Portals #13
©2013 Lisa Call
8 x 8 inches
Fabric, paint, thread, batting
Mounted on stretched canvas
$225

Hand Painted and Stamped Fabric

Last week I shared some of the new smaller Portals textile paintings made with hand painted and stamped fabric.

I made around 40 of these textile paintings in January and February of this year as I was getting ready to exhibit at the American Craft Council show in Baltimore.

It was a fabulous fun diversion from my usual work with solid fabrics and it fit in perfectly with my Portals series, which is all about new opportunities and openings. The perfect place to explore new fabric!

Today I’m sharing the Portals pieces that measure 8×8 inch. Again, each of these small textile paintings is mounted a stretched canvas and is ready to hang either solo or they also look great in a group.

Portals #10
©2013 Lisa Call
8 x 8 inches
Fabric, paint, thread, batting
Mounted on stretched canvas
Sold

 

Portals #11
©2013 Lisa Call
8 x 8 inches
Fabric, paint, thread, batting
Mounted on stretched canvas
$225
Available at Ohio Craft Museum

 

Portals #12
©2013 Lisa Call
8 x 8 inches
Fabric, paint, thread, batting
Mounted on stretched canvas
$225
Available at Bluestone Fine Art Gallery

 

Portals #14
©2013 Lisa Call
8 x 8 inches
Fabric, paint, thread, batting
Mounted on stretched canvas
Sold

 

Portals #15
©2013 Lisa Call
8 x 8 inches
Fabric, paint, thread, batting
Mounted on stretched canvas
$225

 

Portals #16
©2013 Lisa Call
8 x 8 inches
Fabric, paint, thread, batting
Mounted on stretched canvas
$225

 

Portals #17
©2013 Lisa Call
8 x 8 inches
Fabric, paint, thread, batting
Mounted on stretched canvas
$225

 

Portals #18
©2013 Lisa Call
8 x 8 inches
Fabric, paint, thread, batting
Mounted on stretched canvas
$225
Available at QSDS 2013

 

Portals #19
©2013 Lisa Call
8 x 8 inches
Fabric, paint, thread, batting
Mounted on stretched canvas
$225

 

Portals #20
©2013 Lisa Call
8 x 8 inches
Fabric, paint, thread, batting
Mounted on stretched canvas
$225

 

Portals #21
©2013 Lisa Call
8 x 8 inches
Fabric, paint, thread, batting
Mounted on stretched canvas
$225

 

Portals #22
©2013 Lisa Call
8 x 8 inches
Fabric, paint, thread, batting
Mounted on stretched canvas
$225

 
See all 40+ collectible small textile paintings in the portals series here: Portals.

Connections Series
©2012 Carol Trice
Art Quilts
Carol’s website and blog

Moving Forward

The first session of my master class is wrapping up next month and I’ve been mighty impressed with the progress everyone in the class has been making with their artwork

They each set their own goals and have done fabulous things such as

• establishing a regular studio practice
• making a significant body of work for an exhibit
• connecting with art consultants
• learning how to photograph their art
• creating their first masterpiece
• creating a website
• being asked to send work for a solo exhibt
• understanding their goals
• smashing through limitations

It’s all been incredible to be a part of and I will miss them all when the class if over at the end of June.

I’m currently enrolling students for the next 6 month long master class so if you are ready to make an investment in your art career now is the time to act.

I’m offering easy installment payments (either 3 or 4 payments) for the class to help out with your financial planning.

Check out the bottom of the Master Class Enrollment Page for options.

 
If you’d like to explore a payment plan for one of my other online workshops such as Abstraction, Design Elements or Systems, please email me and we can work out something.

 
PS – Although the early bird discount doesn’t end until June 21 for most of these classes, I keep my class sizes small, just 10 students per class, so they often fill before the deadline. Abstractions is already 1/2 full.

 
PPS – Check out Carol’s blog post showing her completed artwork hanging in her home. Absolutely stunning!

Shoppers

Sales

Last week I shared the cost of doing the American Craft Council Show in Baltimore last February – over $11,000. So of course everyone wants to know if I sold enough to cover those expenses.

So that is the topic of today’s post – a continuation of my review of the ACC Baltimore show.

I had 8 sales over the course of the 3 day retail show totaling right around $2300. I sold 14 textile paintings.

So I just about covered my booth fee.

And for a first time show I’m pretty happy with those results.

I have no doubt next year I will sell more work because as I mentioned before it takes time to build up a following in a market.

Opportunities

In addition to the direct sales at the show, I connected with some art consultants and shops during the wholesale portion of the show.

While I didn’t get any wholesale orders (one of a kind work isn’t the easiest to wholesale), for me this part of the show was worth attending.

I believe the connections I made here will be invaluable down the road.

And for a more tangible result – my work is now available at The Store of the Contemporary Craft in Pittsburg, PA as a direct result of being at ACC.

I will also be exhibiting some work at an invitational fine craft show in the fall that came about because of ACC (more details later).

The Audience

Someone asked me the following question: “Could you speak about the age range of your audience? Did it fall into one category or was it all over the place?”

So a few observations on the collectors that bought my work at ACC:

• About 1/2 of them knew about my work prior to the ACC show.
• They were all women.
• The ages ranged from young to old – there was no 1 category.

Profit

The interesting thing to note is the large number of buyers that already knew of my work. This is a good indication that a long term commitment is necessary to build up an audience for my work.

I had a ton of people stop by my booth and admire my work and many said “I’ll buy something from you next year”. I’d been told this would happen so it was no surprise.

So I’m fine with not making a profit this year, and instead investing a lot of money into getting starting.

This is one reason why I teach – I invest the money I make teaching back into my own art career.

My belief is that I will go from losing money on this show to making money in a few years. And enough money to make it worth the effort.

I didn’t sell any of my larger pieces this year and I didn’t expect to. But I expect this will change. And that is where the balance sheet turns from red to black.

Comments from Other Artists

One of the best parts of ACC is talking with the other artists. I didn’t have help in my booth so I didn’t have time to wonder around much to talk to other people but the artists I did talk with all said about the same thing…

It was a bad year. Almost everyone’s sales were down from the previous year.

Although that is not a universal truth. One artist near me had a fabulous year and had nearly double the wholesale orders than 2012.

A non-negligible portion of the crowd worked for the government and the impact of the sequester budget cuts were unknown in late February. There was speculation that this contributed to downturn.

But like I said – I didn’t talk to that many artists so I wouldn’t take my comments as anything other than anecdotal.

Portals #9
©2013 Lisa Call
12 x 12 inches
Fabric, paint, thread, batting
Mounted on Stretched Canvas
$475

Hand Painted and Stamped Fabric

Several months back I shared an image of Portals #6 but didn’t say much about it. Mostly because I was busy writing about my crazy ACC shipping shipping story.

Time to circle back around and share the new direction I’ve taken with my Portals series.

Last summer I communicated with Lynn Krawczyk and we decided to do a small collaboration. She provided me with some of her painted fabrics and I used them in my textile paintings, which are normally made with solid, patterned fabrics.

I ended up combining her more graphic fabrics (the blue bullseyes on red and the gold circles/lines on purple are her fabrics) with my some fabrics I had hand painted and stamped over 10 years ago.

I quickly ran out of her fabric but kept going with fabrics of my own and ended up making over 40 small textile paintings in the portals series with these patterned fabrics.

In this post I’m sharing the 12×12 inch pieces.

In coming weeks I’ll share the smaller sizes (8×8, 6×6 and even a few 4×4).

 

Portals #6
©2013 Lisa Call
12 x 12 inches
Fabric, paint, thread, batting
Mounted on Stretched Canvas

 

Portals #7
©2013 Lisa Call
12 x 12 inches
Fabric, paint, thread, batting
Mounted on Stretched Canvas
Available at Bluestone Fine Art Gallery

 

Portals #2
©2013 Lisa Call
12 x 12 inches
Fabric, paint, thread, batting
Mounted on Stretched Canvas
$475
Available at Bluestone Fine Art Gallery

Mounted on Canvas

Each of these textile paintings are mounted on a 12×12 inch canvas and ready to hang.

Portals #9

 

Portals #6

 

Portals #7

 

Portals #2

My Booth

Cost

Continuing with my review of the American Craft Council Show in Baltimore last February, today’s post, finally as promised, is about the cost of doing this type of show.

I’ll jump right to the numbers because that is what people really want to see.

This is what it cost me to exhibit at the ACC Balitmore Wholesale and Retail show last February:

Jury Fee $0 (I was an invited artist)
Booth Fee $2,440
Facilities Fee $65
Electricity $130
Carpet rental $343
Chair/table rental $80
Propanel walls $2,775
Booth Lights $940
Hardware (Ladder, extension cords, etc) $118
Travel (airline, hotel, food) $2,129
Shipping $1885
Booth Supplies $475

Total – $11,380

Yep – I spent over eleven thousands dollars on my booth.

Of that, around $5000 were for things that I will reuse. My propanel booth walls, the lights, some supplies for my booth, etc.

That leaves about $6400 for recurring charges that will happen each time I do the show.

Investment

Admittedly I spent more than necessary on both categories (recurring and non-recurring) for a couple of reasons.

First – I considered this an investment. I didn’t plan on doing the show only once and then quitting. Doing a show like this is really a long term investment as it takes time to build up a following.

As a result I wanted to go for nice quality for my booth.

I could have hung my textile work on the pipe and drape but I think the drapes are ugly and I wanted something more professional looking.

I could have gotten a smaller booth (I had a weird sized booth that was kind of a double booth – but it was narrow so not as expensive as a double sized booth). But it wasn’t the smallest either – I make big textile paintings and I wanted the space to show them to their full advantage.

I can’t remember what the normal booth fee (10x10ft) was but it is definitely over $1500. So I paid an extra $1000 for more space in my 15 x 8ft booth.

Because this was a my first show I also went for the most convenient and easiest solution to my problem to reduce stress. For example…

Shipping – next time I think I can get this down to $1400ish as I learned a lot about shipping this last time.

The carpet rental – next time I’ll bring my own now that I understand the shipping better.

I could have stayed at a hotel further away – that wouldn’t have saved me much money. Maybe $30 a night – $210 total – that wasn’t exactly going to save the day. It wasn’t worth the hassle – I stayed at the only hotel connected to the convention center by a covered walkway.

Summary

This was a major investment on my part. I figure if I went on the cheap I could have done it for maybe half of what I spent but it wouldn’t have met my requirements.

I have pretty high standards for how I want to present my art to the world.

The ACC shows are some of the most expensive shows to do and I heard over and over while at the show that it was very unusually for this to be my very first booth show. Most people work up to something of this magnitude and slowly build up their tools and supplies so it’s not quite the same sticker shock that I experienced.

Was it worth the investment?

Absolutely.

Next post I’ll talk about sales and opportunities that came about because of the show.

Ready to Rock Your Studio?

As I note on the workshop pages – my biggest intention is to provide my students the confidence and tools so they can move their art forward by leaps and bounds.

Through that confidence, knowledge and a regular studio practice – tada – out comes remarkable artwork.

So if you are ready to invest in your art and move toward making the best art you can, registration is now open for my summer session of online workshops.

I’m teaching the following classes this summer:

• Abstraction
  • 10 weeks – July 7 – September 14, 2013
  • $677 – $627 – Early bird discount – ends June 21
  • details

• Get Your Art Business running smoothly with Systems
  • 4 weeks – July 7 – August 13, 2013
  • $247 – $217 – Early bird discount – ends June 21
  • details

• An Exploration of Formal Design Problems I: Design Elements
  • 6 weeks – August 4 – September 14, 2013
  • $397 – $347 – Early bird discount – ends July 26
  • details

• Master Class
  • 6 months – July 7 – December 31, 2013
  • $927 – $877 – Early bird discount – ends June 21
  • details

It’s Summer!

At least up here on the north side of the globe.

I’ve discovered my summertime workshops have been a wonderful experience for all as there is an incredible group energy resulting from the motivated, creative and hard working students that sign up during this season.

If you have any concerns about your schedule, please email me and we can work out something.

Want to Pay in Installments?

I’m more than happy to work with you on a payment plan. Please email me and we can talk details.

Alumni

“Lisa Call states the following with respect to her workshop Working in a Series: “As with all my workshops, my biggest intention is to provide my students the confidence and tools so they can move their art forward by leaps and bounds.

Amazingly, she accomplishes this, and in the course of doing so, provides concrete information, practical advice, clear critique, and encouragement (and provides a wealth of information on a wide range of artists).

Lisa provides real-world advice on how to get into the studio, find and maintain focus, and make decisions that lead to success. (And, as an added bonus, much of this advice spills over into non-art related daily life as well.)

I invested in this workshop with some hesitation, but the value received was worth many times the investment.

Lisa, this workshop is one of the best values on the internet.

The information was mind-broadening. This may not sound like a compliment, but it is: The workshop made me really uncomfortable. It shook me into a different perception, which is something that needs to happen with great regularity if we’re to continue growing.

Thank you.”

~Dianne Crumbaker
Tallahassee, Florida

Read what previous students have to say about my workshops and see the artwork created during class over on my alumni directory.

 
PS – The above classes won’t be taught online again until 2014. Want to see what else I teach? – check out my course catalog.

Image courtesy of cescassawin / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Leaving on a Jet Plane

In a few weeks I’ll be leaving for my first ever trip to Italy to celebrate my 50th birthday. I have but one goal: eat a lot of really good food.

Although it’s hard to not do more in such a fabulous place so in addition to all of in culinary indulgence I’ll be enjoying the beauty of Tuscany, the culture in Venice (opera, art and the symphony) and of course a Bruce Springsteen concert.

Doesn’t everyone go to Italy to see Bruce?

I’ll be bringing along my thread and needle to do some slow sketching and upon my return I am going to make a very small series of work based on my experience.

Very small. Because I’m in the middle of doing other things in the studio and don’t have a lot of time but I know I will not want to miss a chance to capture my experience in the land of really good food in fabric.

Get Your Postcard Here

As I have done times in the past, with New York City, South Africa and Costa Rica, I am pre-selling the work I will be making in this travel inspired series of textile paintings.

Why pre-purchase the artwork sight unseen? Because you will receive a 30% discount in doing so. And when the project is over if you don’t like the artwork I’ve created, I will refund your deposit with no questions asked.

I’m making only 1 size this time around – a panorama postcard format measuring 6×12″.

Postcards from Italy - Quantities limited
6 x 12 inches
Mounted on stretched canvas, finished size 6×12 inches
$250   Pre order price: $175 – 2 payments of $87.50 + shipping

You pay 1/2 up front to reserve a piece by clicking the button above and then pay the remaining balance + shipping when the work is available, which I anticipate to be in mid to late July.

Collectors get to pick the artwork they’d like in the order that they reserve their piece.  So to have the best selection you’ll want to reserve your piece early.  But at the minimum you will have 3 pieces to from which to select.

This offer expires June 5, 2013.

Structures #148
©2013 Lisa Call
25 x 74 inches
Fabric, dye, thread, batting
$6000

Working Big

A few weeks back I was milling about in my studio, stuck on the design phase of a big 5×10 foot textile painting in the works.

I knew I needed to step back and take a break from it and do something completely different. Structures #148 was the result of that break.

It is the first large textile painting to come out of my studio in almost 7 or 8 months. Wow! It was a surprise to look back at my records and see this gap.

It feels fabulous to be back to making big work and I’m happy to report I resolved the design of the 5×10 footer and I’m now quilting that piece.

Which means it’s time to get another big piece started up on the design wall as I like to have a pipeline going with work in all stages.

Structures #148

I think of each section or square in this textile painting to be a story about connection. It comes together as an alphabet of relationships.

Adolph Gottlieb and his pictographs are a clear inspiration behind Structures #148. I spent quite a bit of time last fall the Whitney enjoying and studying Gottlieb’s paintings.

This short 1 minute video on MOMA is a wonderful introduction to meaning and inspiration of Gottlieb’s pictograph work.

Man Looking at Woman
Adolph Gottlieb

 
As with all of my work, the entire surface of the piece heavily stitched in parallel thread lines, often with contrasting thread colors.

Structures #148 – stitching detail

Which glass of water do you want to drink?

 
Today is my 50th birthday and to mark this most awesome occasion I am giving up my birthday for water. I’m asking everyone I know to donate to charity:water to help bring clean drinking water to everyone.

Okay – to be honest – I’m not actually giving up my birthday – I’ll be going to Italy next month to celebrate in style – but I think clean water is a pretty basic need and it’s rather sad the lack of such a simple thing in much of the world.

For those that don’t know about this organization… 100% of all money raised goes towards clean water. They get operating funds in other ways. It’s such a revolutionary and most excellent way of running a charity.

Please help me reach my goal of raising $2081 by donating $20 or maybe $50 (one for each year I’ve been traveling around on this lovely planet).

—lisa

PS – Over the years many of you have told me how much you appreciate the information I share here on my blog. If you’ve always felt like you wanted to give back in some way, this would be a fabulous way to do that. I’d appreciate it.

Donate here.

Thank you!

Lines #80 – Lines #95
©2012 Lisa Call
3″ x 3″ each
Textile Painting (fabric, dye, thread, batting)
On stretched canvas
Finished size 5 x 5″ each

More Small Textile Paintings

This 3rd collection of small textile paintings made last year focused on my favorite color – PURPLE! Yay for purple!

I really enjoyed adding in the brighter accents with the purples – turquoise, oranges, pinks all help to bring these to life.

As with the greens and blues posted earlier, these small works look wonderful in groupings of 2, 3 or 4 pieces.

Already have one? You can add to your collection over time to create a nice grouping.

Try mixing and matching them with the blue and the green for more options.

Lines #80
©2012
3″ x 3″
On stretched canvas
Finished size 5 x 5″
Sold

Lines #81
©2012
3″ x 3″
On stretched canvas
Finished size 5 x 5″
$55

Lines #82
©2012
3″ x 3″
On stretched canvas
Finished size 5 x 5″
$55

Lines #83
©2012
3″ x 3″
On stretched canvas
Finished size 5 x 5″
$55

Lines #84
©2012
3″ x 3″
On stretched canvas
Finished size 5 x 5″
Sold

Lines #85
©2012
3″ x 3″
On stretched canvas
Finished size 5 x 5″
$55

Lines #86
©2012
3″ x 3″
On stretched canvas
Finished size 5 x 5″
$55
Available at The Store at Contemporary Craft

Lines #87
©2012
3″ x 3″
On stretched canvas
Finished size 5 x 5″
$55

Lines #88
©2012
3″ x 3″
On stretched canvas
Finished size 5 x 5″
Sold

Lines #89
©2012
3″ x 3″
On stretched canvas
Finished size 5 x 5″
$55

Lines #90
©2012
3″ x 3″
On stretched canvas
Finished size 5 x 5″
Sold

Lines #91
©2012
3″ x 3″
On stretched canvas
Finished size 5 x 5″
$55

Lines #92
©2012
3″ x 3″
On stretched canvas
Finished size 5 x 5″
Sold

Lines #93
©2012
3″ x 3″
On stretched canvas
Finished size 5 x 5″
$55

Lines #94
©2012
3″ x 3″
On stretched canvas
Finished size 5 x 5″
$55

Lines #95
©2012
3″ x 3″
On stretched canvas
Finished size 5 x 5″
$55

Enjoy all of the affordable textile paintings in the Lines Series here.