Whidbey Island Artist Open Studio Tour

[wendy lee lynds]

the studio tour was this weekend and it was great! my first. i had decided at the beginning of the year to make it one of my creative goals. whidbey island, WA has an awesome array of ridiculously talented artist living here. heck, one could throw a stone and hit twenty artists in the "noodle" in one toss. we have it all here.......writers, muscians, visual artists.......the gamut! nice to be surrounded by such a strong creative vibe!

anyhow, back to the tour.......100 artists participated this year and i hardly knew what to expect number-wise. i am a newbie to the island and the art-world, so used this as a test market......a way of getting my name out there. had a list of "intentions" for the experience, as a way of focusing on the weekend and knowing what i'd like to get out of the experience. my list was:

1. meet three new artistic-friends. (met many more than that!!)

2. make a contact for a gallery. (i did, right b4 the tour started!!)

3. sell some of my older works. (ahhh, that didn't happen! but did sell some cards and one collage piece!)

4. shamelessly promote my classes at the coupeville art center.

(i was SHAMELESS!! teehee)

5. get a good start on several peices while the tour was in progress. (worked on two round-robin altered book projects, about ten pages in all!)

6. have FUN and NO STRESSING!! (absolutely did this! did have a great time chatting with people and talking up ART!!)

i had a wonderful time. got over 40 people come by, which i thought was pretty good considering my "newness" and the location and the sheer numbers of artists. i met a ton of really wonderful folks....sold a bunch of handpainted cards and one collage. and had inquiries from a number of people for private classes in encaustics and altered books. handed out a bunch of my collage postcards and the catalog for the coupeville arts center here on the island.........only time will tell if i hear back from folks, but am planning on contacting them in a next little while and seeing if the interest in classes still holds. i want to be proactive....keep mioving forward. especially with this teaching thing. that seems to be a good direction for me at this time!

i did hear about a short-term gallery opeing on the island from another artist on the tour. talked to the folks in charge and will bring four pieces to the gallery today for inclusion in this co-op gallery til the end of the year. run by poeple who "know people" and i think it's a great move. very reasonable to join and will require only a few hours a week to help run the gallery floor. i think this will be a positive experience in meeting people, getting more feedback on my work, see what really sells and find out what it is like to run a little gallery. it's always been in the back of my mind to do something like that.........now we'll see, firsthand.

i got some positive comments on my work. i think that writing down what you hear from people is a good way of making things concrete and real. helps me to see what others see and what attracts them about my work. i heard many comments about my "strong compositional skills" (what a nice thing to say...), the "wonderful color choices" and the interesting textural qualities of my encaustics. this echos what i have been hearing in general this year. it's hard to know what your strengths are, sometimes. the voice of "the critic" can be SO strong at times........written words have the power to vanquish that little sucker!

am heading to los angeles and outside of vegas to help a dear friend with an art festival and to see my son.....so must head off to drop off artwork for the gallery and run pre-trip errands.

anyhow, a good weekend, all in all. and nice to start off this monday with my first-ever blog-entry and a new artistic community to get to know! blessings on your day! now, GO, create something!!

wendy lee

[Claude Aimee Villeneuve]

Hi Again Wendy!
I just went on your page and pushed the button «add as friend» so you just have to reply yes and that's it!
It will be a pleasure to be your friend, too. I'm open to bartering - we'll see as time goes by. Enjoy your trip!
Talk to you soon!

Claude Aimée

[wendy lee lynds]

i am blown away by how nice you all are...not that i expected anything different, mind you, but what a nice WELCOME i've received! i feel right at home here. thanks, malinda and heidi for your kind words above. all this art stuff is pretty new to me. that is a whole other story and i plan on blogging about "art and fear" when i return from los angeles. i know that i have come a long way, with more adventures to come. talk to you all very soon! blessings.....wendy

[Heidi]

Hi Wendy,
your island community sounds wonderful, as do all the plans you have! I look forward to hearing how it all goes. Welcome to CCS,
Heidi

[Malinda Neisess]

Wow Wendy, You really have your act together! I will try and use some of these principles for myself. You have inspired me. I really admire your focus. Congratulations on your forward movement.
Grace & Peace,
malinda

[wendy lee lynds]

thanks, gal. appreciate your good words. i have really made an effort (through reading about the law of attraction and the like) to make a habit of figuring out what i would to see happen in any given experience. then i can hone in and look for the gold nuggets in every situation. i may not achieve EVERY goal or intention, but at least i have a good focus and a positive spin on it all. and mostly, good things happen! it has really been a boon to me. i like being pro-active. wanna join and be my friend?? i don't know how to officially invite you........do you know how?? i can see that you like AE, too. from your work. maybe we can barter for art at some point down the road? i'm open to that! going on holiday to see my son in LA and help a friend at an arts fest. be back mid-october! talk to ya soon! wendy lee

[Claude Aimee Villeneuve]

Wendy,
What a wonderful experience you had! I like your idea of writing down your short-term goals before engaging in this project! It helps focus on your purpose, doesn't it! I should use that technique more often!
There is nothing like connecting with other artists. That's a great way to get involved, get invited to participate in group shows, meet like-minded people with whom you can exchange. It's great that you were able to meet lots of artists during the week-end. Whitby Island sounds like a fantastic art colony!
Hope you get lots of teaching jobs and sell your work and make lots more!

Claude Aimée

[Dan Goodwin]

The whole internet is mind blowing, and I think the best thing to happen for artists ever really. It's now SO easy to get your work in front the eyes of hundreds, thousands people or more... Amazing potential...

[wendy lee lynds]

wow, dan.....i'm so impressed thatyou've written. very cool. yep, it WAS a great w/end. i'm looking forward to learning and exploring your site and see what's new and who we all can connect to.....it's a great big world out there......isn't it amazing that we can connect in this way!? love it...............creatively yours, wll

[Dan Goodwin]

Wow Wendy Lee, what a wonderful weekend you had!

And what a wonderful first blog post on CCS! Great to have your energy and enthusiasm on board, can't wait to hear more...

Welcome, you're going to have a great time here...

Dan.