Handmade Pottery, Ceramic Scupture and Jewelry by Colorado Artist Cynthia Guajardo
I wasn’t planning on posting anything today, but my husband sent me a link to a cool website that is all about extreme pumpkin carving that I wanted to share! This brings the art of pumpkin carving to a new level.
The day is a busy one for me, Halloween party at my daughter’s school, parade, dinner with friends and of course the prerequisite Trick or Treating. I plan on crashing hard on sugar today myself, however, first I have some carving to do!
Have fun with the day!
Several weeks ago, I recieved an email query from the editor of a new magazine devoted to the art and craft of ACEOs (Art Cards Editions and Originals). She asked if I would like to have my Mini Art Quilted ACEOs included in the premiere Winter issue of ACEO Cards Magazine which will hit newstands in December. Absolutely! Of course I would like some free publicity!
She saw my work on Wet Canvas, an online artist’s forum. The funny thing is that I haven’t posted regularly on WC in awhile, even less so in the ACEO/ATC forum. So, I was pleasantly surprised to have received an invite. I mailed her several images, and am not sure which one/s will be included yet. The editor had posted a call for submissions on WC in the ACEO/ATC forum. So, for other artists who make ACEOs there are submissions guidelines posted on the website for future editions of the magazine if you would like to have your work included.
I finally feel like the time I spend online is starting to pay off. I would be interested if anyone else has had a similar experience.
I have made a lot of progress on my quilt and am learning so much along the way about the process of designing a quilt as well as the mechanics. I’m almost finished…all that’s left is to bind the outside. I was up way late last night sewing away, and when I drove the sewing machine needle through my left thumb, I decided to call it a night. Luckily my injury did not necessitate a trip to the emergency room, just a bandaid. I’ll post a finished shot of my quilt after I finish it and it’s ready to hang.
My entry is a self portrait of sorts and the subject is one I have been thinking about for a long time. I do not actually consider myself a kitchen goddess. Part of the description of the show reads, “Recently society has had a nostalgic rebirth, with longing for family dinner hour, home-cooked meals and the woman who can ‘have it all’, with a family, job and flawless house. This exhibit is a collection of symbolic respresentations of the Kitchen Goddess from the American past through present day.”
I’m not sure about any other women out there in the world, but I don’t long for a flawless, perfect house. I do want to be fulfilled and to keep my family close. There was a time that when I was newly married that I was “playing house”. I was interested in grocery shopping, preparing wonderful meals everynight, looking good when I woke up in the morning, having a designer showcase house with 3 kids in tow. But, life doesn’t exactly turn out the way we envision.
I have one child and have never managed to get pregnant again, I’m still married to the same guy, but it’s not easy, I do have a dog and cat to supplement my family, my house is a mess and I don’t relish cooking, shopping or cleaning. My favorite meal is Chinese take out preferably eaten with my family. So, for my entry, I chose to represent my family with me in the center eating take out! That’s my idea of a kitchen goddess…one who is wise enough to enjoy what she has and to relegate chores she detests.
About a month ago, I was invited to an artist networking and wine tasting party by Lisa Call whom I met through my blog. The event was held last night and I had the opportunity to meet several other local artists working in different mediums. Also, in attendance was Alyson Stanfield, who is a business consultant and coach for artists. Alyson also happens to run Art Biz Blog which is chock full of resources. I had an interesting evening and the discussions that ensued have me thinking about the the art that I make and the direction I would like to move towards, my marketing strategies, online sales, eBay and blogging.
I was nervous about attending because I had never met any of these people before. I remarked to someone there that I felt like I was going on a blind date. But, one of Alyson’s most recent pieces of advice is that it is good to make oneself uncomfortable and to reach just a little bit to grow professionally and to make new connections. I felt more than a little uncomfortable because most of the artists at the party are much more established than myself. I feel like I’m just starting out and it doesn’t help that I dabble in several different mediums. However, I am glad that I went because I learned a lot last night and am ready to make the next step. Part of that next step involves evaluating my work and how I want to represent myself.
The topic of eBay came up and the site’s yard sale like qualities were discussed. Is it a good venue to sell art? Some artists are doing quite well on eBay, others are giving their work away. Is the quality there or is it better for formulaic decorator type work? I was going to stay quiet, but finally admitted that I am selling on eBay. I felt slightly embarrassed and this morning even thought about removing the link from my blog. I didn’t, because I do consider the small works that I sell on eBay as a sampling of my work. My hope is that people who buy my small works online will also be interested in larger pieces one day.
So what do I need to do?
I could keep adding to my to-do list, but for now I will stop here, print this out and hang it up in my studio. One of the valuable things I find about blogging is that once I put something out here in cyberspace, I feel more accountable to follow through with what I write.
The wine for the party was donated by Storm Hoek which is a South African Winery. They are currently on a quest to donate wine to 100 parties in the US right now if you have a group that might be interested in participating. Check out their website and blog to find out more!
On another note, it’s snowing again here in Colorado! I took this photo looking down the middle of the street where I live in Denver. It was a bit like navigating a natural disaster when I drove my daughter to school this morning. Many of the trees are still leafed out and we found many broken limbs in the middle of the streets and dangling precariously from trees. I kept expecting one to come crashing throught the roof of the car.
I just thought I’d post a quick work in progress update for my Kitchen Goddess entry. To tell you the truth, I’ve spent more time on the idea, color choices, fabric shopping and sketching out my design than the actual assembly of this art quilt. The photo that I’ve posted is the base for my fabric collage. I think professional quilters call this the “quilt top”. Not being a professional quilter, I feel at liberty to make up my own terminology.
I apologize for the poor quality photograph, but I have limited free wall space to accomodate this piece. Finished it will measure 3′W x 4 1/2′L. This is larger than most pieces I’ve worked on in the past 6 months. I shot this photograph in the basement stairs landing…so just a little dark. I don’t know what I’m going to do to get good shots for my submission. I think I’ll have to buy a large piece of drywall and paint it so that I can shoot outside for better light.
Ideally, I would have liked to have dyed my own fabric for this project, but instead I purchased commercial batiks since I’m pressed for time. I have to have my entry in by Oct. 30th, so no dilly-dallying for me. I might not even get into the show, but that’s okay. It’s forcing me to work smartly and is challenging me much like when I was in school. I work pretty well under pressure when I have a deadline to meet.
On another note, I was reminded of an old friend of mine when I was assembling the squares for the border. She was teaching me the fundamentals of sewing about 15 years ago, when all of a sudden she asked, “who’s your best friend?” Kind of bewildered and thinking this might be a trick question, I replied shyly, “Well, you…” She laughed at my answer, as a seamstress, she was prompting me to acknowledge the importance of an iron when sewing. Today, I realized that lesson first hand, as I ironed my work after machine stitching them together. I looked at my iron, and said, “Today, you are my best friend!” Now, I know! Quilting is a very precise activity…no sloppiness allowed. I only had to rip one seam out, and everything is fairly squared up.
I hope everyone else is having a good week!
