one thing leads to another...

i made two blanks of this skirt figuring that i could get them both done in one day. this skirt took me over two weeks. so much for making more than two. this skirt's sister will be made using bigger pieces, and how long it takes for her to come together will determine the cost of the first one. all told (if you remove the time lollygagging) the first skirt took me about 10-12 hours. if i could be paid for resisting, i would be really rich right now. if i could stop resisting, i would have a lot more pieces hanging on my racks.

now that this skirt is done, it is time for me to take a cue from my studio mates, and clean up my studio. the open space in the middle has been closing in on me. the piles of unfinished projects and half-baked ideas are weighing on me. this has been going on for quite some time. it was a slow rise of the tide of resentment building in me, and that wave crashed against the shore yesterday. so i will put my bad mood to good use. i need to spend a bit of time by myself making my surroundings pretty again. the clutter is starting to get to me.

portland's creative capacity

to my beloved community,

i had the privilege of attending the city of portland's creative capacity meeting on tuesday evening. (for more official information on creative capacity, see below) it was an evening of a segment of the artistic community coming together to begin a series of dialogs about how to help portland's artistic community thrive. in a room of 300+ people representing a range of portland's creatives the task seems incredibly daunting. i am not sure many can wrap their brains around the breadth and scope of the creatives who live, and make their living in this town.

i could go on a lengthy diatribe about several issues near and dear to me (education, buy local, micro-loan and programs, what constitutes community, the fragmentation and cliquyness of said "communities," the lack of accessibility of performance spaces, ridiculous fire permit and olcc regulations and the red tape one has to deal with to put on events, the implications of making one's living as an artist/musician/creative, the cost and inaccessibility of health insurance for the self-employed, the practicality of design and its importance in everyday life v. the "frivolousness" of the arts, and sustainability to name a few), but i would like to invite you to get involved. there is a disease of apathy and complacency that runs rampant in our society. we experience a certain ambivalence when it comes to activism. we are wrapped up in our daily lives. i know very well the challenge of paying bills, but i also know that it is far more difficult without the support of the community. the all or nothing attitude needs to end. many hands make light work. and for now they are only asking your opinion. i know everyone has an opinion on the subject, and now is the time to share it. you can choose the level of involvement that you can give, and i am tired of people complaining about the world, and doing nothing about it.

so please take a moment to check out the site, and give your opinion. if we show up in numbers, and speak loud enough we can make a difference.

thank you,

kirsten a. moore
www.piperewan.com


Begin forwarded message:

From: "Sam Adams"
Date: June 13, 2007 1:46:45 PM PDT
To: kirsten@piperewan.com
Subject: Creative Capacity!
Reply-To:


Friends,

Not enough money.

Making our creative community even better will take more than just finding more money for the effort. But, it is a lot about finding more money from the public and private sector.

Thank you for attending last night’s Creative Capacity Townhall. Over 350 people attended the event—representing many of the established and emerging businesses and arts organizations in the region.

Our discussion was an important starting point for forging the creative community into an effective advocacy group.

Thank you for your collective enthusiastic response to this call to action. Until we get CreativeCapacity.org further refined, keep your ideas coming on the blog at http://www.commissionersam.com/creativecapacity.

We will invite you to the next Creative Capacity Townhall in the fall after we have completed public opinion research and a series of smaller group discussions about specific topics.

In the meantime, get your colleagues, friends and patrons to sign up at http://www.creativecapacity.org.

A tremendous thanks to the Regional Arts and Culture Council, Northwest Business for Culture in the Arts, and the Portland Development Commission.

Special thanks as well to our hosts last night: The Gerding Theatre at the Armory and Vibrant Table.

To action! To advocacy! To art!

Sam

a skirt for your statuary?

apparently i am in an odd job phase right now. it is amazing how much time the weddings ate up every spring/summer. done are my 12-15 hour days with my bi-monthly day off (usually to attend one of said weddings or possibly a funeral). i might make it to the river yet! (it is still early)

i made this skirt for this bust my mother made in her ceramics class. i find among the women i have made clothes for, almost everyone dislikes their belly, hips, butt or some combination thereof. it is funny that in creating this bust, she made this section to mimic the parts of her own body that she doesn't like; which is what i covered with the skirt.