Ready for Key West!

(Above:  The view into the Scion's hatchback ... almost entirely packed and ready to drive south.  Click on any image in this post to enlarge.)

On and off for the past few days I've been gathering my supplies, handouts, examples, materials, equipment, and assorted "stuff" needed for my two workshops at The Studios of Key West, HOT and HOTTER.  Today has been PACKING DAY ... where it all had to fit inside the car.  This took more planning that usual.  ("Usual" means a more haphazard activity, aka "throw it all in the car" ... random order is acceptable!)

I had to pack carefully because some of this "stuff" needs to come out during the trip!  I'm going to the keys via Michele Tuegel Contemporary, an art gallery in St. Petersburg.  I know this is not a direct route ... but ... what the heck!  When a gallery owner WANTS your work, corresponds personally and with sincere friendship, and reads your blog, YOU GO!  I'm thrilled of course!  The owner, Michele Tuegel, is an artist and has had a full career in the arts field before opening her gallery less than a year ago ... so it feels like "getting in on the ground floor."  The opening invitation is still on the Internet, HERE.  That show featured the work by the acclaimed art quilter Eleanor McCain ... so I'm in very, very prestigious company. 

I'm bringing an assortment of pieces from my "In Box Series" and my "Stained Glass Series".  Of course, I sold all my smaller "In Box" works and had to make two especially for this opportunity!


(Above:  In Box XCVI.  Unframed:  14" x 10".  Framed 19 1/2" x 15 1/2".  On its way to Michele Tuegel Contemporary.  Click on image to enlarge.)

 
(Above:  In Box XCV.  Unframed:  14" x 10".  Framed 19 1/2" x 15 1/2".  Also on its way to Michele Tuegel.  Click on image to enlarge.)

While getting ready to pack, I also finished my plate for the local Dining With Friends Dessert Finale.  The plate was painted with a mixture of brown and orange Glossies, an acrylic paint by Liquitex.  Once the thick paint is air dried for 24 hours, the plate is baked in an oven for a permanent, enamel finish.  After it was cooled, I adhered an older "In Box" piece using a thick gel medium.  Wooden beads and leather-looking sequins were added using a pair of tweezers ... which allowed me to "dip" and "place" the embellishments precisely where I wanted them ... one at a time.   


(Above:  HOT TERRA COTTA, my donation to the local Dining With Friends Dessert Finale.  Click on image to enlarge.)

The theme of this year's event is "Famously HOT" which is also the City of Columbia's official slogan and also the name of my first workshop in Key West!  So ... I've called the donation piece Hot Terra Cotta.  The organization furnished the plate.  I turned it into a unique artwork.

While in Key West, I'll be attending another charity event called the AIDS Help Art Auction.  It is being held right on the grounds of The Studios of Key West (TSKW) ... while I'm there ... over next weekend.  I decided to donate to this event too.  Thankfully, I could select an older piece ... an "elegant" one ... and not have to make something specific.  I plan to blog about it while there.  The champagne preview is from 6 - 8 on Friday night.  Steve will have just arrived by plane.  We will go from there to the Waterfront Playhouse to see The Drowsy Chaperone.  Kristen Michelle and Kyla Piscopink are in it.  Kristen was one of the other artists-in-residence at TSKW last March when I was there.  Kyla is a talented, local Key West dancer and choreographer who I met and watched at another performance last year.  So much to do!  So exciting!


(Above:  The image with which I replaced "full view" shots of Texting From the Grave on last month's blog post.)

Speaking of "exciting", I am proud to announce that my piece Texting From the Grave was accepted into the SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) traveling exhibition Text Messages which opens at the International Quilt Festival in Houston, TX next November.  After getting my acceptance email, however, I received a request to eliminate "full views" of the work on the Internet.  Thus, I created the image above and replaced the problematic pictures with it ... until November!   To see how this post now reads, CLICK HERE.  The angel sculpture is in the Rock Cemetery in Nottingham, England ... my all time favorite final resting place.