PORTRAIT FUN

I was invited to spend a day with the Tampa Bay Surface Design Guild last Sunday.  They meet at the Art Center on Indian Rocks Beach once a month.  It was a challenge to teach them anything about fiber art that they didn't already know, but we had a great time together constructing portraits.  Each of us brought three pieces (or more) of thrift store clothing - one light, one dark and one medium print.  We put them all together on a table to share. 

 

This photo was taken later in the day - there was much more than this when we started.  The space was filled with art and was well lit and roomy. 

                                        

We worked hard from 9am to 5pm and accomplished a lot in that time.  These ladies are serious about their work but fun loving artists!

                                               

Near the end of the day, each artist took the time to evaluate and critique a portrait made by a classmate. 

                                              

We then shared our observations and made suggestions and gave compliments about each portrait.  

I was so impressed with the work ethic and creativity of these artists.  It was my pleasure to work with them and I hope to visit again sometime.  Special thanks to Angie, who hosted me the night before.  It was a treat to get to see Angie's studio and meet her husband and her sweet pup.

Back to SCHOOL

I've decided to use this neglected blog space to journal my new adventure working toward a Master of Fine Arts degree in Painting.  Classes start on Monday, Sept. 13, 2021.  The program I'm in is through Savannah College of Art and Design, and is completely online. 

So far, I have already purchased paints and supplies, practiced, submitted a portfolio of twenty paintings and a statement of purpose, been accepted, been awarded two scholarships, met with one of my three counselors, dropped a painting class to take a graduate drawing course instead, been on a waitlist for the Art History class I wanted, gotten a seat in that class, purchased 6 textbooks, reviewed two syllabi, paid my tuition, and attended about six different orientation sessions.  I visited the library virtually. I've completed two prequarter assignments and emailed a few classmates. I bought a school Tshirt.  I have notebooks and file folders and two calendars. I have a quiet place to work, and a great studio space.

The Professors at SCAD are not playing.  The coursework is rigorous, both in quantity and quality.  I am intimidated, but also completely excited about what I'll be learning.  There will be a ton of reading and writing, and critique.  There will be a lot of vocabulary I'm not familiar with.  Even the studio courses require much high level reading and writing.  This will be my new full time job.  

I've been retired for 11 years now, and I'm ready to go back.  I will need any prayers you can spare. 

Here is something I found that I will try to keep in mind:

Inuit song:

"I think over again my small adventures, my fears, these small ones that seemed so big.  For all the things I had to get and to reach.  And yet there is only one great thing.  The only thing.  To live to see the great day that dawns. and the light that fills the world."

From Rejection to Acceptance

 In 2016 I made an art quilt out of leather.  I made it for an exhibit called HerStory, about American women who have made groundbreaking achievements.  The first woman I thought of was Dr. Temple Grandin.  My brother in law was in agriculture and had worked with her years ago.  My sister shared with me a book about Dr. Grandin, which informed me of her childhood and struggles with autism.  She currently is a professor of Animal Sciences at Colorado State University.  There is a wonderful movie about her, called Temple Grandin - you should see it if you have not done so.  

While I was thinking about making her portrait, a friend gave me some large pieces of pumpkin colored leather he had found at a garage sale.  Since Temple worked with cattle and horses, I decided I would try and do the portrait on leather!  I purchased special needles and learned that stitching on leather is not much different than on fabric.  I chose to use the inside of the leather pieces, as they were wonderfully soft like suede. 

I painted the details and shading with oil paint, and added drawings of some cattle pens and chutes in the background.  On the back of the quilt is a blue sky and white cloud fabric, which is reminiscent of a scene in the movie where Temple is seeing images in the clouds. 

 

The quilt was submitted for jurying, along with another one that I made to honor Susan Shie, an artist who has overcome a vision disability to become a rockstar art quilter.  In January of 2017, I received from the jurors a happy email about Susan's quilt, and a 'We're sorry' email about Temple's. Susan's quilt is still traveling the world with the HerStory exhibit, and Temple's went into a pile under the bed in my guest room.  

In September of 2017, I wrote an email to someone at Colorado State University, where Dr. Grandin is a professor.  I asked if they would consider purchasing the quilt and placing it somewhere in the university to honor her.  Apparently they were not interested in this idea, as I never heard back from them.  Then on November 1st, my dad passed away, and I had other concerns than to follow up on the quilt purchase.  

Fast forward to January of 2021.  I pulled the quilts from under the bed to say hello and to restack them.  I set Temple aside, deciding to finally follow up .  In doing some further research online, I discovered that she had earned her doctorate at the University of Illinois.  I was born in Illinois and decided I would offer the quilt to them.  This time, I offered it, not for sale, but as a donation.  I found the gentleman in charge of Animal Sciences on the U of I website, and sent him the story of this quilt.  Within an hour, I received an enthusiastic, affirmative response from Dr. Rodney Johnson.  He had worked with Dr. Grandin and shared an office with her, so he was as excited about honoring her as I am.  He tells me that the quilt will be displayed in a glass case in the Animal Sciences Laboratory at the university in Champaign Urbana.  I'm delighted that Temple's quilt will get to come out from under the bed and be seen and appreciated by people there at U of I.  

Don't you just LOVE a happy ending?