But over and above the storm, I was at Anna Hergert's Open Studio on Friday and Saturday as an invited artist. There were a great many people through her home and studio those two days - I think the final count was around the 200 mark. It was a terrific opportunity for me to get my artwork to that part of the province. And I saw so many people I knew: the women who were in my workshop in Moose Jaw in March, lots and lots from the S'toon Quilt Guild, not to mention that I met so many new people - a special hi to Jennifer (she's Jenny Penny Poppy on her blog - have a peek - she does fabulous work) and Cathy from Davidson (we'll figure something out for the near future). And the food - OMG the cakes were unbelievable and sooooo plentiful. Anna had baked for something like 3 days and the table was piled high with with goodies. I literally ate my way through both days - cream cakes. oh dear.... So thank you so very much for all your wonderful comments about my work. It's great to hear that people like what I do. And a huge thank you to Anna for inviting me down. I hope you get at least a couple of days to relax before you head off to your next destination.
My set-up at Anna's.
This is a shot of the rest area just off the highway by the Lake - looked like an ocean shot! I can't wait to stitch this one!
Speaking of new work, I've finally developed a card. Most artists these days seem to have some kind of card, be it a postcard or a type of greeting card. So, I've come up with this:
I'm calling these "Art in a Card" and they consist of a blank card with a small artwork inside at about 3" x 5" that could easily be framed. I took a couple of these to Anna's Open Studio to see what people thought of them and the reaction was totally favourable. So - I'll be producing these for my next show/sale, which will be in September. I would do commissions of these also and could insert whatever picture you'd prefer inside. The ones that I'll make will have lots of flower pictures, birds, wildflowers - that sort of thing. But I could just as easily stitch something that you would like. I'd sell the Iris at left for around the $50 mark-they would likely range from around $30 to $50, depending on the complexity of the picture. I thought these would be a good special-type card that could be purchased for a special person.

This is Top of the Lake and was taken from basically the same location as the stormy picture above. This is the first time I've ever stitched water and am very pleased with the result.
This is The Fairy's Foxtails and was taken last year on a photo outing
with my pal Judy. We happened on a field off a road and I couldn't begin
to tell you how we got there, but the scene was magical, right out of a
story book. In this field was dock-not just brown dock, but red, pink,
beautiful (you might have gathered that I'm a dock fan). Down the middle
of the field was a path that had been used to drive on at one time, but
was now completely filled in with these lovely pink foxtails. They were
a color that I've never seen - bright pink and green. I've only
stitched two of these and this one is the larger at 8"x8" for the
artwork, 12"x12" framed.
And finally, speaking of Dock, is this one:

One final point. In my last post I showed a picture of three small shacks on a hill and asked for name suggestions. This piece is now called Sentinels - thank you to Jo Ferguson for the suggestion. It was perfect.
I'm going to take the next couple of weeks off blogging, stitching, and working in general and will be out with my husband taking pictures of wonderful things to stitch. I should have lots to show you after that time (promise to post, hopefully every Friday). Have a great couple of weeks and I'll see you all later......donna
Your thread-work is exquisite, Donna...I think your 'art in a card' cards will be very well received! It's on my bucket list to visit Anna in her "new" digs (I took several classes with her when she lived in Calgary and she is responsible for my joining SAQA...and essentially for what I'm doing now!)...
ReplyDeleteThanks Margaret. Anna's house/studio has a really beautiful view as it's right on the lake. Her Open Studio sessions are totally enjoyable, not to mention a serious threat to overindulgence! There were something like 17 cream cakes and mercy, they were gooooood!!!
DeleteI especially love the foxtails, and I actually think I could find that spot again (or at least give it a darn good try) if you are interested.
ReplyDeleteYup, I'm definitely interested. I think I sort of remember, basically, well maybe not. But let's give it a go anyway.
DeleteA wonderful post with great pictures Donna. It was so nice to meet you in person at the Open Studio event and thank you very much for the blog mention! Looking forward to your next post and seeing some of the pictures you're busy taking :)
ReplyDeleteWe've taken so very many pictures over the last couple of weeks that I'm having serious difficulty choosing which ones to stitch. I'm trying to go much larger in my pieces this year so want to have lots - really must find a better photo storage system!
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