Athena Dreams Design

Stephanie Guimond .:. Her Vision of Squam

Photo of Stephanie by Kirsten Michelle
 

A real art show, at a real gallery, and I was invited to submit my work.

My first reaction was giddiness and excitement; my second one was fear and doubt: “Who am I to think anything I make would be good enough? I’m not an artist, I just took workshops with artists.” But I knew this was a good opportunity. Not only the opportunity to display my work, but the opportunity to learn about art shows and framing and the submission process amongst a group of supportive and creative kindred spirits. Besides, initial giddiness is usually a telltale sign that the Universe is sending me something special and that, my friends, is not to be ignored!

What She Seeks by Stephanie Guimond

I had no portfolio and I didn’t know how to paint under pressure, only “real artists” did that. All I did was play with paints at my art table and whatever came up, well, came up. So I looked at the few paintings I’d completed since Squam, painted a few more then chose four I thought were good enough to submit. Then I had to price them.

Pricing my artwork was without a doubt the toughest part of the process where most of my insecurities cropped up. I plugged away at my Excel spreadsheets, did my research and asked for help when I needed it. I am forever grateful to the Squammettes who helped guide me through the process by offering their experience and support right up to the time of submission. Immediately after sending my submission I burst into tears of relief at being done and tears of happiness at being one inch closer to my dream of having my art on display.

Be Free and Soar by Stephanie Guimond 

Despite the fears and the insecurities I muddled through the process because I felt it was the right thing to do and I am so very happy I did. Knowing that fellow creative souls were doing the same thing gave me strength.

When I found out one of my pieces had been accepted I was ecstatic, but the rawest and most satisfying feeling came when I saw that piece on the show’s promotional poster and it didn’t stick out like a sore thumb. I burst into tears again. This time they were tears of pure joy.

 

Imagine my art, at a real art show, at a real gallery.

-Stephanie Guimond

You can find Stephanie at her blog.

* * * * * * *

This is the sixth in a series of essays/interviews/words from an artist that participated in the first A Vision of Squam Art Show that took place in September 2009 at artstream gallery in Rochester, NH. This year the show will be hosted by the Sandwich Artisans Guild gallery. 

For information about the how to submit to the 2010 show, please go here. 
For information on registering for Squam Art Workshops in 2010, visit the SAW site and Elizabeth here.

Jess Greene .:. Her Vision of Squam

Jess at the Vision of Squam Opening 2009 with her piece Tinted Clouds

Submitting work to the first Squam Art Show was the first time I had ever done anything like that. In fact, painting was a relatively new endeavor for me before SAW. Submitting my work for the show was a good goal, a good motivator for getting some pieces done. It was what I needed to push me to complete something. It forced me to look for inspiration and follow the path that I found.

Making a Home by Jess Greene

And then one of the pieces got accepted and it was the best validation I could have received. I was so scared going into this realm of talented people and I just hoped there was enough space for me to carve out a little spot, and there was. I was welcome and it felt awesome. 

Wayonda cabin mates, Squam Art Workshops 2009

When I went to the opening I felt grateful to be part of such a great show with other artists I respected. It felt so good to see my work hanging there. By that time, when the show opened, I already knew I could do more than what I had produced for that show. So the show also helped me push myself to keep painting, keep letting my work evolve, and keep creating so that this year I can have something in the show that really demonstrates my growth, even if its only to myself. 

 
-Jess Greene

You can find Jess at her blog, she and her husband's recycled art site here, (it's very cool, go look!), and her etsy shop here.

* * * * * * *

This is the fifth in a series of essays/interviews/words from an artist that participated in the first A Vision of Squam Art Show that took place in September 2009 at artstream gallery in Rochester, NH. This year the show will be hosted by the Sandwich Artisans Guild gallery. 

For information about the how to submit to the 2010 show, please go here. 
For information on registering for Squam Art Workshops in 2010, visit the SAW site and Elizabeth here.

Laurie May Coyle .:. Her Vision of Squam

Photo of Laurie in Squam Lake by Kari Chapin 

As I write this, I'm waiting. I'll admit it feels a little bit like the days before I headed up to Squam Lake for the first time, except for that endeavor I had only been planning for it for a few short weeks. This one, we've been planning for at least 9 months; I am currently about a week overdue with my first baby, which is a whole new way of creating for me. 

I have been meaning to write this post for a while now, and I'm hoping checking it off my to-do list might just be the release I need to get this labor going. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes!

Squam, as having this baby, was a different kind of life experience for me, because I didn't really plan it. And it turns out I can't really plan when this baby will arrive; we just wait! I have always been a huge planner, knowing at least days, if not weeks or months in advance what my days will bring. So back in August 2008, my friend Kari sent me a link one day, telling me that she was going to help out at this amazing art camp in New Hampshire in a few weeks, and that I should come along.  So I decided, why not? Let the planning go. And then there we were, on our way to Squam lake, neither of us really knowing what to expect. What we did know was that there'd be a speaker we both loved (Grace Bonney from Design*Sponge), a discussion with artists we loved (Kelly Rae Roberts and Mati Rose McDonough), a book-signing by an ever-inspiring author/artist (Christine Mason Miller) and music from a songstress that we adored (Jonatha Brooke!). It all sounded too good to be true, and I was happy to be going with a friend, so I at least had someone to sit with at lunch! 

My classes ended up being somewhat ephemeral, and I didn't end up with any artwork to take home. Instead I came home with a rejuvenated spirit, a revved up creative mind and a sense of balance that I felt had been lacking in my life for some time.  

After coming home and processing the whole amazing event, which took quite some time, I was thrilled when Liz contacted me about showing artwork in the first annual Squam Art Show! I have been running my own little art and crafty business for a few years, but showing my art is at best a periodic thing. I would like it to be a more regular occurrence, and I talk about it a lot. So being invited to be part of this show, knowing I was already qualified to take part, was a bit liberating. But I had to create some art for it! During the winter I created a series of paintings featuring little songbirds (of which there are approximately gazillion's on Squam lake) and some inspirational quotes, pulled from my experience at the workshops. I was thrilled when two of them were accepted in to the show, and I lovingly framed them up and sent them off. I was really hoping to get to see the show in person, but since I had the amazing fortune of attending the second ever session of Squam in June, I wasn't able to make the trip back again in September.  {The second time, I must say, was totally amazing as well! I'm guessing each session gets more sparkly and magical, as the camp gets more and more full of the art-making spirit of all who attend.}

If you are remotely on the fence about submitting work to the second annual art show, just know you will be in loving arms and everyone will enjoy seeing your vision of Squam -- so go for it! And if these stories are making you yearn for a few days at art camp -- go for that, too! I probably won't be attending this year, since we'll just be getting into the swing of things with our newest little creation, but you can bet I'm thinking about the joy of art camp with my new family and the possibility of the Pixie session next year! 

 

-Laurie May Coyle
(all photos by Laurie May Coyle, except where credited)

You can find Laurie at her blog: Laurie May Coyle Designs or her etsy shop.

Thanks Laurie, and here's wishing you and your newest creation an easy and beautiful delivery... and hope it's soon! 

• • • • • • •

This is the fourth in a series of essays/interviews/words from an artist that participated in the first A Vision of Squam Art Show that took place in September 2009 at artstream gallery in Rochester, NH. This year the show will be hosted by the Sandwich Artisans Guild gallery. 

• For information about the how to submit to the 2010 show, please go here. 
• For information on registering for Squam Art Workshops in 2010, visit the SAW site and Elizabeth here.

Completing a Circle and Celebrating Spring

Beginnings, 2010  for the Return of the Goddess Show

You know how you go along and make your wishes, define your dreams, and then go about doing the ground work for the wishes and dreams, and then more and different wishes and dreams come along, and you're still doing the prep work, clearing the space, and keeping all that ground swept and tidy, waiting for the wishes and dreams to land? 

And then you look up one day, say one early evening in early May, and realise, "OH", some of these wishes and dreams have landed and they have taken up housekeeping on this vast ground that I've been sweeping up and keeping tidy, and I've been so busy with all my prep work that I didn't even realise that some of the dreams and wishes had already moved in.

Does anyone else know that one?

So in addition to clearing a space and holding it, one task that I am adding to the dreams and wishes to-do list, is take the time to notice when something is happening in terms of fulfillment.

So let me set the stage: There was this moment, one of those very clear, very clean, and energy filled moments that I have been ruminating with since.  It was about 9pm on saturday night, I was walking out the door of RooTs Collabrative (after the saturday night opening party), wearing my new shoes, talking with one of my friends. My husband was packing up his music gear after playing at the opening and we were meeting a big group of friends for post opening talk, and general eating and merriment. 

I turned around for just a second or two, and saw my work hanging in the gallery, and thought about all the other art I am working on for shows coming up this year, and realised that I have been making space for this moment in time for years. 

I marked the moment in my head, and kept walking with my friend. It was a moment just for me. 

We joined a big, loud table of friends, and I kept holding onto that moment, with loose, gentle hands. 

Sitting at the table, I looked around at these people, old friends, newer ones, my husband, and thought about some of the people that weren't there physically, but were in spirit, and how all these people have seen me in various times, in various phases, always dreaming, always wishing, always working, and always clearing the space, and here we all were, celebrating a moment where some space was claimed. 

Something had landed. Something has landed. And now some different work begins: welcoming that something and getting to know that something. Beginning.

Kelly Barton .:. Her Vision of Squam (the show)

Photo by Thea Coughlin 

my squam story is a a simple one and maybe you had a similar journey.

i am mama to three pixies who i love so. when they were young i stayed at home and found myself becoming very bored, so i decided that i would put my 8th grade home ec experience to use and began sewing. from there my creative journey blossomed and i ended up heading back to college to finish up a degree in graphic design. our projects at that time were all created by hand. i loved sitting there meticulously placing each letter and filling them in with my prisma markers. i also took a watercolor illustration class and that was when i decided that along with graphic design....i had to paint. 

"splash" by Kelly Barton 

for many years, i would do creative things. i had a couple of booths at local fairs, sold items to family and a small number of friends. i worked as a graphic designer for a small marketing company, here in our little town and again, i was becoming bored (heads up...are we catching the theme here).

so, after months of working to position ourselves so that i could freelance, i sucked it up and gave my 2 weeks notice. i was FREE! well, sort of.

through the land of ye' internet, i had found a little pod of blogs. and it was then that i eventually came upon "squam...the virgin voyage. i yearned to go. i had no clue if it was what i needed or would fulfill this gaping hole that i had. you know what...i did.

i hopped a plane heading from the land of corn to the land of squam. i can't even express how stinkin' excited i was, knowing that in a few short hours i would be meeting up with nothing but artistic, creative, welcoming, gorgeous souls. i met up with my carpooling chicks, jenna and sue. we stopped at the general store to pick up lunch and snacks. as i milled around taking in all the goodness, i heard a..."kelly?"...i turned around and there she was, miss athena dreams, herself. i still get teary thinking about what that moment forged. just like meeting the other two hamilton girls, tracey and sarah. finally getting to meet liz lamoreux and so many others.  it was just what the girl from middle indiana needed.

so when liz and susan handed each of us the opportunity to be part of a juried gallery show, i was so happy to send in a few pieces. my favorite part of this journey, was getting to look through the images of new friends pieces of art. i would sit there in wonderment, amazed at all the talent that sat on the lake with me. my only reqret was that i didn't get to make it to the actual show. but i did get to attend the second year of squam art workshops. where i got to do it all over again. 

"bad fog" by Kelly Barton 

i think, for me, getting to meet, sit, merge with so many artists, from different walks is my true blessing. it is what we each need. maybe we need this for different reasons, but we need it and by giving this to ourselves, to each other...we give and receive a gift. and i have seen, first hand this gift being passed on.

so if you haven't yet, and you are still pondering this opportunity. c'mon do it. give yourself a little gift. elizabeth has created the perfect little spot and loves watching each of us bloom.

-Kelly Barton

You can find Kelly at her etsy shop Happy Girl 64 or her blog The Camp

• • • • • • •

This is the third in a series of essays/interviews/words from one of the artists that participated in the first A Vision of Squam Art Show that took place in September 2009 at artstream gallery in Rochester, NH. This year the show will be hosted by the Sandwich Artisans Guild gallery. 

• For information about the how to submit to the 2010 show, please go here. 
• For information on registering for Squam Art Workshops in 2010, visit the SAW site and Elizabeth here.

Amy Hinton Williamson .:. Her Vision of Squam (the art show)

e.e cummings by Amy Hinton Williamson

Most of us remember our grade-school art fair. My art teacher at Goucher Street Elementary School in Johnstown, Pennsylvania filled the gymnasium (which still smelled like peanut butter and jelly and egg salad sandwiches) with rolling bulletin boards and lovingly plastered them with artwork made by the students. She hung a piece made by each boy and girl and when we came back to school that night, the darkened building somehow looked totally different than it did during the day. If felt like a museum. If you were lucky, your mom or dad or maybe your grandma or an aunt or cousin came to see your artwork. Everyone oohed and aahed and told you your piece looked amazing. And you believed you were an artist.

But as time went by, doubt began to creep in, and the feeling faded away. Your inner voices told you it wasn’t possible to be an artist. You could be a nurse or a teacher or a homemaker. And so you put away your paints and brushes and went on with your life.  

And that’s exactly what I did. I made the decision not to attend art school—I didn’t even take an art class in college. I let my portfolio collect dust in a closet and I majored in history and political science and went on to teach middle school. Later, I became a children’s book editor and began to work daily with writers and illustrators; and suddenly a tiny spark was ignited. I felt alive again when a piece of original artwork landed on my desk. I loved talking to the illustrators about how they created their work, the mediums they used, and the way the words of the stories inspired them. It was an amazing gift to be able to meet artists like Eric Carle and Susan Boynton.

Then I gave birth to my sons and left my job to stay home with them, and once again the artist inside me was lost; until one day two years ago, when I came across a blog post about a workshop in New Hampshire. An art workshop on Squam Lake where people with any size or shape of artistic ability could come and take classes, where they would be encouraged by amazing teachers and be inspired by their surroundings and a group of like-minded people. And I woke up. I took the plunge and I made the long trek to New Hampshire with my heart in my throat. I played with art supplies I had used before, and many I had never heard of. I learned so much from my teachers and even more from the other women I met. We had a “gallery” show in our cabin every night to view each others’ work and we talked about what we learned each day in our respective classes. We talked about how it felt to create, to be women, to be mothers or lovers or friends. I never for a moment felt discouraged or not good enough. I felt like I belonged.

  Amy's cabin mates first year at Squam: Mary Norris, Emily Looman, Amy Williamson, Stephanie Guimond, Kirsten Crilly, Jenica MacKenzie 

And later that year when Susan and Liz sent out the call for us to submit artwork we had created in the wake of our experience at Squam, I thought, “Why not?” It was terrifying, but I had felt the same way driving up to Squam Lake and look how amazing that experience turned out to be. So I spent a few weeks frozen and indecisive about what to submit. I painted a bit and I played with collage and I finally chose two pieces and sent the photos. When one of the pieces was chosen for the show, I was thrilled. I felt just like I had that night all those years ago at Goucher Street Elementary School and just the way I had around that fire in our cabin each night at Squam. I felt like an artist. I felt like I belonged.

This year two of my Bell Tower cabin mates and I are playing a game of Exquisite Corpse. We each started with a blank sheet of paper folded in thirds. In turn, each collaborator will add to the composition in sequence, creating a top, a middle or a bottom section then concealing what we have done before sending it to the next person for their contribution. In the end we will unfold the 3 papers to see what our “corpses” look like. Our rules are loose. We can use any medium (although we’re keeping in mind that the pages have to be shipped) and we can interpret the “body” as literally or as figuratively as we want. In the end, if we like what we have created, we’ll submit the pieces to Liz and the Sandwich Artisan's Guild for this year’s Squam Art Show. And if not, we’ll surely submit something else. Because terrified or not, we’ll take the plunge and we’ll know that we belong.

—Amy Hinton Williamson

Stephanie Guimond and Amy Williamson 

Thanks so much Amy!  You can find Amy at her blog: All Buttoned Up

• • • • • • •

This is the second in a series of essays/interviews/words from some of the artists that participated in the first A Vision of Squam Art Show that took place in September 2009 at artstream gallery in Rochester, NH. This year the show will be hosted by the Sandwich Artisans Guild gallery. 

• For information about the how to submit to the 2010 show, please go here. 
• For information on registering for Squam Art Workshops in 2010, visit the SAW site and Elizabeth here.

Brittany Soucy .:. Her Vision of Squam (the art show)

This is the first in a series of essays/interviews/words from some of the artists that participated in the first A Vision of Squam Art Show that took place in September 2009 at artstream gallery in Rochester, NH. This year the show will be hosted by the Sandwich Artisans Guild gallery. 

• For information about the how to submit to the 2010 show, please go here. 
• For information on registering for Squam Art Workshops in 2010, visit the SAW site and Elizabeth here.

And now, some words and images from Britt:

  

 

Brittany and her painting, Muse
 

After attending my first Squam Art Workshop a great opportunity arose:  the call to submit art for a gallery showing highlighting artists who attended SAW.  I had never done anything like that before, although I have always felt like if my art was hanging in a gallery, then I would feel like a “real artist.” 

Brave by Brittany Soucy 
 
I procrastinated as best as I could.  Because if you are going to fulfill a lifelong dream, then you can’t be on top of it, you have to spend a lot of time mulling it over and feeling scared that you aren’t good enough.  I did that as best I could.  But then Liz emailed me again and gave me a little extra push and told me that they extended the deadline a bit.  So I painted.  I submitted the only things I painted.  I didn’t have a bunch of art to choose from, but I was happy with myself for taking the risk.
 

 

And a few months later I had my art hanging in a gallery for the first time!  It was a great experience for me.  I learned the basics of submission and framing and what is expected from me as an artist. I got to attend the opening and a bunch of my girlfriends came and surprised me and we made a night of it.  I would have felt complete and happy with the experience whether or not my work was actually purchased, so it was a bonus for me when I learned that one of my pieces sold.
 

 

This year I am planning on submitting work for the show again and feel some of the same worries: What if my work doesn’t make it into the show?  Which pieces would be the most acceptable?  Am I pretty enough?  But I must cast aside such insecurities—I can’t pass up such a great opportunity!  The call has come and I must answer.  Wanna join me?

-Brittany Soucy

Thanks Britt for the honest, brave words, for your beautiful self, and for your wonderful art work, you are a true beauty, through and through.

You can visit Britt at her blog Whatever and Stuff, her web site Cottage Road Designs, and  shop for art at her etsy site.

A Vision of Squam - The Show Goes Live (very soon)

1 September opens the First Annual Squam Art Show - A Vision of Squam - and can I tell you how thrilling it is to see this event almost at it's opening day?  Pretty darn thrilled in so many more ways than I can even begin to say . . . 

I received the above postcard by e-mail from Susan at artstream the other day, and had a little moment, just me and my computer screen, a happy thrilled, excited feeling in my tummy, and a little bit of moisture in the eyes.

And so, an invitation to one and all:  if you are near the Seacoast area of New Hampshire (Rochester specifically), or anywhere in the vicinity of New England between the 1st and 30th of September, make a visit to see some of the work that came from artists, students and teachers that attended the Squam Art Workshops in 2008. The opening celebration for the show is Friday, 11 September.

• Thank you to all the artists who submitted work for this show - I know for some it was the first experience down this path of showing work in a gallery, and there were nerves and worries, but you all stepped up, and I am so proud of all of you! 
• To Elizabeth, gorgeous mistress of the muse, for all the inspiration she provides 
• And to Susan and Mary Jo at artstream for being so very willing and excited to host this show. 

A dream come true . . . and a postcard to remember it by . . . doesn't get much better than that in my world! 

Monday Moments .:. It's Not Done Till it's Done

I have been working like crazy to finish my pieces for the Squam Art Show submission and having some moments. These moments contain most of or many of the following items: 

• Some bumps in the road - india ink that I thought was waterproof, but turns out it was only fadeproof = a mess, oh and lots of cursing (and perhaps a few foot stomps, but I won't say for sure), and washing off and then re-working all the ink on 3 canvases. [Note to Self: read a label, even if in a hurry, it will save time, and limit the stress]  

• Wanting to give up on a canvas [or 3], and then a moment later finding what I had hoped to find in the piece I was just going to give up on, and feeling that pure rush of joy pass through my body. [Note to Self: Re-evaluating is always preferable to giving up] 

• Realising for the 53,679th time, that a sketch can not be relied on once the painting starts, it's going to change a gazillion times from conception to finishing. [Note to Self: change can really be OK] 

• Painting or creating for a deadline is totally different than just creating to create, and each time I am working on a deadline I ask myself to please remember to remember to spend some times creating just to create, but once the current deadline is finished, I have other projects vying for attention and I tell myself I have to get to those other deadlines, and I really just don't have time to mess around in my studio. [Note to Self: look at readjusting that kind of thinking]  

• Knowing and then recognising that moment when the painting is done and allowing it to be done. [Note to Self: Overworking happens when I am not listening to the canvas, and when I am listening to that endless chatter in my head. Turn the volume down on the head chatter, most of it is insecure nonsense anyway.]

• Designing/Painting/Drawing is work that I quite simply and totally adore, and when I am truly in the moment doing any of the above, nothing else matters.  [Note to Self: How lucky am I that I figured that one out early on...]

OK, back to the painting.... 

----------------

And to any and all of you amazing Squamettes that are working on your pieces for the upcoming show submission deadline. Photos of submitted work need to be posted to the e-mail address on your prospectus by Thursday 30 April. And a couple things I want to make sure you know:

• You are eligible to submit up to 4 pieces of work
• There are NO size limitations on your work, so go big if you are so moved! 

If you have questions, if you have worries, if you need a virtual hand to hold, if you want to wax poetic about how excited you are about your work, please, please, contact me.

And for any of you Squammies who are on Facebook, if I have not found you yet, you can go here and join the Squam Art Show group and connect, read about deadlines and other details.
  

Monday Moments - Submitting Your Art

Moment #1

Firstly, a big and heart-felt thank you to all of you who have been spreading the word about the Squam Art Show - A Vision of Squam {please follow some of the above links to read about why you really, really, really should submit your work}.

For any of you who attended Squam in September 2008 and feel a yen to participate in this show:

• you can download a prospectus, here, 
• read a little more about the show here, 
• visit the gallery where the show will be hanging here, 
• and you can register for Squam Art Workshops 2009 here. 
• The deadline to submit your work is 30 April 
• Please feel free to e-mail me with questions and etc 

And for those of you who are going to be attending in 2009: so glad you are going to treat yourself to this wonderful event, AND you will be eligible to submit work to the show in 2010.

Moment #2

The lovely and talented Jess Gonacha is asking for submissions to her blog Pecannoot. This is an amazing site that is devoted to showing work from artists of all kinds, of all genres, from places all around the world, and the theme for the site is abundance, in all its varied and beautiful forms. Share your art with an audience who is there to celebrate the abundance of life, of art, and of humanity. I visit every morning, instead of listening to the doom and gloom on the news, it's a much better way to start the day with some positive thoughts and images about abundance.