My iPhone has become a great way to carry a miniature version of my portfolio... with the added advantage of almost always being close at hand. Now when I get a quizzical look as I'm describing my work, I can pull out the iPhone and show some examples. Such a great tool! And I am able to post from the phone which should help me write from remote locations too... seems to be working.
I went to Denver's Building Creative Businesses Expo on Saturday, attending sessions that covered Alternative Marketing Approaches for Artists and Working with Others on Public Art Projects. The third session I had selected was a bust so I slipped into a session for mid-career artists who want to work with multiple galleries. I got a lot out of hearing that discussion, information to be stored for future reference.
I particularly liked hearing artists discuss their marketing experiences -- what worked for them and what didn't. I got an infusion of good new ideas. And some inspiration to boot.
I have had a couple of unfinished pieces hanging around the studio, 24 x 18", that were begun several years ago. Most of the background is composed of joss paper with metallic silver leaf or a gold ink/leaf combination. I have been adding elements to this one and it is now finished and titled, "Improvisation." This photo was taken with uneven lighting so that you could see some of the metallic quality of the joss paper -- it does show a bit in upper right. The metallic has a nice quality that changes the composition quite a bit as light moves across the piece and the metallic becomes more or less prominent. (The gray rectangles at the bottom of the piece are the same metallic pieces without benefit of reflection.) This one is going to be hard to photograph for my portfolio/website!
In the ongoing studio overhaul, I am looking through older collage pieces and realizing that in the beginning of this exploration I often cut out the pieces of paper I used, as seen at left in one of my color studies. These days I almost always just rip papers to get the pieces I want. I think I am attracted to the more random rough edges. Once they are glued down, the papers seem to meld together more too. Maybe I have relaxed into this medium a bit? (Although I've always liked the very graphic nature of this piece...)