Friday, July 29, 2005

Tuesday, July 26, 2005

Oh My Goodness!

Gloria Hansen is redoing my website. She just sent me a mock up image for approval.

Am I stoked!!!

It is going to be absolutely tremendous!

Won't look like anyone else's!

It's me!

It's Hot!

It's funky!

It's exciting (not that I am)

I can hardly wait!

Another couple of weeks before it goes live...got to get the content in and all that programming stuff...I better get back to doing to art work so I can put some stuff up on it!

Saturday, July 23, 2005

Virginia's postcards

I can't believe how fast everyone's postcards have left Virginia's site. This is amazing. I have purchased two band really wanted to get several more but they were sold...woe is me....whine, whine, sniffle.

I ended up donating 23 postcards for the ACS fundraiser. I have just finished a bunch more and am trying to decide if I really want to send a few more to her to see if we can get to that $10,000 mark. I have been very surprised that my postcards went so fast...very pleasantly surprised. Made me feel really good. When I sent the first five in I was so afraid that no one would like them and they would sit there forever, unsold. But, that didn't happen.

I loved seeing postcards by Gerrie which were great, and also Marjorie DeQuincy...her post cards went really fast also...I don't know when anyone sleeps but I know that since I am on the west coast the early birds have been at it before I am even up. No fair...whine, whine, sniffle.

I've been getting small things done and have been working on my bigger piece. Hopefully tomorrow I can post some up here.

Sunday, July 17, 2005

Funny spam and other ramblings

I just took a look at the spam in my bulk folder...would you buy anything from "Trickery C. Spitz"? This is way too funny!

Didn't get to Star Wars last night...when we got up to get our tickets there were only seats in the first two rows...just can't take that close up even though I need glasses...knew I would have a cricked neck by the time we were five minutes in to it.

So, instead, we went out and played peewee golf and had a blast...they even let me tie for first place...aren't they nice in my family?

Well, I have taken the bull by the horns...time to professionalize my website...via Gloria Hansen and GloderWorks...can hardly wait...of course the money has to come in...

I sent 5 postcards to Virginia Spiegle's cancer benefit and they sold out immediately. That was absolutely amazing. Just between you and me, she should have the other ten I sent her on Monday...we'll see what happens to those...now, don't tell anyone.

Maybe I should sell them on my blog after Virginia is finished. I did commit to her for next year and to even put a small piece in her reverse auction! That's my do good for the day!

Off to church and then to work on this new piece...God first, and then the spirit moves me!!!

Saturday, July 16, 2005

Large work coming soon

Can't show you any pictures yet, but thought I would tease you...

I am working on a large (60 x 55") piece. I have the background all cut and fused. I tried several different fabrics for the design part and didn't really like them.

So, out came the raw silk which I dyed. Then today I did some patterning on them, both rubbing with Shiva paint sticks on two of the four colors, and silk screening on the other two.

So am putting the fuse on the two silk screened ones and then will start laying down the design.

But, Today is my Birthday!!! I am now 58 years old and just love it. Can't work on my new piece tonight as DH and daughter, son-in-law and I are going out to see a movie...in a real theater! the newest Star Wars...can hardly wait.

See ya all soon with pics!

Monday, July 11, 2005

new posting name

As google shows our blog comments, I have changed my name to lizzieb for comments posting on other blogs...since there is another Liz on this list I couldn't just use my first name.

Just got Whacked out of the Clouds

Well, I sure came down fast.

Here are pictures from the two openings: This one is from the Santa Cruz Fiber Show...there was some really remarkable work there...three dimensional and two dimensional. Only a couple really looked like quilts. The lighting was not real good for the camera and I had turned off the flash and hadn't realized it so the pic is dark. Lots of spacing between the work.











This is from the art gallery in San Ramon. You can see that my work is put in among all the paintings, some of which are framed and some are just gallery wrapped canvas. Had lots of fun explaining fiber art to the art patrons and met a number of the artists at this opening.

































This morning I checked my email and found that Artisan's International had sold another piece of my work, besides the one last week and the three small ones on Friday. I was getting worried as the money was drying up fast without sales for quite a while. I don't do a lot of the speaker/workshop circuit so most of my money comes from the sales of my work, which then supports all the rest of the art that doesn't sell...and tha't a lot!

Anyway, also on my email was a "nice" note from someone whom I had worked with in probation and haven't seen for six years. She responded to my comment about my large head and advised me that she couldn't believe my head could get any bigger than it had been when I was in probation. She also said it was nice to know that I could still S..T. Boy, that sure made me feel good. I've come down real fast with that one!

Unfortunately, I don't have a thick skin. My sense of self can be somewhat fragile sometimes and I guess this is one of those times. I share my excitement about what is happening in my art world as I have wanted to be an artist who sold her work and was accepted as an artist for 45 years. I am finally feeling like I am getting there, especially with people like Gerrie, cheering me on. I don't intend to brag...I want to share my sense of amazement that this is happening. I am genuinely grateful to receive compliments about my work. I have had a number of years doing the outdoor art festival, when I was young and didn't know any better, and can take the tasteless comments about someone's two year old who could do better work than me, etc and can just consider the source. However, when someone I know says something, not about my work, but me, it hurts.

I guess if I put it all out there I should expect to get some s..t back....

some other day...

Friday, July 08, 2005

A Slightly Larger Piece of Work

Well, I have had an eventful two days...I don't count today, Friday, today, as I spent the day in the car traveling! It was beautiful, however, driving over the Sierra mountains from Nevada back to California on a very scenic route...

On Wednesday I finished a new piece:


Which also is a little larger, Gabrielle! All of 21" x 27". Now I am ready to do another one, much, much larger. The photography is this really is bad and the colors don't ring true but you sort of get the idea.

On Thursday, I packed up my car and headed off to Sacrament to meet with my mentor, Louise Schiele, and two other mentees...we are the creme de' mentees so we always have mint chip ice cream after our show and tell and potluck lunch. It was lots of fun...we got all the remainder of the postcards for our group, California Fiber Artists, stamped and addressed and all ready to head out to our mailing list. Then we got down to some serious business.


Here is Louise Schile with one of her new pieces...fish everywhere.

And here is Debra Hosler with one of her new ones.

And Marjorie DeQuincy with one of her new ones. Marjorie is having a hard time with her eyes and her work is changing...in a really neat way..not as detailed and incorporating a lot of imagery.

So, after I left these ladies, I headed of to Nevada to see Bronwyn Mason, of Artisan's international. She has been selling my work for the past year and a half and had arranged for my work to be hung in a local gallery which was just opening up. I had brought a lot of stuff with me as Bronwyn needed more work and then we needed to leave some for the gallery. They took a bunch (haven't a clue as to how many...Bronwyn will get me the list) and they will have an opening on July 29 and really want me there. I will also be giving them more work for the opening. This is a regular art gallery and their first experience with fiber.

Had a great visit with Bronwyn and her husband and her mother Ceta. It was really great being treated like an important artist by her family and by the gallery owners. My head got a little big but I went potty just like I always do so nothing has changed! Bronwyn has a show today and Saturday in Reno, so I am hoping she will sell some more of my work. She did hand me a nice check for a piece she sold last weekend...it's been a dry spell for six months for me and I am running out of money. Hopefully the new things will go over well.

So, tomorrow I go running around to two different opening receptions for two different galleries, each has three pieces of my work. One at the Santa Cruz Art League from 3-5 pm and then I dash back to San Ramon at the ArtEscapes gallery for 6-8pm. My the life of an artist is so difficult! I get to talk about myself and meet people and explain my work again tomorrow.

Well, ta-ta...I'm off and running to make a bigger piece.

Tuesday, July 05, 2005

Playing Around








I've been playing around using my Neocolor I wax/oil crayons and having lots of fun for a very different look. The first piece has been done without the extra coloring and you can see that I have started the quilting on the bottom but haven't stopped long enough to finish it.

The second piece is actually the last one that I did and I think it is the most successful, as far as what I was trying to accomplish.

Piece number 3 really was try #3.

And then #4 is actually piece #2. So they are all out of order.

As you can see, in piece #4 I was more restrictive in my use of the crayon. The went to the blue green and started using a lot more and introduced colors that weren't in the original fused fabrics.

Then the last piece I just had a blast.

I can't remind everyone enough that you just have to get in there and not worry about making anything that is a masterpiece. I've had fun with these, have learned some lessons from them and am going on to something using this technique on a larger scale...already started.

Each of these is about 11 x 14 and has been fused on to Tim-Tex. The bigger one is directly on to the batting and will be much softer. My intent with these little ones is to mount them on matt board and see what happens with them.

Style...gee, what is my style? I am still trying to figure that one out. I know there are certain design elements I use regularly...like repeating lines, distancing shapes, etc. But I am still working through a lot of new techniques. In fact I have a rust piece that I am hand quilting because I have wanted to do something with the rusting process for some time. But hopefully, it looks like mine...it has repeating vertical lines and circles, etc. The quilting will be for texture. Well, we'll see what happens with that!

Just keep on doing the work. You can always sit down and just cut up fabric and move it around and before you know it, you are deep into the work. Work small, see what happens, these are just studies that can lead to something bigger.

And take time to learn about art and composition and design. It will only make you better. Learning is a continuum...hopefully you never stop. There is still so much for me to learn, from different people, from studying different work, from reading, from talking, from exposing myself to ideas.

I am enjoying the blog ring for the community and the fun of watching work grow and change amongst us. I can't believe Diane listed me up there with the biggies...Melody and Gabrielle! I keep hoping some day that I will be there!