Visiting One of My "Babies"

Yesterday I volunteered at an art show about two hours away.  It was a guild I'm a member of, and since I couldn't be there all weekend as an exhibitor, I agreed to help out on Sunday.

On the way back home, I stopped by the Kentucky Artisans Center in Berea, where one of my necklaces is in their current exhibition, to see how my "baby" looked in the show.

With apologies for the quality of the photo (I was trying to be stealthy with my phone camera so I wouldn't get yelled at by the show police for taking pictures), here's the necklace.

It's a combination of ndebele, stringing, and needle weaving in the style of Helen Banes and Diane Fitzgerald, with the ndebele section serving as the heart of the centerpiece.

The exhibition is titled The Threads That Bind: Textiles by Kentucky Artisans.  Now I certainly don't consider myself a fiber artist (as you may know, I'd rather smack myself in the face with a flounder than hem a pair of pants), but it was a treat to see my little necklace alongside the beautiful quilts and fiber wallpieces that were also part of the show.  It's kind of amazing how much fancier a piece looks when you slap it up under a glass cover!

Here's a better picture, one taken by a professional who wasn't worried about getting thrown out of the room for having a camera.  You can get a much better idea of the bead weaving from this:

Photographic Proof

In my last post (which, if you notice, was more recent than five months ago -- so I'm improving!) I talked about the two exhibitions I was going to be part of. When I went to pick up the pieces at the end of each show, it was such an honor and a kick to see my work in gallery vitrines that I had to whip out the cell phone and take a picture or two.


The picture to the left was from the Berea Arts Council show -- happy to say one piece is missing as it was sold during the exhibition!









The picture on the right was from the Gateway Regional Art Center in Mount Sterling, KY.






Both shows were lovely collections of Kentucky artisans' work, and I was pleased and humbled to be included. And it gave me courage to pursue more exhibition opportunities.

Exhibitionists and Eye Candy

No worries, contrary to the title of the post, this is purely innocent -- I'm just excited because I just sent off works to be included in two exhibitions this fall!

The first is "Kentucky Style: Creative Works from the Kentucky Guild of Artists and Craftsmen" at the Gateway Regional Arts Center in Mt. Sterling, KY. The other is "Window on Kentucky: Members of the Kentucky Guild of Artists and Craftsmen" at the Berea Arts Council in the center of the handcrafted art world in this neck of the woods, Berea KY. The Mt. Sterling show is 9/3 - 10/30, and the Berea show runs 9/7 - 10/30.

Read more about them here www.bereaartscouncil.org and here www.gatewayartscenter.com

Better yet, jump in your car and take a little road trip. Lots of great art in both places, and the leaves ought to have just started coloring up in their autumn glory. It'll be eye candy everywhere you look!