It's December!
& stuff is STILL happening, can you believe it?
Honestly, I thought I’d be sleeping by now. Or cozily tucked into my rocking chair with a good book in my hands and a fresh cup of hot chocolate sitting on the stool beside me. But no. I’m here, still doing stuff, because there is stuff that needs to be done, events coming up, news & thoughts & reflections to share. I’ll be real though- I haven’t been doing or feeling very good for a while, and the tone of this newsletter will probably reflect that. But that’s where I’m at, thought you should know. So let’s get into it.
Coming up in this newsletter:
Denim denim denim!! I’m vending IRL this weekend.
Year-End Studio Sale! Happening now, you heard it here first…and maybe, only?
(pushing online sales hurts my feelings for real)
Exhibitions happening now, and ending soon.
+ my public weaving installation’s life outside is winding down
Thinking about taking a few commissions this year… & offering 1-on-1 workshops.
On feeling tired & defeated, being poor, and still trying to art. It’s a lot.
& more! But only a bit.
Denim, Denim, Denim!
If you’ve seen me all over ig pushing content lately, yes you did. I’ve been working on this collection of reworked denim and baby tees for the last month & a half or more…some of these pieces I made a while ago, but only recently finished. During the summer I spent some time in & outta state hitting thrift stores, looking for quality base material. I’m talking (mostly) single-ingredient clothing. 100% cotton, you feel me? Only the best for you!
And then, over the past few weeks, I’ve been holed up in my room as often as possible trying to sew & sew & sew. So much bobbin winding. So much cutting tiny pieces of fabric, carefully removing reverse applique, hand cutting and arranging letters (ransom note style) on tiny tee shirts, being forcefully reminded every time I stood up that necks & shoulders aren’t supposed to stay hunched up for so many hours a day… production sewing is painful.
And then, trying to make content about it. And post it in a somewhat consistent way. I don’t think I’m the best at that. Advertising this sale is coming up. Apparently you’ve gotta remind people about things online at least 14 times before it converts to a sale? I heard something like that. I might have accomplished that but I didn’t count. There was a lot of liking & sharing & reposting going on, which was cool cause that doesn’t usually happen when I share my studio work.
And then, building out an online shop. Contacting & coordinating models & a photographer (Zavion, a truly great friend. He saves me so often.) Taking measurements & getting individual garment photos. Uploading images and writing product descriptions. Trying to design a visually appealing shop. Writing privacy & shipping, & return policies. It’s been SO MUCH WORK. Honestly.
And then, I launched the sale!! & here I am 5 days later with zero sales to show for all of that. It feels…really bad, not gonna lie.
The day before yesterday, I got an email inviting me to vend at this market happening on Sunday in Atlanta. I’m gonna go, see what happens. Hope that things will be different in person than they are online when it comes to selling stuff. We’ll see. If you’re out and about in Atlanta on Sunday, stop by & say hey! I’ll be there from 12p-5p. I’ll have all these clothes, and a small collection of bag charms for sale. Tell your friends, maybe.
Since it’s the end of the year, and I’m running out of space to put things, I thought I’d offer you these pieces for a year-end studio sale. With prices ranging from $150-$450, if you’ve been thinking about collecting work from me, now is a great time to do it.
I’ve created a payment link with all of these works listed. It may be a little clunky, since you have to adjust the quantity for each item. If there is a specific piece that catches your eye, or you’d like to discuss pricing for a pair / set of works, just email me back and we’ll go from there. Easy peasy. :)
Exhibitions Happening Now & Ending Soon
Currently, I have work spread out between 3 shows and an outdoor pedestrian trail. It’s kinda cool to think about & I should really give myself more credit. I never feel like I’m doing enough or much of anything… until I have to sit down and list it out. Geez.
The Coffee Sacks, embroideries, and tufting work currently on display at Swift & Finch Coffee will be up through January. No specific de-install date yet, but time is running out if you haven’t been to see it yet. Let me know if you wanna come visit, I’ll stop in to get a coffee with you.
Primary, a public weaving installation along Mount Berry Trail is scheduled for de-install on December 31st. There’s a lot less greenery around now, so it’s nice to see this moment of color out there on the trail.
The Local Artist Exhibition that Meg Franklin & I organized is open to the public now through January 3rd, at the Screen Door Room in Cecil T’s Mercantile. We had such a wonderful turnout at our opening night last Thursday! It was wonderful to see so many familiar faces from our community, meet some new folks, and talk about art in our town. We’ll be hosting an artist talk at 2pm on January 3rd & we’d love to have you there!
I have 3 works in Overflow, currently on display at CBrooks Gallery in Atlanta, GA. There will be an artist talk & closing event on January 10th, from 2-4pm. I’ll be there! Stop by during their open hours, and come out for the talk if you’re able. There are a lot of nice pieces in the show, & Courtney put together a great lineup of artists.
Commissions? 1-on-1 workshops?
It’s about to be a new year, & I thought I should try something new. A few things, actually. Two of those things are taking commissions, and offering individual workshops (in-person or virtual!).
This is me putting out feelers in both of these directions, to you, my most wonderful newsletter subscriber.
Someone asked me recently if I offered individual workshops, and I said yes! Because I really should, so it looks like there’s one coming up soon. And I want to let you know that I have availability for ~3 more between now and February. If you’re interested in an individual workshop, reply to this email and let me know what you’re interested in learning or getting help with. Embroidery (hand and machine), weaving, latch-hook, machine tufting, upcycling…it’s all on the table. Individual workshops start at $75/hour for local + virtual sessions, materials not included. I’m open to travel as well, so contact me for additional pricing. :)
As for commissions, I like fun and interesting things. For the longest time I’ve been a bit averse to commissioned work, because I like making what I like to make. Then I realized, if someone would like to commission work from me, it’s because they also like what I like to make! But I just haven’t made the thing for them yet. And I want to do that. :) If you are that person, reply to this email and let me know what you have in mind…what kind of textures & colors & materials you’re dreaming of. I’m open to work with you on budget and size, so don’t hesitate to reach out! I’m going to start off by accepting 3 commissions, and we’ll see how it goes.
The Feelings Section
I’m so tired for real. And I’ve been feeling quite defeated with my ‘art career’ for a while now…there are a lot of reasons why. It’s been a long year of rejections. With a 0.1111% overall arts application acceptance letter rate (yeah, I did the math smh), repeatedly seeing big efforts result in disappointment, feeling overlooked in the art scenes I’m apart of? adjacent to?, remaining consistently poor in-between bouts of intense physical labor & months of demoralizing job search/apply/’thank you for your time’ cycles, going back to school (idk why I do things to myself sometimes…), and still trying to make art & maintain relationships with other people…it’s been a lot. I’m literally exhausted. Socially, physically, mentally, emotionally, financially… Is there another category?? That one is exhausted too.
Of course, there have been some bright spots this year. My first public art project. The Art & Emergence Learning Cooperative, taught by the wonderful Heather Bird Harris, that introduced me to so many new ideas and artists. That was the best learning experience I’ve had since my mom homeschooled me for middle school. Traveling to a few places over the summer & seeing/reconnecting with friends (even though I was mostly working the whole time). Discovering that yeah, I kinda like working on & with paper. Teaching & assisting workshops in new places. Making it through each day. Those are all good things.
I think I just need a few months of nothing & silence. No pressure, no responsibilities, no bills, someone to cook for me. But that can’t and won’t happen, so I’ve gotta keep figuring out how to keep going. I mostly try not to think about it because when I do, it feels generally bad. That’s where I’m at right now.
After this weekend is over, I’m gonna do my best to engage in quality rest. Gonna take a little…maybe a long… social media break. Cause looking at that never makes me feel better, no matter how many baby animal videos pop up during a scrolling sesh. I’m gonna spend as many hours as possible laying in bed reading. In silence. I’m not gonna add anything to lists of “things to apply for”, and I’m gonna make time to work in the studio without any specific goals or concepts or whatever. And I’m gonna see if that helps.
I’m also gonna drink a whole lot of hot chocolate.
I turned 33 a few weeks ago, it was uneventful. My Jesus year. I’m not being crucified, so that’s something to be grateful for.
You made it to the end, thank you <3
You even read though The Feelings Section…that’s huge for real, and I appreciate you being here. I appreciate you saving room in your inbox for these bi-monthly newsletters I send (+ a little extra writing sometimes). It really means a lot to me. Thanks for sticking around. :)
As a treat, here’s a little online interview I did recently. It’s alright.
For now, I think that’s all. There are a few things coming up, of course. I few things I wanna do & share with you…but they’re gonna have to wait until my quality rest period is over.
Until then, with the energy I have left, I love you.
-Amanda
