Works in Progress

(Above: Packed boxes heading out ... part of the constant "works in progress" life of an artist. Click on image to enlarge.)

I'm home from my month long art residency with Studios Midwest, a program administered by the Galesburg Civic Art Center in Galesburg, Illinois. I returned to a mountain of custom picture framing and other work that required my attention. Of course, the car had to be unpacked and artwork, supplies, equipment, and various materials had to be put away (or into storage). My studio had to be whipped back into shape, a manageable mess of creativity in various states of progress. That's WIP ... Works in Progress.

Recently, Nina-Marie Sayre started an on-line opportunity for fiber artists to share their WIPs. It is called Off the Wall Friday. (This refers to a "design wall" ... which I don't have and probably wouldn't use if I did have such a luxury item. I generally use the floor!) Anyway, I'm going to try participating in this process. One must simply link their blog post to hers. There are already fifteen images at the time I'm typing this entry! I'll see what happens as soon as I finish writing!

I like the idea of sharing WIPs on a regular schedule. I used to blog more often and frequently shared pieces as they developed. Over the years (this is my 959th blog post here on "Art in Stitches" which was started in August 2006), I fell into the habit of only showing finished work. I think this will be fun! Nina's blog post for this Friday is HERE.

So ... my WIP for this Friday is something that really represents a constant "WIP" in the life of a working, professional fiber artist. PACKING AND MAILING! This also represents the "check in" and "check out" of inventory lists.

Yesterday I collected my solo show from Frame of Mind, a local, alternative art space along Main Street in Columbia. The show sold VERY WELL! I had to "check in" the artwork against the inventory work. Nine pieces didn't return! A check should come within a month. One piece was pre-sold via the Internet. I packaged it for my new patron! (Small top box! Thank you Anne Larsen!) I also checked in a piece returning from Craft National at the Mulvane Museum of Art and one from Material Voices, a show that ran during the Lowell Quilt Festival.

I created an inventory list for Things That Go Bump in the Night at Vision Gallery in Chandler, Arizona. Going to that show (packed in the two large boxes) are The Book of the Dead, The Bat in a Box, and twelve framed photos of creepy dolls (which most recently hung in Galesburg) and 23 matted and shrink-wrapped doll photos. I call them my "Tiny Tina Series". The statement I wrote for the dolls is:

In November 1963 the popular television show, The Twilight Zone, aired "Living Doll", an episode in which a wind-up, talking doll was featured and eventually caused the death of the overbearing father. Since then, people exposed to this scary program have rarely seen dolls as innocent play toys but as a "thing that goes bump in the night".

Of course I'm working on other projects ... but there's always next week's Off the Wall Friday!