Have a Beautiful Thanksgiving!

I have been busy in the studio revisiting a medium I have missed-good old fashioned painting.  I have five new paintings in process and am anxious to see where they take me!  It’s funny how things work though-I am painting and my mind is coming up with all sorts of great encaustic work I could do now that I have packed up my encaustics for the season.  When the weather turns colder it becomes increasingly more difficult to work with the hot wax–especially when it hardens on the brush before I can get it to my panel.  I only have a small space heater in my studio whose limitations (like blown fuses) make it insufficient for keeping it warm enough to work with the wax without frustration.  Soooo, ironic as it is I have more ideas for wax than for canvas!  No big deal though-I will work with a smile on my face ’cause I love paint

With that being said it is time to move from thoughts of paint to thoughts of turkey!!!  I wish you all the happiest of Thanksgiving’s!!  I have so much to be thankful for that  when this holiday rolls around I begin to feel almost overwhelmed.  Where do you begin to count the blessings?  From the simplest to the most complex I move through my days aware that things could be so different.  I may not have the best of everything, I may not shop at the best stores and I may have my personal limitations but all these are insignificant when  I take the time to look beyond the superficial and peer deeper into those things which last — it is there that I find the fullness of real gratitude.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Little Hang ups held their own!

What a great show opening on Friday! Loved seeing everyone and touching base with folks I hadn’t seen in a long time. The other artists in the show-Kelly Allen, Michele Bosak and Sara Joseph are amazing artists and what an honor it was for me to hang work in the same show with them! I know they were the reason for the lack of elbow room that happened at Byrneboem that night and what fun to see so many people in one place. I heard back from one friend that there were people waiting outside to get in!
The work will be up through the first couple of days in December so if you didn’t make it Friday there is still time to catch a glimpse of the Little Hang Ups.

New week-new work…

I know the show opens on Friday and that I shouldn’t give them all away but I just wanted to share another.  Some work is more enjoyable than others to create and this series falls into that category.  I was sure that when I was finished I would pack up my encaustics for the season (it gets too cold in my studio to work with the wax) and be happy for it.   Instead I am wondering if I should try to eek out a couple more before I move to oils and mixed media!

As it is, I think I will pack them up for the season and head on to other ideas and other mediums.  I am anxious to give other works I have been ruminating over a chance to grow.  Besides, it was nice to think I had a sense of completion for the time being.  I always enjoy that feeling I get, almost like a sigh, when I pack up work and send it on to where ever it might be headed.  It clears my head and opens up other options from the creative to the mundane.  Mundane is a strong word I guess-ordinary is, well, ordinary so it doesn’t apply so maybe just daily would work better.  The daily stuff.

I often overlook the daily stuff in my quest for the creative and I spent some time this weekend being very daily!  I hit the yard, during record autumn warmth I might add, and raked, blew, hauled, piled, moved, cleaned and cleared out all weekend long.  I reveled in working outside and also getting in some good ole heave-ho work in my studio space.  A lot of frustration was worked out as I stripped down old canvases, demolished shabby supports and cleared out the old baggage of old work.  Whew!  What a great feeling to see a pile of old work literally hit the fire!  It is refreshing to let loose of the old stuff I clung to for whatever reason-to let go of sentimentality and glean only those things that served a stronger purpose.  I did keep a few (a very few) pieces that I recognized as a genuine moment of growth-or an ‘A-ha’ moment in my work.  The rest?  Burn baby, burn!!  The nice thing about that is that now when I head out to my studio-which, surprisingly, is just as crowded-I don’t have these old images to get distracted by and can look forward to newer, hopefully stronger work!! Yay!!  A fresh start…aahhhhhhhhh.

Here’s to your own aahhhhhh moment-have a beautiful week!

All ready to go

Well, I dropped off my newest little encaustics for the upcoming Little Hang Ups show due to open next week!  Deciding which ones should be included and which ones will be scraped down and reused is never fun but here’s hoping I picked the right ones!!

This one ended up being one of my favorites so I thought I would post it for you all to see.  With everything that has been going on here lately, it was nice to feel a sense of completion after dropping this body of work off.  Now, on to the next show-which is coming up in February 2010 (!).

it’s a work-a-day world again!

It appears that I have found a job! (at long last!)  When all the paper work clears and the dust settles, I will be teaching art history!  I am so excited about this and so looking forward to it that January cannot come fast enough!

That news aside, I will be posting new work here soon,  I am placing the finishing touches on the pieces I have created for my upcoming show and will share as soon as I get them documented.

Happiest of Wednesday’s to you….

a few ‘Little Hang Ups’ to get hung up on-

Got a little show update about a show of little works.  Opening on November 13, 2009 the group show ‘Little Hang Ups’ will offer up a delectable selection of intimate works by artists Kelly Allen, Michele Bosak, Sarah Joseph and yours truly at Byrneboehm Gallery.  I am pretty pumped about being in the company of such talented and wonderful folks!

This is super short but sometimes, just sometimes, less is more-especially when bigger isn’t necessarily better!

New work to share

I am becoming less and less frequent with my posts-which I owe to the fact that I have become more and more busy.  I guess it goes with the territory!  Sometimes I miss blogging regulary and feel a little guilty but it is only because I am working away-which is a good thing!  Being so busy has its disadvantages too though-as in last week I forgot three things I was suppose to do!! Not a good feeling, especially when you don’t realize it until a few days later!  My bad–in a big way!

Here is a  little something to prove I have been working and not slacking. It is part of my Geisha obsession…

Not the clearest pic but it will give you an idea anyway.  This is a little guy, approx. 8″ square and is encaustic, oil and  charcoal. 

So there you have it- a quicky update for the week.  Take care all!

Good things come in small packages…or envelopes!

After a few really busy days which resulted in forgetting to check the mail-I have finally caught up a bit.  Gathering the armload of mail in the box was both comical and rewarding because after I sifted and sorted I came across an envelope from Indiana University.  I thought it was a simple reminder to pick up work I had in one of their shows but as it turns out I received an award!  All She Really Wants is a Kitchenaid was awarded second place in their Fusion exhibition which coincides with the 4th annual Regional Art Summit.

All She Really Wants is a Kitchenaid

I am grateful for the opportunity to show with IU and equally so for the recognition of an award!

Should’ve done this sooner

OK, no excuses (though I have real ones!)-I should have posted this sooner.  Sorry for the slip up and I will try to stay on top of things a bit better next time…

Huzzah for the opening of   Self Absorbed: An Exhibition of Contemporary Self Portraiture!  Though the show opened on the 2nd of October you still have time to catch a glimpse of the piece I submitted At Loose Ends.

If you have a moment to mosey on over to the SPAC Gallery-you have until November 6-and enjoy!

Art of the Table, ArtPeers and New Art-a great combo!

If you should happen to find yourself looking for something to do tonight-hop on over to Art of the Table to see my newest piece!  I am excited to be a part of the ArtPeers Fall Festival this weekend and there will be live music, artist receptions and all sorts of merriment.  It promises to be a beautiful night so stop in and say hi! 

If you happen to live on mars and aren’t familiar with what is going on in Grand Rapids right now you will need to know that the city is filled with art from stem to stern.  ArtPrize is in full swing!  This weekend is a fantastic opportunity for you to get out and roam the streets, check out the art, meet the artists and have a great time.  With ArtPeers in Uptown and ArtPrize in Downtown if you can’t find a good time-or good art-you aren’t looking hard enough!