Day 120 - 365/2014

Day One Hundred Twenty

Now the middle paperwork begins for 2014 West of Center.  Some of my new tasks include making the artwork intake sheets, preparing the juror results notification emails (accepted/declined) for Joanne's proofing/approval and then writing/sending all the emails...sixty-one artists.  I really enjoy doing this. 

The uninteresting pile of papers -- I don't want to reveal any names or information because artists have not received juror results yet.

Day 119 - 365/2014

Day One Hundred Nineteen

Today finally arrived -- the day of jurying the images of the entries to 2014 West of Center.  

I got to Joanne's house at around eleven, the juror was due at noon.  Joanne's super husband Kurt helped us so much with the loading of images and setting up a slideshow -- plan A didn't work out -- Kurt came up with a workable plan B that was ready just before Robert Schefman arrived and then Kurt was able to stay to help put it into action.  Thank You so much, Kurt!

After a little while we got down to the business at hand and the initial cut was made.  There was a total of 168 pieces from 61 artists to choose from.  Several rounds later, after much scrutiny and examination of the images the final choices were made.  It was not an easy -- nor quick -- process.  A couple of hours later, in the end 35 pieces from 28 artists were chosen for the final cut. The results will be emailed to the participating artists on Saturday.

After Robert left Joanne and I started to tally the data and move onto the next phases.  We divvied up the remaining tasks, made a timeline for various due dates, etc.  I think we will both be taking the rest of the night off.  There is still a mountain of things to do and I am anxious to get started on my end, but I need a breather.

At Joanne and Kurt's lovely home -- setting up for jurying.

A quick snapshot of juror Robert Schefman after it was all done.

After the jurying, Kurt and Robert were talking about many things and the subject rolled around to Kurt having some of his grandfather's large porcelain coated photographic developing trays.  He has a number of them and graciously gave me three -- I am thrilled with them!  I can think of so many uses for them.

Bootsy and Twink check out my wonderful new trays -- Thanks, Kurt!

All in all, it was a very productive (and enjoyable) day! Whoa...thunder is rolling in -- time to shut down the computer and take it easy for a while.

Day 118 - 365/2014

Day One Hundred Eighteen

Getting final discs and paperwork ready for the jurying of West of Center tomorrow.  I still like doing this, but it has become a little more complicated than I was expecting...I just wanted to stop long enough to post to the blog...back to work.

Day 117 - 365/2014

Day One Hundred Seventeen

Today I filled in for my friend Joanne at the Northville Art House.  Joanne was the organizer of this month's solo show by artist Tom Thewes.  The show came down today.  I was there to open the NAH for Tom and his helpers...then my job was to patch the holes and paint the patches.  Jasper graciously removed the various hardware and Joshua got on a chair and filled seven holes that were too tall for me to reach.  Jasper and Joshua helped Tom with the wrapping and packing of the artwork.  It was all pretty organized and went smoothly, but it still took a little over three hours.  I stayed on for another hour after that finishing up the patching and painting.

The work table was already set up and waiting with everything we needed.

In all, forty-two pieces of art need to be taken down and packed up.

I'm sorry to see this show go.

Tom getting started on packing the first piece.

Whoa -- that was a LOT of work Tom and the guys did -- good thing he has experienced helpers!

And the first of many trips down to the car.

Oh -- and I forgot to show the fortune I got yesterday at lunch with Juana...

Hmm...mysterious!

Day 116 - 365/2014

Day One Hundred Sixteen

Today Juana went with me to drop off my entry for Blooms, Bugs, Beasts at The Scarab Club in Detroit.

I seriously doubt that either of my pieces will be juried in (I've submitted work two or three times before without success).   I don't really hold out much hope -- the Scarab Club is a pretty huge deal and I am fairly sure that I'm not in that league...but what the heck...stranger things have happened...and there is no harm in at least trying.

Tomorrow is the deadline for entries and the results will be posted on Wednesday, so there won't be a very long wait in finding out...in the meantime I am going to try not to think about it.

Day 115 - 365/2014

Day One Hundred Fifteen

Today all I did was take some photos of artwork for a last-minute decision to submit to a Detroit show.  The deadline is this weekend and the notification is a few days after that.  I will report back with the results when I know.

Other than that, big allergies/sinus headache day...lots of Benadryl and nodding off in front of the television.

Day 114 - 365/2014

Day One Hundred Fourteen

Today/tonight I have been holding my breath and trying to darken the outline of the wolf/bear creature.  I was using black Prismacolor pencil.  I kept going back in and getting heavier with the line and trying to shade a little and tone down the whites and light blues of the papers.  Then just a little while ago I remembered I have a tray of blending chalks.  They seem to be helping to give it a more smudged look.  I also spent some time looking at photographs of cave paintings.

It still isn't done...but it is getting there.  I am already a lot happier with it than I was yesterday.   And I want to work on the frame that came with the painting.

Day 113 - 365/2104

Day One Hundred Thirteen

My big adventure day -- helping artist Diane Hawkey with some tidying in her studio.  Diane put out a sort of feeler offer via Facebook last week wondering if anyone local would be interested in helping her do some organizing and sorting in her studio as she prepares for upcoming shows, etc.  In exchange she'd compensate the helper with beads/artwork.  Of course a bunch of people responded, including me.  Yesterday Diane messaged me asking if I had any time available this week...and today was a good day.

What a great time!  Diane is such a delightful person and I also was privileged to meet the very sweet and wonderful Arlo, her Boston Terrier.  We had a good time sorting things and organizing Diane's work desk.  We talked a bunch and I marveled at the incredible artwork around her home -- inside and out.  Diane is married to artist Doug Spalding and their artwork is all over, plus really great stuff they have collected.  Diane was kind enough to let me take photos to share.

Diane and Doug's house -- kind of hard to miss it!

Some of Doug's work.

One of the two wondrous goats in their collection.

Artwork by Diane.

Boston Terrier artwork collection.

Now...looking around in Diane's studio...

I fell in love with this instantly!

The very delightful Diane Hawkey.

Work in progress.

Prototypes for bells.

Diane and Arlo

Arlo and his squeaky cupcake.

And look what I got to bring home -- oh my goodness!  I tried to purchase the larger piece but Diane insisted I have it.  I will probably be going back again next week to help some more...this time I will insist that I've already been more than compensated for my time.  What a wonderful morning/afternoon!  Thank You, Diane!  

A Boston "Terror"

Ai-eeeeeeee -- Diane gave me this piece!!!!!

This afternoon/evening I have been working on trying to find images in that repurposed canvas that I put the layers of paper on a few days ago.  Normally if a canvas starts out in its original form as a landscape, I turn it to portrait view for my collage...and vice versa.  This painting was a landscape and I have been really trying to find guys/creatures/shapes in the two portrait orientations.  Today I finally gave in and turned it back to landscape and searched both views for a long, long time...finally something started to emerge.  

How it looked after it dried a few days ago...in the "forced" portrait orientation.

Searching...searching...ah -- I see!!!!

And here is what I ended up with...

It is kind of a wolf/bear creature guy -- the front half is wolfish and the back half is bearish.  I like how it looks sort of like a cave painting.  There are all sorts of other creature heads in the background, too...I am only going to emphasize this main creature so that the viewer can see other images for themselves.

Wow -- that is something I would NEVER have been able to draw on my own...I am very happy with it so far.  I hope I can eventually do it justice.  I think I am mostly done for the day now.  If I do anything else later on, it will probably be to start sanding the frame that came with this painting.  I think I want to paper and varnish it.

Day 112 - 365/2014

Day One Hundred Twelve

Okay -- one more guiltless night off.  I am doing something pretty neat tomorrow!

Day 111 - 365/2014

Day One Hundred Eleven

This has been a very long day.  I am taking the night off...with no guilt.

Day 110 - 365/2014

Day One Hundred Ten

After last night (and the night before) I needed to let my fingers rest from holding the skinny sewing needle.  Today I did more open hand, bigger movements. I pulled out the latest repurposed canvas and put more paper on it.

The beginning half-started collage over the repurposed canvas.  I could only see one guy after studying it all day (in all directions) and I wasn't very into what I found.

Set up and ready to go.  I cover the whole surface with a good coat of matte medium then I tear large pieces of various kinds of papers and let them drop into spaces.  Then I slather more matte medium on the paper and keep going until it feels like it is done for the day.

The very wet canvas.

Here it is with the new additions, nowhere near dry yet...it takes a while for stuff to surface.

Day 109 - 365/2014

Day One Hundred Nine

Earlier today I was working on drawing a hippocampus-type guy and I was thinking I would reduce the image, simplify it and then do a carving of it.  Heh...it just didn't turn out very well.  I think I am going to let go of the horse-creatures...for now at least.

9 pm-11:30 pm:  Owww...my fingertips!  Sewing with a skinny needle through three layers of card stock and one layer of paper and one layer of Bristol board is not as easy as it was yesterday through just paper and Bristol board.  Man.  And that was after punching all those holes first.  And of course I couldn't stop in between because it was getting late and I knew I wouldn't finish this part if I didn't keep going right then.  So, whew!

I started out by cutting some waves apart from the section and then positioning another section along the bottom edge of the card.

I ended up gluing three pieces of cardstock together with the image on top -- one reason was to make the sea serpent less see-through...

...and the other reason was so that the sea serpent would be a little teensy bit raised off of the waves.

Now to punch a bazillion holes through a lot more layers of cardstock and Bristol board than I did on the first postcard yesterday.  The tool poked through, but it took a lot more pressure and wiggling to pull it back out of the self-healing mat.

But it was working.

Teeth would have been too much for this application I think...so I just punched a line for a forked tongue.  AND I was very happy that the lines on his throat curved a teensy bit -- that is what I was hoping for.

The back of the card. 

I wanted to use two colors of green...light green for all of the vertical lines, including inside the back fins/scales.

I am pretty happy with the card so far -- I'm not sure yet how I will finish it, but I am done for tonight!  (AND I am pretty proud of myself for sticking with it through to the end tonight.)