Hey All! Check out my shows that are currently up around Corvallis! (There are three of them!!) I am in the Howland Community Open Exhibition at The Arts Center, The Many Faces of Africa show at LaSell Stewart Center, and have a glass case of my sculptures up at LBCC's Benton Center (in Corvallis), so check out these shows and some of my sculptures!
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
New Website!
Hey folks!
I have a brand new website! That's right I set it up all by myself, so there for being technologically incompetent. So check out the brand new website - http://jlgraff17.wix.com/jessgraff. Soon it will be under my own domain but I am still working on figuring that out.
In other news I also have an About Me, which is a website designed to consolidate all of your separate pinterest accounts, websites, blogs, etc into an easier to see format so ta da! http://about.me/jess_graff so check that one out too! My most excellent and artistic friend Rachel tipped me off about this one.
Also, I have recently been able to take some new photos of my work, thanks to another artistic and helpful friend, Nina. So check out the website, the About Me, and my photos (more on the website).
Thanks for all the support!
I have a brand new website! That's right I set it up all by myself, so there for being technologically incompetent. So check out the brand new website - http://jlgraff17.wix.com/jessgraff. Soon it will be under my own domain but I am still working on figuring that out.
In other news I also have an About Me, which is a website designed to consolidate all of your separate pinterest accounts, websites, blogs, etc into an easier to see format so ta da! http://about.me/jess_graff so check that one out too! My most excellent and artistic friend Rachel tipped me off about this one.
Also, I have recently been able to take some new photos of my work, thanks to another artistic and helpful friend, Nina. So check out the website, the About Me, and my photos (more on the website).
Thanks for all the support!
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
My Crazy Life
Oh my life. It's so crazy. One week I am lamenting the problems of being an artist (not enough shows, feeling uncertain about my work, not enough studio space nor opportunities) and the next I am getting opportunities like crazy, getting into shows, becoming an artist assistant for a couple of great established artists, getting to work in the studio, and becoming really excited about the work that I am doing, and getting new opportunities to teach and work on projects. Connor (my stable, wonderful, and constant boyfriend) is right; I just need to chill out, trust in my work, and in all the effort I put in, and know that I can do this.
Next week I will update about where you can find my upcoming shows, and the new work that I am doing. Also, pictures!
Thanks for all your support!
.JPG)
Next week I will update about where you can find my upcoming shows, and the new work that I am doing. Also, pictures!
Thanks for all your support!
.JPG)
Monday, January 21, 2013
It's not always easy
Art is fun, but it's not always easy. This term is starting out a bit rocky. As many of you know, one of my primary means of supporting myself as an artist is through teaching, this section has not been starting off as strongly as anyone would hope. Both of the organizations that I teach through have had extremely low enrollment resulting in cancellations, meaning that shortly I will probably need to be looking for additional supplemental gigs.
The silver lining? I may get much more time to focus on making work, figuring out a website, and applying to art shows and galleries. We shall see, good thoughts would be appreciated.
In good news, I was just published on a women's travel website! You can find it at http://herpackinglist.com/2013/01/the-one-little-thing-wet-wipes/
And with all the free time I am finding myself with I have been able to do some extra adventuring, most recently to Chicago. For stories about that visit my travel blog- http://jessgraffandthetravelbug.blogspot.com/
Stay tuned for new pictures of work, starting up an etsy for my smaller work, and figuring out my website!
The silver lining? I may get much more time to focus on making work, figuring out a website, and applying to art shows and galleries. We shall see, good thoughts would be appreciated.
In good news, I was just published on a women's travel website! You can find it at http://herpackinglist.com/2013/01/the-one-little-thing-wet-wipes/
And with all the free time I am finding myself with I have been able to do some extra adventuring, most recently to Chicago. For stories about that visit my travel blog- http://jessgraffandthetravelbug.blogspot.com/
Stay tuned for new pictures of work, starting up an etsy for my smaller work, and figuring out my website!
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Oh Hey! Guess what! I sold stuff. Yes, that is right, art stuff. I have within the last couple of months sold quite a few small items and, as of the last show that I was in, sold a larger item too. It's pretty exciting to in the last year have gotten an award and also started to sell my creations.
It has also been fun to hear stories from people relating to my art. For instance, a neighbor had purchased an ornament at a craft fair (not realizing that it was mine even!) and when they took it to the ornament exchange that they have with friends every year it kept getting stolen by other people who wanted it! Hopefully this year I can double (that may be pushing it) the number of shows that I am in and keep up the good momentum that I have been having.
Also, I am doing guest post on a Women's Travel Website this month. Woot! Stay tuned for details!
Jess
It has also been fun to hear stories from people relating to my art. For instance, a neighbor had purchased an ornament at a craft fair (not realizing that it was mine even!) and when they took it to the ornament exchange that they have with friends every year it kept getting stolen by other people who wanted it! Hopefully this year I can double (that may be pushing it) the number of shows that I am in and keep up the good momentum that I have been having.
Also, I am doing guest post on a Women's Travel Website this month. Woot! Stay tuned for details!
Jess
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Hi all,
So obviously it has been an excessively long time since I have posted. Life has been exceptionally busy and I have been working on the trajectory for my creative and wandering adventures. This blog will shortly be getting a major overhaul as I take my creativity in a more organized direction. 2012 has been a beautiful year filled with adventures. Now to recap some of the highlights before we move on into the new year. 2012 was filled with art shows; The Oregon Water Ways Exhibit at the Giustina Gallery as well as the 7th Annual Community Show at the same venue, A Juried Art Show at North Santiam Hall where I took home the Best in Show (My first yet!), Extremes (A ceramic showcase) at The Arts Center, and Leap Year at the Majestic Theater. I also participated in my first quilt show, The Sisters Quilt Show in Sisters, Oregon and my first craft show at the OSU Memorial Union in December. In addition to art shows, I completely designed and costumed my first full theater musical this year, RENT at the Majestic Theater, where I had the most wonderful assistants a girl could ask for. It was a crazy ride but the show turned out great and the newspaper and the public relayed how much they loved what we did with the show.
I continued teaching like crazy (The Arts Center, Oak Creek Youth Correctional Facility, A Drawing Program, and private lessons), working in the studio (for more hours than most sane people would do), acting for the Pharmacy program at OSU, doing random creative odd jobs, and picking dance back up. With all this crazy, random, creative goodness, I have still managed to take a few mini adventures (though not as many as this coming year will see, but I will get to that later). I did some couch hopping in Portland and Eugene, and took my first ever Disney related trip. Like I said, mini adventures, but they were wonderful and it was great to reconnect with old friends and make some new ones along the way.
The new year will see more art shows (I hope), much more teaching, more creative projects than I will probably be able to keep everyone informed of, and my next solo travel adventure! This time it will be a 2(ish) month jaunt around Northern (probably) Europe (probably), unless I get distracted and find myself swept off to Greece again or somewhere equally interesting. It will be one of those fly by the seat of my pants adventures, and yes, for those of you who support, but are none the less concerned by, my wanders, solo again. I can't express how excited I am for the possibilities of the new year, both travel and art related.
Thanks so much, as always, to all of you wonderfully amazing people who support me and cheer me on every step of the unpaved way. You are so dear to me. Until next time, happy journeys!
Jess
So obviously it has been an excessively long time since I have posted. Life has been exceptionally busy and I have been working on the trajectory for my creative and wandering adventures. This blog will shortly be getting a major overhaul as I take my creativity in a more organized direction. 2012 has been a beautiful year filled with adventures. Now to recap some of the highlights before we move on into the new year. 2012 was filled with art shows; The Oregon Water Ways Exhibit at the Giustina Gallery as well as the 7th Annual Community Show at the same venue, A Juried Art Show at North Santiam Hall where I took home the Best in Show (My first yet!), Extremes (A ceramic showcase) at The Arts Center, and Leap Year at the Majestic Theater. I also participated in my first quilt show, The Sisters Quilt Show in Sisters, Oregon and my first craft show at the OSU Memorial Union in December. In addition to art shows, I completely designed and costumed my first full theater musical this year, RENT at the Majestic Theater, where I had the most wonderful assistants a girl could ask for. It was a crazy ride but the show turned out great and the newspaper and the public relayed how much they loved what we did with the show.
I continued teaching like crazy (The Arts Center, Oak Creek Youth Correctional Facility, A Drawing Program, and private lessons), working in the studio (for more hours than most sane people would do), acting for the Pharmacy program at OSU, doing random creative odd jobs, and picking dance back up. With all this crazy, random, creative goodness, I have still managed to take a few mini adventures (though not as many as this coming year will see, but I will get to that later). I did some couch hopping in Portland and Eugene, and took my first ever Disney related trip. Like I said, mini adventures, but they were wonderful and it was great to reconnect with old friends and make some new ones along the way.
The new year will see more art shows (I hope), much more teaching, more creative projects than I will probably be able to keep everyone informed of, and my next solo travel adventure! This time it will be a 2(ish) month jaunt around Northern (probably) Europe (probably), unless I get distracted and find myself swept off to Greece again or somewhere equally interesting. It will be one of those fly by the seat of my pants adventures, and yes, for those of you who support, but are none the less concerned by, my wanders, solo again. I can't express how excited I am for the possibilities of the new year, both travel and art related.
Thanks so much, as always, to all of you wonderfully amazing people who support me and cheer me on every step of the unpaved way. You are so dear to me. Until next time, happy journeys!
Jess
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Hey all,
Sorry I haven't been posting much recently. There has been a little down time, now that so many applications have been sent out and the classes that I was teaching have ended for the term. It's weird to not be super crazy busy all the time. I have been feeling, recently, that Corvallis is to small to give me all of the possible opportunities that I hope to have and so I will be looking at possibly relocating should the opportunity present itself. I have some great things going here in Corvallis, and I will continue to do them if at all possible but if things don't start speeding up in the opportunities (especially paid ones) area, I think it would be best to finally move on and get out of this limbo that I so often feel like I am in. I've compared it to purgatory before and that is how it feels now. Like I am waiting for my life to really start so that I can accomplish all the crazy goals I have for myself in the long run. I've been waiting to get that push from the world or powers that be that says where to go or what to set my sights on for the present and it hasn't done that in a "kick in the butt" kind of way that I had first expected. I have however, been getting some subtle signs. A shift in the amount of work I am getting, in addition to the fact that my friend base has essentially all moved out and on from Corvallis, as well as the fact that I have been a runner up or in the top contending pool for several career positions but have not been chosen, suggest to me, not to quit, but that maybe it is time for me to move on and keep trucking somewhere else. We shall see what presents itself in the next few months though.
If I do leave I will miss the kids I teach and the dusty smells of costumes down at the Majestic Theater, it just doesn't make sense to stay if there is no chance of moving anywhere with my career this way.
Thank you to those special few people who have been so supportive of all the aspects of my life. The people who keep in touch even though you are scattered states and states away are so special to me and remain often times my closest friends. And thanks also to my boyfriend Connor, who is undaunted by any ridiculous task I may have for him, from lifting huge boxes and heavy bags, to wiping tables, to trying on high heels to see if they will fit the fellow that I am supposed to costume in drag. For being supportive of my dreams, encouraging of my goals, keeping me focused in, and being so certain when I am not. Thanks :)
Jess
Sorry I haven't been posting much recently. There has been a little down time, now that so many applications have been sent out and the classes that I was teaching have ended for the term. It's weird to not be super crazy busy all the time. I have been feeling, recently, that Corvallis is to small to give me all of the possible opportunities that I hope to have and so I will be looking at possibly relocating should the opportunity present itself. I have some great things going here in Corvallis, and I will continue to do them if at all possible but if things don't start speeding up in the opportunities (especially paid ones) area, I think it would be best to finally move on and get out of this limbo that I so often feel like I am in. I've compared it to purgatory before and that is how it feels now. Like I am waiting for my life to really start so that I can accomplish all the crazy goals I have for myself in the long run. I've been waiting to get that push from the world or powers that be that says where to go or what to set my sights on for the present and it hasn't done that in a "kick in the butt" kind of way that I had first expected. I have however, been getting some subtle signs. A shift in the amount of work I am getting, in addition to the fact that my friend base has essentially all moved out and on from Corvallis, as well as the fact that I have been a runner up or in the top contending pool for several career positions but have not been chosen, suggest to me, not to quit, but that maybe it is time for me to move on and keep trucking somewhere else. We shall see what presents itself in the next few months though.
If I do leave I will miss the kids I teach and the dusty smells of costumes down at the Majestic Theater, it just doesn't make sense to stay if there is no chance of moving anywhere with my career this way.
Thank you to those special few people who have been so supportive of all the aspects of my life. The people who keep in touch even though you are scattered states and states away are so special to me and remain often times my closest friends. And thanks also to my boyfriend Connor, who is undaunted by any ridiculous task I may have for him, from lifting huge boxes and heavy bags, to wiping tables, to trying on high heels to see if they will fit the fellow that I am supposed to costume in drag. For being supportive of my dreams, encouraging of my goals, keeping me focused in, and being so certain when I am not. Thanks :)
Jess
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)