Quotable Quote - Amy Lindenberger

“Trying to distill a complex, multi-faceted subject into a single, representative image can rob the concept of its depth. Working in a series allows me to immerse myself in my subject by fully exploring and analyzing it. Each new drawing teaches me something new -- not only about the topic but about my art and creative process -- and each completed drawing suggests the path to the next one. I’m asked how many drawings I plan to include in this series. There’s no way to know. As long as the process remains intriguing and new ideas continue to unfold, I’ll enjoy the journey.”

Amy Lindenberger

Working in a Series - How did THAT Happen? - Susan Leslie Lumsden

Yikes Stripes!

If you had asked me six years ago if I’d be working in a series, I would have told you firmly NO WAY! I get bored doing the same old thing over and over. That’s why I don’t do traditional. That’s why I’d never do production work. BORING! So how did I get to the point where I’m using the very traditional bull’s eye as the basis for most of my quilts?

Well first let me tell you about the first time I saw the bull’s eye and what intrigued me about it. I was in the bookstore at the Museum of American Quilters in Paducah, KY. I was flipping through a book of various quilting blocks and one block in particular caught my attention. When I saw how it was done, I felt a thrill that just made me giggle. Two major elements about it got my attention 1) very stingy use of fabrics— you “rob Peter to pay Paul” and 2) no matter how thoroughly you plan there is ALWAYS an element of surprise.

True confession time— I didn’t even buy the book. I got the gist and just went home and played with the concept. My very first project using the concept turned out to be the initial quilt in the Roots of Racism: Ignorance and Fear exhibition—“The Value of Diversity”. That exhibition toured the US for two years and then went on, with close to fifty other quilts, to adorn the walls of the U.S. Ambassador’s residence in Pakistan for three more years. The next two were also created with that exhibition in mind—“Closed Society” & “Whites Only/ No Coloreds”. It was very exciting to attempt to explain a concept primarily with color and pattern.

Since then I have done over 60 quilts using the bull’s eye design as a starting point. Why? First— I just love the thrill I get when the surprise element hits. It makes me giggle and that is what it is ALL about! But the sustaining reason is that by not having to re-invent the wheel each time, I can focus on other elements that might otherwise get less attention. Each time I do a project I have SOME lesson or skill I am trying to expand. I never do a quilt just to be doing the next one.

Last year I did a few quilts that started with a handful of feathers a friend gave me from her chicken yard. Because I began with the bull’s eye design as a known starting point I was able simply to focus on the colors and their relationships. And what amazing colors they were! I had NO idea that chickens could come in so many colors and have such exquisite variations in texture and sheen.

Then I wanted to play with various surface design techniques. I stamped, foiled, silk-screened, beaded, discharged, painted—you name it. Because the individual blocks didn’t always show much of the surface design I had played with, I added those elements to the backs, as well. In fact, the backs became my playground— recess, as it was. The blocks required tight control on the assembly— to make sure those corners matched. The quilting often required tight control as well—but on the backs I can stretch out and play, play, play! Over time, I have become almost as well known for my backs as those silly circles.

Another major point in making a case for working in a series is time. By doing something where certain elements are replicated, the time it takes to create a quilt is dramatically shortened. I set up a dedicated cutting mat to make quartering my blocks very simple and very consistent. I always use a favorite 6” bowl for drawing my circles. I always make my blocks 8” square. When I cut a single 8” block from my fat quarter or half yard piece of fabric—it doesn’t take any longer to cut two pieces than it does one. That means I have a nice stack of already cut blocks and circles to pull from if I’m playing with an idea.

Since I often dye my own fabrics, I can focus on the blend of colors and not even have to think about how they are going to go together. I can just go with my gut instinct and choose for color and pattern. Since I have a general expectation of the final direction, I can be pleasantly surprised by the actual color relationships that happen.

Do I get bored? NEVER! Even If I get so carried away making blocks in a particular color scheme that I wind up with 2 quilts made from half the blocks each— I still quilt them very differently. Often I’ll take on a very feminine persona for one and a very masculine one for the other-—just to see how a different approach can affect things. This happened recently with “Shadowplay/male” and “Shadowplay/female”.

So next time you are thinking about how to add a new technique, a new skill, a new challenge to your game, consider starting by using a block or technique you have already mastered and just add those new elements to your game. You’ll immediately know exactly where you have increased your skills and simplified the expansion process.

I don’t know how long I’ll keep using the bull’s eye technique. I guess until I no longer find myself asking—now how could I do that just with the circles?

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Susan Leslie Lumsden was one of the 2007 Niche Award winners in the

Professional-Fiber category. To learn more about Susan and her work:
http://www.rebelquilter.com

Just for Fun - Hans Hofmann Push & Pull Technique

Hofmann illustrated clearly that the perception of depth, space and movement could be captured on an artist's canvas using only color and shape to create visual tension; that representational forms were not necessary. He called this technique, "push and pull."

On this fun site, you can explore for yourself "...how color relationships and placement affect your perception of space." Just click on the artist palette to create, then print your own 8 1/2" x 11" painting. http://www.pbs.org/hanshofmann/push_and_pull_001.html

Tribute to Cuesta Benberry - Gaye Ingram

Cuesta Benberry transcended the limitations of place, career, gender, race, time, and intellectual prejudices.
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Before I ever laid eyes on this deceptively gentle woman, I had corresponded with her and talked with her about quilt patterns and about Scioto Danner's role in 20th-century quilt history. I soon learned that a question to Cuesta was almost always followed by a mailing that included copies of articles, bits of fabrics, or, on one occasion, a book of which she said she had an extra copy. Like Julia Zgliniek, I had seen her name listed among the acknowledgements in more books than I could count, and I had read a lot of
what she herself had written. I find it telling that none of this told me Cuesta was African-American. Her broad knowledge defied boundaries and specializations.
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Thus, when I first encountered Cuesta, I didn't recognize her. It was a hot day in Dallas during the AQSG seminar, and I had seen what I wanted to see at the exhibitions at the State Fair grounds. Nevertheless, I was dutifully heading to yet another building designated on our tour when I noticed a teacherly looking African-American woman sitting on a bench in the shade of a big crape myrtle tree. The edge of an AQSG badge showed from under a loose scarf. Looking for an excuse to sit out the rest of the park tour, I told myself this older woman might need a little company. I sat down beside her.
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We talked---of the heat, the seminar, teaching school, and finally, quilts. The conversation turned to the question of African-American retentions, a subject that interested me a great deal and about which she clearly had thought. Her notions--really, they were questions--were grounded in an understanding of brain physiology, genetics, and history, the grounds which had led to my own questions about the subject. At some point in that animated conversation, I quoted a remark Cuesta Benberry had made in an
introduction to a book I'd read. "What do you think of that?" I asked.
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The lady beside me said, "I'd say perhaps she needed to consider that conclusion a little more."
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Still unaware of who she was, I agreed, noting I too questioned the conclusion. But, I said, Cuesta Benberry had been so generous with me and had proved so knowledgeable that I had to believe there was some respectable grounding for her conclusion. As a Southerner, I said, I knew how tempting it often was to be goaded into a defensive position by those who had no understanding of matters southern but were not deterred from issuing pronouncements by that fact. And I had a friend who was a folklorist and worked with African-American folklife who, I thought, sometimes felt the same way about African-American quilters. Possibly Ms. Benberry had responded to a similar circumstance.
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In that quiet, unassuming voice I find so characteristic of her, my benchmate said, "Well, I think she should have thought a little longer."
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A long pause ensued. I was not about to say anything negative about a person who had been so kind to me, and my new associate seemed equally unwilling to cut Ms. Benberry any slack. For what seemed like a long time, we sat looking at the children playing in the near distance.
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Then, Cuesta introduced herself. I felt my face flush, but somehow Cuesta made me feel reasonably comfortable, and we soon resumed our discussion. The questions raised that afternoon are notes in a folder to which I often recur. They remain valid and intriguing and unanswered.
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What impressed me in that conversation was that Cuesta questioned herself, that her conclusions were tentative, that her mind was unlikely ever to be fully made up about anything---at least not to the point where it would resist conflicting evidence. Hers was a questioning and humble mind. The best sort.
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Meeting the REAL Cuesta impressed me mightily. That seminar, I was in awe of everybody. And I observed a few, I think, who were in awe of themselves. Yet here was this icon, sitting alone on a bench to catch her breath on that hot fall day in Dallas, who could have been and indeed seemed to be somebody's aunt, just along for the trip.
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I've never been able to explain why she did not tell me who she was earlier. I've wondered what she would have done if I had been ready to criticize Cuesta Benberry. I'm sure at first she thought I knew who she was. I suspect that once she learned I didn't recognize her, she was at a loss of how to respond without embarrassing me.
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But from that day forward, I knew this: Cuesta Benberry was a sincere seeker of truth and for all her gentleness and lack of pretension, she was an intellectual force to be reckoned with. She was still the teacher, gladly learning and as gladly teaching. A rarity in this world.
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Quilts and quilters and quiltmaking had been Cuesta's bliss, and she followed her bliss and was warmed by the knowledge the quest gave her, not by the eminence it conferred. All of us who were also warmed by Cuesta's fires find the chilly vacancy she leaves disconcerting, somehow unreal. I suspect we all know we will not experience the beneficence of that fire again soon.
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Those of us who knew Cuesta, briefly and in the closing years of her life, can count ourselves blessed. Those who knew her from the outset of AQSG are triply blessed.
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May she quilt and study in peace.
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Gaye Ingram is the editor of Blanket Statements,

the American Quilt Study Group (AQSG) newsletter

http://www.americanquiltstudygroup.org/

In Memoriam - Cuesta Benberry, Quilt Historian and Scholar

I am very saddened to report that one of the most distinguished quilt historians died yesterday. Her impeccable scholarship, her challenge to the stereotyping of quilts made by African-Americans, and her determination to blast through the indifference and apathy of the overall quilt world as it related to quilting in the African-American community are legendary.
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Following is a little information about her work:
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In 2004, the Distinguished Scholar/Lifetime Achievement Award was bestowed upon Cuesta Benberry by Faith Ringgold’s Anyone Can Fly Foundation. It was awarded “…for her groundbreaking research on the history of African-American quilt making…which uncovered the centuries long and richly diverse history of African-American quilt making in American Art..”
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In conjunction with the award, a 4-part interview of Cuesta Benberry by Faith Ringgold was video-recorded at Cuesta’s home in St. Louis, Missouri on August 18, 2004:
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Part 1 – Cuesta Benberry’s Beginnings – 35-minute vidcast
http://www.anyonecanflyfoundation.org/award/cuesta_benberry/Cuesta_Benberry_1.htm
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Part 2 – African-American Quilts – 26-minute vidcast
http://www.anyonecanflyfoundation.org/award/cuesta_benberry/Cuesta_Benberry_2.htm
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Part 3 – Exhibition Quilts – 20-minute vidcast
http://www.anyonecanflyfoundation.org/award/cuesta_benberry/Cuesta_Benberry_3.htm
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Part 4 – Contemporary Quilts – 22-minute vidcast
http://www.anyonecanflyfoundation.org/award/cuesta_benberry/Cuesta_Benberry_4.htm
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Full transcript of the interview in HTML format, with bibliography and photos:
http://www.anyonecanflyfoundation.org/award/cuesta_benberry/Cuesta_Benberry_Interview_Transcript.html

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Full transcript of the interview in PDF format; with bibliography (without photos):
http://www.anyonecanflyfoundation.org/pdf/Cuesta_Benberry_Interview_Transcript.pdf
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Additional Information:
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A prolific writer and published author, a full listing of Custa Benberry's work can be found in Black Threads: An African American Quilting Sourcebook by Kyra Hicks.
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2004 – Honored by the American Folk Art Museum with a Cuesta Benberry Day
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2004 – Donated to the American Folk Art Museum her extensive library and archival collection of rare: books, exhibition and pattern catalogs, periodicals, patterns, and periodicals; among others.
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2002 – Interviewed as a “Quilt Treasure” by the Center for the Quilt – On the website, you can “Read about Cuesta's work, view images from her books, and hear her discuss her research and insights in this Quilt Treasures web portrait.”
http://www.centerforthequilt.org/treasures/cb/index.php
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2000 – A Piece of My Soul: Quilts by Black Arkansans was published
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1992 – Always There: The African-American Presence in American Quilts was published

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1983 - Inducted into the Quilter’s Hall of Fame
http://www.quiltershalloffame.net/honorees.html

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Cuesta, we loved you – we will miss you

Craft Versus Art - Mary Sullivan Holdgrafer

Mary Sullivan Holdgrafer is a textile artist, teacher, facilitator, curator and scholar. Her work has been exhibited and is held in public and private collections in Canada and the United States. She was recently featured in an article in Alberta Views magazine which described the work of five leading Alberta art quilters.

http://www.exploringcreativity.com

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This article has arisen from the Alberta Craft Council exhibition, Craft vs. Art: The Great Debate. The exhibition consisted of work and writings by Alberta Craft Council members. It was on display throughout August, 2002 in the Alberta Craft Gallery.
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When I was asked to submit work for consideration for the Alberta Craft Council exhibition, Craft vs. Art: The Great Debate, my first thought was, "Why are we having this discussion?" I struggled to write a coherent essay and I made two surprising pieces as a part of my submission. In the end it proved to be a stimulating assignment..
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I chose to focus on the power struggle that exists between art and craft. I discussed the differences between competition and differentiation and called for greater curiosity. Others approached the topic differently, but in the end, there was a high level of consistency among the submissions.
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I think there is an elitist view on the part of both art and craft people that suggests a failure to be curious about differing perspectives. Identifying with a single view is limiting. Most often we hold negative judgements of other points of view when we cling too tightly to our own. When we feel the need to defend our position, we most often diminish others in the process.
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The notion of a continuum more accurately reflects the reality. I do see crafts people who work at preserving a traditional form using only historically appropriate techniques, tools and materials. I also see artists who produce work with little regard for tradition or craftsmanship. There is value in honing ones skill just as there is value in carefree experimentation without regard to quality or longevity.
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Mostly I encounter artisans who invest themselves in developing their skills and pushing beyond the status quo, always asking, "what if?" In this daring realm there is much to be learned. Media and form have little to do with the potential for learning and self-discovery.
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The essence of my work resides in my personal learning. The product is less important than the process. My work is an act of self-definition. I hold an intention to do what Eric Maisel refers to as "deep" work. It is through the daily practice of my work that I achieve the deep learning or understanding I seek.
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I notice that I am quick to judge the work of others when I am not curious about their intention. But when I pause long enough to be curious, I am often moved by what I see. I feel a resonance with people whose work is very different than my own when I am able to see that we are more similar than different.
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I know that by choosing to work with fabrics, that I will not be universally recognized as an "artist". I also know that by pushing the edges of traditional textile work I will not be universally accepted as a quilter. If recognition or acceptance is what I am seeking, then I have set myself up for failure and a pretty unhappy life. But if my goal is to learn about myself through the creative process, I cannot fail. If I assume that others are trying to do the same, then I can be generous and curious about them and their work.
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I want to hold on to the "Big Picture" where I can acknowledge the perspectives of others and be curious about them. I want to hold an intention to learn about myself, to test my own limits.
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If we are able to view craft and art as a part of a continuum, and if we can allow self-placement on the continuum, then we will take ourselves out of the power struggle. Staying curious will automatically create opportunities for learning and for resonance with others. It will not matter if we are artists or craftsmen. After all, our creativity comes from the same source, doesn't it?
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To read Mary Sullivan Holdgrafer's artist statement
and to view some of her art:

http://www.exploringcreativity.com/mary.html

Is it Art? Is it Craft? - Charles Lewton Brain

Charles Lewton-Brain is a master goldsmith. To learn more about him, his art, his books and other writings:
http://www.brainpress.com/LewtonBrain.html

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The Art versus Craft issue is a complex question and one that has bedeviled creators a great deal in the last fifty years or so.
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I once heard a gallery owner say that the difference between an art object and a craft object is $3000. The American Craft Council's director Carmine Branagan says that the discussion is unimportant, that the craft/art debate is one of craftspeople talking to themselves, about issues that do not matter at all to the general public - they do not care about this particular debate. She holds that if we are educating the culture as makers then the real issue is getting the work and what it means out and before the public, especially through galleries, museums and publications, the validators in society.
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I personally see art and craft as a very similar activity, that both involve creating, problem solving, composition and design decisions, pattern recognition, intuition, etc. I consider things a spectrum of kinds of work, no boundaries or strict edges to things, more of a blur. It has to do with intent perhaps, what is the intent of the object. That and the form of the object, the choice to work in a form or within the restrictions of a form. Examples of forms include a ring, a teapot, a wall mounted painting, a chair. By choosing an object type (or aesthetic or media restrictions) one defines the skeleton against which one makes art. Some of these contexts and restrictions are cultural as well as functional, and here is where we may wander into objects that can clearly be called craft ones.
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The Canadian Professional Relations tribunal, after spending months on the question decided that 'artists self-designate', that for legal purposes you are an artist if you say you are or a craftsperson if you say you are. I am both, and some of my objects are both at one time. I see it as a long spectrum where the maker defines what object type it is or what mode (art/craft) one works in. The issue for me comes in hierarchy, in situations where people are told, or taught that one thing is better than another (usually art more 'fine', 'high', 'valued') than craft. And that, I think is where the rub lies, with some people discriminating against practitioners and objects made in a craft context, and as a someone who willingly chooses that context now and then, it feels bad. The issue of Design is a large one, and while I think both art and craft objects are designed, to work in the mode of design is to work in a mode that emphasizes service, function and the user. In the design world though changes have occurred so that a single object in a 'craft' media can be shown in a catalog or magazine as a designed object, and the maker has, more or less, made it in service to their own (artistic) needs rather than to an external problem.
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Art and craft are differentiated by customs and border control laws by practical function. If you can wear it or put peanuts into it is craft. Or if there are more than 49 of them - prints, both photographic and other done in editions magically turn from fine art into product if there are 50 or more of them.
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Once upon a time (pre-NAFTA) craft work going to the US had a 50% duty on it which made it just about impossible to think of selling in the states. Fine art however traveled duty free. You could however, prove you were an artist to the United States government, which I went through in the hope of being able to circumvent the duty if I was recognized as a fine artist. This process was complex and circuitous. And you can only apply once in your life. If they decide you are not an artist you can NEVER apply again. That's it. A one time decision.
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It is administered by the US department of Justice, and one had to submit all the proofs you could find, posters you were called an artist on, published 'artist's statements' that used the work artist, and so on. In fact I have made a point of ensuring that the word 'artist' appears in connection with my name in print since this experience. You then documented a piece of work at all stages, photographs of all the stages in its development and described and listed all the decision points there were. In my case there were some 28 distinct aesthetic decisions made while making the sample piece. You proved that there were numerous aesthetic decision points in the work, (not just technical ones). This, with every other proof you could think of was installed in a large binder. Then you submitted the whole pile to the Department of Justice. Some time later they get back to you.
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They said I was an Artist. Definitely. For sure. But it didn't make any difference, I still had to pay the duty on my work because it was still functional, you could still wear it or use it for things other than just looking at.
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So, for me its a spectrum, and intent, the object, the mode and me determine what it is, how much art content it may have. Most of the time elements of both, sometimes tilted more one way than another.
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The only problem with the debate is unfair hierarchy which seems to exist in the arts field and in the culture and the results of discrimination based on such hierarchy, its effects on fees paid to teachers, salary expectations, grants, university budgets for craft areas and so on. In Australia I read a theory that these issues are all gender based and link with gender politices. I would tend to agree, from what I have seen.

Art v Craft - Bruce DeBoer

Bruce DeBoer is a photographer.
The following article was originally posted to his blog:
Permission to Suck: The Pursuit of Fearless Creativity

http://brucedeboer.typepad.com/

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What’s the difference between art and craft? Oh … about $1000. How about: Craft comes with instructions and art doesn’t? Or how about: Crafts take skill and art doesn’t need any? Nah - too confrontational.
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A good simple definition of art is the manifestation of human emotion through medium. Notice I’m not saying good or great art, just art. Art is a starting point for expression. If you reveal art you are an artist. A child who explores finger paints is an artist – maybe even the purest type.
We all know artists; the most random of thinkers. They are driven to emote. It’s in there and it must come out, no practice required. To practice is to do.
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Craft is guided by an external force. Craft’s starting point is void of internal emotional expression. Practice a craft and your skills grow. They are measurable. Honed over a lifetime your mastery can reach great heights. It’s easy to recognize fine craftsmanship because it took great skill to produce.
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Art schools teach skills or the craft of communicating emotion. The schools of craftsmanship teach high skill but will also move students toward self expression. It’s as though they are teaching the same thing from opposite ends of a spectrum.
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In the middle of the art craft spectrum you’ll find fine art and beautiful craft sitting side by side; indistinguishable over time like paintings of the Dutch masters. Great artists become skilled at communicating their emotions and fine crafts people become emotional expressionists through their medium. It’s the same thing but approached from different directions. Neither is easy. Neither is superior.
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To view his work, visit Bruce's website:
http://www.deboerworks.com/
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To read other articles and essays:

http://www.brucedeboer.typepad.com/articles_and_essays/

"I Am An Artist" - Gwendolyn A. Magee

The following was originally printed as a commentary piece for the April 2005 issue of Artist Quarterly, the Alabama, Arkansas & Mississippi Regional e-mail newsletter of SAQA
(Studio Art Quilt Associates)

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“I am an artist” – four little words, each fairly insignificant by itself, but so extremely affirming when strung together. Four little words, “I am an artist”, powerful beyond parallel – when believed.

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How do you present yourself to others? Do you speak with assurance about yourself as an artist? Do you converse with confidence, with passion, and with enthusiasm when talking about your art? Or are you tentative in your response when someone asks about you and/or your work? If so, they in turn will certainly be tentative about whether to consider you as a “real” artist, as well as tentative about whether to consider your work as art. This in turn will affect the extent to which they have interest in purchasing or exhibiting your work, as well as their perception of its appropriate monetary value (i.e. how much they think your art is worth and how much they’re willing to pay for it – keeping in mind that these are two different considerations).
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TAKING CONTROL
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Talking About Your Work to Others – Informing / Raising the Level of Consciousness
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When asked about my profession, my usual answer is simply, “I am an artist.” This is stated forthrightly, directly, and with looking the person in the eye. And that is where I usually stop – with a period at the end of the sentence.
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My thinking is that this does two things: 1) this simple statement is affirming and provides me with the clarity (not to mention the backbone) to talk about and/or promote myself and my work with assurance and confidence; and 2) it communicates clearly and unequivocally to the other person(s) my expectations in terms of dialogue – i.e., it “sets the tone”, helping to dismiss any notion that what I create is basically what their Aunt Matilda use to make. I think making this distinction is very important whether you are devoting yourself to your art fulltime or as an avocation (which, by the way, is definitely not the same as “hobby”).
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Usually there is a follow-up question similar to “…what is the medium in/with which you work?” My response is fiber, fabric, textiles and thread; that I am a fiber (or textile) artist. That is usually enough. If questioned further or if the person says something to the effect – “do you make quilts?” My response is that the art form through which my work finds expression is based on what is traditionally thought of as a quilt, but that what I create is not even vaguely similar to a bedcover.
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I have taken ownership of how I and my art are to be perceived, communicating this in how I talk about my work and in letting others know clearly the expectations about how it and I are to be regarded and related to. Nonetheless, I don’t take this to the extreme. When, for example, someone introduces me as a quilter, I don’t get my hackles raised and snootily state that “I’m an artiste”. I make judgment calls and at times decide it’s neither appropriate nor worth the effort to make an issue out of it. However, I did rip the tonsils out of a person that once referred to my work as “blankets” (he was deliberately trying to “put me in my place”, but you can be assured he will never make that particular mistake again).
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You alone have to decide how important this distinction is to you as well as to what and how are the best ways to describe and/or present yourself and your work. In any case as stated earlier, if you wish to be treated and taken seriously as an artist, you cannot be tentative or hesitant about how you view your own self. If you are not sure that you deserve to be called an artist, it will be very difficult to convince anyone else that you are.
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Periodically on discussion lists there are a lot of postings related to “…how do you describe yourself…” Once again, it is purely up to you as an individual regarding the terminology with which you are most comfortable. To some extent this also will depend on who your audience happens to be at the moment. Certainly describing your work as quilts is very useful in that people can grasp immediately a general concept and/or understanding about what it is that you create. It also is useful because people relate to quilts very positively, often with fond memories of the quilts their grandmothers made.
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On the other hand, without actually seeing your work it also usually poses difficulty for the non-initiated to make the conceptual leap to anything beyond “bedcover”. And this is what is so problematic. This is this factor that immediately drops what you do four, five or six notches down their continuum of respect, and subsequently how much (translation – “how little”) your work is perceived to be worth monetarily.
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It is sad that this has to be an issue at all, but the reality is that our particular art form is not ordinarily accorded the classification of being “fine art” – an invidious distinction is often made. Beyond the art versus craft pigeonholing, I am totally convinced that in large measure this is due to anything related to needlework traditionally being considered “women’s work” in our culture and society. This particular gender bias suggests implicitly that quilting is primarily “busy work”, isn’t serious, and therefore is much less significant than any of those “more worthy” avocations usually associated with the producers of a high level of testosterone; sculpture or golf for example.
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You sometimes therefore have to demand respect for yourself as an artist by not letting others denigrate your work or define your reality. Depending on the extent to which this is an issue for you at all (there are those for whom it may be irrelevant), if someone introduces you as a quilter, you have the option of gently correcting them – but it has to be immediate – by simply speaking up with a smile and saying, “I am an artist – my work presents itself in the format of what is usually thought of as a quilt”. Remember – it is up to you to be the ever vigilant guardian of the respect that is due to you as an artist, and with which you should expect to be accorded.
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If desired, you can easily continue the conversation by saying something to the effect that, “…quilting is the tradition from which the type of art that I create began. Think of me as someone who uses textiles and threads as paint, who creates brush strokes using a sewing machine, who can manipulate the materials with which I work into sculptural configurations or into highly textural surfaces that suspend from the ceiling or hang on walls.” The critical key is to always and frequently refer to your work as art throughout the conversation – you must keep that concept on the table and in the forefront of any discussion you are having whether it is with others, or only with yourself.
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Bottom line: Do not allow anyone to take liberties with how you

or with how your work is defined.

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For a different point of view read David Lance Goines’ article: http://www.goines.net/Writing/what_is_artist.html

Quotable Quote - Ben Shahn

“I believe that if it were left to artists to choose their own labels, most would choose none.”

Ben Shahn

Just for Fun - Art Student's Journey Game

This is a printable board game for 2 – 4 players ages 8 & up that was developed by the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art in conjunction with their October 2002 exhibit, “HANS HOFMANN: Selections from the Berkeley Art Museum Collection”.
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In the game, players take roles as art students. The goal is to learn Hans Hofmann's color theory. The first person to reach graduation wins.
http://www.pbs.org/hanshofmann/special_features/hofmannopoly.pdf

Workshop and Lecture Contracts

Most artists on the lecture/workshop circuit have one or two horror stories to tell. A good contract or letter of agreement that clearly spells out your expectations and requirements will go far in reducing the number (and severity) of bad experiences with which
you will have to cope.

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Following are samples of contracts and/or requirements currently being used by a number of teachers and lecturers. Reviewing them may assist you in developing and customizing a contract that meets your own specific needs.

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Sonya Lee Barrington
http://www.sonyaleebarrington.com/art-quilts/workshop-lecture.html#info
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Rita Blocksom
http://www.ritablocksom.com/teaching%20contract.PDF
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Susan Carlson
http://www.susancarlson.com/contract.html
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Hollis Chatelain
http://www.hollisart.com/manage/user_files/184-1180990542.pdf
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Debra Danko
http://www.debradanko.com/contract.html
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Ellen Anne Eddy
http://www.ellenanneeddy.com/2006Classes/2006%20class%20list/General%20Information/Contract%202006.pdf
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Rosemary Eichorn
http://www.sewjourn.com/PDF/WORKSHOP%20CONTRACT.pdf
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Cynthia England
http://www.englanddesign.com/aboutus/teaching/eds_contract_of_agreement.pdf.

Workshop Specifics
http://www.englanddesign.com/aboutus/teaching/eds_workshop_specifics.pdf

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Carol Bryer Fallert
http://www.bryerpatch.com/wkshops/letterofagreement.htm
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Ellen Guerrant
http://www.ellenguerrant.com/downloads/contract.pdf
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Linda MacDonald
http://www.lindamacdonald.com/art-quilt/quilt-workshops-contract.html
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Barbara Olson
http://www.barbaraolsonquiltart.com/agreement.htm
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Jenny Raymond
http://www.jennyraymond.com/images/Contract_Policies.pdf
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Bethany Reynolds – Bethany provides a detailed timeline for the planning of her workshops
http://stacknwhack.com/fyi.doc
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Ami Simms
http://www.amisimms.com/expenses.html

Ami also provides a planning timeline
http://www.amisimms.com/whattoexpect.html

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Barbara Sherrill
http://www.barbsed.com/contract.pdf
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Louisa L. Smith
http://www.quiltescapes.com/quiltescapes.pdf
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Shelley Stokes
http://www.cedarcanyontextiles.com/forms/cct_contract_2007.pdf
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Barbie Swanson
http://fabricartshop.com/newsite/servicecontract.htm
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Carol Taylor
http://www.caroltaylorquilts.com/AboutPages/Workshops/Teaching,%20Lecture%20Contract.doc
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Laura Wasilowski
http://www.artfabrik.com/contract.htm
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Amy Stewart Winsor
http://winsorartquilts.com/classes/contract.htm

Recognition - Gwendolyn A. Magee

Recognition is the flip side of rejection.

The following was originally printed as a commentary piece for the January 2005 issue of Artist Quarterly, the Alabama, Arkansas & Mississippi Regional e-mail newsletter of SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates).
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Recognition – Acknowledgement – Approval – Commendations – Admiration – Honors
High Regard – Acceptance – Affirmation – Acclaim – Prominence – Esteem – Renown – Accolades – Awards

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For most of us as artists, recognition is the yardstick we use to measure the extent to which we have achieved success. However defined, and that certainly varies from individual to individual, to some extent we all want it, crave it, need it, feed on it and strive to achieve it. No matter how secure we think we are within our own psyches about the quality and merit of our work, there is no getting around the fact that outside corroboration feels good. It also is human nature to become dismayed and to feel overlooked when colleagues receive awards and have exhibit opportunities that were somehow outside of our grasp. We may find ourselves torn between being genuinely happy that Jane Doe’s work was juried into Quilt National or into the American Craft Council Show, but as we watch her enjoy her “moment in the sun” we also may wonder, sometimes bitterly, “why not me?”; especially if entries have been submitted to no avail year after year after year and enough rejection letters with which to paper a room have accumulated. ...
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Unfortunately for some, it is at this point that their own accomplishments, even if they have been many, may seem not to shine as bright. Frustration seethes, becoming a bubbling cauldron of discontent, rancor and resentment sometimes metamorphosing into a mission to denigrate the significance of that other person’s achievements in the mistaken belief that it somehow will increase the significance of their own. We’ve all seen this happen – the snide and catty remarks, the little jabs here and there. More pitifully though, is that the person’s own art often is affected – it is very difficult for creativity to truly flourish in a miasma of negativity or, as many of our grandmothers use to say, “Sour grapes can only yield a harvest of bitter fruit”.
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The big question becomes one of “How can I avoid falling into this type of self-destructive trap?” “How”, indeed. If we can somehow remain focused on what it is that we individually want to accomplish, another person’s success becomes irrelevant and non-threatening. It brings us to the question of – “What is it that I can or need to do to increase the opportunities for ‘my’ success?”
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First of all, we have to recognize that there is no cookie cutter recipe that will work equally effectively for all; primarily because how “success” is defined is different for each and every one of us. For example, many will say that being able to sell their art is how they define success. All well and good on the face of it, but for one person it may mean being able to sell their art in the $1,000 price range and for another, anything less than $10,000 is insulting. Still another person may be thrilled to sell a small piece for $250.
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Digging a little deeper, you may find it’s not that the artist selling for $250 thinks that is the true value of his or her work, but for that individual, success is not primarily defined by the amount of a single sale, but by the recognition that comes when many value the work enough to purchase and showcase it in their homes; and subsequently by the reputation that a number of sales helps build for them in their home community. This artist therefore is willing to sell at a price point that most people can afford – and that is more important to him or her than the mere dollar amount. I have been guilty of pressuring someone to raise their prices without taking this into account. Different markets command different prices. So, if the person places a $1,500 price tag on their work and no one buys, how successful will he or she then feel?
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For others, success is not at all correlated with the selling of their work. Instead, for them it may be more closely associated with the number and prestige of the venues in which their work is exhibited, or having their work archived in museum collections, or featured in newspapers, books and magazines. This approach certainly makes these individuals no less “a professional artist” than anyone else.
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All of this is to reiterate that there is no “one size fits all” formula for success. However, no matter how success is defined, throughout all of its variations a person’s ability to attain it appears to be linked closely with a few basic elements and/or factors:
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Goal Identification: What are your goals? What is it that you want to happen in the best of all possible worlds? Think about it. Write them down and be as specific as possible. Review them often. You have to define for yourself what success looks like.
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This is critical whether you are an established studio artist or just beginning to dip your toe into the water. If your primary goal is recognition by your peers – you have to decide and identify which group of peers is most important to you – those on a community, state or national level? Peers in the general quilting community, in the art quilt community, in the art community? The strategy devised by someone who primarily desires recognition by the national art quilt community will be significantly different than that planned by someone who is seeking broader based recognition, or for whom being well known and respected in their home community is paramount.
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Is your primary goal to exhibit your art (and to what end), to gain recognition (and from whom), or to earn money (quick money or big money)? Are you willing to sacrifice one goal to achieve another and if so, for how long and at what cost? What are your personal circumstances and how do they affect your goal? If selling your art determines whether and how well you are fed, clothed and housed, this has to be taken into serious consideration.
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Whatever your circumstances, do not put limitations on your goals. Do not put limitations on what you want for yourself and for your art based on what you think is “reasonable”. Don’t be cowed into thinking that your goals are too lofty – they are yours and you do not have to justify them to anyone but yourself. You are under no obligation to ever share or discuss them so you don’t have to cringe with concern about what others might think. So, for example, your goals may read something like this:
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I want to be exhibited at the Smithsonian
I want to be invited to participate in a national, state or regional Invitational Exhibit
I want my art to sell for a minimum of $xxxxx
I want to my work to be published in XYZ book, magazine or journal
I want to earn a minimum of $xxxxx a year as an artist
I want to win “Best of Show” at Paducah / Houston
I want a feature article about me to appear in Hometown USA newspaper
I want to have my work juried into Quilt National
I want to have a solo exhibit at ABC Museum or Gallery
I want to command $xxxxx for workshops
I want to command $xxxxx for lectures
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I want…you get the drift. But these goals must be what that person residing deep down inside of you really wants. Of course it would be great to have your work reviewed by the New York Times, but think long and hard about what would truly be the most meaningful to you – a two sentence mention in the NYT, or having a four column, half-page feature article written about you in your local newspaper. This type decision then determines how you go about creating or putting yourself into the circumstances that can make it happen.
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For example, if more than anything you someday want to have a solo exhibit at a major venue, its probably not going to happen if you’re concentrating on selling your work as fast as you make it. To have a solo exhibit, you have to have a comprehensive body of work, and it may have to be available for an extended length of time. People who have bought your art may be willing to lend it for a one or two month period, but are they willing to let it go without compensation for 2 years or more if you’re fortunate enough to have your exhibit travel?
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If you deeply desire to have your work sell for $5000 or more, that’s not likely to happen if your current focus is on making money as fast as you can and are primarily exhibiting your work at venues where the average purchase price is $50. All venues are not equal and all venues are not appropriate depending upon your goals. People coming by your booth at an outdoor art fair may ooh and ah about your work, but move on to the next one to buy a pottery casserole dish or teapot. Someone may contact you later, but don’t count on it. Of course you can decide to make items that can be sold within the primary price point for a particular venue, but at what cost in terms of the standards you set for yourself as artist? At what cost in terms of the quality of the work? At what cost in terms of your reputation as a serious artist? At what cost in terms of time allotment (i.e., to what extent does it erode the time available to focus on what you consider to be your serious work; the work that feeds your soul)? At the end, the decisions made should relate back to your definition of success – and if being able to support yourself is primary, these other considerations may become secondary or irrelevant; no justification or explanation needs to be made to anyone not residing inside your skin. But you need to feel good about it and comfortable with your decision.
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Prioritization: Which of your goals do you think and feel are the most significant – and why? Put it into words and write it out. In terms of meaningfulness to you, what follows second, third, etc. Identify the ones that fall into the “would be nice, but so what if it never happens” category. This will to a large extent determine how you think about and approach achieving your goals, and remember that your goals need not be static and carved in stone. Rethink your goals and how they are prioritized at minimum every six months; sooner if your circumstances change. It’s easy to lose sight of what is your big picture. You have to retain your focus as well as have the ability to incorporate new thoughts, ideas, information and/or opportunities into your strategic plan. Remember also that this is not a “to do” list.
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Timeframe: Are you or are you not willing to take a long-term route to achieving your goals (this of course takes you back to the question of “…for what are you willing to settle…” and which are your priority).
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Mindset: You have to have an open mind in order to (1) recognize when you’re being presented with an opportunity that may help you attain one or more of your goals – and keep aware that they don’t always present themselves in a format that “looks like” what you think one should; and (2) you have to be willing to receive or take advantage of it. Otherwise, many “chance” opportunities will be forever lost to you.
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Do not discount the contacts you make in non-fiber related places or situations. For example, at some event you find yourself talking with a potter who invites you to an open house at his studio. You think to yourself, for what? I have no interest in clay and my plate is already so full that I don’t have time to deal with anything not fiber related. But, if you had gone, there may have been someone there looking at his wares who also has a gallery, or knows someone who might be interested in your work, or is aware of an exhibit you should be part of, or discover that the potter belongs to a prestigious art group to which he may invite you to join – there are an infinite number of possible iterations. Obviously you have to allocate your time judiciously, but the point is, don’t be insular in your thinking. Attend exhibits or performances of other artists no matter what is their preferred medium. The people who buy their work and attend their concerts also are potential buyers of yours. Cast your net widely.
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Recognition in the greater art community, even at the local level, is not going to happen if you make little or no attempt to become involved with it. This means attending art events of all disciplines; becoming involved with art organizations; taking advantage of the programs offered by your state, regional and local Arts Commissions or Councils. At the very least, attend museum and gallery openings (and other events held in these facilities) whether they are textile related or not – that’s where a lot of people with expendable funds and contacts are going to show up. Assuming you make the effort to interact with them, it won’t take long for people to begin to remember you and to keep you in mind.
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follow-up, Follow-Up, FOLLOW-UP: This is just basic common sense. Follow-up on every possible lead you receive even if it seems obscure. People are so interconnected that you can never predict with certainty from which direction a break may come. More opportunities are probably lost by the failure to follow-up than by anything else. And:
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Never forget the power of a simple but personal thank-you note.
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Marketing: Who comprises your primary audience and/or market? They are not necessarily one and the same and the degree to which you recognize this and strategize appropriately will definitely affect your success. How effectively you use available tools for marketing yourself is important.

For an excellent article that addresses many of the points
mentioned above, read Sylvia White’s
“Coping with the Post-Exhibition Blues”:

http://www.artadvice.com/advice/article13.php