I'm really excited to be in a show over the summer at Art Star in Philadelphia. I'll be showing with two other women artists, Kate Durkin and Maggy Hiltner. They both make 2-D artwork that incorporates embroidery and I'm really happy for this opportunity to get to know their work better, and thrilled to be invited to show at Art Star.
I did some brainstorming the other night, trying to be really open to thinking of new ideas, new directions. Here is the list I made.
-parrots with eye patches
-birds with stuffed wings
-piles of fabric from which the bird was sewn coming off the bird, as though it isn't finished yet
-fabric feathers suspended
-birds with extremely long tails
-birds alighting on vintage candle holders
-something with forks
-piles of starfish in different sizes; plush coral
-big snails
-two birds in flight with string through their beaks, connecting them with a message
-bell jars
-prey
-exotic birds
-sewn blank birds; a pile of naked birds
-birds and postage stamps stuck to them
-binoculars
-painted branches
This was a great exercise, to just write down every idea. I looked through all my clippings from magazines, everything on my inspiration board, and the pages of my sketchbook while I made this. Clearly, not every idea is a good one, but at least something, and probably more than one thing, will eventually develop into a finished piece. It might be now and it might be a year from now, or more. And maybe something from this list will get made for the show. I'm hopeful about "something with forks"!
In other exciting news, the take it or leave it section of the Wellesley town dump reopens on April 1.
The dump is perhaps my favorite place to go in Wellesley. It's fantastic. The longer you wait, the more cars pull up and unload fabulousness for the taking. Best find from last year? Three mid-century Danish teak pepper grinders, one of which is currently valued at $250.
Okay, and finally one last thing. We had Roxanne's sixth birthday party on March 14 at The Spellman Stamp Museum in Weston. It was totally "historically hysterical" as she would say, and she was very happy.
We gave her a yoga mat (she's been taking yoga for a while now) and a pioneer dress.
Roxanne dreams of being a historical reenactor and this dress, along with her Lincoln costume, is part of living that dream for sure. She can now be Mary Todd! I bought it here and it is so well made. She's in love.
Congrats on the show/appreciated
the hyperlinks! Your list is inspiring.
May have to move to Wellesley for the
dump. Roxanne is on a terrific tack,
toward history. With research skills
you can do so many things.
Lists are so useful. I have found that they bring things one step closer to reality. I made a list in high school that had a few pretty far out items on it. I have actually accomplished all of them except “Do some sort of development work in Africa like the Peace Corps.” (I was a pretty socially conscious kid!) Good luck with the show. It is very exciting to get your work out there.
your daughter is really adorable
we have a little pioneer village not to far from home and my children loved to visit there, dressed in period costumes when they were younger.
Your list got me really excited with the “big snails” and “bell jars” and the birds with postage stamps made me think of pigeon post.
hi abby, i’m so excited for the show! i love your work and am looking forward to showing with you 🙂 kate