Category Archives: My Art

Surprisingly Artistic Potholes of Port Townsend Vol II

P.T. Artist Sandra Stowell Posted on by

After today you can buy a hardbound copy of my second photo book! Contact me now if for your own copy of The Surprisingly Artistic Potholes of Port Townsend Vol II. The initial copy of Volume II from VistaPrint looks good, and five copies for resale arrive today.

UPDATE:

I have just donated & delivered a copy of each volume of the The Surprisingly Artistic Potholes of Port Townsend to the Jefferson County Historical Museum! The JCHS Museum has a small art collection and displays art exhibits by local artists in addition to historic artifacts and information of local interest. I was quite pleased to have this donation welcomed into the collection. I don’t know how anyone finds out about books in their collection, but I assume these can be viewed on request. And perhaps will even be on display at some point if the time is deemed right…

And I have four copies of Volume I of The Surprisingly Artistic Potholes of Port Townsend available, so perhaps you would enjoy having the set?

Photo of the photo books: The Surprisingly Artistic Potholes of Port Townsend Vol II

How this self-publishing thing works with Vista Print

I assemble a collection of images in a designated folder for the VistaPrint desktop application. In the application I can then build my photo book, choosing photos from this folder. I can resize the photos, add text, design the cover, and choose colors for backgrounds. The application provides easy ways to choose colors from a palette or to set custom colors. While this is mostly WYSIWYG, some issues are not clearly shown but there are warnings when images or text stray beyond margins, etc. so may not print fully.

There is a base number of pages for book size & style, then additional pages add cost. If you want blank left pages, you will pay a lot more, as blank pages cost the same as printed pages. So I try to find photos that work well together.

After I have a first draft on all pages, I preview the book in the application, viewing two pages at time. Here you can more readily see how it will look. I check that text boxes & images line up and balance well across the two pages that will be viewed together. This becomes a review & correct cycle. It is fairly easy to move pages around, and of course to insert or add pages. Do use the warnings button when reviewing after every change you make. It all too easy to accidentally move full page images off center!

Once everything is satisfactory, the application will upload your book to the VistaPrint website so you can order your book. Purchase five to get a small discount, or more for a bit better discount. Photo books are a bit pricey: you can pay a lot for really great quality paper and binding. But VistaPrint seems to be the best budget option, with quite nice quality. There can be problems, and the “glossy” paper option I chose for Volume II is more of a satin sheen than a photo glossy. But The Surprisingly Artistic Potholes of Port Townsend Vol II looks pretty good in my judgement.

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Clearing out the Studio: Clearing, Finishing, and Fumbling

P.T. Artist Sandra Stowell Posted on by

Sometimes it is necessary to clear & clean, especially in the Spring. In the studio that can translate to clearing, finishing, and fumbling while cleaning. I sort through saved “stuff” and try to organize or discard. But everything is art material to a me as a mixed media artist, so this is a major challenge!

And I come across unfinished projects and parts that were never incorporated into a finished artwork. This may be a resin cast figure, an assembly never fully attached, or a set of prints intended as backgrounds for a finished work. The fumbling happens as I move, sort, tidy, and then have to search for that very item that I had in my hands just moments ago!

Please enjoy a view of these two recent efforts from my efforts at clearing, finishing, and fumbling.

I completed both of the above assemblage pieces in the past month. Both feature casts of my “golden boy”: an original carving made many years ago now. It took me some years to decide to cast this little partial figure. I carved golden boy from a large bar of Mexican laundry soap. These are the last two of three cast so far.

I am pleased enough with these two pieces, but not so delighted with my lack of progress clearing out the studio!

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Some Sales

P.T. Artist Sandra Stowell Posted on by

All sales are pleasing, but some more than others. Yesterday an excited enthusiastic buyer made me so happy! A buyer who loves one of my favorite pieces reinforces my own love of making art, and tells me that I am communicating with my work. This is delightful, but I also feel some regret.

This sale evoked mixed emotions: pleasure and regret. Already I miss my small drawer work: Jump Rope with the Moon. It is a favorite, very dear to me, and now I can only visit it occasionally! Ah well, I do know that it is truly appreciated. That is a joy.

Here is the piece in question.

Photo of a small drawer, upright, containing two low relief figures engaged with each other in play. They hold a short rope for the blue moon...

While some sales are just a little painful, other sales are more mundane: sales of prints and photos are very pleasing, and without the regret. And sales of other original works are very satisfying, without evoking mixed feelings. My recent open studio weekend generated several modest sales, and I gloating just a little bit!

I do not really miss every work sold, rather I am simply happy to sell perfectly satisfactory works that were labors of love. But there are a few pieces I continue to hold close to my heart, even when I decide I must sell them. Jump Rope with the Moon is definitely one of these pieces.

And after the weekend:

Ivory monoprint on black

It seems I have made another significant sale following the open studio! I had a follow up visit that may have resulted in a nice sale.

I made a set of three large abstract monoprints some years ago, when a member of Corvidae Press. I was very pleased with these prints, and framed them carefully. All three are often on display in my home or in my studio. These three prints were made on the same day, using ivory ink on a rich black paper. I used some of the same masks & stencils in different arrangements to create three prints with very different feels.

I worked into two of them with some colored pencils, the third is a bold ivory on black. These have been shown and admired, but never sold. However one of them was chosen by friend’s granddaughter as one she would like, and it is to be a birthday present from her grandparents, now confirmed. It does feel easier to let go of this piece, as it is one I have enjoyed for several years.

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In the Aftermath

P.T. Artist Sandra Stowell Posted on by

In the aftermath of my enjoyable and energizing Open Studio weekend, I won’t do the math! I did make quite a few sales: all small works or photo books; no larger sales. It is very encouraging when people want my work enough to take it home with them. We all love to have our work appreciated, even loved! And the engagement with visitors was really rewarding. But it is so good that I am NOT making art for the money; in the aftermath let there be no math…

Of course I have counted the money! And it does pay for the party and for some art materials. So that is excellent. However in no way would my sales over the years begin to cover my full materials costs, let alone pay anything for my working time

Five copies of The Surprisingly Artistic Potholes of Port Townsend Volume I sold slightly above cost, but that was only because the printing errors resulted in getting a free set on my last order from VistaPrint. And both sets came with the same annoying printing error for the cover, although all the photo pages are fine.

Here my studio is ready for visitors, with artworks dragged out of storage, and propped up everywhere:

And the good news is that in the aftermath the studio is still much cleaner than usual!

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Open Studio Soon

P.T. Artist Sandra Stowell Posted on by

I have impulsively scheduled an artist Open Studio soon: on the weekend of February 17th! It will be a casual meet the artist, see the art, and that’s all folks!


ARTIST OPEN STUDIO at PT Studio 314

Saturday and Sunday February 17 & 18

314 33rd St

between 10 am & 2 pm

Meet the Artist and Enjoy the Art in her Studio / Gallery

I may try for a bit of an after event party on the Sunday, with some food & drink, but I am not sure yet. I might need a bit of help with that idea!

A new friend, Carolyn Lewis, does interviews with artists for the Port Townsend Leader, and she visited my studio recently for an interview. If all goes well this will be published in the paper on February 14th, and my Open Studio will take place the following weekend. Fingers crossed though, as Valentine’s Day fillers may fill the paper and crowd out the interview. That would be very disappointing!

But I had to make a commitment, so I posted the event to the community calendar, and will announce it on Facebook, etc. in the next day or two. So like it or not, I will hold an open studio soon!

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The Consolation of Play

P.T. Artist Sandra Stowell Posted on by

After art & other life disappointments, or after a time away from my studio, I may need the consolation of play! I often need help to get back to the serious work of making art. And yes, I am often pretty darn serious… and I definitely put in a lot of work on most of my favorite pieces. I have learned that I really need to help myself; although help does occasionally come from friends or family.

I console myself by letting myself play in my studio, or in my yard, with absolutely no expectation of creating “art”. Instead I relax and just have fun, and often the results are fun too, and I make something that I can enjoy for a few months or a few years. Yard art and eye candy happen, or maybe parts that will be incorporated in a multimedia finished artwork. Once in a while magic happens, and something more important and finished will emerge from this playful approach to making things.

Here are some results of the consolation of play.

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Ice and Snow

P.T. Artist Sandra Stowell Posted on by

The past week or so in my area has been cold and somewhat wet; so this came with ice and snow. It turns out that 13F is really really cold for this town surrounded by water, protected by warm ocean currents, and shielded by mountains. Most winters we do experience a few consecutive days below freezing, but rarely below 20 degrees Fahrenheit, and rarely with snow so cold and dry, remaining on the ground for days just evaporating so slowly. It has been quite lovely, but also hard on those unprepared or experiencing power outages!

Enjoy the ice and snow here: so many delightful icy puddles posed for my camera!

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Resin Suncatcher

P.T. Artist Sandra Stowell Posted on by

In need of an overdue Christmas present, I decided to make a resin suncatcher. It was time for another adventure in resin, so I made a mountain! Well I drew a mountain peak or two on rice paper using colored markers, then embedded it in epoxy resin using a mold that I am fond of. My drawing is enhanced with some subtle additional pigment, including a touch of metallic gold. I added two lightly embellished pieces of glass that give the piece an extra bit of dimension. It is about 7″ in diameter, with additional irregular protrusions of resin which I am very fond of!

It is now ready to hang, and packed in bubble wrap for shipping, but since I forgot to photograph the reverse side, I may unwrap my resin suncatcher tomorrow to take care of that! (Update: I did that!)

Photo of resin suncatcher
resin suncatcher balanced on glass in window

I have made two other resin pieces using this mold, but they contain embedded slightly translucent pebbles, and are designed to sit on a base rather than hang. One also contains tiny Leds. I will use this mold again!

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Take a Class and Move On

P.T. Artist Sandra Stowell Posted on by

Online classes can be useful: very useful! After the disappointment of failing entry to a juried show, it was time to take a class and move on! I am temporarily stalled on one new project, so I decided it was time to move on to the next one. So I found and I took a short Domestika class in creating cardboard sculptures.

I struggled to watch even these short and useful videos, and I jumped in to start my project right away. Often working ahead of the lesson, I made plenty of mistakes, but it was fun, and I have a fine Egyptian head to show for my efforts. Cardboard is cheap, but it took a lot of hot glue, and quite a bit of paint!

I do plan to follow up with a second project. If I can be more consistent with the cardboard, and neater with the hot glue, I may varnish it and skip the paint. And after that, who knows! I may take a class and move on again!

Here are photos of the almost final & final read to hang result:

I took photos of some of the steps along the way, per the course instructions. I did not track all the final detailing, or the work on the headdress which I built separately. The dimension of the final piece is approximately 20″ x 15″ x 10.5″. Currently the headdress, which is about 2″ deep, and the 8″ deep head are separate, but I may just attach them together.

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Sad to Say

P.T. Artist Sandra Stowell Posted on by

I am sad to say that my two submissions to the CVG 2024 exhibit in Bremerton were not accepted, and I am very disappointed. I feel that my recent 3-D works hve taken my work to a new level. The submitted pieces were ambitious in subject matter and implementation, and I do still feel they are successful.

But maybe not: it is difficult to hold on to this conviction. Failure to get work in a juried art show will be discouraging, in spite of the fact that many other good artists have their work rejected. And despite knowing that there are many reasons why specific entries will not be accepted. Somehow knowing this, and considering the possible reasons, is just not particularly reassuring! It still shakes my faith a bit.

The problem is that I, like many artists, attempt to communicate with my work. So this rejection can feel like a failure. And no reason will ever be given.

And in many cases no notification is given to rejected artists. Artists submit images of their entries for the CVG show using the online Cafe Call for Entry system. This is the only way to submit entries, however the juror was not expected? or required? to use Cafe to make selections, or to update the status to indicate selection process is now complete.

Instead I searched for and found a list of invited artists’ names published on a separate exhibit web site. This was posted a few days prior to the separately published show schedule, which lists the deadline for selections.

After inquiring, I was told all artist entrants should have received an email notice, and sure enough there was an email in my spam folder, as it did not come from the Cafe system. So they did notify everyone.

This is a fairly important show for our region, although the actual exhibit space is not large. The show gallery chooses prestigious jurors, and coordinates decent cash awards, along with one art purchase award. I want to be part of this show, but I am sad to say this is not my year. And I suspect that I won’t want to enter next year!

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