...not exactly out like a lamb

This has been one crazy busy month! Lots of good stuff has been happening, most of which I've already blogged about (participating in the Empty Bowls Supper, my solo show at Biddeford Savings Bank, this month's First Friday Art Walk), but there's even more news: I am very happy and proud to announce that I have a brand-spanking-new-and-improved website! The address is still www.brushstrokesbymaria.com, but the site itself has been completely overhauled and I am extremely excited about it. I want to take a moment to thank my very dear friend, the lovely and multi-talented Jennifer Moscone (www.interactivetarot.net), for designing and building my new website. Jen has brought passion, creativity, and a seemingly endless amount of ideas to www.brushstrokesbymaria.com, and I am eternally grateful for her help, her patience, and her guidance. We hope to add new content all the time, so please check back often!

you can take that to the bank

My three-month long solo show at Biddeford Savings Bank in Scarborough is up, and it looks really good! I know it looks good because I ended up having to go back to bring a piece I had forgotten at home. DUH!

Here's the story: Lori Rae Curole is the woman running the show (www.wetpaintstudios.com, www.lollipopartproductions.com, www.wetpaintstudios.wordpress.com). We have been communicating via email for several months now and she has been extremely patient and helpful, answering every ridiculous question I may have had. Saturday, March 26th was the day she would take down the work by the previous artist and the day she would be hanging my show. The bank opens at 8:30 (which is when Lori would be arriving), so she asked me to get there at 8:45. I was super-paranoid, and despite having been up very late the night before taking care of last-minute framing issues (isn't that always the way?), I decided I would get my ass in gear early and arrive at 8:30 as well. Lori was shocked when I pulled up and mentioned that no one is ever early; in fact, many are quite late. This made me feel good, so I proceeded to unload my car quickly and efficiently. As I lined up all my pieces and started matching them up with the tags Lori had printed, a sinking feeling overcame me...oh no...I forgot a piece! My mind started racing...how could I have done that? I set my work aside weeks ago! I double checked everything! Why did I have to pull a flaky artist move? I went up to Lori and told her about my realization. "Don't panic," she said calmly. "If you can't get back here by noon when the bank closes, just bring it to my house and I'll come back on Monday morning and hang it then." Now, I didn't want to inconvenience her, and plus, it was my mistake. Showing up early doesn't negate forgetting a piece at home in my mind. I had a work appointment I had to go to as soon as I was done at the bank, so I started doing math in my head ("it should take 15 minutes for me to get to my appointment, and it's roughly 45 minutes to get from here to Brunswick; it won't take me long to grab the painting from home and an iced skinny mocha latte from the BoHo, then it's 45 minutes back to Scarborough...) and I said, "I can do this. This is feasible. I think I can get back here with the painting before noon." She said, "Well, don't worry, and don't speed." I headed out and thankfully, the traffic cooperated and my time estimates were correct. I called Lori's cell phone before leaving Brunswick (for the second time that day) and left a message saying that I was on my way. I walked through the door of the bank with my painting ("It's A Small World", for those of you who are curious) at ten minutes after 11 and I heard the bank manager (who is also named Lori) say, "Perfect timing!" Lori had just finished hanging the show and was starting to pack up her gear. She had gotten my message and knew I would be arriving at any time. She had left a spot for the missing painting and not only did it work perfectly in that space in relation to the other paintings near it, the hanger only needed a minor adjustment for the piece to be properly centered. I looked around the bank and I was really pleased and impressed with how Lori had hung the show. She made great choices and had a real intuition about certain pieces. It is obvious that she is a professional, and I am thankful for the opportunity to work with her.

At any rate, my lesson here is simple: triple-check everything! I got away with it this time. WHEW!

bowling for dollars

I painted a bowl for this event (as did other members of the Brunswick Art Collaborative)! Here is the info:


Empty Bowls Supper to benefit The Gathering Place shelter
Event Date: March 25th, 2011
Event Time: 5:00pm - 7:00pm
Location: Side door Unitarian Universalist Church, 15 Pleasant Street, Brunswick
Contact:- robinoh@comcast.net; (207) 443-4571
Event Details:
Friday, March 25. Empty Bowls Supper to benefit The Gathering Place, Brunswick’s new day shelter, and the Women’s Alliance. Come choose and buy a locally handcrafted bowl and fill it with luscious home-made soup, chowder or chili, then keep the bowl. $15 a bowl. Sponsored by the Women’s Alliance, UUCB. 5–7 pm. Side door of the Unitarian Universalist Church, 15 Pleasant Street, Brunswick.

This is one of the many reasons why I love the Brunswick Art Collaborative! At our last meeting, we all painted bowls to donate to these worthwhile causes. Heather Gelwick brought all the bowls and the glazes for us to use, and then she took the bowls home to fire. It was so much fun to get together, paint, and see how everyone chose to decorate their bowl (or bowls). Here is a photo of some of the bowls that were made that night (the one that says "yum" is mine).

in like a lion...

Tonight's First Friday Art Walk was great! The turnout was even better this month than it was last month, and since last month was better than the previous month, I'd say this is looking like a trend! It was a bit chilly but that didn't seem to stop anyone from coming out. Just think of how much busier it will be next month when it warms up! Lots of friends came by (thank you Jen, Mary, Erica, Heather, Rebecca, Jeremy, Sabrina, Echo, Jesse, Sy, and of course, my lovely husband Terry) to show their support, share some yummy food, and enjoy some lively conversation. I saw a lot of new faces too, plus some people who had stopped in last month remembered me and made a point to come by again. Jesse mentioned more than once that the food was better than what most other places had to offer, so I guess that helps matters as well! Perhaps I should have titled this post "come for the guacamole, stay for the art".

come together

Even though February is the shortest month of the year, it usually feels like the longest one because of the weather...but not this year. It has nothing to do with the weather this time, though. It has everything to do with the First Friday Art Walk. I really want to get some new stuff ready for this coming Friday and it seems like I've had less time this month to do so, but that's okay. Thankfully the last few days have been productive ones. I have been sneaking away to my studio whenever I get the chance and working on different things. I was able to start and finish a brand-new collage, start another new one (which I hope to complete in the next couple of days), and put the finishing touches on a collage that had been sitting around, waiting for the right ingredients to come along. I have also been plugging away at this year's birthday painting and, with some luck and some more time in the studio, I should have it ready for this month's show. It's nice when things can come together quickly. Fingers crossed that it keeps happening!

made to order

Terry's friend from college, Deb, was looking for a special present for her partner, Dave. Deb had been looking at photos of my art I had posted on Facebook, and she came across a collage entitled "Get Out Of Your Head and Into Your Heart". She sent me a message asking if she could buy it for Dave, but I told her the piece had sold at the Gorham Art Fair a couple of months ago. She asked if I ever did custom pieces and I told her I've done a few, but the prospect always makes me a bit nervous ("What if it doesn't meet expectations? What if it's not what you had in mind?"). She promised (with a smile) to have low expectations, so I agreed to give it a shot.

Deb prides herself on giving unique, thoughtful gifts, so I was flattered that she thought of me to provide her with one. Deb and Dave's song is "Flying Clouds" by Jorma Kaukonen, and Deb wanted the collage to represent it in some way. She sent me the lyrics and I chose a couple of lines that I thought would be nice to feature. I scrambled around looking for images, since I knew that Deb would be visiting Portland soon and I wanted to have it ready for her. I had an idea in my head what the collage would look like when I first started, but it ended up being fairly different...and I am so glad I didn't glue anything down prematurely! Deb was very happy with the finished product, and I got an email from her today saying that it had been well received by Dave also: "Your art got a 12 out of 10!" What a relief!

simple green

This month's First Friday was great! The turnout was even better than last month's, and I got to spend some time with people I care about (thanks to Erica, Rebecca, Andy, and Terry for hanging out). Last time I just had paintings on display, but this time I did both paintings and collages, and people really seemed to respond to the eclectic mix of work. Not only did I get positive feedback regarding what was on the walls, but a couple of people commented favorably on the music I was playing as well! I'm also happy to say that I was able to get not one, but two of the paintings I mentioned in my last post finished in time for the show.

I believe one of the reasons for the improved turnout was the sandwich board sign I was able to put out on the sidewalk. Erica was kind enough to loan the board to me, and I attached some bright yellow posterboard with the word "art" and some arrows painted on it. As the evening was coming to a close, I went outside to bring the sign in...and I noticed that someone had stuck some greenery on it! I thought that was so sweet, and it really was a nice touch. It made the sign so much more welcoming and friendly-looking, and I just had to take a picture. I'll make sure to pick up some fake flowers and greenery of my own for next month's Art Walk!