Art Openings Aren’t My Thing

LeahDay

Leah Day has been teaching online since 2009. She's the creator of the Free Motion Quilting Project, a blog filled with thousands of quilting tutorial videos. Leah has written several books including 365 Free Motion Quilting Designs, Explore Walking Foot Quilting with Leah Day, and Mally the Maker and the Queen in the Quilt.

8 Responses

  1. QuiltShopGal says:

    Congratulations on your flower mask making it in the article in your local paper. I really do think you did a great job and this mask is a beautiful piece of art. I'm impressed how you opened your creative spirit to the challenge of designing and entering and did such a fantastic job. May not be your favorite form of creative expression, but be proud as you really did do a great job. You are naturally creative, just more comfortable with some forms of creativity. Still good to push yourself periodically and try new things. Thanks for sharing and inspiring.

    QuiltShopGal
    http://www.quiltshopgal.com

    PS – The San Diego Museum of Art has an annual "Art Alive" exhibit where floral artists come in and decorate all the artwork with flowers. I honestly think your mask would make for a great special display in this museum. Heck, maybe they'd pay for a trip for your family to see it….and we could have loads of fun visiting.http://www.sdmart.org/art-alive-2017

  2. Leah says:

    Years ago I had the pleasure of being a model for wearable art shows. OMG, did I love that, since it was a traveling show I don't think the creators were in the audience. It's true, once the model puts it on – it's hers to display. So go do a few more shows, maybe in a few years you will decide you want to show up on opening night, maybe not.

  3. Thanks for sharing. You are multi-talented and excel in all the things you set your mind to. Thank you for sharing. I enjoy reading your article.

  4. feeschiffl says:

    Well done on getting through the opening and on your artwork. I don't like social events either but I just ask people how long they've been quilting (or doing their hobby) and then move on to contemporary or traditional, etc. They don't really ask about me but I don't worry too much about that. I have made the effort to make conversations. Who knows, they might be as frightened of starting a conversation as I am.

    When it comes to drinking, I have never touched it. At 46, I'm still not old enough to drink and that's what I tell them. It used to stress me being in that situation but I don't care anymore. I joke that my husband married me because I'm always the skipper. Good on you on making that decision. There are a few of us teetotallers out there. I find it's a darn shame that pubs/social event catering never have a chocolate milkshake on hand!

  5. Leah Day says:

    As always, thank you so much for your kind comments and support! I'll definitely check out the San Diego exhibit. That would be fun!

  6. Leah Day says:

    Lol! That's a great suggestion to just start with time and style. Something simple to break the ice. I just start getting uncomfortable when I'm asking someone a question and they look at me like I have 2 heads and I'm a weirdo for asking – at a social event!!!

    I your stance on drinking too. Hey I'm not old enough to drink! Thankfully this venue had pretty good punch, but the pressure was still there. Hopefully that will get easier as time goes by.

  7. Liz I says:

    Hooray for you for all of these courageous steps. I too hate openings (and there are a lot of us out there). The only way I get through them is to remember I'm there to support someone else if it's another's work or a group show. Or, if it's my work I remember that again there is a viewer who will be happy I'm there. Talk to the other artists! Many of them are feeling awkward too! Other people really do enjoy meeting or seeing the artist.

    About the alchohol: way back in grad school I was thinking I needed to relax more and a little voice said "you could stop drinking." I did, and I learned that it was indeed contributing to my stress and that it didn't support my creativity, it killed it. Fortunately no one else really cares what you are eating or drinking and so it never was a problem in social situations and I learned to be grateful for a glass of water.

  8. quilt4fun2 says:

    Might it have helped if you had gone with some close friends? It might help you feel a little more comfortable and be able to see what the competition has made or what is in other categories.

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