Slinging and Slathering Paint

I've been busy creating a series of new pieces for my space at Lunaria Gallery using my new favorite medium: oil, cold wax, and texture. I dropped off four little pieces, 8x8s, and two bigger ones, 16x20s. All will be on display during the month of December at Lunaria in Silverton.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also submitted an oil and wax piece that was accepted for the Something Red 10th Annual Art Walk in downtown Salem. My piece, At A Crossroads, can be seen at the downtown Umpqua Bank as part of the Artists in Action self-guided art walk through the end of December.

 

 

 

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.

Gallery Sitting 101

I experienced my first day of gallery sitting on Monday at Lunaria Gallery, the artist cooperative that I am now a full-fledged member of. The day begins with a glamorous bit of housekeeping.

And choosing music for the day.

Excited about my space.

I sold a big piece of art in the first week, so I needed to replace the empty area with a new piece.

In between customers I photographed the gallery.

It is such a lovely gallery. If you've never been in before, I hope you'll stop in for a visit.

New Space at Lunaria Gallery . . . and New Show

MY OWN SPACE IN THE GALLERY

I became a full-fledged member of Lunaria Gallery this month after being a guest artist in August. Once my show came down from the special exhibit area upstairs, I was given my own space on the main floor. It was pretty exciting to walk into Lunaria on Friday night and see my space for the first time.

GROUP SHOW: LAY OF THE LAND

In addition to having my own permanent space on the first floor (well, always a space, but the Hanging Committee is constantly moving the artist's spaces around to keep it interesting), I have the opportunity to participate in group shows. For September, there is a group landscape show, Lay of the Land. I love landscapes, albeit abstract landscapes. I submitted five pieces and all five were used! A big, a medium, and three littles.

Out and About in Silverton With the Salem Art Group

What a great day for a field trip with the Salem Art Group. It was a bit cool and cloudy in the morning as we all made our way to Silverton, and by the time we were finished with lunch, the clouds had burned off and it was a toasty 84 degrees. Come along for the journey - there was a nice surprise at the end. First stop was The Purl District where we got to interact with Celia, always a hoot. Can you guess what kind of shop this is?

We headed next door to Lunaria Gallery so everyone could see my Layers of Memory show.

By then it was time to eat, so off we meandered to The Gathering Spot, a great addition to Silverton for places to eat.

Of course, we had to support the local economy by doing a smidge of shopping.

A trip to Silverton isn't quite complete without a stop at Stone Buddha to say hello to Rene.

Our surprise of the day was discovering Kayla Kennington, a designer, author, and educator. Take a look at her wonderful space and the beautiful silk clothing she has created. It was a magical experience.