Tuesday, 6 November 2012

Bye, Bye Blogger!

In the interest of keeping things streamlined, from now on I will be posting all blog posts pertaining to the studio at my content site, www.beauty-of-batik.com

I have recently posted some new studio information that can be found here:

http://www.beauty-of-batik.com/batik-blog.html

I will be leaving this all past blog posts up, but this will be the last post and all links on this blog will link to the corresponding page information at Beauty of Batik.

Thank you for your understanding!

Monday, 20 August 2012

Announcements

I have a few things to announce, so here it goes.

First, all classes for August are cancelled. I apologize for any inconvenience.

Second, until further notice I will only be teaching private classes, both in my home in Pleasure Ridge Park or at the studio at Mellwood.  Please feel free to contact me for further information.


Third, I will not be in the studio much this next month. However, after that I plan on spending a significant amount of time there so please stop by and say hello!

Fourth, I am hoping that I will be able to attend the Garvin Gate Blues Festival and Circle Quest at Our Haven, but I am not sure about either right now. However, I will definitely still be participating in the Mellwood Arts Festival so please feel free to stop by and say Hi! 

Lots of happy things going on right now. Hopefully, I will be able to tell you about them all very soon, but for now we need to focus on our home and family. 

Thanks for your understanding.

Wednesday, 8 August 2012

October Happenings

I am still in the process of putting together the Fall class schedule so please check back to see what's going on. I plan to have a class schedule finalized by September 1st.

I will be at the Garvin Gate Blues Festival October 12th from 6:30pm-11:15pm and October 13th from 3:00pm-11:15pm.

F.A.T. Trolley Hop October 26th 6:00pm-10:00pm.

Tuesday, 7 August 2012

6 Months In Review

Well, here I am 6 months after renting my studio at the Mellwood Center. To say things have been rocky might be putting it mildly. But that's okay. I've learned many things and have had the opportunity to get the ball rolling on things that had become stagnant over the years. So, here's a review of what all I have learned and where I see things going in the future.

First, let's talk about Mellwood.  I will be forever grateful to Mellwood for finally getting me off my keister and headed in the right direction. Before I had a studio at Mellwood I had knitting and fiber art supplies stuffed in drawers and boxes and coming out of closets. Before Mellwood I hadn't even thought about taking up batik again. Now I have a place to put all of those things and arrange them into some semblance of order. I've been able to start doing the batik work that I love again. All in all, Mellwood has provided with a spring board into the future.  

Second, let's talk about artistic direction. I spent the better part of these past six months working on small crafty type things. While this has been great and has given me a chance to practice smaller things before moving on to larger things, I think it's time to really focus my direction on larger projects. I have several batiks that I am currently working on with the hope that I can actually maybe do some art shows. You can see a few of them below.



Which brings us to my third topic, the future. The future of the physical studio itself is somewhat up in the air right now. As I mentioned Mellwood has provided me with a springboard into doing the things I want to do in a space that is conducive to doing them. However, I'm not sure that it is the right fit. It's too far from home to be convenient which leads to a whole host of problems that I won't get into right now. While I would like to keep a studio in the city, in order to do so some things will have to change. I have been kicking around the idea of converting my outbuilding into a home studio. I'm also thinking of either looking for a smaller and cheaper studio at Mellwood or moving to a smaller, quieter, cheaper and less visible place somewhere else. Perhaps in the Highlands, Germantown or Smoketown. If anyone has a line on such a place please let me know.

As far as my art itself, I will be using the next 6 months while still at Mellwood to focus on large pieces that are suitable for art shows. While I know this is the direction I want to go I have to admit it's incredibly daunting. All my fancy degrees are in arts administration and business which basically puts me on the other side of the table from the artist. My internships were at museums and galleries. I have not actually been the artist in years and let me tell you, trying to break into that circle is scary as hell. Not to mention, being a horrible introvert, the thought of gallery shows makes me a little queasy. However, I think that if I can build myself a bridge and get over it that the payoff will be worth it.

So, there you have it. 6 months in review and a plan for the next 6 months. I have no idea how it's all going to play out, but in 6 months I will tell you how it all went down. In the meantime I'll keep chanting Dax Riggs' quote to myself.

"I believe in truth. And I believe in magic. And I believe that what you want yourself to be you can be if you believe it. And whatever you want to happen can happen."

September Happenings


- The Mellwood Center Arts Fair will be held on September 8-9  from 10am -6pm


-I will be vending at Circle Quest at Our Haven Nature Sanctuary on September 14 - 16


-The Mellwood Center will have it's regular F.A.T. Trolley Hop on September 28th. 

Monday, 18 June 2012

Weekly Update for 6/18-6/24

Take a peek at our classes this week!

Offerings this week are: 

Knit  III - Cables- Wednesday May 20th from 6:30pm to 8:30pm
Check out the knitting page from more information or the classes page to register.

Special Batik Workshop!  - Extra class this month! Already have a few spaces filled so contact me via email to sign up and secure your spot!
 Sunday June 24 from 2pm to 4pm
Check out the classes page for information and registration. 


Studio Hours This Week Will Be
Friday 6-9
Saturday 12-5
Sunday 12-6

Also don't forget to check out the Etsy Shop! I'm always adding new items and making updates!




You can also check out the happenings at our home at the Walnut Cottage Homestead blog.  

Monday, 28 May 2012

Weekly Update for 5/28-6/3

Gearing up for June and classes are heating up! Offerings this week are: 

Knit IV - Knitting in the Round- Wednesday May 30th from 6:30pm to 8:30pm
Check out the knitting page from more information or the classes page to register.

Kid-tik - Saturday June from 11am-12pm
Check out the classes page for information and registration. 


Studio Hours This Week Will Be
Friday 6-9
Saturday 12-5
Sunday 12-6

Also don't forget to check out the Etsy Shop! I'm always adding new items and making updates!




You can also check out the happenings at our home at the Walnut Cottage Homestead blog.