Images Tour Begins Today

I'm on the run today as the Images Tour begins........looks like we are in for a great weekend with lots of sun and of course turkey

Will try and post tonight to let you know how it all went

On The Search For A New Gallery

I finally took some time today to type up a few covering letters, C.V.'s, and artist statements to send off to a few potential galleries that I like. I would ideally like to find a gallery in Chicago or perhaps New York. I would also enjoy to visit both of these cities so I guess I would be killing two birds with one stone so to speak. I've heard good things about the Vale Gallery in Chicago on West Superior. When we were up at the lake I was introduced to a friend of my mother in laws who is a professor in Chicago. He was kind enough to give me the scoop on the area in which the gallery is located and it sounds great. Anyone out there have any gallery recommendations in either of these cities?

So, I've got quite a bit of work ahead of me which does need to be done. Once the Images Studio Tour is over I need to find a few new galleries for representation. I've procrastinated enough..........time to take some action.

John and I had a good morning as we took off early for the farmers market to pick up a few things. We always intend to pick up a few things but always buy so much more. How can you help it.........fresh local produce, yummy pies, organic meat. Besides I would far rather spend my money supporting our farmers than at the supermarket. I so enjoy walking around outside visiting all the vendors............everything from my friend Jennifer who sells the most delicious pies, to Sharon who farms fabulous organic produce, the bread woman who bakes my favourite sunflower flax bread and the great olive guy (don't know his name) who has six different varieties of stuffed olives (garlic, sundried tomato, feta, blue cheese, roasted red pepper and I forget the last one). I feel very fortunate to have such a great market 10 minutes up the road and for John and I it is a nice ritual. The girls are teenagers so of course they are sleeping in and not interested in heading out to the market. We have a leisurely cup of coffee around 6:45am and are usually at the market by 7:30pm Pretty sweet.

Well, must go. I am making Vegetable Fried Rice for dinner but sticking some organic chicken in so I guess it is not really vegetarian is it? Don't tell Kelly.

The above piece I absolutely love but I don't necessarily love the photo of it. I cannot afford to hire someone to photograph my artwork so the deed is left up to me. I think most of the people who view my work in person see it much differently then it is online. In a photo you really can't appreciate the vivid colour and texture the way you can live. That is surely a drawback when it comes to galleries viewing your work but as John would say "it is what it is".

Take Care

The Clean Up

Today is the day for the big studio clean up. I keep walking by, closing my eyes and pretending it is not as messy as I think it is............but it is. All my wools, threads and fabrics that were once sorted are now lying in a tangled mess on my work table and my floor. Simba the cat has begun walking out of there with threads stuck to his tail. Organization has never been my strong suit.

I work out of a very small spare bedroom that really doesn't provide me the room I need but for now it is all I've got and better than the dining room table I once use to work on so I am really not complaining. Ok, maybe just a touch but we all have our moments.

Last year I got a tour of a fellow artist's studio which was built on top of her existing house. I don't believe my entire house is as big as her studio. There were leather couches, big screen televison, stereo system and so much natural light it would make you weep. If it were mine I don't think I would ever leave. But maybe on the other side of the coin it would prevent me from working at all, what with the big screen television, small kitchen, stereo system........it would be tempting to just relax, put my feet up and watch a good old movie until of course the husband and kids found me.

Acrylic Paint, Canvas and Wools

This is a new way of working for me which I'm quite enjoying. I am so passionate about working in fabric and thread but the idea of painting has always intrigued me. Anyway, decided I would play around with the idea and ..........here it is. Since this is a small piece there is no way I would be able to do the main figure in fabric and thread so painting her worked out perfectly.

This piece originated from a photo I took of a young girl on the shores of Lake Superior. We have a small but beautiful log cabin there which we try to spend as much time as possible at. The day this photo was taken was quite blustery but with a warm sun shining beautifully on the water. Just her stance alone drew me in ...what was she thinking about....with her life spread so big and wide out in front of her

The water and the girl were painted with acrylic on canvas.....the border around her is done in textile collage with felted wools, machine embroidery, various theads and wools. This piece was then batted and quilted to create a three dimensional artwork.