I finally made something with my dog, Lucky’s hair!  My friend Jamie had me collect his hair last year so she could spin it in to yarn.  She spun it into a skein and gave it to me!  (See her BLOG about this subject.) A year later, I made myself a hat! Lucky and I LOVE my new hat!  Thanks again for the yarn, Jamie, and thank you for keeping me warm, Lucky!

Well folks, the summer is over, and this is the question I ask myself. What’s next? After taking the summer off in lieu of finishing my MFA, I’m ready to get back in the studio. However, a few things happened over the summer that I want to share with you.

1. Three of my prints were accepted in the exhibition, “Under Pressure” at Shiftspace Gallery at Wichita State University. The exhibition is up for August and September. From the press release via University of Pennsylvania MFA Forum:

“Under Pressure consists of a full range of approaches in print media, from the traditional to the experimental. Printmaking has a strong basis in tradition, both as a fine art medium, and as an essential area of technological innovation for the dissemination of text and images. Old approaches to printmaking have been challenged and enriched by the introduction of digital and photographic media, and by artists producing work that integrates print media with other approaches. These new uses and understandings of printmaking have re-defined the very notion of what a print is. The exhibition consists of MFA students and recently graduated MFA students that can add to this complex dialogue in printmaking, and who have a vision that reaches beyond traditional practices. Whether by presenting traditional processes in a new light, or by pushing the conceptual or technological limits of that which can be considered printmaking, work submitted addresses the printmaking tradition in new and innovative ways.”

2. I’ve changed positions within the Fibers Deptartment at SCAD!  After 5 years of being the Administrative Assistant to the Chair of the Fibers Dept, I have transitioned into the Studio Technician position.  What does this mean to me and what does a studio tech do??  Well, it means I have less paperwork to shuffle, and I can use my brain in a way that I hope will contribute more to the fibers department and how it functions.  I will be in charge of various studios and its equipment.  (among many other various responsibilities)  I’m very excited for this job change, and am looking forward to working in the department in a new capacity!

New Goals (simplified):

1. Buy a memory card reader so my camera will upload on my computer.  I haven’t been able to upload pics for almost a year!

2. Finish the stitching I’m working on now, so I can get back to printing.

3. Start working on the house renovations again.

4. Post more on my blog.

I am officially done with my MFA in Fibers!  My thesis paper is signed, sealed, and delivered.  What is the next step you ask?  Well, first I will return to a normal life with a normal schedule and continue to work on my artwork while balancing other interests in my life.  I will continue to renovate my house, work in the garden, read novels, and spend time with my loved ones.  Life is GREAT!

We are organizing a show at Blank Space Gallery:

Hello, from the depths of thesis writing madness!  I’m sorry that I have not posted in a while.  It has been super crazy at work, and crazy at school.  I come home each evening pretty exhausted, and spend most of my evenings and weekends writing my thesis paper.  For a while there, I was having a hard time seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, but I’m more optimistic now that I have the rough draft of my thesis paper written.  For the rest of the quarter I will be focusing on revisions and refining and then a formal presentation of the paper.  I can’t believe there are only 4 weeks left of the quarter! (Gulp!)

I have not had time to spend in the studio, so no visuals for this post.  I’ve been entirely inside my head, and I am looking forward to getting back to the MAKING again.  I hope to get something started next quarter, even though I won’t be taking a studio class.  My very LAST class this spring is Professional Practices, where I will be concentrating on the promotional side of being an artist.  (The side that we all dread, but HAVE to do if we want to put ourselves out there!)

In January, I had a piece in a juried show, Stitch Spectacular, that took place in Savannah.  I apologize for not mentioning it earlier, for those of you in Savannah.  You probably heard about it anyway, since the ladies who organized the event did such a great job getting the word out.  Even though the exhibit is over, you can see images of everyone’s work in the show here.  The correlating blog is a wonderful place to go and get lost with inspiration.  Enjoy!

Well, I’ve received the documentation of my thesis show and want to share it with you.  My friend, Geoff Johnson, took the photographs.  He doesn’t normally do this kind of photography, so I guess he did me a great favor.  (Thanks, Geoff!)  I’m on my break from school and a vacation from work.  I’ve been enjoying every minute of it so far.  I’ve been deep cleaning my house and have been rearranging a little bit.  Nesting is one of my favorite things to do.  It’s so important to me to be in an environment where I feel organized and comfortable.  Anyway, for those of you who couldn’t make it to my thesis show, enjoy the pictures.  Also, to my friend Tara, whom I’ve lost touch with recently, please give me a call soon.  You’ve been on my mind a lot.  I miss and love you!  Happy holidays everyone!

CLOSE UP IMAGES OF THESE CAN BE SEEN IN THE PORTFOLIO PAGE OF THIS WEBSITE. 

Yes, the thesis show reception is over!  I had a wonderful turnout considering it was after the quarter was over, and many people had already left town to go home for the break.  Thank you all who came to help me celebrate this mile stone in my life.  I meant a lot to me that you were there.  I will post pictures of the work in the show after I get it professionally documented.

I wish I were done with the MFA program, but ALAS, I still have to write the paper, and take two more classes. So, I will not really be done until June 2009.  I’m not sure how I will use this site.  It will probably be more research oriented rather than studio oriented. Stay tuned. 

I wanted to check in.  I’ve been computerless again and unable to upload pictures to post.  I’m in complete thesis mode.  My exhibition is at the end of November, and I’m down to the wire to complete an entire body of work. I’m literally stitching and working on my show every spare moment I have.  (and working full time, no less!)  I’ve been putting about 2-4 hours of studio time in each evening after work, and all day Sunday’s.  I’m trying to allow Saturday as my “no commitment” day, but I’m ending up spending most of this day stitching anyway.  The weather has been so awesome, all I want to do is sit on my back porch while stitching and listening to my ipod.  That is the perfect Saturday in my book! I’ll try to chime in every once in a while.  I will definately document the exhibition when the time comes and post the pictures.  Back to the grind!

I’ve decided to imagine my own history by bring photos of me into the collage.  I’m not trying to rewrite to forget.  I have very fond memories.  I’m only trying to connect to a history that intrigues me, the past of my family.  Sewing myself into my family’s memories makes me feel closer to them and connects me further.