Into the Abyss: A Duet

Duets. It's the theme of the February show at 100th Monkey Studio in Portland. And by duets, it means any theme as long as two artists both contribute to the piece being submitted. So Destree and I teamed up to create a bit of heart art, which we titled Into the Abyss. The title came from some lines taken from a book by Paul Coehlo, Eleven Minutes:

At every moment of our lives,
we all have one foot in a fairy tale
and the other in the abyss.

For our substrate, we chose a wood panel (16 x 16 x 3). I slathered on a rich layer of Golden's Molding Paste, drew in a heart, left the studio, and sent Destree a text message telling her it had begun.




Destree, who lives next door to my studio, popped over and drew in some marks of her own.


Then the painting began. Here's how it worked: I made my marks and splashed paint during the day, and under the cover of darkness, Destree would pop over to the studio and add her vibrant touches to the piece. We left notes for each other like we were back in sixth grade!

Nice color!
This is fun!
I did two days' worth because I'll be gone until Friday.
Have fun!
I guess we have a green heart!
Where could this go?
Yikes Almighty! Now what about that arrow?
Chartreuse green?

And so it went.







Last Sunday, we both scheduled it to be at the studio together. We needed to add final touches, paint the edges (and that pesky arrow), and add our text.

Into the Abyss!

For the show submission (we'll find out later this week if the piece has been accepted), we both had to write a little bio about ourselves. Here's what Destree wrote:

Destree is the wife of a Champ and the mother of two beautiful children. She spends her days as a Behavior Specialist for an organization that supports adults with Developmental Disabilities. But her real passion, the passion that fuels her day-to-day alter ego, happens after five o'clock; she is a mixed media artist. Currently her favorite mediums are beautiful papers and finger paints. She is also a traveler on the Artist Way Path.

And here is what I wrote about myself:

Dayna is a lover of bright, vibrant colors, especially orange and red. She loves texture, whimsy, and making a mess. She is a self-taught artist who delights in taking art classes throughout the Northwest. She is willing to try almost anything, but her favorite mediums are mixed media and assemblage and her favorite tool is using her hands. Dayna facilitates expressive arts workshops in Salem and Portland and for the past few years has successfully guided women through 12-week creative recovery sessions using The Artist’s Way. When not making art, she is a certified drug and alcohol counselor and presents workshops on wellness and communication.

Both Destree and I agreed that this was a fun way to make art and we already have two future projects lined up . . . just because we want to!

Through a Lens

Our local art store, the Art Department, is hosting their first ever Mini Canvas art show. The only requirement is that artwork be on Art Alternative Itty Bitties canvases (five sizes, with the largest being 3x3 inches, the size I chose) and may not exceed the edge of the canvas (I'm glad I read that in advance!). Everyone could submit up to three canvases -- my canvases have been submitted and will be on display for the month of July. All three of my pieces involve some sort of glass lens. Here they are.

My first piece, Girlhood, is modeled after my own Itty Bitty Pretties. The dictionary definition I have included that runs along the side next to the photo (of me) reads: girlhood noun The period of time or state of being a girl: I had a happy girlhood.

Yes, I did.

For my second piece, 46. My dream, I played around with a tree branch stencil, then added a largeish lens over the top. The lens is stamped with words and around the edge of the canvas is a portion of a poem by Rochelle Mass: A tree is a lens, a viewfinder, a window. I wait below for a message, of what is next to come.

My final piece (and my favorite) is Mary. The lens I used on this piece is an old optician lens that has a hologram of Mary with angels (I bought the lens on my recent visit to Rancho Deluxe in NE Portland). Can you believe it? When you look straight at my piece, you see the little plastic Mary, but if you look at it from below, you see the fancy Mary with angels circling her head. Aw . . . .

Turn Toward the Wave

I joined the Keizer Art Association a few months ago at the suggestion of my artist friend, Jami Moffett, of Off the Hook Studios. When I received the KAA's most recent newsletter, it had information about the Member's Art Show, scheduled for the month of June. I tucked the idea into the back of my brain, and it probably would have languished there if not for Jami's urging, this time for me to enter something in the show. I had just returned home from my five days at the Oregon College of Art and Craft taking Pat Wheeler's class, The Architecture of Memory, and I decided to enter one of my two completed pieces, Turn Toward the Wave. I dropped my piece off last Wednesday and then tonight, Howard and I attended the opening reception. Here I am entering the building where the Keizer Art Association is housed.

It was very satisfying to see my piece hanging on the wall.

I was going to walk around and take more photos of the show, but I ran into one of my former instructors, Deanna White, and got so absorbed in talking with her, that I left without snapping another photo! Deanna had two pastel pieces hanging in the show, but was also there with a display about the many classes she offers. Much to my surprise (and delight), Deanna had a photo of me in the recent class I took from her at the Salem Art Association, The Ancient Art of Encaustics. I sure like how the art world is all twisted and intertwined!

Mary Lou's "Inside-Out" Show

Mary Lou has done it again! Mary Lou of the Mary Lou Zeek Gallery in Salem just concluded the sixth annual 100 Artists show, this year a benefit for Friends of Pimpollo.

100 artists received a book in the mail and were asked to art it up and return it to the gallery (they had three months to alter their book). The show went up the first of February and people could bid on pieces throughout the month. Beginning bids were $50 and maximim bids were $300. The show closed on Friday night at 6:00 p.m. I hadn't visited the show earlier because, well, I knew I would love what I saw, but I couldn't resist any more so on Friday afternoon, Howard and I visited the gallery and placed bids on three pieces. While there on Friday afternoon, I snapped photos of the pieces.

These are the three pieces we were initially bidding on when we stopped into the gallery in the afternoon. The first was the one Howard wanted, the second was one we both wanted (it was done by an artist in Italy!), and the third was my personal choice.

When we returned to the gallery on Friday evening (to watch over our chosen pieces), it became apparent that the book done by the Italian artist was meant for someone else (it sold for $200) and so we quit bidding on it. However, we were able to bid on a piece we hadn't really seen when we visited the gallery earlier. The outside was rather plain, but when we picked up the altered book and looked through it, we were amazed at the detail and the language. The artist is a psychotherapist in Seattle, Amanda Sargent and the title of her piece is Taking It From the Beginning. She used the following media in creating her piece: Book, wax, photographs, pencils, shellac, and tar! Amazing . . . we placed a bid and got to take it home with us!

Howard won the book he wanted by Eugene artist Mark Clarke. Here are a couple of views of Howard's book (just a cover, actually):



The book I wanted (and got!) was created by Tory Brokenshire of Copper Crow Studio. She is from Salem and I've never even heard of her before this. Hello, Tory, I'm in Salem, too!!

Sweet Dreams . . .

The Dreams show opened on Friday night at the Launch Pad Gallery. I posted about this show and the piece I made a couple of weeks ago. If you want to read more about it, click here. Most of my family was able to attend and cheer me on (my oldest daughter and her family had attempted to come, but car troubles prevented them from maing the trip from Washington). Here are photos of the opening celebration.

My daughter Amy, son-in-law Mike, and grandsons Emmett and Jackson admire the art.

A close-up of my piece hanging in the show:

It's placement on the wall (someone mentioned testicles about the piece next to mine . . . oh dear):

Taking a closer look (and making sure the wax was still hanging on!):

My son Scott (it was his 25th birthday!) and his girlfriend, Becca:

The throngs of art lovers:

Grandson Jackson touches the glass ball embedded in my piece:

An unknown princess child jumped on the couch just as I was snapping a photo of Mike:



The show runs through the end of the month, so if you're in SE Portland, swing by and take a peek (but check the Launch Pad Gallery website for their hours first).