New Commission....

AND BINGO WAS HIS NAAAMOoooooo.......

Summer is keeping my mind busy with the upcomming show at Audubon, Fryeburg Fair Fiber Center planning, and planning the Bermuda Fiber Festival! BUT, I have been commissioned to do a piece which will be given as a surprise birthday gift. The images I'm sharing with you are the original photo that I used and the
drawing that I did which will serve as my pattern or template for creating the actual Hairlock Painting.

The finished piece will be small for a commission at approximately 8 x 10" so will provide some challenges in manageing the details with very small sections of hair. Keeping them in check, seperate and not moving until they are adhered to the canvas will take time and patience.

Working on a commission is very different than creating an imagined image even if that imagined image has been drawn in advance since it makes no real difference in the end, if the final piece is different from the imagined one. There is no one to please but myself. When rendering a likeness of a pet, or of an approved drawing for a client, being on target with the drawing is important. It's what the client expects and what they are paying for. As a result, I do my best to re-create the drawing. I am considering this small piece an experiment which may determine if I choose to do something this small again on commission.

The delivery date for the piece is not until the end of October which gives me lots of breathing space so that I can choose to work on the piece when I am in the right frame of mind. This will offer the best possible environment to successfully complete the piece. I don't expect to take that long so keep an eye out. I will publish it when it is complete!

Don't forget to come and find me at the Audubon Show on August 16th & 17th in Falmouth, Maine! Until next time....

Home Again Home Again jigiddy jog....

Well I'm back from my trip to Maine & Boston after a one day delay. The Bermuda Airport was closed down due to Bertha but we were lucky and got home the following day. Fortunately, there was no serious damage on Bermuda. Bertha had lost most of it's power once it hit with 60 MPH winds which down graded it to a tropical storm.
I had a great, though very busy trip! I visited family and friends, met the two newest additions to our family, Henry & Jackson, and attended a family wedding in Boston. I was able to spend 4 of my vacation days with my sister, and nieces at a lovely camp on a small pond in Maine. We ate, played games, swam, walked and slept to the cries of the loons, chickadees and the infamous Maine mosquitos and horse flies :-) A good time was had by all...
Susan Mills and I are sharing a space at the 12th Annual Audubon Art & Fine Crafts Show on August 16th & 17th so we got together to plan out our booth display and mentor each other regarding the exhibit, display & each other's work. It was exciting to see the display unfold and get a sneak preview of how it will come together. Susan has a show two weeks earlier in Bar Harbor at the dimensions show so we were able to design her solo booth space at the same time.
The body of artwork that will be shown at the Audubon show was taken to John the Framer in Topsham for framing so that it will be ready for the show when I return to Maine in August.

Now that I am back home, I have 4 weeks to see to final preperations for the show, continue to work on the Bermuda Fiber Festival and Fryeburg Fair Fiber Center schedule. I like to mix things up a bit in life ( I may be ADD :-) so I will also begin working on some R&D for creating jewelry made with wire, fiber & sea glass. I was able to do some research at Border's while in Boston and came home with lots of inspiration to get me started again. But first I have some personal stuff to tend to... pay bills, car maintainance and other fun stuff :-)
I'll be back with more later! Enjoy the summer.....