Stephanie Jonsson

When I was in Canmore last weekend, I managed to get my sewing machine looked at by a very helpful man at The Sugar Pine Company. I learned that I was using the wrong needle for the type of fabric I was using, which explained why the thread was breaking close to the needle and not higher up or inside the machine.

I also received all of my glazes this week after tracking them down (they were at the shipping room on campus since September 30th, but somehow the message didn’t get to me that they were there). So I was very relieved that they hadn’t been lost in the depths of the postal abyss.

So with that said, I only have 12 days before the installation of my work in the Other Gallery. I have the clay parts on three sculptures done, the fabric elements completely done and assembled for one piece, and the fabric silkscreened and ready to be sewn for two pieces. The clay segments are the most important because they take the most time to dry and fire. I’m certain now I will get at least three sculptures done, but I would really like to have all five completed for the exhibition so I don’t have to finish them at my studio at home where I have so many other things to worry about (grad school applications, work, and life in general).

Nathan suggested that I start using an online project management tool that is mainly utilized by programmers for tracking and graphing progress on sprints and estimating how long they will take to finish. It’s called Acunote, and although a large part of the features are useless to me, it’s a cool way to organize goals and make lists and sublists. It helped me by breaking down my overwhelming large project into small, manageable tasks. I’m still a little concerned about finishing on time, but using Acunote has saved me time in that I know exactly what I’m supposed to be doing when I walk into the studio. Things are prioritized so that I know what I should be doing first and a deadline and quota for each day. Of course there is still room for artistic developments that are difficult to estimate times for.

I’ll be posting some new pictures soon of my new printed fabrics and clay pieces.