Leah Virsik

“Meaningful Work”
mixed-media: paper, canvas, thread, collage, fabric, muslin, acrylic 7″ x 5″
©2010 Leah Virsik

I’m working on finishing up postcards for my show at the Kensington Library next week and trying to determine appropriate words for my process. I’m also thinking about my next question regarding the evolution of my work as I’m working through Alyson B. Stanfield’s Relatively Pain-Free Artist Statement e-book.

I started the postcards in November 2009 in response to inspiration from Jennie Hinchcliff and Carolee Gilligan Wheeler’s book Good Mail Day and Leah Piken Kolidas’ Art Every Day Month Challenge. I started these works as something that I could do quickly and post on my blog in an evening. I initially sent them out to a few people and then I held back. I wanted to hold onto them and now they’re turning into a sixty postcard installation project. The roots of this work is about appreciating the process and ultimately, myself. It’s about play, acceptance, non-judgment, love, messiness, experimentation, connection and exploration. It’s also about working fast and completion. On one hand, the work is great fun and I get lost in it and don’t want to stop. On the other hand, it’s really difficult work that I don’t want to do. I love the work and I can’t believe I’m getting away with it. All these contradictions…Dichotomy feels like it’s going to be a good title. Thanks Tom.

I’ve created this project, designed how it’ll look, put it out into the world, and am in the process of defending (or at least explaining/creating a story about) it to my audience and my inner critic. It’s my first wall… outside of the studio. At times, especially lately, I’ve felt down about it… how do I hang them? It’s not going to work the way I’ve envisioned… no, no it’ll be fine… Tom helped me and I bought some nails he suggested. I’m excited about the way they look on the wall in the studio now. How do I arrange them? By color? By date created? What if I’m hurrying too much and I’m not doing the work or myself justice? It’s painful or so I choose it to be at times. It’s all an experiment. This is a picture of where I’m at in the world today. Do I like the picture? At times, I really do, other times I don’t want to look at it. It’s my work and I’ll continue to do it.

Next post will be more about my process and about how my work is changing.

For details on the piece above, click here.

I’d been wanting to get back into blogging… especially since coming back from An Artful Journey in February and meeting such wonderful inspiring women. One of the best things about taking classes and going on retreats is the people! Kelly Warren’s and Roben-Marie Smith’s blogs really inspired and encouraged me. Starting my blog again with an “imperfect” post was my way of “shipping”. (I’ve been reading Seth Godin’s inspiring Linchpin and really enjoying it.) Thanks also to Chrissy Gardner for stopping by! I’m also inspired by her blogging and creative look. I bought a funky, fun skirt last night, that reminded me of her, with the intention of wanting to look and feel more creative.

The best time that I had blogging was last November when I was participating in Leah Piken Kolidas’ Art Every Day Month. I met some really wonderful people there too! I’m now participating in Leah Piken Kolidas’ Creative Every Day Challenge 2010. Thanks to her, the wonderful community she creates there, Linda Tieu and Julie Jordan Scott for reconnecting and encouraging me forward!

Small Mixed-Media Fabric books, originally uploaded by Leah Virsik.

It really is the end of November and Art Every Day Month and I can’t believe how much I’ve created this month! Thanks to all of the AEDM participants, Leah Piken Kolidas, my friends and Tom for all of your support. It wouldn’t be as much fun without you!

Click on books to connect to my Flickr account.

Watercolor Polkadot Button book, originally uploaded by Leah Virsik.

I was cleaning up my office and put away my sewing machine and ironing board and I know now that I can’t put them away at least for long. I missed them way too much. I have three more little books like this coming together really soon. They are so much fun to make. They’ve come out of AEDM and my mail art postcards.

Art Every Day Month has been such a blessing. I want to make work that I need to make, to connect with it, to find out what it needs, where it wants to be… and it really feels like I’m doing that. I’ve passed the point of no return in many ways. So much of it is just trusting that I’m on that path. Today I was looking for and found some great yarns I had purchased several years ago from Article Pract. They’re going to be used in the other books I’m making. It’s funny how things connect. The scraps of fabric that I’ve had over the years fit right in to the projects I’m working on now.

I had a lot of fun teaching Erin and Dave how to make books. Tom came in and took photos of us. I got a lot of good feedback from them. It’s such an emotional process for me… to teach. I’m quite attached and want things to work out for my students. But at the same time I also know with my own process that classes can be valuable for different reasons in different ways and so often not for the product I produced in the class. So I think more practice teaching and less attachment will help.

Book Cover Beginnings (in progress), originally uploaded by Leah Virsik.

This in progress “Book Cover Beginning” actually looks better on the screen than it does in reality. It doesn’t have as much contrast. I really like the resisting qualities of crayon underneath watercolor. I’ll be folding this paper twice and creating a 1/2′ spine for the pages to go inside. I want to try a new stitch. Looking forward to learning.

I really appreciated this quote by Natalie Goldberg posted on Leah Piken Kolidas’ Day 27 Check-in for Art Every Day Month “Sometimes when you think you are done, it is just the edge of beginning. Probably that’s why we decide we’re done. It’s getting too scary. We are touching down onto something real. It is beyond the point when you think you are done that often something strong comes out.” In Leah’s post she says: “Today is the 27th day of Art Every Day Month. So close to the end of this particular journey. How would you like to wrap things up? What would make a beautiful ending for you?”
In so many ways, I do feel like this is the beginning. I’ve touched upon what it’s like to blog very consistently and to notice what it’s like to do art regularly. I appreciate the chance to document it in such a supportive and encouraging environment. I don’t want to stop but I also want to transition into a new way of being around my creating and maybe it’s just continuing… and discovering what’s right for me.

I had a really nice Thanksgiving yesterday with family. Good food and really nice people to be around. Erin and Dave brought fresh vegetables from Chino Farms. Yum!

No image today but I started painting paper for little books I’m going to make… I’ll be doing a similar idea to the postcards I’ve been doing but a book. I’ll post something soon. My sister and her partner are in town but I’ll make time to post. I’m going to teach them how to make books. I’m very excited.

I’ve been cleaning up my office studio, maybe just consolidating piles but was inspired by this decluttering post by The Star Garden another participant in AEDM. I am putting art up on the walls in my office studio and will take photos eventually.  Today, I was inspired by these beautiful books by Letterself.

I am feeling a bit challenged with Art Every Day Month but also inspired by doing so much art. The momentum feels really good. Looking forward to running tomorrow morning and celebrating Thanksgiving with family. To those of you who celebrate, enjoy!

A2 Envelope Blue with stitching, originally uploaded by Leah Virsik.

I finished piecing my squares together… my quilt top. Wierd. Guess I can’t believe I did it, attempted it even. A lot of work. I folded it up and I really like the way it looks in its folded position… similar I think to my earlier days of painting where I liked a certain area of a piece and not the whole thing. I’m actually getting used to the quilt as a whole, it’s growing on me. It’s a really different experience building colors in a piece by piece basis and then discovering it looks so different as it becomes larger. Well, then maybe there are ways to approach quilting that are more strategic, more big picture. Hmmm… anyway, I just want to make pillows now or little bags or curtains. You get the picture. Much smaller things. Kind of like the postcard series I’m doing I guess.

I love listening to stories. Enjoyed this To The Best of Our Knowledge radio program entitled Channeling Creativity, especially the interview of Lynda Barry.

Oh, found fun things at the estate sale today for $3. Watercolor paper, canvas paper, a strip of a painting someone did, two altas books and envelopes. Looking forward to playing!

I now have a plugin for comments thanks to Amanda Hawkins so you can subscribe by email.

Purple Landscape, originally uploaded by Leah Virsik.

I had a really good bookbinding class today at Frank Bette Center for the Arts and looking into setting up another one for next year. I am super tired and looking forward for bed.

Here’s another landscape in my postcard series. I’ll be sewing my quilt squares together tomorrow and going to go to an estate sale! Oh, and yoga and sewing lab at Rock Paper Scissors Collective.

Roots and Branches Revisted, originally uploaded by Leah Virsik.

So I’ve been writing about my latest obsession with WordPress themes and I found out about Paper the theme Amanda Hawkins created. It’s a theme for artists and crafters. Really fun and she’s got a great style. She also has a DIY planner template and sewing instructions on her site. Check her out if you haven’t already! I found out about her via Erin Zam who makes incredible books. I love digging deep through the sites of other artists. One thing it has done is make them more accessible for me, basically so I don’t put them on a pedestal.

I’ve decided I want to create my own WordPress theme. Today, I was working on creating email blasts at work and I have so much fun trying to figure out code. I know I’ll enjoy it, it’ll just be a while before I tackle it.

I found out about Zentangles today. You’ll just have to take a look… Maria Thomas says ” Creating a Zentangle is like painting with patterns instead of colors.” There’s a beautiful Zentangle gallery on flckr.

Above is “Roots and Branches Revisited Reverse”. I really appreciate all the comments I’ve been receiving from people participating in Art Every Day Month. Your comments have helped me see more of what I create. It’s been helpful to see that the backs are part of the whole work, not just something you never show. Thanks to Tom for listening to me and helping me with the words for this last sentence.

Heartscape, originally uploaded by Leah Virsik.

I missed a day yesterday blogging but I did do some art and I really enjoyed connecting with my artist friend Deborah Griffin. Check out her very inspiring and deeply layered work! So fun to be next to the artist as she’s creating! She has a fabulous book collection that I enjoy looking through.

I began some more postcard backgrounds with colored pencils. Looking forward to seeing what happens with watercolor on top of them.

I’m looking for inspiring WordPress sites. I’m not sure if this is WordPress or not but I was definitely inspired by Thom Sevalrud’s site.

I’m realizing with this postcard above that I think I’d really enjoy free form quilting. I’m becoming more comfortable with sewing paper and I’d like to do some hand sewing like Cathy Cullis’ beautiful work. As I work on art this month, I’m seeing the bigger picture and the importance of creating a LOT of work.