Upcoming Submission Info

It's helpful for me to see all upcoming submission deadlines in one place so I thought I'd post them here and share them with you all too.

First up Greencraft Magazine is calling for any repurposed, recycled, or upcycled art to publish in the second issue of this new magazine. This is a Stampington publication and I really liked the job they did with the premier issue. Rather than follow their usual format of writer submitted articles, you submit your work and the article proposal but they seem to do the writing. So it makes for a nice cohesive read. Plus I love the ingenuity of the "green" artists and the quality of art seems really fabulous for a initial publication. Deadline: Sept. 15th, '09

Art Quilting Quarterly is another new publication that looks really promising. I would love to get some work into this. They do have some reader challenges listed for their next publication that look really fun. There is a challenge to create a quilt block using as your inspiration something in your car. It could be old gym shoes, or the dash, whatever. Another really inspiring idea is to create a work using the Johnny Cash song, Walk the Line. I'm thinking that could be pictoral or abstract.... Finally, the last challenge that I thought was really interesting would be to create a quilted triptych. It's a format that has always fascinated me and I think it would be lots of fun to design "outside the box". Just figuring out a creative way of linking them would be way too artistically entertaining. Ok now that you know what a challenge geek I am.... you should try it too! Deadline for all three of these challenges is: Oct. 15th, '09

Next of interest, Somerset Life has a challenge calling for creative uses of chicken wire. After getting creative with that medium for the May Day Cone I conjured up for the book I decided this would be a fun challenge to do. The suggestion in the challenge is for artists to feel inspired by an artist in their last publication that wrapped chicken wire around mason jars for a chic vase. That sounds sooo shabby chic and I need to get a look at that. Deadline: Nov. 15th, '09

New to the News stands in April of 2010 is Prims: The Art of Primitive Elegance. Stampington describes the artwork that they envision for this new publication as "art that will capture the imagination and enchant with it's simple beauty- be it through dolls, jewelry, painting, mixed media works, teddy bears, or illustrations." They also emphasize that this will be a collection of handcrafted artistry. I love the idea of this publication. In my work I try to really almost exaggerate the handcrafted feel of my stitching and wire bending. When I get it too perfect it ends up losing a lot of it's character and resembles too closely the mass produced art and decor we see everywhere. The soul of the art seems to reside in it's imperfections. Through these the hand of the artist is visible and contrasts favorably with that which is done by machine. In my opinion. :) Deadline: Nov. 15th, '09

There are also two other new publications that you might be interested in. Jewelry Affaire is described as featuring jewelry that is simple with an understated elegance. They are requesting submissions that are easy to understand and create but that radiate elegance. To view this Call you can click here. The second is All Things String. It is calling for art submissions that use string innovatively. Wool, strips of t-shirts, thin white yarn, hemp string, as long as it's string they want to see what you can do with it. I love the idea behind this magazine as well. You can knot, stitch, weave, knit, crochet, loop, pin, or braid it into jewelry, rugs, wall art, and furniture. Whatever you can imagine and create. Sounds like soooo much fun!!! The deadlines for these are Nov. 15th, and Dec. 1st respectively.

These are Stampington publications, and to see the full write ups of the calls please click here. I've also looked at the Cloth Paper Scissors readers challenges and you can see those here as well.

So take a look and if any of these get your creative juices flowing- give'em a shot!! If nothing else you've an amazing challenge to inspire you to create some amazing new art. What's not to love about that?

PUBLISHED!!!! Sew Somerset June '09 issue!!!

Yay! Last night I found the newest Sew Somerset in my mailbox!!! It's technically been out all day and it's been killing me to wait for my free copy. I wanted to run right over to my nearest B&N and pick it up!! Funny, I've been waiting for so long and then almost lost it at the end! What a great issue though. I love some of the more colorful pieces-especially the cover piece! It's just beautiful! The quality of work in there has been getting better with each issue I believe and this one might be the best yet. You might not want to rush out and get it like I almost did but you will want to look it over if you've an interest in art quilting, fabric, or some unique mixed media.

I have three mini art quilts that were accepted along with a little how-to article. I would have loved to go on about them a little more than I did but they give you a word count you have to stick to. Like the "dream" piece that I told you the background to a couple of weeks ago I think I'll do a couple of posts in the next few weeks explaining some more of the background and inspiration involved in the other two pieces. WHoo hoo!!! It feels very very good to see my work published again!!

Mini Art Quilts: Whoo- Hoo!

Yesterday I received notification that one of my two articles that had been accepted for the June issue of Sew Somerset was moved to the Aug. issue of Somerset Home instead. Very cool because now I'll have a whole new subscriber list seeing my work and I'll get another free issue! Ok, so I could probably drop the $14 dollars if I needed to but it's still kind of cool. :)

I actually got to see a proof of the Sew Somerset article yesterday as well. This will be the second time I've had an article published and it is still such a huge thrill. Maybe there are artists out there that can go on creating with absolutely no validation that their work is meaningful or interesting to someone other than themselves- but I am definitely NOT one of them. I love all your comments, especially the ones that are constructive. They really help me to thrive and grow in my work. Before I started on Etsy I was really reluctant to show my work to anyone. In fact, the few people I did show were pretty ho-hum in their reaction to my wire work. They loved my paintings, my drawing, but the fabric and wire thing just wasn't doing it for them. But here's where obsession can be a positive thing- I didn't care. I loved what I was doing so much that I just kept on doing it. Finally filling the entire house with my work- which then led me to Etsy (I had to clear the house out somehow). :) I don't know if I could have kept on as long as I have though without someone else saying they liked it too. Fortunately, the Etsy community of buyers and sellers have been incredibly supportive. They let me know that THEY liked it too and that has really kept me motivated to continue on creating and innovating. That and my husband has been incredibly supportive this entire time- totally important!

So thank you! And as a sneak preview and to kind of celebrate I thought I would post one of the mini art quilts that will be featured in the June issue. "dream" was created as a collaboration with my four year old son. I sectioned the piece off into 4 boxes and cut out a bird for the first section. Then I asked Jasper what should go in the others. And of course what he says goes.... And that is how this quilt was designed. After the major images were in place I was looking for a way to embellish the quilt. It seemed to need just a little more "something" to make it complete. So rummaging around in my bag I found a wire "dream" I had created for an ornament that was just perfect! I added the tweedle dee dee at the top because Jasper had been watching The Backyardigan's Tale of the Mighty Knights a lot and the "tweedle dee dee" of the flying fairy song was constantly running through the back of my mind. My own little soundtrack for this piece.

So those are a few of the little "behind the scenes" details of the construction of this quilt. I hope you enjoy it!

Tutorial: My Catch -All

Artists' Journaling is a new publication by Stampington that has just appeared on the magazine rack at my local B&N. I was glancing through it and thinking how beautiful these journals were as works of art. But completely impractical as a working sketchbook. My sketchbook has always been utilitarian. I think of it as my catch-all because I need it as a place to store my ideas until I'm ready for them. There are times when ideas have been flitting through my head all day and if I don't collect them they are there buzzing loudly all night as well. For the last two months I have been without my sketchbook and have really found it frustrating. SO today I decided to bite the bullet and purchase one. I had ideas about a lovely hardcover bound beauty but frugality stepped in and I opted for the cheap paper covered model. Still I wanted something a little more sturdy so once home I altered it a wee bit.




First I glued a piece of fabric to the front cover. Then I tore the cover off of a musty old book and using gel medium glued that on top of the cover.




On top of that I added a couple more pieces of fabric, a ribbon, and a fabric cut out of a butterfly. I wish before I glued these down I had added some stitching- but I was in the groove and wanted to just go for it. Alas.




Then, to reinforce the cover I punched holes in all the corners of the hardcover and added grommets.




Finally, I added some details. The "My sketchbook '09" with colored pencil, some stick on gems, and a few rub-ons. I also cut scraps of fabric and tied them to the wire binding.




Voila! Completely personalized as well as a bit more durable!