Working Small

I envy my friends who work in other mediums than fiber. It seems like it takes me many more hours to complete a piece than a watercolorist or acrylic painter. I was looking over my "inventory" of work I have completed over the last several years and only 10-12 medium to large works per year.

But last year, I realized I could create a lot more work if I limited myself to 12" squares. By doing that, I found I could experiment more and if it didn't work I could throw it out without feeling bad about all the work I put into it! I also realized that these "small works" could be studies for larger works.

Here's an example.

When SAQA issued a call for entry to "Art Meets Science" I immediately thought of doing a piece about the Swine Flu. I went to the Center for Disease Control and found a microscopic photo of the virus. Here's what it looks like.

Kind of beautiful! I printed off several copies of this image on white fabric and started to think about what I wanted to say.

This is in the fall of 2009 and everyone was worried about this potential epidemic. Being in the low-risk group (too old!) I wasn't even thinking about getting vaccinated so I was more

worried about a public panic than getting sick.

I wanted to make a piece that would be beautiful and interesting but when people saw what it was, they would back away with fright. So I decided to show one of the swine flu cells in the center of a four petri dished, show how these cells are multiplying at a great rate and then have tentacles overflowing in a meandering pattern to show how this virus will reach everywhere. Scary right? Here's the piece I made for the show.

It's called "H1N1".

But while it was hanging on my design wall, I got another idea. Why not make it benign -- just a part of nature.

So I made a 12" x 12" piece called "Swine Flu Flowers". Here it is.

I used it as a study for a larger piece which I also made for the contest. This is called "Swine Flu Garden".

I am happy to say that both pieces were juried into this show which will have its debut in Birmingham, England in August of 2010. I am donating the 12" piece to the SAQA Auction to raise money for their organization.

Why I am Starting This Blog

I have spent my professional life in publishing and always thought "how silly that people are blogging away about their uninteresting lives on the Internet and people are actually reading this drivel." And, who has time to write these things anyway? I'm never going to do this.

As a published author of several books on quilt-making and the business of publishing, I know how hard it is to write -- put thoughts on paper (wow! That's a phrase out of my past!) and tell a story or share a technique or experience. In the old days, (was that 8 or 10 years ago?) people got their information from carefully vetted sources. Now, it's a free-for-all. Who knows who is to trust?

So, with my anti-blogging bias, why have I finally decided to "go with the flow" and blog?

Because I think I have something to say.

This blog will not talk about my pets (I don't have any) or children (I don't have any of these either). It won't talk about my husband (I do have on of those) or my daily activities (that's what Twitter is for). My blog will attempt to share with you my life as an artist and what I am trying to accomplish in the next 10 years. I will share my work in progress and tell you what I am learning, who I am following, and how I am slowly becoming a professional artist.

You may or may not agree with what I say but I will read and respond to your comments should you choose to share your thoughts. I don't know how many "blogs" I will post in a month but I promise to share something at least one a week. There needs to be a set time for this activity in my life because what I really want to do is be at my studio, making art.