where do we go from here?

So, it’s time for the ubiquitous “what now?” post.

I’m already inspired with ideas that would be great for next Artwalk…but I won’t be participating.

My 365 days (more or less) of making stuff here at the Brewery are up. I signed a one year lease last May to conduct my experimental year of artfuckery, and that year is drawing to a close and my lease is up. I’m moving on from Artfuckery to pursue a Ph.D. in information science, which was my long-term plan throughout this whole endeavor. I only ever intended to be here for a year, but part of me really wishes I was staying. I’ve really enjoyed my time at the Brewery and my artfucking around, and it’s even possible I’ll end up back here someday, making more stuff. I know now that whatever I do and where ever I end up, I’ll need space to make things and experiment at artfuckery and share my creations with others.

Since this blog was meant to chronicle my year-long experiment, I won’t be keeping it up to the extent I have been in the past. But since a part of me will always be making stuff, this seems like an appropriate place to chronicle future projects, even if it’s not as detailed as before. I’d still like to post about the pieces I didn’t finish in time for Artwalk, as soon as I get around to actually finishing them. And I certainly have many, many more projects and ideas up my sleeves. It may not be as often, but you haven’t heard the last from me.

Off to new adventures in artfuckery…

a fun find

While waiting for my coffee at the local downtown Starbucks the other day, I stumbled upon a new magazine: the inaugural issue of Bunker Hill. I noticed the cover mentioned an article about the Brewery Artwalk so of course I flipped directly to that page. And how surprised was I to find that one of the large photos was of the atrium and my space?

I’m not exactly sure when the photo was taken, since I left the Christmas wreath on my door until the beginning of March (oops!), but it’s definitely my space and I was apparently actually at home, since the window is open. (You can even see Bella the mannequin silhouetted there.)

Fun! Thanks Bunker Hill Magazine.

Artwalk roundup

Oh my gosh! Artwalk, what a blast! It was awesome this year and I had such a great time. We took our experience from the fall and made a lot of changes that I think added to the improvement of the experience, both for the participating artists and the attendees alike.

On Wednesday, my sweetie flew in from Denver and joined my parents and me in removing the bedroom and closet, opening up the loft to one giant space. On Thursday, we painted (well, I napped while my sweetie painted the ceiling, bless him). On Friday, I tried to get some quilting work done before setting up for the big event, but there were some unexpected issues and unfortunately I didn’t get all the pieces finished that I’d wanted. (No corn batting. Never again. Let’s just leave it at that).

Before:

After:

We hung all the pieces and then it was time to throw open the doors and let hordes of random strangers through to see some art! It ended up being just three of us: Julia Dittberner and her cubicle butchery, Robin Dodge and her pastels, and me.

The turnout was incredible. So many more people were at Artwalk than in the fall; it seemed much more crowded. Tearing down the rooms really helped to open the space. Not only did it let in more and better light, but it also encouraged more people to explore the entire space. It was very difficult to entice people down the narrow hallway before. This time, we didn’t have that problem, and large crowds of people came and went non-stop all day. Had I realized how much better I liked the space without the rooms, I would have torn them down sooner.

At first I was down on myself and really disappointed that I didn’t finish all the pieces that I’d planned to show. But as we were hanging the completed quilts, I realized that I did in fact actually meet my goal of 6 full-size quilts in 6 months, so I felt much better after that. Once again, the responses were all really positive, and I think people were a little surprised and intrigued to see quilts–perhaps something they wouldn’t usually see–at Artwalk. You can see a slide show of my quilts hanging here or you can look at photos of each piece here.

I didn’t sell any quilts, but I did sell a piece from the fall’s “You Are Here” series–my first “real” art sale! I sold this piece to the fine gentlemen who are the current tenants in that space. How fun!

So now that Artwalk is over, what’s next…?

Artwalk slideshow

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i have so much to do I don’t even have time to blog

Seriously.

So here are some photos instead:

That’s all. Believe me, I wish I had more progress to show. But there was a little snafu with the length of the food pyramid rows that required a great deal of ripping and recutting. And it’s still not quite right. Sigh.

Hopefully a better update after this weekend’s final push to get everything done. My sweetie arrives on Wednesday morning and then we begin to tear down the space and start setting up, so it’s all gotta be done soon…

mark your calendars!!

 

Only 2 weeks until Artwalk!

I’ll be showing with a group of friends in Studio A2 in the atrium.

Spring Brewery Artwalk a FREE weekend of Open Artist Studios at the Brewery Arts Colony Saturday – Sunday, April 17 -18, 2010 Open: 11am-6pmThe Brewery Arts Colony 2100 N. Main Street Los Angeles, California 90031Phone: (323) 223-6089 Email: info@breweryartwalk.com Website: www.breweryartwalk.com Hours: Saturday – Sunday, 11am-6pm The Brewery, the world’s largest Art Colony, is located in Downtown Los Angeles! The Brewery Arts Colony is an Artist Studio/live-work complex converted from the industrial buildings of a former Pabst Blue Ribbon Brewery, and bottling plant. It is now home to over 300 artists and arts-related businesses. The Brewery Artwalk is FREE and open to the public! Whether you are an art collector, want to buy unique fine art gifts, browse for new decoration ideas, or discover the next Warhol, come enjoy an exciting FREE afternoon in the heart of LA’s art scene…  Come to the Brewery Artwalk! Participating Artists: Ebba Andersen, Ann Erpino Fine Art, Magda Audifred, Barnsdall Arts: Ragan Art Academy, Bookfinger, Bill Leigh Brewer, Winifred Johnson Brewer, Ada Pullini Brown, c3: Center for Conscious Creativity, Claudia Endler Designs, Bruce Dean, Dreamluxe Silks, Jeff Eisenhower, Elephant Heart, Nicole Fournier, Vaughn M. Hannon, Hashimoto, James Hill, Hipcooks, Iva Hladis, Kate Hoffman, Chuck Hood, Holly V. Hood, Nicole  Horton , Jillian Suzanne Puss in Bootz, Jisel, CJ Kang, Adam Kurtzman, LA Artcore Brewery Annex, Lecoultre Studio, Dave Lefner, Majestic Imaging, Dave McKenney, Eric Melo, Ted Meyer, Mike Pedersen/Patricia Lucas, Scott Miller, Miripolsky, Mitch & Brittany, MLA Gallery, Robert Morgan, Nocturnal Studio, Jim Payne, Cielo Pessione, Psycho Girlfriend, Random Nicole, Retimade, Ryan Let’s Play Dead, Blandine Saint-Oyant, Richard Seltzer Designs, Jessica Robinson, Rick Robinson, Sherah Rosen, Michael Salerno, John Schroeder, Victoria Sebanz, Richard Seltzer, SintheteX, Sean Sobczak, Studio A2, Anna Stump, Misato Suzuki, Jill Sykes, Telemachus Studio, Topanga Canyon Gallery, Jean Towgood, Translight Photography Center, Virginia Val, Virsix, David Walker, Wendy Hall Photography, Dominic Weseloh, Lisa Worksman, John Zarcone The Brewery is located at the Main Street exit of the 5 Freeway in Downtown Los Angeles-2100 N. Main Street, Downtown Los Angeles. Directions and more information: www.breweryartwalk.com Free admission – Free parking (lot donated by UPS)

some days it pays to check the mail

…because today there was a letter telling me that the flow chart quilt has been accepted to the Denver National Quilt Festival!

I’m a quilting fool!

new fabric, originally uploaded by pivy.

Today I bought a whole bunch of fabric for a new quilt for Artwalk.

Yeah, I know: who’s the fool now?

beware the ends of March

Holy cow, we’re in the last few days of March already! April is mere days away, which means Artwalk is impatiently waiting right around the corner. Lots to do!

I helped my parents with a yard sale over the weekend so there wasn’t much time for working, but here’s where I’m at:

Pie chart is done! Matching placemats are in progress.

Line graph is sandwiched, and I’ve done about 1/3 of the quilting.

Tube map is sandwiched and ready for quilting.

Food pyramid blocks are coming along, as well as the matching placemats.

So there’s still progress, which is good, because at this point it needs to all be progress. Luckily, this upcoming weekend is a 4-day weekend, which will be devoted to work (and Craft Day and Easter dinner with my family…). Perhaps I should hold myself accountable for what I do Friday and Monday in order to make sure I get the work done…?

distractions

So it seems like I’ve hit to point where I want to make clothes. Or read. Or clean my house and scrub the shower with a toothbrush. Or  work on pretty much anything besides what I need to finish for Artwalk. This seems to be a recurring pattern of behaviour for me–I certainly fell victim to it this part fall and it came back to bite me at the last minute as I was stressfully struggling to finish all my pieces on time. I’ve been trying to be aware and extra-careful about not letting that sort of thing happen this time around, but who am I kidding?

This week, for some strange reason, all I want to do is make clothes. Maybe it’s because I’ve been cleaning out my closet and getting rid of all the stuff that is no longer my style or size, and I’m left with a dearth of things to actually wear. Maybe it’s some sort of project-focus ADD. All I know is that I’ve been spending time looking at patterns online, cutting out shirts, and picking out fabrics for all the clothes I want to make. I don’t think it’s cut into my quilt productivity too much, since the available timing of these activities doesn’t often conflict. (Hey, if I have to sit in front of a computer all day, I certainly can’t sew, but I sure can look at patterns.)

The other thing that’s been distracting me is books. I finally received a shipment from Amazon full of books I’ve been wanting to read for a while now, and it’s hard not to dive straight into those. Additionally, when I was at the quilt store the other day (legitimately buying fabric for my Artwalk quilts!), this book caught my eye and I had to have it. I don’t usually buy books at craft stores–I hate paying full price and I work in a library chock-full of textile books, so there’s not much I feel the need to buy myself. But this book was so awe-inspiring that I had to have it. Not only does it have a great gallery of examples, it really breaks down step-by-step how to not only design the layout of your quilt, but easy ways to calculate shapes and order for piecing, both rectangles and curves. My sweetie and I eventually want to make a quilt for our bed. Previously we were attracted to the pickle dish pattern, but we are both big fans of art deco, so who knows?