my own little world

Last night after Jim went to bed & I paged through a cool calendar I got for him- antique maps from c. 1565, give or take. I lost myself in the oddly shaped coastlines, out of date country and territory lines, strange sea monsters that populate the oceans, old English, German, French and Italian place names, funny little bumps for great mountain ranges, and churches to denote towns. The scale is so far off in some of these, I thought it would be fun to draw my own. There's no wrong way, and the funkier & more untrained things look, the more authentic. I got out my colored pencils and drew a map of a large island nation with rivers, lakes, coastal islands, mountains, farmland, castles, churches, and fancy swoopy letters for place names. It was fun to create my own world. I think it came out pretty well, too.

feelin' the love in February

Yee-haw! While at the Holiday Ale Fest on Thursday, we ran into a friend of Jim's (not surprising) who owns a coffee house. I'd left my card for him but I hadn't heard from him- didn't think much of it. BUT at the Ale Fest he told us that he gave all his artists' submission info to the guy who was curating for him, and he up & disappeared. He left a wake of uncontacted artists and blank walls. I said- shoot! I could hang a show for you in January. He has a Jan show, but needed February. Done! I went in today and had a damn tasty latte and showed him some cityscapes large and small. He knew before that he liked my work, but this confirmed that it would be a good fit at Grendel's (9th and Burnside- eastside). Woohoo! He's pleased that he has stuff he likes for another month, and I'm glad I've got some wallspace in my future! It's a cool little place- all the funky charm and coziness you'd expect of an old building in an up & coming neighborhood with down-to-earth & highly intelligent clientelle. And hot shit comestibles.

shiny, happy... art

I just got home from Guardino Gallery- the only "real" art gallery on Alberta. It's been there for more than 10 years- since before all the gentrification really took hold. They show some hot shit artists. Not necessarily ones whose name I know, but damn good. In my opinion, fine art. Expertly crafted, composed, executed, etc. Anyway, this month is the "Little Things" show. Tonight was the opening soiree, and damn, there was some cool shit! Oh, I could have bought one of everything, minus a few. There are 48 artists! Only 2 stand out as ones I didn't really like. But the other 45- whoa. Kinda makes me feel good to be in such good company! On the way home my mind was a carousel of bits and pieces of what I saw and how I want to put those elements together in my own way. I've been wanting to try resin. I love to deep, clear shiny-ness. Normally I'm an understated matte kinda girl, but there's something.... flashy about resin. Flashy in an understated artistic sort of way. I love how you can bury things in it- make a very 3-D collage that's a solid piece. I love what it does to what's in it. It creates a little world, no matter how abstract. Throw in a familiar object or two, and maybe a photo, and you have a distant memory. A remembered dream. That's it! resin helps manifest memories and dreams in a three dimensional way that can still be a solid, non-fragile piece. It won't shatter like glass, or diffuse like a dream upon waking.


The above piece is a mixed media and resin piece by Julia Gardner. Check out her work at http://www.guardinogallery.com/giftshop-artists/138-julia-gardner

happy not-chicken day

thankful

Every year The Oregonian publishes "Season of Sharing" wherein people & families who need some help are profiled. The readers can donate $10 to 4d, toward bus passes for family who escaped domestic violence, or $25 to 7b towards furniture for a diabetic single mom of 8. All of these 20 stories are compelling, heartbreaking, and a good slap upside the head to realize that there's even more for us to be thankful for than we'd thought. And it's hard to choose where to give your $10 or $25. I haven't given to this in previous years, but this year I zeroed in on my target. The eldest of 3 kids, dad layed off, mom had bone marrow transplant, little sister has neurofibromatosis, dad's new job won't cover mom or sister, they lost their house and a rental, and now the family of 5 live in her parent's garage. This 11 year old girl want music cds and art supplies. My eyes went BOING! That's what I want to fund. The way the whole thing is set up is that funds are donated for this or that, but I want to get her a gift card for an art supply store, or anything in particular she may want. I emailed the contact people and asked that, but I haven't heard back yet. But considering that readers responded last year by donating $374,146.46- enough to fill all the wishes- I suspect their inbox was overwhelmed on Monday morning. I'll be happy to write a check, but I'd be really excited to buy a gift card to Michael's or Art Media or whatever suits her needs. I'm in love with the idea that I could help this preteen have artistic expression as an outlet for the stress and sadness that must be prevalent in her home. If I don't get a response by Friday, I'll just donate the funds:-)

http://www.oregonlive.com/special/sharing/

yeay!

I got an increased dose of my anti depressant, as the grey skies and growing darkness make things more emotionally difficult. I'm more easily overwhelmed, work is even more of a drag, it's harder to get my ass on my bike, I've been feeling numb in the evenings sometimes- simply unable to feel anything more than *enh,* not wanting a drink but knowing that it's the only way I can elevate my mood at all, etc. This yukkiness is only going to get worse, so my trusty shrink and I decided to move up to a dose that's worked well for me in previous winters.



After the appointment, I went into a couple of shops on 23rd for the hell of it, and to leave some cards for the Guardino show in cafes, etc. I sorta had an idea of what I was going to make for Xmas presents (election/Obama themed red white & blue ornaments featuring a champagne cork), but I saw something that reminded me of an idea I've had waiting for years. I found a cast resin ornament that depicted a 5-3-1 stack of wine corks to make a Christmas tree shape with a little spring of beads & whatnot encircling it like ornaments or garland. I've kept a boatload of wine corks over the years, I've got fine copper wire for the spring, a colorful variety of beads to use as ornaments, and can easily find/alter/make a star for the top. Voila! I'm all excited now, and want to jump into making a prototype. Perhaps I'll put off finishing my Halloween decor organizing & putting away til tomorrow... :-)

sold!

Yeay! I sold a piece at the grocery store! I got an email last week from a New Seasons shopper who wanted to buy a paintng! Joy! I was glowing all afternoon- I met her at the stoere yesterday. The store doesn't take any commission- either, so I got all the sale price! I bought a 6-pack to celebrate:-)

I finished framing and scanning the 8 mini cityscapes I paited for the Guardino Gallery's Little Things show, and delivered the first 4 (I'll bring more if they sell out). That felt good:-)

JOY!

Joy of joys! I got an email last night from a lady who wants to buy one of paintings from New Seasons! We're meeting on Saturday to do the exchange. I'm so pleased- my first sale! Someone wants my work- and can buy it! She likes me- she really likes me!

found photos

I found the photos I was looking for- even the one of Nana's church! This bottom one is her at my parent's wedding.

snow day! sorta. only, not really. at all.

It's a windy stormy day with 100% "chance" of rain, and I get to stay home. And I'm healthy! Yesterday was Veterans Day (salutes) so branches were closed, so there's no new work to do today. They offered us the option of taking the day off without an "occurence" 'cause there's nothing to do, and there's not enough online training courses to occupy us for a whole day. I'll buy that for a dollar! I have no PTO left, so it's non paid time, but I don't care. I called in my option at 7 am, went back to bed with my kitties, and got up at 10:30. Ha! Gotta love it.

With my surprise free day I'm going to finish some paintings for next month's show at Guardino Gallery, distribute show cards, and put away some laundry. Oooo- I could go to Home Depot and use some of my $100 birthday gift cards to get some storage help with all my projects...

irish style ofrenda

I went to November's window show at Guardino Gallery (where I'll have some mini-scapes next month)- Day of The Dead theme. There were some really cool shrines, ofrendas, collages, etc. Some were modern assemblages, some were traditional Mexican style cigar boxes encrusted with glitter, skulls, beads, miscellaneous shiny and gaudy items, photos, marigolds, etc. They were fabulous. I usually don't go for the over-the-top garish glitz that some Mexican art styles can sport, but somehow I got it this time. I decided I'd make an ofrenda for Nana- my great grandmother mi bisabuela Mary Ellen O'Connor, born in County Cork (pronounced *Cark*), Ireland (pronounced *Are-lent*) on St. Paddy's Day, 1895. :-) I figured a good Catholic Irish lass could appreciate a little shrine with Mary (OK- Our Lady of Guadalupe) and some crosses- gold colored- like the one from her white casket. I added a little map of the Emerald Isle, a picture of Snoopy (she loved Snoopy), and as soon as I find a appropriate vile/tiny jar, I'll add some whiskey:-) I also need to venture into the basement and dig up a photo of her. Somewhere I have a photo of the church she used to attend- I took it years ago while my mom & I drove through Loyalton for some random reason when I was in high school. This assemblage will NOT be for sale:-)

it's times like these...

that I feel really ready to walk away from Dilbertville. On Monday we got the schpiel about the PTO calendar for next year- same info as every year. This year they altered how much time people get, and obviously the mucky-muck manager was stressed out because they have to let more people off. We got this scolding speech of if you want a day- or even part of a day- off, and that day is full, don't even ask. The answer will be no. Questions? Me: if a day is full and something unexpected comes up- say, a funeral- that a person will go do despite not having asked because the answer will be no... do you want us to tell you if we're going to do this thing, or we just call in or don't show up or leave early? I'm willing to be considerate and give them a head's up for something like that. I got the same the answer will be no, and it will count as an occurence (unexcused absence) blah blah heartless blah. My manager understood my question- and yes, that would be nice. But my god! Pull the stick outta dude's arse!

I thought you know, I don't need to deal with this. We're being browbeaten and finger-waggled about taking the time off that we've already been given. WTF? Corporate crap.


And on days like this (grey, cool and rainy) I really don't feel like playing the Dilbert game and working on a spreadsheet. I have paintings I could be completing!


But I haven't made any money from painting yet. It's disappointing. It's the cruddy economy. In a way, I think it's good that I'm starting to show publicly in hard economic times, because business can only get better from here.

Ms Pollock?

Not quite. But I am pleased that I got to throw some paint around. My fingers are blue, pink, purple, grey, and glue is peeling like a bad sunburn. Aaah, satisfaction!

I've been thinking about art all day. It started with a mention of an SNL skit where John Lovitz plays Picasso, then I made a funny sketch, then I wondered what the true definition of Dadaism is, on and on. I've had a vision of paint- certain colors and technique stuck in my head for a few days that I want to try. That's what I thought I'd do when I got home, but got distracted, then we went to Mom & Dad's, then dinner, then we voted, then it was bedtime. WTF?!? I had to throw some paint around. I took to my in-process ballet collage and added another layer of paint, glue, and fabric for texture. You can't see much of the fabric in the photo- it's white tulle (think tutu) and the light goes right through it. It will be a killer background texture, though. In the photo is just looks like a big mess!! Well, ok- it is. This is only the 3rd of many layers to come, so most of this will be covered in the finished product. I worked on my mess and my fingers are weird colors- looks like I brutally murdered a smurf- I can go to bed ahppy now.

i don't want to play this game anymore. i want to play something else

We did the 45 miles (short) ride of the Harvest Century yesterday. It was a beautiful ride, though challenging. It's the longest ride I've done since last year's full century. It was tough, but I did ok. My legs are fine, but my back & shoulders need a masseuse in a bad way. We went to bed early- I was asleep before 10 and had the alarm set for 6:30, and still got up after 7. And I could have slept more.

I'd rather be at home playing artist than being unproductive and sleepy in my grey cube. My productivity numbers for today are gonna suck. Like they did last week. I have so much art stuff to do at home...

A couple of my co-workers saw my paintings on Oregon Art Beat Thursday night. It was nice to be recognized by folks who don't know that I have this other career budding:-)

WOOHOO!

The Oregon Artbeat episode on DYI aired tonight. They were shooting at Crafty Wonderland in April when I was there. I made sure to flag the camera crew over to my table- I'm such a huge fan of the show and one of the biggest goals of my artistic career is to have a feature spot on it. Thankfully they didn't show the interview because I was a flaming dork, but they did show a quick but nice close up pan of my paintings, with by business cards in front- my name easily readable!!! YES!!! It's 2 or 3 seconds, max, so I'm not counting this as my goal. But, damn!!! My paintings and name were front and center full screen!! At another point, there's a lady buying earrings from the artist next to me, and I'm in the background, working on a painting. Ha! http://www.opb.org/programs/artbeat/videos/view/200-Crafting

Yesterday I finished my Cycle collage. I attached two bike tires around it as a frame. I'm satisfied with it. It's the biggest one I've done- 30x40. It was awkward to handle, so I think I'll keep the rest of them smaller. The ballet piece is half the size at 20x30, and seems really small. Big enough to have fun with, though. I think my ideals are 24x36 or 24x30.

Tonight I framed my 1220 collage. I scored some cool old picture molding from The Rebuilding Center (I love that place) when CJ was here. It's biege and turquoise paint is old and chipping- a perfect color and style match for the piece. I mitred the pieces & attatched them in such a way as to give depth to it, rather than a true frame; I nailed it front to back (wall to viewer) rather than outside to inside. This gives the clean feeling of being framed, but it also gives the appearance that I used a 1 1/2 inch cradled gallery style canvas rather than the cheaper 3/8 or 5/8 inch student canvas that it truly is. I have to say I'm really stoked at how sharp it looks :-D

The Launch Pad Gallery show opening party was Friday. It's an open call show, so the pieces range from laughable to Wow- this artist could have a solo show at Laura Russo. This time there was less that I appreciated. The Love show in February had a higher average quality, in my opinion. I was pleased to hear Jim say that he thought my piece was one of the best ones there- I take his objective opinion seriously. A couple of my co-workers came as well, and they liked it as well. I trust them to not BS me and say they loved it if they didn't. I really don't care if it sells or not- I'm just happy to have my first assemblage in a gallery:-) It's all about the eyeballs.

Dionne- web designer extraordinaire- made my site live today. There are still many little things to tweak and fix, but apriloconnor.com is ready to be seen! I'm really pleased- I love what he's done with it :-)

WET

It's officially fall- the rains are here. And that means it takes three times as long for glue and paint to dry. :-( Thursday evening I decided to start my collage on ballet, and squirted some paint over the canvas with dance steps in mind. None of this will show, but it gives a base of texture. It's now Saturday morning and it's STILL not dry. I even put a hair drier on high to it for an hour yesterday- just to take the wet shine off the surface. bah! We're being dumped on by the tail end of a typhoon (at least it's warm) and the humidity is in the 80-90% range. And no sun. Just a week ago it was in the 90's and dry. I worked outside in the sun, and paint dried like magic. *sigh* I may have to invest in a couple of fans and/or space heaters. Large quantities of paint and glue drying is the reason a collage takes so long to do- I can't touch it for days! If I had a big ol' studio in a garage, I could work on more than one at a time. Right now my cycle piece is standing against the wall waiting for some white spray and few extra widgets to be glued... but the paint on ballet needs to stay level until it dries. In the winter I can put small pieces near the heat vents and blast them dry. That's not an option for a 2x3 foot canvas when it's comfortably 60+ degrees outside.

yeay!

I'm so excited! This Friday I'm meeting with Brianne at Tender Loving Empire to discuss putting my little paintings in the store! Score!!

I'D RATHER BE...

Bleah. I don't want to go to work tomorrow. There's so much art stuff to do. And house stuff. I'd love to have a studio outside the house so I could lock myself away and not be distracted by dishes and laundry.

Before being on STD, I thought that I needed the schedule the keep me active, and the people to keep loneliness away. It was a 6 week test that showed me that I can be just fine at home alone. I loved the freedom. I loved being able to stay up late when I got inspired. There are so many projects I want to do- there's a backlog in my head. I have 2 projects in the making, plus 6 collages, another house series piece, 2 requested cityscapes to finish, more to produce for stock and new shows, plus communicating with cafes & galleries...

Work is a waste of time. I've been flagrant in my lack of caring about my job in my short 3 days back. I take long lunches, long breaks, play on the computer- it's quite liberating to not care! But I can't exactly get fired. Or quit. Yet. *sigh* I can handle being home alone, there's plenty to do, I can meet my friends for lunch, not be annoyed by the airheaded yappy people that surround me. It's like when I was thinking about moving out of Mulberry House. I knew there were parts of the experience that I still needed, as well as having the desire for the comforts of living with Jim. I wanted to move in with him, but the time wasn't right. Then there came a day when I realized that the balance had shifted, and I was okay to leave Mulberry House. The STD time gave me the opportunity to see that I'm ready to be away from the grey cubicle world. Now that the point has been reached, I optimistically have the feeling that the time to fly will be soon. Well, soon being less than another 6 years... My guess is within a year. That's a good goal to work on. In the meantime, I can enjoy the banter I have with Tina, and being close to my friends. But if there's an opportunity to move forward, I'll happily take it.

JUST STARTING OUT

I have a web page being built for me, I've shown my work to a REAL gallery (Guardino), I could have a show very soon at a popular pub (hopworks), I've been ok'd to be in a really cool little indy shop (Tender Loving Empire), and I just met an artist for whom I have much respect for (Trina Hesson). She's been in a slump and needs to come out, and I just need to keep reaching out. I feel like all the little baby steps are adding up to something more tangible:-)