The focus of the entire week was getting ready for the Open
Studios Tour. This is the first
year for the event and I wanted everything to go well. Jim and I spent a good chunk of time on
the garden, which meant weeding and mulching along the pathway to the front
door. We had lots of nice
perennials in bloom, including lilies, bear’s breeches, penstemon, foxglove and
astilbe. We even slipped in some
annuals this year for a little more color, which was a nice touch. Jim has been out watering and applying
spray to keep the deer away, at least until after the show. I love it when a plan comes
together!
Of course when you invite all of Southern Indiana into your
house you have to do a little cleaning.
Upon a close inspection, I saw the years of handprints the boys invested
on the walls. That took a good
morning of scrubbing alone. I
moved the table and our big plants from the dining room into the living room to
create space for art. I set up my
display walls all around the room and hung up all the weavings I had and a good
number of my Discardia Re-shirts.
When a visitor came to the doorway, my son Tommie greeted them, asked
them to fill out a brief survey, and showed them the layout of the house open
for the tour. Guests passed from
the dining room to the kitchen, where free cookies and lemonade were set
out. They had to pass the T-shirt
station, with my “Bike the B-Line” T-shirts and the boy’s new art creations
they call T-bands.
They are made
from discarded T-shirts, torn into strips and incorporated into macramé
bracelets. They had some very cool
color combinations and the pieces sold very well. It turns out that Jacob has a real talent for sales. This is good, because he’s saving money
to buy an iPod Touch. After this
weekend he’s well on his way. I’m
proud of his ability to work and save for things he wants to buy. Anyway, once they got past the kitchen
guests came down to my art studio to see a few pieces in progress.
The weekend itself was a huge success. We had 173 people visit our house, and
I had some absolutely delightful conversations. There were a lot of people who have seen my work or followed
my career and wanted to see the studio and find out how I create the
pieces. I was surprised to meet so
many people who weren’t the usual that comes to art fairs so I got to meet a
lot of new people. I think
everyone was amazed at my highly organized collection of yarns, felt, fabric,
fossils and other found objects in big storage binds downstairs. I need materials in a broad range of
colors so my storage needs get pretty complicated. Looking back, I was delighted to be able to share my
workspace, pieces in progress and strategies for making art with everyone who came.
Of course art creation never takes a rest. I moved the big commission piece
forward, creating some more of the leaf clumps I’ll need for the canopy. I attached the last tree on to the
path, so I can tell the project is coming to a close. It always seems that as one project finishes another lands
on my plate. This week I met with
two patrons who want to commission a large piece that features a pathway
through a forest, but this time in a landscape format. It took a lot of planning to re-design
the layout. The focus is usually
on the trees, but because it’s a horizontal piece the focus shifts to the
path. It’s interesting how
changing the layout of the piece re-orients the focal point and feel of the
piece. The piece started with some
sketches I did on the beaches of North Carolina and will come to fruition after
the art fairs of the summer.
And one last bit of family news—Jim and Tommie went to Lake
Monroe on Memorial Day Monday and came back with a bucket full of big
bluegills. We had a delightful
fish fry on Tuesday. As if I
didn’t get enough good food last week on vacation, Jim also made me a rhubarb
pie this week, which lasted until Sunday morning. Life is good!
Until next week…
Martina Celerin
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