first quarter - plan for and go to Ireland and Scotland for 3 weeks
second quarter - plan for and work with David Walker to create my web page
both second & third quarters - retirement research, house-hunting
third quarter - curate and execute the Fiber Revolution exhibition at the American Quilt Museum, Paducah, KY (through Jan. 22, 2008)
fourth quarter - household "flood" - washer hose breaks in 2nd floor laundry room, flooding both floors, necessitating motel living well into December...
As for new artwork in 2007, there was precious little. Many ideas but no studio time. However, I did make a number of sales, which is rewarding, to say the least.
2008 will be another interesting year, to be sure. We are moving closer to retirement and we now have a much better idea of where (State College, PA) we will move and what kind of home (ranch) we hope to find there. Our current home is like "new" having all new flooring, all walls painted, everything cleaned, shiny and bright due to our "flood" and subsequent rebuild. Hopefully, all the better to sell when the time comes!
As for my art, I plan to continue my monochromatic series (white) which was begun in the fall of 2006. And I have a new series of work envisioned and somewhat researched, and some of the materials collected for it's execution. Ideas abound. Creativity, which has been involved in so many other directions over the past year, can now bubble up into new art forms. I'm curious to see what this 'new' work will be, how it will manifest, what will actually appear from the ideas in my mind and the work of my hands. It will be an exciting year, to be sure.
One of the many surprise benefits that has come of our little disaster is a new sewing table and storage units. My old table (17 years old as a sewing table, at least twice that as a dresser) was made by our son to my specification. We cut apart an old dresser and removed the top. Mike then cut a u-shape out of a 40x60" piece of plywood just where my machine would go. He covered the plywood with white formica and installed a shelf for the sewing machine that placed it even with the top of the table. It was WONDERFUL and oh, so affordable! But it wasn't very stable - the dresser drawers didn't go back 40" so three legs were installed in the back for support. Those legs were damaged during the rushed moving of furniture when 2" of water stood on the main floor of the house. Then the formica top started to separate from the plywood due to the tremendous humidity in the house and the week-long drying time with industrial dehumidifiers and fans going full blast in every room. It finally fell apart when the new hardwood flooring was installed and one person tried to move it without help. Currently on order is a new Horn quilter's dream sewing cabinet and storage unit. It should arrive sometime next week - just about the time I will have rehung all the curtains, drapes, wall decor, etc. and put away the last of the boxed items that were removed from the house at the time of the disaster. I'll post "before" & "after" shots of the studio once the new unit is here.
By the way, my studio is now smaller - I used to have the living room and have since chosen to have the family room (smaller and at the back of the house, not at the front door!) as my sacred space. It's right off the kitchen, making cooking somewhat more convenient, as if I cared about cooking!
Meanwhile, the "official" 2008 Color of the Year is Blue Iris. Haven't you always wondered who came up with such things and how colors 'become' popular? Evidently it's a well organized marketing process... I wonder if I even have any 'iris blue' fabrics... probably not. Not after having my fabric collection cut in half due to the flood. It certainly isn't part of the new series in my mind - at least not at this point. But one can never tell.
Happy New Year to all! Make it a good one, no matter what may happen.
It's great to see you back posting again!
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