Autumn 2011
Dear Friends,
Greetings from beautiful, autumnal Upstate New York! I've started my autumn sojourn
a bit earlier than usual, and the weather is lovely. Today it was 70F with a mix of
sun and clouds. A slight breeze and the scent of fallen leaves were the perfect
crowning touches.
While I'm away, I'll periodically post photos on my blog and Facebook page.
I hope that this seasonal change finds you feeling refreshed and moving forward!
Warm regards,
Cynthia
In this issue:
What Does An Art Director Do?
Two New Textile Series
Photo News
IQF Houston
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What Does An Art Director Do?
When one is cobbling together a living as a professional artist, one tends to take
on creative gigs that might be a little outside one's usual pursuits. So when
I was approached late last spring about becoming the art director for an Austin
start-up I weighed the pros and cons... and decided to take it on!
Art director. What does that mean? The art director sets the vision for how a project,
brand, publication, or website communicates visually with the viewer. The AD sets the
feeling and tone of the project, the overall "look." In small operations, like the one
I'm involved with, the art director is also usually the person who selects what images,
artwork, and other visual elements are used.
MetroSeeker.com is an online residential guidebook, yet it's also much more than that.
One of the features that I am most excited about as AD is the inclusion of FeLos - Featured
Locals - and emerging and established artists and musicians. New locals will be regularly added,
while all previous FeLos' and creatives' pages will be available in our archive. By featuring
locals who are unique and thriving in their environment, we can show more facets of a city's
personality than is usually available in traditional, static guidebooks.
The cities that are included in our beta are Austin, Chicago, Boston, and Memphis. In the
coming weeks, we'll unveil many more metros, including Denver, Seattle, Nashville, New York,
Albuquerque... and a host of others!
If you know of an artist in a major US metro area who should be featured on MetroSeeker.com, please
drop me an email so I can view their work and get in touch.
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Two New Textile Series
Study In Green & White #3 - progress detail - copyright 2011 Cynthia Wenslow
I've started two new textile series this spring and summer. The piece above is an in-progress
detail shot of a piece from my Green & White Series. These small pieces are based on photographs
of my garden that are first manipulated then printed on a wonderful product called Lesley Riley's
TAP - Transfer Artist Paper. I did some testing to see which photo-to-fabric transfer product I'd
like the best for this, and it was the clear winner. This series is hand stitched in a manner in
keeping with the serene feeling I get in my garden. Several finished pieces in this series will be
posted on my website soon.
My second new series is called Holidays on the Third Coast. The "Third Coast" is one of Austin's
nicknames, and refers to the fact that attitudes and lifestyle here are much more similar to
that of the east and west coasts than to most of the central section of the country.
from Holidays on the Third Coast Series - progress detail - copyright 2011 Cynthia Wenslow
This is my first series of social commentary artwork, and I will admit to a certain anxiety about
revealing it, as it is in sharp contrast to my previous, perhaps more soothing, work. The content
is based on some publicly available data from the City of Austin.
There is a great tradition of red-and-white quilts in the US, and I don't think you can argue the
point that it is an attention getting combination. These pieces all have a heavily machine quilted
red background, with contrasting bright white painted areas, and hand stitched details.
The first several pieces will be ready for exhibit in late 2011, in a gallery in Austin. I'll add
images of the finished works and exhibit details to my blog as we get deeper into autumn.
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Photo News
There has been much happening in my photo life this year, from publication on the website
of National Public Radio and in scientific periodicals, to juried exhibits and commercial
shoots.
Storm Watchers - copyright 2011 Cynthia Wenslow
I was pleased to have the photo above, Storm Watchers, juried into "Focusing on the Edge"
at Dragonfly Gallery in Austin. The image of a gathering winter storm looked quite a bit
more menacing at 16"x20"!
In the same month, I was hired to do a photo and video shoot of Austin artist Barb Forrister that
will be included in an upcoming issue of In Stitches E-Mag from Interweave Press.
This autumn some of my work will be included in another massive public art project, A Million Little
Pictures, brought to you by the Art House Co-op folks. Watch for it in New York, Toronto, Denver,
Atlanta, and Los Angeles.
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IQF Houston
Once again, I've submitted a photograph to the Eye of the Quilter Exhibit at International
Quilt Festival and hope to hear soon about acceptance.
A great deal of the fun of Festival is getting to meet new art friends. I'll be volunteering
at the SAQA booth throughout Festival, so please stop by and say hello if you are there.
I'd love to meet you!
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As always, thank you for your ongoing support of my art journey.
Happy Autumn!
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Gorging on Autumn - copyright 2010 Cynthia Wenslow