Paperwork: SC Fellowship and Smithsonian Craft Show

Little by little, I've gotten back into the swing of my own creativity throughout the week. My "bird" book is nearly complete. Several more fabric artifacts for the archeology project have been beaded. I am ready to free motion stitch into the three "Elements of Architecture" pieces I hand stitched while in England (and on the plane and in the trains, etc!) The purchases I made at the Knitting and Stitching show seem to be calling to me, urging me to use them.

First, however, I had to collect my thoughts about the trade show. I read through the notes I took, wrote a few impressions as Word Documents, and sorted through the books I bought. Then, I was determined to fight with my computer and the Internet until photos could be uploaded and blogging posts could submitted.

For the past two days, I've also been finishing up other dreaded paperwork. The application for the South Carolina Arts Commission's annual fellowship awards is due on October 1. I decided to submit ten slides from my African Series. The on-line application took more time than I thought it would (as normal). It meant I had to update my resume and give a title to my solo show slated for November at USC-Aiken. I'm calling it "Masks and Markings". All the slides had to be put into new mounts because only the last six digits of one's social security number is permitted to be seen by the out-of-state jurors. I filled out everything perfectly, double-checking every blank and box--as if I stand a chance at being named! It's funny how nervous I can get at doing something that I know isn't going to make a difference!

Then, as if I needed more useless paperwork, I figured out how to get 300 dpi images that weren't more than 700 pixels in the longest direction into a portfolio at Juried Art Services. This is all part of my application for the Smithsonian Craft Show at the Building Museum in Washington, DC. I couldn't have managed without Sharon Licata. She scanned all my slides and helped me figure out how to get the images to stay at 300 dpi instead of being converted by some default setting to a mere 72! I submitted the required five images of my vessels. Each had to have dimensions, a description, a title, a price, and then be put onto a single page in an order of my selection. It really wasn't that difficult; but, like all paperwork, it took much longer than I had anticipated. Amazingly, the Visa number flew quickly through for payment! So, now I've applied along with approximately 1,200 fine craftsmen from all over the USA for the 120 spots available.

Tonight is Hank Fuseler's who opening at Vista Studios. I need to get into the studio again and really spend dozens of hours elbow deep in artwork--if for no better reason than to get the futility of paperwork completely out of my system.