Build a Ladder to the Stars

This is the first painting I've finished in a LONG time. I painted this for Mila and it's hanging in her room now. Sometimes she points at it and says, "I did that." Maybe that means she likes it.

Inspiration was the lyrics of "Forever Young" by Bob Dylan.

"Build a ladder to the stars and climb on every rung... "

Rusty Painting

Double entendre there. I am quite rusty, and well, there are some rust tones in this. I found some time to do some painting a few weeks ago. At first, while working away, I thought, "I've got something here. This is going to be cool." I had that exciting, flowing feeling. Then, I thought, "Hmmm. I'm pretty rusty. I'm not too sure about this."

It's abstract, but my underlying ideas are specific. There is a work theme (tied to an image I notice in the parking garage of my office). That's this piece.....

And a motherhood baby theme. This piece:

My reflection at this point is around both the texture and composition of the painting. It feels like two separate paintings, and it's close to being split down the middle (which art-types would tell you is bad-- the eye prefers to see things in thirds).

Here's the full view:

But... maybe that's part of the paint that my brain was trying to make. It's perhaps what I'm struffling with. Work and motherhood -- two parts not easily blended??

But in fact, they are blending pretty nicely. I'm letting this one sit for a while, but I'm thinking that I need to come back to it and bring the two parts better together.

Three Little Birds

Here are three bird paintings I did for my daughter's room. Not my usual stuff, but I wanted some original artwork for her room, and it seemed like I needed something "kid-appropriate."


Mila is actually pretty interested in checking them out-- which of course thrills me. We now say hello and wave to the birdies when she gets up from her naps. (And she does like checking out some of my other paintings too!)

Creative Hiatus?

Creative Hiatus?

I've recently lost my oomph for painting. But, I've lost a lot of oomph in general. I'm nearly seven months pregnant, and it sounds cheesy, but I think my creative energy is sapped. My body is focused on baby-making. Which translates to a lot of eating and sleeping in whatever free time I have.

Today I had my first art inspiration in months. I received an email inquiry from a New York gallery, asking if I'd like to be listed on their site, in exchange for a mutual link.

The words "New York gallery" carry a certain weight and excitement with them (although many aruge that's overblown). And to be clear here-- I'm talking about an online link, not an actual presence in the gallery.

But still... I said sure, and spent some time today updating my website, particularly my links page.

In truth, I'm not familiar with Agora Gallery, but their site seems to have some interesting artwork. I'm listed here: http://www.agora-gallery.com/Links/ThemeDetails-Theme-Cubism.aspx.

It wasn't the equivalent of diving back in with my brush and paints, but at least I spent some time thinking about my art and tweaking my website. And it's the first time I've written here in some time-- it's the first miniscule update I've had to share!

The thought of painting and creating has at least crossed my mind a few times in recent weeks. Maybe I'll get enough energy to actually DO something. But, for now, coming close was pretty fun.

In the meantime, here's a view of the current creation underway:

From Puzzled to Inspired

From Puzzled to Inspired

Last Friday, my first solo show opened at ARTshare 25 in San Mateo.





Here I am at the reception, explaining the materials and concepts of my piece, Talked Around.

I am certainly proud and honored to be featured and it's exciting to see a collection of my work up in one place. Several folks came by for the reception, and I have even received some media coverage.

I introduced myself to each guest and made myself available if they had questions. Some fellow artsits also attended and we discussed mine and other artwork as well.

I had reactions that ranged from puzzled to inspired , and frankly, I enjoyed them all.

One young women felt strongly about my piece, September Self Portrait. She was open with her reactions and I was amazed to hear her essentially reciting the emotions I was feeling at the time that I painted the piece. She said the piece looked sad, but not entirely, and that she felt the face staring at her, challenging her to face herself and figure out what she was about.

Another guest, an older European woman, was not as enthusiastic, but she was engaged and curious. She said she owned a lot of traditional art, but was not familiar with abstract art. She asked a lot of questions and said she found the work puzzling. I'm not sure she really enjoyed it or liked it, but we had an interesting conversation about the different pieces. In fact, when we discussed Talked Around, I explained how it was Holocaust-inpired and reflected denial and suppression. She quite quickly understood the piece, and said she had personal experience with it. When she left, she thanked me and said she had learned some things.

When I rejoined some of my artist colleagues, I commented that this guest was a bit puzzled and someone said, "But that's what you're going for, right?"

I was stumped. It may have even been the next day when I thought quite definitively, "No, not really." I just paint what comes to me. My pieces are expressions of my emotions and observations. But I'm not purposely trying to confuse anyone.

It can be challenging for me when people are puzzled by my work. It often seems that they don't particularly care for it, which is fine, but it's naturally harder to take in stride or to figure out how to have a dialogue, than with someone who is enthusiastic and enjoying it.

A couple days later I was listening to the radio program Studio 360, and this theme came up again. In a feature on Andy Warhol, host Kurt Anderson asked, "Many say that Warhol destroyed traditional standards in the art world -- was this good or bad?"

Guest and close associate of Warhol, John Cale of the Velvet Underground said:

It’s essential. If you’re going to be an artist, you’ve got to inspire. I mean not just people around you who understand what you’re doing, but the ones who don’t understand what you are doing. You [might not] know what it’s doing, but it’s very good at what it’s doing. Every once in a while, you get caught by surprise.

I can only hope that my art is that kind of puzzling!

Being Out There

Being Out There

I wrote a few months back about taking the leap and 'getting out there,' and the trials and tribulations of my first show.

So, now I am out there. I have several exhibits under my belt, most recently Open Studios which I did out of my home. I'm happy to report that Open Studios was a success and a fun experience. I had 20-some guests over the weekend, all of which were engaged, appreciative and complimentary. It was fun to meet new people, as well as have the opportunity for friends to see a large portion of my work all together at one time.

It was interesting to see people's reactions, which pieces they liked, and what kind of questions they asked. I escorted each visitor into my studio, showing them how I worked from sketch to painting, then showed them a few of my newer mixed media pieces, and then brought them around to the main room where a dozen or more of my paintings were hung. Most people looked carefully and asked questions. Others just wanted to take a look on their own.

Several visitors specifically chose my site to visit, after seeing my work in the catalog. One woman who had recently taken up watercolor painting said she was 'inspired.' Another said I had strong vision.

I sold a number of greeting cards, added folks to my mailing list, and met an art dealer. I also happily sold two pieces to two very appreciative buyers. It was fun to send the paintings off, and think of others enjoying them.

Of course, it's nice to hear the compliments and to make a sale, but my appreciation for the experience was about more than an ego boost. I put a piece of my heart and soul into my paintings, and it's both frightening and exciting to share that. So, to be brave enough to do it, and then have people appreciate and enjoy looking at my work, was simply satisfying.

Meanwhile, my Belmont show has begun, and I'm prepping for my next show in July. With all the logistical work to prep for these exhibits (and of course, my day job), I'm hoping I get some time to actually paint! Ideally, I'd like some new pieces to include in my solo show in July. I will keep you posted on any progress!

My perfect imperfect table

I wanted to add a table to my studio for months. But it couldn't be just anything. I was waiting for the right thing to come along. I had both a practical and romanticized notion in my head. Then one day, it practically landed in my lap.

I wanted a table that was sturdy and fairly large. That was the practical side.

But I also wanted a table with a sort of beat-up, artistic character of its own. I had this storybook idea that I would just come across a perfect table. At a garage sale. Or maybe it would be a used table from an old school. Something with a history, with character. It would almost find me. Definitely not something I'd buy out of a catalog or furniture store.

Well, it showed up. We were at a friend's party several months back, and my husband spotted an old, homemade table out in the backyard. He thought it looked just like what I wanted. We discovered it belonged to one of the roomates. We asked him about his cool table, and the first thing he said was, "You can have it."

He was moving, or debating about it, and wasn't using the table anymore anyway. And it would definitely be too heavy to move.

He said he had used it to work on motorcycles, and before that his friend used it as a workbench to make custom-made motorcycle helmets with painted designs. And before that it had belonged to his friend's mom who was an artist.

It came pre-splattered with paint from its helmut-design days. It was basic and heavy and worn-in. Just perfect.

Its former owner even delivered it to me in his pickup truck and helped us get the heavy table down, and then up, some stairs, and finally into the house. We repaid his kindness with a nice bottle of wine, and enjoyed a visit.

Aside from the occasional splinter from the rough surface, and the fact that it smelled like motorcycle grease for a while, it's been just right. I have a place to work on collages, spread out sketches, materials, and even a small stereo for music.

Open Studios

Open Studios

What was I thinking when I signed up? I'm not even sure. But now, I'm in it. I'm opening up my home studio to family, friends and strangers on May 20 and 21st. This is part of Silicon Valley Open Studios.

Back in the fall when I signed up, I just thought Open Studios sounded vaguely cool. I didn't have expectations about the number of guests, and I was really nowhere near thinking about sales. Unfortunately, I've never even attended other artists' open studios events in prior years.

Now, as you may be able to tell, I'm feeling less than 100% prepared. Part of me is actually still wishy-washy about even selling my paintings.

While I have a realistic dose of modesty and practicality, there is also a part of me that thinks of my paintings as my own little masterpieces. And while I'd like to share my art and even have delusions of grandeur involving museum exhibits and worlwide fame, I'm also possessive of it.

But I've decided that part of the value in creating art is sharing art and it seems worthwhile to try to be 'out there' in some way.

I'm thoroughly enjoying part of the preparation. I was featured in an SVOS press release and even for a jaded PR person, I was tickled pink with my fifteen seconds (I don't think it qualified for fifteen minutes) of fame. I was a volunteer coordinator for a sneak-peek show in Foster City, working with eighteen other artists, producing a promotional postcard, hanging the show, and attending the reception. I've attended two seminars which provided training on how to market yourself, price your work and set up your studio.

I've thought about how I'll set up pieces in my studio, out on my deck, and into another room. I've thought about materials, a price list, snacks, invitees, etc. And I still think it will be cool.

So, it's all good stuff. It's just a leap of faith to put my pieces out there, and put prices on them. In fact, I'm not that particularly concerned with making sales, but once I got involved, I realized that people may be coming with the possible intent to buy. So, I feel like I should be prepared to offer some pieces. I may crank out a few smaller ones in the next few weeks so that I can sell some lower-priced pieces. I'm also looking into making prints. And of all ironic things, I need to make sure I hold on to a good set of about twenty pieces for my first solo show in July.