Reflecting on some art happenings of the past few weeks ...

- Art in the Rough - Imlay City, 3rd annual. Very nice, unique event.  The VIP reception was lovely - great food and music, wonderful ambiance.  The art displays in the businesses all looked terrific. (Thank you LAA for including pics of my display on your website! 6th, 7th & 9th rows on this page.)  I enjoyed wandering around and mingling with the other artists, I was not familiar with many of them. The outdoor setup and offerings were all very nice.  Familiar main issue though - sparse attendance. How the heck do you get people to come out to these arty events in Lapeer County? *sigh*  The people that were there seemed to be enjoying themselves, as did I.   I would do it again.  Overall, more ups than downs.

- Classes - 3 down, 1 to go for me this fall. Acrylic painting went well, although only 2 participants. Mandala drawing had 4 signed up, one didn't show so we  had 3.  Portraits - cancelled, again. *sigh* (again.) Mandala painting is coming up Oct. 22, then I'm done til spring.  So far, a mix of ups and downs.

- Illustration exhibit - I still had most of the prints and bios from a Feb. 2016 Gallery 194  illustration exhibit (don't judge me), couldn't bring myself to throw them out, and finally found a home a home for them.  The owner of Arts Iliana Gallery in Terre Haute Indiana expressed an interest, I boxed it all up and mailed it, he received it today. I can hardly wait to see what he does with it. Bonus: I have a new connection with an out of state gallery.  Bonus #2: I cleared some more stuff out of my basement.  Definitely an up - or is that 3?

- Fiber Art Junkies - Last month I finally attended a meeting! It's more of a gathering/creative session actually. What a wonderful, welcoming, incredibly talented group. I wasn't able to go to the October meeting but I will definitely go again. I can already feel the wheels spinning in new directions after one meeting - no pun intended (fiber arts, spinning wheels ... oh never mind.)  Another up, although it may be considered off to the side?

- Sewl Art Studio - After a brief foray into painting, trying to finish some new work for Art in the Rough and not succeeding, I'm back to sewing again. One new bag has just been added to the shop and another is in progress. I'm still working on figuring out etsy - things like shop policies, custom vs. calculated shipping, shop page layout (can I sort my listings into categories? And how do I get that darn banner pic to show up? etc.)  But the pre-etsy bag delivery to Russia has been completed! And Fay loves her bag.   One more up/off to the side.

Final tally for the past few weeks: pretty balanced. Much like life.

After a small amount of frustration, I got an etsy shop started, under the name Sewl Art Studio. Coming up with a name that adequately reflects my ideas about products and image, that isn't already taken, and that I actually like, was harder than I thought it would be.  But I'm happy with what I ended up with.  Then I created a logo that features a swirly "L" of a different style than my "LJ" art logo, which was much more fun than picking the name.

So far I have only a few listings there, but already managed to sell 2 purses without etsy:

The first was a black purse with tapestry-look insets, sent to mosaic artist extraordinaire Gila Rayberg in Florida (you should definitely check out her work! - Gila Mosaics Studio), who seems very happy with her purchase.  I included a bonus bag that I didn't think was good enough to sell but Glia liked it. 

The second is a sale-in-progress - an international sale! - to Fay in Moscow via Nora in CA as a private courier.  We know each other from vk.com, a Russian facebook-type site, and are also in touch thru regular American facebook. Since the cost of postage to Moscow and unreliable Russian mail service would have made the purchase impractical for Fay, Nora who is traveling to Moscow in early October offered to take it along.  So I mailed the purse to Nora, she will meet up with Fay to deliver it and receive payment, and will send me a check in US$ after she comes home. It seems a little convoluted but it should work.

Now I'm taking a break from sewing to do a bit of painting. Imlay City's Art in the Rough event is coming up in just a couple weeks and I'd like to have a few new pieces to add into the mix of artwork that I'll be displaying. Being in the middle of teaching an Acrylic Painting class (2 sessions down one to go!) is helping to get me back into the painting mood, which to be honest has been a bit of a struggle lately. Sometimes, you just don't feel it, ya know? I'm making myself do it anyway. One is nearly done, the second is about halfway there, and I may or may not have time and drive for a third. In any case, it should be a fun event. Don't know yet which building I'll be set up in, hopefully that info will come soon.

 As summer winds down (already?!), I’m bracing myself for a busy September.  I’ll be teaching 2 art classes, participating in Art in the Rough, attending an out-of-town wedding, and recently started a part-time job - 3 days a week at Off the Wall antiques in Lapeer.  I took the job after the other things were scheduled, and they hired me anyway; it will be a bit of a juggling act but I think it will all work out.

Next week starts the new Introduction to Acrylic Painting class, a 3-week class on Thursday evenings. It will be my first time teaching this class, and the first time it's being offered at Gallery 194 in Lapeer, so of course I’m a little nervous.  The class starts at 6 pm, and I work til 6, but it’s right across the street.  I’ll have to get everything set up in the gallery’s classroom area up the night before or morning of.  So if anyone sees a crazy lady running across Nepessing Street at 6 on Thursdays, it’s just me.  Please don’t run me over.

On Saturday the 23rd I’ll be teaching the Mandala Drawing class again.  No nerves for this one, it’s a fun class and I have tweaks in mind to make it even better than last time.  But again I’ll have to set up ahead of time, and only work a couple hours that day and run across the street for the class.

Then on Saturday the 30th is Art in the Rough in Imlay City.  It’s my first time doing this event so I’m not entirely sure how it will go, but I’ve heard good things about it and have no reason to expect anything less than a fun evening.

Oh, and I’m starting an etsy shop.  I’ve been continuing to make purses, and after recently sharing pics on my personal facebook page and getting very encouraging feedback from friends and family (and unexpectedly sold 2!), I’m going to give etsy a try.  I’ll share the link as soon as it’s up and running.

June was a busy month for me, and all in a good way! It started with the Annual Art on Nepessing St event in downtown Lapeer.  In addition to having a booth in the art fair, I was part of the event planning committee for several months prior.  It was my most positive art fair experience to date (I shared my thoughts on that event in more detail my last post.)
 
I taught 3 classes at Gallery 194 throughout the month: one night each of Mandala Drawing and Mandala Painting, and a 3-week course in Portrait Drawing and Painting.  It was my second time doing the mandala painting but the other two were new.  All went well!  Especially the portrait class - I got very positive feedback from the group.  And one of the participants in the mandala drawing class sent me an incredibly lovely message the next day thanking me for helping her catch on, which absolutely made my day.  The mandala painting class, while seemingly fun for the participants, had only 3 attending once again. We will try it again in the fall to see if it catches on, then reassess.
 
A Strategic Planning Committee I participated in completed a draft plan to help guide the direction of the Center for the Arts of Greater Lapeer for next ten years or so, which was approved by the full board and will be shared with the public for input before finalizing.

I also got accepted to participate in this year’s Art in the Rough event in Imlay City on Saturday September 30th. It’s a one-night pop-up art event.  I understand I will be assigned a location (indoors) to set up a display … and beyond that I really don’t have much more information yet.

Right now I am regrouping, putting artwork and supplies away and figuring out where to direct my attention next.  There won’t be any more classes at Gallery 194 til fall (but I am available for private parties any time – will travel within reason!)  One well-known local artist who stopped by my booth at Art on Nepessing St. suggested I apply to the art gallery at the Flint Farmers Market. There are a few other possibilities with other venues that I want to look into as well.

In the mean time, eight of my paintings continue to be on display at Milnes Ford in Lapeer through September, and four others are at the Paint Creek Center for the Arts in Rochester in the Art Market. 

When I look back to where I was a year ago, June 2016 - dealing with a newly discovered heart condition, unexpected surgery, the sudden death of my mother, trying to pack and move 2 households, not even knowing at the time where we’d be ending up – my head was spinning with so many changes at once and I was uncertain and anxious about what the coming months may hold – and compare it to this June, it’s like night and day. A complete 180-degree change. I don’t want to get TOO excited because as I know all too well, things can change in a heartbeat (haha, pun unintended, but it fits) …. but for now, it’s all good. I feel blessed and grateful.  To all who read this and care, THANK YOU so much for your support.