Love it!

Silver Lining, 2007, Signe Grushovenko, copyright held by the artist

I am absolutely thrilled to have been gifted this painting by my friend Signe. Having not crossed paths all year, it was fun to catch up with her at Kentuck. She fell in love with one of my little pieces and of course I love all her work, so we exchanged gifts and I will now look at this piece every single day as it hangs in my office.

Signe and I are influenced by so many of the same things although we obviously move in different directions with our work. This idea interests me about artists, how we can see the exact same thing but bring away different meanings. I have always wanted to curate a show about that - a display of various artists reacting to the same situation/scene/stimulus and how they present it from their own vantage point.

But I digress.

Check out Signe's website to see more of her work.

Colors of Kentuck

What an invigorating show. The art inspired me it was so raw and loose. Some was in your face while other pieces were sneaky and you had to get really close to appreciate the subtleties. Lots of artists offering insightful commentary, waaaayyy more political than usual. Artists pushing the envelope, making the viewer think. I love that.

I'm charged with ideas for my own work. In fact, I can't really put it into words right now. It is more a feeling than anything I can verbalize. Stay tuned to see how it all unfolds over the coming months.

Jacoby Preview

Beamish, 2007, 8" x 24"

This is one of my new pieces for the Jacoby show. It's on claybord with acrylic, ink and oil pastel plus some collage materials.

The whirl called Monday

Wow, that was quick. Just a few blinks and the weekend and Monday are gone. Poof!

I have lots of photos to share...studio furniture and organization plus a painting; but alas, Blogger is not playing this morning (or last night for that matter) and won't allow any uploads. Ugh.

I feel much better that my painting block has ended. Thank goodness. When the painting gets tough, the tough get.......cleaning. And organizing. And moving stuff around. This is my pattern, over and over which is what makes it a pattern, duh. My friends chuckle because how many times can a girl re-arrange her studio!?!?! I mean seriously.

But it keeps me moving and I can delude myself that I am productive even if I am not making art. Plus it feels so amazing when it's done. This time is no exception, it is the best ever. All this fresh energy inspires me and I'm back to late nights into early mornings.

Oh, it's all good!!!

Across the Universe

Julie Taymor's newest triumph opened in St. Louis yesterday and with a little help from my friends, I was among the small crowd who watched it on the digital "mega" screen. Can't imagine why there weren't more people as I've been anxiously awaiting its release. But of course a (shall remain nameless) local film critic dunned the movie in the paper. Naturally he is entitled to his opinion, but his review might have been different had he taken his head out of his butt.

The film was intriguing on so very many levels. It is upbeat, downbeat, happy, sad, political, provocative - all while being a clever ode to the Beatles. Simply put, it's an artistic masterpiece. The movie is intentionally light on dialogue as so much is told through the songs. I personally liked this as it allowed an opportunity to think about the words and to really contemplate the Beatles meaning.

Bottom line, I loved it and have already ordered the soundtrack. I feel sure I will see this film a second time, definitely on the big screen. It is a creative feast for the eyes that yanked me right out of a horrible painting funk! So I am grateful to the movie for that. Plus I woke up singing the songs in my head.

I don't want to spoil too much, so just go see it. Experience it for yourself and let it be. If you've already seen it, click here to read some fun facts about the filming.

And I've gotta get back to painting right now.

Just call me Sybil

Today's Daily Om talks about the various voices living inside us and how to handle conflict. You can click over there if you want to read the article. I had to chuckle though because it suggests you call a "meeting" within your psyche by meditating or journaling.

Wow, what fun would that be? Just imagine the early morning conversation........

Ruth(responsible mother) - eat your fiber cereal
Mynah(whiny child) - but I want peanut butter m+m's
Gypsy(bohemian artist) - oh shit, I accidentally put my paint brush in my coffee mug

Wasn't my second divorce prompted by this type of behavior?

Our anniversary was so nice. We celebrated at a fancy schmancy restaurant called Monarch, reputed to be one of the best spots in our town. It's actually owned by the son of one of my collectors and I have always wanted to dine there. A little bit pricey but the food was divine.

We don't do gifts for our anniversaries, but we do exchange mushy cards. Silly me had forgotten to make John a card. I remembered about 6am when I woke with a start, leaped out of bed and bolted down to the studio. My completed card was at John's place on the kitchen table by the time he woke up. Nothing like waiting till the last minute.

But back to dinner. Shortly after being seated, we noticed a greeting card on the table. Our friends Marian, Bud & Claire had arranged to treat us with a bottle of wine! Within moments, our waiter approached. He sounded like Peter Sellers in the Pink Panther movies. I swear to God. At first I thought he was faking the accent, just trying to keep up some pretension, but the more he talked I realized it was for real. I could barely keep a straight face. Naturally, the moment he walked away, I launched into my poor imitation, "I would like a rheum......"

Too funny. It was a great night though. Good wine, yummy decadent food and the best company I could imagine.

Rockin' and rollin' lovebirds

We interrupt the art programming to bring you talk about relationships.

I share with you today, shots from a wedding we attended over the weekend (they had a Photo booth, how cool is that!?!?). Congratulations Jeff and Donna! Your wedding was a delight and your touching ceremony came at the perfect time for John and me - kind of a renewal of our own vows.

Tomorrow is my 14th anniversary. They (that being the usual naysayers) said it wouldn't last. And I do not exaggerate, "they" really did say that. Probably due to our age difference (fifteen years in case you are wondering). Or perhaps due to our different personalities. John being the rock of Gibraltar/Jack Ryan(if you read Tom Clancy you know what I am talking about) kind of guy. And me being a roller coaster of wildly unpredictable moods and whims. Or maybe "they" thought it wouldn't last because of my poor track record in the marriage arena. But that's a story for another day.

Hmmm, who knows. All I know is I found the right guy this time. I'm in for the count and I know he is too. He is my rock and I am his roller coaster. It's a match made in heaven. Happy Anniversary baby.

Quilt National

Yesterday I went to see Quilt National with Claire, John and Nancy. It's the 15th year for this biennial exhibit of contemporary quilts. An international show, Quilt National is juried to the strictest standards. The fiber artists I know absolutely swoon if they are accepted and many of them enter year after year after year before they achieve success. I am thrilled for 2 of my friends who are in the show, Emily Lewis (from Cincinnati) and Pat Owoc, from St. Louis. The Foundry, in St. Charles, is very lucky to have this exhibit as it's the only location in the country (other than the Dairy Barn where the show originates) to have the entire show.

And this is one gorgeous show. Simply stunning. It made me want to buy a fancy schmancy sewing machine, take extensive lessons in quilting and wallow in fabric for the rest of my life. Of course I would still have to throw some paint around, in this imaginary future life of mine. But it strikes me that so many of these quilters are achieving a painterly effect with their fiber, a feat that I worship as it seems like it would be so very challenging.

No photography is allowed and I had forgotten my camera anyway, so I'm afraid I can't share any images. The best you can do is to go to the Quilt National site and click on the artist's website (if they have one). If you are anywhere near the St. Louis area though, go see this show. It is totally worth it!

Still nerdy after all these years

Well, here we are, me and my friends, at our reunion on Saturday. We met up early to have a drink and catch up on each other's lives before the big event. And wow, does everybody look good or what!?!? I mean seriously. I thought we were all too cute and holding together quite well.

That's Linda on the left, then Autumn, me and Jennifer on the far right. We are spread out across the country - Seattle, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Orlando. I can't even remember the last time we might have been together, perhaps one of my weddings (!) or Autumn's most likely? Who knows, but it was sure easy to fall right back in friendship with these gals. We had a fun time and talked of doing a girl trip one day soon. I would really love to see that happen.

The reunion itself was pretty uneventful. I was bummed that people I had expected to attend weren't there. Many of "our crowd" didn't come, probably since most have moved away. But I did catch up with childhood friends from the old neighborhood and music buddies from Choir and Orchestra. Plus we got to be snarky about some of the popular people who weren't holding together like we might have guessed. Meeeooooowww.

Then, a funny thing happened late in the evening. We had been mingling for hours and our feet were whining in their high heels so we sat down at the table for literally the first time all night. As we talked among ourselves, an obviously drunk guy sloshed over (we later found out he was a reunion crasher, how pitiful is that?). He wore a skin tight Rolling Stones t-shirt and a Puka bead necklace from the 70's. His hair was long, his smile missing a front tooth or two, I tried not to look that close. He leaned over our table and declared, "So what is this, a meeting of the chess club!?!?!"

And that is when we knew, that despite our successes, new clothes, great jewelry, manicured nails, somewhat trim (ha!) bodies, we somehow still radiate nerdiness. It must go to our core. And you know what, we all just laughed and laughed because today we can finally embrace it with pride.