As you are reading this post I am more than likely loading a Uhaul cargo van and getting ready to head to the fair grounds. It is finally time! My aunt and I spent a good chunk of yesterday putting up the tent in the driveway and setting up the walls inside just to get some practice. I cursed a lot, got very frustrated, and at one point it turned into a mini sob fest whereas my inability to put up the tent quickly and efficiently turned into OMG I am going to fail so hard this weekend. Yes, I put a lot of pressure on myself. 

Even though I'm stressing a little right now, I don't think that this weekend is going to be a total bust. I'm dreading set-up a little bit tomorrow but other than that I am really excited for this opportunity to share my work with new people.

If you are heading to the fair I'd love to see you! My booth is #39 and it is located by the baseball field. I'll check back in early next week with the name of the winner of the little purple cell (enter by clicking HERE and 'liking' my artist page) and hopefully lots of pictures! 

You may be wondering how I get started making my work. Well,  a long, long time ago back in 2008 (at least it feels like a long, long time ago) I was in my first fiber arts class at UK. I sat in my studio facing a huge pile of hand-dyed wool and the deadline  for my final project looming just a week away. Very randomly I started cutting out circle and this is what took shape:

I loved that piece. Still love it. The next semester I took my first ceramics class where I was introduced to the work of Virginia Scotchie. For the final project I decided to do a wall installation inspired by her large-scale installations. While it may have looked cool, the spheres were a hot mess! Some of the larger ones probably weighed about five pounds and could have easily been classified as weapons. They were hung on the wall by nails but at this point I wasn't using the key-hole carved out of the back so it was just a giant gaping hole. During critique in my head I was like please don't fall off the wall, please don't fall off the wall! Thankfully they didn't and there were lots of "balls" jokes thrown around, always funny. 

The next semester I learned the glorious skill of making molds. The spheres were much, much faster to make and no longer weighed enough to kill a person. *insert angels singing* I also starting making cells, inspired by medical images. For whatever reason I was very against glazing that semester so all of these bad boys are painted. 

And then for my final semester and my BFA show the cells evolved into what they are today. Now they are even lighter (under 1lb each), there are more sizes and generally there is more texture. 

I've been asked what drives me to create these guys and well, my first reaction to that question is because they make me happy. Shouldn't that be the very best reason to make art? As much as I hate to admit I tend to gravitate a little more towards the 'glass half-empty' camp and I need something around me fun and cheery. Plus, usually people's reaction to them is also very positive so I feel like each and every little cell that I create puts a bit of happiness out into the world. Not to sound too terribly cheesy. 

Also, I enjoy interracting with people, seeing how they react to seeing them for the first and starting conversation with them about what they think they are and what kinds of things they see in them. Their responses are so varied and interesting. Kids especially are very good at coming up with things I'd never thought of or noticed in them. The cells give me the opportunity to connect with people, which, as a social person who doesn't always get out as often as I'd like, I enjoy immensely. 

Lastly, they are just very relaxing to make. When I create these guys I go to my happy spot. I have my music on, I'm singing, I probably have an iced coffee by my side. It's all very zen for me.

Sheesh.  The time is flying by. Just 2 weeks until Woodland. I wish I could say that I was ready to go but I'm not. More than likely I'll be working right up until the day before but hey, I work really well with a deadline looming so I'm not too concerned. I am busy but it's an "I'm accomplishing something" busy rather than a "I'm just trying to keep my head above water" busy which is nice for a change. 

I'd also love to say that I've been able to spend every possible moment in the studio creating but unfortunately that just isn't realistic. Ruby duties, appointments with tax lawyers, ordering packaging and signing, working on pricing (ugh), random appointments, grocery shopping, cooking, 30 Day Shred-ing, and collapsing exhausted on the couch to watch Project Runway are all in there too. 

Time in the studio has been spent making spiky cells, prepping for mass glazing, and firings. I feel like this week was a 'make it or break it' week and I needed to get as much stuff done as possible.  Thankfully, I had help in the studio which helped tremendously. 

This part of the process, applying underglaze to enhance the texture, took ALL DAY and they were not all finished. Of course I know how many cells I've made but until you see them all together and are physically working with them it's hard to wrap your mind around just how many that is (about 175 in case you're wondering). Yes, I was very grateful for my help today. 

I am going to try and update a couple more times before the fair but I might end up just posting updates on my artist page (click here to 'like'). I will be doing some sort of giveaway so stay tuned on Facebook to hear the details! 

This past Friday was Gallery Hop and the opening reception of For the Delight of the Children at Christ Church Cathedral, a group show that I participated in. We brought Ruby with: 

I guess the rookie mom in me is still naive enough to think that Ruby would behave at an event like this. Yeah, right. I could have gotten a babysitter or put her in daycare for the evening but I want her to see these kinds of things-plus she needs to be out in public in order to learn how to behave in public. Still, I ended up being very frustrated that night. It was a bad combo of she can never sit still for more than 5 seconds and she's been very, very clingy lately, but only to me. She wants very little to do with Heath right now. So if I wasn't holding her she was running around like a nut up and down the halls, up and down the aisles in the sanctuary, and repeat. Heath tried to wrangle her but...yeah...

Eventually Heath took her into the closet that was right next to wear my work was displayed. They were in there for a few minutes and a friend and I made jokes about the noises she was making, saying we could tell people that's where they kept the Holy Ghost during events. 

We were able to keep her kind of, sort of occupied for just over an hour and then you could just tell that a meltdown of epic proportions was brewing. We left and I was disappointed because I had wanted to see some more of my friends. Very selfish, I know. It's times like this that I question my parenting skills. I know I shouldn't expect too much of her but at the same time I don't want to coddle her. Lesson learned: Either get child care or drive separately so Heath can take her home when the time comes. 

On Saturday we took Ruby to get her first haircut. Nothing major, just enough to even things out a bit and make her look a bit less shaggadelic. I got off one blurry shot before she decided that she wouldn't do this thing without sitting with me. 

She did very well, I think. She didn't scream or cry during the cut she just wouldn't sit still!

Linsey was able to get the last little bit cut when Ruby became occupied with stuffing Mum Mums in my mouth. If you're thinking "what the hell is a Mum Mum", a Mum Mum is sort of like a rice cake for babies. As you can tell from my expression they aren't particularly good. Blech. 

On Sunday we spent a lot of time working on organizing the blue room (our office). At one point Ruby was very quiet and when I found her I discovered that she had opened the pantry, knocked down the peanut butter jar, somehow got it open, and helped herself:

Towards the end of the day Ruby decided to be naked and started playing in front of a big mirror. The really funny pictures are those of her fully naked dancing with herself in the mirror but I'll save the fully nekkid pictures for her Shutterfly book. I'm pretty sure that this little gal is ready to potty train. She climbed up on her changing table and said, "diaper pease!" Just another interesting adventure! 

I haven't always been the most motivated person in the world. Sometimes it's just like pulling teeth to get me moving, even if it's something that enjoyable to me. Because of this I find that deadlines are absolutely essential for me. In school there were always deadlines. A paper due, a critique to make work for, a BFA show to prepare for. Now that I am not in school I have to make my own deadlines. I spend a lot of time looking here and there to find a project, a show to enter...any excuse to keep me busy in the studio. 

Right now I am preparing for a big IF. I am entering a show at a gallery in Cincinnati.  IF I get accepted then I am going to need cells, and potentially lots of them. This wouldn't be a problem other than the fact that I am hanging some cells at Christ Church Cathedral on Monday which will take up a good portion of my current supply. That show stays up until February of next year, I need to deliver the goods to Cincinnati by December 8. So yeah, I might need more work. 

If I don't get into the show the cells will go in the Etsy shop and I might be able to snag a few sales for the holiday season. I will slowly start building my inventory for when (I'm trying to be positive here) I get into any art fairs next year. So whether or not I get into the show it's a win, win situation. 

I really, really want to get in though! 

Yay! My new site is up and running. What do you think? 

This weekend is the East Bridge Art and Music Festival. My first art fair! 

I had all of my work laid out in the studio and took inventory. I had 70 cells. 70. But it looked like nothing! For a moment I panicked, thinking that I hadn't made enough for the fair and ohmygod what the hell am I going to do it's 5 days before the fair! But then I calmed myself by reminding myself that for my BFA show I was using a space about 4x the size I'll be using at the fair and I had fewer cells, only 59 (yes, 59...one got lost on the way to the gallery). So space should not be an issue. In general, I am feeling pretty good about this weekend! 

One thing that I am attempting to complete before the fair is my Etsy shop. My main issue with finishing it is that I cannot, for the life of me, figure out a shop name. I suck-a-saurus at branding anything, let alone myself. I've got a rough idea for a banner...but beyond that...nothing. I've got things listed to sell, i just need to figure those last two (albeit very important) details. 

Besides Etsy stuff, tomorrow I'll be packing the car so that we can leave for Owensboro immediately after I get off of work on Friday. I think I've got everything I need ready to go and I've gotten the scoop on the places to eat. I am looking forward to a kick-ass BBQ dinner when my friend, and amazing artist Staci McKnight Maney, arrives in town shortly after us. 

I will now take this time to give some mad props to Staci, as she is the reason this whole weekend is happening. She graciously offered to share her booth with me for the fair and has been so encouraging (sometimes giving me the huge shove gentle nudge that I need to get my butt moving on the whole art thing). If you are so inclined check out her work! 


I'm not sure how much time I will have to blog this weekend but you can bet that I'll be posting pics and updates on my Facebook page! Have a great one!