Effort to Reward Ratio

One of the guiding principles for my decisions about how to spend the precious hours of any given day is my “effort-to-reward” rating. It applies to housework, cooking, gardening and creating art. Housework: laundry is always multitasked with something more important; moving clothes in and out of the washer or dryer provide a break from manual labor in the yard; sorting and folding are low energy/low brainpower tasks that are part of my relax-before-bedtime routine. Cooking: If there are four pork chops in the package and only two people to eat them, cook all of them and meal preparation another time is just a reheat. Gardening: food plants rate more fussy care than ornamentals; perennials get double dug enriched soil and regular fertilizer, while annuals get only what they need to live out the season looking pretty. Creating art: Is the piece…practice for skill improvement or a showpiece for exhibition that will enhance your artistic reputation? …is the topic just looking pretty or is there depth of meaning you wish to convey?

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

It’s a trite truism, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained”.
I am grateful to my network of art friends for encouraging me to enter the Mansfield Art Center May Show. I thought I had missed the deadline. I had decided I was too busy to find or take photos, then size, correct and send them digitally. My art buddies told me I still had time to enter because entry was done by taking the work to the exhibition site at 700 Marion Avenue in Mansfield, Ohio…about a 45 minute drive from my house…and that entries were accepted until 8 p.m. that evening.
I rounded up two works and got them in before the deadline.
Friday, I received the happy news that the works were not only both accepted, but that my art quilt won the George Biddle Award for innovative use of material.
What a boost to my confidence to get such a validation.
So, if you are hesitating to take a risk or to put yourself into a competitive situation, remember it is TRUE that you have NO chance to win a prize if you don’t try for it.

Goatkiss

Goatkiss

Here is my work that will be displayed in the Creative Statements, Ohio Art Quilts 2012 show that is opening tomorrow. I had a really bad photo of a charming curious goat which I found amusing. I wanted to capture the personality of the friendly creature. As I drew the design, I used several other color photos to revise the color of the coat and added horns, knowing that many non-farmers would not recognize the animal as a goat without horns. I simplified shapes so the image could be done with a minimal number of raw applique pieces. I spent many hours drawing and shading the forms with Tsukneko colored inks. Triangles jutting into the picture plane from the border, converging quilting lines, and cast shadow on the background fabric add depth.
I really had fun making this happy piece and am pleased I can share the image at this show. It is in the company of works done by artists who are far better known than I am. If you are in Ohio before July 6, I hope you can attend this SAQA sponsored show at the impressive Zanesville Museum of Art.

Keeping up

It has been ages since I sat still long enough to post on this blog. I got stalled out last month when I could not find a photo of a little watercolor that I wanted to post because it sold at the Ashland University Coburn Gallery show. (Yay!)
I attended the International Quilt Festival in Cincinnati this past weekend, volunteering to sit at the Studio Art Quilt Associates booth to earn my ticket into the show. I find it gratifying that these major quilt shows have more space devoted to art quilts each year.
Tonight I made a quick decision to enter a local annual May Show at the Mansfield Art Center. It is a lovely jewel of a place but I have just recently begun to participate in activities there. The jurying process consists of bringing pieces to the venue, then waiting to hear whether you pick up the work the next weekend…rejection, or whether you are in. Accepted works are on display from April 29 and to June 10.
This coming weekend I’ll be going to the opening of the Creative Statements show of Ohio Art Quilts at the stunning Zanesville Museum of Art. I’m really excited to be part of this show and looking forward to meeting the juror, Kathleen Loomis. I was greatly pleased to receive the promotional postcard and see that a detail from my quilt was among the 5 images chosen for the card. Here’s the card:

Bugzap

This past weekend, I took time out from my in-progress projects to do a little charity project. Here’s “Bugzap”, my contribution for the Brazeere Contest which will be part of a fund raiser sponsored by American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. In March there will be a silent auction and voting…by monetary contribution…for the decorated bras. I hope two days of my sewing efforts bring in a good amount of money for this worthy cause.

Bugzap, for American Cancer Society fundraiser

Show at the Coburn Gallery

If you are in the neighborhood of Ashland University in Ohio between February 17 to 28, I’ll have three paintings in a group show at the college gallery. Here’s the poster:

Return to GTD

GTD…Getting Things Done. For a brief shining moment last year, my life was pretty well-organized thanks to adherence to David Allen’s principles explained in his book by that name. But the system only works if you keep at it. My inbox was all clogged up. I spent yesterday sorting. Today I’ll do the same. But I’ll still spend a couple of hours making art..that’s what keeps me happy.