This holiday season find unique, one-of-a-kind gifts for your friends, loved ones and yourself, come out to the Haverford CREC for the Haverford Guild of Craftsmen Art & Fine Craft Show on November 8th & 9th from 10am to 5pm (both days). Not only will you find fabulous one-of-a-kind handcrafted gifts, but you will also be supporting the arts and local artists by shopping small!
August Updates
Happy summer! I hope your shows have gone well and that you had plenty of time to relax and recharge. I had some unexpected, but exciting, travel opportunities, and have enjoyed watching the progress of the new hardscaping in my front yard. Soon the new plantings will be in place, and my artistic vision will extend beyond my studio into my outdoor environment. It is exciting to watch years of mental planning come to fruition, just as it is exciting to watch art projects come to life under our hands.
Just as exciting – and somewhat scary – is watching the rapid approach of the end of summer! I’m starting to feel the slightest bit anxious as my personal deadlines for the PGC and HGC shows draw near. I still have canvases waiting to be painted (and cured, and varnished…), paint recipes to be tested, and new techniques to try out, so that I can feel confident in having enough art and varied artistic expressions to exhibit at these shows.
Over the past week, I have been testing out a new recipe and a new technique to capture a previously elusive WOW on canvas. The recipe seemed perfect, the technique seemed simple enough, the new tool was fun to use, and then … failure. On the second try I tweaked the recipe and the technique … and again, a failed composition. By the third try my heart was heavy. This was supposed to be less frustrating. What was I doing wrong? And boom! Applying the paints in a different order solved most of the problems. Only one thing remained to fix: the gold paint was just not cooperating. Stroke of genius – try a different brand of gold on the fourth canvas. I held my breath, and … success!
Imagine my surprise, then, when I stumbled on this quote today: “You learn more from failure than from success. Don’t let it stop you. Failure builds character” (Kensi Gounden, general counsel, Law Society of British Columbia). Over many years and in various endeavors, I have experienced my fair share of failures. Looking back over the years. I don’t often credit those failures with my successes, but after taking a deep breath and opening myself to the possibility, I can admit that I would not be where I am today without the figurative geological forces that have pressed on me since I was a student. It may be difficult in the moment, but I will take time in the future to reflect on my failures and observe how they are still forming and improving me.
Brian Middleton, President
We have a Facebook group just for HGC Members!
This is a private group for the Artist Members of the Haverford Guild of Craftsmen to meet and discuss their work, marketing tactics and to give and receive general business and artwork advice. To join us, please go to: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hgcartistmembers/