Some call it street art, I think that it should be considered part of the Public Art realm. Last week I was on a bike ride accross the Golden Gate bridge while visitng my sister and brother-in-law in Berkeley. There is an adorable little town on the opposite side of the bridge from San Fransico called Sausalito. Aside from the panoramic views of the bay and the city, beautiful houses, and a candy shop where you can sample as much as you want, my favorite attraction was a humble man on the beach creating sculptures nearly defying gravity. Bill Dan has been building his rock sculptures in front of the public eye and for the pleasure of viewers passing by since 1994. He is not commissioned by anyone but his internal artist eager for the opportunity to create. What an inspiration! I love seeing art out in our communities.
Thanks to my husband's addiction to "nerd news", he just informed me that Photoshop is offering a free version online! For any of you that want to experiment with image manipulation it's worth giving it a go.
I feel so fortunate for the international exposure and experiences I have had up to this point in my life. The people I have met, personal challenges I have faced, and new places I have seen have forever changed my outlook on life. It's hard to put into words, especially for an artist who isn't well versed in words, but most of all this collection of experiences have put me in touch with the humanity which we all share. While we may find ourselves in different environments and speaking in languages that don't comprehend each other, we all seem to have similar hopes and dreams, trials and troubles. It's too easy to think of someone as "other" or "different" but in reality we are all very much the same.
Jon and I are still hosting our blog that we wrote during our time in Malawi. It's nice to go back and read about what I was learning in that space and how to keep those things alive in my life right now. For the most part, I encountered the most culture shock in relation to TIME, RELATIONSHIPS, and PRODUCTIVITY. In Malawi, I liked how relationships were more important than staying on schedule. Back home, I like the satisfaction of productivity achieved by being on schedule. I'm working on bringing the best of both worlds together.
To read more from our Malawi blog visit: Barrio Malawi
Yesterday I dropped off several of my hand bags and totes at The Middle Fish on east Peart Street (across from the Army Store). This is my first time selling the bags in a store so I am very excited
about the partnership that I will be developing in the coming months. The artisan's gallery reviews work for entry into the shop and works much like other retail stores. At first, it's a little hard to give up 50% of sales, but everyday I am learning more and more about the buisness of being an artist. I am developing an understanding of all the hard work that goes into marketing and selling, no to mention rent for a storefront. The Middle Fish will help me get the word out about the bags, I help them by get their word out about the store, and I get to be represented among an excellent group of other artists. It's a pretty good deal in the end.
Next time you find yourself strolling along the mall, please do visit The Middle Fish at 1500 Pearl Street!
I just have to say that I'm really excited about my new labels for the purses! I worked with Courtney Banks at Advanced Barcode Label Technology to create really nice, high quality woven labels for my fiber art. I highly recommend them for their customer service and high quality product. Courtney was willing to work with my time constraints and even got multiple samples to me via email within 24 hours. I was most impressed!
While I bought all of my fabrics in Malawi, the majority of them were produced in Tanzania by Karibu Textiles. My favorite type of fabrics were their Kitenge (Chitenge in Malawi - pronounced Chi-t-hen-gee) textiles called "Super Wax Mama". What a great name, eh? As the art bags and purses get more popular my supply of African fabrics is starting to look dangerously low. I am considering importing fabric drictly from Tanzania, although I would like Malawi to get a piece of the pie since I lived there. I just found Karibu Textiles online which is a great start. I thought some of you might like to take a look. They have a good description of the different types of fabrics, historical relevance, and traditional fashion.
I am working on some paintings with combined figurative and landscape elements. In search of reference photos depicting figures in certain positions, I came across a 1912 publication titled "Swimming Scientifically Taught". I got several great laughs out of some of the photos, which removed from their original time and context are quite humerous. You can view the entire book published online by The Project Gutenberg at this link.
I find great joy in old things, people and things that hold a strong connection to their history, and things that reveal the rawness of life. I am drawn to their depth in knowing that they hold so much history. For instance, you can often find me at the Lafayette Flea Market looking for simple treasures amidst a lot of junk. The other week I was in one of my favorite stalls, the vendors finds all of his/her things from estate sales on farms in the mid-west. I found antique door knobs, beaten up, scratched, chiped and worn. They are perfect! These door knobs make me think of all the hands that have touched them and the souls they represent. Where were they going? what were they doing? did they walk through that door with hope? anger? fear? I like old things.
If you were out of town last weekend, you can still catch the EBCA holiday show in Longmont. On Friday evening, join myself and other artists for food, drink and fun!
Extended Holiday Show Hours:
Wed, Dec. 12, 11am - 6pm
Thrs, Dec. 13, 11am -6pm
Fri, Dec. 14, 11am-8pm (reception with artists 5pm-8pm)
We had a great turn-out last night at the opening, despite our first real snowfall of the winter. The space is amazing and the set-up looks beautiful. I am continually impressed with this group (EBCA). There is a wide variety of mediums and styles amongst us, and everyone has been really welcoming and friendly to the newcomers, like myself!
Since moving back to Boulder County, nearly a year ago, I have been looking into the different art groups around. Bellow is a list of some of the groups in Boulder County that I have come across.
I recently joined the East Boulder County Artists (EBCA), a group of 30+ artists from Lafayette, Erie, Louisville, Superior and Longmont. I am trilled to have the opportunity to connect with other local artists. This weekend I will participate in the Holiday Art Show with the group, and come May I'm hoping my basement studio here at the house will be ready for the EBCA studio tour!
Boulder County Arts Alliance is a huge organization with lots of great exhibition and funding opportunities for artists. I just joined that group as well.
