Preparing for departure- WOOHOOO!!!!!

The adventure begins!

I leave early( 4:00 am) tomorrow morning to catch my flight to Arizona. I have everything packed ( I think) in two suitcases- tools, clothes, the works!

So, here is the interesting news- Flagstaff, AZ (where I am scheduled to land) is expecting 4-7 feet of snow by late friday, that is taller than me. At this point it looks like I may be in Pheonix for a few days until things clear up- we will see!

Though sad that there are delays in my plans I am eager to see the canyon covered in snow- sounds pretty spectacular.

Enjoy this photo by Kaldoon.

Exhibition Schedule January - April 2010

WITHIN, Wearable Objects by Erica Stankwytch Bailey, Piedmont Craftsmen, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
http://www.piedmontcraftsmen.org/

Materials: Hard and Soft, Greater Denton Arts Council, Denton ,Texas

http://www.dentonarts.com/gdac99/about_gdac/programs/materials_hard_and_soft.htm

CHARMED, Society for Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, PA

http://www.contemporarycraft.org/The_Store/Splash.html

The Ring Show, Pullen Arts Center, Raleigh, North Carolina

A.I.R at Grand Canyon- The Countdown

There are only 20 days until my departure to Grand Canyon! This whole opportunity still seems so surreal to me- I can't believe it is actually happening and yet I am so excited. As an artist I am sure that the experience will have a profound affect on my work and my ways of seeing.

So much of my work is about the small within the large- the cell within the larger organism, a shell in an enormous sea- and now I will represent the miniscule being within the vastness of Grand Canyon.

This is were I will be staying!!! Look above the Verkamps sign and you can imagine me standing there looking out over the Canyon.

I plan to blog frequently while I am there as a means to document my experience. I have a lot of fun things planned so I hope you will join me (via my blog) on this amazing adventure! You can subscribe to my blog by clicking a link in the upper right hand corner of this page.

Meeting Gloria Steinem

It began like this-

I old freind called a couple of weeks ago and asked if I would be willing to donate a piece to be presented to Gloria Steinem- I said YES!!! What a great chance to give a small token of gratitude to a woman who has given so much to humanity for almost half a century. Shaking in my boots with excitement I began to plan what I might create for her.

The next phone call went something like this:

There is a chance that you will get to meet her in person if you are able to be here. The East Carolina Women's Studies Department is planning a breakfast and would like for you to present the piece to Gloria yourself. WHAT? OH MY? that would be amazing!!!!!!!!!!

Next call:

The breakfast was cancelled, her schedule is too full. (Bummer)

Next call:

Great news you will get to meet her after all, be here next Friday at 4:45 with the piece.

_____________

So last Friday I drove to Greenville to meet Gloria Steinem. The whole week builidng up to the trip I was so excited and worked feverishly on several brooches not sure which would make the final cut. I included an excerpt from a poem by Alice Walker about Gloria Steinem written in the mid 90's and updated on Gloria's 75th birthday, this year. The lines are simple but seemed to say so much:

SHE IS THE ONE

WHO IS THERE
This brooch was inspired by icons, that people who are icons have an effect that radiates out across many groups and generations.

Late Friday afternoon I met Gloria Steinem. She was amazing, gracious and kind. I was struck by how interested she was in the small group of women that were there to meet her. She seemed genuinely interested in each of us. She is thoughtful and funny, intelligent and everything that I imagined she would be.

I am grateful that I had the chance to meet her, to say thank you and be inspired!

Artist Residency at the Grand Canyon

YIPPEE!!!!!! I am going to have the most amazing experience in early 2010. I have been given the opportunity to do a 3 week artist residency at the Grand Canyon. The National Park Service offers the residencies to help promote the various national parks. I will live in a building that is over 100 years old and looks out over the Grand Canyon - the views will be spectacular.

During my residency I will offer three programs to the public visiting the park. I will lead a scenic sketching walk, a drawing with wire workshop and a residency conclusion discussion/presentation. I will be free to spend the remainder of my time in Arizona exploring and creating works inspired by my discoveries.

When I return home I will give a presentation to my local community, sharing with them my experience with the wonders of the Grand Canyon. I see this experience as having so many possibilities!!!

I plan to blog about the experience while I am there, if I have access to the Internet that is!

New Jewelry

Photographs taken by Taylor Dabney of Richmond, VA.

Images from Buyers Market of American Craft

The Booth







Some new work


The Happy Artist

Things are going well in Philadelphia! My new work is being well received which is so exciting!