12.15.2011

work table : Albuquerque and Phoenix

I don't know about you but when December hits, I go full swing in the studio. Something about nearing the year's end sets me off in a panic and I try to finish as many projects as I can before the holiday break. This is also a time of year, like most people, I reflect on what I've done over the past year.

work wall with Phoenix (left) and Albuquerque (right) in progress.
Having had a few sales of my foreclosure quilts (yeah!) means I don't have as many to pieces to enter into shows and galleries and that sets me off in a panic. What is really important to me about these quilts is to create as many as are needed and get them out into the public. This month and next, the foreclosure quilts will be featured in two magazines, Uppercase and New American Paintings. This means I need to have some new work to share with a broader audience.

Albuquerque in progress (detail).
Foreclosures are picking up in the Southwest again so I've spent this December studying New Mexico and Arizona. What I've found is shocking and doesn't take more than a few clicks on the internet to see just how severe foreclosures are there. The foreclosures are incredibly widespread in these cities. No neighborhood has been left unaffected but there are certainly focused pockets of devastation.

Phoenix in progress (detail).
I've discovered more data is being openly published about home sales throughout the US which brings to light even more foreclosures than are obvious on the maps from RealtyTrac.

Phoenix fabric study.
For example, what seems like an honest sale on the map, is really just a flip from one bank to another. Hmmm, is someone making money off of this? Of course! It's still happening and there is no regulation in sight to put a stop to it. To read the latest on the mortgage crisis, head over to my foreclosure series page and find links to the latest articles. Gretchen Morgenson has some new insights that are certainly worth reading.

6 comments:

Cathy Cullis said...

I enjoy seeing and reading about your work very much. Wishing you congrats re: your publications - all best wishes for your work - for the rest of 2011 and for 2012.

Lari Washburn said...

Fantastic that you are in Uppercase and New American Paintings! The work deserves major attention. And I am the same this time of year. I want to finish up all the loose ends and start fresh in January.

cynthia newman said...

I love seeing your work in progress! And I can't wait to see it published in the 2 mags, congrats!

Sophie Truong said...

Congratulations on your success in getting your work out Kathryn! it sure deserves it. love those lose threads.
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Kitty kilian said...

Hey Kathryn, why don't you just ask for the sold quilts to be loaned out to you again for the exhibits? That woud be a normal arrangement! Congrats on the publications. Stay nice & sweet once fame hits!

Victoria said...

It's so depressing; the state of affairs we are in as a country and all of the people/families affected by this foreclosure crisis. I am so happy that your work and the spotlight that you are putting on this whole mess is getting the important attention that it deserves. Uppercase and New American Paintings are such great periodicals... way to go!

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