Callagrace's Blog

March 5, 2019

New Year, New Goals

Well, as you can see its been ages since I posted. It’s almost embarrassing but I figure I just need to bite the bullet and start again. Unlike in the past I do not necessarily have some grand plan although maybe I should. Parameters have always helped me succeed with goals. Anyway, a couple of months back I started painting again, well its a little more involved than that, I guess it actually starts with the creation of my studio space.

Tayto’s Christmas Outfit 2018 – ©CallaGraceFogarty

A year and a half ago my husband and I decided we were going to move houses after months of planning to expand on our previous house. We just were not looking for that kind of investment or project. Luckily we found a house we loved. Nestled in the woods but close to just about everything it seemed kind perfect. The decor wasn’t exactly to our taste per say but it had loads of potential and we have been working one room at a time to put our mark on it. One of those rooms was my studio.

©CallaGraceFogarty

The studio is located off of the main living area but feels slightly separated. I have always wanted to be near the heart of the house so I can still be slightly involved. As my husband can attest to I am famous for being completely uninterested in whatever TV show to movie he decided to put on only to 30 minutes later be completely engrossed from my studio, shouting at the top of my lungs “what just happened?” “Did he just die?” “OMG!” I’m sure he appreciates this.

©CallaGraceFogarty

The studio was at one time used as a dining room. I remember when we viewed the house someone said that the room looked haunted. It had faded lavender wallpaper with a print I cannot recall covering each wall. A golden but faded chandelier in the center, dull drapes that were fitting with the other decor and a lovely built-in cabinet in the corner. Needless to say we had the lights switched to track lighting before we even moved in. The wallpaper came down in a motivated fit one day and the closet was torn out by yours truly along with the neighboring wall. I had a plan I just needed it start.

©CallaGraceFogarty

My husband was kind enough to help me with my vision! I drew up some plans for the storage area and he, being the handyman he is, created beautiful shelving matching my sketches. We relocated the built-in to the common area. I finished removing the wallpaper (not my favorite job) and eventually painted everything. Slowly the space has come into itself and is currently about 70% of the way there but working perfectly for the time being.

©CallaGraceFogarty

Since then I have been trying to find the infamous “groove” but it has been hard to locate. I’m not sure what happened or even when exactly things started to click in my head, but I do remember Lee mentioning setting a time every week where I dedicated myself to my art and at some point I kind of did that. Instead of dreaming about creating something each day, I actual did it (kind of).

©CallaGraceFogarty

I started just hanging out in the studio after work or in the mornings on the weekends. I never really had a plan, I would just rearrange materials and supplies on the shelves, look at old work and attempt the occasional drawing or two. Eventually this process had me reviewing every piece of work I had ever created that was still in my possession. In a way I cleaned house. I threw out a number of pieces which were no longer to my standard or just not good in my opinion. I created folders of work, organizing by to develop, to sell, to photograph, etc.

©CallaGraceFogarty

After that I did a few things which I believe have been critical in keeping my head in the correct mind space. I decided to actually set up my Etsy page and post a few works. I took trips to local Art shows and museums with friends, and I invested some time on my Facebook page. At that point I decided that I should I post more often. This I suppose has been my only real parameter I have set. I try to post once a week and with that I am forced to keep myself actively working.

©CallaGraceFogarty

This process has brought me much-needed encouragement. Allowing a lot people to see what I truly love to do, as it had been suppressed for far too long. It has also allowed me to become motivated again, to try new things and start experimenting in a way I feel I lacked in prior years. I think with a new outlook and approach I have started pulling from new inspiration rather than turning to the past as I have in so many cases before. I still have the goals, to find the gems amonst the mess, the clutter, etc., but in a way I just pull my inspiration from different sources now. Sources that I am connected to which makes the process very natural.

Boo Boo Baby ©CallaGraceFogarty

Throughout this post I included some of my newest works. These have all been created within the last 3 months and represent my journey into finding myself again.

Thanks for reading, see you next time.

Calla

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September 22, 2014

Inspiration comes from the strangest places…

It’s interesting to me how the mind works and how it reacts to stressful situations. Stress can incapacitate a person. They can become depressed, angry or experience phantom pain as a result of too much stress. Knowing that my bodies initial response is to become withdrawn and depressed, I decided I needed to start engaging in something that would focus my mind elsewhere. It has been a while since I have forced myself to paint everyday, but it felt like now was a good time to start up again.

I want to start by saying that I would never ask for a different life. I love the life I was given but it can be stressful at times. Things that should be exciting and happy can be surrounded by stressful situations. For instance getting married, buying a home, having a baby, all of these are wonderful happy events and yet when you ask most people, they will tell you it was stressful. So you may be wondering what my recent stressor was and well it is buying a home. My husband and I are delighted, but it has been overwhelming at times. I assume this feeling will continue until I am holding keys in my hand.

I’m not sure what really started the new series of work, only that it came from this exercise of painting when stressed. The pieces have become much more involved and the integration of hands seems to have come very naturally. I initially thought it was due to so many bodies being involved in the stressful activity but now I’m not so sure. I am no longer chasing the meaning merely letting it play out. The images feel like a much more mature body of work for me and I am very excited to see the other works that develop out of this phase. I will keep you posted. In the meantime, I’ve included a few images of recent works. You can see others on my daily site, 365Days1Year.com. Enjoy and see you next time.

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April 7, 2014

Spring may have arrived!

Well the sun is out, the birds are awake and the flowers are starting to appear from the thawing ground. Today was such a wonderful day and it feels like it is the right time to take a moment to regroup on the comings and goings of my artwork.

The past few months have been really interesting. I have not been doing a constant flow of work partially due to trying to really dedicate myself to my physical health but luckily I had a few projects which really just helped me stay focused. It all began with a few animal images which literally came from me looking at images of strange creatures. At some point I decided to paint my friends chocolate lab, Buddy, which ended up being a really good move on my part. A fellow co-worker had started to inquire about dog portraits which I had not done by request before but had done because I am so crazy obsessed with my dogs. I was able to show some of the previous images I had created and he was sold.

I painted two pug portraits which was an interesting experience. I have not done a huge quantity of commision works to date and in the past when asked to do images it was always in my more free, abstract style rather than a very accurate depiction of a picture of a dog. Needless to say that while painting Mya the white pug, I painted it 3 times because my super OCD kicked right into gear. When it came to the black pug I was able to capture the personality of this guy within one go. I was happy to learn that everyone was pleased with the outcome and it had really given me a great place to start moving forward with commission work like those.

After those pieces I was approached by a friend to help design the image to be used on a friends baby shower. Thrilled at the idea of designing this image I stepped right up to the plate. Best thing about it was the amazing theme, woodland creature tea party! WHAT I love it! I started working on images and for whatever reason it inspired me to no end! There was a collection of images but just to name a few,there was The Rabbits Tea Party, The Whole Gang and The Curious Mouse . The Whole Gang ended up being the final image but all were successfully completed and will probably be the beginning of a series I am already mentally working on.

Other than that things have been going well, a few abstract images along the way but not nearly as many as I would like. I began knitting a couple months back and was able to complete both a neck warmer which looks wonderful and really earthy as well as a baby blanket for the friend who’s invitation I helped design. I hope the sunny weather and warmer tempatures also bring along an extra burst of creativity as it does every year, with which I hope to take advantage of and just create, create, create!

As always, thanks for stopping by and I’ll see you next time!

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August 15, 2013

Look who’s been painting again…

It has been way too long since I posted on this page, which is frustrating since I was doing so good for a while but that’s life right! Anyway, I have included images from a few of my most recent works which can be fully viewed on my daily blog 365Days1Year.com Please let me know your thoughts as I’d love some feedback. I really have had a recent spur of creativity again which I can’t really pinpoint to one individual reason yet, but something obviously has got me going again. Whatever is I hope it stays. The images below are really just pulling from past imagery but I would like to push it more and think that in order to do that I will need to start drawing/sketching from life. Not a bowl of fruit really but something real. We draw from what we know and I don’t want that library in my head to get stale! Anyway Enjoy and see you next time.

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September 19, 2012

A Rather Exciting Summer….

Well, summer is at an end and I must say that with that said I am very pleased with what I accomplished thus far. A little of this and a little of that really. I had started another blog back in April 365days1year.com and it really worked. I have managed to produce 165 completed images to date, that have been published and posted on the blog. As one might expect I had to adjust the blogs goals as time went on, primarily the whole “I’m going to post every day,” who did I think I was? I mean it’s not like I work a full-time job and a part-time job and have a husband and two dogs and a rather embarrassing social life… Oh wait nope I do have all those things…. SOOOO I had to adjust the requirement to post every day to about once a week, loosely. It’s not that I am not making or creating something each day, but afterwards I am not always up to posting, it takes a different side of me. Below are some images of works created along the way.

On another note, I joined the Hull Artists Studio Connection, which has been another wonderful endeavour, proving to be worth the little effort it took on my end to become a member. It is great to talk with fellow artists who are attempting to make a profit on their works as well. In addition it is also nice to have a few venues for showing handed to you with little effort. I participated in two Open Studio Tours, one in July and one in August, both allowing me to meet some wonderful people along the way. In addition I was able to participate in Endless Summer this past weekend and that was a lot of fun. Not exactly the art touring kind of mentality but a great networking event and networking is what it is all about. Below are some of the images of my set ups from both events.

So after all of that, with a new season approaching it is time for change yet again. My husband and I are moving from Hull to Canton and although it is close in retrospect it will be quite different. With every change I like to promote new goals within myself the next being online purchasing. Once upon a time I created an ETSY account, which since then has grown spider webs, if it were possible. Within the next month or so I hope to have successfully set up my ETSY shop for purchases. I will inform you as soon as I pull it together… believe it or not my biggest concern is shipping, who knew!
On another note, I did start a new project which I am super excited about but not really ready to fully disclose so until then here are images of projects in the works….

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July 6, 2012

Open Studios Tour

Hull Artists Open Studios are happening this weekend Saturday and Sunday and

I am happy to announce that I will be showing at my studio on Sunday.

Please follow the link below for details and a map for the studio tour!

www.hullartists.com

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June 30, 2012

New Additions!

Please Check out the painting and Drawing Tabs of my page, I have added some pieces that have been completed over the past 3 months, all of which will be for sale at Open Studios. Opens Studios is the weekend of July 7th and I will be opening up my studio on July 8th to the public. Please feel free to stop by and get a better look at the work in person. For more details please see the following link. Hull Open Studio Tour Thanks for reading!

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April 28, 2012

Well, Today felt like a good day to write!

Hello there,

I know it has been quite some time since my last post but I wanted to announce that I have started a blog that went live on April 1st, The blog is called 365days1year. It is a blog about my everyday challenge of keeping myself in the right mental state to allow myself to draw regularly. With every day I require myself to create something, which can range from a drawing in the sand to a finished watercolor. Either way by midnight of that day there must be a post for everyone to see and read. So far, so good. I am onto day twenty-seven and going strong still. It has been a wonderful challenge for myself, since I now feel that I have an obligation to others to keep the posts coming. Bellow I have included a few images from what I have created thus far. Please take a look and spread the word!

http://www.365Days1Year.com

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October 2, 2011

The end of a thought…

Today was one of those days that things just felt right. I had decided some time ago to say goodbye to a project that began a few months back but was debating the right way to do so. In the past all I would do with old projects is crush and destroy and eventually just toss it into the bin. This time I decided to document it with the help of my friend Leah Mooney and Leo Bonarigo. Myself and Leah photographed while Leo filmed the whole experience. Now granted we filmed this morning so nothing will be done for a while but until then enjoy the photographs bellow. These are a series of shots taken throughout the experience and although they may not appear super exciting it was somewhat refreshing to finish the project this way. This truly felt like the end of a thought, an idea of a toxic growth that pushed away by nature or maybe consumed by it. Either way it was a great experience. Please take a look… and enjoy. I’ll post the video once its completed.

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September 27, 2011

Hyde Park Open Studios… Success

Well, I guess I wouldn’t say it was a “success” I didn’t really sell much except for the cards I had produced. Granted even that was nice though, to see that people do actually like what it is that I make. The most entertaining comments were always from people who obviously could understand the cards and then were completely baffled by the actual prints on the wall. Anyway, I have great feedback and luckily some great conversations with visitors. The event also allowed me to finally get to meet a lot of the members from EES which was wonderful. Being the newbie on the block has been a bit interesting and it is nice to finally get to chat with people. Anyway below are a series of images I took of the Open studios. Maybe next year you can stop by. Enjoy!