I’m a week out from my show opening and still working. I’ve never been in this position before and I can’t recommend it. However, here I am with five pieces to finish by next week.

In January I edited out some designs because I didn’t think I could get them all done in time. Now that I’m so close I can see that the show is a little light, especially because three pieces became one triptych. That left me with only 13 wall pieces. So I decided to add two pieces back in and to make the three free-standing pieces that I had always planned to make for the show.

It’s worth it to keep the pressure on myself just a little longer to have the best possible show. After all, a solo show isn’t something that happens all the time. Can’t have a birth without some labor pains!

things are getting messy

Pretty much everything I do in the studio is low tech. I use my hands, I cut out paper, I imagine. But I do love my ipad. Here I’m using it to look at source photos while choosing fabrics for a piece.

Yesterday I took advantage of my rested state to design some 3-d free-standing pieces for my show. I’ve wanted to make them since the beginning, but as everything has taken longer than I thought, they’ve been pushed back over and over again. I knew if I didn’t at least get the paper patterns done they wouldn’t get done at all.

I did cheat a little. I used some patterns that I started for other projects that never got finished. Having forms to start with made it much easier to jump in. I was able to tweak them here and there so that they fit with the rest of the Madrone series. I got all three designs patterned and cut out in the peltex in just one day. Now that they are in this stage of the process I can put them aside until I finish the rest of the wall pieces and still have confidence that I will be able to finish them for the show.

It was a relief to work on something that was easy, or at least relatively so. It was satisfying to go to something that I really know. And for the first time in a long time, it didn’t take longer than I thought it would.

New and improved design on the left

Yesterday I delivered three finished pieces for my show. They are the very last pieces that will go in the on-line catalog and it was a huge push to get them done.

Today I’ve given myself a much needed day off for the first time in about a month. Aaah.

Tomorrow I’ll go back to the studio to continue  work. I can still give the gallery pieces for the show, they just won’t be in the catalog. I’m going to try my best to get three more wall pieces and three free-standing pieces done.

Everything for this show has taken longer than I anticipated. It could be because I got spoiled by having interns and didn’t realize how much they were helping. Or it may be because this work is more complicated and more time consuming than what I’ve done before. It’s certainly not because I’ve been procrastinating or sitting around eating bon bons!

For now, I’m enjoying my respite, spending time with my family, and resting up before the final push. I feel ready to go back to work after my rest in the eye of the cyclone.

I’ve fallen behind in posting here as usually happens when deadlines approach. It’s not that I don’t have anything to say or show, just that I’m using every spare moment to create new work. I woke up from a dream this morning that the gallery owner told me that I needed at least 20-30 more pieces for the show. I’m apparently even working in my sleep.

Here are some photos of the fabric selection process for the last set of pieces I originally designed. I’m still hoping to squeeze in three more pieces. Wish me luck! And if you want to keep up on my day to day workings “like” my page on Facebook, Cameron Anne Mason.

Back to the grindstone!

fitting the puzzle pieces together

Now that my palette is full of rich and beautiful fabrics I have to make choices. Which work together? Which fabrics support each other without conflicting? Which work within the confines of the available space and give to each other without taking away? And simply, which fit?

Here are some photos of the fabrics I’m considering for the next set of finished pieces.

I’m sending a bunch of pieces back to the dye pot to get one more layer of color before I start the final push of constructing the rest of the pieces for my show. This photo is of a number of pieces that were all overdyed with shades of Burnt Orange.

There’s a big batch of mixed colors and fabrics in the dryer right now. I also dyed about 18 yards of muslin for the interiors of the pieces I’m making for the March show. I’ll overdye more today and then I should be finished with dyeing for a while.

Overdyeing is always a risk–I’ve made some bad choices before–but most often the fabrics aren’t usable without another trip to the dyebath. The color either needs a little correction or they have too much white space. What I just put in the dryer looks like a mixed bag–some very nice and a few dogs. I never can tell, though, until they are washed, dried, and ironed.

Well I put the pedal to the treadle (!) and got the three pieces I needed for promos done and off to the photographer. I’ve been so immersed in the work that I have no perspective on it at all. I need get a little distance before I can “see” the work in progress. It’s good that I have a plan because otherwise I think I would be wasting time flailing about.

I spent some time today cleaning up the studio. It was grounding to organize my dyes and tidy up. It’s been driving me crazy that I can’t find things. There is just too much stuff in the studio. I have to move one thing out of the way to put another away. It will be very good to start finishing this work just so I can move it out of the studio and get some more floor space.

I pulled quite a bit of fabric from my home stash to add to the newly dyed fabrics. I organized all of it today by color. It helped to see what I already have, what I still need, and what I want to overdye. It helps my state of mind to put these bits of organization into the chaos.

I also took a hard look at the calendar and realized that I just don’t have enough time to finish all the pieces I’ve started for the March show. Sigh. I pulled out all the patterns and eliminated three designs. And who knows, maybe I’ll find time to finish them all. It makes me sad but I know it’s better to commit to doing less better than overstretching and not doing my best work. It’s better to have a smaller, stronger show. I’m still hoping to do at least three free-standing sculptures–even though I haven’t even started them. Long sigh. Better get back to work.

a big pie of fabrics ready for another dip in the dye pot

rough cut fabrics for Madrone 12

I got back from Costa Rica to find that I had missed a big deadline. I was supposed to have professional photos of finished work last month for PR and print for the show in March. Yikes! I have neither images nor finished work at this time.

So I sent off a mea culpa and am nose to the grindstone to get three pieces done ASAP. I should have them for my photographer by Monday or Tuesday and he’s willing to rush them through. So much for any residual relaxation from my trip.

I’m usually really good about deadlines, probably because of my background as a graphic designer, but for this current show I’ve really had my head in the sand. I think it’s because I’ve felt behind from the beginning and haven’t wanted to admit it to myself. However, pretending those deadlines don’t exist isn’t really a good plan. Hopefully, lesson learned on this one.

Good thing the work is going well. I’ve got some beautiful fabrics to work with and I think the designs are strong. Here are some photos of the stitched peltex forms before they get “skinned” with fabric.

Madrone 12

Madrone 11

Madrone 14