Knowing

I've always said there is knowing, and there is Knowing...actually many levels of knowing.  In preparations for the exhibit in September, I've learned some things:

1. For collaborative exhibits make sure everyone has in and has ownership.
2. In estimating time to prepare, figure it up and then double it.
3. In estimating cost, figure it up and then double it.
4. Know the gallery and clarify what work is un/acceptable.
5. Family...you got to love 'em.
6. I'm not ready for a solo exhibit.

There may be more lessons to come before it is over, but these 6 bits I've taken to heart and soul.

August has been all about hand and machine quilting.  I haven't been able to use the summer for any dyeing or breakdown printing or any surface design of cloth at all.

Minor but significant challenges have centered around how to hang a few pieces that are mounted to rag paper without running up the cost.  Joann's gave me an estimate on one for 110 dollars and that was without glass and with the 50% off.  I have come up with 3 other options but haven't settled on any of them.

Material Remains(c) hanging on the line in my studio

The gallery for Ron and me is owned by a religious organization and they prohibit nudity.  I knew that going in but my idea of nudity varies from what gets defined as nudity.  Here I am thinking "nudes" as the man/woman splayed full frontal for all to see.  Here is one of Ron's pieces that was eliminated.  One that I love a lot and just didn't figure in my equation of nudity.

Untitled by Ronald "UPfromsumdirt" Davis 

I'm going to offer it along with another one of his pieces that is more like a cartoon drawing which was also eliminated to The Kore Gallery.  It might be too radical for The Kore also, but I have a relationship with the gallery and I'm going to present Ron's work for their voting procedure.

Moving right along...

If left to my own inclinations I really believe I could become a studio hermit.  Having a chronic disability has made me hyper aware of what is going on with my body and making art is an on-going conversation between my mind, body, and spirit along the lines of what I can and can't do.  Pushing myself releases endorphin (or some other feel good body chemical) and I'm on a natural high.  I hate to pull myself away from my studio when this is occurring but sometimes I must.  I did complete the quilting on the above piece pinned to the design board and before I left I chose the threads for it's companion shown below.  More of my hieroglyphs... 

I can't wait to get back there! but other fun does call :)

BEAST IT!!!!

First of all, I'm not a movie goer...movies in the theater aren't that compelling to me and I prefer watching them in the comfort of my own place.  So when I go to the movies, I'm looking for more than just a "good" movie.  I'm wanting gripping, intense, take my breath away...total suspension and immersion into a story and characters that put me inside the movie.  Sorta like a Toni Morrison novel but in film.  Beasts of the Southern Wild did it for me!  I'm living with this movie inside my head since seeing it on Saturday.  The story, the characters and the actors who portrayed them are fresh and vibrant, but the story! It is difficult for me to come out and just say "it is a movie about such and such"...the story is not simple and their lives are not simple and the cinematography is similar to an IMAX movie...it is pulls you inside the scene and is right there in your face.  There is a community of people living off a coast in an area called The Bathtub...its about how they survive and the choices they make and the love they have for one another and the land...the lessons of life are not about judging but taking life head on and winning no matter what comes.  It revolves around a family of a father and his young daughter and the tenacious spirit of love they have for one another.

There are only 3 other movies that I can think of at the moment that got inside of me like this one...Crash, Daughters of the Dust, and Bamboozled.  Oh Brother Where Art Thou and The Color Purple I can re-watch (I seldom re-watch) over and over because of the story line that and genius script.  So I'm telling you to go to the Beasts of the Southern Wild website and check the calendar to see when it will open in your area.  It is worth a 2 hour drive to see!

Now, what have I been up to in the studio?  Still plugging right along.  I took yesterday off to stay in and rest but today I completed the quilting on one piece and made progress on this one...

This is one is set in a custom built wood frame. It is on a wood frame canvas and is permanently set in the custom frame...this is the 2nd small piece finished this way and I think it sets them off well.

the side view...

the back view...I need to attach eye-screws and hanging wire and it will be ready for the wall.

I'll get back into the studio tomorrow because I got to "BEAST IT!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Taking a mental break with a blog meme

I just read a post on Patricia's blog, My Quilting Adventure!, and she posed these 5 questions she had seen on someone else's blog and well you know how it goes...right?  Here goes (and feel free to do your own either in the comments here or on your own blog)

1. I am.......
2. I wish.....
3. My friends think I'm......
4. Books are......
5. Top or near the top of my Bucket List.......

My anwsers...

I am slow and steady.
I wish I owned a home in the country but just outside the city.
My friends think I'm insightful (ssshhhhh, lets not blow my cover, okay?)
Books are people.  (hey! why not?)
Top or near the top of my Bucket List is to return to the Crow Barn next year for another workshop with Claire and Leslie.

We didn't get to see Beast of the Southern Wild last night due to a storm that wiped out the lights on Bardstown Road (major street) where the theatre is located...I was back in my studio when it moved through only to emerge into a hard rain...became drenched going to the car but not as drenched as I could have been thanks to Jamie who gave me a ride back to the back 40 acres where I was parked.  Mary and I sat and had coffee at Vint (lemon poppy seed muffins are delisimo!)  til around midnight.

Profane or Holy? It depends....

For those of you who do solo shows more than every other year, I toast you with a glass of champagne! Yes, I do!  I'm not even preparing for a solo show but one shared with Ronald Upfromsumdirt Davis, my brother, and preparing work is serious SERIOUS bid-ness (business).  After about 4 hours I begin to get cross-eyed and tonight I was only able to work 2.5 hours before eyestrain set in.  I got a feeling I'll be schizoid between counting my blessings and cussing up a storm during the month of August...hopefully if you run into me it will be while counting blessings and if not, remind me to.

Tonight I went back in on the washed out piece I showed in the post below.  What you see is the before, the after, and the do-over on the bottom half.  Looking at it here I think the shadowing on the left is too stark but it is a lesson for next time.  I didn't re-apply the no flow, just went back in using brushes and Dye-na-flow.  After it dried, or somewhat damp dry, I ironed the phuck out of it! using dry heat and kept the iron moving.

I prepared a sample for rinsing tomorrow or Saturday to see what will happen...of course the sample might be fine but the actual piece might loose color again.  That will be another cussing moment.

This piece is also under the needle...

Karoda's hieroglyphs inspired by various African writing systems.

Well it is late, I'm tired, and tomorrow I'm going to go see Beast of the Southern Wild and it is also Frankfort Ave. Trolley Hop so I'll be hanging out at Mellwood in my studio or someone else's.  Peace.

Hard lesson learned #7450

Just look at the wash out here! I used Jacquard's No-Flow and Dye-Na-Flow.

The instructions call for rinsing the No-Flow out after the paint as been set. I rinsed under cold running water and the paints air dried and were heat set first.  So what the hell is up?

I'm thinking of re-doing the No-Flow/Dye-Na-Flow over this...maybe I applied the No-Flow too heavy.  Maybe I'll give Jacquard a call on Monday.  I really really loved it...still do, but I am pissed over the amount of color loss.

And finally, I'm quilting the first Oliver Lewis piece.  I decided to start with the spires to warm me up.  I'll be back at it tomorrow. 

And another FINALLY....I received my last box of colored pencils giving me a grand total of 500 PENCILS!  (How you like me now Beverly?  That would be Ms Karoda to you!)

What a relief!

The conversation across the nation is about weather in some form or another.  After a 10 day run of temps in the high 90s and over 100, it rapidly dropped along with the humidity causing scattered rain storms, but what a relief, I tell ya!

My hours in the studio are awkward. Today's hours were from 6:30pm-11:00pm.  I could have stayed longer but I had reached a point that I needed to rest and think about the 2 pieces I worked on this evening. When I push myself to go forward at the point of uncertainty, I usually flub it up.  These 2 pieces couldn't be any more different...

The top one being an abstract landscape. It is heavily layered with mixed materials and is evolving intuitively.  The bottom piece is Oliver Lewis, the first Kentucky Derby winning jockey in 1875.  I keep drawing him over and over in different ways using different media. (you can google him to see the reference photo I'm using)  With this piece I'm more conscientious by being more deliberate, moving with a slow hand, and thinking more about value, light and shadows.  When I ask myself which one is most representative of my spirit, I answer the top one...but as for the processes both are very representational of why I enjoy doing what I do.  And the transition from one piece to the other was a smooth one.

I love to see that ol' evenin' sun go down...

It wasn't until 8:30 when the sun was going down that I even dared to venture outside.  It has been holding over 100 for most of the day and our outdoor thermostat read 108 for a good while.  It was my intentions to get myself to the studio so much earlier than I did but nevertheless, I arrived at 9pm and left at 11:30pm.  In 2.5 hours I made 4 ATCs that are overdue to the recipient.  

The good thing about going in late is the ability to stay parked in the loading zone which is closer to the entrance...shhh, lets just keep this between you and me, okay?

Lookey, lookey! Its me and Kristin!

I wouldn't have thunk it some years ago when I "met" Kristin online at her art blog while she was living in Germany that I would be standing outside of Lynn's Paradise Cafe in Louisville, Kentucky after sharing a meal with her and her family yesterday !  New Social Media is continuing the legacy of Old Social Media, the stoop, the telephone, the answering machine, 35mm cameras, snail mail, etc.  Kristin tapped me on my shoulder like we see each other every week when she first arrived and the conversation with her, and her husband and children went the say way...like we were picking up from where we left off the last time we shared a meal..  I like that...no, actually I love that about people...I even found myself trying to sell them on Louisville.  AND she placed icing on the cake at getting KARODA without me explaining how I arrived at it!!!!  I kinda suspected we would be a members of the same tribe but when she got that, we're now sitting on the same tribal bench.

I came home yesterday and caught up with Kristin's travels across the country on her blog...check it out, its fun reading.  Peter and I have often thought about doing such a thing when he retires...I like the idea of doing this when one's children are at the age that such a trip will impact their memories for a life time and hopefully shape their ideas and behaviors in a positive way.  

My time at the studio has been off due to Peter having a medical emergency but we have finally gotten some routine and balance so I'll be back but my hours will be sporadic.

On Tuesday...

Missing more than 2 consecutive days from my studio results in discombobulation when I return.  So this week hasn't been as productive as I envisioned it would be last week.  I've finished the top for the Oliver Lewis quilt and am working on a 2nd quilt top (also of O. Lewis) that will be done in Dye-na-flow paint.  I applied No-flow to the cotton top today and hung it to dry.  No-flow prevents the Dye-na-flow paint from wicking on the cloth.

I pulled from my pile of unfinished pieces to audition threads for this piece.  The size is about 24" x 36".  I thought it was going to be easy peasy tight straight lines but after a closer look I'm thinking not....

the bottom is cut off.

This is wipe up paper towels collaged and laminated to white cotton.

auditioning threads

Auditioning threads

Auditioning threads

  To consider some wonky geometric thread lines I doodled and played around with color...

 Tomorrow is a health advisory due to heat and high ozone...Other than going to the eye doctor with Peter, I'll be at home tinkering with digital images.

Natural Highs!

My last 2 weeks have been a whirlwind of creative juices starting with the SAQA Trunk Show...it was also 2nd Saturday Demo Day at Mellwood and Janet Bailey Burch snapped these of me when I was talking about my work...

I believe Nysha snapped some photos too and when he shares them I'll give you a heads up. Nysha started us off by leading a discussion around design principles and how the SAQA samples met the principles and then he had us curate "an exhibit" by selecting 8 from the 30 quilts.  Which lead to discussion on various criteria to use when curating and the many ways to "art".  The group was small which allowed for intensity in discussion and although it would have been nice if more were in attendance, it was the perfect group!

Instead of scattering for lunch we all gathered at the Mellwood Cafe and continued our discussions.  After lunch, Joann Weiss, Mary Nehring, and CJ Pressma shared our work and the day ended with 3 new people becoming SAQA members.

I rode high for days afterwards until I had to switch gears to take advantage of a booth opportunity at Brown-Forman Distilleries which is headquartered here.  Last Thursday their LGBT committee held their first ever annual Pride Festival for their employees...it was a 2.5 hour event held in their courtyard.  It was a blending of a cookout, service organizations, artists, and samplings (love Chambord with Sprite! yummy!)  It was  good PR for Mellwood as a majority of the artists were Mellwoodians.  Two of the local stations covered the event on the evening news...here is a link to one of them...WAVE3.

Unfortunately these 2 handsome men could not be sampled (did I just type that?! you bet I did!) but Elmer Lucille (who retired from B-F in '96 and was one of the participating artist) did manage this photo.  I had to steady myself for all the wrong reasons ;) before I snapped this shot.

I'm taking the next few days to be lazy...will not be back into the studio until Tuesday or Wednesday...peace yall!