Category Archives: my art history

let’s review- 2012

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My Christmas sewing this year- reusable lunch bags and shopping bags-

Another year goes by! I am thankful for my blog to keep my memories for me. It is fun to go back and review. Here are some things that made me happy this year-

– a new floor in the studio! I know it doesn’t seem like much but I love scooting around in my chair.

– I was in a show with some other fantastic doll artists. Thanks Nichol!

– I went to Honk! It was AMAZING!

– San Francisco- Loved it! Renegade and some vacation too.

– I got to meet Sonya for the first time when I went to SF. We’ve been internet buddies for years and it was a thrill to give her a hug in person. And then we got to meet again!

– I won something from a blog give-away- Thanks again Mr. Finch! I love my moth!

– My monthly meet-up with other like-minded crafty-biz people. We are starting our 4th year in January! This meet-up started from a New Years resolution and all I can say is, if you want something in your life, sometimes you really can make it happen!

– And Ryan, my 5 hour a week helper. It has been great fun having someone to talk to on a schedule.

Other important events of the year-

– I took Sister Diane‘s class about doing on-line classes. I quickly realized that I really didn’t want to do it. And that was absolutely worth taking the class to figure out. It became clear to me that doing the classes involves a lot of tech support- not something I want to do. And, being the kind of person I am, I would likely be unable to do any other work during the duration of the class- too distracting.

– 2 things that sound good but mostly were really stressful for me, book and licensing.

– I did 3 Renegade shows- Brooklyn, San Francisco and Chicago. I decided not to do any Holiday shows this year- the right decision for my sanity but maybe not for my business. Hard to know.

Tomorrow I will post my dolls of 2012.

All Dolled Up

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At The Vincennes University Transfer Art Department in Vincennes, Indiana.

I will have 5 dolls in this show if you happen to be near and you want to see them in person. Here are the details in case everything is a bit too small-

All Dolled Up

Nichol Brinkman, Paola Colombo, Jessi Halliday Mesalic, Mimi Kirchner, Jess Quinn, Jennifer Strunge

Thursday, February 9 – Thursday, March 1, 2012.

Artists’ Reception: Tuesday, February 21, 11am – 12pm. Reception will be held in the Shircliff Gallery.

Artist’s Lecture: Tuesday, February 21, 2pm – 3pm – held in the Shircliff Auditorium, Rm. E101 in the Shircliff Humanities Building.

Gallery Hours: Monday – Thursday 8am – 9pm, Friday 8am – 5 pm, Sunday 12pm – 3pm

Nichol Brinkman, Curator’s Statement:
As with most interests in life, if you dig deep enough, you will find there is an entire sub-culture full of fellow enthusiasts. Through the All Dolled Up show, Vincennes University has given me an opportunity reach out to a select group of my heroes from that softie-making community. I have chosen these artists to showcase their work based on their sense of whimsy, imagination, design sensibilities and refined craftsmanship. I have been amazed and inspired by each of these artists, and I am thrilled to be able to exhibit along with them. I hope this show captures a child-like sense of wonder and awe in everyone who views it.

first of the year

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My first finished project of the year- a special order made with a cup that the buyer sent me.

It is good to have a project with a deadline right after the Holidays. It forces me back into the studio.

Now I’ll add a little real life here. I said yes to this project right in the middle of the Holiday season- not something I’d usually do. That time of year should be spent running back and forth from the post office, mailing out all the finished artwork for someone’s special gift. Except that didn’t happen this year. The markets I did in December were fun but the sales didn’t add up to other years. And my Etsy shop was very slow and has been all fall. That has me wondering and rethinking what I’m doing here- hinted at in this post. This old life/art path is not smooth or straight, right? It is that time of year to look back and then forward- why am I doing this, what do I need to get out of it creatively and financially, what do I need to do so that going to the studio every morning is the best part of the day. Yes, it is January again, the time of year to figure this stuff out.

top 10 of 2011 and onto 2012!

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I’ve been trying to figure out a good way to post my thoughts on the year and my family suggested a top 10 list- great idea!

So, here are 10 happenings that defined my year- these aren’t all good things, btw. They are in a sort of chronological order.

-Crafty Biz Meet-up Group- this monthly meet-up continues to be one of the great things in my life and we have now been going for 2 years! This is an open group with no requirements. Anyone who gets excited talking about market reports, credit card companies, electronics for small business and all that other micro-biz stuff is welcome. We meet on the second Wednesday of each month at 10am in Arlington, MA (usually). Contact me if you’d like to join us.

–Words With Friends– yes, I’m addicted.

-After Renegade Brooklyn, I got contacted by a very cool store that you have most certainly heard of that starts with A and ends with e about making some pieces (a whole lot in my terms) for their website. It soon became clear to me that this would not be a good match and I had to back out. Sometimes you have to say no. And sometimes that helps give a clearer idea of what is the right thing to do.

–My Dad died. That threw me more than I expected.

–I got an IPad. I like it more than I expected.

–Renegade in Chicago– was totally amazing! Paula Poundstone, Red-Eye, Mary Engelbright, yeah, Amazing!

-The Shelburne Museum in Vermont- I went twice!

–Land of Nod– signed a licensing contract. Hopefully I will have products in their catalog next fall!

-Had my work ripped off. It was very upsetting but then everything worked out and it renewed my faith that there are good and helpful people in the world. Thank you everyone who supported me. It did make a difference.

–Luvable & Hugable show– not only was I thrilled to be asked to be in their 5th anniversary show, I actually made it to New York to see it!

I read over my list of hopes from a year ago and can honestly say, yes, more of that. Always, I should make more patterns, use up what I have, explore new designs, teach some classes. This year I hope to go to the West Coast Renegade Show in San Francisco and maybe LA. I want to finish up the many partially started dolls that are all over my studio. They have been waiting a long time for my attention! And maybe answer those emails that have been waiting for the last month or so ( sorry if I owe you a reply). Keep myself open to new things because I never know what is around the corner. On the other hand, don’t let myself get overwhelmed- there was a little too much of that this year.

The pictures are from the 4 wonderful days when all the kids were home and we were all relaxing. Eleanor made us the oil lamp from a clementine peel at the top of the page. Below is a typical scene when we are all together-

One of the computers was missing for the group photo though. Some homemade wrapping paper was made-

My studio is getting it’s yearly post-Christmas clean-up and makeover. I’m excited about the reshuffle. I’ll post some photos when the dust settles.

On to the new! A HUGE Thank You to everyone who visits my blog, reads my words, leaves me encouraging comment, and buys my artwork. I feel blessed to be part of the online craft community. It has made my world a better place. I wish you all a Happy and Prosperous 2012!

 

2011 review- dolls of the year

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This has been a very busy year for me. I said yes to several projects that have stretched me in new ways. As the year is coming to an end, I am contemplating the paths I want to keep following and the ones that probably aren’t working for me. The year, now that I am looking back, seemed a little less creative. I feel as if I let outside forces direct me instead of following my own creative compass. I need to get back on track with that.

This is my round-up of projects I posted on flickr.

21 Tiny Worlds and I taught one workshop last spring. My big challenge with these is finding good tea cups.

16 foxes.

13 owls plus I made the pattern last February. And 3 babies and 1 bird lady.

14 Tattooed ladies and 3 girls.

And 27 handsome men- 4 lumberjacks, 2 Staffordshire inspired fellows and 21 tattooed men.

And all the rest- 7 kitties, 19 fish, 3 tikis and 4 dogs.

That adds up to 110 dolls plus the 21 Tiny Worlds.

And there are the things I made or worked on that didn’t get posted. Last February and March I worked on some patterns that will be included in a book that is coming out in June 2012. It is not a secret anymore because it is now available for pre-order on Amazon. You can see at least one of the dolls because he is on the cover!

I will be back tomorrow (maybe) for some more reflections and hopes!

 

Gallery Hanahou

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I had a great visit to New York. I headed down to SOHO as soon as I got there. It was a thrill to see my work in the Luvable and Hugable show at Gallery Hanahou. As always, it is fantastic to see everything in person after looking at the catalog, and so funny to see things where I had a picture of a certain scale in my head and I was way off!

Lots of the other artists in the show are people who I follow online so it was a thrill to see their work in person too.

I loved how they hung the Cotton Monsters from the ceiling!

This is the other side of the room. Aren’t the crochet paintbrushes so funny!

Somehow I seemed to have missed photographing one of my favorite pieces- a plush spray can. I was expecting it (from the photo in the catalog) to be life-size and as a result, didn’t notice it on my first turn around the gallery… because it is much bigger!

My husband and I stopped into the new Scotch & Soda store which happens to be right around the corner from the gallery. I didn’t see any suspiciously familiar fabrics on the clearance rack. I felt the need to check since my sister, who is visiting Australia right now, actually saw some of the offending articles in Melbourne. My spies are everywhere!

My studio is a disaster right now. I managed to get myself into a crazy gridlock. It started because I am trying to clear out a little bedroom and uncover the bed since all the kids will be home for Christmas. This is the room that I’ve been tossing everything into for a while now. I needed to take out some of the furniture including a bookcase. I can always use another bookcase in my studio but to get it in, I needed to rearrange things- which involved emptying other bookcases. Yikes, what a mess. The little bedroom is getting close- I think it will be ready for tomorrow evening when it is needed. Then I can move onto clearing out the front room so we can set up the Christmas tree.

Tomorrow I will post about some of the other things I did in the city.

well that was really fun!

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The Boston Bazaar Bizarre was so much fun!

Here is the Cyclorama at the beginning of the day. I was in the first group of vendors to load in.

and later-

My booth-

Thanks to all the friends that came and said hi, thanks to all the wonderful new people I met there and a HUGE thank you to the organizers who do such an amazing job. It is always fantastic to get out of the studio and hang out with other amazing crafty people- it was a great day!

Update with good news!

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I put an update on my posting of Oct. 29 and I will repeat it here-

***UPDATE 11/18/2011-  I am happy to report that with the help of a friend we were able to connect with someone at Scotch and Soda who helped us come to a settlement that I am happy with. I am grateful that this was able to be resolved quickly and cleanly. Thank you for all your support.***

Let me reiterate- I am so grateful for all your support- well, and especially my husband. Go Ben!

I have a little more faith in the world today and also in people doing the right thing- with a little encouragement. I have A LOT more faith in the power of the voice and many eyes of the Internet! This situation has given me much to think about and I plan (and maybe it will happen) to blog about my thoughts on copying, inspiration, what I learned, the useful advise I got, etc. For now I will leave the original post up but will start editing it tomorrow. I would like the comments to become a list of useful advise, information and links for anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation.

And something pretty- a fun treat I bought yesterday at Gather Here.

 

 

more traveling

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This is my Renegade booth on the second day (Sunday). I always like to rearrange things and see if something else seems to catch everyone’s notice. (usually yes!)

After the market I had 1 1/2 days of down time and I wandered around the neighborhood where my daughter lives. Look what I found- a shop where people can buy their outfits for Octoberfest!

And a most fantastic deli- look at all the sausages!

There was also a store with Nutcrackers and carved wooden folk figures but unfortunately it was closed. Something to look forward to visit next time. I got home on Tuesday night.

Then, on Thursday evening, my husband and I headed out again- this time for a real little vacation. Hmm, going away with no work-related ulterior motive- what a good idea! It has been a very long time since that happened. Our first stop was the Shelburne Museum. I had such a good time when I visited a few months ago that Ben wanted to see too. And, that meant I not only got to see some favorite things again, but also check out many exhibits that I missed last time. Even the parking lot is lovely!

I’ll just post a few pics- here is an amazing Jaquard loom-

See what it is set up to weave? Amazing!

And I am now taking a lot more notice of these figures since doing my Staffordshire project. These figures are large- maybe 14″ high?

From there, we drove to Montreal. That will be for tomorrow.