Exhibition Weekend

I still can’t really believe that finally, after ten years since my original flying adventure with Ryan, the creative project that sprung from it, that begun as a thank-you gift for my friend and evolved into something bigger than a single book, is now hanging on the walls of a museum. (!)

The show opening was wonderful. Friends came from all over, Traci and my brother flew up from Florida, my incredibly supportive neighbors made the drive, even my accountant made an appearance. “So THIS is what you do!” he said.

I even signed my first flyer autograph! (What ?! — So weirdly wonderful!) Yes it was for someone I know, but it’s going in a frame and being hung next to a Patty Wagstaff poster! What an honor — thank you Dan!

A festive dinner followed the opening reception and then the next day was spent, fittingly, at the airport, where John gave airplane rides until dusk. A perfect ending to a perfect weekend.

I have to say, I am pretty proud of myself for not giving up on this project after so many years, and for being willing to let it become what it wanted to be in its own time. And, of course, I am thankful and grateful:

To Ryan for the magic, to Swan and the encouragement of our photo group friends, to Jace Graf for the amazing bookbinding weekend, to the Ohio Arts Council and the Greater Columbus Arts Council for awards and grant funding, to the Springfield Museum of Art for saying yes, to Vicki & Tom for the studio space, to my family and special friends, and to my husband John, for not only teaching me how to fly but for becoming my lifelong adventure friend.

A Week Until the Opening!

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Done! Everything is at the museum and the opening is next Sunday. My brother and his wife are flying up from Florida for it and I am so excited. Here’s the official postcard… (the opening coincides with the museum’s annual member juried exhibition, so it should be a festive evening!)

My to-do list was LONG but it got DONE. Yes!!

Fun things were on it, like making a yarn-and-pushpin map out of the Seattle aeronautical chart to mark our adventure routes…

Fixing the broken magic wand was also on the list…

Although Ryan did the title page lettering for the original book, I chose to write it for the new edition as well as the framed wall folios. Here is my pile of practice scraps…

Making labels for the framed wall folios…

It felt so satisfying to have everything packed in boxes, labeled, and sitting on the loading dock. Thank you so much to Itinerant Studio for giving me such a great space to work in for the month of May. XO!

Hope to see you on Sunday!

Springfield Museum of Art
107 Cliff Park Road | Springfield OH 45504
June 30th, 4-5:30pm

Read more about the project HERE. Read my original blog post about the trip HERE.

In the Studio...

This week has been a busy one! I spent most days in the Springfield studio writing, sewing, and framing the folios for the exhibition. I take all the pieces over to the Springfield Museum of Art at the end of the month, and while I think I’ve been pacing myself well, I can’t imagine there won’t be some last-minute fiasco about something. Fingers crossed that I am wrong. Or that I’ve at least given myself enough of a cushion.

I finally decided to give up on the idea of writing without any guide lines. While I wrote three copies of Flying Adventures that way, it was nerve-wracking. I made a DIY light table out of Christmas lights and a piece of propped-up glass, and it’s working brilliantly.

photo by Vicki Rulli

It’s been interesting making a “wall edition” of the book, because I have to make a thread choice for every folio, and while I chose a natural off-white for most of the pages, I thought I’d use the red thread to mimic the pages of the actual book where the sewing thread showed.

My favorite thing about the studio besides hanging out with friends? Mr. Grouchy Pants, the studio cat.

Hope you’ve had a great week and enjoyed your Mother’s Day :-)