Lisa Call

Structures #42    ©2006    81"x 33"

Fencing In or Keeping Out

In conjunction with the 2008 Fiber Invitational (see below), Denver, Colorado textile artist and curator, Lisa Call (me), will display her own hand dyed and stitched quilts textile paintings. Call employs the use of abstraction, geometry, and the color pallet of the Southwest within her work. Interest in both geological formations and man-made structures such as fences and walls manifest themselves within her Structures series. Visible delineations suggesting containment and boundaries also allude to the psychological boundaries we set.

 
Lux Center for the Arts
Lincoln, Nebraska
April 4 — 26, 2008
Lux Center Website

 
Opening Reception
Friday, April 4, 2008, 5:00-7:00 pm

I will be at the opening reception and will be giving a gallery talk at 6pm. Please introduce yourself and say hello if you are in attendance.

Distinctive Directions

Lux Center’s 2008 Fiber Invitational, curated by me, brings together diverse and talented regional and east coat artists: Deidre Adams, Joanie San Chirico, Jeanne Williamson and Pam RuBert.

See our website and blog at distinctive-directions.com

Structures #42

The above piece will make it’s public debut at this show. Although I completed it 2 years ago it has never been shown or even entered into any juried shows. It reminds me a lot of bamboo. Although bamboo might not be blue.

Detail of surface stitching:

Structures #57    ©2006    33"x 66"

Putting out Fires

In a recent post titled Managing Urgencies Seth Godin writes:

Do you have a plan?

A long or medium term plan for your brand or your blog or your career or your project?

You can have grand visions for remodeling your house or getting in shape, but if there’s a fire in the kitchen, you drop everything and put it out. What choice do you have? The problem, of course, is that most organizations are on fire, most of the time.

In my post a few days ago about getting things done I talked about how excited I was to be making progress on projects that previously were ignored due to lack of urgency of the project.

This had become my default behavior:

Add up enough urgencies and you don’t get a fire, you get a career. A career putting out fires never leads to the goal you had in mind all along.

Last year I entered a bunch of juried shows instead of working on some bigger projects that require more effort and will take longer to yield results. Juried shows are easy, fill out a form and send off a CD and some money and there is illusion of progress when the acceptance letter arrives.

Stagnating in the Fire

Problem is these shows don’t do much for my career anymore. In the beginning they were great. They were the big goal and they got me what I was after, a resume filled with quality shows to give me the foundation for bigger things.

Thing is I’ve been doing this for 10 years – my resume is plenty long with lots of juried shows – they no longer provide much value and they are starting to look like they are my career and not just the initial step forward.

The past few months I paid the price of having entered all those shows putting out fires of the resulting acceptances. Doing paperwork, packaging and shipping work.

No time was left to work on the bigger projects like completing the redesign of my website, sending out my first studio newsletter (a project that has been on hold for over a year as it is never urgent) or lining up gallery representation. Things I’ve clearly identified as important for moving me forward.

Small Steps to Move Forward

As I said a few days ago. No More!

Basically I’m doing exactly what Seth mentions here:

I guess the trick is to make the long term items even more urgent than today’s emergencies. Break them into steps and give them deadlines.

I’ve identified the big projects that will propel my art career forward in a big way and now I’m defining the next steps that need to be taken to create my new reality. When I look at my next actions list I want to look at actions that are simple and easily doable. Things like:

• Determine List of Newsletter Articles
• Write Introduction to Newsletter
• Select template for new website
• Create header for new website

I don’t put ‘write newsletter’ on the list as that’s just too overwhelming and I won’t ever get to it.

Deadlines

In addition to the small steps I’m also setting deadlines as Seth mentions. Now I’ll make one of those goals public as it’s fast approaching and I’m committed to making that goal.

My first studio newsletter will be sent by March 31. I’ve already made some nice progress on the project and am excited about it. [sneak preview: I'm making 3 new aceos (artist cards) inspired by 3 pieces from my Markings series. These will be available to my subscribers via my newsletter].

To subscribe to my studio newsletter, to be sent 4 times a year, enter your email address below:

 
I will never share or sell your email address and will only use it for the purpose stated above. All emails sent will include a link to unsubscribe should you decide you are no longer interested.

Structures #57

I posted an image of Structures #57 in this post a year+ ago but the color was off. I recently got this piece back from the art center where it was on display and rephotographed it. These are more accurate colors.

I love the blue thread over the red fabric in the surface stitching of this piece. Actually I just love the entire thing. A few years back I said I didn't use much red, now I'm finding I'm using it more and more and really love the results. Maybe Cathy Kleeman's influence, she uses red often and well.

 
Are you putting out fires?

Structures #96    ©2008    16.5"x 28"

Toxic People and Behaviors

I was reading an email yesterday that recommended making a list of all the people in my life and putting a + or – next to each of them to see if there is a pattern for the toxic people in my life. I put a bit of thought into this but didn’t get far. My mind took a leap and I started thinking that the non supportive/negative people in my life were most likely a result of negative thinking and behavior on my part.

Seemed to me instead of focusing on the symptom (people I’ve allowed into my life that I feel are not supportive) that I’d be better off focusing on the cause (my own negative thoughts and behaviors). I can’t change the behavior of the people in my life but I can change myself.

I also believe there are no longer people in my life that I feel are unsupportive. I’ve found that as I focus more on the positive and once I got clear in how I wanted to be treated, the people that didn’t share those choices moved on. As I shed my negative thoughts the people that came with those unhealthy patterns also disappeared.

Not To Do List

Many books about getting organized and getting things done talk about the importance of making a not-to-do-list. Here’s mine. If I catch myself doing or thinking these things I change my thoughts and behavior to something more nurturing and positive.

• Negative thinking.
• Getting hooked into other people’s negative thinking.
• Complaining.
• Criticizing.
• Whining.
• Gossiping and Colluding.
• Checking email 4000 times a day.
• Reading blogs more than 1 hour a day.
• Surfing the internet when I could be doing something else (which is pretty much anytime).
• Checking Blog and Website stats more than once every 2 weeks.

To Do List

I’ve also thought a lot about my priorities and where I want to put my time and energy. Here is my short version of my to-do list:

• Being self accepting.
• Being authentic.
• Being honest.
• Being kind.
• Being generous.
• Being gentle.
• Complimenting others.
• Feeling gratitude.
• Living in the present.
• Going for walks.
• Working in my studio with no expectations.
• Hanging out with my kids.
• Spending time with my friends and family.
• Gardening and cooking.
• Living healthy
• Living life effortlessly.

Not Finishing

A final no-to-do – leaving my artwork unfinished. I thought I had Structures #95 and Structures #96 finished but last night as I was packaging them up to mail them off to my solo show at Lux, Fencing In or Keeping Out, (opens April 4 – more on that tomorrow or thursday) I discovered I didn’t have the hanging mechanism (a fabric tube) or labels sewn on to them. Oops!

I’ll chalk this one up to my Getting Things Done approach to stuff starting after I dropped the ball on this work.

 
Do you keep a not-to-do-list?

I Need a Better System

I’ve tried various plans for organizing my office and files but they generally don’t work for me and instead of filing I start stacking papers and eventually it’s completely out of control with years of papers piled up around my office. The result is forgotten deadlines and missed opportunities.

I’m great at making lists but I tend to have several lists going on different scraps of paper and some online and they are never complete so my brain spends a lot of time trying to remember what I need to do. I’ve decided it’s time for a change. I couldn’t deal with the clutter anymore and I was tired of forgetting important things.

Getting Things Done

I’ve read several organization books in the past and none of them really worked for me. Until this month, I finally read David Allen’s Getting Things Done.

I love it.

It’s about writing everything down so you can forget about it and relax. Everything has a clear category (can you take action on it or can’t you) so everything is in an obvious place. It’s probably not for everyone as he’s got a flow chart for how to determine what to do with a piece of paper, but I’m finding it extremely helpful. Once I got going it’s not as complicated as it seemed when I read about it.

One of the things I love about it is he’s not selling a day timer or electronic gadget. He’s just explains his ideas and leaves the reader to implement it in a way that works for them.

I spent the first week of March (the week before my kids came home) organizing my office. Tossing out huge piles of papers and redoing my filing system.

• I now have a real world in box and my desktop is cleared.
• My email inbox is at 0 at the end of most days.
• I don’t have stacks of papers without a home.
• At a glance I know all the balls I have up in the air at any time and which ones need action.

Important but Not Urgent

As a result of identifying all the projects I was working on and the next steps I needed to do on them I’ve made some big progress in completing some of the projects. Projects that I’ve always wanted to do but haven’t tackled because they aren’t the most urgent things in my life.

As an example I knew I wanted to get some limbs cut off of a tree so my garden would get more light but it never made it onto a list as it was never urgent. With this system I wrote it down and in a few free minutes at work I found someone to do the work on craiglist and they came out that day and did the job.

It feels great to be making progress on more than just the things with a deadline this week.

Ready for the Big Breakthrough

I’m now in a position to tackle a really big project and bring it to completion – getting a professional portfolio pulled together along with a rewrite of my website as I’m ready to start looking for gallery representation.

This is a pretty big project and instead of going it alone I’ve signed up for Alyson Stanfield’s Artist Breakthrough Program (on the classes tab, it starts in April). After taking Christine Kane’s e-seminar I know the value in having outside support. And I love the amazing benefits of group energy. I’ll be holding myself accountable to completing these projects by working with a group and setting some deadlines.

I’m excited about getting this work finished and moving to the next level with my art career.

Blog Book Tour

Speaking of Alyson, I’m going to be hosting her on my blog on April 1 as part of her blog book tour. I love her new book I’d Rather Be in The Studio and I was excited for the opportunity to interview her for the book tour. Although I’ve read Alyson’s blog for years and attended a workshop with her I still learned quite a bit from her book. I definitely recommend it.

Dandelion, Oil on Canvas, 10" x 10", ©2007 Shan Bryan-Hanson
 

Too Tired to Think or Move

A few weeks ago I had a few nights in a row where I got very little sleep. As a result I was pretty wiped out for a few days. I went to the day job, checked email, chatted with kids, and that was about it. I realized that a very big key for me for holding my intent is to be well rested.

Not a super profound thought but it’s easy to fall into the trap of saying ‘I don’t have time to sleep 8 hours a day’. I find when I do that I end up getting less done. So really – I can’t afford to not sleep 8 hours a day.

Maybe I’m just getting old. I remember staying up 4 days in a row my last semester of college when I was 22 to complete a huge assignment in one of my classes. There is absolutely no way I could do that now.

In any case its bedtime because I have to be up at 5:30am to do yoga before getting the kids to school. I’ve only missed 2 mornings of yoga since Jan 1. It’s been harder to hold my intent of starting my day slowly with yoga and journaling with the kids home but its become a routine and it’s very important to me so I’m making it happen.

Art Trade

I love the above painting by Shan. She posted it on her blog in October last year and I went back and looked at it often thinking it needed to live at my house. I saved up enough to buy it earlier this year and was thrilled it was still available. I was even more thrilled when she asked to do a trade and selected Structures #71 in exchange.

Shan used to be one of my favorite bloggers. I loved her writing and obviously I love her art. She quit blogging last year and I still miss reading her thoughts.

Holding Intent – Related Posts

Transitioning and Intent
Holding Intent – Part I [Realistic Goals]
Holding Intent – Part II [Excuses]
Holding Intent – Part III [Focus]
Holding Intent – Part IV [Enough Time]
Holding Intent – Part V [Self Care]
Holding Intent – Part VI [Fear]

Macky Auditorium, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado

The last of the photos from my show, which closes to the public tomorrow. These are the photos of the opening reception. I put the camera away as soon as people started showing up so it’s pretty much just the food and a few of me.

I asked my wonderful friend Amy to join me at the opening and she was an huge help. Setting up the food table and getting things looking fabulous. She was also the official photographer – this is me – doing something. I can’t recall what – but it was entertaining.

The tulips on the table were my solution to the ‘um – what should we do with the flowers since I didn’t think to bring a vase’ problem. The artful placement was Amy’s doing.

The only picture I took of Amy – doing her helper duties. Thank you Amy – I couldn’t have pulled it off so effortlessly without you.

Macky Auditorium, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado

Installation images from my show, Markings: Repetition and Pattern. The last day the show is open to the public is this Wednesday, March 19, from 9-4pm. The lighting makes for difficult photography in the gallery – apologies for the unevenness.

 

Markings #22, Markings #11, Markings #15, Markings #24, Markings #12, Markings #10, Markings #14, Markings #19

 

Markings #10, Markings #14

 

Markings #2, Markings #9, Markings #7, Markings #22, Markings #11, Markings #15, Markings #24, Markings #12

 

Markings #9, Markings #7

 

Markings #2, Markings #9, Markings #7

 

Markings #1, Markings #8, Marking #2

 

Markings #19, Markings #4, Marking #16

 

Markings #4, Marking #16

Markings #12 – In Progress

Upside Down

Well yes, as Monica and several others correctly identified, Markings #12 is hanging upside down at my show, Markings: Repetition and Pattern. So all those folks that went to the opera last night and the thousands of other people that have been through the theater lobby get to enjoy it 180 degrees from my intended orientation. Pretty funny.

In the above, in progress, photo of the piece it’s clear which end is up as my electric plugs are near the floor not the ceiling. And really, it’s rather difficult to get a digital image upside down.

So at some point I forgot which end was up and I sewed the hanging mechanism (a sleeve of fabric that holds a board) to the bottom instead of the top. Impressive. What’s interesting, when I photographed it I knew which end was up and photographed it correct (I don’t use the hanging board/sleeve when I do my photography).

 
Correct:

 
Upside Down :

I definitely like it better as designed so when I get it home I’ll fix it. I’ll leave the signature at the top. It’s barely noticeable and sideways so it’ll look fine on the upper left instead of my normal lower right. I’ll just unsew and resew the sleeve and label.

In Good Company

I can’t say this is the first time I’ve ever gotten this backwards. Structures #13 hangs upside down from how it was designed because I signed it upside down and the signature is rather obvious and it would look more than odd having the signature upside down. So I flipped the piece 180 degrees and it still looks great.

I almost did the same thing with Markings #22 but caught the mistake before it was too late. It has 2 signatures – one at the top and one at the bottom. The top one is sideways and both are hard to see so I figured, what the heck – a bonus signature.

Do any of you ever do such silly things?

Front Wall Installation Photo – Markings: Repetition and Pattern

 
It’s been a wonderful week with my kids home and I haven’t felt motivated to blog. When I found a bit of time a few days ago I processed the above image in photoshop and just started laughing. Anyone want to guess why?

Markings #24    ©2008    24"x 24"

Sunrise

A few days after posting sunrise photos on my blog in Janurary I was inspired to take some more. Watching the color arise and then recede from the sky is a magical thing to witness.

Markings 24

The idea of making a piece inspired by these photos popped into my head at some point soon after taking them and I needed another small piece for my show. In one of the very few occasions in my art career, I set out to make a piece directly inspired by something I was consciously thinking about. Usually I just create without preplanning the object informing the work.

It felt a bit weird at times trying to represent the layers of the clouds in fabric. It might have helped had I actually looked at the photos, instead I just worked from my memory and feelings of the even. I got stuck for a while, but since I started the piece only 48 hours before the work was due to be delivered to be hung I didn’t stay stuck for long.

 
So that is the end of new work in my show, Markings: Repetition and Pattern, hanging in Boulder through March 23rd. Next I’ll post some installation photos. Probably not tomorrow, my kids didn’t make it home tonight due to weather but they should be here by noon tomorrow.

Detail Image: