Sunday, November 24, 2013

posters and posting

The Arts Downtown and All Around posters have been printed and they look fabulous! I am very happy to report that my painting, "Sole Mate," made the poster! It's one of ten images, and they all look really good together. It's a nice way of capturing the diversity of work you'll see on display during this event. I've hung several around town already (with a few more to go), and people seem to be responding well to them. I'm also pleased to say that I've filled all of the slots that were assigned to me with bands/musicians for the weekend, and I'm really looking forward to all the great energy that live music can bring to an art event. For more information (including times, locations, and a list of participating artists), please click the link: http://5raa.org/arts-downtown-all-around-2/

                                                   

Speaking of art events I'm excited about, I dropped off work yesterday for the 7th Annual Creative Economy Sale and Show! The show takes place at Cat Schwenk's Studio on the Hill (21 Pleasant Hill Rd., Freeport) on Thanksgiving weekend (Friday, November 29th, Saturday, November 30th, and Sunday, December 1st; 10 am to 6:30 pm each day). Saturday was my first time meeting Cat in person (we've communicated via email and Facebook previously), and I liked her instantly! She was lovely and made me feel very relaxed. In fact, I left feeling even better about the show than I did when I arrived, and I was already feeling very positive. I decided to focus on small paintings and mixed media pieces (11" x 14" was the biggest painting I brought with me) since there are roughly 40 artists participating. I figured it would be a lot easier to fit more pieces that way, and since smaller pieces have smaller price tags, that might help to encourage potential buyers. I also brought my magnet display, which Cat said she would probably put near the cash register. Hooray for impulse buys! I've been hanging some posters around town for this show, too, but I picked up some more yesterday and I plan to do more...time to get the word out!
http://www.maineartscene.com/Maine-Art-Headlines/Freeport-s-7th-Annual-Creative-Economy-Studio-Show-and-Sale.html


Speaking of magnets, I finally got an Etsy shop up and running this week! I only have six different magnets on there right now, but I will be adding more before too long. I am thrilled to say that within an hour or so of opening my Etsy shop, I got my first sale! Woo hoo! I don't know or completely understand all of the ins and outs of Etsy yet, but there are people following my page, and people have "favorited" some of my magnets, and that sounds good to me! Here is the link to my page: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BrushstrokesByMaria?ref=pr_shop_more


Wednesday, November 13, 2013

working inside the box

Quite a while ago, one of the women in the Brunswick Art Collaborative brought a bunch of cardboard boxes to a meeting. These boxes were all the same size and shape (7" tall, 4.25" wide, 2" deep), and they had been used for Christmas ornaments. Her plan was to give a box to every Brunswick Art Collaborative member to see what each person would come up with...this is mine.


I am so happy that I finally finished this project! I had the idea for a shrine-type of piece as soon as I saw the box, and I certainly had more than enough medals to get it done (for those who don't know: I was raised in a VERY Catholic household- my great uncle was a priest, and my parents volunteered for the church- and, a while back, I found a box filled with Mary medals in the basement...no one knows where they came from). I knew I wanted to use an Our Lady of Guadalupe image for the center, but I didn't have a good one on hand...until a client asked me if I was interested in helping him dispose of some old refrigerator magnets! I found a discarded mini-string of Christmas lights on a walk around my neighborhood a while back (sometimes it pays to go for a walk on trash day!) and I knew they would be the perfect way to tie the whole piece together. I like they playful feel they give, and it reminds me of the decor at El Camino! Mmm...that makes me want guacamole! 

The only time I specifically devote to working on mixed media pieces is when the Brunswick Art Collaborative meets, which is why this took me so long to finish. It really was a lot of fun to work on, and I liked seeing the different choices other members made with their projects. We're a diverse group! 

Thursday, November 7, 2013

good questions

It occurred to me the other day that this month, November 2013, marks one year since my boss decided to close the Closet Factory showroom on Congress Street (this was the annex location of the business; the shop on Presumpscot Street is still open and moving right along), thereby ending a nearly two-year run of First Friday solo shows in that location for yours truly. If you knew me at all a year ago, I was kind of freaking out. My thoughts were ranging from panicked ("Where am I going to show my work? What will happen next?") to hopeful ("Well, maybe this is a way of opening me up to new opportunities"). Obviously, the latter approach was nicer than the former, so that's what I focused on and tried to cultivate. By the time March 2013 rolled around, I had shows booked for every month of the year.

I'm happy to say that as the year has progressed, more and more opportunities have made themselves known to me, and yet another one has just materialized: I've been invited to participate in the 7th annual Creative Economy Studio Show and Sale in Freeport on Thanksgiving weekend! I am SO psyched. I've been hearing about this show for a couple of years now, but I never knew how to get in. Turns out it's an invitation-only show, organized and run by an artist named Cat Schwenk. I've never met Cat, but since Brunswick is a small area, many artists know each other, and I know people who know her...so, I would like to send Christine DeTroy a very big THANK YOU for getting me into this show! My friend Patricia Boissevain introduced me to Christine in February, when Trish and Christine were sharing a booth at the Flea For All in Portland and Terry and I stopped in for a visit. Fast forward to the October Second Friday Art Walk in Brunswick: Christine came into my room and recognized Terry right away from his Bohemian Coffee House days, and then she recognized me from the Flea For All. We started chatting and she asked if I ever did Cat's show; I said I would love to but I had no idea how to go about getting in. Christine took my card before she left and kindly passed my info along to Cat, who then sent me an email invitation three weeks later!

Who knew that the questions "Where am I going to show my work? What will happen next?" could have positive, exciting, and hopeful answers right behind them? Lesson learned...