I’ve had a fairly long break from shows, which means Jim and I have had time to make a LOT of new pieces. They aren’t all photographed yet. When they are, I’ll give you  a sneak peek of what we are taking to the show in New Mexico next week.

I so look forward to this particular show. The Chamber of Commerce sponsers it, and all the staff and volunteers are so nice – they really take care of the artists. The Convention Center is a terrific venue, and of course Ruidoso itself is a cool treat for us hot weather Texans. It is almost a mini-vacation for us. The show itself is packed with really excellent artists and their work, including us , of course. Meanwhile, I’m still making some more beads for an update on my Japanese Kimono Series. Back to the torch —–

We’ve recently returned from Dallas, and are now looking forwardto our next show, the Texas Arts and Crafts Fair in Kerrville. I took a much needed break yesterday, catching up on grocery shopping, house cleaning, reading, etc. And good grief, I needed it too, since as I walked back in the front door, my arms full of groceries, a scorpion struck! OWW, did that hurt. It stung me right on my ankle. I kicked off my sandals, killed the culprit, only to discover through out the rest of the afternoon, 7, yes SEVEN, more of the nasty creatures. They must have  a nest right by our front door, and they seem to be sneaking in through a little gap in the weather stripping. Got to fix that!

Well, life in Texas I suppose – yet we have never had this type of invsion before. I am cautiously checking everywhere I walk, especially since I pad around barefooted.

My sketchbook is overflowing with ideas. I’ll be back on the torch today – and if I can just get those scorpions out of my mind ……………….

Fayetteville Art Walk was a lovely show. The weather was perfect, the food was good, crowds of people showed up and the art work was fantastic. I really enjoyed the weekend, sold some jewelry, met some new people, saw some of my old customers – and (drum roll, please!) was awarded “Best of 3D” for the entire show!! I am really honored – my highest award to date, and a nice cash prize to boot. Thank you one and all.

Now we are gearing up for Dallas City Arts which is just around a tiny corner and starts this Friday. I am happily at my bead board today,  making even more new pieces. So those of you that didn’t get out in the SNOW the last time I was in Dallas, come on by and see us. We’ll be indoors at Fair Park, with lots of new goodies. 

We enjoyed our recent show in Lubbock, Texas. It came and went so quickly I didn’t even write a post about it. Now Fayetteville Art Walk is in the near future (May 1st & 2nd). and ….Dallas City Arts will be the weekend after that, on May 7th, 8th and 9th. Whew! Am I busy?

So all I have time for is a copy of the City Arts e-mail reminder.  If you make it to any of my shows, please introduce yourself.

One days' Beads Fresh out of the Kiln

As soon as I heard the word, anticipation, for April’s Art Bead Scene blog, I thought of the song by Carly Simon. Listen to “Anticipation” here if you don’t remember it. Even though I can’t get the tune out of my head  the lyrics don’t all ring true for me. My take on anticipation revolves more around trust and excitement. Trust that what I believe to be true will produce a positive outcome – and excitement in looking forward to the realization I anticipate.

As a glass beadmaker, I am constantly anticipating. After all, I don’t  see the results of what I create today until the next morning. No matter what else is going on in my life, I  wake up excited when I know there are beads waiting to come out of the kiln. How great is that – like Christmas or a birthday every day!  

Flowers in the Arboretum Before the Snow

I also experience anticipation when scheduling shows in which to sell my creations. This past week the anticipation didn’t pan out as  imagined, since the weather in Dallas was wet, freezing, and it  snowed! The show was cancelled on Sunday, so all that anticipation and expectation of a really good first show of 2010 froze along with the snow flakes. In the case of Artscape, a line from Carly’s song did ring true “I’m no prophet, I don’t know natures way.”

The Arboretum and Tents In the Snow on Sunday

I’m blessed with a loyal following, and  customers tell me how how much they anticipate my being back in their town with all my goodies. Thanks to them, we did  fine in Dallas is spite of the weather, and I took some orders too. Another example of trust and anticipation. These fabulous customers (and you know who you are) -  trust me to make something they will love, and are willing to wait a week or two to receive their treasures. I love doing the orders. I anticipate making the beads,  and the jewelry especially for them. So here’s a little sneak preview of one of the orders I just finished.  This fun bracelet will go out to its owner on Monday. Thank you, and all the other customers who allow me to have the best job in the world!

A true circle of trust, anticipation, and love.

Special Order Bracelet for a Customer

 

You’ve read my blogs about getting accepted (or not) into juried art shows. The photos of the jewelry are crucial, since that is all the jurors see or know. No names, no Lyn Foley Lampwork clasps, no names showing in the booth photo, etc. etc. I recently discovered that at 36″ x 36″ my photographs were blurry. I have hopefully fixed that problem. Here is one of my latest necklaces, photographed at what I believe to be the correct size (dictated by the form called “Zapplication”) and resolution. Looks good to me – what do you think?

Rejection Equals Determination, Part Two;

I’ve been having a difficult time getting accepted into the very best shows. I’m STILL having trouble getting into the shows I want. It’s especially frustrating, because once I do get into shows, more often than not I win prizes, such as Best of Category, or Judges Choice, whatever. So I know from my sales, and from the awards I win that my work is good.

So, what’s with the rejections? I found out one answer yesterday — my jury slides.

Bayou City Art Festival, held in Houston twice a year is one of the top rated art festivals in the U.S. I have been in that show eight times. Then, suddenly, I was not juried into either of the Bayou shows for 2009, neither spring or fall. Why not? I couldn’t figure it out. So when the show staff invited artists to attend an informal jury preview, I jumped at the chance. Jim and I drove down to Houston and along with the other artists who showed up , looked at the digital slides of over 1300 artists who applied for one of the 300 booth spaces.

My slides looked AWFUL when projected side by side in large format. They were washed out, didn’t seem perfectly focused, and the flow from slide to slide was not good. Also, the slide of my booth, which I hadn’t paid much attention to, looked awful as well. Everything looked especially bad compared to the other 250+ jewelry entries. No wonder I haven’t been getting accepted. I need better photos.

Another thing I noticed was the fact that most of the artwork was photographed on a full black background. Sometimes a gradient gray to black was used, but generally black was the background of choice. My pieces were on a white to gray scale background, and they didn’t “pop” like the other work did. They suffered in comparison.

So, it’s back to the photography workshop for me. Since I realize the importance of a good booth shot, I’ll redo that too. No more show entries until I get this problem solved. I’m determined.

Today I took a quick “re-do” photo of one of my pieces, previously photographed on white.
Here’s the comparison.

What do you think?
Does the black background work to make the jewelry pop out?

A lovely drive home from Fredericksburg today. The weather this time of year in Texas is so nice. The colors of the trees and fields are nothing like the show stopping colors of the NE (I lived in Maine for a while) – but, still, we get our little bit of splendor. The Art Festival was fun. We saw some familiar faces and customers, and met some new ones who went away happily wearing Lyn Foley creations. Now in just a few days we’ll be setting up for our show at The Gallery at Round Top. I’m planning to squeeze in some torch time before then. Lots of bead ideas popped up while I was driving today, and looking at the scenery.

I’m also working on those perfect photos I need for my Zapplication slides. Here’s a new necklace I’ve made for the process. Better photo, but not in focus at 48″ x 48″. Got to keep working on it.

My new improved website is still behind the scenes. Jerry is doing a great job – and we’ll be having an unveiling soon. Off to unpack now, and take care of after a show paperwork. And maybe kick back for the rest of today.