so...crickets....

and dust bunnies and cob webs around these parts.  There was the holiday, which was lovely, and then school prep, which was rushed, and then getting back to school.  I am teaching Drawing 1 and 3-D Design at RCTC this semester, and 2-D Design at Winona State University.  It feels like a lot of classes crammed into four days.  So far, so good, but it is only the second week.  I pulled out my million year old copy of Art Fundamentals as my textbook for 2-D...but I have to admit there is another book I am more excited about and wanted desperately to use as a textbook.  I just couldn't bring myself to do it.  When my husband and I were looking for Christmas gifts for my son and Barnes and Noble, we found it:  The School of Art, by Teal Triggs and illustrated by Daniel Frost.  It is a children's book, but it is brilliant.  There is a Professor of Ideas, of Form, of Senses, of Making and of the Planet.  There is a team on what basic elements we need to make art and one on what design principles help us make art.  The illustrations are whimsical, the book is full of activities, and it makes the academic business of art so much fun.  My husband got it for me.  If you are a maker, check it out, I think you will love it too.  

a former student....

So I have been intending to write a blog post about my former student, Emily Wohlscheid, for as long as I have had this blog. I had Emily in multiple classes at Adrian College, a million years ago. I can't remember if I tortured her in Drawing and 2-D, but I know we shared a couple of semesters in Printmaking and one in Fibers.  And Fibers was just her thing.  I wished I had had more experience to share with her at that time, and I wished the college had had more classes for her to take.  But...she has found her own way and is making a business of it.  I am so proud of her.  She had way more courage than I did as a recent grad...developing her own line of jewelry and yarns and marketing it through art fairs.  She has six fairs scheduled in 2016 in the Midwest; I wish she would get one closer to me!  Emily was the one person I got in touch with about show prep once I got into RISDCraft.  Her best piece of advice "always bring an extra pair of scissors."  Please check out her website, Bricolage Studios and her shop on BigCartel.com.  I have included a couple of my favorite of her pieces below.   

Pin Cushion.

Pin Cushion.

Bracelet.

Bracelet.

Earrings.

Earrings.

Necklace. 

Necklace. 

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!