1890 Bryant Street Studio

When I moved into my studio in 2010 I knew it was a special place, after all, Catherine Mackey was new to the building and Trish and I had been stalking her at fall Open Studios for years. The building also housed Katja Liebenath, Liz Hickok and Cynthia Tom. I moved into 1890—shorthand for the former Best Foods building and now home to more than 100 fine artists and crafts people and began to reap the benefits of being among artists who are wildly talented, brilliantly capable, and super creative. Luckily, I am among them in location, and get to soak up all the other stuff.

I've been free to experiment, encouraged to grow, celebrated when sales are good, and comforted through hard times by my fellow artists there. 1890 has come to be my home away from home. Even during times when my creativity or schedule are art-anemic, I am buoyed by the knowledge that I have this glorious place, among some of my favorite artists, to go and create. 

Fall Open Studios is November 5 & 6 at 1890 Bryant Street Studios. It's weekend 4 of ArtSpan's Open Studios. Join us and see what I am talking about. November 5 & 6, 2016, 1890 Bryant Street, San Francisco. Preview event from 6:00 - 9:00 on Friday night.

Playing with Pigmented Wax!

Lately I have been anxious to get work completed, feeling like I don't have time to luxuriate in the creative process. "Produce, produce" my internal voice screams. I've also completely neglected this blog. Working full time has many perks, but time to create is not one of them. 

I began to feel uninspired by my subject matter, birds and birds on wires, image transfers, layers and layers of smooth wax. The process I have perfected and love but needed something new. So I began experimenting with different mediums and different styles. 

At first I tried going back to roosters, and still life paintings, work that requires tremendous skill and attention to detail. I liked the results but still didn't feel very inspired. Finally I tried to produce abstract paintings, not like anything I've ever done before, abstract landscapes. 

This one was done with encaustic paint and I like the results. Since this, I've pulled out the acrylics and am now going to take a class in cold wax and oils. I'm back to having fun!