Earth Stories Exhibition Shows at UCM Gallery of Art and Design

 I am so thrilled to see my piece: "Alternative Energy -vs- Fossil Fuels" in the UCM Gallery of Art and Design, where it will hang through March.  Below, the postcard for the exhibition.  My piece got a nice spot on that, as well! 

I have not shared this piece on my blog yet.  I was waiting until it had been shown, first.  But now I can tell the story.  Stay tuned!

44th Celebration of American Crafts at the Creative Arts Workshop

 The 44th Celebration of American Crafts at the Creative Arts Workshop in New Haven, Connecticut has just opened.  This special fundraising event remains open through December 24th.  It is intended as a public service for the community - offering the opportunity for holiday shopping for hand made arts and crafts.

 I mounted these five 12" square pieces on stretched canvases and sent them off for the sale.  I look forward to seeing how they do at this year's sale.  Prices are affordable, I think - for one of a kind textile art.

If you are anywhere nearby - I hope you will go and take it in.

Special events:

Celebrate Style - Sunday, November 11 - Fashion show and champagne reception.
Connecticut Artists Night - Thursday, November 15
 Crafternoon  - Sunday, December 2

I doubt the Creative Arts Workshop is open today - given the impending visit from Hurricane Sandy.  However, as soon as things settle down - I am sure their doors will open!

 

Bozeman ArtWalk - Tart Gallery

Artwalk in Bozeman.
My favorite gallery - "Tart".
I especially loved the paper mache art.

This entire wall is work by artist, Allie Buck.

Gallery 16 Show in Great Falls, Montana

I was thrilled when I received the phone call inviting me to show my work at Gallery 16 in Great Falls, Montana! Gallery 16 is a women's co-operative gallery that has been in operation for 40 years! I was invited by potter, Judy Ericksen, who has been involved with Gallery 16 for 39 years!

Towards the end of September, I delivered 27 wall hangings along with hand dyed silk scarves, hand printed journals, and hand sewn hand bags.

October 2 was the Friday Artwalk reception and there was a good crowd passing through the gallery. I was pleased to see some familiar faces and met quite a few other artists in the co-op as well as many fellow quilters who came to see the show after reading about it in the arts section of the local newspaper.

I enjoyed having my husband Joe, and my parents accompany me to the reception.

Everything was beautifully displayed. The three featured artists included myself and Judy, along with painter Sue Toppen. They did a fabulous job blending our work to create visually pleasing displays all around the space.

If you get to Great Falls, Montana anytime in the month of October, stop by Gallery 16 at 608 Central.

Artist Reception

What a thrill to arrive at the gallery Friday afternoon and discover this wonderful arrangement compliments of Phyllis - who participated in my retreat last fall. She and I have been in contact frequently since that time via emails. Thanks Phyllis!

I was very surprised that so many relatives came from far away for our reception. Additionally, one of my cousins invited a group of friends from high school and grade school. Some of these women, I had not seen in 4 decades. It was so much fun catching up with them!

My parents drove down from Coffee Creek - a three hour drive. This was the first time they had been to the gallery since it opened in May.

The wall art includes my art quilts, along with daughter Elizabeth's paintings and daughter Michelle's photographs.

The art on the floor is our standard - pottery, jewelry, glass, paper art - this is the stuff that pays the bills.

Expressionism

"Firestorm V" is part of a new show now hanging in Elements Gallery.

Last week, my mother and I drove up to Whitefish, MT for a visit with my sister, Jackie.

We added a couple of other activities to our agenda, since we were in that part of the state. My mother wanted to get Flathead cherries and so we drove down to Bigfork, where we also stopped in at ARTfusion - a fun little gallery that shows my work. It was a nice opportunity to meet the new owner and have a brief chat.

We were discussing some of the various artists and she said something that has really impacted my feeling about my work. She stated that she thought my work was "Expressionist". At the time, I didn't know exactly what that meant, but when I got home, I googled the term and did some research.

By golly, I think she is right! On one level, it seems so silly to have to define my art, but on the other, it is extremely validating and reassuring. Ever since I have left my career as a School Psychologist, I have felt somewhat disoriented about my identity. It has been a remarkable part of the journey to realize how important it is in our culture (and internally) to have some sort of terms with which to identify what it is that you do. . . .

I have been going through a lot of shifts in the self identity area lately. Suddenly becoming middle aged, a grandmother, self employed, a landlord, and a small business owner (none of these things in my life plan!) , have somehow been harder as I have felt somewhat adrift without an official "career" that I could talk about in sound bites.

Lately, I have looked at other quilt artists work with a jealous eye - wishing that I could work in a more interesting style . . . It has been hard for me to accept the fact that my work is not really abstract. Nor is it realistic. It seems that I always have to include some sort of figures, images from nature or symbolism . . . but beyond that - my visual imagery and techniques cover a broad range. I know I should not have to justify what I am compelled to do, but somehow it seems to be necessary at this point in my life.

How wonderfully refreshing and uplifting to discover that I do indeed have a consistent style when it is put into the context of Expressionism. This has done so much for my self esteem and confidence. Thank you, Kathy!

Post Card

Next week, we will be hanging new work on all the walls in Elements Gallery. The show will feature work from myself as well as my two daughters. We are pretty excited about this opportunity. Michelle is a photographer. Elizabeth paints, and I work with fabric.

I spent many hours messing around designing a postcard that looked suitable. I hope this prints out OK. I am still really on the learning curve when it comes to graphic design and layout and learning to use Photoshop 7. Yikes!

Elements Gallery Debut

Elements Gallery opened May 2.

Business hours will be 10:30 to 5:30 Tuesday through Saturday.

Or by appointment.

We received a lot of encouraging comments from our guests.

Everyone seemed to be having a great time.

I had a lot of positive feedback on my work.

Our eclectic mix of fine and functional art is colorful and complimentary.

The display of wearables got a lot of attention.

We hope to keep our place filled with colorful, interesting works of art. We plan to focus on keeping unique pieces on hand and sponsoring artists who work in a contemporary style, New Age, OutsiderArt, Fiber, etc. We will keep a steady supply of smaller items like pottery, jewelry, journals, scarves, dolls, etc. on hand to generate the kind of sales that will pay the bills. That will make it possible for us to take more risks as far as what we hang on the walls. This community has nothing else like what we've created. I am very pleased because it has sprung up very quickly, and is very much in line with my vision for the space. I am sure as word gets out, we will attract more artists who's work will fit with our style.

Elements Gallery

I am happy to announce a new venture. May 2, I will be opening a new gallery in Billings, Montana! This is VERY BIG!!!!!

The gallery is to be unlike anything else in the area. We will feature an eclectic blend of fine and functional art. We hope to fill our space with interesting art relating to the five elements of fire, water, earth, wood, and metal.

Here is a picture of some things we have placed in the window. We are starting to set up the gallery now and are taking inventory and getting everything arranged. You can see my little handbag made from discharged, rust dyed, and painted cotton fabrics, as well as a hand dyed silk scarf draped over the pedestal. The pottery is from two different artists.

My partner, Theresa Gong is a fabulous potter. Above, is an example of her very fine work. She works with porcelain. After the first firing, she carves intricate designs, then fires again at a super high heat. Isn't this platter stunning?

Above is another grouping of items for our gallery. A felted wall hanging, a journal with a handpainted cover (mine), felted dolls, and another of Theresa Gong's lovely pieces.

Here is another grouping - including some felted pieces, more ceramics, hand dyed organic cotton napkins, etc.

Theresa is not only a very fine artisan, but she has also been running galleries in the area since the 1980's. She is a wonderful resource and a very positive personality. I feel very fortunate to have this opportunity to work with her.

Painted Canvas

Yesterday, I took a little break from my labors at the sewing machine (big quilting project) to splash some bright colors on a couple of pre-stretched canvases. I wanted to determine whether or not my hand cut stamps and screen print techniques would be effective on a premade canvas.

I was satisfied with this experiment. I think they might be worth a try in the gallery, if I do a series - maybe in a 12 x 12 size so they could be hung together in different configurations. I want to be able to provide some affordable fine art. This community is notoriously tight.

Yesterday, I met with one of my favorite ceramic artists at the location of my intended gallery. She and I discussed becoming partners in the venture. She was very enthusiastic and encouraging. She cannot give me a firm answer until May, but I feel certain she will be a mentor if not a partner. She has had a gallery in town for at least 20 years, but is currently in transition and is working to get ready for a big show in the midwest. She has asked if she can begin sending artists my way, as she has a lot of connections. Very exciting! Today, Joe and I will go hang the track lighting in the gallery.

Co-op Gallery Location

2914 First Avenue North is the future home of an arts and fine crafts cooperative gallery and studio.

The entire space is approximately 1000 square feet. This is the view from the front door. This portion of the space will be the gallery and it is approximately 650 square feet. We plan to install track lighting.

There is excellent street exposure. First Avenue North is a one way street and 2914 has corner windows on the alley side, so street traffic can see in the window from half a block away. I have been told that 20,000 vehicles drive this street each day. There are restaurants on either side of the space. Cham Thai is to the west and Sweet Grass is to the east. There are a number of other restaurants and coffee shops within a block or two.
I am hoping there will be an artist interested in setting up a to work in the window.

The studio space is in the back with access to the restrooms (shared with the Thai restaurant). This space contains a single basin sink and there is room for a refrigerator and microwave on the counter. Work space for the member artists will be snug - about the size of a cubicle in an office. I plan to set up a design wall and work table in this space, and hope for 4 or 5 other artists to join me here.

The view of the entire building from across the street. This building has a full basement with lots of storage space.

Please contact me through a blog comment if you are interested.

Artist Cooperative Gallery and Studio Idea

I've had an idea incubating the past couple of years and I think I have come close to solving the logistical problems involved. I would love feedback on this idea . . . . (just in case I am overlooking something significant).

I have long yearned for an appropriate local gallery space for my art as well as some kind of collaborative community for artists.

I happen to own an old brick building in a high traffic area of downtown that contains a vacant retail space of about 1000 square feet. It has been newly renovated with new paint and carpeting, etc. I am contemplating opening a cooperative gallery / studio. The front 2/3 would be the gallery, and the back 1/3 (divided by a wall) would serve a communal studio space for member artists. Member artists would pay monthly rent for use of their designated portion of the studio work space and gallery display area and would be required to staff the gallery one day per week, but would retain 100% of sales of their work.

I would like member artists to commit to a six month contract (converting to month to month thereafter) and to further agree to participate in regular organizational sessions for the purposes of problem solving, setting up displays, and light housekeeping.

My role would be to oversee the business of the gallery and I would plan to set up a work station in the studio area, with regular hours, in order to participate in the communal artistic process. I would need to establish and enforce protocol for shared studio space, and manage the other gallery consignments (60 / 40% for non-member artists).

I thought I would implement an application process for members requiring art samples, an artist bio, statement, references, and an interview. I would be seeking two to five compatible individuals who demonstrate a dedication to their art, are congenial and cooperative with others, reliable, and enthusiastic about presenting their work to the public. I would be most interested in finding artists working with textiles, jewelry, ceramics, assemblage, ceramics or collage, etc. These medium are not well represented in galleries in this area, currently (most galleries have western and wildlife art, bronzes and the like).

No name yet for this venture. I would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions.