly Sins one last time — so you can truly see that there were multiple pages in her fabric book.
I had a great opportunity to spend some time speaking with Thelma Bearden. Her piece, Very Berries, won 2nd place in Art-Abstract, Small. She is also a painter and has a wonderful grasp of how to make color work for her. I don’t think that my camera does this piece justice.
At the very end of the exhibit hall was the Healing Threads in Medicine exhibit, a group of quilts curated by the same people that curated Sacred Threads. I had two pieces in the Herndon, VA Sacred Threads exhibit but was unable to attend. They have since also traveled to the Sacred Threads-Omaha exhibit. It was wonderful to meet Lisa Ellis and Vicki Pignatelli and thank them for the wonderful opportunity to be included.
TWEET: Me with Lisa Ellis & Vicki Pignatelli.
At this point, I stopped and went back to my piece. Can you believe I only took this one shot of it with its blue ribbon? I didn’t even think about getting someone to take a pic of it with me and the ribbon.
Then I went to dinner with my new friends at the other end of the exhibit hall. When we were done, I wandered through the vendor area. It was completely overwhelming. There was stuff everywhere. I should have bought things — but I didn’t. I bought one Pashmina scarf. All of the fabric was either a novelty or brights so nothing really interested me — but I think also that exhaustion was starting to overtake me. I really wanted to find the Superior Threads booth because I love their thread — and I did manage to find them — but by that point, I was done. I was completely exhausted. I had almost an hour left before preview night closed down, and I just couldn’t do anymore. I did love this booth — it was full of the most amazing dolls. These are the dragons.
TWEET: Amazing doll patterns!
On the way out, I took one last look at the section where Lincoln was. I thought about getting a good group shot of the White Raven — but I just couldn’t make myself go backwards. TWEET: I’m exhausted — can’t do any more. Crawling back to my room.
Thank goodness the convention center is attached to the hotel. It was so easy to get back to my room. This is what the convention center looked like from my room.
And this is some of the skyline of Houston that night.
I had a fabulous time — but I was ready to go home. This shot was taken very early the next morning outside the front of the Hilton while I waited on my shuttle. TWEET: Houston — I’ve had a blast — but I’m heading back home to my girls.
One of the items in my winner’s envelope was a long list of awards sponsors to whom I was asked to send thank you notes. I have to admit that my first reaction was one of trepidation, but upon further reflection, I realized the wonderful extended opportunity it offered. I went home and ordered postcards from Moo.com with Lincoln on the front. I am currently addressing them in preparation of sending them to all of the wonderful sponsors.
TWEET: I’ve ordered from MOO! Jealous? Get 10% off: http://www.moo.com/share/mctdkn via @overheardatmoo
— It is now a week since I wrote this post. Unfortunately, server problems kept me from posting it.
I will have one last post on Houston — with the remaining pieces that I fell in love with.