open studios is fast approaching

I'm working on new paintings and gathering strength for open studios. It's my favorite event of the year. I'll be exhibiting again at Compound 21 on the corner of 21st and Harrison. October 20-21 from 11 am - 6 pm.

This year's participating artists (as far as I know ) will be:
Mati McDonough
Hugh D'Andrade
Tania Ketenjian
Susannah Bettag
Heidi Iverson
Will McCollum
and me

maude show photos

DSC_0333.jpg, originally uploaded by ScottyJ.

Scott took this lovely series of photos of the show. I asked him to shoot it before it got dark, so these were actually taken before people showed up to see it.

If you want to, you can see the rest of the photos here.

whirlwind

We have had a busy and exciting couple of days! We're looking at houses and thinking about houses and talking about houses. And then back to school nights for the kids and finishing, framing and hanging the show, and orthodontist appointments and just lots going on.

Also, I broke the lcd on my camera. Frackersnappit!!! It was on the tripod and I guess the legs were wonky and I spun around and my camera fell and smashed a really cool ironstone pitcher and the lcd screen broke.

I hung the show at Maude this evening and it looks good. Jess and Stacy were really positive about it, so I feel less nervous than I sometimes do!

I hope to see you there tomorrow evening from 5:30-7:30. There's a show at Boomerang the same night that looks to be really cool so you can take in two shows.

finishing up

I'm finishing up work on my show. Framing, editing out pieces and seeing where I have gaps andwhere I need different pieces. I'm out of practice. But I am loving the long hours of studio time and I'm trying to figure out how to organize myself so that I can do more art work, spend more time and really say the things that I'm trying to say.

I sent out a mailing through my email newsletter last night. If you are on the list and didn't get it, just let me know, and if you're not on the list, you can sign up here.

maude show details

I used up all of my printer's ink making pretty cards for the Maude show. They are supposed to be blue, but the last ten or so came out pink! Oh well.

The opening is Saturday, September 8 from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m at Maude.
133 1/2 Kentucky St. Suite F
Petaluma, CA

I have lots of new paintings, and if all goes well I will have some new prints too. I really hope that you will be able to make it.

new tags for etsy items

I made these tags yesterday for my t-shirts and other items. I screenprinted an all over design on some heavy paper from SCRAP, and cut it into strips, punched a hole and voila! tags!

a few new small blocks

old embroidery

I found these when I was cleaning out some boxes in my studio. Old embroideries on hand dyed and printed linen that I did a few years back. Maybe three or four years ago. I'm trying to decide what to do with them.

new paintings for maude show

a work in progress, just a few layers in.
more works in progress. collage paintings still need encaustic. the floating seedling painting might get some more work, not sure. they might need to have eyes.
two new alphabet paintings and a small block painting that i'm keeping, on the shelf above my work table.

sketches

It feels weird to post sketches. It's kind of like walking around in your underwear or something, but I'm thinking a lot about sketching. I'm trying to make my paintings feel more loose, more free, and a little less sad.



sketches for t-shirt designs
two minute morning collage

show at maude

I'm having a show at a children's boutique in Petaluma. The store is called Maude and it's really amazing. Everything is lovingly chosen and has a certain quality. The shop owners love handmade things and seek out gorgeous handcrafted things.

The space is beautiful too, and I'm very happy that I'll be showing there. (I should have taken a photo of the space as a whole.)

shelf at Maude, with Heidi's dolls (bottom shelf) on a stack of handmade bedding. Ashley G prints, and little toys.
tabletop at Maude. Felt slippers and waldorf toys.
handmade clothes and Heidi's dolls

These gorgeous dolls are handmade by one of the shop owners,.



Maude
133 1/2 Kentucky St.
Petaluma, CA

new work in progress

These are some new, vintage paper collages on wood, waiting for me to draw on them and cover them in wax. I bought a new kind of paste and I really like it. It's easy to work with and for some reason isn't as messy as the Yes Paste that I used to use.

fixing up my studio

I have been working on fixing up my studio space, organizing and cleaning off my work surfaces and setting up spaces for certain kinds of work. It's very satisfying.

Lately I have been letting this room become one of those "junk rooms". The room where you plunk down all the cluttery junk that you don't know how to deal with, and then just close the door. That is no good. I am beyond lucky to have this room and a supportive family that values my creative work. So why am I not in here painting every day?

I've been thinking a lot about art making and why I haven't been working on things the way I should be, and what it might mean that I let my studio get this way. I'm still mulling it over, but I'm also trying to just get back to it.




I hung up a bunch of my paintings all together on one wall, along with a giant work in progress. That big white panel just has the background laid in and it is huge! Much larger than I normally work. I think it's over four feet tall!


I also made this little clipboard type thing so that I can hang up drawings and photos. It was very easy. I used a glue gun and I hot glued clothespins to an extra strip of wooden molding that was hanging around in my studio.

I'll post photos of the rest of the space as I finish it.

etsy update

I'm adding new items to my etsy shop, including some larger original pieces and some t-shirts for kids and adults.

Etsy Buy Handmade monstertown

new print

I finally made a new print! And I'm finally feeling better. It has been a long couple of months, but the acupuncture and various tinctures and things are helping and I feel about 90% of normal today.

These little prints are for sale in my etsy shop!

work in progress

Friday is the day to show some work in progress, right? This painting is nearly done, but it needs something. Not sure what. It will probably look much different when it is finished

apartment therapy auction

My piece is up for bidding right now in the Apartment Therapy auction to benefit DrawBridge.

I will also be donating work to the auction to benefit Christian Flores Carlos being organized by the lovely Claire. She is looking for other donations of art and craft work, so if you think that you can donate with either money or work, please do. This fundraiser will start in about a month.

auction preview

I am donating a piece to the Apartment Therapy SF charity auction to benefit DrawBridge, an arts program for homeless children. I am trying to decide which piece would be best to give.

I'm kind of leaning toward the house piece, because a lot of the children who use the program draw houses.

Any thoughts?

bright orange kitchen

I am so pleased to have my camera back, and for the lovely winter break that we had. Scott and I spent a good deal of time cooking and working on the house, and it was very nice.

These photos are from in our bright orange scullery. We got a set of really cool hanging panels for xmas from Larissa and Aaron, they are made by Koizol, and they are very fun and cheerful. They cast beautiful shadows too.

We keep wishing that we could paint our house. It's nice to have a rental that isn't sterile and white, but wow, the red and green living room, leading in to the purple, orange and yellow kitchen with the green ceiling can be a bit much sometimes.

The second photo shows the shadows cast on our little collection of Todd Barricklow pieces. Todd is in the upcoming "Close Calls" show at the Headlands. This show looks really good and I can't wait to see it. Also Todd's modded espresso machine is on the Make Blog!

happy new year

Our holidays were merry. I surely hope that yours were too! I haven't posted in a while because I've been thinking and hibernating and trying to figure out what to do with this next year.

My camera is finally back from being repaired, so I plan to begin posting again in earnest.

Also, I'm adding some paintings to my etsy shop.