On Making It

10 December 2009

Purple Scrap Fabric Booklet, mixed-media 4 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ x 1/2″ ©2009 Leah Virsik.

I’ve been having some resistance to writing… this is what I started writing last week:

I’m working on updating my website. I’ve decided to use the Satorii theme. I’m hoping to make some minor changes with it. I think actually developing my own theme would be more work than I’d like to do at this point but I’m excited about the work I’m doing now.

Egmont Van Dyck asked me to speak at the East Bay Artists Guild next year. Totally flattering! The same day Alyson B. Stanfield asked if she could could feature my art in her blog and someone called me about my class. I had to stop and think and realize that I’ve changed. I’ve created this world of creating art and teaching and it feels really amazing, like I’ve “made it”. I’m wanting to say that so when I look at other people “who’ve made it” I can be reminded that it’s a cycle, a process, a journey. It’s about “making it” everyday. Those wins along the way are really important to acknowledge.

I got a subscription to Uppercase, something I’ve been wanting to do for awhile but when it came down to it I bought it because Geninne Zlatkis’ studio is featured. Very inspiring! ReadyMade magazine also came and I enjoyed the Denyse Schmidt article and her patchwork quilting. Oh, and her envelopes! I came home last night and made an envelope template inspired by this and this. I found a book on the Renaissance with great images that I’ve been making into envelopes and Tom brought me home some Japanese wrapping paper. Too fun! Cutting out paper is very satisfying!

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2 Comments

  1. linda
    Posted 11 December 2009 at 1:53 am | Permalink

    Congrats on all the great opportunities…how exciting! BTW, I received the lovely mail art you sent…so fantastic! I love your color combinations, they always go so well together – beautiful!

    Reply
  2. Leah
    Posted 11 December 2009 at 10:01 pm | Permalink

    Thanks so much Linda! So nice to connect with you through AEDM. I enjoyed seeing you grow this month.

    Reply

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  • Artist statement

    I’m hungry to learn and it’s through my process of creating that I’m ultimately satisfied. I’m curious about different materials and take on the challenge to incorporate what I’m most drawn to into my work. I’m intrigued to discover the resulting patterns and repetition. As I create, I explore my inner landscape. I’m attempting to uncover a stifled sound. It’s my challenge to express this internal voice through my art and ultimately, boldly, out loud.

    My quest to connect my voice with my work has led me to reexamine my personal history. The threads in my bookbinding and in my collage are entwined in my familial roots. Growing up, I remember a quilt frame my dad made, taking up our entire living room. His grandmother taught him to quilt using scraps of clothing. Years later, I began a quilt when a friend was teaching a class on patchwork. To my surprise, cutting up fabric and piecing it back together reminded me of my work with paper collage.

    As a child I would sew with my mom and what I most remember is the guilt I’d feel as I jammed up her machine. Now, when the threads and material bunch up they become useful fodder for my work. In some ways the threads act as a binding element, as in my books, and in other ways they are a reflection of my internal processes.