I’m a Crafty Bastard!

Hey, don’t forget I will be selling my wares in person at the first ever Summer Crafty Bastards Fair here in the Washington DC metro area. Info as follows:

Saturday, June 28, 2008, 10am-5pm at the Pyramid Atlantic Arts Center at 8230 Georgia Ave. (Google Maps) in artist-friendly Silver Spring, MD.

I’m very excited to be taking part in this awesome indie craft show which is a highly prized event here in DC by both crafters and craft-lovers.

Of course I’d heard all about the Crafty Bastards when I first moved to the DC area last summer and was impressed with the Adams Morgan show last fall. Amazing crafts and an AMAZING crowd of craft-lovers. I  showed up early, before it got REALLY crowded, and I still wasn’t able to see everything.

So, as you can imagine, I’m stoked about meeting more of DC’s indie craftsters and being part of that scene. This is also a chance for me to see any of YOU who haven’t gotten down to the Eastern Market recently to see my new stuff. Look forward to seeing a few summer things, some jewelry, and (hopefully) a few things for GUYS (because I think men ought to have something cool to wear other than a t-shirt).

Hope to see you there!

Torpedo Factory First

On Thursday my lease for my space at the Torpedo Factory was finally approved and so they were able to put some of my pieces out. Hooray! On Friday I spent my first day there getting to know the ins and outs of the place. I learned many practical things like where the light switches and body parts are (for display), where to buy good iced tea, to remember that even though it’s 96 degrees outside, the temperture inside will be in the low 60s…Good thing I make sweaters!

I got to meet (and get to know a bit) the two studiomates I hadn’t met yet. The very BEST part, of course, was that I made my first Torpedo Factory SALE! I’m so glad I was there to see how fantastic this piece looked on the lady who bought it (It was one of my new sweaters for fall that I am not posting on-line yet). She was thrilled. I was thrilled. It was one of my favorite and best pieces EVER, for so many reasons…

 
I put so much detail into this piece. I absolutely LOVE the way the sleeves turned out. And I don’t know if you can see it, but there’s a big HOLE at the bottom in the center in the back.

BIG NEWS: Torpedo Factory

So, as I told you in April, I was juried into the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria Virginia. When I started this whole process, I realized that even if I DID get juried in, it might be YEARS before I actually got a studio space there (My friend Jenae is there and she gave me the inside poop). First you have to sublease a space for 180 days. This is usually done in spats and spurts (a week here, maybe as long as a month somewhere else) as other artists go on vacation and need someone to open their space while they’re away (every studio is obliged to be open a certain number of hours each week). While subleasing, you get to be at the TF and see what it’s like working there, you get to put up a few of your things; it’s a good way to see if it will work for you (some people don’t like working in public), but it’s all very itinerate and the 180 days can take years.

After you manage to sublease for 180 days, you then (as I understand it) become eligible to be a lease-holding artist (instead of merely an Associate artist) and you get put on a list of eligible artists waiting for studio space. Getting your own space is nearly impossible. Some people have been in the Factory since it opened (over thirty years ago) and don’t plan on leaving until they die. But you can get asked to join someone else’s studio…bladdy bladdie blah. You get the picture. It ain’t easy.

So, what’s amazing to me is that I’m going to be part of the Fiber Works studio, which is one of the founding studios at the TF. It’s right on the main floor, so it’s easy to find and gets lots of traffic. Right now I’ll be sharing with 5 other fiber artists, which means I’ll only have to be there 4 or 5 days a month (doable for me right now), yet my work will be there every day. This situation seems almost perfect in that I get to be at the TF, get a sense of it, start building my 180 days, have my work on display, be a part of the community, etc. It’s only a three month trial at the end of which I’ll decide if it’s working for me. But right now, I’m VERY excited to be getting my foot in the door there and to have my work on display in such a gorgeous space in Alexandria. Right now I’m putting some of my very best work there, stuff that I haven’t put up on-line because it’s really NEW for the FALL. We’ll see how it goes.

Fiber Works information is as follows:
Fiber Works, Studio 14, on the ground floor.
Gallery hours are 10am – 5pm Mon-Sat & 12noon – 5pm Sun.
Telephone: 703.836.5807
Email: fiberworkstf@hotmail.com

My schedule there is variable, so if you want to come when I’m there, shoot me an email beforehand and I can let you know what days I’ll be there.

Hope to see you there!