Jeanne Williamson

Weekly Update - Front and Back Yard Installations

jeanne@jeannewilliamson.com (Jeanne Williamson) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 11:19:00 +0000

This is my weekly front and back yard installations update. In my back yard is Fence Installation Series #1/16, seen above.

This week has been a mix of rain and sun. On Tuesday alone, we got 4" of rain (and the weather was so bad that a nearby town had a tornado warning, which is very unusual for eastern Massachusetts). On Wednesday we got a little rain, and then there was sun or sun/clouds the rest of the week until late Saturday night/early Sunday morning when we had very heavy downpours for many hours. I was very worried that the backyard piece was starting to mildew, but looking at it on Sunday morning, when it was finally dry, it looked OK. Phew!

The fall blooming clematis seems happy growing around the installation, and some leaves are grabbing on to the edges of the cut holes.

There's a lot of foliage on the back side which get very little sun.

The batik fabric, which I purchased and appliqued, is starting to fade. The greens are getting more yellowish. I'll keep an eye on that. I don't expect the blacks to fade, nor the green stamped thin lines. They're made with fabric paint, which is acrylic-based. The other flowered fabric was also purchased and seems to be holding up OK so far. When there's sun, this piece gets hours of it early through mid-day.

In my front yard is Fence Installation Series #1/22, as shown above.

The upper corners look floppier that last week.

This shows evidence of splashed mud on the black pipes, and the bottom of the piece.

This is a better detail picture of the floppiness, from the back side.

And this is more evidence of splashed mud at the bottom back side.

I'll post another update next week. I'm hoping we have nice weather with little to no rain.

12 x 12 x 12 July in Process

jeanne@jeannewilliamson.com (Jeanne Williamson) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 13:06:00 +0000

I've been really busy with various art and non-art related things, but was able to grab a few minutes to print the fabric for my 12 x 12 x 12 July piece. I wanted to try printing with my new white construction fence. It's nice to print off of because it's not lumpy like many construction fences are. I also like the square grid.

I'm going to print yardage of this fence very soon because I have plans to use it when I take my (sorta) staycation in a few weeks. This fence is only 24" wide, instead of the 48"+ widths I'm used to printing off of. I've got plans to take advantage of this size, and create new work. Very manageable.

Will work on my July 12 x 12 x 12 now that the fabric's been printed and will post pictures ASAP. Gotta finish it by the end of July, which is coming up pretty fast.

Providence Solo Show Show Postcard

jeanne@jeannewilliamson.com (Jeanne Williamson) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 11:31:00 +0000

Despite reading Gallery Card as Relic? by Roberta Smith on June 23rd in the NY Times, I just ordered postcards for my solo show at the Hunt-Cavanagh Gallery at Providence College, in Providence, Rhode Island.

The name of my show is "Off the Fence," and one of the things the gallery requests is 200 postcards for their mailing list, so I had to make cards anyway. I figured between their request, the fact that I can give many away when I participate in Open Studios on October 17th and 18th here in Natick MA.

Postcards are one of the ways to reach people who are not on my email list, and who don't read my blog, twitter posts, my personal facebook page or facebook fan page.

Thanks to Modern Postcard having a few summer promotions so I was able to order the postcards for a reduced rate.

If you would like me to mail one to you (US readers only please), please send me an email: jeanne@jeannewilliamson.com.

Needed: A Federal Arts Policy

jeanne@jeannewilliamson.com (Jeanne Williamson) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:59:00 +0000

Read "Needed: A Federal Arts Policy" in The Huffington Post by Michael Kaiser, President of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, on July 6, 2009.

Quoting from the article:

"What we really need is a debate over federal arts policy. Most people do not know that no fewer than nine government agencies provide support to arts in this nation. That is not a typo." Read more.

Interesting read.

Facebook Fan Page

jeanne@jeannewilliamson.com (Jeanne Williamson) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 10:43:00 +0000

I created a Facebook Fan Page. Check it out.

More Art Goes Reality (TV)

jeanne@jeannewilliamson.com (Jeanne Williamson) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 11:00:00 +0000

More information about the Artists Reality show on Bravo TV that I posted about on July 5th.

It's interesting to read the questions (pdf) for the artists applying.

If you want to apply, here's the link. Casting calls start on July 11th. Good luck.

Weekly Update - Front and Back Yard Installations

jeanne@jeannewilliamson.com (Jeanne Williamson) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:35:00 +0000

Greetings. This is my weekly front and back yard installations update. Until July 4th, eastern Massachusetts had rain or overcast skies just about every day in June, and the first three days in July. There was sun on July 4th and the 5th.

In my back yard is Fence Installation Series #1/16. There's a lot of lush greenery, and my fall clematis continues to express interest in growing around it, and it looks like it might start weaving in and out of the holes this week, weather permitting.

This is a front detail of the clematis, and the piece itself after being rained on over and over again.

Here is a back detail.

In my front yard is Fence Installation Series #1/22, as shown above. It's also doing well.

The rust didn't get much worse from this past week's rain, as seen above ....

... and below. The specks I noticed last week are splattered mud, not mold, thank goodness. There's a little pacasandra growing underneath, but there's also a lot of plain dirt. Hence the splashing. No big deal in my opinion. Just art and nature living together.

Both of these pieces have been living outside for over a month. On May 24th the back yard piece made its outdoor debut, and May 28th was the date for the one in the front yard. It rained here just about every day from June 4th through July 3rd in eastern Massachusetts, and on some of the days it didn't rain, it was quite overcast. Not quite 40 days and 40 nights, but close.

I found this graphic: "A dark, wet month for the history books: June 2009" which showed 9 days without any rain, and 27% of possible sunshine.

The Boston Globe even posted instructions on How to build an ark. The humor if it actually cheered people up a little, because the weather was really getting people down. Thank goodness the sun returned on July 4th. My art got to dry off, and everyone I know started to smile again.

I'll post another update in a week.

Art Goes Reality (TV)

jeanne@jeannewilliamson.com (Jeanne Williamson) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 12:20:00 +0000

On Thursday, May 14th, I posted "Artists on Reality TV," and it looks like it's really going to happen.

An article in the NY Times "Art Goes Reality," by Edward Wyatt on June 30, 2009 explains, "The series, which has yet to be named, will feature 13 aspiring artists who will compete in sculpture, painting, photography, industrial design and other disciplines to create “unique pieces highlighting art’s role in everyday life.”" Read more, including casting call dates.

If you're curious to know if I'll be auditioning, the answer is no. I'll most likely watch the show, but I don't have any desire to be on it.

Rubberband Ball

jeanne@jeannewilliamson.com (Jeanne Williamson) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 11:40:00 +0000

New rubberband ball news! While sewing the other day, I noticed that my family's rubberband ball, which currently lives on the next table, had some changes.

Notice in the picture above that the white rubberband on the front right, that even though you can't read it says Lees Market (in Westport Massachusetts), is now loose and hanging off the ball from the bottom edge. No changes that I can see on the back side (below).

I used to to post updates of our rubberband ball every two weeks or so, but then the ball sorta fossilized and didn't change too much. Now I do it when I see changes. If you'd like to see what it's looked like in the past, click here. To see what the first picture I posted, in July 2007, click here.

Pay the Artists

jeanne@jeannewilliamson.com (Jeanne Williamson) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:54:00 +0000

Check this out:

"Pay the Artists," by Felix Salmon, in The Atlantic, Ideas: Fixing the World, July/August 2009 :

"If the Obama administration is serious about stimulating the economy and creating as many new jobs as possible, one choice is clear: it should announce a massive increase in federal arts funding. Artists are among the very poorest citizens. When they get cash, they spend it both quickly and carefully."

... and...

"Arts spending is fantastic at creating employment: for every $30,000 or so spent on the arts, one more person gets a job, compared with about $1 million if you’re building a road or hospital. " Read more.

The Fashion Show

jeanne@jeannewilliamson.com (Jeanne Williamson) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:29:00 +0000

I've been watching the The Fashion Show on Bravo TV, and I like it. The show has a more educational slant than Project Runway.

Each week the designers take part in two challenges, a mini challenge, and the elimination challenge. The Mini Challenge is very short, and is usually educational from a TV viewers point of view. In the the elimination challenge, the designers are assigned a theme when creating clothing that is not only functional but also attractive. A variation of the winning outfit each week is offered for sale on Bravo TV's website.

I have to say that I've been sewing for 35+ years (that makes me sound old but I'm not), and I almost always learn something during the mini challenge. I also enjoy watching the designers create their clothing for the elimination challenge each week, seeing it as the models wear it on the runway, and listen to the critiques at the end. The canned lines like "you're hanging by a thread," and "we're just not buying it" are goofy, but otherwise I'm enjoying the show.

Isaac Mizrahi is the biggest reason to watch The Fashion Show. His fashion/design/sewing knowledge is worth its weight in gold. I've also been learning a lot from the comments of the guest judges.

My friend Elizabeth Barton wrote a post about The Fashion show that is a good read called An Interesting Exercise. Check it out.

The Fashion Show is on Bravo on Thursday nights at 10 pm ET/PT. If you aren't watching it, Bravo repeats each episode often, so it's not too late to catch up.

Project Runway used to be on Bravo. Check out past seasons. It's moving to Lifetime TV next season, which I'm looking forward to watching when it starts on August 20th at 10pm ET.

Really Good (Art) Advice!

jeanne@jeannewilliamson.com (Jeanne Williamson) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:04:00 +0000

Really good (art) advice from Edward Winkleman Thick Skin or Not: Send in that Application, posted on his blog on June 22, 2009.

I have recently applied for a grant, sent my portfolio to a few galleries, and also to an artist registry. I'll be applying for another grant, sending applications to a few shows, and sending some more portfolios to more galleries, all in the next week or so. I have no idea if I'll have success with any of this, but I'm trying. What are you doing?

Remember this quote from Woody Allen "Eighty percent of success is showing up."

Weekly Update - Front and Back Yard Installations

jeanne@jeannewilliamson.com (Jeanne Williamson) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:17:00 +0000

Every week since I installed them, I post weekly updates of my weekly front and back yard installations. Both have been rained on just about every day this past month, since they've been outside. A very rainy June in eastern Massachusetts, and in New England in general.

In my back yard is Fence Installation Series #1/16 as shown above. I'm enjoying how it seems to fit in so well around my plantings.

The clematis that is growing on the wooden structure next to this piece, is growing on my installation now. What a nice compliment from nature. This is a picture of it from the front side ...

... and this is a picture of the clematis from the back side. It's basiclally leaning on it right now. I wonder if it'll start to grow through the holes.

In my front yard is Fence Installation Series #1/22, as shown above.

It's a little floppy in the upper corners but you would be too if you got rained on a lot, and you were a piece of fabric.

There are some rust stains on the back top, from the black plumbing pipes that have been rained on at least once a day just about every day this past month.

There is a little rust on the front bottom left corner ...

... and here is what the rust looks like in the bottom right corner on the back side. This picture also shows what I think is splashed mud on the whole bottom. I don't think this is mildew because there's similar mud spots on the black piping below this piece, and there's a lot of dirt on the ground under it, unlike the backyard piece that has a lot of greenery and some mulch.

Another update in a week. Just so you know, rain is forecasted every day this week through Friday.

Another Fire and My Installation

jeanne@jeannewilliamson.com (Jeanne Williamson) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 13:43:00 +0000

We had an unexpected nice night last night with coolish temps for June, and no rain. Imagine that. No rain. (For those of you who are not in the northeast US, we have had temperatures in the 60's and 70's which are very cool for June, and rain just about every day this past month. That translates to only having had 25% of the usual amount of sunlight we would expect here. People are grumpy overall by it. Not me. I love to cool temps, and the rain isn't bothering me.)

So last night, after a marvelous anniversary dinner with my husband, we decided to enjoy our back yard, light a fire in our Chiminea, and quietly start working on a sculptural fence using cut bamboo our neighbor gave us from her garden, and pieces of some green construction fence to hold it together. This time my husband is the artist creating, and I'm his helper.

This is a picture of Fence Installation Series #1/16, one of my two outdoor installations, as viewed in the dark near the fire. Using a better camera didn't necessarily get me a better picture than the last time I took a picture of it in the dark. Oh well. I'll keep trying, and maybe some day I'll get a good one.

I post daylight outdoor installations pictures weekly. I will hopefully do that tomorrow, and when the bamboo sculptural fence is done, I'll post a picture of that too since it includes construction fence.

New Fence Acquired

jeanne@jeannewilliamson.com (Jeanne Williamson) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 12:34:00 +0000

I found a white plastic fence at Lowes, sold as a 2' tall "Home Fence" by a company called Tenax.

Some construction fences are lumpy, and can be hard to print off of, but this white fence is pretty flat, and I think will print very well. I especially like that it has 2" squares. Lots of possibilities. I think I will try using this for the base printing of my July 12 x 12 x 12 piece.

The Tenax website, is like a candy store of plastic fencing. They sell many different kinds of fencing, including safety fences, snow fences, and ...

... this logo fences, which is tempting, but probably not gonna happen on my end. Fun to think about though.

Working on New Work Cont'd

jeanne@jeannewilliamson.com (Jeanne Williamson) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 12:04:00 +0000

I finished painting the fabric for Orange Construction Fence Series #69, and the next step is to start stitching. Pictured above is the front/painted side of the fabric, and below the back side.

My plan is to use the back side of the fabric (directly above), and to create an other piece of fabric that uses a version of the front/painted side for #70, but with tweaks. You can see my last post about this fabric in my post on June 21st if you want to follow my progress.

This past Tuesday I visited an art friend for a critique/review of this piece. It's really hard for her to give feedback on fabric that isn't stitched because the thread color and stitching texture really changes the look of the fabric, but overall I got good feedback on the back side of the fabric, and we discussed options when I paint the fabric for #70. I'll get a final critique after stitching, which I can't imagine doing for a few weeks at the very soonest.

I'll start painting the fabric for Orange Construction Fence Series #70 ASAP, and then stitch both pieces. It will be very helpful to see both sides of #69's fabric as I paint #70. I'll then stitch them both around the same time.

Organizing and Working on Sweaters

jeanne@jeannewilliamson.com (Jeanne Williamson) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:00:00 +0000

Do to different commitments and other reasons, I hadn't been repurposing, recycling, reconstructing, upcycling, redesigning, tweaking the used sweaters I've accumulated. I really needed to get my act in gear, and I realized that the piles of sweaters thrown in piles of plastic bags wasn't helping me get motivated.

Yesterday I took all of the sweaters out of the bags, folded them neatly and placed them in piles by size, and then put them in paper bags marked by size, so I can easily see what I have. My studio space is teeny tiny, and organization is key to being able to move around, find materials, and get work done. I should (need to) be able (motivated) to get to work now. Right after I got them organized, I got to work on two sweaters so I think this organization plan has helped.

FYI, these are the sizes of sweaters I've tweaked so far. (Please note that theses are the sizes on the labels, but some of the sizes are questionable):

XSM
SM - II
PM - I
M - III
34 - I
L - II
XL
XXL
22/24 - I
2X - I

And these are waiting to be tweaked:

XSM - III
SM - IIIII IIIII III
M - IIIII IIIII II
L - IIIII IIII
XL - I

When I picked out sweaters at the used clothing stores, I did it randomly by color and sweater design. I didn't pay attention to size. I think I'm going to need to get more XL, XXL and 22/24 sweaters, but I think I should work on what I have first, and then get more after that.

Colder Fall weather will be here before I know it, as will Natick Artists Open Studios, which is October 17 & 18, 2009, and a few other venues I hope to sell the sweaters at! Gotta get sewing!

Outdoor Installations on My Website

jeanne@jeannewilliamson.com (Jeanne Williamson) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 11:12:00 +0000

I updated my website to include my outdoor installations. There are two pieces on the site, including an artist's statement. Take a look.

Weekly Update - Front and Back Yard Installations

jeanne@jeannewilliamson.com (Jeanne Williamson) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:20:00 +0000

This is an update on my front and back yard installations. All of the four pictures in this post were taken on Sunday afternoon in drizzling rain, and both installations were soaking wet. It's pretty lush here in eastern Massachusetts due to the fact that it's rained almost every day in the past month. Both pieces have gotten soaked, and then dried, many dozens of times, sometimes within the same day. There have also been some days when these pieces have stayed wet for days.

In my back yard is Fence Installation Series #1/16. A full view is at the top of this post, and a detail is directly above this paragraph. When I took these pictures, the clematis that's growing on the wooden structure to the right of this piece had grown a few feet since last week, and was leaning on this piece, but had not grabbed on. When looking out the window on Monday afternoon, I noticed the clematis wasn't leaning on it, so who knows what its plans are. Time will tell.

In my front yard is Fence Installation Series #1/22, as shown above. It's holding up very well under the maple tree. The detail below shows how it's a little rippled but not more than last week. This piece isn't stretched tightly on a frame like the piece in my backyard, so I'm not surprised, nor bothered, by it since it's minimal.

This week I expect both pieces to be wet from late this past Saturday night through Wednesday night, if the weather ends up as forecasted. We expect clearer skies on Thursday. Then warmer humid summer weather should arrive. We shall see what happens with more sunshine, and when we get humid weather for many days on end, rain or not. I'm hoping that having fabric living outside is uneventful because I'd like to apply for some outdoor installation shows and grants. Having a year of visual documentation for these pieces will be good for knowing what to expect for the New England climate at the very least.

I'll post another update next week.

Solo Show - Off the Fence

jeanne@jeannewilliamson.com (Jeanne Williamson) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:36:00 +0000

"Off the Fence" is the name I've chosen for my solo show that I'm going to have at the Hunt-Cavanagh Gallery, at Providence College in Providence RI, from October 6 - December 4, 2009.

On June 19th I posted info about it, including the gallery size, and different name options. A few other names were suggested to me via email:

- Fenced
- Boundaries, enclosures and order
- The Order of the Fence

I have a fun idea for decorating the outside partition (that's 5' 10.75" wide and 8' high) with the name of my show. I'll post pictures when I start working on it. It's going to be a project unto itself. Hint, it involves construction fences.

Even More Working on New Work

jeanne@jeannewilliamson.com (Jeanne Williamson) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 11:41:00 +0000

I did some more painting on Orange Construction Fence Series #69, a continuation of my Orange Construction Fence Series. I added grey to the very top row, and the bottom three rows. The front/painted fabric (above) doesn't show this addition that well, but looking at the back of the fabric (below), you can see what I'm talking about.

The side just above is the side of the fabric that will be seen on #69 when I'm finished painting and start stitching it. My plan is to use the lighter side for this piece, and create an other (darker) one for Orange Construction Fence Series #70, which I'll start shortly.

I last posted about this piece on June 17th. I said then that it needed more color. Last night I added yellow, maize, and ginger (sorry no pictures yet) inside the hand stamped black and white squares. Good addition. I will finish painting the printed construction fence grid white, on the painted (darker) side of the fabric, on Monday night.

I'm visiting a fellow artist on Tuesday for a critique/review of this piece so far. It'll be good to get feedback.

I keep wondering to myself why I picked the turquoise colors I'm using, besides the fact that the photo I was referring to was of a green and white building. I didn't want to use green. Around the same time I started this piece, I purchased a t-shirt from Woot, called "Dropping Rocks On Cattails" and it had the same family of turquoise colors. Influence or coincidence?

Art at the Andrew Bird Concert

jeanne@jeannewilliamson.com (Jeanne Williamson) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 12:47:00 +0000

Last night I went to an Andrew Bird concert in Boston. If you're not familiar with his music, do check him out. I really enjoy his music, and his brilliance in creating it. Here is more info about him on wikipedia.

I'm always looking for the visual art in life, whether it's on purpose or it just happens, and I had a few nice examples at the concert.

One is that on stage at the concert there were two very beautiful horn speakers, and one double horn speaker, that Andrew Bird commissioned, and used on stage. The picture in the corner of this post shows one of the two large speakers, this one being over eight feet tall, and the picture does not do these pieces of equipment any justice. If you have a minute, do click the links to see them. They are beautiful!!!!!

The other visual art was the stage lighting, and the ceiling lighting a few times. Below are a few pictures of the ceiling. I love the grids, and the shadows of the grids.

Solo Show!

jeanne@jeannewilliamson.com (Jeanne Williamson) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 12:44:00 +0000

It's official! I'm going to have a solo show at the Hunt-Cavanagh Gallery, at Providence College in Providence RI, from October 6 - December 4, 2009.

The gallery is HUGE! Two 23' walls, two 12'6" walls, two 13' 1" walls and two sides of a 5' 10.75" partition that's 8' high.

One part of me is a little intimidated by the size, and the other part is REALLY excited. I have a lot of recent work that I've never had a opportunity to show, I'm making new work, and I'm also reworking older work while thinking about creating an installation. I don't have any doubt that I can easily fill the gallery. I'm going to go visit it as soon as I can, so I can better understand the space.

Things to do in preparation are: choose the name of the show, pick an Opening date/time, figure out gallery sitting hours (if I want to the gallery be open on any weekends), create more work, plan which already created work I want to show, plan the layout of the show, design a postcard, write a press release and send it to the media, send notices to arts professionals and friends, etc. A lot to do. Plenty of time to do it (right now).

I recently asked Facebook friends, and twitter followers, for suggestions for the name of my show, and these are what has been suggested to date:

- Off the Fence
- How to be Fab
- View Through the Fence
- Under Construction; Don't take Of-fence
- Don't Fence Me In
- Tangled Fences

Off the Fence is my favorite so far. It has many meanings, especially since I print off of orange construction fences. If you have any suggestions, please send a note ASAP. My email address is jeanne@jeannewilliamson.com.

More Working on New Work

jeanne@jeannewilliamson.com (Jeanne Williamson) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 12:56:00 +0000

I did some more work on Orange Construction Fence Series #69, which is a continuation of my Orange Construction Fence Series. Above is the front/painted fabric, and the back of the fabric is below.

I posted earlier pictures and my inspiration for this piece on June 13th. On Monday night I painted all of the small rectangle sections in with grey Pro-Fab Fabric Paint by ProChem. Next, I'll be filling in the rest of the grid with White Golden Liquid Acrylics. My last post shows the beginning of my doing this. After that I need to paint the very top and bottom sections.

I'm still not too thrilled about the way the front looks. And, this piece needs more color, which I'm contemplating. I may decide to use the unpainted side for the front of this piece. I think the design, and (lack of color) works better on this side. More updates soon.

More about Surtex Field Trip

jeanne@jeannewilliamson.com (Jeanne Williamson) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 12:40:00 +0000

In May I posted about my field trip to Surtex, The National Stationery Show, and The International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York, in two posts: Surtex Field Trip - part two, and Surtex Field Trip - part one.

On the trip I met a few other artists, one of whom is Anne Katzeff. If you are interested in knowing more about Surtex and the other shows, read her two posts: surtex/national stationery show -- morning and surtex/national stationery show -- afternoon, for an other perspective.