making....

not much actually.  Unfortunately.  I think my crit with the Jerome jurors has left me a little uncertain.  And I think I was beginning to be in a place of transition with my work, so it has been easy to not get anything done.  I am thinking about cutting up the twelve foot wall panel into two pieces and adding more pattern paper so that each is six by six feet....and then adding more would like areas where I open up my color palette a little bit.  I did pull a new panel out to paint, but it is not easy with a pain in the ass little kitten.  He may be invited to enjoy the basement.  But I am also really wanting to start sewing for myself.  It could be a distraction.  I have made garments for myself over the years and not worn them much when I haven't been able to figure out fit.  But I found a blouse pattern I am in love with, so I may give it a try again.  And it is a french pattern....with no english instructions.  I think I can figure it out though.  It is the Laelia blouse from Blousetterose.com.

I think it would also make a darling dress if you added some length.  And you could easily wear a long sleeved t-shirt underneath it so it worked for colder weather.  Now to figure out how many euros it is....

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.  

demos....

for Drawing.  Whenever I have to do a demo for the class, there is always this moment, of "Please, just let me draw good."  It is not always good, but it is often what it needs to be.  

I can't even....

believe how beautiful, haunting, sweet, evocative and completely mesmerizing this work is.  Annie Montgomerie is an artist I discovered while googling the term "taxidermy sculpture." These animals are just amazing, and the photographs are such loving little portraits of these creatures.  When I think about photographing my dolls, these are the qualities I hope to evoke.  Check out both her website and Facebook page..I am going to start watching her Etsy shop...I hear her work goes fast.  

I couldn't find any titles on-line....

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.

Bracelet.

Earrings.

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!

working....

on this.  It is a start.

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. 

Knitting needles.

Colored pencils.

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!