Lisa Call

ACEO #7
3 1/2″ x 2 1/2″
sold

ACEO #10
3 1/2″ x 2 1/2″
sold

 

ACEO #11
3 1/2″ x 2 1/2″
$21

Motivation Revisited

I wrote an article about motivation in my latest studio newsletter outlining 5 steps I take to stay motivated and on task to complete large projects (you can read it here - it’s the 3rd article: studio newsletter).

Another thing I do to keep motivated is to give myself rewards along the way and when the goal is reached. Nothing like getting something I really want to keep me moving forward. Sometimes it’s a simple as a container of expensive decadent ice cream or new art book to keep me plowing through a task. The best reward for doing household chores is a few hours in my studio.

Dell Studio 17

My big reward for getting my house sold and moving to my new home was to buy myself a new laptop. My old computer was 7 years old and not in the best shape. I upgraded the memory last year and that helped but it really needed to be put to sleep. In addition, having the big thing in my bedroom/studio/office was heating up the room and it was taking up way too much space.

So I ordered myself a "desktop replacement" laptop, which means it is big and heavy. It’s a Dell Studio 17 (17″ screen) with a fast processor, 4 gig of memory, beautiful high resolution screen and even a finger print scanner for security (okay - so it came installed - it’s kinda silly and I have no time to set it up right now but it’s still a fun toy). And best of all it’s orange.

I also bought my kids new laptops, also with 17″ screens, but theirs’ were Dell Inspiron 1720s and instead of an ATI video card they had nVIDIA. A few weeks after the computers arrived I found out that these graphic cards are probably faulty. HP has been offering extended warranties for effect computers but Dell is still dragging their feet. It looked like a situation I didn’t want any part of so I shipped the kids’ laptops back this morning and will replace them with Studio 17s with the ATI video cards.

Their laptops aren’t quite as nice as mine, but still way nicer than any kid might need. They were a big help during the move and deserve a reward also. I’ve also told them these laptops are their birthday presents, xmas presents and bribery for helping me move out and back in for the remodel. They grumble a bit with that comment but they are happy to have such nice computers they aren’t really complaining.

Markings #21 In Progress   ©2008

ACEOs For Sale

There are still 3 ACEO’s available for sale that I made last month to include with my newsletter. If you are interested in purchasing one (shown above) please send me email and let me know which one you’d like. They are $21 US and include shipping to anywhere. These 3 Art Trading Cards were all inspired by Markings #21,.

ACEO stands for “art cards, editions and originals”. Originally known as ATC, Artist Trading Card, and are traded between artists. When sold to the public they are referred to as ACEOs. The primary rule for an ACEO or ATC is they be 3 1/2″ x 2 1/2″ - the size of a trading card. They are created in many different mediums and are collectible, trade able and affordable art for everyone.

Structures #97 (In Progress)    ©2008

 
Some updates:

Art

I started a new textile painting (see above). Not very far along yet but I’m loving the funky greens. I’m just blocking in the background shapes and much will change before I start adding some thin lines that define my fence motif.

I find myself wanting to make much smaller pieces in my much smaller studio. Or maybe it’s the heat of summer. The thought of dealing with a really large quilt right now sounds too hot.

Studio Newsletter

I completed my studio newsletter and emailed it on saturday. If you think you are on the mailing list and didn’t receive it please let me know.

It took longer than I planned but I got it done. For a week I would say each morning "finish newsletter" and then evening would come and I’d find better ways to spend my time. I finally pushed myself to finish it by telling my accountability partners that I would donate $100 to a political candidate I didn’t support if I failed to email it by the end of day.

The ironic thing is the last article I finished for the newsletter was the one on motivation. Hm. If you aren’t a subscriber you can read the newsletter here: Lisa Call’s Studio Newsletter.

If you’d like to subscribe to receive my quarterly newsletter via email when it is first completed go here: Sign up for studio newsletter.

Heat

We have now had 16 days over 90 degrees here in Denver. Three more and we’ll have a new record, which I don’t think will be a challenge as the forecast is showing only 90+ as far into the future as I can count. Not the best summer to not have air conditioning.

Thanks to all of you for the concerned comments on my last post. Unfortunately my house isn’t equipped with electricity that will power an air conditioner. Only 4 circuits, nothing is grounded and if the refrigerator is on the microwave won’t work. All of this will be remedied in the remodel but for now we are jut pretending it’s 1955 (the year my house was built).

Although a few days ago I purchased a portable evaporative cooler (ie a swamp cooler) and if I load it up with lots of ice I can get my bedroom cooled down enough to sleep. I’m starting to feel human again but need a few weeks of 8 hours of sleep to starting thinking straight.

Remodel

The builder and I are working on the design for the new house. Not sure how long it will take, that will probably be determined on how many times I change my mind, but after that we have a month to wait for permits then the building can begin. Probably just in time for the cooler fall weather to arrive.

Unpacked - For Now

The studio/bedroom/computer room

My studio is set up! I even have an 8 foot by 8 foot flannel covered design wall with Markings #21 ready to go (it was folded up with lots of pins in a box until yesterday).

The entire house is pretty much unpacked. At least for now. In about a month I will be taking everything back down and moving to an apartment as the builder I hired adds the addition (on top - decided going back would hurt my tree). I hope to be back in the completed house, with a nice big studio, by christmas. It’s definitely an exciting, action packed year around here.

The studio/bedroom/computer room

Good thing I don’t have many clothes or there’d be no room for art.

Making Art

And even more exciting - I’m making art! It feels great. It’s been months since I spent any serious time in my studio and I’m loving it. I feel like a real person again. Or maybe I just feel like an artist again.

Yesterday I sat down and was ready to get to sewing when I realized I didn’t have some very important things - like rotary cutters, scissors, seam ripper, etc. The simple basic things I used every day. It took me 2 hours of hunting in my garage to find the box with these items. It was all in a slide projector box, labeled on every side as "Easter". Clever of me to hide it like that to make unpacking more fun.

Here’s what I’m working on:

Markings #21 In Progress

After a few hours of sewing today this is the result:

Markings #21 With Some Progress (the left 2 panels have been sewn together)

The Newsletter Will Happen

I think I will make 3 or 4 ACEOs with my scraps from this piece to offer in my studio newsletter, which I plan to email by this weekend. That’s a bit later than I hoped but I’m still working on it. Last week I got a bit side tracked with life but I’m back to really focusing on the art this week and am making some great progress.

Structures #6    ©2001    20" x 26"

Getting Back to Normal Life

Yesterday afternoon we arrived back home from the trip to Montana and had 24 hours to get the kids packed for camp and off again for 2 weeks. I’m now back home and faced with the rather large chore of unpacking and settling in. I also have a todo list a mile long of things that I let drop the last couple months, many of them art related requests that need attention.

When I start the think about all that needs to be done I get a bit overwhelmed. So I’m doing my best to not think about it all. I got a lot done the last 3 months by just working on my goals every day. So I’m sure that in no time I can get caught up again if I just stay focused.

A rough outline of what I would like to accomplish in the next 2 weeks while the kids are at camp (no reason to think about the zillion of other things cause this is enough for now):

• Unpack entire house
• Set up studio
• Make small art for studio newsletter
• Write and send my second studio newsletter
• Catch up with the very many outstanding requests for photos, info, etc of my art
• Find all my dye supplies and dye fabric with my childhood friend, Kelly, over the weekend
• Process the 400+ pictures taken while in Montana (my kids went a bit nuts with the camera - I think well over half are to be deleted)
• Figure out timeline and budget for getting house repaired and possible addition added, talk to 3 builders and select one to do the work

Tomorrow I return back to work. After 2 weeks off it’s going to be difficult but it pays the bills right now so off I go. My todo list would be a snap if I didn’t have to give up 40 hours a week. Although now that I live in Denver my commute will be 10 minutes instead of 30+ so I’m looking forward to having an extra hour in my life (not to mention the gas savings).

Artful Home Studio Sale

The Artful Home (formerly known as guild.com) is holding a studio sale. Lots of amazing art at good discounts. I have several pieces available for sale that can be viewed from my Artful Home Artist webpage. The items marked as Studio Sale are discounted from 30-40%. The sale ends on July 15th.

The above piece, Structures #6, is one of the items I included in the items for sale and can be seen here: Structures #6.

Squares #4    ©2006    11" x 9"

 
Some more thoughts on the design principles from my kids’ Expeditionary Learning school and how they relate to being an artist.

[All my posts on design principles.]

Design Principle #9: Solitude and Reflection

Solitude, reflection, and silence replenish our energies and open our minds. Be sure students have time alone to explore their own thoughts, make their own connections and create their own ideas. Then give them opportunity to exchange their reflections with each other and with adults.

My kids write a lot of reflections in school. When they go camping or backpacking or on any of their expeditions a portion of the time is spent sitting alone writing about the experience. They also write reflections on their major projects each year and include them in their portfolio of work. My 15 year son considers this a minor drawback for a really awesome school. My 12 year old daughter says it’s boring.

Mom thinks is wonderful. To sit and reflect and then journal about their experiences and then to share their thoughts with their peers and others. Great way to integrate all they are learning.

Journaling

I’ve mentioned a few times that I journal each morning and each evening before bed. Although much of this writing is not directly art related it makes a big difference in how I travel through life and approach my art. If I fall out of the habit of writing things get a bit disorganized in my head and it takes only days to set things right again when I start writing.

This blog is a public version of my writing, journaling and thoughts about being an artist. It’s much more directly related to my art and in the 3+ years I’ve been writing I’ve learn tremendous amount about my art, motivation and inspiration.

Taking the time to reflect and to write the words down, on paper or blog, is one of the important ways I spend my time alone. The silence and solitude are key to finding the place where I can think, reflect and write. It’s a chance to discover what I’m passionate about, what motivates me, what feeds my soul and what I am grateful for. I understand my art, and through that myself, better each time I sit down to write.

What type of writing do you do and how does it impact your life?

Studio Newsletter

Yesterday I got serious about packing. I intend to finish the majority of it today and I’ve taken monday and tuesday off work to prepare for my move. In addition to fun things, like hanging out in the crawl space under my new house as they clean, inspect and certify the furnace, I am going to get the June addition of my studio newsletter written and emailed to subscribers.

Like last time, I’m going to make available a couple ACEOs or other small works for my subscribers (last time they sold them all within hours). I haven’t decided yet what to make but I want to spend a bit more time in my studio before saying goodbye to the space where I got my art career off the ground. The studio will be the last thing I pack.

If you missed my March newsletter you can read it here: Lisa Call Studio News.

If you aren’t a subscriber to my newsletter, sent 4 times a year, and would like to be you can sign up 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.

Squares #4

The artwork pictured at the top of this page was complete a few years back. I usually complete small hand stitched piece each year. Some how this was the last piece I completed. The Artful Home (ie guild.com) is having an online art sale from July 1-15 and I just uploaded this piece to be included in that sale. When they have the sale work online I’ll post a link to the 14 pieces I’m including.

ACEO #4    ©2008    2.5"x3.5"
This card was inspired by Markings #22

Made My Goal

Hurray! Today I emailed my first studio newsletter. I missed my deadline of March 31 by a few days because I couldn’t focus to finished the ACEOs (Art Cards Editions and Originals - aka Artist Trading Cards) that I wanted to include. No fun to be sick but I’m all better now. I figure today was close enough to my deadline so I left the newsletter dated March 2008.

I offered the 3 new ACEOs for sale to my subscribers and they all sold within a few hours. Woohoo. That was so cool. Thank you all for the support.

If you didn’t receive the newsletter but believe you have signed up please email me at lisa@lisacall.com and I can check on it. Also please let me know if you had any technical problems with the newsletter. In my tests I saw that yahoo was dumping it into the spam folder so check there if you didn’t get it and maybe add me (lisa@lisacall.com) to your whitelist.

If you missed it you can read it online here: Lisa Call Studio Newsletter - March 2008

The Making of a Studio Newsletter

I thought it might be interesting to recap what went into getting this newsletter out the door. It’s been quite a bit of work but the ground work is all in place and I anticipate no problems on keeping my intention of sending out a quarterly newsletter. Look for the next one in June.

As tempting as it is to recap it tonight I must start packing so that post (or 2) will have to wait until next week. I learned a lot over the past 14 months of getting this off the ground.

Lux Center Shows

I’m driving to Lincoln, Nebraska tomorrow for the opening of my solo show, Fencing In or Keeping Out, in conjunction with my curated show, Distinctive Directions. If you are in the area please stop by the Lux Center form 5-7pm and say hello. I’ll be giving a gallery talk at 6pm.

Art Quilt Elements

Structures #60    ©2006    33"x89"

In addition to the shows at the Lux Center, tomorrow is also the opening of Art Quilt Elements in Wayne, Pennsylvania (near Philadelphia). My piece, Structures #60, will be in the show.

They are having a big conference and it’s fiber month in Philly so most quilt artists will be on the east coast. Three of the four Distinctive Directions artists will be. Although Pam RuBert will be joining me in Nebraska at the opening.

In addition to my large piece in the show I have 4 smaller works for sale in the gift shop so if you are joining the celebrations check it out to see my work in person. It’s very hard to get the texture across online.

Playing Favorites

Last but not least (I missed a lot of days posting in a week when I had a lot to say). Check out Seth Apter’s blog The Altered Page for the past week or 10 days. He’s done an thought provokingseries of posts on artists’ favorites works. It makes for interesting reading.

The post with some of my favorites is here. Check it out to see what I’ve picked.

PS - I’ll catch up with comments when I return.

Blog Book Tour

Well known artist coach Alyson Stanfield of ArtBizBlog is embarking on a blog book tour to promote her new book I’d Rather Be in the Studio! The Artist’s No-Excuse Guide to Self-Promotion. I’m stop number 3 on the tour and my interview with Alyson is below. My very first podcast for my blog.

I asked Alyson about the importance of defining success for an artist and how that definition might change throughout an artist’s career. We also touched upon several other topics - like studio newsletters. Be sure to check out the other stops on the blog book tour as each artist has asked Alyson a different question.

You can listen to the interview by clicking here (it’s about 12-14 minutes long)

Or you can download the mp3 file to listen to later.

Get Your Own Copy

If you have a blog and are interested in winning a free copy of I’d Rather Be in the Studio! The Artist’s No-Excuse Guide to Self-Promotion? Visit this site, read the instructions, and enter. Remember to come back here and let me know if you’ve linked to us. I’ll announce the winner on April 6th on my blog.

Or you can purchase the book directly here.

Studio Newlsetter

As I mentioned in this podcast and on my blog, I’m working on my very first studio newsletter. Alyson’s book was invaluable in helping me come to some decisions with what to do with my newsletter. Thank you Alyson!

My self imposed deadline of March 31st seems to have come and gone but I’m very close to having it finished. I anticipate sending it out within the next few hours so look for it in your inbox soon if you’ve signed up.

[Update - 6pm MST - I’ve come down with a bug. A short lived one I’ve decided. So the studio newsletter is delayed 1 more day as tomorrow I will feel wonderful and can complete the work. Everyone please send me healthy thoughts!]

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?