Acceptance

is a wonderful thing. I just received notice that my entry was juried into a SAQA regional show - one of 38. It is a great feeling to be chosen for an exhibit. But, and isn't there always a but, reality means that I still have to get up and do the work needed to make more art to enter into more exhibits. This is what I love to do -- make the art. I am reminded of an interview with a pitcher who had pitched a perfect game the day before and said it was wonderful, but he had to get up and pitch again in the rotation - the perfect game was a very nice stat but did not change his 'job'. My job is to make more art, whether my quilt was accepted or not.

Rejections bruise and need to kept in perspective - they are not value judgments, just the choice of that particular jury. It is hard when we receive no feedback on the why. We cannot dwell on the possibilities. We need to get back into the rotation.

My quilt (that cannot be posted until after the exhibit) that was accepted taught me a lot in its making. First of all, I wasn't immediately drawn to the theme - Tarnish. It just felt hard, and winter is hard enough. After our regional meeting, I decided to give it a try with my own interpretation of Tarnish and in a shorter time frame. I asked for some feedback from some friends - some loved it and encouraged me - a couple had too many suggestions on how I 'should' do it. Both gave me things to ponder and made me stretch to create what was in my mind. Daily work brought me to the solutions I wanted to finish the piece. And I truly feel it is one of my best.

The exhibit will run from May 2 through June 1 at VisArts Kaplan Gallery, 155 Gibbs St, Rockville, MD 20850.

Phone:(301) 315-8200

 

Exciting stuff -- now it's time to get to work on the next right thing. Thanks for reading,

Karen

Acceptance

I just learned yesterday that one of my pieces was accepted into the Sacred Threads exhibit in Herndon, Virginia, July 10 - 28, 2013. Needless to say, I am very excited. The title is Rootedness and refers to both the roots of trees and the roots we all have.

This is one of the largest non-bed quilts I have done. It measures 35" wide by 55" high. Here's some details of the many roots, some obvious and some hidden, all intersecting and touching.

I hope you can make plans to see the entire exhibit. When I saw the exhibit two years, I was moved so deeply that I had to visit it again and again.

Now, it's time to get back to finishing some pieces for an upcoming exhibit of my work in Berkeley Springs, WV, in May and June.

Let's continue to hold so many people in so many places who are hurting from events in the news in our hearts and prayers.
Karen