The Dresses/ Objects Project: Phase Two

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My dear friends,

The Dresses/ Objects Project continues! Some of you might remember a photo shoot with my husband several weeks ago, which resulted in this batch of photos. Then two weeks ago, I gathered with these amazing Bay Area artists to do a fashion photo shoot in a favorite overgrown park in Oakland. It was so much fun! (And oh, so very nerve wracking too.)

The artists were gracious and gentle and patient and lovely and kind, of course. But I was a bit of a nervous storm, trying so hard to get the photos that I wanted in just one afternoon of sun and splendor. So, after much editing, and a couple more grant proposals finished, I have finally come around to this batch of favorites. You like? Which ones do you like best?

Some of you might recognize Jenifer Lake of Sprout Studio, Mati McDonough of Mati Rose, and Lisa Solomon of Lisa's Musings. They are three local San Francisco/ Oakland based artists and bloggers who agreed to be collaborators on this ongoing project. I am so very honored to add them to the list! (Thank you, Jen, Mati, & Lisa.)

I am now rounding phase two of this long creative endeavor: Phase one was the making of the dresses with 10 other lady artists; phase two is the photo shoot with local Bay Area artists as model collaborators; phase three will be the installation of dresses and photos in an exhibition that resembles a dressmaker's studio, complete with an artist-in-residence making one last dress and a live opening night performance. Eep! Oh, so exciting to move this project closer to it's finale.

Autumn is gorgeous in Oakland with sunflowers, persimmons, and apples on the table as I type. The afternoon shadows are long and lean through the treetops in the front yard; the nights are growing cooler and demanding sweaters, wool coats, and finally mittens; somehow the holidays are just around the corner. In one breath, I am loving November...

xoxo,
k.

Polaroids and Green Journeys

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Hi friends. I've had so much fun with 'Roid Week 2009. I must admit, I've been quite addicted to the daily streams: Adding new Flickr friends, finding new favorite photos, and generally basking in the incredible Polaroid talent. (Swoon, swoon.) I managed to use the last of my Polaroid film this week and was hoping I'd be satiated for awhile--maybe until the Impossible Project is ready to go--but, quite the opposite. This week made me realize I want to make another investment in film this winter, maybe even a vintage Polaroid SX-70 Land Camera. They are so darn pretty. And I just can't stand thinking about winter's bare trees without Polaroid film. I'm still hooked.

Above are the photos I entered into 'Roid Week this time around. Some are old and pulled from the archives but most were taken this week. I'm particularly excited about the top 2; I feel like something new moved around in me with those 2 photos. I love it when that happens. When you are going along with your usual artmaking thoughts/ inspirations/ questions and for just a moment, something clicks. Like you have this realization that you just made something new. Do you know what I mean? And then, like meditation, as soon as you are aware that you are meditating it seems the mindful moment has passed. Viola! Gone. But glad it was there, and maybe even that you recognized it.

Lastly, I'm featured over on Lauren Goes Green if you want to take a peek. Lauren is creating a blog about her journey going "green" and asked me to be her Friday Feature. It was a good challenge for me to write about my environmental thoughts and art practices, something I don't always take the time to explain as I scurry along in life + art. If you're interested in a longer post about green thoughts and artmaking, take a peek. Happy day, friends.

Etsy Shop Update, Come Take a Peek...

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Hello my fine friends! For the first time in several months, I have just updated every image on my Made by Katrina Etsy shop. Hooray! Yes, I spent the better part of this afternoon taking new product photos and listing them in my little shop. The Photos by Katrina shop is also ready to go, though that didn't take nearly as much time as the shop of letterpress prints, notebooks, and handmade knits and stitches. Phew.

I might make a few extra pairs of fingerless gloves or linoleum prints this winter, but I haven't committed to that just yet. The holiday season usually gets me inspired to make a handful of sewn objects or prints or postcards-- it just seems right to be extra crafty around this time of winter gift giving. Regardless, if you want to purchase some affordable art, take a peek at my offerings over on Etsy.

Lately, I have been finding myself pulled to my larger projects and haven't spent as much time updating my dear little shops. I dream of one day having my entire week spent in my studio, seamlessly going back and forth between a letterpress printer, a sewing machine, a computer, a few cameras, and a huge table for one-of-a-kind mixed media prints. In this dream state, I would make larger long-term projects and also smaller affordable art products too. (Toss in another poetry manuscript, another cat, a shaggy dog, a farm house, a barn full of community art studios, really good natural light, and 10 acres for organic gardens too, please. Oh, all outside of some lovely urban center.)

In the interim, I work four days a week in a wonderful nonprofit arts organization in San Francisco and I spend my fifth weekday in my beloved creative space. Like you, I also manage to tuck in a few hours on the weekends and evenings depending on the project and the week. That said, I have updated some affordable arts and crafts for your perusing. Take a gander, leave a love note, put something on layaway if you like! Wishing you a very, very happy week...

San Francisco Open Studios: Our Two-Lady Show

(Our two-lady show for the weekend, in Jen's wonderful home.)

(The first wall: My letterpress prints, Jen's collages.)

(One reclaimed wall served as background: My bust, my book, Jen's photos.)

(Mostly Jen's collages & skateboard; My brown book & turquoise 5-part collage.)

(The wall of small squares: My photos, Jen's collage work.)

(The view as you entered their loft: Our work, their living, such love.)

(Jen's lovely spread for our guests, a wine and cheese of sorts.)

(So pretty, I just had to.)

Hi friends. This weekend I shared the lovely studio space of Jenifer Lake (Sprout Studio) and her dear mister. The Lakes were participating in SF Open Studios and Jenifer asked me to join her for a little impromptu two-person show. It was so wonderful! Her husband spent the week constructing gallery walls to transform their wonderful live/ work studio into a professional home-gallery. I love the DIY movement and think home poetry readings, home performances, home installations, and home galleries are incredibly innovative solutions to getting more artwork seen. (Click on those links for some amazing homestyle curatorial inspiration.)

We're going to push this collaboration a bit further and install a fully realized gallery show in their space in January 2010. Stay tuned! We've agreed to show photos (I think I'll be arranging another photo shoot, perhaps with ladies in vintage dresses; a further exploration of costume designer meets photographer meets installation) and we're also going to work collaboratively on a few mixed media prints on paper. I was just in the studio this morning finding letterpress offcuts to serve as my mixed-media starting points. Sigh. Sometimes making art just plain makes me happy: Simple and sweet.

In other news, thank you to those of you who have voted in my sidebar poll! It's open for one more week and I'd love to capture your vote if you haven't voted already. And for those of you who shy away from calling yourself an artist at all, I'd love to hear from you too! I often struggle with knowing where I fit as a multidisciplinary artist and this little poll is my experiment in knowing which box you choose. xoxo, k.

Polaroids, Housekeeping, and Reader's Thoughts Too

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My gosh, I love Polaroids. I think if I had one million dollars (Okay, after I was done giving a bunch of it to nonprofit organizations and buying my mister and I a house with 3 bedrooms and an outdoor studio) then I would invest in a bunch of studio equipment and on that list would be a few Polaroid cameras and lots of film.

Rumor has it that Polaroid film is not going to vanish from the planet all together, did you hear about the Impossible Project? Maybe our dear little "Save Polaroid" stickers all over the internet actually got some attention. Wonderful. I'm hoping the rumor is completely and totally true. Amen.

This little trio of photos is the end of my 2nd to last roll of Polaroid film. I have one more pack that I'm saving for Polaroid week over on Flickr--November 2-6--though now maybe we'll be able to buy it again in 2010. I like the range of colors in this trio and how the mood shifts from overcast to cozy to after-the-rain.

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And a bit of housekeeping: I've added a few new elements to my sidebar. I've joined the masses with the clever "Follow Me" tab as I love the idea of having faces attached to this little community of readers. One thing that keeps me coming back to my blog is the accountability to weekly studio updates and also the opportunity to engage with an international community. I love that second part the very most: You! And so I've added the tag, join if you like, I'd love to know you.

Lastly, I am hosting a little reader's poll about artistic identity. I know that categories are narrowing and inherently problematic and that identity is something that shifts and moves and changes. Yet given all this, I'd still love to know how you primarily identify as a creative person. It would help me with some bigger questions in my work as an arts program director and my work as a writer/ artist/ maker too. Feel free to leave any other thoughts in my comments section, I'm all ears. Take a peek and cast your vote. (Oh, please and thank you.)

Good Grief, My Dear October

*peek: a new print in process*

*and detail: thread, pencil, lino block continue*

(and the quieter parts of october...)

*back to the knits and yarn and needles clinking*

*tea to warm the fingers, too many cups to count them*

*new thrifted finds: color me fall with orange and wool*

*baked goods return to the cooled kitchen,
little miss stella thinks she's clever*

*canned goods stack the pantry:
homemade pickles, please*

*the princess of the house, cozy us in*

*press, french press, for the later afternoon hours*

*last of the roses from the local market
(enter an audible sigh)*

*considering my collections, and sunlight speckles and feathers*

*too pretty before split for baking*

Dear friends, Today I'm away from my sweet little studio and instead tucked into a crowded corner of a favorite cafe in San Francisco. As many of you know, I've set out to submit applications this month--a hefty combination of grant proposals and calls for submission. There's always a good dose of vulnerability in these things, so please keep your fingers crossed for me. (It helps to cheer me on just knowing that you are sending good wishes.) Like many of you, I wear several hats in the course of one week and so this week requires more time with my "proposal writer" hat. Well hello there, little cap, on you go then.

I'm not sure if it's my vantage point or if it's really the world around me picking up speed at a quickened pace in the arts world in the Bay Area. In other words, October is packed full of art happenings: Exhibitions, poetry readings, performances, grant deadlines, and open studios everywhere I turn. It's times like these that my daydreams for a quiet rural life full of open fields and forests and maybe even a few dozen sheep, slowly subside as I find my heartbeat quickened and my calendar pages filling with art activity. Good grief, dear October!

One last thing: It's the weather. I can't help myself from talking about it because it's absolutely dreamy and filling me completely with inspiration and good quivers of a quickened heart. Finally, it's time for tights and sweaters and scarves in the Bay Area. Our dear little garden has pushed out the final tomatoes and cucumbers and the vibrant greens of summer have turned to golden grasses and crinkled-up dehydrated leaves.

The New Yorker in me still turns cartwheels at the onset of fall. Autumn just makes me giddy with romance and inspiration and daydreams of twisting leaves, hefty fireplaces, and gallons of tea to keep warm. This weather makes me perfectly happy and also fills me with forlorn for the chilly New York weather. Wherever you are in the world, I hope your October is full of inspiration and a healthy dose of daydream or wanderlust. Now then, on with my cap and back to those proposals. xoxo, k.

Dresses/ Objects Project continues...

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Hello, friends. One million thanks to those of you who left feedback on the last post. I will incorporate many of your suggestions to my new website in the coming months. And Mia Nostalgia, you won the giveaway to my Etsy shop! (Please leave your email in the comments section so we can correspond about which piece you want me to package up and send your way.)

My husband and I did a mini fashion photo shoot this weekend and I'm so excited to finally have "fashion-ish" images of The Dresses/ Objects Project. It was a good challenge to act as a director of photography and keep reviewing the images until we created what I had in mind. These photos are a jumping off point for the grant I secured from The Puffin Foundation to produce a fashion photo shoot this fall. I'll be using these images on a handful of upcoming grant applications and gallery inquiries as I finish up phase two of this three-phase project. I'll also be scheduling a photo shoot with a few *very special* Bay Area art ladies soon. Eep! This photo shoot was just my sample to prepare for the bigger shoot this fall.

I'm currently making some steady progress on this project: Writing grants, completing the photo shoot, applying to gallery calls, and securing absolutely dreamy collaborators. I've been working on this project since fall 2006 and have secured over 15 collaborators so far along the way. Phew. It's been a big, long, wonderful experience but I'm thrilled to think of rounding the other side. Plenty to do between now and then but I'm so excited about the upcoming photo shoots! I'll be sure to post updates because I have a feeling you'll be thrilled by my collaborators too. xoxo, k.