October 10 - Preparing for an Installation III

Ten days.  That's all that remain until Mark on the Body is hung in the second floor open gallery space at the Lacombe Memorial Centre.

Ten days.  I can hardly believe it.

And yes, it's ready to go.

The MOB III stump socks have been stuffed.

The MOB II squares -- 27 and counting -- have been assembled into a mobile. (Below is a sample; we're going to spread them out a bit at the actual exhibit so they'll be more visible.)

MOB II: Making My Mark

And MOB I is now complete.  Here it's hanging in the only spot available in my house to show it in its entirety -- over my bed:

That's definitely a better view than I gave you in my last post, eh?

Posters have been sent to and put up by various friends and neighbours -- in the local post office, churches, store fronts, pharmacies, libraries, quilt shops and doctors' offices.  Postcard invitations have been sent to "my" galleries, friends, family members, JDRF and CDA offices and at least two researchers at the University of Alberta, where some of the finest research into the origin, treatment and cure of T1D is happening.

My speech for the Opening Reception has been written. (I'm used to public speaking but need prayers I won't collapse over that one, okay?)

Meet the Press...

Publicity is beginning, too.

There's been at least one radio 'spot', and the newsprint is starting.  First up was the publication of the poster image in The Chautauqua, a locally-produced newspaper that serves all the mall communities in these parts.  A free publication, it's paid for by advertisers and donors...and has a fairly wide reach.

From The Chatauqua Oct. 7-2016 edition

And now there's been an online tribute...from a friend who lives so far from here that she won't be at the debut...my Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) and long-time cyber-friend, Linda Miller.  To read her beautiful post about this project, please click HERE...and then read her other posts and take in her fine artwork. You won't be disappointed.

Thank you, Linda.  Thank you, all my SAQA friends and colleagues who've contributed your time, your stitching, your encouragement and your dollars.  Thank you Lori, and Anna, and Gwendy, and Andrea, and Shawna and Shirley at The Shop.  Thank you Terry and Laura at the libraries.  Thank you Karla at the Post Office.  Thank you Caroline at Homespun Seasons and that other gal, the one who owns Wildflower Creations.  Thank you Deb and Denise and Andrea and Gracie at "my" galleries.  Thank you Lee at St. Cyprian's, Lacombe.  Thank you, Beth at The Chautauqua.  Thank you to all who've bought books online because you can't get here to see the exhibit in person.

There are many more people I could, should, and will thank -- but you're all in the book's Acknowledgments...

See you at the Opening, eh?

September 29, 2016 - Preparing for an Installation II

Mainly visuals this post...as it is coming together...

The books arrived last week and have begun to be distributed -- first to two of the area libraries (Mirror and Bashaw)...and in the next few days to two more (Alix and Stettler).  Nine have been sold online and another by mail order directly from me.  And one has been 'drilled' so that it can be attached to the podium for the duration of the installation.



Meanwhile in the 'sewdio'... MOB I is finished.  Here it is on my design wall.  Trust me, it'll look better hanging from the ceiling and viewed on both sides!  :-)

MOB I on the design wall

And here is a close-up of the "syringe fringe" -- twenty insulin syringes donated by a friend who now uses an 'insulin pen' instead -- trimmed of their needles, and secured inside the hem through grommets to the outside.  

The "syringe fringe" close up

Yesterday, the labels for the twenty-eight MOB II squares received thus far were turned into tiny quilt 'sandwiches', in preparation for being suspended on twill tape so they can hang on a mobile:

"Sandwich" in the making

Stacks of MOB II squares.

Press releases have begun in the form of radio 'spots' (public service announcements) and soon (I hope) in print, as Maureen, my contact at the City of Lacombe, has been working hard to put these out.  The best news thus far?  Lucibelle Tan, the Fund-raising Coordinator for JDRF's Calgary Office, is including information about the Opening in their October newsletter.

Onward and upward!

August 29, 2016 - Preparing for an Installation I

As you who've been following know, hand-stitching on MOB I finished almost 3 weeks ago...

Since then, I sent my hard-working sewing machine off to the "spa" for long-needed TLC...and started in on the manuscript of the book that will accompany the installation.

The draft of the book has been reviewed by my mentor, and today was transferred to the self-publishing service, Blurb, for publication as a soft-cover trade book.

Permission has been procured to sell the book at the opening -- as well as afterwards -- and to divide net proceeds between the JDRF and the CDA, and a final planning meeting with the debut venue coordinators is forthcoming.  We are hoping that JDRF and CDA representatives will be able to attend.

The hosts of the exhibit are on track to produce posters and other publicity, while I will be creating postcards for distribution as well.

Now that my sewing machine is back, the finishing of MOB I and the parts to assemble MOB II will be completed shortly.

As for MOB III...eight of the stump socks are finished and stuffed...

and the ninth is under construction.

I continue to thank you, Gentle Readers, for your support and patience as the process of developing this piece into an installation takes place.  Stay tuned!

May 29, 2016 - It's All Coming Together

April and May have been busy, exciting months for yours truly!  In mid-April I shared a booth with my photographer daughter, Gina, at the Lacombe Art Show and Sale -- and sold my first large landscape.

Having been part of this Show for a few years now, I've had the opportunity to get to know Maureen MacKenzie from the City of Lacombe, who is on the City's Art Committee and responsible for coordinating that annual event.

Remember that meeting I mentioned in my last post?  Well...when Maureen and two other members of the Art Committee met with me for lunch...and they agreed to host the debut of the Mark on the Body Project as an installation in the upstairs gallery at the Lacombe Memorial Centre!

The exhibit will go up October 20 and run till November 17, 2016.  It will be visible from the foyer...just enough to entice a short trip up the stairs (or on the elevator) to see it "up close and personal".  There will be an official Opening Reception on Wednesday, October 26 (time to be determined)...complete with media etc.!!

Needless to say, I'm over the moon!  I've connected with the Fundraising and Development Coordinators from both the JDRF and the CDA for this area (Central Alberta/Red Deer and District).  Both are excited to see the installation and will be invited to the opening, as will Gracie and Deb, managers of the two galleries in which I show my miniatures.

And I'm now working hard with my SAQA Mentor, Bonnie Jo Smith, to prepare my Artist's talk and a book to accompany the piece -- and I'm knitting away on my third stump sock as well as doing my daily stitching on the main piece.

May 29, 2016 - Left Hand

May 29, 2016 - Abdomen & Thighs

While I work away, my band of loving volunteers are working too.  You saw Lia's sock last month...This month one arrived from Sharon:

In addition, MOB II squares are once more coming in...

Newly-minted squares from Monika and Jo V.

And more have been sent out to volunteer stitchers I met while in Stratford. ON on the Victoria Day holiday weekend...and at Olds. AB, while at a stitching workshop with Monika at the College.

I have on hand another dozen MOB II 'kits' for anyone who would like them; there will be even more available at the installation for folks to work on during the opening or to take home, stitch and send in to be included.  These will be hung as a mobile (or two) so that people can walk around and see them from front and back.  (If you are interested, please contact me at margblank@xplornet.ca.)

I continue to hope that this work will dispel the myths that surround both types of diabetes, and will play a part in increasing financial support for the important research going on here in Alberta -- and around the world -- to better treat, to prevent and ultimately to find a cure for T1D.

Thank you again, Gentle Readers, for your encouragement, your prayers and your support.  By the end of next month, stitching on MOB I will be in the home stretch.  See you then!

Time is Marching On

Just a few days more than three months from now, the stitching for MOB I will be finished, based on the deadline set out from the start.

April 29, 2016 - Abdomen and Thighs

When first envisioned, I thought that would be all there is to it -- but as those of you who've been following along know, the Project has taken legs (ahem)...so to speak -- and I've not waited till the last MOB I stitch is stitched to think about how and where and when the Project will make its debut in the wider world.

April 29, 2016 - Right Hand

Seeing how poorly some of the stitches show on such a wide, white background, for instance, I've already determined that the finished MOB I will be shadow quilted a short way out from the image, then trimmed and mounted on a dark background, cut away in the back so that the stitching can be viewed from both sides.

April 29, 2016 - Left Shoulder and "Air"

Thanks to wonderful volunteers, MOB II: Making My Mark has been launched; I've received over a dozen finished squares and have about an equal number 'out there' that I hope to have in hand by the end of July so that the installation can be launched with a decent number of them.

Earliest Returns - July 2015

I've decided this will be the participatory part of the installation, and am preparing a stack of 'kits' for participants to do at each venue where the Project is shown.  I'll include self-addressed envelopes (with stamps, in Canada) for those who want to take them home to finish and send to me.

And then there's MOB III: Dance of Hope (working title)...with now five volunteers knitting stump socks...

Lia's sock...soon to be here!

And with two of my own now finished...

My own second sock

Since mid-April I've been working with a mentor (volunteer) provided as a service through Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA), the international studio quilt art group to which I've belonged for nearly a decade now.  She's been giving me insights into the process of preparing for an installation, including polishing the Project's back-story, creating proposal packages and the like.  I began by creating my own hard-copy folder:

And...I've managed to procure a meeting in ten days' time -- with people representing my first potential venue...

I'm both excited and terrified!

For the first time ever, I'm linking this blog to Nina Marie's Off the Wall Friday.  See you next month!