Naked Chicken

I thought about writing more about fear of open studios...the vulnerability of creatives.
And yet- I found the cure! Nothing like a community awards event (the DCAC) to cure the ivory tower blues. Last night I met and heard artists from all over the county who had used their art to change the lives of those around them. An African american drummer working in the public schools and presenting poetry of 5th graders that reflected some of my deepest anxieties in the simplest and most melodious tune. A Chinese mother working to help her children's friends embrace and learn about different cultures...and then blossoming her project from story time and dumplings in the first grade to developing a chinese youth orchestra for the region. A latino artist working on a farm welding old machinery into sculpture and giving voice to the silent misunderstood migrant worker population. The list goes on. I was very moved and inspired by the event. Now is the time to be more generous in spite of growing fears- both real and unreal- that are thrown in our faces every day. Now is the time to look outside our studios and see what the community needs. Now is the time to lend our voices and increase the beauty and hope in this country.
Calling all artists to expose themselves! I could call this painting "Issues" reflecting the text in the corner. 12.5 x 10 inches

Two Absolutes

SOLD- collection Lee Pope
Things change. Life is a big mystery. "Forever" and "never" are two words we can't really count on. They are embedded in the details of the feathers of these birds. The collage text is in and under the paint, all on wood panel. 10 x 15 x 1 inches

Tonight is the Dutchess County Art Awards dinner. I am looking forward to seeing a lot of friends there. Last weekend the southern portion of the county had their open studio tour and the numbers of visitors and sales were reported very low. Is it the economy? We will have to see. Making art is such a lonely business, it is nice to have an opportunity, like tonight, to catch up and compare notes with fellow creatives. Nothing stays the same. Even bad times.

Long road finished

A long Road

This painting is 5 x 11 inches painted and collage on panel

Need to do the laundry

Home.

Mundane moments of travel

A lot of the glamour of travel tales miss the more prevalent moments...the frequent and constant unexceptional instances of moving. We sit. Waiting rooms, lines, on board and off. We sit patiently. It's lovely to have a window seat. Or a book. Or a curious and nosey mind. Or an ability to sleep at a drop of a hat.
I can't wait to be home.

Spots in a travelers eyes

Cotton fields in the Carolinas just a few afternoons before I found myself under the evening lights of Times Square, NYC

Lines in a travelers eye

Waking up... to the guy who maintains the beach after a wind storm

Falling asleep on the train

Travel sketches

Never travel without a map and a pencil. You never know how,or when, the Muse might move you... I have stood at the oceans edge, walked the windy boardwalk and not found the heart (or skill) to draw the choppy horizon, or capture the steel colors and flying foam. I am yearning to know the power of the earth.
So...in lightness of being, I sketch faces of anonymous pedestrians passing by in the airport...
Nature totally handicaps me.

I'm an air head

Love flying in small planes. Love window seats. Love clouds at eye level. Love shadows on the ground as seen from above. Love gravity defying hunks of steel. ndp

Map key

Another weekend of traveling has arrived. The second in a row. There is a warm steady wind, stripping the leaves and smelling of sea air. I love topo maps and original cartoonish diagrams- this one is of a zoo. Could be home. This is a small painted collage measures
7 1/4 x 7 3/4 x 1 1/4 inches, mixed media. $75 plus shipping

FRAMED paintings again

Lining up like little soldiers, these small works are individually put together on the whim of a salesman's idea that presentation makes the product. More fascinating (to me tonight) is the division of time that artists have to put in to successfully run an art studio. First you have to create unique and satisfying works of art. That, in itself, is a major source of energy and angst, as well as, if the Muse fits, pleasure and passion. Then you have to balance the cost of production, such as the supplies, rent, and intrinsic overhead. This requires the other side of the brain from the first task...a far cry from the romantic urge initiating the endeavor. Receipts and bills, log books, catalogues and homemade graphs clutter my desk. But one of my favorite challenges is to "package" the product or group a series so it is presentable to a community outside the studio. This combines both sides of the brain in tandem. Working with a statement of some sort, such as a news release, blog, promotional literature, an event has to be put together to increase exposure and chances of commercial trade. For a moment you either enjoy the limelight or bask in the echoes of a lonely hall- but either way you move through the process ONLY to create again... They never taught me this in art school.

FRAMED paintings

I have been making frames for about 26 little paintings...my brother mentioned that I could probably order the frame boxes from China for thirty cents...instead these frames- custom made and individually sized (no two alike) cost me tons of time...these paintigns now are worth $200 dollars and have to be about $160 at a studio sale rate. Should I add a tag, "Made in America"?

LITTLE chicks with personality

I spent most of the day getting my son to interview at different schools...meanwhile back at the studio, scattered in an open suitcase, these chicks wondered when I was getting back to them. They have some wild personalities...I've named one Ernestino because he has such serious endearing eyes, and one is Deseree (she seems totally on the lookout for Amor), and of course one of the little chicks has an "S" on her chest- she is a workaholic, trying to do everything and more... I am rustling in, from outside the photo frame, Patience and Serena...

Route 22 with hen

Yesterday I painted at the McEnroe Farm stand. The view up route 22 was just spectacular. 8 x 10 x 2 inches wrap around canvas...
I also bought a canvas from a junk dealer at the "crafts fair"and painted over the original scene, trying to save the tree in the center...attempting to make a bad painting better. Lots of spectators gave their two cents worth. So this painting is worth about $15..stretched canvas, 18 x 24inches...
A friend observed that painting in public seems to inspire me...and it does! In addition I painted a portrait of the farmers son as he grilled pork for sandwiches. With only the colors on my pallete and my dirty water, it came out incredibly well! If I may say so...I gave it to them in a manner of paying it forward.

Scenes from the studio

Here is a little snippet of scenes in the studio...I have older works of mine and several works by other artists stashed on the shelves as inspiration. Books..., the pirhana was painted by Krisse after I returned from the Amazon, green color charts, a small watercolor of Maine by my dad, an ecstatic eye by Michael, the "artist at work" small ink sketch I bought for a dollar!, the welcome plaque when my sister had her twin babies...books

Call Me

SOLD

Here is a small painting and collage done on a block of wood- about 5 x 5 x 2 inches....

Art installation in Hudson

You will have to get over to Hudson this weekend to see the "Windows on Warren"...art in all the storefronts! I installed 8 tiny oil miniatures and one much larger painting in the windows of LICK. Michael the owner was fantastic to work with, and here he cleans the windows as I installed. When I left he gave me a scoop of ginger ice cream with a mango compote...it was so good I really found myself moaning out loud! My friend Gretchen is hanging her nudes right up the street at the corner...so go enjoy the scene and if you want real pleasure- try some ice cream too!

Virginia Roses with Prince Charming

6 x 9 sewn paper
The Rosa Virginiana is described as growing with "an almost invasive rhythm. It is seen in meadows, vacant lots, ditches and even dumps." These roses were painted this summer as a hedgerow study. There is one week in June when the wild roses bloom, and the air smells sweet even when you are pricked in passing. When sewing the border, I had to throw in the Jack of Hearts for a bit of color and balance. A real farm girl, I still like a good fairy tale even though I am aware of the pitfalls and prickly realities of relationships.
Today I am hanging nine of my Ice Cream Sundae oil paintings in the window of LICK on Warren Street in Hudson. They will be up through the weekend! Come and have a taste.

Winter travels in sewn paper

SMALL 5 x 7 sewn paper collage
Cleaning up my studio I can't help but find these scraps and want to sew them together. Sewing paper is an intimate act in the huddling scurry of autumn. I feel like a squirrel. The leaves in the forests are spacing themselves from the branches and more sky opens into my eyes. Dreaming of a plane ticket out of here this winter....

Tea cup on sewn paper

SOLD- thanks R.L.
5 X 7 SEWN PAPER
Had a wonderful reception at the Moviehouse studio gallery yesterday- I think close to 100 people showed up- it was packed and quiet energizing. As the dust settles I cannot help but wonder what we artists hope to do in this world. Are we just exhibitionists? Are we hoping to make the place a little more colorful? What kind of work would be made if it was never shown? I know I would make art regardless of a chance to show-it is part of what keeps me sane. But how important is it to have others see the work? To have people notice, comment, question it? To have a dialogue?
Well- it is something to think about over tea- and then I have to get busy. See the list sewn into this small painting? Small steps help me from being overwelmed- so today the goal is to frame 4 (of the 26) paintings and paint one chick ornament...and...and...and...

DISAPPEARING NEST EGG #3

Collection Max Grossi
5 x 7 collage currency and paint. Wondering this weekend if Monday the checks will bounce?!

studio at work

Working in the studio- there is a growing army of plaster chicks drying by the file cabinet and several miniatures are ready to be framed- I made 26 frames, 20 tiny chicks, and a phone call to a friend for help. She is going to come into the studio and help me lay out the space- there is just so much stuff I feel cross eyed and totally weak when it comes to display.
Tomorrow is our opening reception at Millerton's Movie House Studio Gallery, from 11:30 to 1:30.

Chickens at the road, two images

We hung the group show at the Moviehouse Studio gallery this morning, and it looks good. I hope people stop by Sunday from 11-1:30 for the opening. Meanwhile, back at the studio, the chickens eyeball each other across the road- everything at a stand still.