On with the Guayabera

Last night I got myself back into the studio because, really, it's been a long while since I haven't been making art for some specific reason, i.e. getting ready for an exhibition. So it was really nice for a change to be there and just really have fun with no constraints. (OK, I say constraints but really it's just a mental thing I have about having to do something and within certain parameters I've set for myself, it's really all good as long as I am in the studio.)

I decided to revisit the cigar band collage. The one piece that I have in the Castellani exhibition now was very popular (it was one of the works that sold, actually), not to mention that the collages are really fun to make, just totally different from what I normally do. It's definitely an exercise in free-wheeling and instinct. I don't yet have photos of the two I made last night, so in the meantime, I give you FLOP, which measures 5.5" x 8.75".



I'll post the new ones tomorrow.

A Rush and a Push

One of the things I don't like about myself (as an artist and otherwise) is that I often find myself making a grand last rush (and push) to get something out the door (figuratively and literally, I suppose). I might have the best intentions, mark up my calendar, rough out a schedule... but something always seems to happen that foils my best laid plans.

This time around getting ready to ship a big box of art to New Hampshire for The Incredible Print Show at Artstream Gallery, everything ended up taking longer than I expected, from the making of the work to the arrival of the frames and mats I ordered, to the wiring and labeling of things... and true to my nature, I kept putting it off this past weekend in favor of something, anything else; gardening, in this case, because I cannot WAIT any longer to get my hands in the dirt and I thought that the manual labor would inspire me.

So what should have been done the weekend before did not get done until the weekend after, i.e. this past weekend. By the time I had everything ready to go, all the good light had gone and I had little if any time to shoot decent photos of the work, which was probably the worst part. Big lesson learned for sure: be MORE than prepared, be MORE than ahead of time. Always. I don't know why it's taken me so long to figure this obvious fact out.

Anyway, here's the six little beauts that are headed, as I write this, to southeast New Hampshire. (I am totally cursing myself about the documentation. Seriously.)


(All above are 11" x 14" framed: The Early Bird Loses the Day; Highway to Hell; and U-Men.)


(All above are 5" x 7" framed: The Why and The Wherefore; Suddenly, I've Got That Old-Time Feeling; Can You Hear It?.

I've got the Blues

...the winter blues, that is.

This week has been such a downer after the nice weather we had there for a while. I was so confident that spring really had sprung and that we'd see no more white stuff on the ground, and BLAM! a couple inches have accumulated since yesterday.

It's really affected my mood. I want to work in the gardens, I want to go on more photography roadtrips, I just want to bask in the rays of the sun. Is that too much to ask? Humph. That's what I get for living in upstate New York, I know.

The rest of the week I will be finishing up getting ready for The Incredible Print Show in New Hampshire! Unfortunately, the frames I ordered were delayed and I won't see them until Friday. But, I guess in the meantime I can get the artwork made and ready to fit the frames, shipment out first thing on Monday! Whew! Frantic, but exciting. Not to mention I am really looking forward to my whirlwind trip to attend the opening there on May 1st. I will be back in town in time to present my artist workshop at the Castellani Art Museum on May 3rd!

I'll tell you a little about that. It's called Invisible Voices: Zines as Art and it will be part presentation/lecture and part workshop. In addition to a slide show and talk about what zines are and their surprisingly lengthy history, I will demonstrate how a zine is put together using various techniques, with the opportunity for YOU to get hands on—complete with a tour of my extensive personal zine library, which includes zines that I'ved collected since the early 1990s.

Q: What is a zine, anyway?

A: The zine – a self-published magazine that’s often published by an individual making use of cut and paste techniques and photocopies – has a long history, with its roots reaching back as far as Thomas Paine’s pamphlets of the Revolutionary War era, The Crisis and Common Sense, to the manifestos and pamphlets of the Dadaists and Surrealists in the early 20th century, to the music fanzines of 1970s punk rock and the Riot Grrrl and DIY movements of the 1990s and beyond.

The past few years have seen many zine publishers pushing the envelope with the form, transforming the humble photocopied pamphlet to an honest-to-god work of art. Along with the gain in popularity of book arts in general, zines can be an astounding alternative to more traditional art-making.

It's free to attend, though you should register an RSVP with Curator Michael J. Beam at 716-286-8286 or email mjbeam@niagara.edu.

I guess it helps to keep your eyes ahead when you're feeling blue, especially when you have things to look forward to... and I sure do! While I am recuperating from this slump, let me show you something that I have dug out of my archives. Sticking with the blue theme...


Lora and Lana Didn't Have a Chance (detail), Silicone toray intaglio print, 2006

Catch-up

I haven't much new to report or show you, but since my last post announcing that my website had some meat, I wanted to tell you that everything that I wanted to get up, including galleries, is up! What a great feeling... I can't tell you how long I've been saying, "I've got to get a website up, I've got to get a website up..." and just never followed through. I'm so pleased that I finally made it happen and now have a one stop shop to direct people toward. I think this will call for some new business cards, while I am thinking about it... hmmm...

And just so I don't leave you with nothing to look at, may I present to you one of the lovely, poor, abandoned houses I found this past weekend? I found so much inspiration and can't wait to get back in the studio to paint!


On Route 20, somewhere between Alden and Avon, NY.

Acceptance!

Wow! I can take a break from rejection, at least for today.

I just got an email saying that I've been awarded a solo exhibition at 171 Houghton Gallery down in Corning, NY for next year. The schedule hasn't been worked out yet, so I can't tell you anything more except how thrilled I am. I don't know, what—I guess you get one or two of these things and it just snowballs?

Yes, please!

I'm really going to have to get back to churning mode in the studio, that is for sure.


Please, Gouache and rubber stamping, 2004.

Finally!

My poor, languishing website, for which I've had the domain and VERY bare content since the beginning of 2009, finally has some meat on its bones! While I do still have to stock up the galleries with images and upload my CV, I am just about done with the initial full content. From here on out I will be updating the site regularly and adding more information as it comes... I am excited about the possibilities now that I finally have the basic structure down. (I'm no web design wiz, in case you couldn't tell, but I do have appreciation for clean, simple design.)

Please, have a look: Amy Greenan Art & Design. I'd love to hear what you think!

Rejection, Part 2

Breaking news as we receive it!

I just got an email from an artist residency program that I was pretty excited about. It was a rejection letter, alas, but it was a really great rejection letter.

The bulk of the email read:

I am sorry to let you know that we are unable to offer you a residency at **** this summer. We were very impressed with your work, but unfortunately can never accommodate as many artists as we would like to.

Best of luck to you in the coming months, and with your practice. We hope that you might find a way to come to **** sometime in the future and encourage you to apply again either for our upcoming fall program or for a future summer residency.

Aw! What a nice rejection. Well, I was planning to reapply anyway, if this happened. At least I know now that I have a sliver of a chance.

***

In other news, I now have a 4 or 5 month wait to get a rejection letter from THE big exhibition in town, a biennial. I just submitted my materials today and just... the wait. Torture me, it will. I want to think that I could be accepted this time, but I am steeling myself for the big R, if you must know. But I guess we'll see! Ah, the life of an artist.


Anything Could Happen, Mixed media, 7"x9", 2009.