here i am....

Again. About the last time I thought to post, some exciting news got in the way. I found out a couple of weeks ago that I was a Jerome Foundation Emerging Artist Fellowship finalist...one of twelve.  This is a $12,000 fellowship given to five artists in Minnesota every year.  This was my third time applying or it, and really, I just thought it would be one of those awards I applied for in perpetuity.  But I came home from school one day to find a message on the answering machine.  I can't tell you what I thrill it has been.  So after the initial shock and excitement, I went about getting some things started and finished to share with the jury....which left a lot of other things to get sidetracked.  I got another large panel of sewing pattern paper made and started painting it...I strung the ball jointed doll I started this summer, and I started another smaller panel of sewing pattern paper without the fusible interfacing to see what kind of transparency I could achieve.  Then, last Saturday I loaded a bunch of work in the car and went to MCAD to begin installing it at 5 pm for my meeting with the jury the next morning.  It was a longer night than I have had in a while, but I got everything up that I wanted.  l stayed over with a friend, and then headed back for my critique with the jury the next morning.  Each artist only gets twenty minutes with the jury, and then they move on.  We had a really nice conversation about my work, and it is funny to have people you don't know come in and look at your work and identify your blind spot immediately.  The jury definitely left me with some things to think about.  Unfortunately, I wasn't awarded a fellowship, but I learned a lot.  I will be able to meet with the grant administrator and hear some of her notes from the Jury's deliberation.  The fellows will be announced on 11/20/15.  Early congratulations, all!

the coolest jewelry....

was found at RISDCRAFT.  Amy Pfaffman designs this wonderful, whimsical jewelry that includes many of my favorite things in unexpected ways.  

Porcelain baby doll parts. 

Porcelain baby doll parts. 

Knitting needles.

Knitting needles.

Colored pencils.

Colored pencils.

Thimbles.

Thimbles.

Check out her website to see the different variations she has played with.  I wish I had had more time to talk with her in person, but I have loved poking around her website!

RISDCRAFT...

was fabulous.  So much good work for a block along Benefit Street.  It was crazy busy for most of the day.  I only got to sneak out once to look at the other work, but I did collect some business cards, so watch for more posts to follow on what I saw.  Here's a look at my table...

It was a standard folding conference table, 6 feet long.  I made the cover....it is cotton feed sacks sewn together that then I painted and drew on with ball point pen.  I had four animal dolls available, four sewing dolls, ten cloth dolls, four quilted pieces and one flower lady.  It was  a day full of compliments.  And I have a couple of orders...one for a custom doll or two and one for a couple of animal portraits.  Thank you for having me RISDCRAFT!

this wardrobe....

that I started at Starry Night Retreat is finally finished.  I was hoping I would have all the furniture made and be a able to create and photograph tableaus for RISDCraft, but there has been no time.  Maybe later this winter.  This piece is painted just like the cabinets in my kitchen in our first house in Michigan.  

Denim and Diamonds....

Is the theme for the Rochester Art Center Artbash 2015...and artists are donating works made with denim.  

This is Snorm the Sensitive.  He is from a long line of denim dome monsters.  Yes, his teeth look fierce, but he is more interested in thoughtful conversation than tearing you apart.  Don't let his crazy eyes scare you...there is a docile, deeply sweet creature behind.  He can be yours on October 23, 2015.