New residency - at home!

After reading a lot of art bloggers talking about how hard it is to stay focussed on their art - especially as Spring approaches - my friend and fellow artist Pat Moore and I decided on a unique way to challenge ourselves.  We have decided to participate in an arts residency - IN OUR OWN STUDIOS!

I can easily recall how motivated and focussed I was during last summer's residency in Alberta so I thought I would see if I could reproduce that - and in fact make it a habit.  And, what better place to develop good habits than in your own studio!

Here are the "terms" we decided on:

March 1- April 15

• Make a finished piece of art weekly
• Explore 1 new medium
• Produce 1-2 “showable” pieces by end of term
• Teach the others something new (or help them learn – ex links )
• Complete at least 1 series
• Diary daily on experience
• Make a plan for future learning/art experiences
• Produce work for sale
• Identify places to submit art for shows etc.
• Produce work for upcoming shows – AAS, Iceolation, HWSDA
• Create a joint project

Personal goals

• 6 felt art purses
• 6 ceramic pieces
• 6 silk art works
• Items for the following shows
• Iceolation
• YKARCC
• AAS
• HWSDA
• Grandmothers
• Create a master plan for shows
• Create a plan and timeline for hard/soft body of work and start on 2 pieces
• Create marketing/promotional plan and pieces
• Create residency plan
• Figure out how to link/use blogs/twitter/facebook better
• Finish 6 “left over” projects.
• Attend all arts mentoring/crit training sessions

So what do you think?  Doable?  We'll see - I am up for the challenge!  I will be posting progress updates daily on my studio blog....and posting completed pieces here  - stay tuned.

Does A Piece of Art Need A Title?

From an artist I admire....

"When I go to galleries and see a work titled as "Untitled 1", etc. I often wondered what goes through the mind of the artist? Surely the artist must have some kind of idea what the piece he/she is producing.

For me, the title of my work drives the entire process; from initial concept to sketches and the actual piece. For me, the title is an important and integral part of how I work. The story of the piece lies in the title. It is kind of like a hidden code or message from the artist to the viewer. If you can "crack" the message of the title, you have delved into a deeper part of the piece and to me, you have made a connection with the artist."

Anthony Foo

www.antjhfoo.blogspot.ca

I so agree with this thought - I cant imagine any other way - although I sometimes get flack from other artists that believe a piece of work should speak for itself.  not me!  I believe every piece has a story to tell and its my job to help it be "heard" by tehe viewer, and if a title helps, so be it!

Natural Dying

Just finished an intensive week with Charlotte Kwon of Maiwa in Vancouver.  We went through natural dying from a-z and ended up with an amazing book of samples of many natural dyes on cotton, silk, linen, hemp and wool with various mordants and overdyes.

If that wasnt enough we got to work on some of our own projects under her guidance - boy was that a treat!

My greatest thrill was being able to make some intensive "dye paints" from these natural sources so I could maintain my signature style but with these organic, historic, "safe" dyestuffs.

On the horizon is a project where I will combine the dyes, the materials and the patterns of a historical region or group with a post modern twist.

Check out Charlotte's website at Maiwa...

Pottery class...

So, I signed up for a pottery class and just picked up my final pieces.  While the other students made mugs, bowls, creamers and the like, I  "followed my muse." (smile)  In my life, this usually translates to "I made something weird". Take a look....

So what do you think?  Perhaps crab meets turtle?   Perhaps anemone meets ...?  I think it definitely looks sea creaturesque.