the opportunities of rejection

Yesterday the rejection came. It really wasn't a surprise. Sure I had hoped for another result--at least a "Wait List". But I sort of knew it would happen.

After all the craft show that rejected me is one of those very very prestigious ones--you know hundreds and hundreds of applicants for about 120 places. And I know that at least five to ten of the applicants--the quilt makers--are just as qualified as I am. Moreover, I knew it would be even harder to get in--the show likes to accept those who have not done it before. Probably great from their perspective. Harder for me. I have done the show before.

So though of course I was disappointed--the show is absolutely lovely and I do very very well there--I wasn't surprised.

And I certainly don't have time to be upset about this. Instead, this will give me a chance to maybe do a craft show or two that I haven't done for a while. I wonder which one I will choose. I think of my house visits--those have been getting me some great results. I should do this more often. After all, I am doing the Washington Craft Show in a couple of weeks--maybe I need to arrange a time to come down and visit those who are interested. I order more postcards so I can promote myself.

Maybe I can also apply for a couple of quilt shows. I have been going so non-stop that the deadlines usually pass me by. I read a great article on LinkedIn by Rhonda Schaller on "Creating a DIY Strategy for Exhibiting Your Work"--great article--check it out--yes, creating my own show. That would be fun. I love how my work looked at the Landmark Campus. That show was supposed to travel but the next location ran out of funds. Too bad. I start researching on the internet--where would I like to show? So many possibilities. I need to reread this article--explore possibilities. There are hints here

I think of my quilt red barn, blue silos II.  Yes, I should keep my focus on my goals like the red barn is the focus of the fields. Keep this vision in mind.

I read the blogs of Lisa Call--she is so organized. Check out this blog of Lisa's. I love how she can write out her goals for the week--so much she hopes to accomplish. I love the structures of her work, the plans, the way the pieces create the whole. But I am not sure that is for me. I make my quilts almost by intuition--I get the palette right and then it is almost a gut reaction. What comes next. It is the same with my strategies, my goals. I create a general concept in my mind, a purpose and then start moving toward my goals. I don't know if this is the best way--should I write it all down? I don't know. I tend to get overwhelmed with possibilities. I like the freedom to accept opportunities if I can keep that red barn in mind.

And you--what do you think? How do you reach for those goals? Are you a list maker or gut reaction? Do you have any great tips?

the quilts of Ann Brauer--November news

How quickly the seasons have changed. From the golden browns of October--and yes, we did have a wonderful foliage season after all didn't we--to the subtler greys of November--it just happened. In between cleaning up the garden and raking the leaves, I have been busy in the studio trying to get a couple of orders done. Oh and I did manage to see several rainbows this month--including one day I saw two separate ones out my window of the studio--always a good sign.

Let me get down to the news--and I do have a fair amount this month.

First and foremost, I will be doing the Washington Craft Show at the Convention Center in Washington DC November 19-21. This is a fantastic show with 190 of the best crafts people from throughout the country. Exquisite, breathtaking work. I am honored to be included. And even a bit nervous as I haven't done this show for a number of years. I do hope to see some of my Washington friends there.  I am Booth 341. For more information do check out
http://www.craftsamericashows.com/WASH_main.htm

I am also proud that my quilt "summer sky" is in the exhibit "Sew New: Contemporary Art Quiltmakers" at the OSilas Gallery of Concordia College in Bronxville, NY. This should be a fantastic show with fourteen top quilt makers having work here. If you are in the area, do check it out. http://www.osilasgallery.org

Oh yes and I will be giving a lecture on my quilts to the Mothertown Quilt Guild of Lancaster, MA this Tuesday at 6:30. Guests are welcome for a slight fee. This should be fun.http://www.mothertownquilters.com

I am also pleased that my quilt "rainbows of summer" was selected as a finalist for the Niche Awards which will be announced in February at the Buyer's Market of American Craft at the Philadelphia Convention Center. I am in honored company to be a finalist for this award. I think I have shown you this quilt before but if not...

When I am not at a craft show, I am usually in the studio working. Do feel free to drop by--although if you are coming from a distance I suggest calling first. And you can always follow me on Facebook or read my blog.

musings on long nights, changing seasons

Suddenly it is dark when I wake up. When I return home, the sun is low in the sky. Night comes early.

On WMUA--my local community radio station-- Louise Dunphy does a program on Samhain--the Celtic New Year. A time when the boundaries between the living and the dead are looser.  The turning of the season.  Bonfires, divinations. An old Celtic tradition--the crops must be gathered before the Festival or the fairies will spoil the remains. Men and woman exchange clothes.  It is a wild, uncertain time. Hard to get accustomed to the dark and the dread of winter.

Friends of mine--neighbors--have purchased an RV. They are frantically packing and sorting their lives to head south before "the big freeze". This is a ritual passage--beloved items from his father and his youth are now passed on to the son-in-law for "safe storage."An almost melancholy relinquishing of youthful pranks for the adventure and warmth of the open road. Dreams of alligators and panthers in the Everglades. There will be an absence in the circle of friends. Thanksgiving has been moved.

Across the country I am saddened by how quickly hope has faded. An anger, despair has fallen across so many. The slow progress to solutions has not eased their hurt and pain.  I am glad to live in Massachusetts. I am glad for the governor soft spoken, gentle, kind. Sure of himself and his principles. He actually came to town. I met him. I shook his hand.

And I know that despite this gloom, in slightly more than a month the afternoons will again start to lengthen. We will gather with friends for Thanksgiving. Soon, the snow will provide its own light.  Bright moonlight reflected on the meadow. Sometimes even Venus creates shadows. The crisp air will clear my thoughts as I snowshoe to a nearby vista to watch the sun rise. Then toasty warm next to my DH.

How fitting that I am now making a large variation on first light. It will stretch across a wall in a lovely new living room. Echoing the promise of the dawn. So bright and happy the colors. Such fun searching through my fabric finding just that perfect bit of rose and gold, the dreams of the blue rising.

The perfect quilt to be making during this season of dark.  And you dear reader, what do you do to keep busy during this season? Do you also dread the return of standard time? Or is this a time of thinking inward? Thinking forward? Setting goals?

what makes an artist?

Recently I found an interesting blog post on What Makes a Professional Artist? Even the story of how I came to read this particular blog post shows what a small world we live in. My internet friend Valerie Goodwin--herself a wonderful quilt maker from Florida--had posted this on Twitter and Facebook wanting to raise the question for discussion. The article begins with  a discussion of a situation I am sure we have all been--the nurse, friend, seat-mate on an airplane, even relative who announces that they too are professional artists. What do you say in that situation? How do you define what being an artist is?

Now the word professional is one that I think we can figure out--don't we all know what a professional lawyer is? What about a professional doctor? Would you want to be treated by a non-professional one? And why is the term "professional politician" considered an insult--oh don't get me started there.  Back to the topic at hand, the term professional usually implies a seriousness of purpose and certain standards of conduct and responsibility.

The issue becomes more what is meant by the term "artist". How do you distinguish between art and craft, art and fine craft? Is there a distinction? I know there are many art quilt makers who are trying to get their work recognized in the fine art market. There is a believe that painting is considered more serious--and by definition more lucrative--than quilt making or sewing or fiber arts or textile arts.

OK--I can agree that earning money from your art is a good thing--at least for me.  I have been supporting myself for 29 years making quilts. So I post on a discussion on LinkedIN that I am willing to make a blue and red quilt if that is what sells. And the question becomes whether I am then "selling out." Of course the blue and red quilt has to be in my style--I may love the Double Wedding Ring pattern but I don't want to make.

Indeed currently I am working on an order for a quilt similar to first light.

It is an order for a specific place in a specific lovely architecturally designed home. Yes, there is thinking to do--artistic inspiration. How to make it twice this length and keep the feeling for the piece. What happens when the piece is seen looking up at it? How will the sky appear? Will the lines in the quilt echo the lines in the house?

I think of some of the "old Masters"--the Dutch Masters with their assistants and wealthy patrons, Sargent who painted the four young daughters at the request of their parents. Even the "primitive" portraits of Colonial America painting the sons and daughters of the wealthy.  Audubon published his birds in wonderful portfolios that you could subscribe to. Without the orders and the patrons, we would not have this art.

And interesting I discover on reading more about Nancy Natale--she used to have her studio in the same small town in western Massachusetts where I live. What a small world this is. Note to self-- maybeI should get out of my studio more.

And you--where do you draw the line? What is art? What is professional?

hidden lake--creating the promise

Have you noticed that sometimes a quilt just seems to happen. This time, I was finishing prairie hills. You may remember the soft colors of this piece. Based on fabrics that reminded me of feed sack cloth.
Check out this blog post. The sewing together of a quilt always takes forever. I want to see it done. Finished.

I woke up early one morning and had a dream of the next quilt. It was so clear. A large mountain--all encompassing. A field going into the distance. Where the field and the mountain met, water. Was it a stream? A lake? Clearly something I wanted to approach. The mountain a deep vivid green going up to the sky. A sunny day. Warm. The colors bright and pure. A counterpart to the dusty colors of prairie hills.


Was this from the movie A River Runs Through It? Or maybe it was in the White Mountains where my DH and I vacation? Did it matter? No--I just needed to start the piece. A few blocks of the dark brown. The green fabric was needed to keep me focused.

But how to create the feeling of water. I could see it glistening in my mental picture. I pin up some strips of fabric.

Not quite right. The color too blue. Too obvious. I remember a hike this summer to a waterfall. At first you of glimpses of the stream. Occasionally if the wind was right, you might hear it. But basically you were hiking up to a promise.

How would this look? I keep piecing. The mountain must be BIG. Not the small mountains around here. I don't have as many greens as I would like--but I don't want to stop and buy more. I search the studio. Fold and refold fabric hunting for those tiny strips of green that will be just right.

The quilt grows. I wonder if there should be sky at the top of the mountain. Or will that be too much design. Too realistic.

I decide to add just a hint of blue--teal maybe. It is a cloudy day and I am too busy working to want to get the light right for the picture. This quilt is impelling me to just sew.

But I am not sure the water is quite right. Too much red. I would not hike to that. Hmm. How disappointing. What if my idea was wrong after all that work? Should I have thought this quilt through more. I go home disappointed. Then the next morning I wonder if I should just add more blue here.
I pin up a piece.

Yes. Alas another fuzzy image. But this is just what I want. I take out just a bit of the blocks. Add a couple more pieces of blue. I do want the lake to be just glimpsed. A secret lake.

Wow--it is amazing what a simple tweak can do. Yes, that promise. The right blue--warm, summer. Just what I wanted. What do you think? Would you hike to this lake? Have you ever had a project where a simple tweak or two can change everything?

Now I must work hard and sew it together. After all I am doing The Washington Craft Show in November. Yikes!!!

road trip--time for a house visit

OK--it is time for a house visit. Now I have a couple of friends who are very good at visiting client's homes--they take several pieces of work, show how great it looks in the setting and walk away with the order. Oh I wish I could do it but I am a shy person and find visiting someone's home is such a presumptive thing to do. Maybe because the first time I did it I drove three hours each way and spent an hour looking at the site only to discover that the woman who arranged the visit did not have an authority to buy. Ouch.

However, every once and a while, such a visit is in order. This time it was for a customer that I have dealt with before. I knew she had a new house which I was eager to see. She also has very good taste in quilts--if I do say so myself. Great taste in art in general--I know many of the people she collects.  And she is a very nice person.

Now I wasn't sure if there was anything special that she wanted to see. I packed a few quilts and put them in the back of my van. I put fresh batteries in my camera, grabbed my order book and my computer if she wanted to see images. Before leaving I called just to confirm--after all I did not want to drive down to her house unless she was going to be there.

Luckily for me, it was a lovely day. Foggy at first. With the last of the autumn colors. Then as I got closer, the sun came out. Of course I had planned it with a few minutes to spare. I did not want to make her wait. Found the road then headed into town.

What fun I had. Normally I don't get to spend time in Lenox--it is just far enough from my studio--a few backroads, a mountain range and no time.  So that is where I headed. Wow--outdoor sculpture throughout the town. Lined up along the sidewalk. What fun. I parked the van and started walking.

Don't you love this abstract grouping?

 

Here is a close-up. What detail. He reminds me of one of my DH's uncles.

Another sculpture I loved was this one--very simple and concise. Though perhaps a bit expected.

And this woman. What interesting movement here.

Yes, someone--not me-- had put some cornflakes in her hand. OK--that is sort of cool. I wonder if the birds ate from it. Though I did wish it was bird seed.

So much to see. A little town common with a perfect New England tree. Lots more sculptures throughout town--even a juried art show. I could have spent several hours. But I had "promises to keep and miles to go...."

Yes, I clearly must do more house visits. Do you? Any hints about doing them?  Have you been to Lenox recently? 

prairie hills--how long does it take?

Of course everyone wants to know how long it takes to make a quilt. It's just one of those questions that I get asked all the time. All artists that I know get asked that question. Some are able to answer in terms of the number of days or weeks or years that a piece takes. Some answer that it takes a life time. "Forever," I frequently answer. Or sometimes I explain that I just can't say. After all, I spend a lot of time thinking about the piece before I begin it. And I do rely on all of the past quilts that I have made to instruct me for the current piece. These little tricks can be invaluable.

Now, if you may remember I had gone fabric shopping recently. Got some of the most intriguing fabrics--reminded me of feedsack cloth. Reproduction fabric from the Civil War. I had even made some placemats to learn to use this fabric. Here is the blog post.

Time to start. I was thinking of those hills on the prairie--summer time. A hint of dryness in the air. Haunting colors. I knew I wanted to make it similar to desert hills.

So I began piecing. The first couple of rows came together rather easily. Sure each block seemed like it took--well, I must say it--forever. But I did know what I was doing.

I stopped a bit before using this fabric--it references complex Indian fabric. Memories of the British empire.

But it worked. Isn't that sparkle of warmth and light wonderful in the quilt.

 I add another row. The colors are becoming haunting. Now the main question is what color to use on the bottom two rows. Luckily I have one more row to piece and it is quitting time so I pin up a color that I was thinking of. Too red. It overwhelms the softness of the colors.

I try another one. No. I like the softer effect but it still seems too red.

One more try. Maybe a more golden brown with hints of green. Not what I would have thought when I began the piece.

Actually that might work. Time to make a test sample.

Yes, that seems to be working.

What do you think? Time to sew it together. Now that is something that also seems to take forever. But I think of the quilt after this one. Maybe another green one. A slightly darker green. Just a hint of blue. Maybe I can use the redder browns this time. Or maybe I want to use rust tones and olives. So many quilts. So little time. And each one does seem to take forever.

And you, how long does it take you to make a quilt? Or maybe a picture? A new recipe? How do you answer that question? Any suggestions?