Lisa Call

Markings #16
©2007 Lisa Call
45" x 68"
Textile Painting (hand dyed fabric, batting, thread)

Still Stitching Stitching

As I mentioned the last few weeks I’m still working towards my big deadline of July 15th. I’m taking tomorrow as a vacation from the day job and intend to spend 15 hours in front of the sewing machine. This will put me on track for finishing the artwork with a few hours to spare.

I delivered my kids to camp today so the house is quiet and I can really stay focused.

All this secret art creation doesn’t lend itself to exciting art related blog posts so things will pick up around here in 10 days or so with photos of new art.

Other Stuff I’m Thinking About

I announced my new solo show in my last studio newsletter (in Boulder, CO in Feb/March 2010) and I’ve been thinking about the art I want to display. I have this vision of making some huge pieces in the Home or Ascending series. I think that would be pretty cool.

I have gone back and forth about what I’ll do about blogging while I’m in South Africa (I leave at the end of this month for a 3+ weeks). I finally decided to stay in touch so I’ve ordered a mini dell netbook to facilitate that decision. Course I might get there and decide I’d rather not bother, but if I feel like it, I’ll have the equipment to post photos.

When I went to New Zealand in 2000-2001 it was pre blogging days (or at least my blogging days) so instead I sent very long and detailed emails to my friends and family during the 5 month adventure. I anticipate having an easier time finding internet this time around. Wireless wasn’t much of an option back then so we carried a cable with us every where.

Speaking of my newsletter I’ll be sending out the July issue this week or next (depends on how well I’m doing on my deadline). This issue will be a celebration of the completion of Structures #100 and I’ll be announcing a fun art project I will be doing in September after my return from Africa.

If you’d like to sign up for that newsletter you can here: Lisa Call’s Studio Newsletter.

MakeBigArt.com

A few weeks back I launched a new website called MakeBigArt. It’s now where I write articles for other artists. This blog is now devoted more to my art and my studio and my life as an artist.

This week on MakeBigArt.com a post about responsibility.

Structures #73 – In Progress
Textile Painting
©2009 Lisa Call
Detail

Holiday Weekend

This 3 day weekend I work in my studio 16 hours. It was the first weekend it felt like home again. I’ve loved having the space but hadn’t really felt it was broken in yet. Now it does.

I’m most thankful it rained all weekend, so I relieved myself of all responsibility for pulling the nearly 2 foot tall weeds in the landscape free yard. The day will come when I’ll have to deal with that issue, but with the rain I was free to just make art.

I’m nearly finished putting the surface stitching (quilting) on Structures #73 and started some new ACEOs. The first ones of the year.

I also made big progress on Structures #100. I decided to make it the first new larger piece I designed in my new studio and it went together well. The composition is done so now I need to get it basted so I can start quilting it also.

Planning

It feels great to be motivated to make art again. Seems like it’s been a long time.

After my post a few days about about adding some more structure to my studio time, I decided to set some specific goals for the year to keep me motivated.

For 2009 my studio goals:

- 550 or more hours of studio time (~10 hrs a week)
- 256 or more days making art (70% of the days in the year)

As of today I’ve put in 126 hours in the studio and made art 68 days this year. To make my goals I’m going to have to make art pretty much every day for the rest of the year and put in at least 15 hours a week.

I’m be in South Africa for nearly a month later this summer, so I’ve factored in that time away from the studio also.

As a point of reference, in 2007 I put in 870 hours in my studio. The year I had a very clearly defined goal of 20 hours a week in my studio.

In 2008 it was 446 hours in the studio. A year with the laid back “let’s not set specific goals” plan. I also sold my house, moved into a house with no studio and started a major construction project – so to be fair I was a bit busier also.

Next up is going to be doing some planning and setting specific goals for the business side of art. I’ve been very reluctant to do that in the past and I think it’s time to get more serious about tracking the hours I spend on the business and keeping a better schedule.

I have big ideas of things I’d like to accomplish – specific goals will help me get there.

Markings #20
©2008
14"x 14"
Sold

New Paradigms

It seems an unwritten rule of the art world is that if you want to be taken seriously you do not sell your work cheaply and you certainly don’t worry about affordable art. I used to buy into this story, thinking that if I wanted to show my work in museums I needed to only make large, serious artwork.

I think the art world is changing with the advent of the internet and old patterns of thinking are no longer necessarily valid. And even if they are, I’ve decided they don’t apply to me.

I’ve decided to take full responsibility for my art career and in doing so have decided I get to come up with my own rules, if I ever feel a need for rules.

Who says I can not make ACEOs and sell them for $25 while at the same time having 6 large pieces in a museum show and also sell my larger work for thousands of dollars? Apparently no one because I’m doing just that.

Quality

I do not think my $3000-$10,000 artwork is devalued by making smaller textile paintings. The main reason for this belief is the quality. I know that I put extreme care into every aspect of my art, from the largest pieces down to the smallest. I also believe my art is really, well, good.

I’m consistently told by collectors that they are impressed with the level of detail and precision in all of my artwork. Every color, each line, each shape is created with care. Even in my small work I am pushing myself to make the best art I possibly can by trying new things and pushing limits on what I think might work.

All of my art is priced about the same amount per square foot. Actually the smaller pieces end up being more per square foot because it takes longer to work on such a scale. My line of affordable art is not a lower quality, but is instead simply smaller so it takes less time and materials to create, so it can be sold at a lower price point.

I’ve considered doing larger affordable pieces but haven’t yet worked out the details. I’d have to do some type of limited edition where I could create the work quicker in quantity, but still with the same quality.

By keeping my quality consistently high I believe the value of the work, no matter the size, will always be evident.

Art for Sale

Markings #20 is another small piece inspired by Markings #19, one of my favorite of the Markings series. I know coming up with $350 to purchase a piece of art is not always possible. I’ve sold a few of my larger pieces in a series of payments and it worked out well for everyone involved so if you are interested in any of my artwork, no matter the cost, and would like to work out a payment plan please contact me and we can figure out something that will work for both of us.

Markings #19
copy;2008
56" x 58"
$17,000

 
The last post on the design principles from my kids’ Expeditionary Learning school and how they relate to being an artist. You can view all of the design principles posts here.

Design Principle #10: Service and Compassion

We are crew, not passengers, and are strengthened by acts of consequential service to others. One of a school’s primary functions is to prepare its students with the attitudes and skills to learn from and be of service to others.

My kids don’t have classes. They have crews and are crew members and have crew leaders instead of teachers. Using that wording really puts them in the mindset that they are participating and are a vital part of their education and not just there for the ride. The kids truly are responsible for their own learning and are expected to be an active part of the educational experience.

In addition to being a valuable contributing member of the school, the kids are required to do 30-50 hours of community service each year, depending on their grade level. I love that they are being taught that helping others is an integral part of being a member of society, not just something we might want to do once we retire.

Personal Responsibility

I love the line "we are crew, not passengers"and think it speaks to the difference between success and wondering why things never quite work out. Our lives are what we make of them. If we just sit back and think we are owed a great art career (or wonderful family or whatever it is we want) and then do nothing to take responsibility for making that happen, I think it’s pretty rare for things to just magically turn out okay.

When we realize that we have the power to create our own dreams by taking action, then I think we get what we desire.

Taking personal responsibility for all of our life, both the successes and the failures, is a huge step forward in building the life we want. Realizing that if we put off making art every day and at the end of the week we come up with nothing, we only have ourselves to blame for it. We decided that surfing the internet was more important, noone made us read that one last blog post and then, oops, time to cook dinner. Oh well, I’ll make art tomorrow.

We pick our priorities, we chose our actions, we chose out thoughts. Best to pick actions and thoughts that support our dreams, and prioritize our lives to fit our goals. It certainly is more likely to bring what we want than blaming our failures on someone else. (says the person who did a lot of goofing off today, which was really really nice, but I’m not seeing any new art on the walls in the studio – oops!) Tomorrow…

The House

Above is a photo of the back side of the house I will purchase on wednesday. I don’t have any good pictures of the front because there was a big heating repair van in the driveway today while I was taking pictures, so that will have to wait. The house was build in 1955. It’s only 900 sq ft with no basement. Three bedrooms, 1 bathroom, living room, kitchen and 1 car garage. Very simple, plain and very functional. I’m really excited.

I’m leaving behind 4000 sq ft, 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, a study, a studio, kitchen, family room, living room, dining room, huge entry way, laundry room, and large unfinished basement. Oh yes and a 3 car garage.

I’ve done some serious decluttering to get my life to fit into less than 1/4th of the space I’m in now and it feels great. It all sounds rather noble I suppose, and people think I’m crazy but the plan is to put an addition on the back of the house and build my dream studio and dream kitchen. So the work I did fixing up my current house will go to good use as I work with contractors to turn this cute little house into a home I plan on staying in for a long long time.

The only condition is the tree out back has to stay so it’s going to be interesting.

The tree is a crabapple tree. I joked with my real estate agent that she had to find me a big pink tree at my new house, as the neighborhood where I am buying is filled with huge gorgeous crabapple trees and it’s just stunning in the spring. She exceeded expectations and the house has 2, this one in back that spans the entire width of the 50 foot lot (I’ll have to cut a few of the lower branches) and a huge one in front also.

I can’t wait to see it next spring.

Back to packing!

Structures #18    ©2003    8" x 9"

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

Design Principle #2: The Having of Wonderful Ideas

Teach so as to build on children’s curiosity about the world by creating learning situations that provide matter to think about, time to experiment, and time to make sense of what is observed. Foster a community where students’ and adults’ ideas are respected.

Who doesn’t want to have wonderful ideas? And even better having those ideas respected. Did I mention I love my kids’ school? The kids are treated with respect and the teachers listen to their ideas. What an excellent way to build self-esteem.

Wonderful Ideas and Art

That design principle touches on a lot of points that I think are vital to making art.

1. Matter to Think About: ie Ideas. Art is all about ideas. Without an idea I don’t think an artist can start making a piece of art. Artists need a stockpile of ideas to inspire their work. They need to constantly feed their imagination and keep inspired. I find that the more I create the more ideas I generate.
2. Time to Experiment: Not every idea is fully developed and ready to turn into a masterpiece. I find that I need some time playing around and trying out different variations to flesh out some of my ideas. Playing around with materials with no set purpose in mind is another way to generate great ideas.
3. Time to Make Sense of what is Observed: After creating artwork I spend a fairly good chunk of time sitting back and looking at it. Thinking about what works, what doesn’t, where I want to go next, what I can improve upon, what I can do more of, what I can do less of, etc. I take notes in my sketchbook to keep track of these ideas.
4. A Community where Ideas are Respected: Putting ones artwork out into the world can be a scary thing. It’s hard not to take it personally when our art, which is a reflection of our ideas, is not accepted. Having a safe community that an artist can share their work is powerful. I’ve been a member of artist communities, both in real life and online, for dozens of years. The support and friendship are invaluable to building ones confidence in ones art (and ideas).

Design Principle #3: The Responsibility for Learning

Learning is both a personal, individually specific process of discovery and a social activity. Each of us learns within and for ourselves and as a part of a group. Every aspect of a school must encourage children, young people, and adults to become increasingly responsible for directing their own personal and collective learning.

As artists there are many things we need to learn. From mastering our craft to marketing our art. There are uncountable sources for learning anything we want to learn. Taking responsibility for that learning is instrumental to our success. If I want to sell my art I have to learn to market my art. No one owes it to me to teach me these things or do these things for me. I need to go out there and learn how to do it. I spent years perfecting my craftsmanship and my art is impeccably made and I’m proud of it. It’s now time to take responsibility for my art business education also.

Structures #18 – Moving Sale

Structures #18 is one of the first pieces in the Structures series with thin lines. It’s also available as part of my moving sale. Originally priced at $150, it is $90 until June 15.

If you are interested in purchasing Structures #18, or any of my available artwork please email me.

Detail of Structures #18: