Time Marches On

 (Above:  Back room at Mouse House ... my "home studio" for 3D found object assemblages!  Click on any image in this blog post to enlarge.)

The other day I worked on the storage room upstairs at Mouse House.  It used to be a bedroom.  Now it contains shipping cartons, installation art in giant boxes, vintage household linens, and lots of other things used for making art.  I felt accomplished but not finished.  I knew that the downstairs back room was in far worse shape.  Back in October 2011 I claimed this room as my "home studio" for 3D found object assemblages.  I made lots of objects throughout 2012 and into 2013.  Then my focus shifted. Piles of cool vintage things from Bill Mishoe's auction grew ... haphazardly ... until getting into the room was a problem.

 

I didn't take a "before" photo; it would have been embarrassing ... especially since my Dad reads my blog and taught me how to keep tools and screws and materials in order.  (His workshop is comparatively neat and tidy.)  It took all day Friday and most of Saturday to sort, pitch, organize, vacuum, and basically reclaim my studio space. 

One of the best fixtures in the room is this antique butterfly collection cabinet.  The drawers were once covered in glass and/or wire mesh insect drying racks.  I've since removed these parts. The original door was gone before I got this piece.  We used to store antique prints inside. Those were sold over a year ago ... through an auction house in Virginia.

Now the drawers are filled with interesting "small things" ...

... and tiny clock parts and gears ...

... and miscellaneous jacks and clothespins, and tiddliwinks ...

... and locks and latches and a few keys (most of my obsession with keys is stored elsewhere) ...

... and washers, brads, nuts, and other hardware (though most of these things are actually on the nearby shelves ...

... and rusty nails (though the ones I used for rusting vintage fabrics are stored in three cast iron kettles ... also nearby.)



In the process of cleaning, I found a few items that had been started but never finished.  I poured epoxy over the key, buttons, clock spring, and coin in October 2012.  It was high time to finish this piece!  It was in pieces but all sitting together in a little box. 

 

 I collaged the phrase "Time Marches On" on the inside of the formerly reverse painted glass.  I filled the space behind the glass with unraveled thread.  Assorted screws and nails reattached the wooden frame around the glass. More thread went behind the epoxy.  I sanded, stained, and buffed the piece.  The clock key went on the top.  It felt good to work in my "home studio" again.  The two days of cleaning and sorting got my mind swimming with ideas for more work.

 

I stopped cleaning the room at 5:00 on Friday night.  Why?  Well, my mentor Stephen Chesley was giving a lecture for the opening of his solo show at the Sumter campus of the University of South Carolina.  This is the same room in which a curated selection of my Decision Portraits were show in October 2013.

Stephen talked about our planet's precious water resources, his love of the ocean, the master painters he most admires, his symbolism, and media.  (Most were oil paintings but there is at least one watercolor and one pastel in this exhibition called Near the Ocean, which runs through April 30th.)  He gave good advise on living an artistic life, the joy of painting, and the will to live free.

Art and storage

(Above:  The storage room ... rearranged and the carpet was even swept!  Click on this image to witness this rare, nearly unbelievable tidiness!)

I am a very, very fortunate artist.  I live in an extremely large, historic house in downtown Columbia, South Carolina.  It has unique zoning.  The first floor is my business, Mouse House. Once upon a time, this was a full-service custom picture framing shop with up to 14 on payroll.  Steve and I offered full-time employees a paid health insurance policy, a retirement plan, vacation days, and over-time pay.  We were busy ... so busy that I once stopped sleeping for nearly six weeks.  (I got really sick.)  I worked from the time I rolled out of bed until the wee hours of every morning when I crept back under the covers ... seven days a week ... fifty weeks a year..  I am an excellent picture framer but I hated this exhausting life.  Secretly, I dreamed of becoming an artist ... "when I grew up".  In July 2001, I finally fired my head mat cutter.  I was the back-up mat cutter.  His hours and mine totaled 25 per day.  I was in serious trouble and decided to forcibly downsize the business.  It took two years to downsize, to find jobs for all the others, and finish long-term obligations.  Finally in 2003, I got a studio at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios ... and simply went to work. Learning to become an artist is hard work ... but I work hard.  It has been an amazing journey. 

(Above:  Mouse House, 2123 Park Street in historic Elmwood Park ... and one of the locations featured on the upcoming Elmwood Park Tour of Homes on April 11th.  I have advanced tickets for sale!)

Now ... I still do limited custom picture framing (gotta earn a living!) but the business is restricted to the work my husband Steve and I can accomplish without employees.  Over the years, lots of other things gradually changed as well.  For instance, we no longer stock the thousands and thousands of antique botanicals and 19th c. prints we once did.  Most of these things were hauled off to an auction house in Virginia and sold ... in order to make room for storing my artwork.  The shelves that once overflowed with hand-colored engravings are now stacked full of art quilts, my Decision Portrait Series, altered and artist books, and a myriad of other creative work.  The walls used to be filled with custom framed mirrors, merchandise for sale. We still have mirrors but many of the downstairs walls are now covered in my available artwork.  Upstairs the walls are equally filled ... with our personal collection.

(Above:  Original artwork by Virginia Spiegel ... now framed in a lovely real burl frame.  Click on image to enjoy!)

I've done a bit of rearranging in order to hang our newest piece.  This is Mysteries of Horseshoe Rock II by Virginia Spiegel.  We recently traded and I couldn't be more pleased.  Virginia has even listed the acquisition on her website! Thank you, Virginia!

Even as Mouse House changed over the years, the problem of storage has continued to pester me.  So ... while Steve is in London, I'm tackling the upstairs storage room.  Yes ... Steve went to see our son Mathias Lenz Dingman, first soloist with Birmingham Royal Ballet, in the company's London Coliseum performances this weekend.  He left yesterday and returns at 11:30 PM on Monday.  The first photo in this blog post shows what I managed to do today while manning Mouse House.  Years ago it was a bedroom.  Believe it or not, we only have a single bedroom in the house (which is nearly 4000 square feet).  This room looked too horrible for me to share a "before" photo.  Now, it functions much better as a location to store dozens of shipping boxes, all the unraveled thread and 130+ baskets that make up my Threads: Gathering My Thoughts installation, several bags of dissected and washed fabric from artificial flowers collected from cemetery dumpsters, an embarrassing amount of knitting and crochet yarn (I don't do either), boxes of vintage household lines, stacks of old damask tablecloths, and an enormous stash of recycled black acrylic industrial felt.  Tomorrow ... I tackle another room.  This one is downstairs but yet another room for my "art obsessions".  I can barely get inside the door.  Wish me luck!

Catching up after the Atlanta ACC Show

 (Above:  Thursday night's "Preview Party" at the American Craft Council's Atlanta Show.)

I'm not sure how it happens but every time I'm out-of-town for a weekend, a week's worth of work seems to magically pile up awaiting my attention!  Yesterday and today have been spent catching up on various art correspondences, unloading the rental cargo van, removing sold artwork from my inventory book, and putting the Pro Panel 10' x 10' booth back into storage.  Of course, I also have plenty of custom picture framing to do and household tasks.  I feel impossibly "behind schedule" and am hopeful that this post will mean that at least my blog has "caught up"! LOL!

So ... last weekend!  The American Craft Council Atlanta show at the Cobb Galleria was lots and lots of fun.  There was a constant crowd of people who were eager to see my work.  There were sales!  Yippee! The brooches (now without frames) sold well.  The forty+ email messages sent to area galleries paid off too!  I'm now represented by Lagerquist Gallery, a well established location in the ritzy Buckhead neighborhood of Atlanta!  The best part of that experience was hearing about the art market from the gallerist's point of view, seeing what Lagerquist sells most successfully, and how my work might grow in these directions.  Soon I'll be acting on ideas from our conversation.  I certainly have good reason to think this is just the beginning of a long and mutually beneficial relationship!

 (Above:  My booth ... # 1301.)

I took a new "booth shot" on the first official day of the show.  Booth shots are important in many national juried show applications.  Since I recently purchased the shelf and two "shorter" walls, I needed this new image for future opportunities.  I'm really pleased with the layout.  People were in and out of the booth constantly.  It had good flow and enough open space for both viewing and conversations.

(Above:  Mary Edna Fraser at the unveiling for her new batik at Saluda Shoals Park.)

Before I left for Atlanta, however, I was able to attend the unveiling of Mary Edna Fraser's new batik for Saluda Shoals Park.  It was inspirational to hear her talk about her art, process, and career.

Also before leaving for Atlanta, I learned that I have "a hand" on Seam Busters by Mary Hood ... literally!  My friend Pat Callahan has worked at the University of South Carolina Press for over sixteen years.  She's been instrumental in bringing dozens and dozens of publications into existence ... including orchestrating the cover of this new book!

(Above:  Creating the cover for Seam Busters in the USC Theater Department's costume shop.)

Several months ago Pat asked me to "lend a hand" during a photo shoot!  Not in a million years would my hands qualify for "modeling" ... or so I thought!  Of course, this particular image needed the hand of someone used to cutting fabric!  That would be me!  By the way, Pat Callahan is a very accomplished artist in her own right.  Check out her blog!  Check out this nice article written by Rachel Haynie for Columbia Living Magazine.

Most importantly, check out the book!  Award winning author Mary Hood's fictional account of women sewing state-of-the-art camouflage is already earning high praise!

"I don't believe Mary Hood is capable of writing an uninteresting sentence. She can say in three words what I can say in 160. Like all the great writers, Mary Hood has mastered the high wires of brevity and conciseness. Her deeply imagined characters in her novella Seam Busters, as in all of her writing, speak as if they are offering their own true and often fabulous commentary on the book of life itself."—Pat Conroy, author of The Death of Santini

"Mary Hood busts the seams of the 'factory-broken' farmers in Ready, Georgia, where the Diet Coke and the Bible are both open. . . . Hood's fiction brings back Erskine Caldwell's realism and Marion Montgomery's compassion."—Jan Nordby Gretlund, Center for American Studies, University of Southern Denmark

"Georgia novelist Mary Hood puts her fine gifts of scene-setting and characterization to work in this compact little saga of a rural sewing factory and the women bound by hard times to its ever-running machinery. Hood highlights the plentiful humor of her cast, and, in the face of a community tragedy, a humanity and warmth beyond all expectations."—Dot Jackson, author of Refuge 

I am linking this post to Nina-Marie's "Off the Wall Fridays", a site for sharing fiber artwork.

Getting ready for ACC ATLANTA

(Above:  Charm I, Inventory # 3382. Framed: 9 1/2" x 8 1/2". $100.  Click on any image in this post to enlarge.)

The last three weeks have been almost strange.  Why? Well, on one hand there was a lot of time between the ACC (American Craft Council) show in Baltimore (Feb. 20-22) and the upcoming ACC Show in Atlanta (this weekend, Mar. 13-15).  Steve and I had an opportunity to evaluate my booth design, the work presented, and take into consideration good advice offered by more seasoned fine craft artists selling in high-end shows.  Yet, on the other hand, there wasn't much time at all. There was no time to start any major new work. Instead, we had to play "catch up" with our day jobs, custom picture framing.  Plus, artwork was mailed for the invitational Art Quilts exhibition at the Georgetown Art Center in Georgetown, TX.  I wish I could go. It opens on Friday and includes two of my small "Stained Glass" series pieces and several Grave Rubbing Art Quilts.  Other work was sent for the spring Through Our Hands exhibit in the Bilton Craft Gallery in England as well as for the invitational Southern Highlights show at the Ruth Funk Center for Textiles in Florida.  Paperwork and shipping is almost like another "full time" job! LOL!


(Above:  Charm II.  Inventory # 3383.  Framed: 9 1/2" x 8 1/2". $100. Click on image to enlarge.)

There was time, however, to think about the framed brooches I made. (Click here to see them.)  While everyone loved them, no one seriously considered buying them. Sure, everyone thought it was brilliant to display the brooches when not wearing them ... but not enough to take one home.  What to do? Especially considering I have fifteen of them.

I decided to take the brooches to Atlanta ... without the frames ... at a lower price. $50 each.  Then I made little "stained glass" fiber pieces for six of the frames.  These are now priced at $100.  We'll see how this format fairs during the coming weekend.  (Two are pictured above.  Scroll down for the other five.)


(Above:  The Key to Happy Thoughts.  Framed: 10 1/4" x 9 1/2".  Click on image to enlarge.)

Last week Linda Bartone brought one me one of her special keys.  She commissioned me to turn it into The Key to Happy Thoughts.  This is the result.  It was fun to make the colorful, dry-felted background and cording.  I added beads and a few sequins for sparkle.


(Above:  Linda Bartone with her new artwork.)

I also had to clean up my studio.  It was a disaster of epidemic proportions!  Try to imagine a polyester velvet bomb exploding inside a confined space.  


(Above:  In Box CLXXVII. Inventory # 3388. Framed 33 1/2" x 21 1/2". $525.)

Before cleaning, however, I finished another large "In Box Series" piece.  Speaking of "cleaning", Steve and I decided that the three weeks between the two ACC Shows was a great time to attempt a little down-sizing.  We've been gathering piles and boxes of "stuff" in almost every room in the house.  It will all be hauled off to Bill Mishoe's auction tomorrow morning in the rental cargo van.  (Believe it or not, a week rental was cheaper than a four-day rental for the same van.  Thus, we are using it to de-clutter the house!)  By tomorrow afternoon, I'll be packing the 10' x 10' Pro Panel booth, my artwork, and everything that will go to Atlanta.  The preview party is on Thursday night.  The show runs Friday through Sunday.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the weather hold out and the show attendance brings plenty of happy people! 

(Above: Charm VI. Inventory # 3387. Framed: 9 1/2" x 8 1/2". $100. Click on image to enlarge.)
 I am linking this post to Nina-Marie's "Off the Wall Fridays", a site for sharing fiber artwork.

I

(Above: Charm III. Inventory # 3384. Framed: 9 1/2" x 8 1/2". $100. Click on image to enlarge.)

(Above: Charm IV. Inventory # 3385. Framed: 9 1/2" x 8 1/2". $100. Click on image to enlarge.)

(Above: Charm V. Inventory # Framed: 9 1/2" x 8 1/2". $100. Click on image to enlarge.)

3D Mixed Media Textile Art Book

Although my work isn't in this pre-release video, I'm one of the fifty artists selected by TextileArtist.org to be featured in this upcoming publication!  I'm thrilled of course ... and who wouldn't be thrilled?!!! This is certainly the "best of the best".  I'll blog more when the issue is ready next month!

I believe in serendipity and coffee!

(Above:  Key to Coffee, a trade with Virginia Spiegel.  Unframed: 9" x 9"; framed: 14" x 14". 1960s military map, vintage key, buttons, clipped paper letters, and machine stitched cording on recycled, white industrial packaging felt with free motion stitching, collage, and hand stitching.  Click on image to enlarge.)

Last month I was one of "The 100" artists in Virginia Spiegels Fiberart for a Cause's on-line fund-raiser benefiting the American Cancer Society. $10,380 was raised in only two-and-a-half hours!  I blogged about it.  I put it on my website. I included it in a Constant Contact email going to my 2000+ strong database. After the event, I sent my work to the randomly selected patron who donated $100 to the event.  There's really nothing "unusual" about this paragraph. Everything went according to plan. Awesome!

"And now for the rest of the story!"
It gets even better!

A year ago Virginia Spiegel tagged me on Facebook by total accident. (She meant to tag another "Susan"! LOL!) She was sharing a blog post about her "Java Wall", a themed collection of work depicting her love of coffee.  (Click HERE to see Virginia's original post.)  We exchanged a few funny messages ... in which we sort of said we'd enjoy trading with one another. The thought of making a "java" inspired work for Virginia's wall appealed to me. In fact, I knew EXACTLY how I wanted to approach it. I just didn't own the essential material ... so, I sort of let the idea fizzle out. We didn't trade. Thus, I was surprised that Virginia wanted me to be one of the "100 Artists" for the recent fund-raiser.

So ... "The 100" fund-raiser goes perfectly.  What I didn't know, however, is that Donna Williams, a long-time framing client of mine, received my email, set her iPhone for the day and hour to donate her $100, and received Virginia's fiber art donation!  Donna brought it to Mouse House for framing.  I wasn't even there when she came, but fortunately my husband Steve knew all about the fund-raiser.  He also knew that Virginia Spiegel is a "big name" in our fiber art community and was just as excited as Donna over her getting one of the most coveted pieces.  He didn't know, however, how to answer Donna's question about a lovely collection of hand-dyed and over printed pieces of fabric that were neatly arranged between tissue paper. Virginia sent them as a "bonus" with her fiber art piece. All Steve could say was, "Susan will know what to do with these.  She'll call you."

Virginia's fabrics are beautiful.  They were beautifully arranged on the tissue paper too ... exactly how Virginia sent them. I knew what I would do with them ... but they weren't mine. I knew what other fiber artists would do with them too, but Donna Williams isn't a fiber artist.  (I'm not sure she even sews.)  What to do?

I called Donna Williams and suggested she take up art quilting.  After the laughter died down, I made a more realistic suggestion ... frame them ... just as they were ... just as Virginia arranged them.  Donna loved the idea.  (So did Virginia!)

 
(Above:  Steve holding Donna Williams' new fiber art piece.)

Donna didn't want to be photographed with her new piece ... but Steve volunteered.  The fabrics are all stitched to a linen covered piece of foam-centered board.  It was HARD to get the needle through some of the multiple layers of folded fabric but worth it.  To do this, I needed "invisible thread", strong, thin mono-filament.  Yet, all my invisible thread is in my studio, a mile away.  Fortunately, I remembered that Phillippa Lack sent a box of old thread to be unraveled for my Threads: Gathering My Thoughts installation.  In it were a couple of spools of invisible thread ... just upstairs!  So ... THANK YOU, Phillippa for your contribution to this unique fiber artwork.   

(Above:  Buttons by McAnaraks.)

When the fabrics were finally stitched down, I realized the arrangement needed just "one more little thing" ... buttons! Fortunately, there was a nice collection sitting on my mat cutting table.  These handmade buttons were made by another Facebook friend who sent them just for the fun of it and because she enjoys my blog!  Now isn't that just wonderful!  The buttons are from the highlands of Scotland and available at Buttons by McAnaraks.  That's a link to a brand new website ... and she's offering a celebratory 10% off on orders placed through March 2015 via a discount code: FOLTBOLT0315

Thank you, Buttons by McAnaraks!

So ... basically ... it took four fiber artist to create this unexpected artwork!  I honestly believe that a little serendipity figured into the equation!  I had the thread I needed, the buttons I wanted, and a client who won Virginia's artwork just at the same time when I FINALLY come upon the map of JAVA! Over the weekend, I made The Key to Coffee for Virginia!  It's going in the mail and I'll blog about whatever I get in return!
  

(Above: My son Mathias Dingman and his dancing partner Arancha Baselga as the leads in Birmingham Royal Ballet's Coppelia.)

By the way, I love social media.  It seems to be the only place where I can find photos of my son!

PS  Here's the statement I wrote for the back of Virginia's Key to Coffee:

“Java coffee” refers to the beans grown in Java, a volcanically formed Indonesian island lying in the northeastern Indian Ocean’s archipelago. Java is the fourth largest producer of coffee in the world. In 2007 420,000 metric tons were produced, of which 271,000 were exported.  Twenty-five percent of the exported java coffee was the highly valued Arabica, a bean which results in a low acidity yet a strong bodied coffee.  Locally, this black, and very sweet coffee is referred to as Kopí Jawa. The Dutch began cultivating coffee trees on Java during the late seventeenth century.  Plague and different agricultural systems changed over time. By the nineteenth century, the Arabica coffee production was mostly confined to eastern Java at altitudes over 4600 feet.  It is still grown on large Dutch estates established in the late eighteenth century, especially plantations known by the names Blawan (also spelled Belawan or Blauan), Jampit (or Djampit), Pancoer (or Pancur), Kayumas and Tugosari.  These five estates cover more than 4,000 hectares. Despite the large firms, 90% of Indonesia’s coffee is still grown on farms averaging one hectare or less. Java coffee is prized as one component in the traditional "Mocca Java" blend, which pairs coffee from Yemen and Java.  For this delicacy, some growers age their beans for up to five year in large burlap sacks.  These sacks are regularly aired, dusted, and flipped in order to allow time for the beans to turn from green to light brown while their acidity drops and the resulting coffee’s taste strengthens.  These aged coffees are called Old Government, Old Brown or Old Java. In other countries, “java” refers to coffee in general. 

I am linking this post to Nina-Marie's "Off the Wall Fridays", a site for sharing fiber artworks.

Catching up!

(Above:  Ed Madden and me ... the Monarchs of the Jasper Magazine Mardi Gras krewe.)

It seems like ages since I last wrote a blog post but it has only been two weeks (which, admittedly is a long time between my normal posting.) Plenty has happened since then ... like reigning over one of the local Mardi Gras krewes in a fun filled parade.  My friend Ed Madden, the city's poet laureate, and I were the "monarchs" (a gender neutral esteemed title) for Jasper Magazine.  Our regal head-wear was created by Kendal Turner ...
    


... and we rode in a '68 convertible Corvette driven by its proud owner J Britt.  Photographer John Allen walked the entire length of the parade with us, snapping many hilarious photos en route.
    

(Above:  The packed cargo van.)

After the weekend, Steve and I loaded the rental cargo van and drove to Baltimore for the American Craft Council Wholesale and Retail show.  It is truly an honor to be under the same, enormous convention center roof with 640+ nationally juried, professional craft artists working in clay, glass, metal, wood, and fiber.  Hundreds of people came despite dreadfully low temperatures and several inches of fresh snow.
 

(Above:  In Box CLXXIV. Inventory # 3376. Framed: 19 1/4" x 15 1/4". $225. Click on image to enlarge.)

I finished three, small pieces in my "In Box Series" right before we left.  I didn't have time to blog them before leaving ... but here they are!

(Above: In Box CLXXV.)

It's funny that two of the three sold during the show despite the fact that I had three others the same size!  Only In Box CLXXIV is still available!

(Above: In Box CLXXVI.)

Before leaving, I started a new art quilt.  I was otherwise between hand stitching projects and couldn't imagine a long drive up and back without needle and thread.  This new piece is coming along very, very well.  I'm excited!  Also, I got my contract to teach my "HOT" workshop at the Craft Alliance Center of Art and Design in St. Louis on May 16 and 17 ... just after a 2-week art residency at the Anderson Center in Minnesota.  I'm very excited.  "HOT"  is my workshop on heat-activated techniques for creative embroidery which has been taught at Focus on Fiber for Mary McBride in Florida, the Center for Contemporary Art in Pittsburgh, the Columbia Museum of Art, The Studios of Key West, and for the Masters of Art in Teaching program at Lander University.  CLICK HERE for information on the workshop in St. Louis!

I'm linking this post to Nina-Marie's "Off the Wall Fridays", a site for sharing fiber artworks.

Framed brooches and last push toward ACC Baltimore

(Above:  Detail of Lancet Window LI.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

This week has been crazy!  Why? Well, there's so much to do before Monday morning when Steve and I load the rental cargo van and head north to the ACC (American Craft Council) Baltimore wholesale (Feb. 18 - 19) and retail show (Feb. 20 - 22.)  There's plenty of custom picture framing to finish and clients to call but there's also the "last minute push" to finish new work for the booth ... including Lancet Window LI and another, large In Box piece pictured below.  Right now, there are three, small In Box pieces in the garage waiting for the final, melting touches and to be framed.  These three will be the last pieces done until returning from Baltimore.  I'm not sure if I'll get them photographed and blogged but I will get them into the van!  

 
(Above:  Lancet Window LI, Inventory # 3359. Framed: 31 1/4" x 11 1/4". $375 plus tax and shipping.)

Tonight is the reception for Crafting Civil (War) Conversations at the McKissick Museum.  I have a piece, Stitching Together, in this juried show.  Tomorrow evening I'll be helping with a Mardi Gras float sponsored by the Jasper Magazine krewe.  My friend, the super talented poet Ed Madden, and I have been named the krewe's "Monarchs"! We will be riding in a convertible during Saturday's parade!  I'm excited! The rest of the weekend will be spent in "hunter-gatherer mode", trying to assemble everything needed for the ACC show into one place near the door!  That's the 10' x 10' Pro Panel booth, all the lighting equipment, the boxed artwork, packaging blankets, receipts book, business cards, order forms, bubble wrap, the "jig-saw" foam booth floor, signage, etc. It's a lot of work but very exciting.

(Above: In Box CLXXIII, Inventory # 3360. Framed:  33 1/2" x 21 1/2. $525 plus tax and shipping.)

Preparing for a show also includes a lot of nervousness.  The outlay of money for booth rent, electricity, the cargo van, gas, hotel stay, and food add up to an incredible amount.  "Breaking even" doesn't always happen for every artist, no matter how talented.  Honestly, every artist in this show is already among the best in the country ... and there are over 600 of us.  The energy during set-up is fueled both by happy anticipation and financial worry.  It is an awesome mix of emotions and very different from doing anything in my hometown.  I'm proud to be going, thrilled for the chance to be among such peers, and praying for sales!

(Above: Brooches VII and VIII.  Framed:  9 1/2" x 8 1/2". $150 each.)

Since I haven't been "on the high-end craft circuit" for very long ... basically within two years, I haven't really had to consider changing my work too much.  Some of the other artists have been doing ACC shows for two decades or more.  Over time, their inventory has changed, been updated, and created to appeal to both new and repeat buyers.  Yet last year, I did hear plenty of people ask me if I had anything "smaller" than my small, "In Box Series" pieces.  I heard people comment that they'd like something "under $200" and something that could easily be shipped back home or as a gift. (Yes, people really do fly to Baltimore for an inspired weekend looking at and buying fine craft!) These comments prompted me to create the "On Gold Series".


(Above: Brooches XI and XII. Framed:  9 1/2" x 8 1/2". $150 each.)

Another thing I noticed during last year's ACC Baltimore show was how most women are totally attracted to any type of jewelry, especially rather large brooches.  Yes, I realize that this is obvious to most people ... but it was news to me! LOL!  (I'm atypical in many respects.  I don't cook, clean, shop, keep up with fashions and accessories, and generally skip looking at jewelry when browsing artists' booths.  I don't generally wear pins or brooches ... and if I were to do so, I'd select something very small.)

Jewelry, however, is a separate, juried category for an ACC show.  My work falls under "Decorative Fibers".  This fact made me dismiss the idea of creating a brooch, but then I had a hair-brained idea that solved the dilemma.  I could make a small decorative fiber piece which could, upon occasion, be removed from its frame and worn!  I made eighteen "samples" last March while teaching for Mary McBride's Focus on Fibers retreat in Florida.  I blogged about them HERE.      


(Above: My set up for photographing the collection of framed brooches.)

During the last two weeks, I worked on the "samples" ... turning them into framed decorative artworks ... finishing the backs ... and playing with velcro.  I'm happy with the results and used the top of my dry-mount press to photograph them.

(Above: Brooches XIII and XIV. Framed:  9 1/2" x 8 1/2". $150 each.)

There are two sizes of frames ... 9 1/2" x 8 1/2" ... to better suit the more vertically oriented pieces or the more squared ones.

(Above: Frame with velcro patch, brooch, and the velcro "hanging device".)

So ... how do these brooches work as decorative fibers?  Well, the frames include another Crescent Couture mat board (not quite as expensive as the gold leafed mats used for the "On Gold" series but certainly not as affordable as even a 100% rag paper mat!).  This silver metallic threaded surface is lovely and has great contrast with the ornate gold-lipped frame.  I applied a patch of blue velcro to the center.  This blue velcro has a really, really strong sticky back.  I bought a yard 2" wide, non-adhesive backed, black velcro and cut it into pieces.  The brooch, when framed, is pinned to this black velcro ... which is easily attached to the blue patch. 


(Above:  The reverse of a brooch ... about to be pinned to the black velcro.)

The velcro hanging system worked perfectly ... except for one problem.  The brooch didn't hang vertically.  It tilted downward because the stitched pin jutted too far out from the top of the brooch. To counter-balance the pin, I used velcro glue to attach a small piece of black, foam-centered board to the velcro.  Using a gold metallic pin, I wrote "This side toward the brooch".  I also used an awl to poke obvious holes in the black velcro.  Perhaps this example isn't totally clear, but I think it will be obvious to anyone actually handling the brooch.  It is easy to take off the frame.  It is easy to wear.  It is easy to reattach the brooch to the black velcro and get it back on the frame again!

(Above: Brooches V and VI. Framed:  8 1/2" x 8 1/2". $150 each.)

The funny thing about these brooches is the fact that I'd forgotten just how many I'd made last spring.  I had Steve build sixteen frames because that's how many I counted when determining how many 8 1/2" square frames and how many 9 1/2" x 8 1/2" frames I needed.  

(Above Brooches IX and X. Framed:  9 1/2" x 8 1/2". $150 each.)

When I photographed them, I was one brooch short.  I thought I miscounted and had an extra frame.

(Above: Brooches III and IV. Framed:  8 1/2" x 8 1/2". $150 each.)

Steve insisted there were sixteen brooches for the sixteen frames.  I, too, thought there were originally sixteen.

(Above: Brooches I and II. Framed:  8 1/2" x 8 1/2". $150 each.)

With everything else going on this week, I didn't want to wait to photograph the brooches.  If I waited, they might never get photographed, entered into my inventory book, and shared on the blog.  Fifteen was just going to have to be good enough.


(Above: Brooch XV. Framed:  8 1/2" x 8 1/2". $150 each.)

Thus, this was the last one ... number fifteen ... until last night!


(Above: Brooches XVI and XVII.)

In my sewing basket I found TWO MORE brooches ... obviously now XVI and XVII.  One will get a frame.  I figured I'd just wear the extra brooch at the ACC Show.  Yet, I'm actually now two frames short and one brooch short.  Why?  Well, until writing this blog post, I'd forgotten that I made eighteen "samples".  Where the other brooch is ... anyone's guess!   

(Above:  A Gee's Bend art quilt in the process of being stitched to a uniquely spliced 100% cotton rag mat.)

Will I find the "lost" brooch in time to be photographed before the show?  Probably not!  If I find it, I'll share the photo when I share the images of the last three, small "In Box" pieces that are in the garage.  In the meantime, I need the top of my dry mount for other things ... like framing this Gee's Bend art quilt!  Two of the Gee Bend's quilters were artists-in-residence for a week in 2010 at a local elementary school.  The staff purchased this quilt ... and brought it to me for framing!  I am particularly pleased that I could splice the mat to allow the blue field to sit upon a red mat!  Totally cool!

I'm linking this blog post to Nina-Marie's "Off the Wall Fridays", a site for sharing fiber art works.