Cool kids

Is it really November already? Did Open Studios really come and go and now the holidays are here? Is it possible I have to deliver art to two galleries but am afraid I have nothing new to say? Tomorrow I am going to my studio, and it feels like I'll be visiting an old friend or distant relative, what if we have nothing to talk about? Wish me luck!

Birthday Birds

It's been a while since I blogged. I continue to spend time in the studio but the process has slowed considerably as I focus on learning a new job and taking good care of myself while I do. I know art is a crucial element of self care and that I will find my way back to a regular routine, but for now, I'm stealing studio time and getting super excited when I do. Here's a fun little surprise that happened last night.

Red Tipped Rufous

I've begun to play with collage a little. I have so much respect for people who do it successfully - making an interesting composition out of scraps of things is really challenging. In this piece, I dipped my toe in a wee bit just to see how well the additional fabric and paper would adhere just by placing it into the wax. I've prepped a couple of panels but the process has me yearning for acrylics.

Acceptance

I like things tidy. I like glassy surfaces worked to perfection by applying an exact amount of heat over the entire surface. I like my images to transfer evenly, perfectly, with no peeled carbon or broken lines. 

This is a crazy medium for someone who craves this degree of order. Encaustic image transfers are messy, scratchy, broken, and faded. 

For this image, I tried and failed to get the transfer to stay intact and after numerous attempts I discovered that if I did not insist on a perfectly smooth surface, void of any brush strokes, I would be less likely to destroy the image. You may be able to see the brushstrokes even in the photograph. This is my attempt at acceptance. 

Autumn Flight

We camped at Manresa in September for Trish's birthday (and our anniversary). On the way home we hit a bunch of beaches along the coast. This was taken by Trish while I ran around the beach trying to get the gulls to fly. They were so accustomed to beach combers they barely got off the ground as I ran around waving my arms in the air. She should have taken a picture of that. 

Capp & 26th

I've noticed the birds in San Francisco seem to change their flight patterns in the fall. I know that migration is related to food availability, and there's plenty of that in the City, year around, so they're not migrating. But they do seem to fly around in big swooping flocks and land in new places. Last year I noticed dozens of birds on the lines around Bernal Heights and promised this year I would carry my camera to capture them.  Maybe they're stopping in on the way down South from Canada. In this shot, my neighborhood pigeons are hanging out, where I can count on seeing them year around. 

Analogue Ivy

At some point the power lines will come down and the urban birds will find new places to perch. In this shot, which is a favorite of mine, the ivy has grown around the telephone poll and given them a second option. I went back to Saint Mary's Park to get more images of this scene and the ivy had been cleared away. I wondered by whom. The City gardener? The telephone company? Do they even exist anymore?  Hopefully by the time the world goes entirely digital, I'll have moved on to new subjects. In the mean time, I'm working to capture this urban scenario that I can't seem to get enough of. 

Stopping for a Chat

An entire week has passed since my Open Studios - three days of chatting about my work to the public. This year, I really want a do-over.  It takes so much energy to get the work completed and get it up on the walls, clean and organize the space, paint the walls, buy food, get labels and mailing lists, figure out what to serve and by the time it's all over, I am really sad.

And this year, we were competing with "Hardly Strictly Bluegrass," a huge festival in Golden Gate Park so I didn't feel like I had the usual crowds we're accustomed to seeing at 1890 Bryant Street Studios. Also, now it means I need to get back to work, and prepare for the next show. So you see, I want a do-over so I can hang out in that tension and relief of wondering if anyone is going to come, and oh yay, they came, they bought. Now it's over, until spring.

Looking for Birds

It's been a very exciting and busy week. Art for AIDS took place Friday and it was, as usual , an incredible event. The new location in the Galleria at the San Francisco Design Center is fabulous.

Trish and I are now the proud owners of a second piece by Sonya Philip.

I also volunteered at SOMArts for ArtSpan on Sunday checking in art for the 2011 Fall Open Studios gallery exhibition. This piece is in the exhibit and the kick off party is tonight.

And...my new studio at 1890 Bryant Street is painted, cleaned and filled with art. I haven't actually moved my studio furniture - that will happen after this weekend - after Open Studios.

Come by if you're in town, Friday, 9/30 from 6pm - 10pm, Saturday and Sunday, 10/1 & 2, 11 - 6.

Crescent Street Crow

I've been trying to catch a crow on this electrical poll for years. Every Friday after the garbage trucks roll through Bernal Heights, the crows are picking through the truck's path in hopes of some juicy scraps. They pop up to this poll when cars go by and the fly back down to the street when it's clear. I usually don't have enough patience to wait too long, so catching one really means one happens to be up there when I walk by. Thus, it's taken me years to get the shot.

Rusty Respite

ArtSpan's Fall Open Studios is nearly here! I'll be showing at 1890 Bryant Street in Studio 311 October 1 & 2 from 11:00 am - 6:00 pm. Our Preview Party is September 30 from 7:00 - 10:00. If you're in town, come by and see over 50 incredible artists, and come up to 311 and see my new studio space! I've wanted to have a studio at 1890 Bryant for a very long time and am very excited that it's finally happening. Hope you can make it!

Bryant Street in the Mission

Come to ArtSpan's Funky Flash Friday Mixer at 1890 Bryant Street next Friday, September 2, at 6:00 pm. Mr. Rogers will be our resident dj along with his groovy bunnymatic and friends artworks. Trish Tunney and I will also be on exhibition, so if you're up for some art, drinks, music, and snacks - this preview to Open Studios is for you!

26th and Mission

Here's another piece from the San Francisco Show at City Art Gallery. This was taken outside my house in the Mission where the pigeons hang out when the peregrine falcon are not chasing them down for dinner. Every now and then one of the falcons will land in our back yard and it is really something to see them up so very close, just the window between us. All the finches and doves scatter and we hear a big thump - the weight of the falcon landing.

View from Bryant Street

With my new batch of fabric lined boards, I set out to find images that might make good transfers. I wasn't sure how this one would translate. After taking the photo, I converted it to black and white, took all the clouds away, but decided not to repair any of the missing parts where the sun was shining on the objects, making them disappear during the contrast process. Even after seeing it printed I still wasn't sure about it, and only created a few copies, since I was so unclear if it would look cool or like a big mess. Once I began to peel the paper away I had my first glimpse that it was actually pretty successful.