52 Tile, Mixed Media 2009

52 Tile, 2009
Mixed Media on board

Finally finished this piece tonight, now I can go on my trip to MA tomorrow and know I'm leaving a studio without unfinished business beckoning. Hoping when I get back in a week or so to take it to the gallery in stowe as they will have another opening early Sept and will want new work. Someone on facebook suggested I do a series of these and I can see myself doing that if I can somehow find enough old tiles that still have grout and backing on them. It is the BACK of the tile that is the most interesting and beautiful. This was a rather pain staking undertaking, having to find pieces of the grout and fit them just so, some were thick, old, crusty...it was like putting together a puzzle. I love this piece, it feels very powerful in person. So much so that I took it down from the wall and put it back on the table in the studio, I don't know why I do that with pieces that scare me, meaning, they feel too powerful to be on the wall just yet and I always envision them crashing to the ground with their shear weight. Not physical weight either, just their presence. Got alot of WOW's from Tod tonight (he is my art-o-meter). Good by people! Not sure when I'm coming back, wont have handy internet so who knows if/when I will post. Hope to be back alive, ready for whatever is next, maybe with more info about art studios, galleries, living and of course lots of found objects!

#87

US Mail, 2009
#87/100

I finished another clock a few days ago, and am loving the simple fresh fun-ness of it. I love that this magnet fell off of the mail delivery vehicle right in front of my mailbox a few months ago. It hadn't occurred to me to cut it into two pieces and put it on a rr clock and its perfect as the magnets are still strong enough to attach to the steel plate so I dont have to bother with adhesives. The bottom sticker came off of a box I had long ago picked up for free for future art mailing, it (the sticker) is securely attached on back.

dumpster gods and some cluelessness

The dumpster gods were good to me. I have wanted some horses for a few years now but am always repelled at the prices of them both in stores and on craigslist. Last night's foray into a nearby construction dumpster provided me with a surprise! The legs were folded up so at first I had no idea what they were. It was just after dusk and hard to even see, but I saw one metal thing and pulled it out ~ fiddled with the legs which fold into the body and was off to search for its mate! So now I have two horses :) It was a delightful find and I had tod with me so I didn't have to lug them home by myself on the trail home.

Artwise I'm still working but have slowed down as the house owners are here and I get a little frozen sometimes. Going for lots of walks and planning my MA getaway either this week or next. Was looking into holyoke, ma as I'm seeing more mill studios for rent at a ridiculous price; after checking out the city on wikipedia I see its the poorest most crime ridden area in MA. Bummaluma. Tod and I keep thinking we dont want to live in MA because they force you to get medical insurance and we are more alternative in our healing modalities BUT it sure seems like that is an area to be near to have an art life going. New Hampshire seems a little dead in the water when I go to craigslist and look at artists/job/gigs. Maine has more going on but feels even more removed than Vermont. Haven't looked into upstate NY and CT seems too flat. I gotsta have me some mountains to hike if at all possible. We don't like flat. Picky us.

orange is the new black...

Exoplanet II #2/5

Mixed Media, 2009

Total Size 17.5x18(in)

$400

...or something like that. Here we have a nice, smallish piece of metal flashing that I cut and ground to a smooth edge, I then bent it to form a box so the piece isn't flat against the wall. (you know how much i hate flat right?) I also float mounted the photograph onto 1/4" wood. And for newcomers who aren't familiar, I have my photographs professionally laminated onto a beveled MDF board so there is no need for glass and the piece can 'breath'.

I wanted to make a small, simpler work that is also less expensive than my usual mixed media pieces. This photograph is a limited ed. print of five. The piece is lightweight and super cool industrial. I happen to have a long orange/blue piece of auto metal tod found that matches it perfectly, which leads me to suggest anyone purchasing this might like to have another orange piece of art on a floor stand below or near this, it's rather striking that way.

just stuff

You probably can't see how cool this is, shot this in the garage so you could see it better. Found this last night by the side of the road, actually I've had my eye on it for weeks, a nearby place is doing a lot of tree planting and these things are what the roots were housed in. I'm thinking one day I'm going to make a wonderful hanging light fixture out of it, and until then I'm just going to enjoy it. There are more of them but I don't feel like dragging another one home, and not 100% sure they wont be returned/reused to wherever they came from, so yes, I kind of 'lifted' this. Don't arrest me....

I feel like I have a hundred things going on and I'm all over the place. Etsy...Facebook...art making. Not so much twitter happenings. I could take it or leave it. It's a lonely place twitter, FB is proving to be what I had hoped twitter would be. I feel a real kinship with the artists there and feel like I found the community I lack here in my real life.

psssst

wanna know where everyone is? ....uh, facebook.
thats right. now i know why some bloggers haven't blogged much lately. now i know where people are hanging out. i'm shocked, and in a good way. people who rarely if ever comment? they are on facebook and let me tell you, they are FRIENDLY there.
i have found a whole new source of support and energy.
aside from feeling like a dolt because facebook is a bit complicated if you want to actually create more than just a page, its a place where artists seem to hang out. they are there....working and doing and living but manage to keep just one eyeball on facebook and instant responses are had. feedback, help, comments, showing off of new work....motivating and inspiring.
it's where its at and i'm just glad i made the leap!

ps if anyone is curious, i just sold a clock on etsy! first 'stranger' (you guys aren't strangers). VERY exciting. i feel like i cracked the etsy code, a fine lined fissure, but a crack none-the-less. And if you joined facebook you would already know this :)

face it

Facebook is here to stay. And I jumped in with both feet yesterday. And I will tell you, it's changed! I love it even if I still have tons of questions (their help center sucks and now I have to go googling how to this and that).

I get why people like it. For one, there are things to do and it feels interactive and connected and fun. I like having things to do. Twitter doesn't really supply that fix, I compare twitter use as watching a ticker tape go by on the tv screen whereas facebook lets you post things and click things and you get to play. People who normally never comment on my blog are suddenly writing quick things on facebook to me. People who seem to have stopped blogging? ....they are there. On facebook having a blast.

I remember when I started my website, it felt like the hub of life. Then after 2 years I realized I was in an empty room nary hearing echos of pages slamming. Was someone there? Is anyone now? So blogs. Next best thing. More real time at the time. Only problem was people still lurked and you can't blog little tidbits all day without people vomiting. Twitter...too many tidbits from others are overwhelming and unless there are real things to post to help/inform/promote etc. others it feels a little self absorbed.

Facebook is the answer. It has changed since I last used it 2 years ago. For one, back then the pages took FOREVER to load. And if I remember correctly, you had one ugly boring page that looked more like some website email page. Now you have bells and whistles. You can chat in real time. You can be active with others and I think it is a great platform for an artist to show others what they are doing in blips without writing zillions of blog posts.

I still have questions that I'm not finding answers to so if anyone knows:

1) how do you get a 'blog' tab? I see other bloggers and wordpress people have that
2) I dont want 100000 emails telling me when people do things but I want to know, whats best to choose from options?
3) I still do not understand how I know what people have written on their walls. at some point you will have alot of friends, to always individually pick them out and click their page and read seems laborious. i know when I first got notified people wanted to be my friend I had an option right there to choose but didn't choose it for fear of being overwhelmed by notifications....now I can't find those options.

I'm sure I will have more questions but those are the basic ones.
thanks!

*found a link that helps big time with adding a blog link here.

facebook is wicked complicated if you want more than just a page...but thats probably half the fun in a really screwed up way.

The Wonder Horse can be yours .....

I've just listed 'The Wonder Horse' photo on Etsy. This is a limited edition print of 20. So far I have used this size in one mixed media piece. I have also used this image in larger prints of smaller editions. I decided to sell one or two of these as stand alone, laminated prints so this is your chance to get one! For those of you not familiar with the laminated prints, these are Luster C-Prints which are then laminated onto a beveled 1/4" MDF (medium density fiberboard). This process allows the piece to hang on the wall as is, no bother with frames and glass. I have mounted half inch pieces of wood on the back so the photograph 'floats' from the wall.

On another note, I joined Facebook. I'm doing this sort of like I'm doing Twitter....meaning I will go to it occasionally throughout the day but not get carried away with goofy obsessive what am I doing crap. I like using it to promote friends recent work or news as well as my own and perhaps the occassional blip of nonsense. I still think email is faster but people seem to like these sites so I'm following the masses. I hear from Kim Hambric that its valuable for Etsy so I am giving it a try. Whats another hour of my life as I'm already giving Etsy a few hours every day? I have to say, I'm starting to like Twitter as a way to post as it happens happenings. If you just can't wait to find out what I'm doing thats the place to go to find out.

opening

I thought the opening was last night, and lucky for me I didn't go as I was just too tired. So I have another chance even though I hate going alone as Tod is working. Well see, I could slip in there today and look around. I know I should socialize even though I only have two pieces in this show.

Giovanna has been a staple in the gallery for the last few years now. Her works are usually very bright and full of energy with her 'cell like' structures that have, in the past correlated with her own life happenings and health issues. This latest body of work appears much darker, they are inspired by her visit to the Amazon.

I'm not familiar with Sumru's work but I do like the Asian quality that plays into her work as well. It should be a thoughtful show and filled with plenty of other artists both new and old. Wish you guys lived here and I could go with someone!!! I do like going to these openings as I get inspired to go work on art, this gallery is just gorgeous and even more so since last year's renovations are almost complete. I have to say, the posh galleries I saw on Newbury St. in Boston have NOTHING on this gallery. It's THAT nice inside!!!!

sunshine and hope

before on left, after on right

Someone actually responded to my craigslist post to de-weed their garden so this week I worked like a mad woman to get this done asap. She didn't want to spend much time or money on it but $15 an hour was my fee so I got to stop before it got completely done, guess she will do the rest this weekend before her guests come. Fine by me, my fingers are raw, my back is as tender as baked chicken. Hard work but good for the brain, good for the bank account. Nearly paid for the car work I had done this week and gave me a break from all the thoughts and things I've got going on.

Now I can get back to looking into MA more. I've done some online looking at more art studio rentals, art shows, art towns etc. Looked at jobs and gigs and art community on craigslist and am getting more of a feeling for what life could be like there. I think I could make it just doing odd little jobs for people as long as I still sold art with some regularity. It could very well be the next step that needs to be taken.

I'm relieved I decided not to do the Lowell Studio rental, going into it with hardly any money would be too difficult. It's exciting to think of some big changes but stressful and I can't jump into everything all at once and keep my sanity. I've pretty much decided this summer I am going to take as many trips to MA as I can. The house owners will be here for weeks at a time and thanks to Tod's mom I will have a place to stay and can fill my days with bike riding, exploring, odd job doing and more research into the art life there.

Tonight the gallery here in Stowe is having their big shebang annual outdoor/indoor opening. They took my recent piece after all since one sold 2 weeks ago as I only had one other piece in there. Tod will be working but I might drop by just to float around, or maybe I can drive the taxi tonight if its busy. All I know is the sun is out today and I feel like there is HOPE :)

to do or not to do

If there is one thing I know, I know that living life as a full time artist is unpredictable and not anything as set in stone as how most people live. My recent trip to MA was eye opening and I'm left with many questions, and few answers. Take the top 2 photos (hey look tod slipped into one!), these are old mill buildings that are in the south end of Boston, the bottom two photos are the mill building in Lowell MA. They house many artists studios and galleries. Tod and I met a guy in there that doesn't even live in Boston but said he makes enough selling his work here that he commutes. He doesn't even use it as a work studio, he does that in his home an hour away. That had a few light bulbs going on off in Tod's head which then translated into a dimmer bulb going off in my own head....maybe you don't have to live where you work?

We tucked that info away. I had been toying with mill building artists studios for a few months now, making a half hearted effort awhile back to maybe visit one that was being subleased in Northampton MA but backed off when I found out how much they were.

Our last day in MA we stopped in Lowell, I had seen in an art magazine that they had lots of artists studios in an old mill building and wanted to see art, not even thinking I would be looking into renting a studio for myself. We ended up not looking at art as much as being shown available studios for rent. Our drive home ended up in me deciding I would rent a studio space there and somehow make it work.

Two days later the ideas and decisions continue to change. I hesitate to post anything because it is highly possible nothing will happen. The ball is rolling somewhat, I could sign the paper and be in next week and be ready in time for the first sat of the month open studio tours.....the choices are endless. Practicality rears its ugly head though. There are pluses and minuses. Lowell is affordable, I could get a 430sq ft studio for $295 + I would pay for building insurance plus a few other things. Basically for $360 I would have a space to work in and possibly get exposure. If I were a painter it would be a no brainer. If I didn't have to worry about all the stuff I have and figure out what to bring, which is impossible to know what I will need....if if if. I'm wondering if I might be better served to spend more time there this summer when the house owners are here, I can go there and investigate more. Bring little projects and work on them at Tod's mom's house and pay HER studio rent. Get to know galleries, artists....get a feel for things. I know nothing is going to be perfect but there are issues with storage, not having a handy sink, noise and privacy issues to seriously consider.

There are artists studios in Maynard and the work they produce is incredible. The place I would be renting, the work I've seen so far seems to be a little less 'intense' but the support from within the artists and coordinator seems great. Is Lowell close enough to whats happening? Would I just disappear in that space and go crazy having all my life spread out in 3 places? (stowe, sudbury, lowell)

No one can answer that. I know I would have to find work or sell art as well as I did in 2007 to be able to afford this, I can't count on the economy though to be as it was and my sales momentum to come back instantly. The daily commute alone would eat up the bucks not including then driving up to VT every now and then. That I could stay somewhere basically rent free and just pay studio rent is a gift not to be overlooked but there still isn't room to bring it all. Tod would stay up in Vermont and we would have to figure out when/where/what about our lives. The lease is for a year and at that point I would have to move on as Tod's mom needs to finish refurbishing her house and rent/sell it. At some point Tod and I will have to decide if we want to try to live in Lowell or Boston or New Hampshire or all those other places I've talked about in the past.

Bottom line I need to get something moving and going. Just seriously entertaining the thought of this, regardless of if it is going to happen now vs. later, has already done something to me and woken me up. It makes me look at what I have differently too. I am left alone here, true I can't make alot of noise when people are here but when I think about making lots of noise in a studio that isn't completely sealed (the studio walls separate each studio but they stop short of the ceiling by 3 feet or so) and driving other artists crazy I get unsettled. I need to be able to be ME and not feel pinned down. Not watched. Not bothered. I'm a little concerned they said people all work with doors open and every one is family. That's GREAT but I am still needing lots of time for my butterfly to cocoon. I need privacy and the 'safety' if you will of knowing I can go deep into something and not feel exposed. I think a few of you know what I'm talking about. It's a delicate little tissue growing, making art....I'm not one who can sit and have people standing over my shoulder watching what I do next. I'm not like those painters who can sit on a public sidewalk and make a masterpiece.

So as you can imagine, I have a million things to decide and do. Or not.

back from reality

Well I'm back and I have to say I couldn't have asked for a better get away. What started out as a quick 2 or 3 day trip to visit Tod's mom in Sudbury MA turned into an unexpected 5 days of a great trip. Those of you who know me know I have panic issues and the one thing I've not been able to force myself to do is go to Boston. I live 3 hours from there and I've been too afraid to go because I hear how awful the traffic is and there is no way in hell I'm taking the T there from a nearby town. I remember when Ally McBeal was a popular show I would watch it and fantasize about walking on those streets and being in what looked to be a happening city. I've lived on the east coast now for almost five years and now that I'm an artist, I know I have to get there. As you can see from the dusk photo, I WENT. I SAW. I ROAMED THE STREETS AND TOOK THE SUBWAY AND LIVED THROUGH IT ALL!

I found myself drawn to the obvious.

I saw my first ever 'famous' person, Christopher Lloyd (remember Back to the Future?). Tod and I were doing all the galleries on Newbury Street, and the woman in the Chase Gallery said wasn't that the actor so and so after he left; then we saw him on the street a few buildings down and then again, we were all watching a street performer and there he was. I feel like the only person in the world who has never seen a famous person in real life. So I am satisfied now.

Tod and I drove to Boston on the 3rd, which was Fri., it was dead in comparison to a normal day (meaning no highway gridlock). We zoomed there in my Mazda without a hitch, found ourselves near the world trade center and Tod convinced me to park there and just take the subway over to Newbury Street. I went for it. We had to change trains 3 times and by the last train I was ready to pass out and perform embarrassing bodily movements in public but I made it. It was super hot and I felt hot flashes swarming over me, I couldn't get out of there fast enough. I was overwhelmed the first hour, Tod said I didn't look too good, I was flushed and at that stage of being unsure I could do this but I knew I would hate myself if I wimped out so somehow I focused on being in the moment and paying attention to things and ignoring that stupid voice that asks what if I panic and freak out.

When we landed on Newbury Street I was almost completely overwhelmed by the masses. I've been to Manhattan during Christmastime and this seemed worse. All the sidewalks were clogged with bodies. Boston had a lot of young 'in love looking' couples. Many students. Lots of shopping and cell phone talking about materials items to be had. All the outdoor eateries filled, the shops filled, the streets filled. Amazing. People still do things. People still shop and go out and spend money and buy art! We headed straight for the nearest gallery and although it seemed super stuffy in a snobby way I asked if there were any mixed media art galleries around and to our surprise he printed out the south side art studios map located in old mill buildings and told us that this is the area artists worked and opened up their studios to the public. We decided to go up and down Newbury and then head for the artists studios. It proved to be the highlight of the day. More on that and the trip later.

Steps in front of a gallery on Newbury St.

Pavement