The Pacific Northwest is having its turn with the heat, and I was more focused on airflow than art.
Meetings & Making
In this warmer weather, I sometimes lean on just plonking layers together, to see what I can build. Since I had some new scans from printing collages a while back, I decided to see what I could make.
The result is a lovely light teal, with lots of varied texture. I slipped it into a piece to see where I could get some of those cool hues.
On an online visit with the Arizona Collage Collective, I tinkered with another page spread.
I’m liking the ones that have darker areas, though I think this one needs some lighter bits too. Yes, I’ll need to go back through them all after the first pass…
In other online studio meetings, I keep staring at my aerial compositions as a whole. Several got tweaks, barely noticeable at times.
The survey for these pieces also includes a value check. I think these are plenty dark enough!
Viewing & Connecting
This week, I made it to a fundraiser event for Malaspina‘s printmaking studios on Granville Island. The hosts for the event were so accommodating: I got a quick tour, and a good sense of the place.
I was hoping to see some work by Sherida Charles — check! — and maybe even find her there in person — no luck. But it’s always fun to see what other work I connect with, and Gerri York‘s pieces fit that bill. I’ll keep an eye out for both of them in the future.
Exhibiting, or Not
With all of my artmaking enabled in Vancouver, I still need ways to connect with the art viewing world, so I apply to shows where I can. I wish I had better news here: I applied to the O’Hanlon Center for the Arts call for women artists, and was not accepted. In the tradition of salons des refusés, here’s what didn’t get picked.
These are recent pieces, from my Quietude series, and are a fair change from previous work. Well, I quite like them, anyhow, and after a bit of a slump yesterday, with understanding friends, I’m persisting. There will be an online reception on July 30th if you’d like to join me, to see which pieces did get in, and what the jurors have to say. Check the gallery website for details.
I notice I didn’t make ANYthing by hand this week. Hmmm. Something about my studio setup is not working: possibly because I’m using a nice table in a carpeted office. I had an idea for making the workspace more mess-friendly — a tablecloth to catch any errant drips or splashes — and will give that a try next. How do you adjust to setbacks, large or small? Press on, take a break, other? I’m open to ideas!
Well it sure sounds like your tweaks are moving you forward. There is an art to being rejected, and sometimes there is more rejection than acceptance ,then finally it comes and then we keep going because in the long run it’s worth it for all of us.