Wednesday, December 10, 2014

SHOWS - SHOWS - SHOWS!!!

 These past few weeks have been pretty crazy.  The Artisan show and sale was held a few weeks ago in a new venue with a new program.  A reception was held on the Friday afternoon for patrons of the artists.  The idea was to give these supportive individuals an opportunity to see the work without the crowds that usually appear at this event. I heard nothing but positive remarks from everyone there.  The Concordia Club on Lorne Ave. S. was the location this year and just the idea of not having to fight the crowds at Midtown on a weekend was a relief.  Friday night and all day Saturday was the usual show and sale and judging by the crowds,  the new venue was a hit.
 
Sundog was this past weekend. This show is always pretty well attended and this year was no exception.  With 200+ artists, if you can't find it at Sundog, it just doesn't exist. Everything from paintings to woodwork, from stitching to photography - you get the idea - everyone is at Sundog. Not to mention great yummies.   You can shop till you drop - stroll through the main floor, then stop and have lunch and onward to the upper level. They have entertainment going on a lot of the time also. It was held, as before, at the SaskTel Centre, formerly Credit Union Centre on December 5, 6 & 7th. This is my second time at Sundog and I have to say, Diane Boyko, Co-ordinator, is a wizard. Picture over 200 artists with all their STUFF - cars, trailers, equipment, fixtures, not to mention artwork and all those extra bodies - and it all goes just as smoothly as silk. It boggles my mind.

Some of the pieces I had taken to Sundog were:


 August Fields - photo was taken in an area that I had never been to before - very gorgeous.  I had trouble naming this as I kept thinking that the "house" looked like it was sinking in a sea of canola, but everything else I thought of sounded dumb, so kept the above as it's name. Sold.














The Welcome Tree - here it is again. This little tree is on the drive into the Beaver Creek Conservation Area and I think is my favourite tree anywhere.  It's shape, to me anyway, is perfect. This tree has been the basis for a great many thread paintings but here, it's just itself surrounded by grasses and wildflowers. I hope they never cut it down as I would miss it very much. This is a 5"x5" framed and is still available.






The Way West - 5" x 7" framed.  This is another painting of one I had completed for Artisan.  I don't usually repeat my pieces, but this one attracted a lot of attention, so I did it in a larger size. Stitching this, I had 4 threads thru the needle and a different colour again in the bobbin to get the colour of the rocks beside the tracks. Available.


Waiting for Spring - photo by Judy Wood.  As soon as I saw this on Judy's blog I had to stitch it.  It's a 5"x5" framed.  I had lots of fun stitching the wires - well, no I didn't actually. They're not quite straight, but I told myself it was a windy day! This one is also available. 
The Fairy Clock II - there's a smaller version of this one at the SK Craft Council Boutique. Again, this is one of only 4 that I have repeated.  The background in this is my own also and consists of fabric that I made by using a blurred picture and running it through my Inkjet printer. I don't buy commercial fabric any more and using my own work to make a small piece of fabric made sense.  Incidentally, fairy clock is one of many old names that were given to dandelions, Dandelions seem to have always been popular for art.  This has sold.



A Walk Along the River.  This was my first attempt at very long machine stitching (see the grass in the foreground).  Because I have arthritis in my hands and hand work can be  difficult, I have been experimenting with machine stitching that can resemble hand stitches.  I was quite pleased with the results of this.  This has sold.







If you are interested in any of the available pieces above, just email me at acdc@sasktel.net or call 665-9182/227-2329.  I can deliver to Saskatoon and area.

The next year promises to be extremely busy.  As a result of both Artisan and Sundog, I've been booked for teaching assignments, articles in magazines and a local exhibit/sale for later in the year. As well, I have a solo exhibition planned for September/October of 2015, not to mention all the show/sales that I normally do, so any thoughts of lazing around the house or garden have been permanently shelved.  What started out to be a "hobby" has turned into a full time job - good thing I love to do it!

Thank you to all those to purchased my work at the shows this fall and winter and to those who took the time to stop and chat and compliment what I've been producing.  These kind words mean more than I can ever express - it's the reason why we artists keep on going.  Knowing that what we've spent hours working on is seen and appreciated is everything!

I'll be posting more regularly now that I have show season behind me for this year.  I'm also seriously thinking about a website, so will let you know when that happens.

So - be careful on the roads.........donna