For last year's ACC (American Craft Council) shows in Baltimore and Atlanta, I create a series of brooches that I placed on small, ornate frames. Everyone thought the idea of displaying a brooch when not wearing it was a great idea ... but no one purchased a single one. I removed the brooches from the frames and then sold nearly every one of them. I used eight of the sixteen frames for small works called "Charms". Recently I found the box with the other ten frames and decided it was time to make more "charms". They are fun and rather quick to make. They are mounted on really awesome silver mat boards and have no glass.
Best of all, these are excellent things for me to be working on during the holidays. As a custom picture framer, December is always very, very busy. I can only snag small bites of time for art work. These small pieces seem to keep me going!
The other week I finished several new Lancet Windows ... but I only got around to mounting, photographing, and framing them this week. I sort of sneaked them in between Christmas orders! LOL!
I know this blog post probably looks like some "sales blog". It's just that time of year. My attention does have to consider the big, upcoming ACC shows ... creating new work to fill my 10' x 10' Pro Panel booth. It is also Christmas time ... when shopping just seems to be in the air and many clients need my framing services. I hate the idea that my blog reflects this so much. Yet, my life does seem rather balanced. Why? ...
Well, I'm also sneaking in a minute here, a minute there, a half hour when I'm lucky, and time on the weekend for more conceptually driven work. I'm LOVING it! So ... check back! I'm nearly ready to post two significant projects on which I'm working (aka "stealing hours" from my framing)! My Cabinet of Curiosities is definitely underway and I just got a solo show opportunity for February. For this, I'll be sharing work made and influenced by my month at PLAYA, an art residency in the remote Oregon Outback! I'm excited ... and the thrill of it is helping me get through the holiday framing rush!
I'm linking this blog post to Nina-Marie's "Off the Wall Fridays", a site for sharing fiber art work. I haven't linked there for two weeks and have been wondering why (because, of course, I had a post to share each time). The only thing I can come up with is that having this opportunity has altered the way I blog. I used to blog more often but only when I was really ready to share something, even a "little something". My blog posts were often shorter. They generally included only one or two pieces at a time ... but I'd blog two or three times during the week. Since linking to "Off the Wall" (which I think I've been doing for something like two or three years), I've slowly and unwittingly started to blog only on Thursdays ... in order to link "everything" to this one site. I know this will sound stupid, but in my pea brain I didn't want to come off as some sort of slacker, like a "wannabe" artist playing around with something insignificant, as if I am only working on one thing at a time. This makes writing a blog post take more time. For me, it is less enjoyable. Finally, my subconscious interfered with this silly process. I stopped linking ... but that's a silly thing to do too!
For the past two or three weeks Nina-Marie has been writing about productivity. I know I'm productive. I know why I'm productive too ... I put in the hours, lots of them. There's nothing else I'd rather be doing. Even during the holidays I'm finding ways to steal a little time for art. I can't help myself. One of the most frequent questions other people ask me is, "Do you ever sleep?" Well, of course I do ... eight hours a night, every night! What makes me productive is how I use the other sixteen hours a day. I make art. Sure, I also work a "day job" ... but I'll "steal time" from every other part of my life. Anything for art! In the beginning (I started making art in the summer of 2001), I used to log my hours on a time card ... forming a habit, the habit of making art. Rather quickly, I didn't need to write down the numbers. Making art became as necessary as breathing. Yet, I liked seeing those time card numbers add up. Looking at them felt like some sort of validation. I think that's what happened with "Off the Wall". In my mind, it became a weekly accounting ... a new sort of "time card".
Today, while writing these additional words on yesterday's blog post, I am going to set out my New Year's Resolution ... even though it is December 18th ... my grandma's 97th birthday. From now on, I'm going to blog more often, shorter entries, and not care if I can only select one entry to link to "Off the Wall"!
Beautiful work, Susan. And I'm glad you are able to steal bits of time for your own framing. Enjoy the season in spite of the busy-ness. Listen to music. I'm about asto put Messiah on my CD player.
ReplyDeleteI love the charms and I love the Lancet Windows, especially Lancet Window LXVII. It reminds me of hardanger. Oh yes, I know this is THE time of the year. I am thinking of you!!! Oh, and Martha Ginn has a GREAT idea...Messiah. I know I have one or two or even three CDs with THAT on it!!!
ReplyDeleteSpectacular work! absolutely LOVE those little framed pieces especially
ReplyDeleteLooking at your stunning work is a holiday treat!! Where would we see so much in the same place? Love your work Susan.
ReplyDeletePeace of the season to you
Wow! I love these little treasures!
ReplyDeleteI love the charm pieces and look forward to seeing your PLAYA inspired work. Congratulations on the solo show.
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