In Good Company - The F Word Exhibition

http://www.thingystudio.ca/

In my yoga class yesterday, our teacher was talking to us about connecting.  As we moved through the poses, she spoke of us all having a role to play in our lives, that we each matter and that we share a connective bond through our own humanity - our faults, our perfections. 

I love going to her class - not just because it is a physical challenge - but this young mother has such a gift of sharing these thoughts of acceptance and purpose - without it sounding preachy or too new age.  Her words just make sense.  I leave the class feeling tired, enegized, mindful and more positive about my own place in my life.

While I wrote the other day about my shyness, please know that I love being around people.  And yes, I may be quiet and spend time observing, but I do find people-watching fascinating.  The happiness, sadness, an angry mother, the cock-sure attitude of teenagers cruising the mall.  We act the way we do for a variety of reasons - our human nature, our personal history, the expectations of our peers, the pressure of the media, our desire to be the person we see in our dreams. 

I think that making art - whether it's the jewelry, collages or the journals - is my way of talking to people, of reaching out and opening the door to conversation.  It's the small details in the pieces that pull people in closer and generate questions that I get to answer, and in so doing, make a brief connection. 

I think all artists share this need.  To start a dialogue.  Whether it be about something trivial, or something else, art opens the door to connecting with humanity.  It allows people to venture into subjects that can be deeply traumatic, agonizingly painful, contentious or upliftingly beautiful.  Art lets people use the medium to voice ideas and opinions that may otherwise be hushed away in the corner.

Next weekend, I have a necklace featured in an exibition on feminism.  "The F- Word - Exploring Feminism in the 21st Centure," brings together a small group of female artists sharing their differing viewpoints on the changing face of feminism in modern culture.  I am humbled to be included, and yes, even proud.  I've always wanted a voice, and even if it dressed up in shiny baubles, there is more to me than beads on a string. 

I am so looking forward to meeting this dynamic group of women, to showing my daughter these works and having our own conversation on her place in this life, to connecting with the audience and seeing how our art reaches out to touch them.

I hope that you can come share this experience.

The F- Word - Exploring Feminism in the 21st Century

February 23 -April 2, 2012
Opening Reception: Feb. 25, 2-4PM

Location
#1100 - 2253 Leigh Square Place, Port Coquitlam, BC, V3C 3B8
Behind City Hall on Shaughnessy St. & McAllister.

Lessons

As I deal with two looming deadlines that are coming up at the end of the month, along with a growing to-do list of other miscellaneous items, I've been thinking about the relationship between where I am with this venture vs where I want to be.  I've come to a few conclusions.

So, in no particular order, here is my list of sure-fire ways to shoot-yourself-in-the-foot-and -not -be -successful....

1.  Spend too much time cruising the internet when you are supposed to be working.
       I do spend too much time popping up from my workbench to have a quick cruise through Facebook or my email.  I might poke through Etsy with random searches.  Whatever I'm looking at, it is usually something that can wait.  The world will not end if I don't see what's going on in cyberspace without me right that second.  I think this relates to spending far too much time on my own.

2.  Procrastinate
    This relates to #1 in that I know I am putting off making all those tiny soldered rings, or polishing, or filing something - those tedious jobs that I have to get through.  It's been a lifelong issue with me.  Why work through something at a steady pace when you can stress yourself out with frantic last minute deadlines?  The only time in my life that I didn't put things off was in university.  My professors would hand out the term paper assignments in the first week of class and I would promptly go to the library, take out something like 50 books (anyone remember just how far B Lot is from the UBC library?  Ugh!), and get started.  Yes, I was a studious nerd in those days.  Anyway, along with my resolution this year to start enjoying life in the moment, comes the side benefit of dealing with everything in the now too.  Or as the Nascar fans like to say, (and this pains me), "Git er done!"

3.  Don't market yourself.
    This is a biggie.  But it is difficult when you are on your own in the business.  I know I don't spend nearly enough time promoting Pink Gargoyle.  Word of mouth and exposure at markets can only do so much.  I have very little on Etsy, and don't have all the strong tag words and SEO stuff that I need for my website.  Honestly, I find that very tedious and I'm sure in part that has to do with the fact that I need to learn more about how to do it all better.  I need to get out to more stores, more fashion events - try to broaden my exposure with a larger retail environment, get some press, get my work in some fashion shows.  It all takes time away from being in the studio where I am happiest.  It is an issue of time management, self-confidence, knowledge, and chutzpa.    But not doing it is clearly not working for me.  It is possible to hire PR people to help with the marketing and maybe that is something that needs to be explored if I can't get my butt into gear (see #2).

4.  Be Shy.
    This is a difficult one, and one that I wish would just go away.  I am terribly shy, always have been.  I know I chat with you all at the markets, but it's not easy.  I feel very self-conscious, and worry that I will ramble on, or stumble over my words, or... or....Honestly, just making a cold phone call to a store or contact takes ages to work up the gumption.  I do believe in my jewelry and do believe that I have something worthwhile to say with the art that I do, but getting that message out there - stomach knotting anxiety.  I'm great on email but that doesn't really deal with the issue - at some point, I have to talk to a real person.  This one, I don't have a solution for right now.

There are more things I can add to this list, but as you see I am working heavily on issues 1,2, and 3 right now.  I need to go sit down at the workbench and not get up again for several hours.  And as for #4 - I don't know - just please remember that I am not anti-social, unfriendly or a snooty B - and thank you for taking the time to talk to me.

Cheers,
Christine.

A Quick Sum Up of a Good Week

I'm supposed to be doing the dishes, changing the laudry and supervising the kids while they practice their instruments but I'll just do a quickie here.  It's been a week of good news - first, Influx Jewelry Gallery in Calgary, Alberta (www.influxgallery.com) has accepted me to be one of their regular selling artists.  I've got to put together a package of about 25 pieces to ship out to them by the end of the month.  As well, Belle Armoire Jewellery magazine has accepted me for a technical article feature on the how-to of making one of the steampunk-inspired soldered rings.  Not sure what issue it will appear in, but it will be sometime this year.  So I'm very happy.  Maybe this will be the year that Pink Gargoyle breaks through.  I've finished two more journal this week too.  One is a little book, about 3*5 - it's very manly though with a vintage strongman image on the cover.  The other is meant to be a cookbook - there are kraft tags attached to each page that spin out of the way.  I see it as having the ingredients written on the tags, and the instructions underneath on the page.  I'll get pictures done this week.  I have to photograph the making of the ring step-by-step so I will have the camera and lights properly set up.  I've got some more silver birds to photograph too.

Anyway, I've got to get back to domesticity.  But I'm looking forward to another great week with lots of time in the studio (with regular outings to yoga!).

Cheers!