Mary Richmond Design

There's a Lot of Moving Going On....

I have to be out of my shop by Monday night. You'd never know it. There's still plenty to pack and get ready for the truck that will be arriving Sunday morning. I'm also working over at my mom's house all this week. Since my step dad passed away it's become obvious we must clear out my mom's things from the house and soon since the house will probably go on the market before long.

The attic is where I've been working all week. I think I've gone through something like 65 boxes--no exaggeration! I took all the boxes to be recycled today. Most have been full of letters, cards, clippings, all sorts of things that my grandmother and then my mom kept and put in a box. My grandmother was the worst but many of the boxes have been my mom's. Most of it has gone in bags to go to the dump. I've kept the interesting stuff to look at later but much of this is just everyday mundane stuff. To give you an idea, my mother attended Northwestern University for 2 trimesters....there were three large boxes commemorating this brief time. There were football game programs, campus newspapers, class schedules and old papers and notes. There were letters from old boyfriends from Korea, letters from home, clippings of gardens and recipes and well, just about anything and everything.

It's interesting, but also frustrating. I know my grandmother and mother kept all these things because they thought they were important. There are letters from way back when the family was outside of Pittsburgh in the early 1900's. Unfortunately they are full of daily minutae that after the first few are simply not that interesting. They kept journals, too. If you want to know what the weather was like, what appointments they had and what they made for dinner.....you've got it. Nothing personal. Nada. Nothing that says a thing about what they were like....except compulsive about recording the weather, their appointments and their daily food intake perhaps. I've been looking at them, then throwing them away, saying, "Sorry, folks, but we just can't keep all this stuff...." And I've kept a few examples for my kids to see.

It's funny, neither my mom nor my grandmother would probably have approved of my keeping a blog. It's too public and personal. My grandmother might have gotten into it but it's hard to know. Times were very different. Blogs don't pile up in boxes, just in cyberspace. There is nothing to keep and nothing to be thrown away. And the thread that runs through these boxes, just like through all these blogs, is that we're really all the same. Our lives may fascinate us, but in the long run, we're all playing out very similar, very predictable parts.

So if you're keeping a whole lot of stuff in boxes, saving every little thing your kids do or that you do....remember your children are going to have to throw it away someday...

What to do with all this stuff we collect?

Packing up my studio is going to be a somewhat daunting task. Most of it is stuff I use either making art or tiles. I have shelves full of reference books and photos, many of which you can see here against the back wall. I have already packed a dozen boxes from those shelves, by the way.

I have glazes and clay, blank, bisque fired tiles, brushes and tools as well as my slab roller and kiln. There are painting supplies, pastel supplies and oodles of supplies for kid's art classes.

There are matting supplies, framing supplies and lots of CD's for listening to while I work.

And then there's the shop itself. All those tile panels will be redistributed to tile dealers who represent me but for now most of them have to be packed up and stored. The displays have to be dismantled so we can reuse them and all the holiday displays and other display items have to be either stored or given away.

It's a lot of.....STUFF for someone who doesn't really go much for buying clothes or knick knacks or other things for myself or my home. But I sure have a lot of STUFF anyway. I can argue it's productive stuff, that it is an accumulation of tools for my various trades and it is....but man, there's still a lot of stuff.

Getting ready to move always brings us closer to the things we own and dismantling my mother's house and figuring out what to do with her belongings, most of which are worthless except for sentimentality, at the same time has brought me back to thinking about all the things we accumulate and why. I've noticed no one takes any of their stuff with them when they die....and having cleaned out several houses as well as working a brief stint for an auction company I know that most of our stuff gets thrown away or pawned off once we're gone. So why do we collect so much stuff?

Both my husband and I are packrats. My kids are packrats. My whole family before me were packrats. Throwing anything away seems.......well, almost sacreligious! Certainly it must have another use we should be saving it for. After my grandmother died I found boxes and boxes of rubber bands and string, buttons cut off old blouses and reams of old paper salvaged and cut for scraps....and that's just the tip of the ice berg that was my grandmother's stuff....we still haven't gone through all of it.

Earlier today a friend said she saw a definition of clutter that said it was about 'potentiality'. We might use it.....someday, for some purpose. Boy, can I hear that!

Truth is I do use my tools, my matting supplies, my painting supplies and my reference materials....but do I use them all? I think I need to be doing some weeding out, some tweaking of books and supplies that maybe someone else can use.

Wish me luck!

Some Thoughts on Closing Shop and Life as an Artist

Today was a quiet day in the studio. I painted this little chickadee and spent some time packing supplies. It was a busy but contemplative day.

There's a lot to pack. That may be an understatement. (If you know me, stop laughing.) I have shelves full of reference books, supplies, reference pictures and sales records, portfolios and other paper trails. There are boxes of frames, glazes, matting supplies and more all to be packed and that doesn't even begin to include the paintings, tiles and other items I've had for sale. It's sort of scary and not a little overwhelming if I stop to think about it too much.

I have to pack all the cards, prints, tile panels and all the little sculptures and ornaments that are left over, too. Many of those will find new homes but I have to pack them up for now.

Over the next few months I have to move, not only my business but my home and I also have to get out there and distribute the cards, prints and tiles that I have in stock so I continue to have an income. I know that I have a few outlets ready and willing to sell my work but it would be wise to line up a dozen or so more while I can. The season will begin in a month or so, at least in terms of retailers being stocked up so I don't have a lot of time.

There's always so much to do when running a business, whether it's an art business or other. Some of it is just routine, some is fun, and some is somewhat odious. It all takes time away from being in the studio.

I interviewed a young lady today for my young artist article who is quite sure she will make a living as an artist once she's out of school. It was very interesting talking to her, as it has been talking to the others. They are much more self assured than I was when I got out of school. They are quite certain they will not only make a living but a good living and they totally believe they are up to the challenge of marketing and selling their work as well as making the work.

Times have definitely changed. Although I think it's great that young artists are so self assured and ready to conquer the world I am fascinated to hear their thought process. They are not only up to the marketing but they are very aware of how to create a body of marketable work. None of them comes right out and says this, of course, but as they talk it is clear that they don't consider doing work that can't be sold.

Some of that selling will be in the form of winning grants and residencies and some will be straight on gallery sales but it's all work being done with a target audience in mind, even if they don't express that outwardly. What a strange world we have created. Several of these young artists believe they are creating work from their heart but all they talk about is how it can and will support them. It is obvious they have a soulful approach to their work. It's also obvious they don't waste time on work that won't go anywhere but their own closets or basements.

They have a plan....which is more than most of my generation had when we graduated from art school. This is a good thing, I guess. And I wonder what the art will end up looking and feeling like if it's consumer driven. Creating art that museums, grant bestowers and residency juries will look favorably upon is a different sort of consumerism but it still fits the definition.

What do you think?

Watercolors and Ceramic Tiles

These days I'm only in the studio from Thursday to Sunday. The rest of the week I'm trying to take a little time off, am visiting clients and catching up on my writing and financial record keeping.

This morning I started my day in the studio with this little watercolor in my moleskine book. It's a warm up piece, one of my favorite ways to start a day in the studio.

I also painted and glazed these bird tiles for a kitchen installation due this weekend. I paint a lot of birds on tile, especially shorebirds. There are times it feels a bit monotonous but mostly I really like to paint birds and find individual personalities in the birds, even when painting the same species.

I met with a client in the shop, prepared a mailing and chatted with my assistant. All in all, a good studio day.

Sometimes Things Just Happen

Sometimes things just happen....or Mercury goes retrograde...or....whatever....

If you've been reading here the last few days you know I've been working almost around the clock getting these little sculptures done. Because of the rush I dried them in an open kiln for about 15 hours and they felt totally dry and ready to go.

Last night I painted them with underglaze and put several coats of clear glaze on them before putting them back in the kiln. I brought the kiln up to temperature really, really slowly. I left the lid open until the last switch was thrown.

I held my breath, crossed my fingers, hoped and said a little ditty for the kiln goddess...

and when I got up this morning I opened the kiln and found....

these....

Two of the sculptures came through the firing fine but these two....well, not so much.

I emailed the man who ordered them, complete with the sad picture attached and he decided to come get them all anyway. We agreed I would redo the two...unfortunate ones but he wanted his wife to see them all. I glued as many pieces back on their little heads as I could but they were still very sad looking.

I'm not really sure why two blew their tops and the other two did not. The dog was done several days after the others and should have been the one to explode first, if any were going to do so. It was the top layer of clay that blew off so there must have been air in there....but I'm pretty sure there was air in the other one, too. I fire a lot of kids stuff made with this clay and can usually fire even the funniest, most suspect pieces without incident but well, this time I didn't get away with it.

Too bad, they came out pretty well after all that. This time, we'll allow plenty of drying time....and I worry that they'll lose some of the spontaneity that happened as I worked to meet the deadline. Time will tell!

Studio Projects, Kiln firing and Grammy's

Busy weekend in the studio. I had a few pet ornaments and tiles to do for people who wanted them as Valentine's gifts, such as these. I think my total contribution for the MSPCA through the sale of these is now at about $1400.

This little spaniel apparently always has this blue ball in its mouth and the owners wanted it painted this way. Dogs are so funny with the things they do. My dog likes to growl when she walks around with her treat ball in her mouth. It's a "I think you should play with me right now," sort of growl and she's pretty funny about it.

I finished the little portrait heads I've been working on. I am really not a portrait artist and don't think these look exactly like the kids but I think they each have enough of an essence to be ok. I did the family dog, too.

In order to have these ready to be glazed today I had to dry them out in a warm kiln last night, which was a bit stressful. We watched the Grammy Awards while I was going back and forth to the studio to check on their progress. The pieces are so uneven and undoubtedly full of air bubbles that I was nervous one or more might blow up, as ceramic pieces can do if they are fired too quickly.

I'm a Dixie Chick fan and bought this latest CD the day it came out so had a great time watching them win their awards. I'm not big on award shows but the Grammy's are always fun because of all the music performances. By the time the show was over, the pieces were pretty dry and I left them with the timer set for another 2 hours before I went to bed. This morning they are intact and dry and ready to be glazed and fired. Hopefully all will go well and they will be ready for delivery tomorrow. I am posting more pictures of the individual pieces over on Flickr.

In the Studio with Valentines and Sculptures

These are the first stages of the little portrait heads I've been working on. I am not thrilled with them and as I looked at them today I realized they should be more fun, simpler, gentler. I thought back to the conversation I had with the dad who commissioned them and he just wanted fun little pieces for his wife, not serious sculptures. Here I've been working hard at likenesses and am not satisfied with the results. Each has a resemblance, however, and tomorrow I think I will relax and just play with that and see what happens. These have to be ready for Wednesday so tomorrow is the last day I'll have to work on them. I feel confident that I'll be able to do what I want and need to do with them in that amount of time. I definitely did not charge this guy enough, by the way....I basically charged him for an hour's studio time on each and have already spent about triple that. Oh well, learning curves for me seem to be long and winding with many blind and slippery spots.

Tonight I put together little packages that I will give out to the merchants and office staff here at Mashpee Commons for Valentine's Day. I didn't do holiday gifts this year so am handing these out instead. Each little package has a postcard, a Valentine card and envelope and some little candies. The card on the outside says it's a gift from Mary Richmond Design.

First, I did some with these little bunnies....the inside says "Some bunny loves you....Happy Valentine's Day. Ok, a little corny, but hey, isn't that what Valentine's Day is supposed to be about?

And there are these little buddies, too. Inside these cards say "Friends like you are among life's greatest gifts....Happy Valentine's Day"

I'm hoping it makes a nice little gift and that it has a light but effective touch of marketing, too. Most of all I hope they make the recipients smile. Everything in the news is so heavy these days that I figure everyone can use a little smile, even if it's only for a moment.

If nothing else, it makes me feel very festive and ready for Valentine's Day myself with all this card making, candy sorting and gift wrapping! What are you doing?

Watercolors, Hand painted Glasses and Clay Portraits all in a Day's Work

Busy day in the studio today. I warmed up with this quick watercolor study in my new moleskine watercolor sketchbook. I am thinking I'll make it a book of bird heads or just birds. I'll see how it develops. I've always liked working in series and I love making and putting together books so we'll see how this goes.

I've been thinking of adding some hand painted glasses, dishes and mugs to my repertoire and today I bought and painted these flutes and wine glasses. I am also looking at some bisque ware to hand paint. There's a part of me that thinks I should make the pottery I paint but I am not a potter. I make tiles, it's true, but I'm really not interested in making plates, cups, bowls, etc. I love to paint and decorate and so why not paint and decorate some dishwares?

I am working on some small clay sculptures of a family. The work must be done quickly as they are to be gifts for Valentine's Day. (A man is having the sculptures done of his 3 kids for his wife for a gift--how sweet is that?) I told him I'd need front, side and back views of the kids so he posed them all for me. The pictures are great and they feel like wonderful kids. They are fun to be working on. I hope to finish them tomorrow and have them ready to be fired on Sunday. Then I'll paint and glaze them to be refired and ready for delivery on Tuesday. Nothing like a rush job to keep the juices flowing. Just so you don't think I'm a wicked procrastinator, I got the working photos yesterday afternoon....

This one came together quite quickly. I'm not working on the real likeness quite yet, just trying to get the bigger shapes right. I told him I am not really a sculptor or a portrait artist and he just wants them to be fun. I, of course, want them to be as good as I can get them.

I'll post more pictures as I go.

Wearing Red, Painting shells and a New Bird Tile Design

Did you wear red today in honor of the Wear Red Day in honor of this national day for Women's Heart Health Awareness? Here at Mashpee Commons many of us offered discounts to those wearing red today and wore red ourselves. It was a dreary sort of day outside so it made everything a little brighter.

I finished the little shell painting I began yesterday and it is posted below here. The photo is darker than the painting actually is. I will take a better photo and post it on Flickr later this weekend.

The painting is on a 6 x 9" canvas and didn't come out quite the way I wanted but it seemed a good place to leave it. It's funny how smelling the oil is bringing me back to a different time in my head, a time when I was painting a lot and trying to figure out oh so many things. I painted constantly in high school and used mostly oil paints at that time. I painted with them again about 10 years ago, another pivotal time for me. It's funny how our sense of smell is such a strong memory prod.

I had a few tile panels to grout into frames today. Both frames need to be painted and I'll do that tomorrow.

The blue and yellow panel is going into a kitchen. I usually don't add yellow to these but I have to say I like it. I have my Cape Cod Delft tile designs, now it looks like I have my Cape Cod Provencal design....

Here's another fun view. I'll take a shot of it hanging tomorrow once the frame is done.

Painting Birds in Oils, Marketing My Tiles

I had time to get out my oils again today and do another small painting. This one is 6 x 12". It's really great to be using oils once again. I love the feel of the brush on the canvas and the color mixing is as much fun as the painting. I decided to stick with a subject I know well while I get comfortable with the medium again. The colors in the photo are off a bit but you can get an overall idea.

Here is a close up to show a bit of the detail. I have a long way to go but I'm not too discouraged. If I can paint every day I hope to keep improving. A new medium always offers unique challenges.

I started a small painting of a whelk shell later today but that one has a lot more work left to do. Hopefully I'll finish that one tomorrow.

Just think, if I paint every day I'll have 365 little oil paintings or fewer larger ones. Realistically, I can probably only paint 4 or 5 days a week but still, that should build up quite an inventory. My goal is to be a better painter this year and I'm hoping daily painting will help that come true.

Since the beginning of the year I have been trying to really focus on being organized in the studio, careful about recording my financial transactions faithfully, painting, writing and doing 5 things a day to help me reach my marketing goals. I have updated my website and am working on updating my portfolio. Recently I began mailing out postcards to architects and designers in the area. I print 8 a day, address them and mail them. It takes about 15 minutes, including the walk to the post office if the weather's good. Today I called a woman in charge of art shows at a local library that has a fabulous gallery and she signed me up for a show in May. Ok, so it's May 2009 but I just did it. Two years will come along sooner than I think. I am waiting to hear from another library gallery in a different town and am preparing my new catalogue showcasing the art I have printed on cards and small prints. Each individual step seems small but it is all starting to add up.

If you haven't read Jack Canfield's "The Success Principles" yet, I highly recommend it. I also recommend "The Secret" DVD which is making not so secret rounds from one person to another. I believe the book has just been published as well. I have been using the advice and principles of both (which are related in all sorts of ways) and am beginning to see results. It's very cool. Do you have any stories to share about setting and reaching your own goals?