Mid-session Break

I'm home for a day and a half between weeks with Nancy Crow.  As expected it was a week of hard work, frustration, and excitement.   Nancy pulls no punches and gave me a hard time about not working more since last year.  That was painful, as I felt like I had really focused on "working" but apparently it didn't show either in my abilities this year, or the pieces I brought to show.  

After a couple hours of self-pity I convinced myself that if I wanted sweetness and ego-stroking I was in the wrong place.  Then I convinced myself to buckle down and produce the best final piece I could.  She deemed it a "knockout," which was redemption enough for now.  It's a term that she uses somewhat freely, so although I was glad to hear it, I realize I have a lot of work to do.   It's hard for me to get out of the fussy fiddle-y strip piece box.

Here's a piece of one assignment - to make something as "busy" as possible!  Maybe I'll get it sewn together tonight.

I am resolved to put everything I have into FINISHING more assignments this coming week.

I don't have too many pictures to post at this point.  I'd like to show the "knockout" piece, but I didn't photograph it yet.  In fact, I never really saw it very clearly myself.  In the small room I could not get more than about 5-6 feet away from it, and when it was on the wall for critique I was standing in front of it!  I hear it was good, though.  :)   This is the B&W composition which was interpreted in B/W Grays first, then in full color.

I checked my e-mails while in line to come home on the ferry Friday night, and found that my submission to the SAQA show was not juried in.   I was not surprised.  But still disappointed a little bit.