Sunday at the Art League

I am one lucky artist – yesterday’s opening at the SA Art League was exciting. Miguel Cortinas, fellow painter in the exhibit, did a beautiful job of hanging the show, and the pottery pieces by Eloise Stoker and Nancy Pawel complimented the paintings and mixed media works. The whole occasion made me feel like a real grown-up painter! Thanks to everyone who came out – and here’s a video of me trying to explain some of the work. There seem to be a lot more questions than answers. I guess that’s how the old art game works sometimes.

PS – Congrats to Dinah Robinson, winner of the Friendship Bridge Friday Freebie!

Gulp – it’s Art Show Eve

I hit the ground running when I got home Monday night – my fellow artist and co-showee, Gloria, was smart enough to get everything done in advance for our Friday (tomorrow!!) exhibit, but – oh no – not meeeeee. I shared onewas still painting this morning at the Studio. Gulp, for sure. This afternoon, though, we started hanging paintings, and by golly, it’s gonna work! Here’s a sneak preview (see pics) – we need more tags and a list of works, but it’s almost ready.  sharedtwoI know I’ve said this, but it’s amazing how two people working at the same time with the same stuff can end up with such different results. I think you’ll like them 🙂

The exhibit, Shared Spaces, will be up through Labor Day, but if you come to the opening, you can get to tell us what you think! And you might even take home a piece of interesting,original art. The food on the menu looks good, too – so come, relax,  and escape the heat of the Dog Days of summer.

By the way . . . .do you know why the Dog Days are called that? The term dates back to the ancient Romans and is celestial in origin.The brightest star in Canis Major (and in the night sky), is Sirius which is also called the “dog star.” During late July, Sirius rises and sets in conjunction with the sun, and the ancients believed that the heat of Sirius added to the heat of the sun, creating a stretch of hot and sultry weather. My cat, Max, copes by just chilling out – he thinks we should call them the Cat Days of summer. Come chill out at the Studio tomorrow evening from 6-9!

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Gloria and Lyn (and the golden rooster)

The Friday Freebie golden rooster pendant goes to blog subscriber Sherrill Kahn! That’s really funny – Sherrill, you can pick it up when you come to visit in August, and I can’t wait for your workshops.

And speaking of August, (nice segue) please please save the date (August 16th) for Shared Spaces, an exhibit of paintings by Gloria Hill and me at my Studio. We’ve been painting together on most Wednesdays since the early spring, and you will see how two weird artistic brains can take the same media (and sometimes the same subject) and end up with totally different results. There will be the usual libations and munchies – here’s you OFFICIAL invitation.

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Beacon Hill Art Walk – ups and downs

 

aw3Hooray! There were many more Ups that Downs yesterday. The only little downs were the really strong winds that spontaneously rearranged the artwork every fifteen minutes, and the high temperatures. But hundreds of people turned out for the eighty or ninety artists who showed on the streets and in the courtyards of Beacon Hill.

 

Among the highlights – I saw an old friend from Chicago, Sharon Bostick. She lived on Beacon Hill for many years and happened to be in town for the show, looked me up, and voila! Sharon and her husband purchased several pieces. Thanks, Sharon! An unexpected highlight came from the Art Walk committee who visited my spot and awarded me with yellow ribbon for third place in show – wow! Not bad for this first-time non-Boston newbie. Thanks, Committee!

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I could not have done the show without friends Pat Semmes and Danny Sanchez who helped haul the stuff (including tables) up and down the brick sidewalks. I think after all was said and done I sold ten pieces, got a very nice award,  met some super artists (who said that it was more of a looking day than buying day, but still . . .) and will definitely apply for next year. I’ll be back, jurors willing and the creek don’t rise.  Here are some more photos:

Art Show on Sunday – you’re invited

I’m hanging on Sacred Ground – well, actually, I’m hanging my *work* this afternoon for Sunday’s Sacred Ground art opening at the Cathedral House Gallery along with a really special group of artist friends. Please come! One of my pieces in particular has surprised me. It’s the encaustic painting I did at Michelle’s workshop. I’ve been experimenting, and think it’s finished, but I’m very new at encaustic (painting with wax), so who knows. Anyway, it’s going in the show, it’s the first and one-and-only encaustic I’ve shown, and its title is Wax and Wings:

Hope to see you Sunday – it’s a beautiful place and there will be a wonderful meditation walk followed by a wine and cheese reception – truly Sacred Ground.

ALSO- the info and registration for the Transfer Workshop is up. I had a lot of interest in this. It’s a ways away (June 30) but sign up now if you want to come. Here’s a preview of what we’ll be doing – it’s super fun and fail-proof:

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FINALLY – (honest) – The Summer Newsletter is posted on the website. I think most of you are on that list, but if you want more info on Pablo Solomon, Eileen’s workshop, upcoming openings and such, click here.

Happy Friday dance – bye for now!!

 

 

 

Pieces of clay

I unloaded the kiln yesterday and took out lots of little puzzle pieces. The new Guardian series of mixed media constructions is getting assembled for a show at Cathedral House in mid-May, and I need to get these little guys completed. I hope they are not too pagan-esque for the venue! The fun part is matching the right face with the right bodies. Somehow, they know who goes with what. Here’s a picture of the just-unloaded earthenware tiles and shards:

pieces of the puzzle

pieces of the puzzle

And here’s the first yet-unnamed Guardian piece assembled:

Untitled (so far) Guardianassemblage

Untitled (so far) Guardian construction

 

 

Sunday’s getting closer . . .

So the big Fiesta Show and Sale is day after tomorrow – I’m sorta ready, but this morning I really wanted to work on something new for the show. I started with some square black frames that I had ordered just because they were on sale. Then I printed some digital photos of gravestone angels (but of course!) and started working on two small collages that remind me of the Guardian series. I call the new series El Ala y la Oración (the Wing and the Prayer) because they feature bird feathers and monument faces. They are turning out so well – it’s great to feel them come together. Here are the first two – with any luck I’ll finish four more by Sunday. These are behind glass so there is a bit of reflection in the photo, but it adds to the overall effect, perhaps. The hardest part was figuring out how to create the shadow box. I did it with thin strips of black foamcore mounted against the inside edges of the frames – come by the Studio on Sunday and I’ll show you the trick!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tell and Show

The “tell” part: I keep remembering great tips from artist Sherrill Kahn when I saw her presentation at FASA on Monday. One that I’m going to try today is mixing cheap hair gel, the kind you can get at dollar stores in a pump bottle, with acrylic paint to make a glaze for fabric, collage, whatever. Another technique that she uses is Styrofoam plate printing. It’s fun to watch her do this. Breaking news: there’s a pretty good possibility that Sherrill will be at my Studio in August for several workshops (or you can go to Italy to see her in September <wistful sigh>)

The “show” part: Lesta Frank, Jan Longfellow, Alison Schockner and I are reuniting for a Fiesta Show at the Studio this Sunday – whoopee! Here’s a sneak preview of the cool stuff – there will be food and freebies and Fiesta fun, so come by and celebrate from 11-5!

 

 

Sunday inspiration

Don’t you think this is a great quote?

“What is ‘no’? Either you have asked the wrong question or you have asked the wrong person. Find a way to get the ‘yes’.”

This applies perfectly to our doubts about our own worth as creative people – I have heard so many stories from friends who say they are not “creative” or “artistic” because someone in the past criticized their attempts . Seems to me that you just have to approach it from another direction that is your own, and create with joy that feels right to you and not be influenced by someone else’s judgment. Find a way to get the “Yes.” OK, off the soap box, but I really get frustrated when creative people don’t realize how talented they can be.

This quote came, via a friend in England, from a book that I just ordered,  “Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?” by Jeanette Winterson (2011). You can read some of her thoughts about this book on her blog. Here’s an online review excerpt:

It’s a book full of stories: about a girl locked out of her home, sitting on the doorstep all night; about a religious zealot disguised as a mother who has two sets of false teeth and a revolver in the dresser, waiting for Armageddon; about growing up in an north England industrial town now changed beyond recognition; about the Universe as Cosmic Dustbin.

I don’t often talk about a book that I haven’t read, but this one sounds like a keeper – will let you know what I think about it a little later. In the meantime, I’ll remind myself that there are different ways to get to “Yes,” and that if my work (below) that I took to the juried Art League show yesterday is rejected, I’ve just been asking the wrong people!

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SA Woman article

I survived this morning’s tooth pulling (hooray), and, almost like a reward, the article my friend Jasmina Wellinghoff wrote about my new work came out today in SA Woman Magazine. She did a fabulous job of organizing my randomness. And Janet Rogers took a photo that made me wish I looked like that 🙂 – I am very grateful to both of them. Click on the photo to read the article if you’re interested. Now back to the ice pack.

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