Category Archives: Work in Progress

The Next (Small) Big Thing

It’s the calm before the storm — or not. I’ve been working hard at putting out proposals and now I’m waiting to hear back.

The biggest thing I’ve got out there is a proposal to create an installation for this year’s Burning Man Festival in Nevada. I’ve applied for an art grant and should hear from them by later in this month. If we get funded I don’t know if I’ll be more excited or terrified. It’s a small project in the scheme of art at Burning Man, but for me, it’s big. By my calculations, it would be at least 8 weeks of full time work to create the banners I’ve envisioned. Fingers crossed.

I made a piece for a call for entries for the exhibition, Minitextil, in Lake Como, Italy. I should hear about that one by the middle of March, too. I don’t usually make pieces specifically for calls but I’ve been thinking about making really small pieces for a couple of years. It seemed that this was a good opportunity to follow through on that. It was a push but I finished and photographed the piece on the day of the deadline (phew!).

I’m pleased with not only the piece, but also my photos. I’ve been thinking for a while that I need to be able to take good quality photos of my work. I love my photographer, he makes everything look so sexy, but I can’t afford to have every piece shot. I end up not submitting pieces for shows because I don’t have good images. I really need to get good documentation of every piece I make, so it felt good to be able to do it myself.

I also sent some images out for the Bellwether Sculpture Biennial and will hear on that one in April. I got a “no” from Fantastic Fibers in Kentucky, go figure. I’ve been the show twice before, and even won a prize there, but it goes to show that you can never predict what a jury will decide. I’ve read that if you’re not getting rejected, you’re not applying for enough things.

I will be having a two-person show June through September with Larry Calkins at Aljoya Thornton Place. Yes, it’s a retirement home, but they have really nice shows with established artists (like Alden Mason) and I’m thrilled to be doing a show with Larry. I love his work and we’re friends. His work has a primitive aesthetic while mine is more refined, but I think there are more similarities than differences in what we do.Obviously the curator, June Sekiguchi, thinks so, too.

This blog post was meant to be a quick update about what I’m working on in the studio but it’s been hijacked by everything else that’s going on in my mind. It’s a bit chaotic up there these days. I’m kind of longing for a big project that I can really get absorbed into, rather than trying to keep all of these balls in the air. But for now I’m keeping my hands busy with some small, one could say mini, projects.

While working on the piece for Minitextil, I mocked up three other designs. This week I’m working on finishing those. They are kind of precious but pleasing, like working on doll furniture. My challenge is to make sure they don’t get “cute,” a problem at this size. less than 8 inches. Below are photos of the piece I made for Lake Como.

So it’s off to the studio to make some stuff while I wait. Think I’ll do some juggling.

How Did That Happen?

How did a month go by since I last posted here? I know it had something to do with those proposals I wrote, that fabric sale I did, those two deinstalls, that article I edited, and that piece I made. Oh, and then there was the trip to Baja with my family.

Phew!

We got back from our trip last Sunday and I’ve been running ever since. I deinstalled my Storefronts piece in Bellevue first thing Monday morning. That night, I heard from the editor at the SDA Journal that she’d need my edits for the article I wrote for the Spring issue by Thursday. Tuesday my intern, Arissa was in the studio to help me work on getting fabrics and packaging ready for my sale on Thursday. I worked on my entry for an exhibition of mini-textiles in Europe (deadline Friday) and the article. Wednesday I worked some more on the article and on the mini piece. Thursday I traveled up to Gold Bar where I was a vendor (a first for me!) at Lorraine Torrence’s Wearable Art Retreat (a very successful and enjoyable experience). I was very happy to read that one of the calls for entry I intended to enter extended their deadline to next week.

This morning I finished my mini-piece, photographed it, wrote an artist statement, updated my CV, found a picture of myself, sized all the photos, and got it all sent off in an email by noon, at least three hours before the deadline of midnight in Lake Como.

Now that I’ve had time to take a breath, I’m giving myself a pat on the back for being so productive. And you bet I’m taking the weekend off!

The State of the Studio Address

Dyed fabrics for sale

Every time I start out with a fresh slate and nothing really pressing planned it seems I go from zero to 60 pretty fast. I started out the new year with an empty plate, no shows scheduled, nothing planned except some group shows with work that’s already made. Now, it’s not that the phone has been ringing off the hook with new solo shows (I wish!) but I have managed to fill my time, and more so, through the end of February.

The fact is I finally sat down and spent some time on my computer doing research on calls for entry. I’m now looking toward the future and writing proposals, making plans and drawings, having meetings, and yes, even getting my head around making some small pieces. I submitted an entry for Fantastic Fibers in Kentucky yesterday and am planning on entering a few more local shows in February.

The biggest thing I’m working on is a proposal to create an installation at this year’s Burning Man. A lot of planning is required to build in the harsh environment of the Playa where strong winds, blazing sun, and dust storms can test any structure to its limits. Luckily for me, I have a terrific team including my main collaborator, Peter, who is a general contractor and all around good guy, Ed, an architect who is helping with the plan drawings, and Charlie, an electrician, who is doing research on solar power to light the installation up at night.

The other thing occupying my time is my new venture dyeing fabric for sale. When I started doing dye tests for my dye book I didn’t realize that it would turn into a small business idea. The tests were something I’ve always wanted to do, but really it was a project for the interns while I figured out what to do next. Now, I’ve had this really great opportunity arise to be a vendor at Lorraine Torrance’s Wearable Art Intensive. My start up costs are really low and she’s been very welcoming. It’s a perfect situation to try out something I’ve thought about doing for years. If it goes well, it could be a low-key way to bring in a little cash. I just want to make sure it’s not something that will take away from art making.

And then, a few things are coming to an end. I found out that I’ll need to deinstall my Bellevue Storefronts piece earlier than planned because the building management leased the space. Oh well, it was always a possibility and good for them, still it’s disappointing. I’ll also be deinstalling my piece at the Bellevue Arts Museum in early February. I’m a little sad about it but it’s been an amazing opportunity. I’m very appreciative that Stefano Catalani, head curator there, invited me to create the piece. Now I’ve got to figure out what to do with it next!

So, the cycle continues: concept, planning, making, showing, sales (?), and taking it all down again, and on to the next project.

Testing 1, 2, 3 . . . 90

Annie and Arissa hard at work

Arissa has joined me as an intern from the University of Washington’s School of Art this quarter along with my other intern, Annie. I’m taking this wealth of help to add to my dye sample book. On Friday we did gradation tests with nine steps each for ten sets of two colors. That adds up to 90 tiny dye baths. It’s so valuable to see all those steps in between colors but it’s not something I can often take the time to do. I’ve been working on my dye book for over ten years and I don’t think it will ever be done.

While I had all that dye mixed up I dyed some yardage to donate to the Contemporary Quilt Art Association’s fundraiser at Stash Fest. The fabric turned out really beautifully and it made me think again about selling hand-dyed fabrics. It’s something I’ve thought about over the years but haven’t ever pursued. Now, with the new studio, my monthly expenses have tripled so much it’s got me thinking a little more about ways to increase cash flow. I casually mentioned the idea of selling my fabrics to friend at CQA and she knows of a great opportunity for me to try it out. More to come on that I hope!

Here are some images of the color tests. More of those to come, too.

A New Page

Yesterday was my first work day in the studio in the new year. I’m currently thinking about the driftwood I saw on my trip to Dungeness and the color green. I bought some green acrylic inks and some paints to use for printing and spent yesterday working on paper. It’s a good way to loosen up. I can work very quickly and the materials aren’t expensive so I’m not as attached to an outcome. Here are some working shots.

Storefronts Bellevue

a big empty container to put art into

Back in July I posted about some shibori dyeing I was doing for an installation that was to be somewhere in Bellevue on a date to be determined for Storefronts Bellevue.

See those posts here:

Back in Seattle Again and It’s All Part of the Process

The project is coordinated through Shunpike, a local non-profit that helps artists and communities with the business of art. They manage Storefronts programs in Seattle, Bellevue, Auburn, and Mt. Vernon which match vacant storefronts with artists to activate the spaces. Artists get a small honorarium to create temporary (3 month) installations to enliven these empty spaces. I was juried onto the roster for Bellevue in late Spring but it’s been slow to get going. It’s a new program there and it seems that it’s taking a while to get all the cogs to line up.The coordinator I’m working with, Anne Blackburn, has been very helpful.

I finally have my location and my install date, December 18th, so it’s a good thing I got all that dyeing done this Summer!

Anne and I did a site visit last week. The space I’ve got is beautiful. Many of the vacant spaces are kind of grimy, or unfinished, but I lucked out. Apparently, the former tenant was a gallery, so it’s a clean open space with nice lighting. The main challenge of the space is that the ceilings are about 30 feet high. My original concept to hang my piece from the ceiling just isn’t going to work. I wouldn’t even want to be up that high on a scissors lift, even if I had the budget to rent one. Time to think outside the box. It was great to toss ideas around with Anne and I think we came up with a good solution. It involves cables, and no, I haven’t worked with them before, but it should work. Faith, remember?

Today my intern, Annie, helped out at the studio so I took advantage of the extra hands (and her young knees) to hang all the panels and determine their order. There are 28 panels, each 18 inches by 12 feet long, that will be sewn together into a single piece of fabric 12 feet tall by approximately 37 feet long. Because each panel is different, it took some looking and moving them around, and looking some more, to figure out the best arrangement. I think it has a nice flow.

Tomorrow, I’ll take a trip to the hardware store to talk about cables and connectors. Then, back to the studio, where I’ll set up my serger and start making a really, really big piece of fabric. It should work.

Just Add Color!

I finally mixed up some dye in the new studio. I’m working on some silk scarves, both as Hannukah gifts and to have for sale at the December Open Studio at Building C. It was great to finally start working. Here are some process images.

Here are scarves with one layer of dye and a layer of soy wax

Annie, my intern, is adding a second layer of dye over the waxed resist

All dyed, now time to batch, then iron and wash out

A Sense of Place

I spent this week finishing up my studio move. I had done all the heavy lifting, literally, and had a very nice Open House last weekend. This was more about unpacking the rest of the boxes that were stuffed under the tables and coming up with systems. I have hopefully bought my last plastic storage box and now have everything stashed away, yet accessible and clearly labeled.

Now that it’s all organized I’m going to take everything out from under the printing table so that I can paint it and pad the printing surface. I was originally thinking that I’d paint it white but now am leaning toward a light gray, just to ground it and make the inevitable splatters less obvious.

I also moved in the last van load of stuff yesterday. Phen, the owner of Foster/White Gallery where I show, had offered me some things for the studio that came from Alden Mason’s last apartment. Foster/White had represented Alden for many years and Phen, and the other employees there, were a big part of his life. They helped him move, drove him to events and openings, and were supportive way beyond the usual relationship between a gallery and artist.

I’ve always felt a connection with Alden Mason, probably because of the shared last name, but I started paying attention to his work long before I started making art. Being represented by the same gallery, getting to meet the artist, hear some of his stories, and sharing a table at the Gallery’s holiday parties were special. It’s not often we get to meet living legends and Alden was always so full of life, even as it was clear that his was near its end.

It makes me happy to have a few things from Alden’s studio in my studio: a wooden ladder, a metal stool, some fans, and a very comfortable wicker chair. They are all well used and have touches of paint from his hand. I also still have and use silk screens that I got from Su Job’s estate, a vibrant fabric artist that passed on a few years ago. These objects, pedestrian as they are, give me a sense of history and continuity and the feeling that I am part of something larger. Using them is a way of honoring those that have come before me, a way to keep their memories active and alive. Their presence in my new studio is part of its becoming more than a numbered room down a hall. It is part of its sense of place, a place to create.

Alden’s chair

Up and Down the Ladder

ready for moving day!

It’s been a long two weeks since I last posted. In that time I’ve taped, mudded, (repeat as necessary), sanded, primed, painted, mounted insulation foam for two large pin/design walls, painted some more, covered the foam with fabric, overseen an electrician installing outlets and track lighting, landlord installing my sink, and a carpenter installing molding.

And yesterday my good friends and family helped me move everything from the old studio to its new location–either the new studio or home for storage.

It has been exhausting and exhilarating! I have been sore and tired in ways I didn’t think possible. I haven’t had the mental energy to keep up on the blog until now. (I have posted along the way on Facebook, so like my “Cameron Anne Mason” page there if you want the up to the minute updates.)

Today is the day to take a breath, do laundry, get some groceries for the family, and finish up a few things at the old studio. I still need to take down some shelves, take a few things off the walls, give it a good scrub, and go to the dump.

Tomorrow I will start unpacking and putting away at the new studio. It’s and exciting time, full of beginnings.

my kick-ass sink!

Change is Good, Remember?

First, don’t worry, this story has a happy ending.

Last Friday, I arrived at my new studio building to pick up the keys to my studio space. In my car, I had an 8-foot-ladder and supplies to start mudding and taping the drywall. I had arranged a small celebration in the space that night with some of my closest friends to show it off and drink a toast to new beginnings. My landlord texted me that he wanted to talk–I figured it was about the electrical work.

Nope, not electrical.

Turns out that he actually wanted my space for his studio and wasn’t sure that he would renew my lease if we went forward with it. He was telling me now because he knew I was about to put money into installing a sink and having furniture made for the space. He offered to exchange my space for any one in the building that was available, even a larger size for the same money, plus he would pay to install my sink. He told me he had never done this in 20 years of leasing spaces to artists, but that for a number of reasons, he really wanted the space he had leased to me.

I was pretty stunned and disappointed. I had already moved in to the space in my mind, arranged all the furniture, imagined the work I would do there and the classes I would teach. But still, I respected him for telling the truth and trying to make it right. I could choose to stand by my lease, but I would never feel secure about putting time and money into the studio, knowing that I might have to leave in 12 months. Plus, I’d have an unhappy landlord working down the hall from me. Once I got over the shock, I realized that it made more sense to be flexible and figure out something worked for both of us.

We spent some time looking at the available spaces. My husband left work to come over and help figure it out. Turns out that the space we settled on will be even better for me than the original, I think. Ironically, it’s the one I wanted when I first looked at the building.

The new space is a little smaller (and cheaper–which is very nice) than the first one but still, at 20 by 30 feet, the 600 square foot space I wanted. This one has walls that go all the way to ceiling, which will give me more privacy and sound insulation. Plus, I’ll have my own heater with my own thermostat. I have a nice, big, North facing window that I can open. The view of the gasket factory storage yard next store is pretty industrial, but I can also see the Bardahl Oil sign, a Ballard landmark. Plus, I don’t have to pay to get my sink and hot water heater installed, which will save me a couple thousand dollars!

It’s really a win/win situation.

So now I’ve got my graph paper floor plan out again trying to figure out a plan for the space. I don’t think I’m going to have room for that 14-foot-print table, after all. But I can make ten-foot-table work, which is still four feet more than I had before. There will still be plenty of wall space, a great location, and a community of artists. I’ll have to wait just a little bit longer to get into the space, but it’s a happy ending and another lesson that change is good.