textile paintings
Posts tagged exhibition
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 I had originally made this piece for the special exhibit It’s Raining Cats and Dogs — also in Houston at the same time as World of Beauty.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?
Reach for the Stars
19 years ago
I was giving an interview yesterday for a local paper. She asked me, now that I had won a prize in Houston, what was my next goal.
I am a firm believer in having goals. I’ve spoken before about always reaching for the next rung on the ladder. But I didn’t have an answer for her. It sounds silly to say that I’m still stunned by having won in Houston. It was 7 months ago. Surely I’ve made new plans.
I’m not sure where my brain has been on this one. I know it should be doing something, but it seems stuck. I have applied for professional juried membership into an artists organization and I’m hoping to be accepted — I’m re-entering the same shows — but what am I going to do next that is different?
I have some distant things I’ve thought about — a shot in the dark. If I tell someone, will they be more likely to come true? Or less likely?
A couple of years ago, I entered the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition at the National Portrait Gallery in DC. I was not accepted. I was not surprised — but because I had entered, they continue to send me emails on the competition and other events at the Gallery. I was surprised to see a LOT of mixed media winners in last years competition. I want to say that last year’s top winner was made from salt. It may be time that I hang up that lack of confidence and enter again. The only way to guarantee that you will never get into a show is to never enter. (I need to keep telling myself that. It’s true but sometimes it helps to use it like a mantra.)
This week, in the process of writing this post, I did make a change. A friend of mine told me about an opportunity for exhibition with a prestigious gallery in Brooklyn, NY. If I entered, I would be unable to enter two other shows that I’ve entered in the past. I would be competing at a much higher level with other artists — this is not a quilt show. It’s about time I change — reach for that next brass ring — so I sent in my application last week. The great thing about this show is that it only required that I be female — and there was no restriction on when the piece was made — so although I entered a couple of new pieces, I also entered a piece that has timed out for most quilt shows. It’s still a great piece and should still be exhibited. My mom was represented by a couple of galleries in NY at one time — so why couldn’t I also have my work shown there? If it was possible for her, it’s also possible for me.
So — this year, my exhibition list may not be as long as last year but hopefully I can shake things up a little and enter some new markets. If nothing else, I’ve pulled myself out of my rut of doing the same thing that I did the year before. Change is good. Carpe diem!
When You Are Ready
010 years ago
When I spoke at the Alpha Arts Guild Tuesday night, someone asked me — at what point did I know I was ready to enter an international show? When did I know I was a professional artist?
In retrospect, I don’t think I answered it very well — but now that I’ve had time to think about it, I wanted to share my thoughts.
There was no flash of light. No-one stepped forward and declared — you may now begin. I was very lucky in that I won a Best of Show ribbon in the first show I ever entered. It was a state level show and I had only entered my piece Childhood because I was going to take a class and thought it would be nice to have a piece in the show. I walked in — and you could have knocked me over with a feather.
And so I thought — I’ll enter Paducah. I was on the QuiltArt listserv — they were talking about it — so I thought — why not. They accepted both Childhood and Dalmatian Downs. I was lucky enough to go to the show and I was blown away by the work others were producing. There was a stunning quilt everywhere I turned — and it seemed unending. I was truly humbled to have been included.
I also had some luck entering Mancuso shows — but I wanted to get in the International Quilt Festival in Houston. That was the golden prize. I spent many years with rejection letters from Houston — but I just kept trying. After 5 years — I got discouraged and decided not to enter — but then a friend reminded me that that would guarantee I wouldn’t get in — so with my heart in hand — I sent in an entry with my latest endeavor — the beginning of a portrait series. The Lord must be kind to those who wait because that year they accepted Faces in Cloth I.
And then I put my mind to winning a prize at Houston. A girl can dream — right? And I waited and I hoped and I waited some more. There were times I was discouraged — but I think you always have to reach for the brass ring. The next rung on the ladder. Eventually, The Lord blessed me again and in the seventh year, last year, I won first place in my category for Lincoln.
Why did I do these things? Maybe early luck motivated me. I like to think it was also because I saw my mom break barriers in the art world. At one time, she traveled to Paris and was asked to move to New York to work with a famous painter. She stayed with her family but she pushed the boundaries of what was possible for a mom taking care of her kids in Alabama.
Creativity in Motion
010 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.
Virgin Rules
010 years ago
by Virginia Greaves
in Exhibition
For those that don’t know, I’m against virgin rules in art shows. A virgin rule excludes any entry from consideration if it has been previously published — in a book, magazine, website, or blog — usually in any form, in part, in process, or whole.
The primary show that does this is Quilt National (QN)– a very prestigious show for art quilters that comes around every other year. I entered one year, and like the other 98% that entered, I was not included.
The rules seem sensible — until you start to break it down from the artist’s point of view. If you spend a month or more on a piece (not everyone does but many do) and you have a website and/or a blog — you are excluding those efforts from your audience. In my case, I share a lot of my work in process. It’s the heartbeat of my blog.
Another notable artist that I follow recently started having her husband guest blog as a beginning quilter — but now he’s almost taken over completely because apparently she’s working on something she can’t share. I didn’t start reading her blog to hear from someone else on a different subject — I started reading her blog to read what SHE had to say about a particular subject. As an avid reader, I feel a little cheated. I have not even been given an explanation.
I do know a quilter that has entered and exhibited at Quilt National who typically pumps out three pieces in the month just prior to the deadline. She is so prolific that you don’t notice a blip on her blog.
But then there is me. I take a while. Unless it’s very small, it’s going to take me at least a month, maybe two, to make one piece.
This has come to mind for a couple of reasons. First, I was gathering my entry to IQF: It’s Raining Cats & Dogs exhibit last week. I’ve been in this show the last two years. I made a piece earlier in the year for it — before the rules came out — and just as I was gathering my entry materials — there it was. A virgin rule. Obviously, I already have a page on my website for it — and I documented its creation on my blog — so it’s disqualified. So disheartening. I know that there are some other shows that will be happy to exhibit this piece — but this was a disappointment. Apparently, in the 3rd year of the life span of a special exhibit, IQF adds the virgin rule. Piffle.
There was discussion a year or so ago about IQF adding the virgin rule into the larger World of Beaty competition — I’ve been watching for it and have been delighted it hasn’t appeared.
The curators don’t want everyone to see the work before the show and I understand that. I argue, however, that seeing a piece in person is very different from seeing it in a 72dpi pic on a computer screen. They also should not discount the artistry in the curator that pulls together just the right pieces in just the right configuration to present a dynamic exhibit.
So it sounds as if I will never enter a virgin rule contest, right? I’ll be completely honest here — I’m thinking of changing my mind. I received an email notification for entries to QN a couple of days ago — and I’m considering entering. I am finishing up a piece and I need to start on a new idea. The QN carrot is tempting. It would be another milestone — or it could simply be another way to take the life blood out of my blog — a move not terribly justifiable if my chances of getting juried in are less than 2%.
The deadline is in September. I have the full month of May until the summer — and I don’t create much during that time — until school starts back in mid-August. I could give myself a deadline of one month — and then finish it up at the end of the summer. I think a month is probably the longest amount of time I would be willing to sacrifice from my blog.
Even if you get past the whole virgin rule argument — you have to then tackle the concept of innovation, a cornerstone of this show. What hasn’t been done? Well everything has been done — “innovation” is in the eye of the beholder.
It’s a little ironic — I used to be adamantly opposed to making pieces to fit the mold of a show. Now I’m trying to do exactly that — but to argue the other side, I’m also trying to stretch myself — do more than I would otherwise do on my own. Without a push, I might choose to make something comfortable.
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.
Houston Festival part 2
010 years ago
by Virginia Greaves
in Exhibition
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
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!
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!
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
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.