Sooke Fine Arts Show 2013

What fun it was to go to the Artists Reception at the Sooke Fine Arts Show last night and discover my piece on display amongst all the other beautiful pieces of art in the show.   When I go to an art show in which a piece of mine is showing, I am rather like Nancy Drew on a mission (grin) wondering in which niche I will find it on display.  What a thrill it is to turn a corner and voila... there it is!  Last night was no exception.

My hip operation was cancelled at the last minute (it is re-scheduled towards the end of August) so I was able to attend the show.  It was made even more special knowing that my  piece had already sold.  

That was the message on the answering machine that greeted me when hubby and I got home from a last minute trip to Seattle to see the Chihuly Gardens of Glass which I have been wanting to see for quite some time now and still get back in time for the show.  

Preview night (the night before the art show officially opens) attracts gallery owners and art lovers who pay a premium to get into the show beforehand to browse and purchase art they are attracted to.  It's quite a thrill to have a piece sell on preview night.

As promised a couple of weeks ago, here is a photo of the polymer clay shoe I entered.  The name of the piece is "Malona Flanick" and yes, it's a pun on a rather famous Spanish shoe designers name... the shoe designer reputed to have created "toe cleavage" in the women's fashion shoe industry.  If you ever watched "Sex in the City" when it was on T.V.... you'll have a good little chuckle as you make the connection!

When you first see the fruit on the "flan" part of the shoe, it looks very real... almost good enough to just pick one of the mouth watering berries off and pop it in your mouth!  What fun I had making that shoe.  Having it turn out exactly the way I had envisioned it right down to the colour of the "custard" on the "crust" and the "blue-black" of the blueberries and blackberries was a real bonus.

Thanks for stopping by for peek.  If you live in the Victoria area, make a point of going to this year's show... it's on until August 5th.  This year's show is even better than last year's... and I thought that one was hard to beat!

Have an arty week...

Cheers,
Sharon

A Cause for Celebration...

It's been a couple weeks of pleasant surprises...

I was thrilled and excited to find out last week that my entry into the Sooke Fine Arts Festival at the end of July was accepted!!  I do promise to post a photo of my entry once the show starts.  Hint, hint, it's another whimsical piece that will generate a few smiles along the way.

Creating whimsy just seems to work for me.  Over the years I have come to realize  that when I am having an absolute blast creating something that just delights me to pieces and makes me laugh during the process, it will likely make the cut if I enter it into a show.  It's a handy barometer that saves me a lot of entry fees that's for sure!!

Unfortunately I am probably not going to be able to go to the show itself because...

My name came up on the surgery list about two months earlier than expected and I will be going in the hospital at mid month for hip replacement surgery.  Can't come soon enough for me!!  Once they fixed my foot a couple of years ago and I learnt how to walk properly again, I started having major problems with the hip on that side.  The last six months have been pure *hell* trying to walk so a "new hip" can't come soon enough for me.  This is a good thing!

But that's not all...my art room mascot, Susie Q, told me there were some more pleasant surprises in store for me.  So who is Susie Q?  Well allow me to introduce you to her.

She is a paper doll that I drew (modeling it after a 1930's cartoon character) and she wears polymer clay runners on her feet so she can stand alone and hop about when the mood strikes her!  She likes to hang out in my art room watching me work but enjoys a wander through the "teapot garden" in the little side garden next to our house on a sunny day too.

You see, recently I sold one of my domain names that I had had for a number of years.  It was interesting looking at the stats before it sold.  Susie Q hinted over tea one day that perhaps it would be interesting for me to find out what kind of traffic this blog has had over the time it has been hanging out in cyberspace too. 

Personally, I don't really pay very much attention to that side of blogging... I just do it...and let people know when I have a new post.  So imagine how far my jaw dropped when I discovered that well over 150,000 folks have stopped by for a visit since I started the blog.  This post, once published,  will be number 191!! WOW!  I was blown away. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine statistics like that when I started down this "blog" path.

So allow me to say thank you so much for taking the time to stop by and your continued support of this blog over the years.  I am truly grateful for all the lovely emails and comments I have received from you and the "friends" I have made through blogging.  I truly appreciate each and every one of you.

Now It's been awhile since I have put together a give-a-way as a thank you.  I hope you understand that right now I just have too much to do getting me, the house and hubby ready to get through the operation and the next couple months of healing.  However, I promise I will do something special once I am back on my feet again (literally... LOL).  Will give me something to think about while I am recuperating! 

So until we meet again in cyberspace, I wish you a wonderful couple of "artful" weeks over the summer,

Sharon

***UPDATE*** Sooke Fine Arts Show 2010

What a thrill it was to go to the Artist's Reception evening at the Sooke Fine Arts Show.  Great jazz, tasty tidbits and smooth wine!  It was a packed house and I am betting there were close to 500 people there.  Each artist gets two tickets and there are comps given out to sponsors, dignitaries and so on who want to attend.  It's a fun evening all around as you bump into other artist friends or folks you know.

The judges did an exceptionally fine job of selecting the art for this year's show!  The show is terrific. There is some gorgeous art to be seen and anyone living on Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands, in Vancouver,  or Port Angeles, Port Townsend, the San Juans or Seattle in the U.S.  who loves art and can make it to the show should not miss it.  You won't be disappointed.  It is definitely the premier annual art show on Vancouver Island and in British Columbia.

An Interesting Side Note  

One of the announcements made during the award ceremonies was that there were over 1400 pieces submitted for adjudication and 358 actually made the show...more than they had originally planned for but the art was so good this year that they made room for some more pieces.  WOW what an honour it is to be among those that had a piece accepted.

Mission Accomplished

When hubby and I arrived at the show, the first person we saw as we walked through the door was a storytelling friend (and artist) of ours who volunteers at the show each year.  This year, Mary was on the "set up" committee... helping to place all the art. 

We stopped to chat for a moment. "I think you are going to be very pleased to see where "If Pigs Could Fly" is placed.  It's a premier spot for some premier art." she said with a big smile. "Everyone on the set up committee think your piece is just wonderful.  Everytime they passed it as we were setting up and hanging up the art, they would either laugh or get a big smile on their face looking at it.  There is just so much to see and discover in that piece.  It is certainly a hit with us."

Hmmm...imagine how it made me feel to hear that what I wanted to have happen (bring a smile to folk's faces or give them a good laugh) happen!  Mission accomplished. I was pumped.  I'm sure I had a big FAT, silly grin plastered from one ear to the other on my face.

A *FABULOUSLY FUN & DELIGHTFUL* Surprise


Following the award ceremony,  off we went to admire all the art.  Hubby and I were wandering around like two little kids in a candy store.  Hard to know where to look first... it is all so deliciously tempting!  We took our time as we wandered through but in the background of our minds there was this niggling "wonder" of when we would discover my piece!

When I have a piece in an art show, I love to discover where it is placed by chance! Don't look it up in the Art Show guide. Don't tell me where it is. Let me find it on my own. It just adds to the excitement and pleasure of the event for me.

I rounded a corner.  There he was, sitting ever so sweetly on a podium in an alcove just like I had imagined it in my mind.  Mary was right... it was great placement!  When I saw him, I chuckled... it was perfect!  Above him, on the wall, was a wonderful acrylic painting of a pig and chicken in a barnyard.

Then I saw it...

THE RED DOT NEXT TO MY NAME!

the red dot that signifies that the piece is SOLD.  I blinked and looked again.  Sure enough, it was STILL THERE. My heart took a leap and burst into joy... such a special moment. 

I turned around and tugged at hubby's sleeve.  "Look there's the pig."  He turned to look and within seconds saw the red dot.  "Oh sweetheart, it's been sold.  Good for you.  I am so proud of you.  Wow! High 5 honeybun" (Whatcha think?  Is he one of my most ardent supporters or what?  Grin)  We both broke into a (subtle but fun) happy dance on the spot.

A Special Moment

What made this moment even more special is that we quickly realized it had been sold on the Purchasers Preview Night... the Thursday evening before the show officially opens.  This is the evening that gallery owners, many sponsors of the show, special guests and art collectors who want first shot at purchasing the art in the show attend.  WOW!  I was bouncing with joy juice for the rest of the evening.  What a high...

Before we left, we took a quick look at the gift store... such pretty jewelry, small paintings, glicees and cards... I could have spent a fortune in there.  I was pleased to see how my jewelry that I have for sale there was displayed... nice placement again.

As we headed for the door, hubby drew my attention to the large sale board. 

"I just counted how many sales they've had already", he said. "It's over 100 and the show hasn't opened to the general public yet." he added. "That's pretty impressive.  A lot of the pieces in the show are competitively priced but they are certainly a long way from "bargains". It says something about the quality of the art and the so called recession. People are buying. What recession???"  It's an interesting point to ponder!
I don't know who purchased "If Pigs Could Fly" yet but it is usual practice for the show coordinator to let you know at the end of the show who bought your art.  I like that because I think every artist should be able to send the purchaser a personal thank you note if they choose to.  I generally do and, as often is the case with my art, I also include the "background story" or what inspired me to create this particular piece of art in the form of artist notes. 

The "Artist Notes"
I recently read an article that said people who buy art often like to be able to say to their friends or customers, "Well, the artist of this piece told me..or... the story behind this piece is...." and relate any informational tidbits from the artist that is behind the piece.  So I guess I am on the right track when someone purchases one of my art pieces.  Interested in reading the Artist Notes I wrote?  Just click here.

So once again, may I say a warm thank you to all of you who left such wonderful comments or sent me encouraging emails expressing your best wishes for the piece in the show!  It was just so lovely to receive them and it made me feel very special coming from you... my loyal blog visitors and followers.  Thank you so much!!!

Hope you all have a terrific weekend... and "Happy Heritage Days" to my fellow Canadians this coming Monday.... (a "bank holiday" in Canada on the first Monday in August to celebrate each province's heritage).

See you next week...

Sharon

P.S.  I was going to wait until the end of the week to tell you all this... but I decided not to wait.  Terrific news needs to be shared!!

An Exciting Secret Revealed...

I have been keeping a secret for over a year! WHEW ... how tough is that... especially when it is exciting news that you just want to share with the whole wide world. Well I am about to let the cat out of the bag and tell you...

This week, the book "Jewelry Beyond Time" by Cynthia Powell, Stephanie Chavez and Sherre Hulbert, filled with "eye candy" jewelry and how to instructions was published. Two of the jewelry pieces I designed and submitted (with fingers crossed that they would be accepted) to be included are in it! WOW! Now isn't that exciting news? I am just thrilled to bits.

If you love making jewelry (or even just enjoy looking at it)... this is a book you absolutely must have on your bookshelf. It is crammed full of exciting projects by the authors and nine (including me) contributing designers. Just take a look at the book cover to get a glimpse of some of the trendiest jewelry around that you could make for yourself and as Christmas gifts for your nearest and dearest female relatives and friends...

And it gets even better...

Available at Amazon (and eligible for free shipping) and Createspace.com, the authors want to celebrate the publication of the book by giving you a $5.00 discount if you order it through Createspace.com. Just enter the code 95PJX7CX at checkout to receive the discount. This is a limited time offer, so act quickly.

And here's a bonus! I checked with the authors about posting some photos I took when I submitted both pieces to see if it was okay to go ahead and show you my projects that are in the book They said, "Sure. Go ahead". So here they are:

This first piece is a very contemporary necklace that I designed in my favourite colours. It looks absolutely fabulous on. Those little "side" charms lay wonderfully when it's around your neck and really gives this piece of jewelry a very different and trendy look. The large "focal" piece is an antiqued silver piece I have had for well over 30 years that was just waiting for a project... some day! Don't have something like this kicking around in your stash? Don't worry... it could be easily copied using metal clay or something similar! You could also recycle something that currently doesn't float your boat or come up with something entirely new and unique!

This next piece was a lot of fun! If you like oriental type jewelry, this is for you!

I love geishas and always wanted an "oriental type" necklace that incorporated a geisha in the design. This design and how to do it came to me one morning when I was doing water aerobics.

Now people chuckle when they hear me say that I get my best ideas in the pool! But the fact is, when you've been doing water aerobics for as long as I have, you know the drill and quite honestly, it's downright boring! So instead of focusing on the fact that I am bored to tears for an hour, I think about art and dream up projects while I am going through the motions. It's amazing how quickly the hour goes by and very often I can hardly wait to get home to start on something I have just dreamed up!

As many of you know, I love to sew and this summer I finally found the perfect material (with kanji lettering on it) for an outfit I have designed and want to make once summer is over (I only sew in the fall, winter and spring... I like being outside as much as I can be in the summer.) This necklace will look absolutely smashing with it! Oh gosh, so many projects dancing around in my head, so little time to get them all done! I'm sure some of you can relate (GRIN).

This necklace incorporates a faux scrimshaw technique that I came up with for dominoes (yep, in the pool and the how to instructions are in the book) and includes beads that I made and dipped in UTEE. The beads actually come out looking like old, antiqued glass beads when you're done. You can use reinforced washi paper with kanji characters to make them or do what I did... make your own paper (you can find out how in the book)!



So, I hope you enjoyed this little "show and tell" and that it has inspired you to order the book today and see all of the other wonderful projects you can get started on before the end of the month. The hardest part will probably be deciding which one to do first!

See you next week. Thanks for stopping by and sharing in my exciting news!

Sharon