Paperwork, stamps, and a new mat cutter

Yesterday was nicely busy! It was the sort of day that was very full but not overly frantic. I soaked off all the sheets of 3 cents and 4 cents stamps that we bought at the auction of the past weekend--all $47 dollars worth! Steve and I will use them to mail invitations to the Audubon show we are planning for the springtime. It should make the exhibit notices stand out in a handful of daily junkmail.

The new mat cutter arrived with the over-sized Seal release boards on a giant truck. It took only fifteen minutes for me to unscrew the old mat cutter from my table and install the new one. It is wonderful. It is exactly what I wanted--what I had but brand new! There's no learning curve or instruction book to read.

I am having to read the manual for the new digital camera, however. Today I plan to try it out. The batteries are now charged. It is ready to go.

The web-cam works like a charm. Listening and watching Mathias is a blast. He has two more performances of Romeo and Juliet today. He says that he particularly likes Act 2. We told him that my parents are coming on Friday. Maybe he'll be available on-line for a conversation with them.

I framed all morning and then spent most of the afternoon composing an article on my upcoming show. The article is for Carolina Arts. The show is the one in Aiken with my African series. I'm calling it "Masks and Markings". I also prepared and mailed the exhibition list and statement to Anne Bliss, the gallery director. It would have been nice if the gallery would have handled the press but they don't. I'm just glad to have the opportunity to show the series altogether.

I also prepared a statement for the Vista Lights show. It's about three sentences long. It's hard to say much more when the artwork really isn't even done. Also, this article is to include all the participants from Vista Studios, so three sentences is quite enough.

Here's what I wrote about the African series:

The Etherredge Center on the USC-Aiken campus will present an exhibition of mixed media work by Columbia artist Susan Lenz in its upper gallery from November 1 through 28, 2006. The exhibit, Masks and Markings, will feature twenty-two new works based on West African artifacts.

Susan Lenz’s interest in tribal art stems from travels to Kenya and has been fostered by visits to notable museum collections. She says, “I began working on this series as a result of a wonderful opportunity to photograph and sketch a truckload of African artifacts. I admire the craftsmanship of people who use materials in their midst, the notion that each tribal member is an artist in his own right, and the function of creativity in spiritual matters. I am seeking to interpret these images using the materials with which I have always worked, with the understanding that my lack of a formal arts education is not a deterrent but possibly a “tribal” bonus, and in the spirit of experimental creativity. Each piece provides an opportunity to try a different approach or application order.”

The work includes collaged polyester sheers and velvets, Expanda-paint, oil pastels and crayons, silk filaments, snippets of threads, and free-motion machine embroidery. Some also include hand stitching, beads, textural gels and paint. The series is on going.For more information, contact the gallery at 803-648-6851 or 888-WOW-USCA.