cathy of california

blog book tour: creative, inc. (and a little giveaway!)

i am so happy to be the hostess for todays' stop on the creative, inc. blog tour! (looks like i'm in very good company - links to the other stops are listed at the end of this post)

i get emails all the time from people asking me for business advice - which is something that i am so not qualified to give. i always point them in the direction of craft, inc. by meg mateo ilasco. craft, inc. has been a indispensable tool for me in guiding me in running my business. let's face it many of the things you have to deal with in running your own business can be very confusing if not downright daunting.

i am so happy that meg has teamed up with joy deangdeelert cho (of oh joy! fame) to bring us creative, inc. this is a really great book - they lay everything out for you in a very clear and concise way.  i am sure i'm going to refer to it constantly!

check out this cute video that joy and meg made to promote their book:

 

 

the fine folks at chroncile books have a copy of creative, inc. for one of my blog readers. to be eligible please share with us (in the form of a comment) what you find to be the most challenging part of running your own freelance business. my favorite response wins!

comments close september 1st at 6pm (pacific time) - US residents only - please make sure you include your email address (will not be published) so i can contact you should you be chosen as the lucky winner.

UPDATE 9-1 thanks everybody for your thoughtful comments! it was so hard to choose a winner. i would like to congratulate holly!

 

here's the list of the other blog tour stops. i'm sure many of these blogs are some of your daily reads - if not please check them out!

8/23 poppy talk
8/24 oh happy day
8/25 sf girl by bay
8/26 mint
8/27 wit + delight
8/28 cathy of california
8/29 book by it's cover
8/30 not martha
8/31 frolic
9/1 uppercase
9/2 craftzine
9/3 decor8
9/4 kris atomic
9/5 grain edit

community crafting weekend @ the ace hotel in palm springs, oct 8 - 10

i am so pleased to announce that i will be doing a couple of workshops at this amazing event!

please visit the kimmel kids website for more details

enviromental wall by magdalena abakanowicz, 1970-71

what's with all the weaving you might ask? i am currently taking a class and am in the process of warping a small table top loom. the loom is old (from the 30s) and my finished project will be 12" wide and around 36" long. it's an 8 week class and we are at week 4 - so i will be lucky to finish. 

this is why i stand in awe of these images from beyond craft: the art of fabric. in that first photo you see the artist standing in front of her piece that measures 71' x 24'. that's feet not inches. the warp was suspended from the ceiling and a special scaffold was built so that the team could work the weft (freely worked without heddles or shuttles). wow.

(from beyond craft: the art of fabric by mildred constantine and jack lenor larsen, published by van nostrand reinhold company, 1973)

eve gulick, contemporary weaver from san diego

 

it appears as if eve gulick lived not too far from where i grew up. she had a modern home in the hills that i think was probably just a couple of blocks away from my uncle dave and aunt velma's minimal post and beam modern home. i always enjoyed visiting them, was fascinated by their house and secretly wished i could live there. in contrast the house i grew up in was in the flats, was built in the late 30s and was filled with stuff. i now live in a modern house in the hills that is filled with stuff. you are welcome to draw you own conclusions.

last year we drove down to san diego to see the ackerman show at the mingei museum in balboa park. in the gift shop i purchased a catalog for the retrospective of eve gulick's work that they had in 1982 when the museum was still located in the university town center mall. in 1982 i would have been working in that very same mall at contempo casuals. i would have had no clue or even cared about such a show at the time. i probably passed by the museum after work on my way to el torito to get a margarita with coworkers.

i still work in retail and enjoy a margarita now and again (but not from el torito mind you). but i also now love and appreciate things made by hand and have been fascinated as i learn more about the amazing craftspeople and artists who worked in my hometown.

(images from eve gulick - three decades of weaves and innovations the catalog for her retrospective exhibition that ran april 3 - june 27, 1982 at the mingei international museum of folk art in la jolla)

i'm in the new york times this morning!

i am sure that you realize by now that i really don't talk much about myself in this blog. but i would like to share with you that i am featured this morning in the new york times t magazine blog!