Last time I slept?

I'm not sure when was the last time I got a full night's rest. It's been weeks. 

THIS IS WHY

*I hope to see everyone tomorrow, Friday, June 11th, to celebrate. :)

Solo Show Reception: LAMINA

Lamina 3
Originally uploaded by Elizabeth J. Smith

Some photos from my opening for LAMINA @ Barefoot off on Girard Ave. This photo was taken by my friend Kelly Burkhardt. Thanks Kelly! For more photos from this reception CLICK HERE.

Thanks!

Redwork Embroidery Quilt Project

For the Midwives Collective's upcoming members' show (June 2010), in addition to our own personal works, we're doing a collaborative group project: a redwork embroidery quilt. Each of us is going to produce a single block. Then my mom and her friend are going to piece the quilt together and finish it off for us (Thanks Mom!). The pictured red fabrics are the other fabrics that are going to be used in our collaborative quilt.
This quilt will either be auctioned or raffled off during our show. 100% of the proceeds will go to benefit Midwives For Haiti.
The design I'm using for my own block is taken from an original repeated design Sarah and I are producing for our collaborative installation for the Midwives members' show. My current designs are based on the stylized florals of Richard Hoffman.

So, might have a solo show at the Barefoot Doctor Community Acupuncture Clinic in North Philly come Feb/March, thanks to Darla Jackson, who's recently started curating shows there. Click here for pics from the first one she put together.

Which reminds me: I have to finish a couple new pieces for this. eep!

Hardanger update

So, I've not gotten as far as I'd like on my hardanger embroidery project. Stuff with my collective has been taking some precedence with our upcoming shows:

EL VIAJE:the journey


CALL FOR ENTRIES: The Whole 9 Yards

I'm a juror for this show!

Anyway, here's an update on what I've gotten so far:



There's a lot of planning and pulling of threads happening on other parts of the fabric in prep for adding in decorative stitches and structures. More when that actually happens!

Last night's opening: MERGE:Recent Works

Hi all! Last night was the opening for our show MERGE:Recent Works. It was great! Lots of folks came out and I sold a piece! Hot dog!
Some pictures below of us in the curatorial stages and then on the wall:

Recently Unemployed

Recently I was laid off, ergo, I thought starting a blog about my "funemployment" would be a good project. I'm hoping that it acts as an impetus for my art work as well as my larger life goals. We'll see. I'm pretty good at false starts.

However, since my unemployment began (it's been less than a week) my mind's been racing at the possibilities: WHAT TO DO WITH ALL THIS TIME? (aside of course, looking for a job). And while the job part is very important, I can't help but entertain other possible directions and uses for this "temporary retirement" that I've suddenly been granted.

1. artist residency?
2. internship?
3. volunteer?
4. concentrate harder on my artist collective?
5. knock out a few of those prerequisites for grad school?

Well, how's about them all? So, I did some research.
I researched artist residencies, and considering I'd have to pay my own way, that fell off the list. I also already have a studio and am now on a paid vacation so what's the point? I looked into internships at the Fabric Workshop and Museum but if I did the Fall internship, it'd go through December, and God willing I'll have a job well before December.
So, I'm going to concentrate on my collective and gear up for grad school, all the while job searching (helllllooooo Upenn and Drexel!) and getting my artworks up to par as well as SOLD.

So, below are pieces I'm working on for my upcoming group show, MERGE: Recent Works at my co-op gallery in South Philly. They're strewn across my dining table.
They're silk fabric pieces, hand-dyed and patterned, then stitched.










I'm a little amazed that I'm using neon green for any of this work, considering my fears of using any neon colors. But I've happily discovered that anything, in the right proportion, works wonders. Plus I'm getting out of my comfort zone with the colors.