While I was away...

So, clearly I haven't been posting at all this summer. I think I've hit that point where I've maxed out the amount of balls I can juggle, plates I can spin and bowling pins I can hurl into the air confidently without having it all crash down on top of me. Thus, the blog was 1 pin too many! But, as each project draws to a conclusion  I'm reminded that I haven't shared it and a good post has gone by the wayside. I'm not going to back post about the summer but I'll give you a bit of a timeline to catch you up.

Right around the 4th of July I got a "convo" e-mail on etsy from a business called Jinky Art wondering if I could make 120 journals to arrive in Texas by August 15. Um... well....maybe? P.S. meanwhile in that window of time I had 2.5 weeks of full time work and a 12 day international vacation that had been planned for months already. So what did I say? Obviously, of course! I didn't have much of a social life outside of stitching, and yes, some of that work came with me to France. But, by the grace and help of some fantastic friends and my husband it got done and got rave reviews from the client. Yes, that is a beer bottle crowning the stack, it was my reward on packing night!

covers in production

folded signatures (about 1/4 of the total amount) pierced and ready for stitching

It took a village, herd to complete this project

In the midst of the Jinky Art project we were in Paris. It was a bit stressful to be away, but certainly a welcome retreat. A few picnics on the Seine and multiple cafe visits helped me find a calm I'd been missing.

As soon as we got back I was finishing up the order and moving on to re-opening my etsy store. I launched a few new products and soon had busy hands again.

Then, it was time to get painting! With the art show at Wix Lounge coming up, I really needed to complete a few more paintings to fill out the walls. To add to the challenge I decided I needed to increase my scale. I'm perfectly comfortable working on 12x12, 18x18 and even the occasional 24x24. But with tall loft walls I needed to push further. Up it went to 30x40 and 36x48". Granted, those aren't huge, but I quadrupled my scale and changed formats which ended up adding in new challenges. In order to get a handle on the larger works I had to do a lot of drawings to help me re-organize my methods. I'm pretty happy with what the process has started and I think there's a lot of material still left to work on.

So before I get to the Wix Show, there was a studio visit from Helen Wu from opalnest at the end of August and then all of this past weekend, open studios as a part of Go Brooklyn..  Sunday I packed up 15 works from my studio for installation at Wix the very next morning. And now, tonight is the opening! But the end isn't quite in sight. At the beginning of August I got my acceptance packet from the Atlantic Antic and had to place an application for my very first "temporary vendors license!" September 30th from 12-6pm you'll find me and the Delicate Utility booth right here:

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Now, I just have to squeeze in some time to build up my inventory again...
Well that brings us up to speed. I'll get some shots of the opening tonight to share. Gotta run!