Midwest Weavers Conference Awards & Updates

One of the things I always find interesting is that if I don't provide a photo of some of my work hanging how I intended it, it sometimes gets hung differently.  "She Can't See the Forest Through the Trees" is one that travels best if I group the middle panel of beaded strips together on its hanging rod.  I then spread it out for display.  When I went to see it hung, they were all still grouped in the middle. I didn't mind it too much but I did find myself fixing it on my second visit to the exhibits area. 

"Leaf Me Alone" had the leaf panel hung in the middle of the back woven piece, which I left. I liked having it shown a little differently. 

I was notified after I got home that I won 3 awards: 1st Place and People's Choice for Leaf Me Alone and 3rd place for Neon Gypsy Leaf Bracelet. I'm always very honored to be awarded, and thank you to the conference and attendees for the votes and awards. One of my favorite things about exhibiting is when other conference members meet me and put my name along with the work they saw and their face lights up, "oh! you're Jenny!?" Su wanted to "pick my brain" about my Forest Through the Trees piece (that I still brought for the Leader's Exhibit even though I wasn't teaching). I had a lot of great questions and conversations about my work. So much so that I need to check and make sure I'm not talking too much or boring someone because I do love to talk about my artwork. Once I check myself I'm reminded that I'm among people who also love to do what I do, so really we are all here for a week of full fiber emergence.

Neon gypsy leaf bracelet, with the hands, and the fabric...

(there's a lot going on here, that's all I have to say about how this is displayed.)

The only thing that stings a bit  was "do you teach?" or "I'd love to take a class from you" and then I mention that I had 2 classes for this conference but they were both cancelled due to low enrollment. It's helping me learn that there's a disconnect between my class offerings and people knowing the kind of work I do with the techniques I want to teach. I can't exactly put a leaf panel that took me months or years to finish along side a class description for the Russian Leaf class I teach because most people only finish 2-4 leaves in a 6 hour class. I mentioned this while talking to Sarah and John. John suggested that a lot of instructors put their larger work with their headshot. Either in the background or a photo of the work connected to the headshot. I love this idea, so now I need new headshots. 

I'm behind on blogging...well, I feel like I'm behind on everything. I've been struggling getting back to a regular routine and what I want to work on next vs what I "should" be working on. I'm really inspired and want to play with a create ALL THE THINGS. I recently posted a video on Instragram rattling on about this particular artist's dilemma which I then stuck up on YouTube if you want to check it out:

(I recorded this as we were getting ready to go to a punk-ska show)

I just got back to brushing up on circular warping my inkle loom and tablet weaving.  I've also decided to play with weaving undulating twill now that my new loom is set up and ready to weave on. 

Convergence Knoxville 2021: Exhibits with my work

I had no idea where to start with my posts about Convergence this year so I'm breaking posts down into subjects that I'm able to organize better.  This post is about my work shown in 3 of the Exhibits at HGA.

The drive down to Knoxville from Lansing was blue skies and fluffy clouds the whole way!

Convergence is just that, Fiber Art people from all over the world (mostly US and Canada) meet in a city chosen by HGA and we take over their Convention Center, Hotels, Classrooms, Galleries, and anywhere that will exhibit, show fiber work, or let us sit and weave/knit/spin/meet.  HGA themselves host a number of Juried Exhibits along with the local guild exhibits and often local galleries present something fiber-themed. We Converge together and you can tell where your people are by their name tags and the fact that 90% of them are wearing some sort of beautiful handwoven scarf around in July.

Even the Marriott where I was staying had great artwork throughout.

It didn't really hit me completely until I was there telling other convergence attendees that I had pieces in 3 of HGA's exhibits. That's the most I've ever had shown at once at a Convergence Conference, so that's really exciting for me. They were all from the same series: Leaf Me Alone.

I'll be honest, this Leaf Me Alone theme began with my divorce, or need to get divorced back in 2013/2014. With the pandemic, being left alone rose to another level and it became Leaf Me Alone's time to shine. Introverts like myself and Bryan were really cozy not having to do anything but go to work and come home and do our thing. I didn't realized how much I felt being pressured to be busy and social all of the time, pandemic-time was a much-needed reset. I had started making masks during that quiet and the Leaf Me Alone Mask became an obvious, somewhat time-sensitive art piece. It was accepted into the Small Expressions Exhibit.

I had an older, smaller version of Leaf Me Alone (2) in the Leader's Exhibit.  I had shown it at the Michigan League of Handweaver's Conference a few years ago when Cameron Taylor-Brown with the juror. She commented that these smaller ones (10in W x 14.5 L) looked like maquettes, which is true... I do think my word pieces translate much better on a large scale. I also love that word she used, maquette. I had warped for these small Leaf Me Alone pieces to get back in the groove of double weave pickup, and I did have Small Expressions on the brain when I started them. I still have 1 more small one to finish.

Last but definitely not least... Leaf Me Alone (the large version) came into being at the beginning of this year. It's really part of the larger word pieces that I'm picking away at and a sister piece to She Can't See the Forest through the Trees. I was so happy to have this not only finished to submit this year, but it also won an Honorable Mention.  I went to the juror's talk and she said that she felt this piece was "relaxing" which I hadn't really heard of my work before, but I'll take it.

This is also the first time I've won an award exhibiting with HGA, I'm never sure I'll win an award, there are so many amazing weavers and fiber artists in HGA!  I am so honored just to be showing with them.

I started my first full day in Knoxville meeting with Clara who I know from the Lansing Weaver's Guild and has since moved to Florida, it was so good to catch up with her while we perused the exhibits at the Knoxville Convention Center. 

I was going to blog more about the various exhibits and a few of my favorite pieces that I took quick photos of but I started to feel too overwhelmed and will never get these posted if I overthink it. Maybe I'll get to that, maybe I won't, I have a lot going on this year.

Other post subjects on my time at Convergence will hopefully be coming: 
Finish and Exhibit that Piece! (the seminar I presented)
Leader Booth/Sales (and all the awesome people I met)

MLH 21st Biennial Exhibit at LowellArt Gallery

It's starting to feel like I'm getting back into my old pre-pandemic-groove. Art-wise at least. Everything else in my life seems to be changing but submitting work to exhibits, going to receptions, seeing my weaver-friends feels a bit more like what normal was.  

On Thursday Bryan and I went to The LowellArts Gallery for the opening reception of the Michigan League of Handweavers 21st Biennial  Exhibition. What a beautiful space they have over there!  This show is always great sampling of what the Michigan fiber arts community has to offer.  I didn't get many photos. I'm really working on being more present with less having my phone out. 

I was pleasantly surprised when the awards were announced that I had received an honorable mention for my Evil Eye Bangle. Thank you Barbra Bushey for the award!

Also thank you Helen for purchasing the necklace that I entered. She already has a number of my pieces so I know the Copper Daphne Necklace will be going to a good home when this show is over. 

I'm reminded and humbled that even though I'm not currently producing a ton of my usual artwork, I still have just enough in rotation to feel like I'm staying relevant and keeping my art career going despite my full-time day job, my big personal yard projects and getting ready for our wedding. Life is busy but very very good. 

My Artwork at HGA Convergence Conference 2016, Milwaukee

If you had told 17-year-old me that I would have had two of my pieces of artwork in city Art Museums before I turn 35, I would have blown you off.  I was hoping to just go to college and get a general business degree and try to get a 9-5 job that would pay for my beading and weaving "hobbies"

Fortunately, when it came down to actually looking at and thinking about colleges, I had (and still do have) many people in my life who saw my potential and nudged me toward following my passion.  I said yes to many opportunities along the way, and my first Small Expressions exhibit through the Handweavers Guild of America was hosted the Long Beach Museum of Art.  I was ecstatic to get in, and to boot, the Museum used the image of my Bamboozled Bangle on their website for the show.

The Milwaukee Museum of Art is currently hosting the Small Expressions 2016 show, and what an amazing museum (pictured behind me).  I'm still just amazing that Gypsy Leaf is spending a few months in the same building as Rembrandts, Warhols, Chihuly, Nick Cave....   I also really appreciate how the curator positioned my piece, only one pearl clasped and the bottom flared out.  I will definitely be getting better photos of it displayed like that.

I add to my excitement, I am very pleased to announce that Gypsy Leaf also received the Edith Whiteman Award.  This is the first time one of my pieces has won an award at an HGA exhibit.  If you happen to be close, I not only encourage you to check out the museum and Small Expressions, but the retrospective that they have on Thomas Hart Benton and Hollywood is really amazing.

Uprooted 2 also took a short trip over to Milwaukee for the exhibits helding during Convergence.  It was accepted into the all-media exhibit: "Mixed Bag"

Outside the Milwaukee Museum of Art

Interior overlooking Lake Michigan

Upper entrance bridge walking up to the museum.

Juried Exhibits and Awards, oh my!

I literally got so much good news coming through my email that I couldn't shorten it to 140 characters for Twitter and other various social media so I'm posting a blog about it instead.

The first email I received from Jennifer Gould who organized the Michigan League of Handweavers Biennial Exhibit this year.  All three of my pieces that I submitted were juried in by Ann Kiester.

I'm happy to say that In Progress won two awards: Complex Weavers Award and an Honorable Mention

In Progress

Climbing won an Honorable Mention,

Climbing

and Small Leaf Panel in Blue was accepted into the show.

Small Leaf Panel in Blue

This exhibit can be seen at the Holland Arts Council Gallery May 17th through June 29th.  Also, June 29th the juror will be giving a talk and handing out awards.  I would also like to add a side-note that I'm really happy that my In Progress piece was awarded, it happens to be one of my favorites.


The second really great email I got was from the Fiber 577 jurying with a list of the artists and pieces accepted into this show.  Again, all three pieces that I submitted were accepted!

They are all jewelry this year:

Gypsy Leaf Bracelet

Pattern Play 1

Pattern Play 2

Fiber 577 is a weekend show running June 7th and 8th in Perrysburg, Ohio at the 577 Foundation.  Brittany and I went to the private reception last year and it was a wonderful show that was really well done.  I'm honored to be part of it again.  After this weekend show, my pieces will be moving over to Angelwood Gallery June 19th -31th in Grand Rapids, Ohio.

I was already pretty proud of myself for getting in gear and doing a bunch of "business" stuff that I have been putting off. Transferring my jennyschu.com domain name so I'm not spending so much money on Yahoo's auto-renewal.  Bear with my if this particular domain name doesn't work while I make sure everything transfers correctly. One can still use jennyschu.net or jennybehler.com.

I started a MailChimp account to start doing a newsletter again so look out! I even figured out how to transfer my ConstantContact list over.  Of course, you can still find out about all of my workshops and travels on my website.

As icing on the cake, I got an email from a gentleman who is looking to purchase his wife one of my bangles for Mother's Day. 

Can today get any better?! Yes, it can, my husband and I have plans to go over to the Potters Guild Sale which opens tonight.

Now, back to trying to organize all of my dates, when things are going where and getting more beading done on tendrils for my residency at Blueberry View starting May 11th!

Michigan League of Handweavers Conference 2013: My Awards

I can't thank the Michigan League of Handweavers enough for the awards that I won this year in the Conference Exhibits.  I received awards from not only 2 different jurors, but also the People's Choice Award for the Fiber Art Exhibit.  This has been such a great group to be part of, and to have my talent recognized within the group is such a great honor.

The awards I won are as follows:

"She Can't See the Forest Through the Trees"

 

Best of Show for Fiber Art

People's Choice Award for Fiber Art

"Bamboozled Bangle"

 

2nd Place Fashion Accessories Exhibit

 

 

"Chevron Bangle"

Judge's Choice Award

 

 

I am also especially grateful to the people who hung the Fiber Art Exhibit.  "She Can't See the Forest Through the Trees" is a pain in the butt to hang.  For my exhibit that was in March/April, we hung it from the ceiling at Grove Gallery, and I knew that it wouldn't be able to hang that way when I was entering it for the MLH Conference.  They managed to use the display boards to make a tunnel and set the dowels along the tops on either side.  Also placing it right in front of the door so you didn't miss it when you walked in.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!