This week I've finally opened the Amy M Fiber Designs shop on Etsy.com. I'm quite excited about this foray into the 21st century! I hope you'll take a look. You can link to the shop from the box near the upper right on this page. I've listed seven vessels for sale, with more to come in the near future.
Your comments and suggestions for improving my shop are always welcome. Please e-mail me.
Meanwhile, I have a lot of new vessels that will be at the Talmadge Art Show on Sunday, Nov. 20. I'll be doing a photo session in the next week and will post some of the new work on this site then.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Still here, still felting
I updated my gallery pages last week - please take a look.
Last month I worked intensively, making up for time lost earlier in the summer, and produced a body of work I'm pleased with for Art Fair San Diego last weekend. I've learned some technical tricks recently with my very large vessels that give me much-increased confidence in their stability, so there will certainly be more of those to come.
Last month I worked intensively, making up for time lost earlier in the summer, and produced a body of work I'm pleased with for Art Fair San Diego last weekend. I've learned some technical tricks recently with my very large vessels that give me much-increased confidence in their stability, so there will certainly be more of those to come.
Friday, August 5, 2011
August in the studio
It feels so good to be in the studio again, reconnecting with colors and textures after feeling thwarted for the first half of the summer. I'm creating some sleek new work for a sales opportunity that recently came my way for the upcoming Labor Day weekend. (See the sidebar at right for details on "The Pop-Up Shop".) Some of my half-formed ideas will be on hold as I ramp up into production mode for the fall season of shows.
I hope to take photos of new work next week, so please check back.
Last week a new acquaintance visited the studio, a fellow felter I met through a former neighbor at a Talmadge show. I loved talking shop and having the chance to get to know someone new, someone I hope will become a friend in time. I feel quite isolated doing this work and fervently wish there were a felting community in the San Diego area or an organization somewhere in the US. (If there is one, I haven't been able to find it.) I had a wonderful community as a weaver, both local and national, and it was a nurturing and fertile environment. (I'm still part of it, but since I hardly ever weave these days, I'm primarily an observer for now.)
I'm supremely happy working in the solitude of my studio, but I do miss having colleagues to turn to for support and for learning. (If you happen to be a southern California felter, dear reader, please contact me!)
I hope to take photos of new work next week, so please check back.
Last week a new acquaintance visited the studio, a fellow felter I met through a former neighbor at a Talmadge show. I loved talking shop and having the chance to get to know someone new, someone I hope will become a friend in time. I feel quite isolated doing this work and fervently wish there were a felting community in the San Diego area or an organization somewhere in the US. (If there is one, I haven't been able to find it.) I had a wonderful community as a weaver, both local and national, and it was a nurturing and fertile environment. (I'm still part of it, but since I hardly ever weave these days, I'm primarily an observer for now.)
I'm supremely happy working in the solitude of my studio, but I do miss having colleagues to turn to for support and for learning. (If you happen to be a southern California felter, dear reader, please contact me!)
Monday, July 4, 2011
Down time
June was a fallow month in the studio. A nasty bug picked up on vacation (fortunately not till the last day of the trip) has left me with greatly reduced energy. Wrestling wool into felt has been beyond my capabilities. Now that my brain is beginning to function again, I've been considering what comes next, and I am eager to get back to work. My next craft sale isn't till the fall, by design, so I have the freedom to try out some new ideas and products this summer. I'll let you know if anything pans out! Meanwhile, I've updated the Gallery 2 page with a few recent pieces.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Post-show reflections
I've been working hard in the studio these past few months. I was rather astonished when I took inventory last week in preparation for today's Talmadge Art Show and found I had fifty vessels to show for my efforts.
The only problem was, people weren't in a buying mood today. Business was slow for many of the artists there, including me. Disappointing, but at least now I have plenty of stock on hand for the next couple of months!
I am learning that it's impossible to know why business is good or bad on any given day. Is it my work, or my display? Is it the price of gasoline? Is it the weather? There's no way to tell, so I am training myself not to worry about it, unless and until there's a consistent pattern. I do what I do, and I love what I do, and that will do for now.
I have been enamored of creating felted clouds lately. Here's one of my favorite recent vessels. I'll post additional recent photos on my gallery pages soon.
The only problem was, people weren't in a buying mood today. Business was slow for many of the artists there, including me. Disappointing, but at least now I have plenty of stock on hand for the next couple of months!
I am learning that it's impossible to know why business is good or bad on any given day. Is it my work, or my display? Is it the price of gasoline? Is it the weather? There's no way to tell, so I am training myself not to worry about it, unless and until there's a consistent pattern. I do what I do, and I love what I do, and that will do for now.
I have been enamored of creating felted clouds lately. Here's one of my favorite recent vessels. I'll post additional recent photos on my gallery pages soon.
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| Cloud Series #4: Cedar Dawn |
Thursday, March 31, 2011
New venues, new work, new lessons
I am very pleased that my work recently was accepted into two wonderful stores: Zazen and Art N Soul on 101. (See details in sidebar at right.) They are very different places, with very different owners, and I love it that I seem to fit into both. Time, and the customers, will tell!
The Talmadge Art Show will continue to be an important venue for me, which means an expanding audience and an expanding need for work. This brings new challenges: to produce the required volume of work at a level of quality and creativity I can continue to be proud of. Time will tell on this one too.
I've added new photos to my gallery pages; please take a look.
The Talmadge Art Show will continue to be an important venue for me, which means an expanding audience and an expanding need for work. This brings new challenges: to produce the required volume of work at a level of quality and creativity I can continue to be proud of. Time will tell on this one too.
I've added new photos to my gallery pages; please take a look.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Learning & growing
I have been surprised to learn in this past year that I really enjoy selling my work directly to the public. I'm a very private person, and I don't much like crowds, so normally the idea of spending six or more hours in a noisy hall with sixty other artists and hundreds of shoppers would fill me with automatic dread. And yet...
Although working an all-day sale is physically exhausting, when it goes well, it is great for the psyche. Shoppers' reactions to my work can boost my ego or humble me, or both at once. And I learn so much each time about how to present my work, how to sell it more effectively, what people like or find lacking in it, and where I want it to take me next.
I'm very grateful to everyone who stops at my booth, whether they buy or not, and to all show organizers and helpers who make this possible, and for the path that has led me to this point.
As an artist I work alone, and I like it that way. What I've discovered at these shows is that the feedback generated by public presentation of my work is necessary to keep me motivated, to go deeper with current ideas and give voice to new ones.
Although working an all-day sale is physically exhausting, when it goes well, it is great for the psyche. Shoppers' reactions to my work can boost my ego or humble me, or both at once. And I learn so much each time about how to present my work, how to sell it more effectively, what people like or find lacking in it, and where I want it to take me next.
I'm very grateful to everyone who stops at my booth, whether they buy or not, and to all show organizers and helpers who make this possible, and for the path that has led me to this point.
As an artist I work alone, and I like it that way. What I've discovered at these shows is that the feedback generated by public presentation of my work is necessary to keep me motivated, to go deeper with current ideas and give voice to new ones.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
New work
Gallery 2 now includes several new vessels I've completed lately. These will be at the Talmadge show this coming Sunday, along with many others.
Earlier this month I took time away from felting for a two-day class on eco-friendly indigo dyeing. I've worked a lot with synthetic dyes, but never with indigo, and I wanted to check it out. I'm glad I did it, though likely will never do it again. But when the class ended, we got to divide up what was left in the dye pot and take it home with us to finish up. Along with a lot of cotton fabric, I threw a couple of felt vessels into the pot. These were pieces that had been sitting on a shelf in my studio because I was too unhappy with them to offer them for sale or display. I find the indigo a definite improvement -- though neither piece could ever be mistaken for my best work! Here are before and after images of one of them, a small vessel:
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| After: Am I Blue? |
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| Before: Pewter #3 |
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
A brief hiatus, coming to an end
I've been resting on my laurels - and just plain resting - since the show in late November. I'm doing some weaving, for the first time in over a year, and some sewing. It's restorative to step back from the felting work and think about what to make next. Soon, though, I'll be gearing up for the next Talmadge Art Show on February 27. So I should have photos of new work to post here before too long.
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