What's Happening in My Art Life? A lot!

I've been hyperventilating just a bit lately with all the wonderful art opportunities that have come my way. When I'm feeling overwhelmed, I find relief by organizing things so I thought I would try organizing my scattered thoughts by sharing what I'm currently working on. Here goes.

LITTLE THINGS 12 at GUARDINO GALLERY

I am participating in the Little Things 12 show at Guardino Gallery in Portland. The show opens on Black Friday, November 23rd, with a reception from 6-9 pm; a second reception will take place on Alberta's Last Thursday, November 29, from 6-9pm. I'll have several Curious Elements in the show.

ONE OF A KIND ARTISAN GIFTS at LUNARIA GALLERY

As a member of Lunaria Gallery in Silverton, I always have work on display in my area of the gallery. For the month of December, the focus will be on One of a Kind Artisan Gifts, where I will also have some Curious Elements available. The opening for the One of a Kind show is Friday, December 7, from 7-9 pm during Silverton's First Friday event.

ARTBLOX at MARY LOU ZEEK GALLERY

I'm currently working on ten little blocks for a Mary Lou Zeek project. You might be familiar with the Art-O-Mat machines that take old cigarette machines and repurpose them to dispense art. I bought my first piece of art from an Art-O-Mat many years ago when I was at an art gallery in Chicago. Then, I discovered another machine last year on N.E. Alberta in Portland. Mary Lou has repurposed an old cigarette machine and named it ARTBLOX to dispense art with proceeds from the sale of the art blocks going to the Artists in Need fund. I'm currently working on a batch of ten blocks.

PULSE OF MIXED MEDIA2 WITH SETH APTER

Some pretty big deal news is my invitation to be a Spotlight Artist in Seth Apter's second Pulse of Mixed Media book being published by North Light Books (here's a link to his first book). This commitment means I need to create two pieces of original art (in process) and answer a series of questions. But that's about all I can share at this point. Seth has done a great job of bringing the artist community together over the past few years in his blog, The Altered Page. I'm hoping I get to meet up with Seth when I'm in NYC next month. (Side note: when my studio appeared in Cloth Paper Scissors Studio magazine in the fall of 2010, Seth's studio was featured in the same magazine.)

THE ARTIST'S WAY at ALLEY ART STUDIO

After a year hiatus, I'm once again teaching a 12-week Artist's Way Creative Cluster. Six brave women have signed up to take this journey with me at the helm, beginning in January. I'm happy to once again be offering these sessions.

TEACHING at THE ART DEPARTMENT

I was coaxed out of my teaching hibernation by my friend Katy and I'll be offering something brand new, a class entitled Layers of Memory: Working With Plaster, Paint, and Wax. This will be a six hour class at Salem's Art Department January 25 and 26, 2013. We'll get together on Friday night to spread plaster, then reconvene in the morning after our plaster has had time to set to add layers of paint and texture. Registration is now open, so contact The Art Department to sign up. (And one more new class is also in the works - I'll share as soon as I work out the final details with Katy, but it will involve working with cold wax and oil paint. Yummy.)

SACRED SCRAPS at WILLAMETTE UNIVERSITY

In February, I'm part of an exhibition at Willamette University's Hatfield Library. I was the brainchild behind this exhibit and invited five assemblage artists to join me. It took off from there. We already have a website, Sacred-Scraps, and we'll soon have a Facebook page for you to follow our progress. The artists beside myself are: Stephanie Brockway, Tory Brokenshire, Shelly Caldwell, Jennifer Campbell, and Darlene Schaper. Our exhibit will incorporate the raw materials we use in our assemblage work (some would call it junk), as well as completed pieces. The opening reception will be Friday, February 1, 2013, from 4:30-6:30 pm. Did I mention there will be food? The exhibit will be available for viewing through the month of February during public library hours.

MY OWN SHOW at GUARDINO GALLERY!

I haven't necessarily saved the best for last, but it certainly is the most ambitious of my projects. I have been given my own show by Donna Guardino in the Feature area at Guardino Gallery. Yikes Almighty. I've already begun keeping regular studio hours in preparation for this amazing opportunity (and hopefully amazing show). The show will run February 28-March 24, 2013 with the opening reception at Alberta's Last Thursday, February 28, 6-9 pm. You can be sure that I share more about this, although images will be sparse - I want it all to be a grand surprise.

So that about sums up my next four months. I'll be working hard, posting updates as I can, but primarily keeping my nose to the little grindstone of my studio. I'm excited, grateful, nervous, excited, fearful, and excited.