Blog Re-Boot... and we're back online.

So it’s been a long time since I’ve written. I had a blast writing my last blog/story and I think I psyched myself out. I kept waiting for a new story to find me and then I could relay it to you through my blog. But every time I thought I had found a great story, by the time I got home the idea had fizzled out. I didn’t think it would translate well, or I would get lazy thinking about the storyline. And so, nothing kept happening. So I’m going to dial it back a bit, say Hello, show a few pictures and give you a brief run-down of what we’ve been up to. It’s no story and most likely not a bit interesting to those who aren’t friends, just a friendly blog re-boot!

This summer has been busy, rather chilly but one of realized goals. Eh, small goals. I still have not made enough art to start thinking about showing but I have been knitting a great deal and I’ve improved quite a bit. Knitting, jobs, proposals, these things pretty much comprise this summer.

Gabe and I got his business up and running. We have our DUNS number and our Naics codes and our EIN number and we are registered with the proper registries. We wrote 4 proposals this summer… well, Gabe wrote them and I helped organize, collate, stuff envelopes and lick stamps. They were government RFP’s so we don’t expect any rush on responses for them. (That will be a story worth writing about!) There are a bunch of RFP’s coming out in FY2010 and so we are gearing up to write some more proposals. Gabe is also putting together proposals for sculpture in our immediate area that need some attention.

I changed jobs. Again. I now work at Rootstock Wine and Beer Bar. It’s a cozy little joint two blocks from my house. Yes, two blocks. And many of you knowing where I live, might be asking, “Really? A wine bar in that neighborhood?” Whats cool about the location is that it’s a neighborhood that is filled with working class families, struggling artists and restaurant industry workers who can only afford apartments west of Western Ave. It’s a blue collar neighborhood that is pretty close to Wicker Park and Bucktown but edgier and a little more interesting but with less places of entertainment. It’s also heavily populated with young thugs and ruffians so, unlike Wicker Park, the sidewalks aren’t clogged with strollers, joggers, and panhandlers. Rootstock itself is a cool place. They have a killer beer list, all micro-brews, gourmet imports and master reserves. There is something for everyone and most likely, you’ve never heard of it. The wines are great also; small batch, boutique wines and unexpected grapes. The underlying emphasis throughout is organic, bio-dynamic products and sustainable practices in regards to the wine, food and beer. Even the furniture and place settings are recycled! They’ve also been written up several times: The Reader, Time Out Chicago, Sun-Times Centerstage, and Chicago Magazine to name just a few. Rootstock is owned by three partners whom I work alongside of every single shift. They are a good group to be sure and I feel really comfortable there. I was also recently hired on as a part-time seasonal employee of Nina, an upscale yarn shop. Yes! Now I get a discount on my yarn habit! Though I am super excited to be there, I’m not so sure that it’s a good idea to have such a discount… my stash is big enough already! In fact, I still have a very sizable fabric stash from Cy Rudnicks! I start there next Saturday. I’m knitting a sweater to wear there for my first day!

Besides visits from various family members, I had two vacations this summer as well. I got to see both my best friend Jessica and my family. At the end of July, Jessica flew me out to Rhode Island so that I could spend some time with her and her girls, Nina and Chloe. They are darling and very attached to Jessica. It was fun (obviously) and we sat up late in the night sipping vodka gingers or wine talking and laughing, much like we used to. Jessica made some delicious vegetarian dishes, one of which I ate years ago when I spent Thanksgiving with them one year during college. I loved watching the girls and seeing little bits of Jessica in them and figuring out which traits were inherited from their dad. That vacation really made my summer! About a month later, I found a $100 plane fare to fly home. I quickly made arrangements to visit my family. I spent 2 nights at my Moms house, had dinner with Dad and Pat, and then Mom, Mickey and I drove down to Kansas City to spend a night with my sister Bridget and Dan. We went to the petting zoo waaay down on 138th and Switzer. I didn’t even know there was a petting zoo the entire time I lived in Kansas City! It’s called the “Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead” and it is awesome! Mickey had a blast! Well, we all did! We also ate lunch at Dan’s new restaurant, The Farmhouse. It was really good. I had a fried green tomato sandwich that was delicious and Mickey had Belgian waffles that I couldn’t stop sneaking bites of! Mom said her omelet was one of the best she’s ever had. After the petting zoo, where Mickey slipped in the mud and was covered from shoulder to ankle in mud, we stopped and had frozen custards. Mickey’s was chocolate and he finished his look by smearing chocolate all over his face! Haha! It was classic!

That’s really about it for me I think… I do want to apologize that this isn’t a story, but merely a rundown of my life currently. I personally don’t think it’s that interesting but several of you have asked what happened to the blog and have I abandoned it. I haven’t. And so, hopefully I will soon have a story worthy of your readership! Until then, Adieu!

Don't Touch The Art

Had a little fun in the last few weeks. I was in a show for Bear Necessities, finished a sweater, started a knitted lace project (my first with actual lace yarn), made a felted Teddy Bear/Mouse (haven’t decided what it will be yet), and had a museum and dinner date with Michael and Steven (the highlight of the last two weeks!). But all in all, not a lot has happened. I didn’t sell anything at the show but it was nice to be out showing. I chatted it up with my very old friends Lindsay and Ashley Cox. Lindsay’s a Miller now but I will always remember her as a Cox. I showed two paintings and two embroideries. I stayed up late into the night to put the finishing touches on my embroidery only to wake up realizing that it is not even close to being finished. But it was presentable so I showed it anyway. It was a very casual show, with a fashion show aspect that had static models on pedestals. True to my fear and original apprehension about puting my fragile embroideries in the show, people, all the while keeping a respectful distance from all paintings, would pick up, turn, rub, and touch the silk embroideries. There is such a misunderstanding about textile art. I don’t know if it’s a familiarity or a lack of respect or just curiosity, but the general populace assumes its all right to physically handle textile art. It is not all right to handle textile art for the record. Fabric is delicate and can become easily soiled, torn, rent or warped just from someones fingers. Lindsay walked past my table when I was off talking to someone and saw a woman boldly holding my embroidery up to the light, turning it and stretching it. She told the woman sternly, “You need to put that down.” Thank god for her timing but what about all the unseen moments of possible destruction? There is an ongoing argument in the arts world of fine art vs. craft. Frankly, I find that argument tiresome, cliche and worn out. Obviously both sides are right in their own ways. But for me at least, the kicker is textile art is still considered craft by the general populace and therefore disregarded by the general populace. There have been incredibly amazing pieces of textile art that has been hailed by critics, collectors and lovers of fine art. Some notables include Sheila Hicks, Anni Albers, Magdelena Abakanovicz, Mark Newport, and Buzz Spector. I was fortunate enough to have teacherly contact with artists Pauline Verbeek-Cowart, Jason Pollen, Marcie Miller Gross, Maria Elena Buszek, Judi Ross, Michelle Fricke and Tim Towner. But these artists are largely unknown to the general public. So, because everyones grandma crocheted, knitted or sewed, it must not be very special and can obviously be picked up for comparison to Gram’s doilies. I wish that we artists could send a memo out to the rest of the world saying, “Please Refrain From Touching the Fabric/Paper/Fiber Art On Display No Matter Where It’s On Display”. So, next time you are at an exhibit, a fair, a museum, gallery, your friends living room, assume you can’t touch the fiber art and if you really want to, ask first.

Preston's Snake Scarf

Felted Teddy/Mouse

Bird Painting

Alleyway painting

Moving to the big city

Living room for Rats

Living room for Rats

Wicked Sweater

I’ve also decided, with relief, that I’m no painter. I gave it a healthy stab and I’m just not good at it. Same with photography. It’s a relief because I can focus on my fiber pieces knowing that I’m working in the right medium for me.

Heartbroken - I didn't get the job

Hi Meghan,
Thank you for the nice card. My apologies for not getting back to you
sooner, between construction and finishing up interviewing all our
applicants…everything has unfortunately been pushed back.

I am sorry to say that at this time, we can not offer you employment.
There are so many wonderful people (you included!) that we interviewed
that we would have loved to offer positions for but unfortunately, we
can only hire a small handful out of the hundreds and hundreds of
applications.

I had such a nice interview with you and you also seem like you would
be a great person to work with so I hope you keep us in mind if we are
hiring in the future and I will also keep your resume on file.

Thank you for being patient and take care,

Chanel

P.S. My good friend Carol is the owner of Milk & Honey Cafe and also
Cippolina and she is always looking for good employees. I think it’s
a fun place to work there. You should drop off a resume there and let
me know if you do and I’ll call Carol and recommend you! My personal
email is: (…) or call me and leave a message
(…)

10 Days

It’s been a busy couple of weeks. I’ve had interviews, visits, money issues, knitting projects, arguments, and paintings all happen in the last 10 days. Whew! Takes a lot out of ya! Where to begin?!

Well, just about 10 days ago, an old friend called me up and asked if my boyfriend and I would like to be in a charity art and fashion show. I asked her to email me the details before I could say yes. About 3 days later I received an email that informed me of an art show that was to happen in less than two weeks. They needed 4 artists and 4 fashion designers. The charity in question is called Bear Necessities, a pediatric cancer foundation. The cause is a worthy one. Unfortunately, the event is leaves a lot to be desired. It’s being held in a nightclub in an area nicknamed Viagra Triangle, before the club opens to the public at 10pm. There is no wall space, so all the art work will be displayed on tables. Lighting will be “provided” by the club. Meaning they’ll turn the lights up. I told my friend that I’d participate and produce some paintings, one or two for donation. Now if you know me, you know that I don’t paint. I’m just learning how. But my embroideries take too long to produce in 10 days and more importantly, the ones that I already have finished, I can’t afford frames. A constant problem with textile arts is that people, with the best intentions at heart, want to touch them. Seems the “please don’t touch the art” sentiment that is strongly associated with fine art is completely disregarded when it comes to textiles. If it looks soft, you must be able to touch them. Unfortunately, my embroideries are very delicate and the natural oils from peoples skin will discolor the silk and the tiny stitches and cutouts can become stretched out and distorted just by simple fingering of the fabric. And so, my decision to donate paintings is born. I’m not a good painter. This is getting stressful and completely foolish. Why did I say yes? Out of some desperate need to show? Or to be able to say that I’m an artist? I’m embarrassed already. (If you happen to live in Chicago and you want to see me awkward and uncomfortable in the corner of La Passage, $20 at the door @ 7:00pm on March 27th is all it takes.)

And last weekend my sister and her boyfriend made the all-night bus trip from Kansas City Mo to Chicago to visit! In the preparations for the trip, Bridget and I discussed what entertainments we could cultivate while they were here. It’s worth noting here that I’m broke. Savings are run out and I’m in desperate need for a second job and some extra shifts at Subterranean to boot. So the entertainments that I could enjoy all cost $0. Bridget and Dan, wanted to see every museum in town and had researched all the restaurants that they wanted to go to. My feelings were hurt (though completely unintentionally by them) because I couldn’t join in on any fun and so I vehemently disagreed with their overly-ambitious plans. Dan was set on his plans and had conferred with his Russo-Polish Jewish grandmother about the Russo-Polish Jewish things he wanted to see and eat. Bridget, having been to Chicago a few times already, was content to please him. I threw a fit. (Aren’t I kind?) I had thought that it would be a weekend where we could all hang out and just, well, hang out and casually do things that friends and family do in a relaxed environment. I hadn’t thought of it as a quick tourist vacation for them. And so we argued. Poor Bridget was caught in the middle of her high-maintenance boyfriend and her high-maintenance sister. She held her own though and I have got to say, gracefully. She didn’t let either of us take her down into our wallowing pit of selfishness. They basically did all the things that Dan wanted to do and paid for me to do some of those things with them. We went to the Field Museum (she paid my entry) and saw the Aztec exhibit - very cool. And we went Eleven City Diner (she paid for my lunch) and we had a nice Jewish brunch full of lox, latkes, deli meats and challahs. They came to my work and with my tips, I was able to buy them their drinks. And the next day we went to a polish restaurant for lunch (bill was split between Bridget, Dan and Gabe). ((I personally thought the food was absolutely disgusting, oily and cold and fatty and I’m pretty sure I ate meat and the coffee was weak and the tablecloth was plastic and had dried spots of food on it. Yuck yuck yuck!)) And then we went to Chinatown and walked around and bought foodstuffs to make Vietnamese Bun and spring rolls. Thank god, I was able to take the rest of my tips from the night before and pay for some of the groceries. The Vietnamese dinner was incredible though, thanks to Dan and Bridge who have made it before. My friends Jen and her Dan joined us and provided the wine. It was a great evening. In fact, despite the stressful and hard feelings going into the weekend, the whole weekend was fun and I’m glad they came. I even found a pair of brand new Pumas lying the top of a trash receptacle while waiting for the bus! A little Lysol and I’ve got some new sneakers to kick around in!

Last week, before the visit, I had my 3rd interview for the new Lula. Lula is Logan Squares’ most awesome restaurant. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I know someone who is good friends with one of their managers. They mentioned that I would be a good candidate for the new Lula that is opening in Pilsen. I met with Chanel first. She was fun and awesome and will be the new General Manager there. Second interview, I met with John, the current General Manager for Logan Squares Lula. Last and final interview, I met with Jason Hammel, the owner. He seemed nice, if a bit overwhelmed. Frankly, I couldn’t tell if I made a good impression on him or not. He wasn’t very easy to read but asked me all sorts of personality type questions. For instance, what’s my relationship to food in a non-job related sense of the question. I told him about the feed sacks full of sweet candy corn that we used to get from my Moms’ siblings who farm in rural Iowa. I told him about my container garden and that I don’t drive any longer but bike year round and that I’m working on an apartment-friendly composting system. I’m a nervous interviewee and I tried to keep my fidgeting under control but most people can read that anxiety and don’t like it. At the end of the interview, he told me that they had to wait 2 weeks or so before they could hire anyone because they are waiting on the final city inspection to open the new facility. Would they wait 2 weeks just to tell me that they didn’t want to hire me? I’m not sure. I know Chanel and John liked me, I hope Jason did too. It would be such a great place to work. And word in the industry grapevine is that they would be great people to work for. Pilsen is a cool artist and Mexican filled neighborhood that has a lot of galleries, coffee shops and delicious queso tamales. I sent them all thank-you notes in the mail. I hope I spelled their names right.

My Wicked sweater from Zephyr Styles is coming right along. I had thought it would be done by now but I’ve had to set it aside to do some paintings. I’m nearly to the point of knitting the pocket and knitting it to the sweater front. Bridget sent me some more yarn, which she didn’t have to do, (but I’m totally grateful for!) and she sent me some of the same Peacock colored Patons Merino wool yarn that I’m making the sweater in. I now have enough to make a sweater dress if I want to and matching leg warmers! She also sent me a wool/alpaca blend that I think I’ll make some felted teddy bears out of and some black cashmere that I’ll make Ysolda Teagues’ Struan with.

Comic Art Battle at Pistol Bazaar

Comic Art Battle at Pistol Bazaar

So last night was Ezra Clayton Daniels famous Comic Art Battle. He and Heather Kortan own and run a really cool, concept greeting cards company called Loaded Blanks. They get local artists to create pictures and cartoons for cards and then leave the bubbles blank so you can fill them in as you wish. You can get a look at the cards on their Etsy site. (They are good to stockpile and use as needed;) ) The Comic Art Battle was held at Pistol Bazaar, a vintage clothing shop owned by two lovely ladies whom I am proud to call friends, Lana McAllister and Michelle DeLeone. ( 1717 W Chicago Ave, open 12-7 everyday selling vintage, vinyl and independent art. fabulous dress collection and the owners are drop dead gorgeous!)

Aaron and Ezra

Anywho, apparently one of the Comic Contenders was a no show to this rather densely populated art and fashion affair. So Ezra asked me quickly if I would be the fill in. The couple of glasses of sangria in me told him, "Yes I would". I immediately gulped down some more liquid courage and wrangled my nerves into a skittish but workable union. The first round was to draw from life. Someone with some acting humor posed and one person from each team had 5 minutes to draw her.

Posing karate-style for Round 1, Nate drawing her

There were two teams: Team Fashion (Yes!) and Team Comics. I was on Team Fashion with a dapper fellow named Steve and an illustrater named Richard. The other team consisted of Nate, Grant and Aaron, all artists themselves. Round 2 consisted of the audience calling out a noun, a verb, and an adjective. It was like ad-lib pictionary on stage. Our clues were Creamy (adjective), Fig Newtons (noun), and Spraying(verb). Yes, it was challenging, yes it was super funny, and no I did not win this round. My take on it was U.F.O's attacking our cities with creamed fig newtons.

Team Fashion (me, Richard, Steve)

Mind you,we had five minutes, a sharpie and some newsprint to render this with. My opponent drew a guy biting into a fig newton and it bursting and splooging up into his eye with some other wacky stuff going on in the background. It was a really good drawing and hilarious. I wish there was a picture of it!

U.F.O.'s spraying cream fig newton

Round 3 was also the result of an audience generated clue. I believe it was Fashion for a Fornication Occasion.

Fashion for Fornication Occasion

You can imagine how that one went! Eruptions of laughter from the crowd mixed with nervous twitters and wise-cracks from friends. The two drawings rendered were completely different but equally hilarious.

Richard

The 4th Round was Winner Takes All! All six of us had to share battle on one page of newsprint. Our theme was, of course, Fashion against Comics. More specifically, the fashion time period Regency against newspaper comic classics. It was a clusterfuck of scribbles, sharpie squeaks, laughter and battle cries. I kept drawing wigs and ruffs on cartoon characters and Aaron kept drawing Calvin and Hobbes characters taking the wigs off!

Aaron and Grant

All trying to draw at once!

It was a super fun event! I have to give Ezra credit here, because if he hadn't asked me to do it, I would have never volunteered! And I really makes me want to draw more, and participate more, and involve the arts more. I have incredible stage-fright and that could have been a problem but for a) Sangria and b) a really cool and kind audience. Lana and Michelle are great hosts and hopefully they made some sales! I met new cool people (Bridget and Alicia) and had a great talk with an old friend (Heather - I'm totally jealous of that bike, Lady!). Thanks to Nate Beaty for these awesome pictures! He is a great artist and photographer!