HOW A PENDING LAWSUIT GAVE ME THE ENERGY TO TACKLE A CLOSET IN MY STUDIO.

If you read my blog yesterday, you know I made a commitment to organize what used to be an extra den into a “dream” studio.   Tonight I started with a closet that I’m going to keep my collage paper in.  See below with what I started out with.

First, I guess I should explain the lawsuit.  Back in November, my niece Erin was having car trouble.  (She broke down on I-75 with her 3 year old).  We have a “family” truck, which I was using, so Erin borrowed my car.  On her way to work the next day, she rear ended someone.  As Elvis Costello says, accidents will happen!  I naively thought her insurance would take care of it, BUT in the state of Georgia  a wreck will follow the owner of the car.  Now, I have a little Corolla that I just keep running (I haven’t had a car payment since 1992!)  But, there was absolutely no damage to my car – it was all buffed out by my brother.  So, when the other car was repaired I thought the story was over.  However, I received a call last month from an insurance investigator. The person she hit has hired a lawyer – he apparently started having neck probems six months after the wreck!    My car has since been photographed to show the lack of damage.  I have dreaded hearing an updates.   So, on my way home tonight, my cell phone rang and it was the insurance investigator.  I couldn’t get the phone (I was driving after all), so I don’t know what has transpired.  Of course, I fear the worst.  This got my adrenaline going and I knew I have my “dream” studio to work on, so I came home and tackled the closet you see above.
What you see in it is old halloween costumes, wrapping paper and junk, and some nice rice paper hanging up.  I decided to make it into a collage paper closet.
I began by getting rid of the old Halloween costumes.  Gone is the caterpillar outfit, complete with 6 pairs of children’s tennis shoes.  Gone is the dress I made out of koozie cups (made after seeing a dress made out of flip-flops in Priscilla Queen of the Desert).  I have to admit, I kept the dress I made out of condoms, more on that at a latter date!  The wrapping paper is mostly old, so I put it in the recycling bin, and kept the gift bags and put them in the storage room (which I cleaned out after our garage sale this past weekend).
I hung all my bought paper up on hangers with clothespins, organized by color.  I discovered some beautiful paper that I had stuck in the wierdest places.  I put a shelf in with small pieces left over – as well as tissue paper.  On the left is a shelf with stained paper that I love to use.
The top shelf is my encaustic tools.  
I’m proud of this – it will help me keep organized.  
Next????   The bookshelf and the flat files.
This will be a challenge as I still have “stuff” from when this was a den.  Note the top of the book shelf – those boxes contain pictures from travels – they will go into storage and the rest will be cleaned up and organized as collage material.  I will reserve a shelf for instructional books, DVD’s, and catalogs from shows that feature artists that have inspired me.
I will then tackle the flat file and organize the drawing pads below and clean up around it.  
I’m happy my adrenaline surge caused me to make not only a start, but a plan on how to organize the studio.   Joel even measured my table, which will be 4×6′ with a shelf. 
 But, I still don’t know what the phone call regarding the lawsuit is about.  I guess that will wait until tomorrow.

AN EPIPHANY IN THE DARK

Many artists say they had a life-changing moment. This is such a story. Joel Conison saw something in the blink of an eye that changed the direction of his life.

What if you were brought up in a traditional household and never thought of yourself as an artist. You had the advantage of a mother being an award winning sculptor in both stone and marble. Your father is a CPA. A career in art never crosses your mind because you are too busy being a kid.

Going to Ohio State, he did what any normal college boy would do, and trust me, he didn’t write home about it.

He will admit he had an interest in photography. BUT – when taking a photography class, the teacher had a lesson called “art in the dark” – showing famous photographs on a screen. It was here he saw the famous photograph, Pepper 30 by Edward Weston. At that exact moment he knew he was meant to be a still life photographer. Truly an epiphany in the dark (that is the photograph above).

After seeing that photograph, he moved to Chicago and apprenticed for five years with several still photographers (and yes, one worked for Playboy).

Joel became a successful commercial photographer in the Cincinnati area, photographing prestigious clients like the Cincinnati Symphony and the Cincinnati Ballet, But, after 20 years, he found himself a little bored and he knew the advertising business was changing. He had been teaching adults in the evening and realized he liked it. So, he sold everything and moved to Brooklyn and pursued his MFA at Pratt. (This is the highest you can go as a studio artist)

Fast forward to today, he has come full circle. After practicing commercial photography, getting an MFA, teaching on the college level, he went back to what originally made his heart beat – still life art photography.

At this moment he is photographing taxidermied birds. (see them and read his artist statement here) Yes, I didn’t understand taxidermy either, but trust me – animal lovers out there – they are the biggest animal lovers in the world.

So – compare Pepper 30 to what Joel is doing now (see below Empire on the left, Raven on the right)

I’d love to hear other stories of a moment that changed your life!


CREATING A SIGNATURE STYLE FOR A BODY OF WORK

2010 is the year I want to move forward in my art career business. To help facilitate this, i have begun working with art advisor Aletta De Wal with Artist Career Training throughout the year. I am learning to set up a foundation upon which to build my business. This involves going back and setting up a database to build a mailing list and to track my artwork, as well as getting a business license and separate bank accounts, the list goes on and on!

However, this month’s exercise is one of the most important steps an artist will take in their artistic career – developing a “signature style”. To do this, you have to have a body of work and assess the direction your art is taking. Luckily, I have continued taking part in critique groups, as well as taking classes and workshops. Through this, I saw a style emerging that differentiates my work from others. No matter what series of paintings or drawings I’m was working on, I began seeing pieces that were heavily layered, with details that emerge upon closer inspection. I was experimenting with different mediums, which further gave my pieces a “story” (i.e. using salt, of coffee and tea and why).

Now, it is time to perfect and expand this style.

To do so, I approached my friend and fellow artist Lance Carlson to take part in an exercise. I feel my work is very different from Lance’s, but because we use similar techniques, we have found our work very compatible to show together. Is it too compatible??? To answer this question and see if our styles are our “signature” individually, we have set up an exercise.

We are both going to create a series of 10 works, measuring 12×12 each on 100 lb Lenox paper. The theme of our personal series is music. We have given ourselves roughly a month to complete this task. At that point, we are going to mix them up and show them to our friends in the Shadowline Artist Group. We’ll see if they are able to discern my pieces for Lance’s!

Now – I have to figure out how to incorporate my “signature style” into my collages, etc. Please leave your comments about your journey in developing a signature style!

THE HIGH PROJECT

THE HIGH PROJECT was an experimental collaboration between one dancer and two local abstract artists while creating a three-dimensional canvas. I was one of the painters, along with my friend Lance Carlson. This was organized by Heather Harper, the Artistic Managing Director of the Harper Continuum Dance Theatre with Stacey Perkinson dancing.

The artwork was painted live while the dancer moved between the two canvases. The canvases were made of spandex, which allowed the dancer the freedom to move within the actual material. This was a fun project, but because it was at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, we were restricted by the materials we used. In the end, we used primarily washable tempura paint. After alot of experimentation, we found watered down food coloring in spray bottles, as well as food coloring in shaving cream worked well too. We were also allowed to use charcoal. The piece featured abaove is my finished piece. When I started seeing a figure developing I concentrated on channelling DeKoonings large women paintings!

Because the canvases were so porous, we applied gesso to the canvases prior to the event. We didn’t want to cover the entire canvases, as we didn’t want to restrict the Stacey’s movements. We wrote words we felt had meanings in both the visual arts and the dance. We used the words Rhythm, Movement, Composition and Fusion. CLICK HERE TO SEE A VIDEO ON THE PERFORMANCE

We hope to repeat this at a future date – Heather has been contacted from as far away as Idaho with interest in the event!

For those of you not familiar with the High Museum of Art, it was founded as the Atlanta Art Association in 1906. Two decades later, the High family donated their family home on Peachtree Street , thus the name The High Museum! It now houses over 11,000 works of art in its permanent collection.

UPCOMING EVENT – HIGH MUSEUM PROJECT


I am excited about my upcoming project with the Harper Continuum Dance Theatre (click here) and the High Museum of Art. This is an experimental collaboration beween one dancer and two painters while creating two canvases made of spandex. The painting will be live and the artists and dancer will explore the connection between both movement and composition.

The event will be January 23rd at the High Museum of Art and take place in the atrium (of the original High Museum) .
How did this happen? . Heather has recently relocated to Atlanta and is starting a dance company. To begin this process and gain attention as a choreographer, she is looking for new and different ways to approach dance. She saw my website and liked the rhythm and movement in my paintings. I found the project very interesting. I searched and searched the web, but couldn’t find anything like it. So -not one to back down from a challenge, I readily agreed to be part of the project. I am happy my painting buddy and friend, Lance Carlson, is going to participate too because of his use of gesture, color and of course his speed!!!!
So, this project is exciting, and I am excited to be a part of this. But the countdown is here and we are scrambling to get organized. The High Museum has very strict rules about what materials we can use and the more we get involved the more restrictive they become. But, in the creative spirit, we are all trying out new and different mediums.
I have experimented with Tumeric, Beets, coffee and tea. Unfortunately, these materials just stained the canvas. Then I experimented with food coloring, which had much better results. Today I used shaving cream and added watercolor and food coloring and was happy with the results! Tomorrow I may try whipping cream!
So, check back and see our progress. If you have any suggestions, or know of anything like this that has been done, please leave a comment!

DECEMBER EVENTS – 10% limited discount on purchases, details below


I always thought the winter was a slow time for art, but I’ve got an amazing amount of things going on this month. This weekend is especially busy.
First of all, I will be exhibiting at the DECATUR HOLIDAY MARKETPLACE AND CAFE on Friday and Saturday (12/4 and 12/5). This is an established market located at the Clariemont Elementary School.
Also, for the month of December, I will be part of a group show at the Limelight Gallery (in Binders Art) as part of the Shadowline Artist Group. The reception for this is Sunday 12-6 2-5p.
Also – for you East Marietta people, I have five pieces at the Art Gallery at Paper Mill, and the opening reception is Friday 12/4. Stop by on your way home for some food and wine!
The last thing going on next weekend is the Artist Loft Tour at the Stacks in Cabbagetown. I will also have work on view at the Emerging Art Scene.

Then – on 12/12 and 12/13 I will be part of Art on Argonne, located at 863 Argonne Ave, NE. I am one of 6 artists showing their work for the holidays in a nice relaxed home setting. It will be Saturday 11a-6p and Sunday 11-5p

If you mention this post to me at the Decatur Holiday Marketplace or at Art on Argonne, I will give you a 10% discount!!!!!!

NEW BLOG FOR ART ON ARGONNE

In December I am going to take part in the first annual Art on Argonne holiday show. In anticipation of this show – I start a new blog for it so the information can be accessed and we can use it to publicize the show. Click HERE to see and check back for more information as other artists that are participating post information too.

MY EXPERIENCE FROM SHOWING MY WORK AT THE ALLIANCE THEATRE


Maybe I should title this piece – “What I Would Have Done Differently” because I learn something every time I show my artwork.

To start with, the Alliance Theatre was presented several artists by Digital Arts Studios – 12 artists were chosen, and 2 will be showing their work one hour prior to the performance opening weekend. I was fortunate enough to be chosen for the season opener which is the world premiere of “Come Fly With Me”, featuring the voice of Sinatra with the choreopgraphy and direction of Twyla Tharpe. This is definitely Broadway Bound!

So, Ian Greathead and I were there an hour before every performance, and stayed until the performance was opening during opening week. The Alliance Theatre got such positive feedback they asked if we wanted to come back. We came back the following weekend, and I will return alone for the closing Friday and Saturday nights.

Let me say upfront, it was great exposure, and I didn’t really expect record sales. After all, people are cominng to the theater, they are not coming to buy art. AND, the Alliance Theatre shares the lobby with the Atlanta Symphony. Where else could you get a better audience of people that might actually BUY art. The feedback has been very good, and I learned people are starting to recognize my work. While I sold some small things (prints and cards), I feel the interest was genuine and people will eventually seek me out again!

What I would have done differently?
1. Have a professional nametag. I’ve been thinking about this for awhile, and I don’t know why I haven’t had one made. When people come to look at the work, you want to be available, but you don’t want to hover too closely. I can’t tell you how many times I was asked if I was the actual artist, and seen the surprise and delight in their face when they realized they were talking to an “actual artist”!
2. When you don’t have control over the lighting, chose dramatic pieces – they will show up better. My artwork has ALOT of detail, so I think those that are interested in my artwork will be very pleased when they see it in proper lighting.
3. Show affordable artwork. You might put up a couple of large expensive pieces to get attention, but I doubt they would sell at a venue where people are going to the theater. However, they will remember them. They are more apt to purchase a piece they can fit in their purse to take home with them.
4. I broke my own rule of showing a complete body of work, and for good reason. I have a series of dresses, and this is what impresseed the Alliance Theatre, so I felt I should include them. Because the production is “Fly Me to the Moon”, I brought my series of moons. Because the symphony was also playing, I put some of my musical pieces facing the symphony, which garnered alot of attention. So, if you have work that fits into the theme of the show, use it. If you have time to create work that is specific to that show, then go for it! Ian did a painting using Sinatra;s hat, his cigar, a bottle of Jack Daniel’s, sitting on top of the music for “Come Fly With Me”. That was perfect and got alot of conversations going for him.
5. Digital Arts Studio supplied the gridwalls and the hangers, and there was a shelf to put our information. Space was limited, so I didn’t bring anything to collect names and addresses. BIG MISTAKE! People that actually asked for my card would probably have given me their email address.

Would I do it again? You betcha!!! This was the inauguration of a new tradition. As theatergoers get more and more used to seeing artwork for sale in the lobby – they might start coming prepared to purchase something!

UPCOMING EVENTS FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE YEAR


I had a very busy month of September and haven’t had time to really sit down and compose something for my blog. In the month of September, I demonstrated collage during the Atlanta Arts Festival for 2 days, my work was taken to the events for Fashion Week, and I have been exhibiting my artwork prior to the performance of “Come Fly With Me” a world premiere at the Alliance Theater utilizing the voice of Sinatra with the choreagraphy of Twyla Tharp. (see picture above – Gallery in the Galleria) All of this has been excellent exposure for me!
Coming up for the remainder of the year:
Chastain Park Art Festival, Oct 16-17
Georgia Perimeter College will have a group show of the Atlanta Collage Society in the month of October.
Cabbagetown Chomp and Stomp – a very fun day on November 7th
Group show with Shadowline Artist Group – month of December in the Limelight Gallery in Binders
Group show with Atlanta Collage Society – month of December in the Quinlan Museum in Gainesville, Ga.
12/11 – 12/12 – Art on Argonne – more information to come
There are a couple of events I’ve applied to and haven’t heard from yet, as well as a couple of things I’m considering doing, such at The Metro Atlanta Holiday Market located in Le Fais
Do-Do on Ellsworth Boulevard. I will probably do a market at Virginia and Highland when the weather cools off too!
I’m looking at the spring festivals as well! And, Denise Jackson with Emerging Art Scene in the Stacks in Cabbagetown keeps finding new and interesting places to exhibit also – and she has my work up there too.
If anybody has any ideas of places to exhibit I may have missed, please leave me a comment!