A Really Good Stick

The past few two weeks have been rather a blur with a quick trip to Wisconsin and a new job. I have a farm in Wisconsin, my ancestral home and although I am not fond of snow, I do love the peace and beauty of the landscape. One of my brothers has been very busy remodeling the farmhouse built during the Depression by my grandfather and his brothers. It is odd to walk inside and see it stripped to the studs with a lovely wide stair down to the basement. I remember helping my Dad put those steps in. He was well over 6 feet tall and he made those steps to fit his long legs—the rest of us had to lift our knees nearly to our chins to climb those stairs.

 

My brother is incredibly talented and I have given him free rein to do whatever he likes inside as long as the bathroom is handicapped accessible, I have a closet that is bigger than 2 feet long, a big wrap-around porch—this girl has been in the South so long a porch is a necessity, and it look different inside so that it becomes my house-not my parents.

 

Wildflowers were blooming and I wandered a bit in the big woods taking pictures of trillium, mayflower, and jack-in-the-pulpit. There are pink lady slippers in that woods that my Dad would bring to me each spring but I didn’t find them; that will be a project for another year. We hunted in vain for morels that I know are in there; Dad would come back with a 5 gallon bucket full.

 

While in Wisconsin, we attended a Trials weekend. This is like motocross in some ways but it is all outdoors in local environs. Trial Riders of all ages tried their skills at riding their motorcycles around trees, through ravines, and up rocky walls. Both of us took photos but I admit to being entranced by the apple trees in full bloom and a very large patch of shooting stars. A gorgeous Golden retriever mix played ‘fetch the stick’ with any available adult but declined the offer from a small carrot-headed boy who looked to be about 5 years old. He said his stick was a really good one but the dog wouldn’t play.

 

Looking back at ‘home’, looking for morels and lady’s slippers, and a disappointed little boy —we look for the expected and what we remember to be true—rather than experiencing each day and event for itself. If we don’t find it, turn away still in search missing out on the opportunity for something new and fresh. I suppose artists do the same; repeating what we know, revisiting the familiar, but the artists in history that we remember are the ones who took a chance and did something wildly different from their peers.

 

I don’t know that I will do something wildly different, but I am going to look for those morels again next spring.

 

Photos of the farm are here:http://ysr612.smugmug.com/gallery/8331535_4Ei8W#545951741_Nkhjr

 

Photos of the trials are here:http://ysr612.smugmug.com/gallery/8289224_q2Xki#542729057_EGTae

Snow Peas and Wild Onion

Glen picking wild garlic-onion

Yesterday I picked a small bowlful of snow pea pods. In Wisconsin, I’d just be thinking about planting peas and worrying about it being a week or so early. Fortunately, the local newspaper has a weekly article by the agricultural extension agent and I’m kept up to date on when and what to plant. It would be nice if the weather would cooperate as it seems if I’m off work, it is either pouring rain or the ground still feels like walking on a soaked sponge.

 

It was the second mowing of the year; I’ve mowed through water before—it’s exciting to see the water spraying out from the mower blades and easy to tell where you’ve been by the mud tracks but I don’t think it’s a good thing for the mower. The oil had just been changed on the tractor and I started out with good intentions but then had huge billows of smoke pouring out—overfill! Once that was corrected; husband took more than a few laps to be sure it was running, I finished up the back and he harvested some wild onions.

 

wild onion

Wild onions or garlic have a beautiful airy flower as you can see in the photo. I’m trying to think of a way to use that photo. In a moment of weakness I signed up for an exchange of a flower quiltlet. I think this might be a good starting place for that project. Interestingly, wild onions can be quite toxic to livestock causing jaundice and bleeding problems. Mowing through a large patch of them can be quite a tearful experience.

Learning Espanol and Making Art

Rusty Disc

Over the past two years I have made a concentrated effort to learn Spanish. It’s not easy and I commiserate with immigrants attempting to learn English. I could wish for some sort of magic to occur and wake up one morning fully fluent in Spanish and giving Michealangelo a run for his money.

 

But I think I’ve made some progress. And it occurred to me that perhaps I’m applying the same process to my art. Although my accent isn’t quite right, my grammar sometimes—no make that frequently— not correct, my vocabulary so limited I use funny words, i.e. ‘all your ears’ instead of ‘both ears’, patients and their families are impressed. And judging from the response of my first art show this past weekend, art patrons and fellow artists are pleased.

 

To Learn and Improve my Spanish I did the following:

 

1. Studied and took classes from experts.
2. Take every chance I can to speak it, the cleaning folks, the kitchen people, my yard man, the bus driver. They are always delighted when I ask them a question in Spanish.
3. Watch Spanish soaps on television when I get a chance. The noviellas are really fun! I tried the news but that was pretty depressing.
4. Go to church services conducted in Spanish and read in my Spanish Bible.
5. I’m not afraid to sound stupid when I speak it.
6. Practice conversations in my head while driving to work.
7. I’m not afraid to ask ‘how did I do’ when a translator is present.

 

If I translate that to art:

1. I have the luxury of Houston quilt festival being readily accessible; however, I’ve also taken classes in other media.
2. Look at art every chance I can, regardless of media and particularly non-fiber.
3. Read biographies of artists, subscribe to painting forums, go to lectures.
4. Go to openings and quiz the artist (nicely) about techniques and processes.
5. I participated in an art sale/show this past weekend. (this was a huge step for me)
6. I look. And look again—at my surroundings—and translate it into colors or shapes.
7. I send work to juried shows.

 

Probably the most important aspect is not being afraid to try.  I am clearly not expert in either arena but I see slow but steady progress. Moving forward and improving only happens with work and a lot of it. While I am waiting for the magical fairy to dust me with instant skill –she must be busy with other artists and people who need to speak Spanish more than do I— I need to keep working.

Selling Art

St. Martins in Houston

I’m sitting here thinking about the show.

 

ECVA ( that’s Episcopal Visual Arts) local chapter had an art show/sale on Friday and Saturday in Houston. It had been postponed several months due to Hurricane Ike and subsequently was a low key event. It was my first time to exhibit as an artist—not as a merchant of wares but an ARTIST! There was clearly a learning curve.

 

I had hoped to have a new Honduras portrait ready but due to a lot of personal medical issues that just didn’t happen. So I took what I had—and came home with all of it. It was the first time that I had seen all of the pieces hung together.

 

My booth set up

The show was hung on a wire grid-work—lots of pictures of it beforehand, but for me, I have to physically interact before it makes sense. I had decided I would try bungee cords—which made for an interesting display challenge.

 

The second day, I brought two small folding tables, Styrofoam packing sheets, and pins. I pinned a few of my fiber postcards up and laid the rest on the tables.

I was pleased that I sold quite a few postcards—it seemed quite a hit with both the artists and viewing public—not that there was a huge crowd. I had priced them quite low but I was ready to have those pieces move on to a new home.

 

Questions about my work included:

How did you learn to do this?

Who taught you how to do this?

You program that into your computer?

How long did it take?

I thought they were paintings until I got up close.

 

Everyone wanted to touch the work—although no-one touched the paintings or photographs in the booths on either side of me—or even the jewelry.

 

One customer compared my work to Rauschenberg—I was impressed she knew who he was and his early work versus later work. One woman snatched up a card for her sister saying it was perfect—she didn’t even look at all of them.

 

I must admit I was a bit surprised when the organizer said I needed to have change—that meant she expected me to sell!

 

I did sell—about half of the postcards—-none of the portraits—

 

 

Things I learned:

Change is a good thing. Be prepared.

Calculate out ahead of time the sales tax—I don’t really know what it is in Houston—but I calculated tax for my home base.

Be prepared to talk about your work—have your sales pitch ready—succinct…..but interesting.

Samples are a good thing.

Regular paper postcards were fun to hand out—I had experimented with Overnight prints so I would have something to hand customers or potentials that had my name and information in addition to a business card. There is a learning curve in making these postcards and I was happy to have a try at it without a lot of investment.

Take a small lunch and bottles of water. I wasn’t sure if I should have been working on a project or not—I chose to read a book on color and JK Rowlings Tales of Beetle the Bard.

Chat with your fellow artists===and if possible give them a piece of your work to take home with them. The painter across the aisle from me had her grandson visiting her—I had him pick out a card to give to her—and the girl down the aisle from me fell in love with a certain card—that I gifted her at the end of the show. I also traded a card for an absolutely lovely milagro. So don’t be afraid to barter/ exchange===both of you will will end up with something lovely—and a smile on your face.

 

Would I do it again? Yes…..a lot of work………but fun to talk about my work. Talking about my work helps clarify my intent and vision.