I missed last week’s blog deadline. Honestly, I lost track of time as I found myself weaving for hours at the Fair. Don’t know how many days I was there. Then I had to move. All the Fair work was done; the building would be closed.
So the light bulb went off in my head. Why not look for other (free) studio space? I scrambled. Long story short, the good folks at the Dunedin Fine Art Center found a place for me on the second floor. Actually, it was the Sherrie Morton Studio (M1 and M2). Divine space…tables, rolling carts. A sink. AC.
I started Monday and four days later, moved out Friday afternoon. Teachers were coming back to prepare for the next class session. I have to thank George Ann Bissett, Ken Hannon, Catherine Bergmann, Nathan Beard, Sara DeLorenzo, Shannon Pattee, Katelyn Hornyak and Kelly Simone for making me feel so welcome.
You can accomplish much in five days. A big space allows you to truly see what’s in front of you. I reinforced all five “mosaic” pieces, blobs of randomly woven color, and connected sections, sewed on countless beads and drew out my close-to-final layout. A few days I worked 10 hours straight! Came home, worked another three hours and then went back the next morning.
The Blue Monster (I’m starting to fall for her) is coming around. I look at her. I’m shocked. I’ve created a mixed media paper textile quilt.
Now trying to find one more temporary home for her to finish up. If not, I’ll be maneuvering around the Stehle house moving everything and everyone (the cat named Squeaky) out of the way!
My work tables at the temp Dunedin studio:
The five mosaics:
Tonight (actually last night at 7), Gabriel and I had our Google meet and caught up on what’s happened in the last two weeks.
SKYWAY 20/21 A CONTEMPORARY COLLABORATION
May 22 through August 22, 2021
Skyway 20/21 is the second iteration of an exhibition celebrating the diversity of artistic talent in the Tampa Bay area. It is also an exercise in collaboration, as it is shared among four institutions: Museum of Fine Arts St. Petersburg, The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Tampa Museum of Art, and University of South Florida Contemporary Art Museum. That sense of collaboration was put to the test as Skyway 2020 was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, opening as Skyway 20/21 now, a year later.
Curators from each institution selected 49 artists from across Hillsborough, Manatee, Pinellas, and Sarasota Counties. After numerous studio visits conducted in 2019, the MFA chose works by 15 artists that address—by varied means—the natural environment… Taken together, this exhibition not only highlights the talents of artists working in the Tampa Bay region, but also examines one of the most pressing issues of our time, the care of our natural environment.
A fully illustrated catalogue accompanies the Skyway 20/21 exhibition, featuring texts by the curators and guest juror Claire Tancons.
Robert Aiosa
Dolores Coe
Keith Crowley
Becky Flanders
Dakota Gearhart
Bassmi Ibrahim
Morgan Janssen
Ezra Johnson
Karl Kelly
Savannah Magnolia
Jon Notwick
Gabriel Ramos
Lynne Railsback
Matthew Wicks
Janelle Young
Gabriel, I apologize for the bad photo. I couldn’t figure out how to grab your Instagram image.
The red inspires me! I will prep for the Red Monster in between finishing up Ms. Blue.
Is this our last blog post?
Thank you, Creative Pinellas for the chance to learn and grow and my super duper medium duty shredder! Thanks, Gabriel for truly mentoring me. A thank you to my friends, near and far, who collected weird stuff that has turned into art.
And Mike, hugs for feeding me, filling up the car with gas and dealing with my “artistic” temperament. Thank you, Squeaky for loving the work!
Ciao for now! See you all at the Creative Pinellas Gallery, 6-8pm July 14. Maybe I’ll play a song for you!
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