Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Catching Up

Wow, well... I guess it has been a while since I posted here, hasn't it? And look, I've got 40 followers now, that's exciting. Thank you for signing up and reading, everyone – I am hoping to provide more regular content for you to enjoy.

My main point for posting today was to tell you that I FINALLY got my long-promised e-newsletter going, and sent out my first campaign the other day. You can view it here, and subscribe to it as well if you like. I plan on sending out fairly monthly emails, sometimes a bit less, sometimes a bit more depending on how exciting my art career is or isn't at a given point in time.

Coming off a very busy summer, I'm in the middle or a very busy fall. I'm teaching *ahem* six classes at three different colleges, plus still doing some art stuffs, as mentioned in the newsletter. Plus there is more to come, so keep your eyes peeled and subscribe – surely you don't want to miss out on anything. Also note that with the holiday season coming up quickly, I'll likely do an exclusive email subscriber-only special offer on selected artwork. Ooh, fun times!

Those of you who donated to my awesomely successful Kickstarter fundraiser, I am still (embarrassingly) working on fulfilling the rewards. Pathetic, I know – but seriously, I am NOT bailing out on anyone, just more busy and less organized than I should be. Now that one of my obligations (online teaching) is off the table for a while, I should be able to tie all that up soon. Feel free to bug me about it.

So, I am very excited that I've been invited to attend my first fundraising gala (that is, a fancy party!) at the Castellani Art Museum this Saturday. I am donating a small piece of artwork and will very much enjoy hobnobbing with the hobnobbers and having a nice meal and wearing fancy (for me) clothes, like a dress and tights. The Castellani has been so great to me and really helped get things going for me as an artist. They are certainly a worthy cause and I am happy to be part of this celebratory fundraising effort.

I think that just about brings things up to date for now... stay tuned for more developments, they are coming!

Monday, June 27, 2011

A Last-Ditch Effort with Kickstarter

Hello all,

I've just launched a Kickstarter project to help fund attending an artist residency at Ox-Bow and a whole summer full of art-making. Please feel free to pass on the link — I would greatly appreciate any and all support, even if it is to share the link or make a post on your blog. There are lots of fun rewards for all donation levels!

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Getting Ready, and, It's Going to Be An Ox-Bow Kind of Summer

I had off today from any sort of obligations whatsoever. It felt really good. I slummed it a bit, but I also managed to make progress cleaning the basement. This is necessary not only because it was so messy that it was depressing, but also because my studio is down there and I am due to have some curatorial type folks come by one day soon (pretty much once I get my studio in order, so I had better get to it!).

So the basement as a whole is now in much better shape, but my studio still needs tidying and organizing. For the past couple months, I've been mainly running in and grabbing stuff I need and then throwing it back in when I'm done. You can imagine what any room will look like after a couple months of that sort of activity.

I don't think it will take too long to get it in presentable order, and I am excited to reclaim the space as somewhere I can make new work. I need to start doing that like yesterday with all the stuff I have coming up this summer and fall.

On another note, I am thrilled, like THRILLED to announce that I have been awarded my first artist residency! I'll have the pleasure of two weeks at Ox-Bow in July to focus on my work. It is much needed!

It's really going to be an Ox-Bow kind of summer, because if you recall I mentioned that I will also be attending the Paper & Book Intensive in May, which also takes place at Ox-Bow.

I hear they have the most excellent food there.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Art Hound!

A few days ago I discovered a wonderful site/blog about art called Art Hound. I just love Kate's sensibilities and wrote to her right about how I get inspired by other collectors of more modest means like her, and to introduce my own work. To my surprise, she profiled my abandoned house paintings yesterday! No joke!

To say I was thrilled was certainly an understatement. I have a lot of back reading to do... Kate picks some really interesting artists among who I am happy to be among the ranks!

***

It's been too long since I've been in touch, I know. How have you been?

I'm busy! I'm still thoroughly enjoying my new life path as an independent artist and teacher. First, I'll tell you about the shows I have lined up in 2011.

• Until April 9th, I have my (almost) complete set of house paintings at Gibson Gallery at SUNY Potsdam.

• In July, I'll be showing my work along with Elizabeth Leader at WNYBAC.

• In August, I'm having a show with another as yet undetermined artist at Studio Hart.

• In October, my first international solo exhibition! It'll be at Weston College's Bath Spa Gallery in Weston-super-Mare, England. I will be traveling there to attend the opening and perhaps do some other travel and activities.

I'm also excited to announce that in May, I'll be attending the wonderful two-week long Paper and Book Intensive at Ox-Bow in Saugatuck, MI. I have also been awarded a Nell Meldahl Scholarship which pays for half tuition. I couldn't be more pleased, though I have to admit that it will be strange being away from home for that long. I'm sure the time will fly by, though!

I've been continuing to make house paintings and still enjoy exploring their possibilities... but I have also been missing working with the figure and portraiture, inspired by artists like Leonard Rosoman, whom I read about in a book about acrylic painting a few months ago. I love how he combines architectural elements and puts his figures into sometimes quite elaborate scenes. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find any of the works that appear in that book to show you at the moment, but maybe I will try to photograph the pages because his work is stuff people should know about. I was rather shocked that he flew over my radar all these years!

Recently, my website got a wee bit of an update, a little dressing up and updated text, etc. I'm still working on getting a suitable gallery section together, but for now you'll be directed to my Flickr which I manage to update much more frequently.

I'm aiming to post more often here again! So much more to tell you about! Until next time...