Story Without a Plot

Here it is! The official show announcement.  Through the month of August, I will be the featured artist at RiverSea Gallery in beautiful Astoria, OR. Opening: August 8th, 6-8pm and on Facebook Live from 6-6:30pm. Show  dates: August 8th - September 8th RiverSea Gallery 1160 Commercial St, Astoria, OR. For those of you who cannot make it in person, I will be broadcasting on Facebook Live from 6-6:30pm. Go to my Facebook art page to see it. Don't do Facebook? Have no fear! You do not have to have a Facebook account to view it. I will be sending out an email the day before the opening with details and a link. (You can sign up for my newsletter by clicking on the lovely lady with the gun just to your right...) In addition, on August 13th at 5pm I will have an online artist talk, probably in the form of a Zoom call. I will provide a short talk on exhibit, then open the “room” up for questions. I will be sending out an email the day before with details and a link to the event. We will be presenting my collage paintings along with intaglio and woodcut prints. The work is inspired by classic film noir and pulp fiction covers, full of romantic longing, drama and adventure. Populated with femme and homme fatales, they evoke mysterious narratives. Come bathe yourself in the intrigue and glamour of a bygone era! RiverSea Gallery is dedicated to the safety of all it's visitors. Therefore masks and social distancing are required (fortunately it is a very large space!)We hope to see you there!

Art in the Time of Covid

I have been fortunate that my life has gone fairly smoothly during the Covid-19 crisis, despite upended expectations and uncertainty about the future. Despite it all, I have an exhibition coming up on August 8^th at RiverSea Gallery in Astoria, Oregon!

As is the case with every art show there is a lot to do, accompanied with the anxious hope that the opening will go well. Will it be well attended? Will there be any sales? But art in the time of Covid has brought these typical concerns to a new level.

Riversea Gallery has reopened with the changes that all business now require, such as masks and social distancing (fortunately it is a very large space!) But this opening is going to be like none I’ve ever had before. Attendance is impossible to predict. The normal wine and snacks will not be served. And this time there will be extra efforts made to share it all on the web. Watch for videos uploaded onto my Instagram account, maybe even Facebook live. Like so many of us, I am frantically ascending the steep learning curve of online technology!

Additionally, I will provide an artist talk, but this time it will be virtual, probably in the form of a Zoom call. I will provide a short talk on exhibit, then open the “room” up for questions.
Although the opportunity to interact in physical space will not be there, there are some terrific advantages! For one, you can participate from your home, and if you are not presentable, you can block out your video camera and still participate, grubbies and all!

I will be keeping you all apprised of links and times to participate in my newsletters, social media and on my website home page.

New Year's Evolutions

Like many of you, my year has been filled with successes and also some setbacks.

One of the upsides to my setbacks is that I have a lot more time on my hands and my life is more in balance. A balanced life is supposedly a good thing. But in the U.S., being “too busy” is a point of pride, a dysfunctional way in which we feel we are important, that we are “getting somewhere”, that we are “making progress”, that we are relevant. For many of us, being overworked and under rested is a status symbol. It gives us the illusion of success.

I'm not a person who makes New Year's resolutions, but each year at this time I do take stock of the year that was, and set intentions for the year to come. So as the old year turns and the new year dawns, I am asking myself what “success” means to me and what does it look like?

Since I do not need to make a living from my art, I have the latitude to define success anyway I like. But this fortunate circumstance creates its own pitfall.

My friend Kelly Williams often asks; “what is your fear?” Mine is to be considered a dilettante.

Merriam Webster:
Dilettante
1 : a person having a superficial interest in an art or a branch of knowledge : dabbler

My great fear is that I will not be taken seriously as an artist. This translates into a vague array of circumstances that I desire; a certain number of galleries, a certain number of shows, a certain number of sales. Ambitions that are vague and unconsidered have a funny way of driving me in ways that are often unsustainable and inappropriate to my more healthy desires and actual circumstances. So I am taking some time to evaluate my desires and create appropriate goals.

Will I actively search for more representation, or is that appropriate to my artistic output? Will I develop a technique that is quicker and less laborious, or is my slow pace of artmaking something I can indulge in, and simply adjust my expectations to be in line with it? Shall I go back into the intaglio printmaking I dipped my toe into last spring? What if I were to branch out further into woodblock printing? How would more printmaking affect my connection to my audience? Would it make my art more accessible?

These are some of the possibilities I have rambling around in my head. I am so grateful that I have the blessing and the luxury of being able to fulfill my life dream of being an artist. I look forward to sharing with you the paths I take, where it leads me and the art that results from it all.

I wish you a felicitous New Year!