doldrums and business stuff

I haven't made much art lately. Of course there was the holidays, with the cold I always get from one of my blood relatives. But mostly I've been getting ready for my next solo show (opening Feb. 3, 2007, 6-8pm, at the David Strawn Art Gallery in Jacksonville, IL). Doing the stuff I always put off until I have to do it, sewing on sleeves, making hanging rods, cutting mats. And my sewing machine is in the shop.

But the sun is shining today, and most of the work is done. So I've been painting fabric. I used an idea from the Quilt Art list, of laying fabrics when you're painting so you get more than one piece. Although they go together, I'm trying to think of a way to layer them in a piece, offsetting them a little maybe...and I used up the extra paint I had put out in my palette making an abstract stripy piece, using shiva paintsticks as a resist before painting.

And I read in the latest Craft Reports about one problem I may have created for myself--they say people are looking for big art, not small. So I'm working bigger for a while again. Individual pieces may take longer (and thus priced higher), but they certainly have more impact on the wall. Small pieces are good for working out problems and learning techniques, but in the end big may be better. I'm not sure about that--I could argue both sides. Time will tell.

All of the painting and playing I have done lately is in pursuit of a challenge I issued to my fellow River Road Fiber Artists--make something based on this picture I took last summer in Ames, Iowa.



So far I have four pieces in progress that I can trace to this one photo. Inspiration is truly all around us.