Show schedules

Last weekend I did my first art show of the year at Queeny Park in St. Louis. Fortunately it was an indoor show--because the weather got downright NASTY!

I have been extraordinarily fortunate this spring to have developed some new wonderful friendships. They are all artists--which is no surprise to me. By definition, I think most artists are optimists and generally happy people. That's the kind of people I like to hang with.
Sour pusses can hang elsewhere! That is also one of the perks of doing the shows is being surrounded by these happy people.

At Queeny I was awarded third place in the 2-D category. It was accompanied by a nice check. I am really anticipating the joy of spending one of these award checks on something for myself. In the meantime it counts as income and pays my rent. But something about that just isn't right! I am NOT, however, complaining!

The photo above is one of four pieces in my Elements and Monu-metals series. This one is "Gold". The others are "Silver", "Copper" and "Bronze". They are hanging at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. I hear they look great. My agent set this up and I am delighted! The center block is done with Tyvek- painted, then stitched to a foundation, then blasted with a heat gun. There is something almost primal about watching the Tyvek melt away when the heat hits it. I also applied gold foil as the last step--as well as to the other blocks. The crosses are made with a stamp I created using lucite and those plastic tile spacing thingies. I made several stamps in different sizes.

I thought you might want to know where I'll be showing my work in the next couple of months. So here's my schedule:

• April 20-July25th MADI Museum Dallas- exhibition
• April 27-29 St. Charles Spring Art Walk-St. Charles, MO
• May 4-6 Walnut Street Festival- Springfield, MO
• May 11-13 Laumeier Sculpture Park Art Show-St. Louis, MO
• May 17-20 Tulsa Mayfest- Tulsa, OK
• June 2-3 57th St. Art Festival- Chicago, IL
• July 7-8 Oak Brook Invitational- Oak Brook, IL (Chicago)

I'm still deciding just how many shows I'll do this year. With Mom and Dad now a part of our household I am finding that being away for more than a day or two is tough on my husband- Bless his soul! As much as I love doing the shows- and I do--the time has come to cut down on some "road time."

With that in mind I am actively shopping for galleries. I am looking for a few galleries that can successfully show and sell my larger pieces. Ones that understand fiber and care about the individual artist. I want a long term relationship where there is time to build a following and large works are not a problem to sell. I only want a maximum of six nationally and none in cities where I am likely to do art festivals. I respect the marketing that a gallery does and have no interst in being competition to them. Naturally I want professionalism from them as I expect them to get it from me. No flighty chaos merchants for me, thank you!

So-- Who do you know?

With 16 national awards in the last 2 years I hope I am a good candidate for a well placed gallery. I will still have my smaller works available but not in the bigger galleries.

I figure if the universe knows what I am in search of--the right opportunities will appear.

With that in mind...

Just so you know-- My long term direction is to do large scale pieces that hang in very public spaces--like hospitals, airports, community centers, hotel lobbies, restaurants, corporate lobbies, etc. I have had a vision for many years that I want my art to affect people in a positive way. One vision I keep getting is of someone walking through an airport after returning from a family funeral. They walk past one of my artquilts and suddenly just realize they feel a bit better. They may not even know why. That is why, although I appreciate the individual collector, I am really in search of the more public client. I want to create nice effects on large numbers of people. That is my mission. Do you have a place in that mission? I hope so. Please keep your eyes open for opportunities that go that direction. I'd appreciate it, no end! If you have a referral please email me privately. susan@rebelquilter.com

As glorious as the weather has been this spring--major changes are afoot. Can you believe they are forecasting S-N-O-W? We've been enjoying our red leaf lettuce from the garden as well as dill and fennel. Time to cover up and hunker down!