[new column] The Shower Scene - A Gallery Story

New column up at Art & Musings, in which I recall my very first, very awkward gallery experience.

"We left the night on as best a note as possible, and I was just happy that for the most part, and for appearances’ sake, it was a downright successful opening for me. The hard part was over, I debuted well, I sold work, and now my art would hang in a gallery for the next month for more people to see.

Or so I thought."

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Staying in Creative Shape

New column up!

"Sometimes I get blocked for so long that my ability seems almost atrophied. I can’t paint, I can’t write. All my ideas are listless, weak. I forget how to push myself through a process I should know how to do better than anything else in my life."

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Remnant . 20x20 inches . 2012

1. natural light

2. interior/artificial light

3. interior and uv/blacklight combined

4. uv light only

5. no light

Ingredients: acrylic, phosphorescent pigments, crushed glass, crushed seashells, varnish, water & light on canvas.

I have used seashells in paintings before, but in this situation, I wanted to highlight them for their own beauty. So I sprinkled some on top, at the very last stage. They are not painted over. I wanted the seashells to show their own color and texture, and not compete with the rest of the painting.

These crushed pieces were taken from an abalone shell that I once collected from Moonstone Beach in Cambria, on the Central California coast. Cambria is a special place for me. My grandparents often took me there as a child, where my Grandpa and I spent hours combing the beach for interesting shells, rocks, and driftwood. He collected such things, and his collections remain largely untouched at my grandmother's house since his death in 2001.

Later, Colin proposed to me on the very same beach.

I have many different items I've collected from that beach over the course of my lifetime. Using some of it to be commemorated permanently in paintings is fitting. :)

This painting is $1000, and the last in a series of three 20x20 inches pieces I'm making this year. If you're interested in collecting it, feel free to email me or purchase it in my Etsy shop.

The Skirt

I've had this skirt in my possession for about 10 years now, and I've adored it without ceasing though it's certainly not in my wardrobe rotation. The fabric is... well, basically it's Light Reactive. The color changes from purple to teal and it looks like a mermaid would wear it if mermaids wore skirts.

I think I wore it one time to an Easter/Spring/Fertility type festival we did with Immersion one year, based on the movie Chocolat. There was chocolate and wine and rave lights and art tables and prayer stations. Basically the type of thing that would peeve a number of people (whom I have no interest in associating) and feel like a refreshing waterfall of awesome to others.

Immersion was rad like that.

Anyhoo, since Immersion is now a personal journey and I haven't been to a rave in 8 years, this skirt has lost any hope of use, and before I end up ditching it in a fit of spontaneous decluttering or chopping it into a scarf, Colin thought photographing the wonder of it in all its glory would be a mutually beneficial solution.

I truly hadn't intended the nakedness for nakedness' sake, but honestly, what do I own anymore that goes with this skirt? Nothing. So, we went with what works. And I think it's freaking awesome. And good for me, by the way. Go bold or go home. Or, at least, that's what I'm on a mission to learn.

But this isn't about me.

It's about THE SKIRT.

In Between the Art

New column up at Art & Musings!

"Our lives should be as interesting and inspiring as our art. Being an artist is an action, not a title."

More at Art & Musings!