Winter 2010
Dear Friends,
In the Northern Hemisphere, Winter has arrived with a lunar eclipse. Unfortunately,
after a brilliantly sunny day here in Austin, the clouds rolled in and obscured the event!
Instead of a show in the sky, as I stood outside waiting for a break in the clouds I was
treated to the festive lights of the season in my neighborhood. It seems that more families
on my street have decorated for the holidays this year. It gladdens me to see people creating
beauty and sharing joy in such public ways.
Your continuing belief in me, your support, and your friendship bring much joy to my life.
Thank you.
Warmly,
Cynthia
In this issue:
A Personal Reflection
Eye of the Quilter Follow-up
Colorhue Dyes
Texas Artist Portrait Project
2010 In Review
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Personal Reflection
Resiliency | © 2010 Cynthia Wenslow
I usually keep my newsletters pretty tightly focused on my art life, but there are some more
personal things I've been reflecting on and would like to share this time.
For many years I lived in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It was a place I found magical and simply loved.
However, I didn't love it as much as I loved my new husband, so we Freecycled a ton of stuff and
packed up the rest and moved to Montana so he could accept a new career opportunity.
Some months later it became evident that although Montana was a wonderful and beautiful place,
the new opportunity wasn't so great once my husband's new boss dropped his "company manners." So
once again we sorted, Freecycled, packed, and relocated to Austin, Texas.
I gradually learned my way around the new neighborhood, started making some friends among other
artists, figured out the wacky and whimsical way that Austin roads and streets "work," and claimed
an upstairs room for a studio. I moved all my boxes of supplies, and bookcases, and work tables,
and my modest art collection into the space. I set up my new Janome 6500, my studio computer,
and my work tables. I even produced many new and successful pieces of art.
But I never organized the studio into a truly workable space. I haven't unpacked most of my
studio tools or supplies. And the things I have unpacked are in disarray. I can usually put my
hands on something in a few minutes. (Well, "a few" might sometimes be more like 180!) But I
haven't turned it into my creative home. And I didn't know why.
Sense of place has always been very important to me, but I tended to think only in terms of
geographic or aesthetic considerations. I wanted a place that was beautiful. And, frankly,
my section of Austin is hardly that.
However, what I'm coming to realize is that just as important is my feeling of belonging.
Since mid-autumn I have had many new opportunities come my way, and I have met with over-
whelming acceptance from nearly everyone I've encountered in exploring them. I've been made
to feel that my contribution is valued and unique. And I am finally starting to trust that
there may be a place for me here, after all.
I think it's time to unpack and settle in.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eye of the Quilter Follow-up
In case you missed it on my blog, I did indeed have a photograph selected for the second
photography exhibit at the International Quilt Festival in Houston this past November.
My photograph "Community" was exhibited. You'll recognize it as the closing image from my
Autumn newsletter.
Community | © 2010 Cynthia Wenslow
The exhibit was once again beautifully curated by Wilma Hart, and I was delighted to be
included.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Colorhue Dyes
Colorhue | © 2010 Cynthia Wenslow
Years ago I thought about learning to dye silk. At the time it seemed that all the truly
beautiful and vibrant colors could only be obtained through steam-setting. It all just
seemed like such a hassle, even though I always loved the results of other artists' efforts.
OK, I admit it: I was scared of wasting time and money and ending up with an ugly end
product after a daunting process!
Now Colorhue Dyes have come to my attention and I am jumping in with both feet! What sold
me on them? Two words: Instant Set. Yep, these beautiful, rich, concentrated colors start
to set practically as soon as they hit the silk. When they dry, they are set. That's it!
This seemed like a minor miracle to me, but it's true. I've started playing with some small
pieces of silk just to learn how the dyes flow and respond. What I've discovered is that it
is very similar to working in watercolor, which I do quite a bit.
Sunset in Silk | © 2010 Cynthia Wenslow
You can expect to see much more silk dyeing from me now that I've found this great product!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Texas Artist Portrait Project
My Texas Artist Portrait Project is well underway! The results of the initial three interviews
and photo sessions are now posted on the website. The artists featured so far are Barb Forrister,
Lyn Belisle, and Ginny Eckley. They all have interesting things to say and were great subjects.
In the coming weeks, there will be portraits added of a painter, a mixed media artist, an encaustic
artist, a glass artist, and a textile artist.
Please stop in from time to time to see who's been added. If you know an interesting Texas artist, please
drop me a line with a recommendation, or send them to the site to read about the Project.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2010 In Review
Texas Farm Road | © 2010 Cynthia Wenslow
Ordinarily, I hate "year in review" articles. I don't read 'em, I don't write 'em.
However, Alyson Stanfield, one of the foremost voices in art business mentoring, recently devoted a blog
post to encouraging us to write down everything we'd accomplished in 2010. Her point was that instead
of focusing on the unfinished tasks and projects and feeling more behind than ever, we need to
celebrate what we did get done.
So, here are just a few selected accomplishments:
Work juried into 5 out of 6 juried exhibitions entered
Collaborated on three large group art projects
Set up an LLC for my consulting business and began accepting clients
Presented a program to the Austin Fiber Artists on art marketing
Made many new connections and strengthened existing friendships
Attended the Convergence conference in Albuquerque and found many new artists to follow
Developed several technology and business workshops
Spent several days at International Quilt Festival Houston soaking in the art
Separated photo website from other artwork to move forward with specific goals
Increased my volunteer involvement in arts organizations
I have many goals in mind for 2011, and plan on another good and productive year!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As ever, thank you for your ongoing support of my work.
Winter Blessings!
~ Cynthia
Tweet
Light | © 2010 Cynthia Wenslow