so frustrating!!

screenshot of my website

i am so mad!  i went onto my website today, and realized is was not working correctly!! turns out when you clicked on the images, nothing happened.  the site usually brings up a larger image with details after clicking.  i think it is now fixed.  the web hosting company i work with recently updated their software, and i guess it messed with some of the inner workings on my site.  my apologies to anyone looking recently!!

some other news lately, i have been working at anthropologie.  i decided back in the fall that i needed to get out of the studio and around people.  my husband john had been traveling a lot, and my son ben was off at college. it was too much time by myself!! i love making art, but not so much solo.  it's the collaboration and feedback that i miss while working alone.  this fall, i found that my creative juices were just not flowing.  i sat in the studio, materials surrounding me…but i couldn't find my muse.  i thought about where i could make a few dollars, and make a few friends, and anthropologie came to mind.  i was sure there were a lot of creative types working there, and thought it might be a good fit.  so i applied for a seasonal position, and got the job!

about a week or so into working on the floor, they needed someone to help out with the holiday displays.  of course, i raised my hand as high as it could go!  it was always a dream of mine to work with the display team at anthro, so this was perfect!!  i got to go to work and make stuff all day long!  and they paid me!  woo hoo!!  i had such a good time that when the days of art making ended, there was a bit of sadness.  don't get me wrong, i do like working on the floor.  but making stuff is pretty dang fun.

right around the holidays i found out that one of the display team was leaving to work in boulder.  i was really happy for him, and his promotion!  wyatt was a wonderful guy, great to work with, with a super sense of humor.  he's also very talented, and deserves his new job as the display coordinator!  that said, wyatt leaving left a spot for a display person at our store.  so i decided that i would like a chance at the visual sales position that was available.  i am in the interview process, and am not the only candidate.  hopefully the art gods will shine their light on me and help me to get the job. 

in the meantime, i submitted a project for the interview.

i had to come up with something that was "anthro-like", using a main material with other things to support it.  i made these boxes, meant to be used as a modular display system in the store.  my material was plywood, supported with found window panes and paper.  of course i used glue, etc. as well.

my idea was to create a box that had a sculptural element for interest.  i did a layered paper piece inside.  i also figured that the interior could be taken out at a later time, and changed out.  anthro likes to re-use their pieces, so that was the idea.  on the outside of the box, i decoupaged old pattern pieces, french fashion drawings, and old ephemera (i know it's a bit hard to see in the photos--sorry!).  over that, i repeated the circle pattern with a transparent wash of white gouache.  i thought it would be cool to group or stack these boxes next to mannequins, in a window, or on a large table.  you'd have to have a few more…maybe even a door for height.  the tops of the boxes could be merchandised with home goods or accessories.

total for each box, about $20.  i got the windows from a junk shop, and most of the other stuff besides the plywood was free.  the french drawings were given to me a few years ago, and i was waiting for the perfect project for them.

so shine on me, art gods.  hopefully my next post will tell you i got the job!!