Questions, Answers and Buttons

Well, as we all know I am an absolute expert on anything.... so yesterday doing my stewarding at the museum I was asked challenging questions:  'What's the difference between an Artist and a Fine Artist?   errrrm pretentious label.  'Could you tell me where this place is depicted in this painting?'    errrrm, it was a Gaelic title, so I had no idea Scottish/Irish Gaelic.  See I should have an i-phone thingy do dah and I'd have been able to wizz out the answer.  And the killer question "Do you remember when the goat farm was?"  At least the dog which came in didn't have questions, just asked for a fuss in exchange for paw giving!  Yep, stewarding events is certainly a very interesting way to spend an afternoon.

I was working on some stitch nonsense freeform, stitch where/what you like artistic creation.  It also included adding buttons.  I have a bit of an obsession with white shirt buttons - that shirt can't go to charity I need to cut off the buttons.  Anyway amongst my 'materials lead' artistic endeavour, I sat and coloured some said buttons.  I have alcohol inks, in felt pen form, and they turned the buttons into more gorgeousness - surprisingly no-one questioned what I was doing, so its obviously quite normal to paint buttons in a museum!

Lows and Highs

Well Friday was a day of might do, possibly, may be, lows and highs.  Poor old brain was all over the place.  It had been a bit of fractious week lots of flitting between tasks, and preceding weeks difficult.
The Essex Open result came back, and as half anticipated, no success.  Oh well, may be try again.... and back to the bragging and moaning rights of  "tsk, who on earth allowed that in, mine was soooo much better".
I don't post much personal stuff, as I'm sure people have their own life issues to deal with.  Friday finally saw Contracts exchanged on the sale of my mother's property.  Completion is next week.  Its a relief, but brings with it new challenges.  My mother's family are very longstanding in the town, and known to everyone, but my immediate connection is now at an end.  So a quick trip back to 'home' to finalise things, and to do my usual.  I always try to visit the fabric shop.... its been there years and is an old fashioned traditional fabric shop, no craft.  Managed to buy there what Hobbycraft didn't have on a visit earlier in the week.  But surprise surprise, literally 2/3 doors down is a new bead shop, so it was rude not to go in and visit!.  Its a shop which was on the main road from Ipswich to Norwich, and after briefly going mail order only, has re-opened in my home town.  Yeah...
It just proves things are fluid, people, places, change.  I've adjustments to make, not least not seeing my home town on a regular basis, but hopefully a couple more weeks and my brain will have a lot more room for the new stuff and a new phase in life.

My friend Horace!

So, you agree to exhibit your art work in a window as part of an Art Trail...  wonder if you've done so yourself, but did you have a friend to help?

This is Horace - he lives in the window, and I said he could stay as he fits in with the theme of my work.  I've given him a ribbon and necklace to hold.

This is a little hint of the work on display.  Views through the glass from outside were not good - we had sunshine today! Burnham Art Trail opens this Saturday, 23rd June, and I will be stewarding at the Museum on the afternoon of Tuesday 26th June.  I have some small items for sale as part of the Unframed display which is in the Museum.  Do go and visit.

Next!

Today I've been and submitted 3 entries for the annual Essex Open Exhibition  I wasn't going to bother, heck I've been so busy with so much stuff, 4 Art Trails, 3 ventures for The Material Girls - it did seem a little extreme to add something else in.  Then on the other hand this is supposed to be my career (cough).   The reality is I have 3 pieces of work which have not been submitted to the Open before, and are not needed elsewhere to prevent their use, so might as well give it a whirl, a bit of labelling, a tiny form to fill in and part with a small amount of cash, its not like its onerous and hugely expensive.  I haven't been in the Open for a while, so will have to see.  They do accept textiles, although its not listed on the form, but generally there are only about 5 textile pieces in the whole thing.  I try it also because we make art, end of, whatever form that may take, and if you don't show it outside of the textile environment, how is it ever going to get more recognition.  Judging is next Wednesday, so probably end of next week I will find out.

In the meantime we have this:



Chopping and Swapping

Well I finally did put things back in cupboards, but when the entire contents of a book shelf cascaded onto the floor, it meant a need for editing.  One of those easy access shelves where every postcard and piece of paper gets 'filed'.  So half a tree later in the recycle bin... luckily my council recycles virtually everything, so my rubbish papers I must keep to refer to, will be turned into something which another might actually use.  Though I do wonder if I need to be more selective in my choice of cards/postcards I buy at exhibitions.... another 20 years worth and will need a wheelbarrow for them, and who would want them other than me.  I buy because I like of course, but also a strong desire to support other artists - mhmm as the small sales market is not something I've cracked, I do feel this is one sided!!!

I made this, this week.  An ATC, its gone off to its new home now, swapped out for another.  Obviously its small, and I struggle with such things, so much, time and effort versus return, an idea to entice, making the most of a technique or materials.  This simplistic effort still occupied over 3 hours, has 4 different threads.... It's why I don't think I'll ever crack this small sales market, at least this one is a giveaway.  Oh some time back part of my clearing out was to bin a whole pile of photo based cards, another set of dust gathering non sales.  Only so long and so much space you can occupy.  And guess what I'm going to do this week.... making some more things for a sales opportunity.... ha, keep trying.  I might resurrect my Etsy shop.....