An Artful Life

What Comes First the Chicken or the Egg?

Or in my case, the itchy feet or the repaired bass speaker in the bar below us.  The speaker is our legitimate reason for moving this time.  And I have finally stopped feeling angry about the unfairness of having to pay to leave and have stopped feeling the frustration of not being able to affect a positive resolution.  And the truth is, I have a serious case of itchy feet.  I was able to talk my head out of the idea of moving, but apparently, not my co-creative energy. 

The first year of our lease at Blue Star was wonderful.  Through the creation of Fiber Artspace, I learned about the marketing, presentation, speaking about, selling of art.  I created my own internship.  Another voidthat Fiber Artspace filled was social.  Being an artist is fairly isolating.  I was feeling pretty lonely when I returned to San Antonio, and thought I might have to get a job to relieve my need to be around people occasionally.  Meeting with artists, hanging exhibits, and gallery sitting have saved me from employment.

Through Fiber Artspace, I had created an environment where I was washed in creative energy--every month being surrounded by art from a different artist.  I have made a lot of friends because of the gallery.  Internally, I became a validated artist, while living here.  Externally, I have sold my artwork because of the Space.

And then at some point, it seemed that it got harder to compact my studio.  It had doubled in size since I opened.  And the marketing, with its deadlines, seemed to take precedence over my own art.  And I started feeling squeezed.  I loved helping the artists that I had into my space and I felt that I needed to go deeper into my own art.  Running a gallery, with commitments to other artists, isn't something that you can just turn off at the flick of a switch.  I had commitments through the end of my lease in July 2009.

And then a miracle happened.  The bass speaker got fixed downstairs, pretty much right after we signed our new lease.  We are really only bothered by it when we try and sleep.  Our earplugs block all of the noises in the area, but not the vibration of the bass that runs into our bed and into our heads! 

And then another gallery at Blue Star subdivided his space into 6 micro-galleries.  There was one left.  The rent is $400 per month and that seemed more risk than Icould take on by myself.  But then the idea exploded into my head, that I could share Fiber Artspace with three other people.  Then I would only be on the hook for $100.  That seemed doable.  And I would have help running the gallery!  And my partners would get in on the magic that I have felt this last year and a half.

While I wasn't able to make a decision to move out of a distracting environment for my art, I was able to make it for my sleep.  We move into our new apartment in less than 4 weeks.  And the next adventure of diving deeper begins.

Mini Art

    Today I started making quilt cards.  I have had the paper stock for a while, but as I eased back into my studio after a long New Year and First Friday weekend break, this seemed a nice easy warm up.

But these little things could get addictive.  I have made little quilts with the normal top and batting, but with the card itself serving as the back.  I really felt productive today taking the morning off, doing a ton of house work, and finishing 3 pieces! 

This is what the inside of the card looks like with all of the quilting.  There is no ripping out and re-doing when working on paper.  But it held up really well even with the close stitching of this piece.

Here are the other two that I created today.

 

 

These notecards will be available at Fiber Artspace after we move into our new digs.  I should have a nice selection by then.

Win-Win-Win

Fiber Artspace is growing and moving to Armon Art Studios in late February 2009.  This is a made-in-an-abundant-universe situation.  Butch Armon of Armon Art at Blue Star Arts Complex has sub-divided his humongous space to include, his studio, office, and gallery, a workshop space and 5 new smaller galleries. 

The financial risk of real rent and the work of running a space with real hours was more than I could take on by myself, so Fiber Artspace will grow into a partnership with 3 new founders:  Laurel Gibson, Leslie Tucker Jenison, and Laura Beehler.  Together we will run the new and improved Fiber Artspace.  Meetings are scheduled and emails are flying back and forth working out all of the details.

This is a win for me personally for several reasons.   I will be able to not only keep my selling venue, but improve it.  My studio, which has doubled in size since I started Fiber Artspace, won't have to be packed up anymore for First Friday weekend.  I will get to see my creation grow and develop, even though it has outgrown our living room.

It is a win for my husband because he will get his living room back and maybe a bit more privacy on First Friday weekends.

It is a win for our dog, Caliban, as he won't have to be cooped up anymore when the gallery is open.

It is a win for Butch of Armon Art because his financial risk is distributed over several smaller galleries and there will be one more reason for people to go into his space. 

It is a win for Blue Star because they will retain a successful and niche art gallery.

It is a win for Fiber Artspace because it will be on a lower level and will have many more visitors.  And because it will have the creative juices and energy of Laurel, Laura, and Leslie to grow this baby gallery into feisty toddler gallery that it is growing into.

It is a win for Laurel, Laura, and Leslie as they will have the chance to experience the magic of Fiber Artspace that I have over this last year.

It is a win for the artists that will have a venue to exhibit their work at Fiber Artspace.

It is a win for San Antonio because they have an awesome place to view and purchase fiber artwork that they may not otherwise experience.

There are no losers, just winners.

Poet Faustus at the Overtime Theater

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In addition to being a fabulous fiber artist, Rebecca Coffey is a talented playwright.  She wrote a modern retelling of Faust and it is onstage at the Overtime Theater.  This theater that showcases playwrights from South Texas is located at 1260 West Avenue (1/2 mile north of the HEB at Hildebrand and Fredricksburg.)  It isn't too late to catch this dramatic comedy as it runs until September 27.  And it is only 9 bucks!

Rebecca Coffey is also the featured artist at Fiber Artspace in October--opening reception is October 2 from 6 - 9 pm.  She unites the past and the present by transcending traditional process with contemporary themes. Hers is an art of mischievous rebellion rooted in inherited craftsmanship. It features pin-up girls, tattoo flash, and geishas. Her art quilts lay bare the wild child that smiles with a good girl’s precision and skill.

Fiber Artspace

I often get the question Why did I open Fiber Artspace, especially since it is a commission-free space. 

The co-creative conception of Fiber Artspace began when I lived in Boulder, Colorado.  Every year there is a two-weekend event called Open Studio Tours.  From the moment that I experienced the Open Studio Tour, I imagined myself opening my studio one day.  It didn't happen in Boulder.  It didn't happen in Eau Claire, WI either.  But while I was trying to organize artists into doing something there together, we abruptly moved back to San Antonio, Texas.  And magically, we ended up renting at Blue Star Arts Complex, which has a monthly open studio event.

I was very excited about the possibility of opening up my space every month and showing off my art .  And then reality set in that I couldn't possibly have enough new pieces every month to keep the space interesting.  So, I decided to share the space with other fiber artists.  That way I could participate and have different art to exhibit.

To be a business or not to be a business, that was the question.  What allowed me to open the doors is choosing the latter option.  I just didn't have the energy to do everything that making Fiber Artspace a business required to be successful.  I'm not sure that I even had the belief that it could be a self-sustaining entity.  I saw the potential that it could easily take away my time and energy from my own art and unconsciously, the little bit of business energy that I did have, I wanted to keep for my own fledging artist business.

So, as a space-sharing operation, I have limited hours and I don't accept credit cards.  The artists front the expense for postcards, any other marketing , and refreshments.  That took a lot of pressure of me and my limited cash flow, aka allowance.  So, far, all of the artists that have exhibited here, have been very grateful for this opportunity and arrangement.

What do I get from all of this?  I get to meet a lot of artists!  I get to share something that I feel strongly about with my community.  I get to be inspired by fabulous works that are on my wall most of the month.  I have considered it one of my major learning vehicles in my eclectic art education.  And I have sold two of my own pieces in this space and another indirectly as a result of this space.

What does it cost me to run the space?  It takes 3-4 hours to get ready for the opening which includes decluttering, cleaning, moving furniture around, and making labels.  It takes about 2 hours to hang a show.  There's probably 4 hours a month of graphic arts, marketing, and website updating.   I've paid for the hanging hardware (since I have a no-nail policy) and the website from my own funds.  

So far, this seems like a pretty good deal for me and I am very grateful for Fiber Artspace.  It has been an integral part of creating an Artful Life.