Celebrating Mission Trail, c2011

I learned the necessity of outsourcing in my business when I created the three 5′ x 5′ quilts for the Baptist Mission Trail Hospital last year.  I was very fortunate to have met Martha Tsihlas, owner of Del Sol Quilts, who was up for the challenge of helping me finish these 3 large quilts in a very tight timeline.  I’m happy to report that Martha was contracted by another art quilter after our experience of working together.

Quilting large pieces is very challenging for me with my equipment and yet I love large scale pieces.  One of the choices that I have made as an artist is to get assistance when it makes sense.  As an artist and small business-owner, there is never enough time in the day to do everything that I want to do.

I can imagine a day when I have a studio assistant, but I’m not there yet.  So, in the meantime, I look for outsourcing opportunities.

Inner Frames

Inner frame produced by River City Moulding

One local vendor that I have used to make inner frames for me is River City Moulding.  While I have the equipment to make my own inner frames, it is a viable choice to have them make them to my precise measurement.  I don’t have to stock wood — getting help hauling 100′ feet bundles up to my third floor studio or finding the unusable spots that are warped and knotted.

Long-Arm Quilting

Night, Night; Love, Love c2012

I have started to work with Danielle Murr Wilkes, owner of Nacho Mama’s Quilts.  I think it   is challenging for a long-arm quilter to work with an art quilter (or at least this one!) because we have very specific designs that we want executed.  But I think building this type of relationship is very valuable as I will be able to say yes to more opportunities.

I’ve had people ask me why I just don’t buy a long-arm.  I have thought about it and at this point in my development, it doesn’t seem to make sense.  First, they are very expensive pieces of equipment.  Second, the action of long-arm quilting is very different than the type of walking-foot quilting that I do.  I love how it feels to quilt the way I do it.  Not so much on the long-arm, which I have used on a couple of occasions.  Third, the learning curve is pretty steep.  It takes a pretty long time to work out the threads and tensions, not to mention the hand-eye coordination of a very different quilting action.  Right now, it feels like I should do what I do best and hire someone to do what they do best.

Danielle helped me to quilt Night, Night; Love, Love which was recently juried into Rituals, a special exhibition at the Long Beach and Houston Quilt Festivals, curated by Dinner at Eight artists, Leslie Tucker Jenison and Jamie Fingal.

Plexiglas Hanging Devices

Over the past couple of years, the folks at Plastic Supply of San Antonio have gotten to know me pretty well.

They fabricate the hanging devices for “flat” quilts that I have hang away from the wall.  Celebrating Mission Trail is hung on a plexiglass hanging system, as well as My Buddha Baby and Three Waters.

I’ve also had them create studio tools that I use to square quilts and other templates.

Fabric Design

The next area of outsourcing that I see is possible is designing fabric on the computer and having it printed at Spoonflower.  I recently tried to dye paint an idea that required more precision than I was able to obtain with my dye painting technique.  I haven’t used Spoonflower in a couple of years, but was researching a project for a client, and saw that they also use the silk/cotton blend that I’m so fond of.    So, for those ideas where getting a straight line matters, I’m definitely going to check them out again.

I think this is the only piece that I’ve done that isn’t an art quilt.  I would call it a contemporary quilt, as it uses a traditional pattern, but with contemporary fabrics and style.

The pattern came from a book and I had fun making it while on a quilt retreat in Duluth, MN 5 years ago.  It is the only retreat that I’ve been on and I would like to do it again.  I find it hard to be creative when working around other people, but I’m pretty sure that I could make a bed quilt top in a retreat environment–and have fun doing it!

It is called Trust because while I stitched it together, I was holding the intention to have trust with my husband again.  No, he hadn’t cheated on me or anything like that.  But we had some trust issues and it doesn’t feel good to not trust your partner.  I didn’t know what else to do, so I did this.

This was the piece that made me know that my small Bernina was not going to be my forever quilting machine.  Far better than my Kenmore, but the hole was too small.  I wasn’t able to do more complex quilting on this piece because it was too hard to control as I  struggled to get the bulk through the hole.  So, I settled on straight lines and was SO glad to finish.  Quilting this was not fun.

I also have to give a big thanks to my friend Anna Van Demark.  As an award-winning quilter, she got me through the border on this piece.  She was very patient, telling me every step, every single time, as I put it together.  Non of it stuck.

But for what it is, I am happy with the results.  Chuck really likes the sentiment of this piece, but it really doesn’t go with our furnishings.  So, I have permission to sell it.  I really don’t know how to price a piece like this, so I’m saying $100 and will see what happens.  It has a sleeve, but would also make a nice baby blanket.

Trust is now included with my other Ramp Sale items.

I still have many lovely pieces that are stored on my ramp because they don’t really fit with my recent work, and are therefore hard to market.  And anyone who knows me knows how I hate to store things indefinitely….

So, if you were eyeing that political t-shirt quilt that I made in 2008, now is the time to jump on it!  At 75% (or in this case any reasonable offer) it is a bargain not to be passed up! There are also two pieces that I collaborated with Marcia Dahlman not to be missed.

And if you think that I raised my prices before this sale, you are absolutely right.  I made visible the sales tax that I always charge.  You can read about the pricing structure change here.

That’s about it.  Happy Shopping.  Sale ends May 15, 2012.

The biggest reason for the change is that sometimes my work is shown in informal venues with artists that don’t charge sales tax.  And it has been awkward to be different.  The second reason is that people are sometimes unpleasantly surprised when I add it.

So, from now on when I sell my work directly, the price my customer pays, will be the price on the wall.  And if I sell through a legitimate gallery, I will back out the sales tax to allow them to collect it.   The same thing for pieces that are shipped out-of-state.

I would love to hear your comments on this plan.

Night, Night; Love, Love c2012 24″ x 60″

This piece was recently juried into Rituals, an exhibit that is curated by Leslie Tucker Jenison and Jamie Fingal.  It will open at the Quilt Festival in Long Beach, California and travel to Quilt Market and Festival in Houston, TX.  A special thanks to the sponsors for this exhibit:  Moore’s Sewing Centers and Havel’s Sewing.

The invited artists were asked to create an art quilt that reflected a ritual in our lives.  I don’t really have a lot of rituals and it took me time to come up with an idea that I thought would work for this theme and that I could express in my abstract style.

But one ritual that I have experienced nearly everyday of my married life, is being tucked in at night by my husband.  Normally, Chuck stays up later than I do, and so he affectionately tucks me in when I go to bed.  I remember one time, when we had a guest and Chuck and he were talking up a storm, I interrupted them long enough to get tucked in.  It was nice to know that even in that circumstance, these few minutes were valued and treasured by my husband.

I posted this piece next to an office chair, so that you could get a sense of the scale.  I don’t know why it is so hard for me to work big, but I really like the scale of this piece and am grateful for the opportunity to work outside of my comfort zone.

You can find out more information about this exhibition and by visiting the Dinners at Eight Artists Blog.

One:  After finishing up my Mastery Program with Jane Dunnewold, I felt an urgent need to follow-up with my leads on the adventure-planning and an urgent need to start cranking out some artwork.  It felt that after the response level to what I have sent out, it was going to be necessary for me to spend more time than I originally anticipated to get enough classes set and filled.  I really didn’t have a good gauge, since I’ve never done anything like this before, except my optimistic (sometimes overly-optimistic) outlook.

It felt like I had to make a choice between marketing for teaching or making artwork.  I chose artwork.

Two:  A couple of weeks ago, some personal stuff came up in my marriage that I’m actively working on with my husband.  It feels like our relationship, in this moment, is a little more fragile than normal.  And it is hard to work on stuff, when you aren’t together.  I chose my marriage.

I’m hoping in the near future, I will have a deeper understanding of how I could have SO much energy for an idea–where there is no doubt that I should try it–and have it shift.  Right now, it feels like my inner guidance system doesn’t have a long-range gauge.

My sincerest thanks to my friends, Stephanie Forsyth, Karen Turckes, and Angela Maroun, who had scheduled classes with me, and for everyone who has given me leads and encouragement.

Over the last several years, I’ve been very focused on one thing–making art.  But never out of sight was making money.  And really not wanting to get a real job.   I really didn’t want my old life back–one in which I felt like a meaningless cog in corporate machinery.  The one that I didn’t have time to explore me.  And the one that left me tired and drained.

Somehow I found the sense to stop resisting what I don’t want and figure out what I do want.  What is so fantastic about life as an artist, anyway?  I love being creative and I love problem-solving.  I love meeting with people and I love running a micro-business.  But what I love the most is being autonomous.

I’m sure I could come up with many pathways that include all the stuff that I do love.  But in the moment, back in December, I focused on the Odd Job business.  I have a lot of skills and talents and I thought that would be the quickest way to earn a little extra money.  And I did.  I loved the variety of jobs that showed up.  I cleaned house.  I did graphic design.  I problem-solved a toy prototype (that involved sewing.)  I did internet research.

From the moment that I stopped running, in fear, of what I don’t want and running towards, what I do want.  My situation has improved dramatically.  More faucets–more flow.  It feels wonderful to use all of me.  I’m still focused on my art and there is definitely room for a few additional faucets.

Public speaking has been one of the funnest faucets.  Another faucet is teaching.  I have learned that I’m a good teacher….and that I like teaching….and I know stuff that people want to learn!

Helping artists grow is the underlying value that gets expressed with teaching and coaching.  Yes,  I have started coaching again!  That was a surprising faucet that turned on again recently.

It is funny how everything circles around.  How everything along our path serves some purpose.  And how creatively, wonderful life is.

As the deadline approached, I found myself noticing that I wasn’t really that excited about filling out the proposal.  My brain really did like the idea.  As she said, I would be able to reach a lot more people with this class.  But my body was saying, “Nahhhh.”  I honestly don’t know why my body doesn’t like the idea.  But when I have found myself in similar circumstances, I end up with major obligation energy.  And I really hate that, so, I allowed the deadline to lapse.

While I was closing my eyes in a reclining position to ponder what to do or figure out why this wasn’t a good idea, I came up with an idea to take my class on the road.  Boy, I sure felt energized about this idea.  I immediately called a friend in Minneapolis who has a fabulous studio to teach in.  She gave me the thumbs up.

In a whirlwind, I figured out a fun way to get out of Texas in the hottest two months–July and August–while teaching this class and other classes if people want them.  There was a night and day difference in my energy level.  I will be driving up in my orange Element that will contain my teaching tools, artwork, and of course, my orange bike.

I am putting together a string of sponsors–people that will host me and/or a class.  As I get dates nailed down they will be added to the schedule.  If you have any requests, please let me know what your ideas are.  I put together the menu around the “main course” of The Craft of Stretching an Art Quilt class, but really am open to possibilities.  That is where the adventure quality comes in, I think.

If this summer goes well, I think next summer I could plan a trip north and west!

This event, which has been discussed between us for a long time, is an opportunity for me, too.  It is funny how things work, but my creativity towards making money has increased dramatically since this decision was made.  Odd jobs of December and January have turned into teaching classes and stretching art quilts for other artists.

Rooting, 18.5" x 19.5" x 2", c2012

Today, I also became the first significant fiber art purchase for a new collector.  She felt great in the role of patron and I felt great in the role of artist.  She has been following my works-in-progress and finished pieces on the Collector Newsletter that I set up for this very purpose.  It allowed her to know when this newest piece, Rooting, was available.

She recognized the special qualities of this piece, as I did when creating it.  This piece is about growth and expanded possibilities, when you stay put long enough in one place to grow a few roots.  (2 years in the same apartment and going strong!–says the nomad.)  It is a flowing, intuitive piece, but I also introduced a grid because that left-brain is also part of the equation for me.   Making decisions intuitively and using my brain to implement them.

I really, really love this piece.  I asked myself how can I so easily let it go?  And the answer that I got was that I love my lifestyle even more.  The energy has to flow through me.  It feels that figuring out which pieces were too precious to sell would be a block to the flow of energy.  I’m grateful that this piece is going to someone who will really enjoy it.

I’m announcing another class–Business Basics for Artists.  My background is extremely diverse with many (too many) years of corporate accounting experience and life coaching (just the right amount) experience.  I’ve used both of these valuable skills to develop my own business.

Business Basics for Artists is a class that is meant to give artists peace of mind by giving them the information that they need to run an organized, legitimate business.

The systems that I have developed for myself are on the side of the least amount of work to give me the information that I need when I need it.  With my background, it would have been easy to create complex systems.  That was my favorite thing to do in my old life.  But I enjoy having time to make art!  So, I have consciously made choices to keep my business as simple as possible.

I’m offering this class in San Antonio on March 17.  But if I hear some interest from the folks in Austin, I have a teaching facility and can set something up, so please let me know.