Category Archives: EBSQ

EBSQ 2010 Show Schedule

2010 is the EBSQ 10th anniversary year

Without further ado, the schedule you’ve all been waiting for:

January:

  • Foodporn: Photographing Food as Art
  • Barnyard Animals
  • One-Word Concept: Grey
  • Flower of the Month: Orchids

February:

  • Candy: An EBSQ Juried Exhibit *
  • Art for the Heart: A Benefit for the American Heart Association
  • One-Word Concept: Music
  • Flower of the Month: Roses

March:

  • Pen & Ink
  • Sinners
  • One-Word Concept: Beverage
  • Flower of the Month: Daffodils

April:

  • Saints
  • Repurposed: An EBSQ Juried Exhibit
  • One-Word Concept: Precious
  • Flower of the Month: Tulips

May:

  • Nursery Rhymes Illustrated
  • Fractals
  • One-Word Concept: Green
  • Flower of the Month: Irises

June:

  • Plein Air: Architecture
  • Redux
  • One-Word Concept: Heavy
  • Flower of the Month: Pansies & Violas

July:

  • 10th Annual Ripped Off
  • Rodeo
  • One-Word Concept: Horizon
  • Flower of the Month: Poppies

August:

  • 9th Annual Pet Portrait Swap
  • Still Life w/Lemon
  • One-Word Concept: Jagged
  • Flower of the Month: Echinacea

September:

  • Spam & Trout Biennial
  • Shut Out: What you’ve missed since the gallery world shut its doors *
  • Dead Poets
  • One-Word Concept: Bokeh
  • Flower of the Month: Sunflower

October:

  • Think Pink: A Fundraiser to Benefit Susan G Komen
  • Dia de los Meurtos
  • One-Word Concept: Hope
  • Flower of the Month: Cacti

November:

  • 10th Annual Portrait Swap
  • You Just Haven’t Urned It Yet, Baby
  • One-Word Concept: Despair
  • Flower of the Month: Waterlilies

December:

  • Annual Better Late Than Never Show
  • Let It Snow
  • One-Word Concept: Classic
  • Flower of the Month: Mixed Bouquet with Vase

* Denotes a brick-and-mortar offline art event in association with this online exhibitSo–which shows are YOU most looking forward to in 2010?

EBSQ Spotlight on Fibre Art: Cynthia Gaub

EBSQ is featuring Fiber art this month and interviewed me for a spotlight.

Green Thumb April 2009 detail

Cynthia Gaub

Texture has always been my favorite element of art. In my early paper collages, I was always trying to create texture in a piece by tearing and layering the papers. But then I would lock them away behind glass when they were framed for presentation. You couldn’t touch it! I think that is why I shifted to fabric as a medium. It is so much more tactile. The plush of a rich velvet, the scratch of a thick burlap, the slippery touch of silk. Add to that the layers of batting, the design of quilt stitching, the delicacy of vintage lace and the variety of the beads, buttons, baubles. Now the textures are literally so thick, so 3-dimensional they call out to be touched and you can NOT trap them behind glass.
 
Because fabric lends itself so easily to the 3-dimensional, I have found myself creating dolls and creatures as often as functional objects, like quilts and clothing, in addition to my art pieces. I feel I am still experimenting, trying to get a handle of the many techniques and materials of this medium that I haven’t really grasped the potential of my vision within it. But my latest series of alter shrines for the Beaded Journal Project are beginning to feel like success.
 
Interestingly, sharing this kind of work online, in a digital format, it contradictory to the tactile nature of the work. However, because of the strength of the camera, and the speed of our modern streaming, I can actually share the work in a level of magnification and detail that you can’t actually witness in the real world. So, as much as I enjoy touching my work and interacting with it on that level, I also love looking at it digitally and seeing the detail that shows in that format.
I still wish you could come over, sit on my couch and have some coffee, and touch my art! Because texture is my favorite element of art. – Cynthia Gaub

First Art of the Year

I started with this photo taken a couple of years ago.

DSC06138

Then I played with some filters in photoshop…
sidewayscutout    sidewayscutoutfindedges

Then I layered some sheer white fabric over some printed white, along with some other sheer colored fabrics in places. I began the free-motion sewing to thread paint the lines.

img023

This is what I have so far and I am not totally happy with it yet, so I will continue to play with it until I feel like it is done. Then add a border and backing.

It will also include my focus word of the year, which is ~drumroll please~

Vibrancy!

But for now, my doggie is upset that I have been in the studio for so long, so I must tend to him.

HAppy New Year!

EBSQ and my Artsy Year in Review

In December 2007, I made the goal to: create at least one NEW artwork (in any medium of my choice as is fitting for the theme) per month to enter into EBSQ Shows.

The shows that I planned to enter vs the art that I actually completed: 

sheba three

  • March: I did not end up creating for the Childhood Show instead put in a couple of OLD pieces in Vice. Drama Queen and Foot Fetish. In fact, it appears that I did a whole bunch of nothing during March. But in reality, I had some major family issues happening, I attended and presented at a professional conference and I was participating actively in Flickr Photo Scavenger Hunts.

Floor Cloth

  • May: The Unmentionables Show was in the plan, but still recuperating from the intensity of Artfest, I wasn’t making very much art. However, I did find the energy to participate in another of Jen’s Challenges. I also started getting heavily into my triathlon training, so days of swimming, running and cycling took a bit out of art time.

 Experiment #2 fabric weaving

  • June: I did not enter the Creation Myths, but instead entered a photograph in Art of the Fan. It was a great month for experimenting in fabric  for a return to Jen’s Challenges.
  • August:  My Triathlon was this month, so all my focus was on fitness, but I did start thinking about the Beaded Journal Project. All plans of participating in shows were put on hold.

BJP_prototype with pages side by side and open

  • October: Why did I plan to enter the Bat Show? I guess because I do like Halloween. Although I did not manage that, I did make a lot of new art for ArtSoMoFo. I also worked on the next month of BJP.
  • November: Another show planned and another show missed… although the election was a top priority on my mind, it did not inspire any art for On the Trail. I celebrated my doggie’s birthday and created my BJP in his honor. The school year is in full swing and the rainy season has begun, so art and fitness seems to have fallen a bit by the wayside. I will need to think of how I can improve being creative during these busy months.

blue fairy

  • December: I made tons of ornaments in past years so it made sense to enter Ornamental. But nothing new was made to enter the show, so I entered a couple of my old cute doggie ornaments. The year ended with a lot of SNOW and fun. I spent most of my creative energy making fun doll clothes for my nieces.

 I love looking back to see what I planned and what I accomplished. It does help me see the cycles and patterns to my creative life. Now on to better planning my 2009 show entries.

2009 EBSQ Show List

I really like the One-word concept monthly idea…

January:
Alice in Wonderland ~ will probably enter this
Self-Portrait Show ~ will totally enter this
One-Word Concept: Economy
Flower of the Month: State Flowers

February:
The Figure in 3-D ~ will totally enter this
Encircled: Necklaces, Bracelets, and Rings
One-Word Concept: Hidden ~ will probably enter this
Flower of the Month: Snow Drops

March:
Steampunk
Squid (& Other Deep Sea Monsters) PERFECT! since this is also the same theme as ARTFEST and the SAME time frame… so obviously ~ will totally enter this
One-Word Concept: Motion ~ will probably enter this
Flower of the Month: Cyclamen

April:
Robots
The EBSQ Junk Mail Show
One-Word Concept: Balance ~ will totally enter this
Flower of the Month: Muscari

May:
Reinterpreting Children’s Art I would love to get a drawing from one or both of my nieces and turn it into an art quilt ~ will totally enter this
Bridges
One-Word Concept: Scintilating
Flower of the Month: Fennel

June:
Macro Bug Photography
Tattoos: Designs for and Depictions of
One-Word Concept: Malice
Flower of the Month: Foxglove

July:
9th Annual Ripped Off
Parades
One-Word Concept: Liberty
Flower of the Month: Nasturtium

August:
8th Annual Pet Portrait Swap ~ will probably enter this
In the Bag: Artist-Made Purses & Bags ~ will totally enter this
One-Word Concept: Wanderlust ~ will probably enter this
Flower of the Month: Weeds

September:
Rodents
Design the next EBSQ T-shirt!
One-Word Concept: Deconstructed ~ will totally enter this
Flower of the Month: Butterfly Bush

October:
Think Pink: A Fundraiser to Benefit Susan G Komen
Zombie Chickens ~ will probably enter this
One-Word Concept: Decay ~ will totally enter this
Flower of the Month: Squash & Gourds (both flowers & fruit eligible)

November:
9th Annual Portrait Swap
Two-Tones Only ~ will totally enter this
One-Word Concept: Bored ~ will probably enter this
Flower of the Month: Bark

December:
Annual Better Late Than Never Show
The Art of the Art Journal ~ will totally enter this
One-Word Concept: Ancient
Flower of the Month: Eucalyptus

Playing Favorites: Picture Perfect

Seth at The Altered Page will be going LIVE with his next round of questions with The PULSE this coming Monday. As he prepares for a month of Q & A with 80-plus artists (and counting) I am taking a walk down memory lane. Next on the list is Picture Perfect.

I have been taking photos since my early days as a kid travelling though Europe. Dad was a dark room enthusiast and shared his passion. Before college I often found his passion to be a burden, when he forced us to stand in front of every statue, windmill and geyser in the world!

 

(Photo by my dad of the Family at Yellowstone park circa 1970’s)

But then I took photography, learned darkroom processing and the joys of taking pictures. Later I finally got my hands on a digital camera so the cost and time of taking/ processing pictures went down dramatically. I love taking pictures… admittedly most of them of my dog or my art.

Ever since I bought my first digital camera, I have taken many opportunities to go on Photo Walks. Sometimes by myself, but more often with my dog and occassionally with friends. I prefer to look at things close to the ground, often setting my camera on the ground to take the shot. I love to look for patterns and textures.

Up Close and Personal This one recieved an award at EBSQ

06242005_sewer 

This photo has not been altered nor cropped.

Playing Favorites: fields of dreams

Creating a gallery of my favorites has been quite fun. Looking through my own work over the years and fitting these themes has really shown me the diversity of my own work. Next up is Playing Favorites: fields of dreams, which I think can be translated to work that shows nature or landscapes of some type. Of course when he put together this series of posts, I think he gathered a lot of art from a lot of different people then put them into these catagories. I don’t think he expected to have an individual artist find art to fit each theme. But I like the challenge, so I plug along here.

Earthfin Rip July 2006

Media:  Fabric Collage Dimensions:  14″ x 14″ Date of Work:  07/2006

Night Sky Wanderer is a RIP for the EBSQ 2006 Ripped Off Show. It is inspired by a pyrography called Workin’ On Wings to Fly by Lisa J. Rough. I was really drawn to the powerful woman and the birch trees. It has a sense of strength and peace. I tried to capture that same feeling in my version of it. This piece is all fabric collage using applique’ and quilting techniques. It is embellished with buttons, ribbon, trim, beads and handmade yarn.