When we first started our website (back in 1997….and a few changes along the way as we learned a whole lot!), we had part of the site to show off people’s projects who used the fabric in their quilts. We’d like to start that again. If you check here, you will see some of the very early quilts I did that used marbled fabrics. When I first started using the fabrics, after we began to learn in 1992, I pretty much put everything with black. I was rather afraid of color at that point. One cyber friend who paid us a visit back in 2002 said, “Let me take a fat quarter and see what I can do with it,” and a week later she came back with a completely quilted piece of fabric. Oh my, it was gorgeous.

That’s what started me actually quilting the fabric. It took a while to get the speed and rhythm down for the free motion and the stippling, but it made such an impression on the appearance of the fabric. At the time we were just making fabric and selling it, not really paying attention to the actual quilting of it. Along the way, several artists bought some and began to incorporate it into their quilts. Kathy Nida used some in one of her first quilts that got accepted into a show, in 1999. To this day I love looking very carefully through her work to see remnants of fabrics she’s purchased from us.

A Study in Flesh by Kathy Nida

We’re on a mission to have people use marbling in their artwork. Send us a picture of how you use the fabric, whether you actually quilt the fabric or just use it in a more traditional manner. We’ll get you up with credit on both a blog page, as well as the web gallery.

Good lick with the giveaway – the fabrics are really quite pretty – and I want to see what you do. Plus….I’m doing a newsletter within the next week, so be sure to sign up to receive the monthly missive, and we always give away some fabric each month. Use the box on the upper right. Check out Ebay and Etsy as other sources for marbled fabrics, and you can always order direct from us.

Happy quilting!

As I’m auditioning threads, hubby comes in for his opinion, and as I’m trying to explain what I want to attempt, he brings up some legitimate questions on construction. While this is an art quilt, it still needs to hang like a quilt in a gallery setting, so I have to keep that in mind. I’ve had issues when trying to construct “unusual” fiber pieces in the hanging, so I have learned to keep that more in mind.

We’re drawing back and forth on the ideas, and it finally occurs to me that I need to do a mock-up to see if this design is really going to work. If I can get it together, it should be pretty amazing. So that’s the task ahead of me tomorrow morning after marbling. It’ll set back the actual quilting a day or so, but next week looks pretty darn clear for work…..

With that in mind, it has been a productive week. I finished my commission for my yoga instructor. Did some minor beading to represent the little bits of water we have in the desert, hence the name “Desert Stream.” This is a smaller version, with a number of changes, from “The Shallows” piece. I’m quite partial to how the lichen looks in this piece….a lot of use of the reverse button on the sewing machine! My yoga lady LOVES it.

Along with this has been my auction piece for SAQA. It’s along the lines of the depression piece, but a whole lot more positive. It’s called “Hotwired.” It’s simple in execution, but I think pretty effective.

"Hotwired" 12 x 12 inches for the SAQA auction

Because there’s not enough deadline sin my life right now, I decided to take apart one of my first quilts to requilt for the May Free motion challenge. I love the pattern, and I think it would look good on this pretty masculine quilt for hubby. Boy, you can tell how old it is (15 years?) by the really lousy batting I used – what was CHEAP at the time. I’ll post pictures as it get finished. This is it with the binding already gone, and I am starting to take out the really awful straight-line quilting in the ditch…with invisible thread, no less, back when I didn’t really have a clue. Should look considerably better when finished.

NOw fort he other piece in progress, my piece on depression. I spent some time today actually trying a pattern from some old white fabric, pinning it up on the wall. It was an interesting process, as I usually just try things as I go along. This time I just wasn’t sure that was going to work, as there were a lot of issues I wanted addressed in this piece. Here’s the finished pattern – and now I have pattern pieces to use – a bonus I never considered.

 If I’d thought about it, it would have been in different colors……but I really like the shape – very organic, very like a brain. Here’s a reject piece of fabric, now available for another piece.

 It just wasn’t playing nicely with the other fabrics. Here’s one of the reds with the thread to remind you of the colors of a PET scan. The problem with this piece is going to be the photography – the red is showing pink, the black is showing red….not quite sure what I’m going to do, so I need to get it finished with time to spare for the final shots.

THis is a little better, but you can’t really make out the sheen of the thread.

So it’s been a busy week, and hopefully it will continue!

Cool week on the web…..

One of my favorite artists for the incredible batik work she does, Mary Edna Fraser. This is a look at a new installation in progress that she is working on.

Who knows when just one little act that we think nothing of will mean the world to someone else? From Letters of Note:With the hoopla starting for the summer Olympics, there’s this ad from Proctor and Gamble that made the rounds I think in 2010 (which seems like I saw it just yesterday). It’s worth a few minutes of your time. And also from The Best Article Every Day comes this little bonus pic:

Genius isn’t always noticeable, as this blog from The Creativity Post points out. Check out these famous “failures.”

Another interesting take on creativity: science and ballet, also from The Creativity Post.

From The Cartoon Brew comes a Stephen Colbert interview (parts 1 and 2) filmed in January with Maurice Sendak. Lovely! Sendak will be sorely missed.

Chocolate, chocolate – probably the most creative use I’ve seen in a while. I found this through Cool Hunting from The Dessert Girl blog, and it’s oh so clever an idea! A new take on the molten cake…..

From The Huff Post comes this amazing article on women in combat and their issues as veterans. There are some amazing ladies profiled, and it’s interesting to see how they have had to struggle to get the same medical benefits as their male counterparts…because technically they are not considered combat veterans.

I am reading Susan Cain’s book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking. It has very interesting applications for the classroom, since we are always encouraged to do group work and have everyone participate vocally in class…..something I always got dinged on in my evaluations. Basically I believe that not everyone has to be able to participate in a group…my own experience. This is a TED talk she gave that’s quite interesting.

And finally, Animals Talking All In Caps. Great animal pictures with really funny captions. Great way to start the day!

So what did you find this week on the web?

]]> http://www.marbledmusings.com/top-ten-tuesday/top-ten-tuesday-37/feed/ 0 http://www.marbledmusings.com/monday-marketing/monday-marketing-a-report/ http://www.marbledmusings.com/monday-marketing/monday-marketing-a-report/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 00:29:38 +0000 Linda Moran http://www.marbledmusings.com/?p=4712  

 Sometime last week it occurred to me that since I write about my marketing on Mondays, I should probably do the bulk of it on Monday (duh). So I made my list this morning, and I’ve been working through it today. The original plan isn’t going to work totally, because I was working through the list and had to contact some people, and now I’m waiting for them to get back to me. So that means more follow-up in the course of the week.

And that’s fine. The list-making and working with specific time segments really is making me more productive. I think what it’s going to mean is taking a 30-minute block of time each day and just devote it to loose ends for marketing.

I finally figured out how to work with Tophatter, and the first auction will be this Saturday at noon. The Artweb application is almost complete and up on line…rather late, since we were accepted about 3 months ago, but we had the trip in the way, and it wasn’t until I made it a priority on my list that I actually was able to do it. I updated my TAFA page, and I need to plan some time each week to become more involved in that art community.

If you haven’t looked into the Textile and Fiber Art List, you are missing a real treat – over 400 textile and fiber artists from around the world, with amazing hand-made items. The website is new (the group has been in existence for a while, but the site got a cosmetic make-over last year), extremely visual, and downright yummy in fiber.

The big news marketing-wise is a giveaway this Friday on the SewCalGal site, with my first tutorial on quilting marbled fabric. This should increase traffic to the Facebook business page, the blog, and the Etsy store, and I am hoping for some good suggestions that people have on using marbled fabrics.

Some of you may be interested in this marketing post by Joanne Mattera about uses for your time.

From the blog: “On top of a full workload in the studio and often an outside job, some artists seem to feel—or are peer-pressured into thinking—that it’s their responsibility to ‘educate the public.’  I’m talking about providing talks or demonstrations in conjunction with an exhibition or open studio, or even creating events specifically for education.”  Interesting and provocative.

Two weeks ago I did a marketing post about just getting in to the studio and making art….I’m pleased to say I have had an extremely productive two weeks! How about y’all?

“… the “outliers” – i.e., the most successful people of the world, including sportsmen, business people, musicians and scientists, to understand key factors behind their success. He found the key denominator to all their success isn’t natural aptitude as many like to believe. Having a high IQ doesn’t guarantee success : There is supposedly no difference in people’s propensity to success beyond an IQ of 130. The key denominator is actually hard work. A lot of it, in fact. About 10,000 hours of it. That’s roughly 3 hours every day, for 10 consecutive years, before any one of them began to be defined as the ‘expert’ in their field.”

Wow. We tell people we’ve had our business up on line since 1997. We’ve pretty much been very small in all that time, but this year we are starting to see really good momentum. The reason? We are working at the business and the art every single day. When I was teaching, I was really limited to how much time I had for sewing, and how we could work a marbling session in on the weekends. We needed to put in the time in order to grow, and now we finally can.

It’s been almost a year since I retired (May 27). During that time I have:

* created and completed, including photography, a piece for a major art quilt show;

* created and completed two commissioned art quilts and three very large table runners;

* created fat quarters (a LOT of them) for a show in La Conner, Washington, including the trip there and back (this is something I never would have been able to do had I still been teaching full time);

* took apart three small quilts and requilted them to better showcase the use of marbled fabric in traditional quilting;

* had two art quilts accepted in to a new book on art quilting;

* took three classes from Quilt University (and completely finished two of the projects);

* took a marketing class on line;

* redesigned the blog and made cosmetic changes to the website;

* set up a site on Fine Art America;

* got the Etsy store to finally start making some money, especially with gift baskets;

* spent a month working through internet courses on Facebook, Twitter, Dreamweaver, LinkedIn and Bridge on lynda.com;

* have work to enter for three upcoming art quilt shows and three magazine deadlines for work;

* started the ebook by completing the first tutorial;

* marbled fabric at least twice a week (and sometimes more);

* completed four months of challenges on the Free Motion Quilting Challenge through Facebook;

* worked through some licensing materials to continue pursuing possibly licensing deals;

* revised our company portfolio, including new business cards;

* presented a demo to a quilt guild in the northwest part of the city;

* joined SAQA and attended my first meeting;

* created two out of four seasons for a new pattern line; and

* redesigned my studio, not once but twice, since we had an unexpected move happen in February.

The funny thing is, I feel like a lot of time has been wasted this year, and I don’t mean down-time to enjoy being retired. As I wrote yesterday, trying out this new Pomodoro technique really looks like it can up my productivity, and still leave me time to veg as needed. I anticipate a huge growth year ahead…if I put in 5 hours a day, 5 days a week…….that’s at least 1300 hours for this coming year, and I think I will be putting in more. I need to actually do the marketing on Mondays, since I post about it on that day. If I take one day for marketing, that leaves the rest of he week for actually making art…and that’s what is ultimately important.

I’m curious to hear from folks – how many hours are you putting in making art?

Now I’ve been into reading organization information for many years (decades) now, especially since I am always looking for ways to help students with homework and assorted assignments. Most “techniques” I find are too gimmicky – you spend more time worrying about what the stages are and if you’ve done it correctly, rather than letting it help you actually do the work. Remember SQ3R? Most of us don’t (Study, question, read, (w)rite, review….I think). I realized it was a problem when one student said, so which R comes next? That’s not a good tool to use.

But people make money pushing these techniques, and Pomodoro has tools to use that you can purchase. You don’t need to, although I did get a simple kitchen timer from the dollar store. They’re right, I did like the ticking telling me I was working…..

Basic technique: you break up tasks into 25 minute blocks. It’s that simple. Now why 25? That seems to be a good working estimate of time to stay focused and get stuff accomplished. You get a short 5-6 minute break after this session. Sounds very reasonable, and I like the fact that this technique is taking brain research into account. Years ago at a professional development workshop, the presenter suggested setting “odd” numbers of amount of time to work on something. Rather than 15 or 30 minutes, which are so familiar we kind of blow them off, he suggested saying things like 13 minutes or 4 minutes. These are different, and our ears perk up at the mention of an unusual number, and consequently it seems to give the task more urgency.

I think that’s what happens with the Pomodoro block of 25 minutes. It’s different, and we know we get a break at the end of it. There is a way to organize yourself by setting your to-do list by the urgency of the task and the number of Pomodoros you think it will take to accomplish that task. On Monday this week I made my master list for the week, and it included some reminders for things for the next week, also. I starred what was critical, and then I started making the Monday list. Same for Tuesday through Friday. In fact, doing this blog post right now is its own Pomodoro (two Pomodoros for longer, more involved posts with pictures).

I got stuff done I didn’t think I would for the week. I can track where I spent my time, and as artists, this could be very valuable in determining how much time it actually took to complete a piece. Save your sheets and revel in just how much you got accomplished. Now I didn’t get obsessive with the short breaks and the longer breaks, but I have a much better feel for how I mcan maximize my time, especially my sewing time. It seems like the tasks or to-do list just just slip away from me. I have a very definite sense of accomplishment for the day, and ultimately for the week. It might be worth a perusal to see if you like it.

If you try it, let me know. I’m always curious as to organization systems that people use. Drop me a note!

As promised, here’s a look at Mary Fisher‘s studio in Sedona. From her website:

Mary Fisher is celebrated as an artist, activist, poet, and author. With bold techniques, intricate movements and splashing colors, Mary brings all the influences of her extraordinary life experiences into a seemingly single stroke. Her award winning fine art quilts, paintings, sculptures, and photographs are internationally collected by presidents, critics and corporations, galleries and museums, as well as commissioned for permanent installations in U.S. embassies and in the UN’s Geneva headquarters. Her quilt fabric and jewelry lines are embraced by wide audiences as being elegant, easy to live with and timeless. “Designed by Mary Fisher” signals an exuberant style that is instantly recognizable, the cause of conversation and joy.

Mary draws from her early studies at Cranbrook, her life in Paris, her continuous work with the village women in Africa, global travels, and the red rock mountains of her home studio in America’s primitive Southwest. Her work combines her passion for the textures of indigenous craft, the finesse of the classics, the spontaneity of primitives, the vibrancy of cultural art with the serenity of minimalist ancients. The result is “Collection Origins”, a timeless look that is both sophisticated and comfortably contemporary.

Because of  the open studios, we got to see up close and personal what this amazing woman does. My mouth was hanging open the whole time, and it suddenly dawned on me to ask if I could take photos. I would never even be able to explain the amount of “stuff” to make art. It’s EVERYWHERE. And she does EVERYTHING. Paper, block printing, painting….you name it. So sit back, enjoy, and drool…..

The “wet” side of the studio….paints, papers, dye stuffs – you name it!

Transitioning between spaces – a quilt hanging system.

Huge wet area.

Block printing, brushes, paint…at this point I so want to try everything!

I snapped some pictures just to see her journals and what she was reading.

Large sinks…and a huge in-the-floor drainage area.

Artwork abounds – this was paper.

I loved all the different artist license plates.

More  books.

Aren’t you just curious as to all the titles? And there were MANY more books.

Luscious yarns and embellishments all over!

Part of the retail end of the studio. All proceeds go back to Africa.

Beads and findings and more.

Looking toward the back, with her fabric lines,

I thought the way to display the jewelry was extremely clever.

One of several very large work spaces.

WALLS of thread….

And a long arm….

More wonderful artwork. The hanging system was ingenious.

Somehow I missed the three shelves of sewing machines……my parting comment to hubby was to NEVER complain again about how much stuff I have.

Truly inspirational. In fact, a small piece I am working on today for the SAQA auction had me digging through the yarns and ribbons I have to see about an unusual binding. MOre on that later. For now, just enjoy.

When we were on our trip to Seattle, we didn’t have a lot of time (coming or going) to do our favorite activity – browse galleries and talk to artists. When we went to Sedona this past weekend, it was high on our list, and we were not disappointed. First up was the Native American artists at the lookout at the top of Oak Creek Canyon. These artists are all certified by the Native Americans for Community Action, and the work is wonderful. We enjoy seeing the contemporary designs in jewelry that have a rich heritage behind them.

“Overlook Program: A significant development for NACA was the establishment of a partnership with the United States Forest Service, Coconino National Forest for a project called the Oak Creek Vista Overlook project. Beginning in 1988, the Overlook Project is an economic development program that allows Native Americans artisans to sell their arts, crafts and jewelry at the prime tourist location. This program has grown in popularity and reputation each year. To date this year, 280 vendors have registered to sell their crafts. For many of the vendor, money made through the Overlook is their major source of income.“

We bought a plate by a Navaho artist that depicts a wolf, one of hubby’s protective animals. While I love all the jewelry, I really don’t wear much – but I do so enjoy looking. And it was a gorgeous day on the rim, with a light breeze and absolutely gorgeous views.

From Stock Photo, Scott Prokop

We strolled the Hyatt galleries in Sedona, especially our favorite, Visions Art Gallery. The glass chandeliers are always spectacular.

www.ulladarni.com

One of my favorite artists is Alexei Butirskiy. You feel like you are in his paintings.

I also like Eyvind Earle. This is Crimson Eucalyptus.

The Lou DeSerio Gallery has wonderful photographs by both father and son. You need to spend some time looking at their work, especially of amazing Sedona.

We also spent some time at a small art fair in West Sedona. Gabriel and Jennifer Ayala had some really great copper sculptures. The copper weavings are quite interesting, and all completed by hand.

All-a-Glow Jewelry has some great wire work.

This was also Open Studios weekend in Sedona. On Sunday morning we visited two fiber artists, Margaret Anderson and Mary Fisher. Margaret’s work is luminous. She uses silk and cotton as a surface for paint, rather than canvas. She’s been in Visions, Dairy Barn, and Linda Seward’s book on art quilts.

Wildfire, Margaret Anderson

I’m saving the best for last…Mary Fisher’s studio. Check her amazing studio on tomorrow’s blog.

A couple of days off to visit friends in Sedona, so I’m playing catch-up on blogs. I have some great sites and info to share from this trip, so stay posted for some new artists.  For this week so far, an amazing video by a “destination photographer,” Shawn Reeder, on Yosemite. Go check this out!

A very cool look at old/out-of-date art supplies: The Museum of Forgotten Art Supplies.…..I still have a bunch of these…..

This next is a panorama view of Paris from a bird’s-eye view on the Eiffel Tower. Pretty amazing…I watched for about 10 minutes before I started to get dizzy. I SO want to get to Paris. Be sure to try all the buttons on the bottom.

Ever had one of “those” weeks, especially as a female? The Bst Article Every Day has it captured perfectly….and this is just the beginning………

An arts advocacy organization – the Western States Arts Advocacy. From their website:

“Celebrating the Western Imagination through the Arts
The Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF) is a regional non-profit arts service organization dedicated to the creative advancement and preservation of the arts.
WESTAF encourages the creative development and preservation of the arts regionally and through a national network of clients and alliances. WESTAF fulfills its mission to strengthen the financial, organizational, and cultural policy infrastructure of the arts in the West by developing and providing innovative programs and services, technology solutions, funding opportunities, advocacy and cultural policy work, and other services.
Founded in 1974, WESTAF is located in Denver and is governed by a 22-member board of trustees that comprises arts leaders in the West. WESTAF serves the largest constituent territory of the six U.S. regional arts organizations that includes the state arts agencies, artists, and arts organizations of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.”

R.I.P. Maurice Sendak, whose influence shows in some surprising areas…..one student was diagnosed as color-blind because he could always see where the wild things were. His books will live on. It’s a good video, worth the time.

“In this unexpectedly candid 2004 interview, Sendak reveals some of the early childhood memories and surprisingly dark influences behind his work. Shaped by immigrant parents and the tragedy of the Holocaust, Sendak provides frank insight into his complicated psyche and a rare window into the soul of an acclaimed artist. He also discusses how he shaped the character of Max, the mischievous lead in his blockbuster book, and what he might have been like as an adult.”

From Joetta Maue comes an interesting post on a fiber artist, Ernesto Neto, an artist I’m unfamiliar with, and one with some very interesting fiber work. See the person inside?

Belated, yes, but some amazing photos from JPG Magazine on Earth Day.

Carbon Footprint by Debbie Hartley

Eye candy from Joen Wolfrom, as she tours a quilt show in  Brooking, South Dakota.

And finally, if you’re a fan of Monty Python, then you will appreciate this exchange between John Cleese and a newspaper who misquoted him, from Letters of Note. Love the sarcasm!

Enjoy your week – let me know what you find on line that’s unique and different!

I watched another season, with Colby and the one woman whose name escapes me who became the first classic villain. But then it just became contrived…and disturbing, like the camera man who continued to film after the contestant fell in the fire…and then Coach with his attitude, and Russell…..oh, don’t get me started on Russell…….

Mostly I didn’t watch any more. I didn’t need to see a character like Russell get that much air time. There’s enough slime in the world that I don’t need to needlessly submit myself to more. But every now and then I see a clip from a new season…and I notice Coach is back, and some character who reveals that Russell is his uncle. Brandon was a cry-baby. People, if you’re going to be on the show, know what to expect. And, bottom line, God is too busy with real problems to care whether or not your team wins a challenge. That whole season with the religion card was just too much to watch, and I gave up on it. Can’t imagine how Cochran is doing as a lawyer after all that…..any good attorney would be able to promise him anything.

But I got suckered in to watching a few episodes this season…and there’s Cat, a spoiled 22-year-old, who is dimmer than a 30-watt bulb. She’s selfish and whiny, which is why she gets all the air time. Enough already…..there are too many more important things in life that this waste of air time.

Most TV watching these days is limited to NCIS, Glee, Big Bang, PBS, and a lot of British series through Netflix. Although I really would rather be in the studio, and that’s what I’ve been doing more and more.

I’m curious…am I the only one? What’s actually worth watching these days? (I know, I’ve got to get on the Downton Abbey bandwagon….)