Work in progress: It came from the deep

I have lots of stories and photos of my mom's side of the family, but on my dad's side I have more stories than photos. That's one reason why my last three assemblages focused on my mom and her parents.

"Greener", which tells a story about my mother as a child

But lack of photos hasn't stopped me from working on a new assemblage about my dad's maternal grandmother. In my head I call her by her nickname, Mickey.

Not a pretty woman, or kind either. She grew up poor in rural South Carolina, and had a hard life, most of which was her fault. Her relatives described Mickey as a mean drunk who abandoned her kids and trashed two (maybe three) marriages. I wish I knew what her reasons were, horrible though they probably were, for lashing out at her kids and nearly everyone else.

Her harshness made me think of a cold sea with a rocky shoreline, which led me to thinking about barnacles.

And what do barnacles do? They cling. Much like kids do, even to a negligent mother. I'll tell you more about the barnacle thing in my next post.

Looking good: working with a graphic designer

I've tried making my blog and other online accounts look attractive, but I am clearly an amateur. I suffer from Kitchen Sink Syndrome. Every idea into the pool!

Good graphic design is kinda like what they say about smut: I can't describe it, but I know it when I see it. So I've been working with McKinion Design Studio on a total makeover of all my banner images. You see the blog is revamped. So is my Facebook friends page...

Twitter...

I'm even making plans to raise my Etsy shop from the dead. Gradually.

I've summed up my work as "Stories. Family. Sanctuary" for several reasons:
I've always been a writer, and now I incorporate text within my visual storytelling.

I'm inspired by images of people who could be (or were) my relatives, and the stories they've kept locked away.

And with my art I aim to build a sanctuary: a private space in which I create, and where others can let their imaginations wander through other people's lives.

First off: no, it wasn't free. But as art business coach Alyson Stanfield points out, sometimes it's worth it to delegate a task. A simple search should give you basic tips on what to look for in a graphic designer. But here's what struck me about working with Bernita McKinion:

Scheduling flexibility: Like me, she's a night owl, so I didn't have to wait for regular business hours to get things done.
Responsiveness: Bernita often emailed preliminary results by the following morning.
Free-resource suggestions: We used Skype and Join.Me (which allows you to share your computer screen with someone in another location) to clarify specifics. I could tell her "Make that thingy bigger. No, bigger. No, not that big" instead of having to email three times or more to get things the way I wanted them.
Tech support: The original Twitter banner didn't work out, so she sent me four simplified versions within about two hours. BAM.

And now it's up to me to make it worth the effort. Eeek. But you know how you often feel good when you look good? It's the same with this new design: I look like a million bucks online... now I feel that way too.

Onyx at Seattle City Hall: Look who's on the exhibit poster!

The other night I got a call from the Onyx Fine Arts Collective's graphic designer... and guess whose collage portrait was chosen for the exhibit poster in Seattle City Hall?

Credit: Al Doggett

Mineminemine MINE! [dances around deliriously] I know, my newness is showing. But I am new to this honor. The designer, Al Doggett, also told me my collage, "The Land is Ours, Papa" is also going to grace the promotional post cards. Whee!

Thank goodness The Husband encouraged me to enter this piece in this show, even while I'm in the midst of prep for my solo show. Guess over-committing worked out after all.

The reception will be in April, but the show itself will start in a matter of days. If you'll be in downtown Seattle, here are the details:

EXHIBIT DATES: Wednesday, March 6 until Wednesday, May 1, 2013
RECEPTION: Come meet me and the other artists on Thursday, April 4, 2013, 4pm-6pm
WHERE: Seattle City Hall, 600 Fourth Ave., Seattle

Time to pack up the artwork -- we hang the pieces next week!