Posts tagged Leisa Rich

Collaboration 1 -- full

Struggling with Abstract

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This week I met Leisa Rich at Abernathy Arts Center. We picked up our work from the Georgia Artists show that closed last week and spent about an hour talking about our abstract piece. She has added a bunch of stitching and it looks amazing.

Collaboration 1 -- full

I love the vinyl on the piece — it makes it look a lot like water. She took these pictures. I admit to having a problem photographing it. The vinyl is very reflective and cannot take direct light. But I was so pleased at the different life that it has now taken on.

These are detail pics.

Collaboration 1 -- detail1

Collaboration 1 -- detail2

Collaboration 1 -- detail3

 

I can’t get over how much its character has changed. I love it so much more than what I would have done with it.

She handed the piece back to me and we talked about what to do next with it. We’re considering making a larger but more realistic piece that this would fit into — but I’m having a problem working out value problems. There is so much huge contrast in this section that it’s difficult to resolve the focal point issue with the entire piece. Obviously the focal point should be the abstract. I’m still working out in my head how to accomplish that in light of this other idea.

And while I was waiting on Leisa to do her part last weekend, I started another abstract piece — a much larger one — and to be honest, I’m struggling. I can’t rely on my usual practice of logic to determine where colors go. I usually have no problems turning my value studies into colors — but that system doesn’t work very well here. It was an issue with the small piece, but I was able to work around it. It’s harder to do in a piece 45″ wide.

I’m telling myself that there are no wrong answers. It can be whatever I want it to be.

Right now I’m marking all of the sections on my pattern with colors. I’ll hopefully finish that later today so I can move on to picking fabrics. Maybe I’ll even come up with an excuse to take a trip to Red Hen!

And let’s face it — it’s summer. There are numerous distractions to take me from something that isn’t holding my attention very well. Even in art we have to slog through difficult tasks sometimes.

One last thing — Leisa has asked if she can be a guest writer on this blog to which I happily agreed. Given that our work is a collaboration, I definitely think that her point of view should be shown as well. I’m looking forward to having her contribution.

Golden Moment 1st Place

2014 Georgia Artists

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Last night was the opening reception for Georgia Artists at the Abernathy Arts Center in Sandy Springs, GA. I got there just as it was starting and the gallery was empty enough that I could take a few pics of my pieces on the gallery walls without the distraction of people. It’s always hard once there are people viewing the work to get a clear shot. This is Worry. It was just to the right as you entered the gallery. Seeing it hang on something other than my design wall was exciting. There is nothing like gallery lighting to make your work look its best.

Worry @ GA Artists

And here is Golden Moment — on the left wall next to the far wall as you entered. I think this is the same place where Beach Guardians hung a couple of years ago. In fact, as I was speaking with the curator later in the evening, I realized that this is the 4th year in a row that I’ve been included in this juried exhibit.

Golden Moment @ GA Artists

Now keep in mind that this is an ART show — not a quilt show. There were paintings, photographs, sculpture (although a lot less than usual), encaustics, drawings, and many mixed media pieces (more than in previous years). I used to enter in the mixed media category — but this year they added a category just for me — Fiber Arts. I was so thrilled when I saw the entry form. Slowly but surely, Fiber Art is coming to the ATL.

As the announcement of winners was being made, I hung out in the back. I had a woman tell me she loved my piece. I gave her my business card. I expected to be leaving shortly.

But then the curator started talking about the first place winner — that she had been in this show for the last four years. I had a similar light headed moment in Houston when I realized that I had won first place. She was talking about me!

Golden Moment 1st Place

(By the way, I took the pic above with my iPhone. I took the same shot with my camera — but I wanted a quick shot to share on social media — so this one was taken with my phone. I couldn’t believe how much better of a pic it was. The quilting in the background really stands out.)

And here is the obligatory shot of me with the piece. I should have taken one with Worry too — but at this point, there were too many people waiting to talk to me about Golden Moment.

artist pose with Golden Moment

According to the curator, the judge loved both of my pieces and really struggled with which one to give the award to. In the end, he chose Golden Moment because he loves dogs. (Which just furthers my argument that portraits of animals will always be more appreciated than portraits of people because they have broader appeal.)

Last year, I had prepared business cards because I had needed them the previous year and did have them. As luck would have it, I had no-one to give my card to. There wasn’t much interaction with the artists at that show.

This show was a lot different — and I gave out a lot of my cards. I was glad to have them. I met a lot of other wonderful artists. For an artist, it is a dream to talk about your work, your intentions, your processes — and with interested people.

This is me speaking with my sister-in-law. She is a big animal lover.

Laurie

As luck would have it, they put my piece right next to Leisa Rich’s. I’ve known Leisa, mostly on Facebook, for a couple of years. She is a wonderfully talented fiber artist here in Atlanta that pushes the boundaries of what she can do with textiles. Her work is almost always dimensional and frequently sculptural.

Leisa Rich

This is her piece — Emerging from Dormancy. It won an honorable mention. She has done a series of these in different color ways — she showed a red version on her Facebook Page that she hung recently in a Buckhead home. She has a black one featured on her website home page.

Leisa Rich: Emerging from Dormancy

I’ve called on Leisa many times for advice. She is one of the few artists I’ve found in Atlanta that is serious about her work, considers her art a profession and herself a professional, and knows a lot about the business of art.

I had a great time. My cup runneth over!

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