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!

let them eat cake

Once again, it's been a while since my last post. January has been a pretty busy month. I am working on three new paintings right now: one is almost finished, one is moving along, and one is in the beginning stages (although I had a really good idea for it last night). I would love to have the first two done in time for the next First Friday Art Walk (which is this week) but I don't know if that's going to happen. I think my chances are pretty good that I'll have the first one ready, but we'll have to see. There is a lot of snow in the upcoming forecast, so maybe I'll be able to spend extra time in the studio as a result.

One of the paintings I'm working on is a "birthday painting". For the past few years, I've tried to do a painting featuring birthday cake around this time. My friend Buck told me she used to do this when she was an art student. I loved the idea, so I took it (with her blessing). Normally I don't look at an actual cake or a picture of a cake when I do one of these paintings, but this year I decided that I needed an edible prop. I baked a cake, cut it up, and took pictures. The cake came out a bit lopsided and the photos weren't quite what I was hoping for. I brought almost half of it to Heather's house and begged her to share it with friends and family since I figured it would never get finished here (I'm not a huge cake fan, although Terry is). Less than a week later, I was visiting my sister and her family, and they surprised me with a birthday cake. It was a week before my actual birthday, so I wasn't expecting it. Another surprise: they sent me home with all the leftovers! At first I protested (more cake in the house), but then I thought, "Aha! A second chance to get some decent cake photos." This cake was not lopsided like the one I baked, so it would make a better prop. I photographed it when I got home and I am now currently using one of those pictures as a springboard for my idea. On my actual birthday, Terry and I went out to El Camino (my favorite restaurant!) with Heather and Matt to celebrate. Dinner was great, the drinks were amazing, and at the end of the evening, the waitress (who was also celebrating her birthday) brought us over a free chocolate dessert with a candle in it...another sweet surprise, and thankfully this time, it was not more cake.

first things first

Friday, January 7th, was my first opening reception at the new Closet Factory office...my first "First Friday" in this space! It was a great night and I was really pleased with the turnout. Many thanks to my dear friend Jen (http://www.interactivetarot.net/) and her mom Mary for staying with me until the end of the evening! Several friends stopped by to hang out and drink a toast (thank you to Erica, Silvia, Rebecca, and my wonderful husband Terry), and a bunch of people I don't know stopped in as well...not bad for a cold night in January in a location that is totally new to the Art Walk. I had a sign in the window that read "art!" so that got people's attention; next time, I hope to have a sandwich board-type of sign out on the sidewalk to attract more people and increase traffic. I am hoping that word-of-mouth will spread as well...I got a lot of very positive feedback from visitors, so perhaps next month, they will tell their friends to stop by. We'll see!

new year, new venue!

Hello and Happy New Year, everyone! I hope 2011 is filled with wonderful things for you and everyone you love. I am very happy and excited to share some news with all of you. As some of you know, I am the senior designer for Closet Factory of Maine as my "day job". Well, Closet Factory is in the process of moving their office/showroom from Presumpscot Street to the heart of Portland's Arts District, and my boss has generously offered wall space to me so I can display my work and take part in Portland's First Friday Art Walk each month! Please join me on Friday, January 7th, from 5 pm to 8 pm for my first opening reception at the new Closet Factory office. The new address is 647A Congress Street, Portland, ME 04101; we share an entrance/front foyer with Princess Nails. Start off the new year with some art, food, and wine!

art under the tree

When I was at the Arts Downtown and All Around festival a couple of weeks ago, I spoke to a guy (named Bud) who came by my booth. He and his family were checking out my work and he stopped in front of the "Zen" collage. He said, "This would be perfect...if only it said 'Zhen' instead." I was confused, so he explained to me that a good friend of his has a dog named Zhen: "This would be a perfect Christmas gift for her...if only you could change it." They all left the booth after looking around for a while, but a few minutes later, he came back. "Do you ever do custom pieces?" he asked. I said, "Well, I haven't yet, but I don't see why I couldn't." He told me a little bit about his friend; I told him that it wouldn't be the same piece at all but that I could do my best to find images and materials that would give it the same feel. I took his information and agreed to get in touch with him before too long. Not only was this to be a Christmas gift, but it was getting sent to Colorado, so a trip to the post office and shipping time would need to be factored in (not to mention actually making the piece) so it could make it on time.

A few days later, I was talking to my good friend Jen about this. "I'm a little nervous," I said, "I've never done a custom piece before." She quickly contradicted me and said, "Yes you have! Don't you remember that fiddlehead painting you did for me?" "Oh, yeah," I said, "and I did that Strength collage for Julia, too!" I was starting to feel better about things, but these were pieces made for people who I know and love (and who know and love me back), rather than for a total stranger. Jen reassured me and I decided to just do what came naturally and not to overthink things...just make it the way I would any other collage.

I had to go on a Scrabble tile hunt because I was a letter short (the "H" was the one I didn't have, interestingly enough) but that was successful, and then I got to work. The piece came together fairly quickly and I put the finishing touches on it a couple of days after I started it. I contacted Bud to let him know I was going out of town (this was right before my trip to New York City) but that I would be around early the following week. We agreed to meet, and thankfully he loved the piece (entitled "Zhen", of course).

So, here I sit on Christmas Eve, knowing that one of my collages is wrapped and under someone's Christmas tree, waiting to be opened (and hopefully enjoyed) tomorrow morning. That's a pretty cool feeling. Happy holidays, everyone!

nyc!

Last weekend, my friend Heather and I went to New York City. We had a blast! We stayed with my very dear friend Julia at her new place in Brooklyn. We arrived on Friday night and went out for a late dinner followed by drinks. We didn't get in until 4 am. None of us realized how late it was! Businesses were still open and people were still out and about, so it felt normal. The energy level in New York City is palpable and it is impossible not to get swept up in it. We got a late start the next day (obviously!) and after a delicious breakfast, Heather and I headed out to do touristy activities while Julia tended to previous obligations.

We went to Strawberry Fields in Central Park to see the Imagine memorial to John Lennon. I have seen countless photos of this spot, and none of them come close to conveying the power that I felt standing there. Our trip fell just after the 30th anniversary of John Lennon's death and there was a large crowd of people there paying tribute: some left flowers, some left handwritten notes, some left lit candles. I found myself getting choked up, and I was surprised by the wave of emotion that overcame me. We stayed for a little while before walking over to the Dakota, and then we headed into the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Met is one of my favorite places ever, and it was fun to be there with someone who had never been there before. We went to the Egyptian wing, the European paintings and sculpture section, the Modern Art area, and the Asian wing (where I had never been before). The next day, we went to the Statue of Liberty and the Immigration Museum on Ellis Island (another place I had never been before). As we stood there looking at pieces of walls with writing and drawings on them made by immigrants waiting to pass through, it struck me how strong and how universal the urge has always been in human beings to make their mark. Whether it has been through hieroglyphics, pottery, paintings, sculpture, jewelry, music, or simply graffiti, people have always felt the need to express themselves. I felt grateful to be witness to so many types of self-expression in one weekend by tons of people who I will never meet or know otherwise. Later that day, we headed into Greenwich Village for some shopping and some of the best pizza I have ever had (Two Boots on Bleecker Street), and as we sat there eating our slices, I found something else to be grateful for!

long overdue update!

I haven't blogged in quite a while...hmm...seems I've written that before! Hopefully it will be a while before I write that phrase again. Anyway, things have been busy, and that's the reason for my lack of recent blog entries. Last weekend was the Arts Downtown and All Around Festival (sponsored by Five Rivers Arts Alliance), and it was a really great experience for me. I met a lot of cool people (shoppers and artists alike), I sold a painting and a collage, and I had a bunch of people take my business card and sign up for my email list.

Lee Cheever had her booth across from mine and she was an enormous help to me. As I wrote in my last entry, Lee outlined specific directions for me to build my own display (and found another display that I could borrow). I am happy to say I was able to finish building the display and it ended up working perfectly, although I did have a minor setback. When Lee came to pick up my display the day before the show (she has a truck, I don't), things started coming apart: screws broke through wood, staples started popping off, and I started freaking out. Lee was calm and assured me it would be easy to fix. I brought my tools to the set-up period before the show (which was noon on Friday; the show opened at 5pm) and hoped I could get everything done in time. It turns out I only needed my hammer and my staple gun, because Lee fixed the broken parts for me beforehand! All I needed to do was put in a few more staples and hammer the loose ones in. Whew!

I got to Fort Andross early on Saturday morning, and I'm glad I did. The place was packed, thanks to the Winter Farmers' Market going on next door. There was live bluegrass music and the mood was fun and festive. My friend Heather hung out with me for a little while (she is my art show MVP!), and I saw some other familiar faces as well. That evening, my husband Terry came by with his brothers Jerry and Patrick (who were visiting from Colorado and Rhode Island, respectively) and it was great to see them. It meant a lot to me that they could stop by and see my work in person (since Jerry and Patrick live out of state, they have only seen my work online). Also, Peggy from the Brunswick Art Collaborative came by with her husband Mark and two friends, which I really appreciated. It's so nice to have the support of friends and family!

I am really happy that I had the opportunity to participate in this event, and I look forward to next year's Arts Downtown and All Around. Thank you to everyone who stopped by, who helped out, and who made the weekend a fun and exciting experience!