Sue Clancy's Blog, page 65

verry big progress

I met my Christmas deadline (details here) on my “Verry Big Project”, backed away slowly and while my project dried I had a very restful Holiday! Hope your Holiday was good too. Tomorrow the executive director will visit my studio to see and approve my project, discuss installation, paperwork etc! Wish me luck! Here are a few pictures, taken just before Christmas of my work-in-progress:

Painting whiskers on the cat

Using my “Verry Big Brush” to tamp down the newly applied wet-with-dye papers

As hinted above there is plenty more to do on this project before it gets installed in the public lobby of an organization. So more will be posted later – but first let us all have a very Happy New Year!!

If you’re just joining this party other links about my verry big project are here: http://sueclancy.com/2015/12/22/deadlines-and-verry-big-projects/

and here: http://sueclancy.com/2015/12/17/caution-artist-at-work/

Happy Holidays!

deadlines and verry big projects

In a previous post Caution: Artist At Work I posted pictures of me working toward a “Verrry Big Project” that had a deadline. Here are more photos of me at work – I’m meeting my deadline handily! Included in this post is what I keep in mind when dealing with deadlines. These tips may also apply to holiday stress.

positioning cut paper, gluing the pieces together

Sue Clancy’s recipe for the Care and Feeding of Deadlines:

Set a schedule, break a project into small chunks and put each chunk on the calendar/schedule.  Make lists.

Work at the project a little bit every day until done. Read the lists.

Work first. Deal with the “inbox” when time permits. Unplug.

Work according to schedule not according to mood.

Prioritize self-care: remember to eat good nutrition, get enough sleep, hydrate and exercise. Remember to breathe and relax.

Practice Good Mental Hygiene Habits*.

Build in rewards. Game-ify things. Make it fun.

Remember; other people’s expectations/desires that you come do something, during the times when you need to work, are just that – other people’s expectations – their expectations are not your priority, your work is!

*My mental hygiene habits are listed in more detail here: Dr. Bob’s Emotional Repair Program First Aid Kit – https://store.bookbaby.com/book/dr-bobs-emotional-repair-program-first-aid-kit

 

 

Emotional Repair Kit Reviewed!

Got a great review of Dr. Bob’s Emotional Repair Program First Aid Kit on Amazon.com!  Here’s part of what was said by a retired Marriage and Family therapist: “What a little powerhouse this is… so wonderfully illustrated by Sue Clancy and the stories are tiny treasures. It is truly a first aid kit for the mind.”

Wow! Made this artist’s day!

A paperback print version of “Dr. Bob’s First Aid Kit” (with a different cover) is here www.ondemandbooks.com  or search “Dr. Bob’s Emotional Repair Program First Aid Kit” by Sue Clancy

Caution: Artist At Work

Here are assorted photos of me working on my huge hairy fire-breathing deadline – mentioned in earlier blog comments – also known on my Facebook page as my “Verrry Big Project”.

Dying paper green

Dyeing paper yellow

Cutting dyed paper into a shape with an Xacto knife

Cut paper shapes have glue on them and are being “rolled” flat

This project is a public art project and the organization that it’s for will do publicity at the appropriate times.  So I’m using “Verry Big Project” as a pseudonym for this project on my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/sueclancy.thisartiststudio/ and on this blog.  That pseudonym name came because I needed a new “big brush”. I got one from a local art supply (Dengerink Art Supply http://www.dengerinkart.com/).  The tag on it says “Verry Big Brush” – and that became the name… More on all of this later. I’ve got to get back to work!  But now you know why I’ve not been posting much here.

A “Verrry Big Brush”

 

Take A Look Sunday – Sue Clancy

Great critique by the CATugeau Agency of my recent illustration sequence effort! I’ve got a lot to learn and practice! Love it! Thank you Chris and Christy – and Kathy Temean!

Writing and Illustrating

CHRISTY: I’m a big fan of the simplicity here. The cut paper feel of this piece is very appealing – as is the color palette. The shapes are really nice, and I think they would resonate with little children; big blocks of bright colors in interesting shapes. I especially like the girl’s hair; giving it that “dead straight” look with the vertical texture. Nice!

I do wish I knew the context of these two pieces within the whole story, however. As they stand now alone, there is no clear “story” here. The girl is carrying a huge strawberry, and the crow appears to be showing her where to take it. But the story is the exact same in the second image here. Her facial expression (or lack thereof) is identical, so we get no information from her, and the crow seems to be copied over as well. The only…

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Art is Love

This photo shows what I see when I enter my art studio. It smells like freshly sharpened pencils, new paper, ink and archival glue. I feel a deep to-the-bone happiness here. On the wall above my stand-up desk (pictured) I have a quote: “One must care about a world one will never see.” – Bertrand Russell. Here in the photo is the place where I do my caring.

I work on average 8 hours a day making art of one sort or another. When it’s finished my art goes to galleries or publishers and from there it goes to the lobby of an organization or to a private client’s home or it is reproduced in a magazine or book. Rarely do I get to see firsthand where my art ends up. I’m lucky if I hear from a gallery owner that the client was happy. I’m lucky if the editor sounds excited about the artwork I’ve done for them.  I am really lucky if someone sends me a photo of my art in their home (I value those highly)!

This means that I am stimulated to get-to-my-studio-and-work by my imagination; I imagine that the people in the hospital get some comfort when they see my art on the wall, I imagine that the people who have my art in their home come home from a hard day and smile when they see my artwork, I imagine that people in the presence of my art feel at least a little of the happiness I felt as I created that art.

I get just enough feedback from my gallery owners and from clients to know that my imagination is fairly accurate.  And it helps me to imagine more exactly in the future because I’ll call to mind specific people who have said kind things in the past – and I’ll create something new with them in mind even if they never see it.  So this is a picture of my studio where I do my caring about the world. I have another quote on the same wall: “Art is love made visible.”

My coffee cup (see photo) needs refilling… there, now back to work!

from my sketchbook

art at Amy’s

Group art exhibit for the holiday’s at the Caplan Art Designs gallery – and at the Daily Cafe in the Pearl.  Amy Caplan will have a number of my artworks – as well as other artist’s work – hanging around in both the gallery and the restaurant.  At last something to do with all the friends or relatives who’ll be dropping by this time of year; head out to see some artwork over lunch at the restaurant or drop by the gallery.  Hey, it’d be something to talk about besides Aunt Gertrude’s arthritis.

Here in this post is a sample of my artwork that Amy’s got. She’ll ship art too…  http://www.caplanartdesigns.com/

published in another mag!

Just found out that one of my sketchbook pages will be published in the next issue of Meat For Tea magazine! Meat for Tea is another arts and literature magazine. They won the Bookbuilder’s of Boston award this year – so I’m really honored to have my artwork published by them! Here’s their contact info:  www.meatfortea.com www.facebook.com/meatfortea

They’re publishing a sketchbook page of mine – so that’s a different horse than a “finished’ artwork or illustration! I’m tickled to be finding brave publishers who’ll take a chance with something “different”!