Art Museum auction
I donated a small collage to the local art museum here in Longview this week. It’s framed and everything………SO, if anyone is interested in bidding on it.
Here’s link to the auction (it is a great cause you know). LMFA AUCTION
Or, just look around for other great items to bid on to support my local art museum.
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Move In – Move Out…Day 2
I was going to call this….”Farm Studio Move, Day 2″, but it looks more like “leaving the old studio, day 2” to me.
Bright and early this morning, Curry knocked on the door and had the old pick-up truck parked in the driveway. He was ready to mow our lawn (boy did it need it), wanted some coffee and breakfast, and started with dismantling more studio stuff. The poor room looks even more derelict than before now.
The big English wardrobe I found some years ago holds so much stuff….he’s always hated it and calls it the “monstrosity”. I keep telling him it’s a great find and holds so much where I can find it and helps me stay a little more organized. Now it’s just a shell waiting for the parts to be taken away…..top and bottom all in one piece and the rest can be dismantled for moving. It does pose a problem for placement I have to admit, as it’s 7 ‘ tall and 7 ‘ wide. That means there are two walls in the new studio….and one is for the painting pegboard easel wall.
I’m trying not to even think about all the old paintings I need to throw out or do something with in that closet. Some I hate….I tore two up today. But some are just not what I do any longer and so they will not be seen in a show so how are they going to find a home??? My oldest daughter went “shopping” there in the studio the last time she was here. I don’t think my youngest daughter or son really care that much for abstract art……oh well. I am going to donate one to the museum auction for later this month. Now I have to make time to get it down there in time.
I keep saying….simple, simple, simple…less is more, less is more. Clean, clean, clean!
Oh my gosh…I have to pack up all those books, too.
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Farm Studio Move-In Day 1
August 8, 2008
I knew it was coming but it really hadn’t sunk in. I’m moving out to the farm. I’m moving my home studio after 24 years and my home after 40 years. What an upheaval this is…but I hope a good one. I know there will be days (already have been) of exhaustion from the stress both mentally and physically. Ain’t no spring chicken any longer……Also much time if you let it second guessing the decisions. I told my husband, lets just do it, we can always sell if it’s too much later on.
While only about a third of my junk has been thrown down all over these rooms, it now really means this is going to take place soon. I NOW HAVE MY PAINTING WALL INSTALLED.
It’s been a couple of days of cleaning. Most of these pictures were taken in process so try to look over all the dusty corners and bad looking vinyl floors. The carpeted room is in okay shape except for the step down into the painting room….cats had their way here it seems. I’ll figure out something to do about it later. For now the old vinyl will just be scrubbed as much as possible and paint drips can cover the rest in time.
Who can complain to get three rooms and a tiny bathroom for their studio? And the view down the hills, pastures to the lake will be inspiration for me for sure.
I’m including a link to the Flickr folder to see all the beginnings. Hopefully later on I can post more when all the furniture and other “stuff” gets installed.
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White Space
Taking my personal “white space”.
Aha…….got this in my INBOX today. Call it what you want, all of us need some time to just germinate. I’m always commenting to people when I look at art, that I like/don’t like the way someone uses their negative space……or has good quiet space placement in their work. This can be applied to life as well as Molly Gordon emphasized in this ezine email.
I’m certainly taking my white space lately. I look forward to the time when it will all pay off for me with lots of passionate work emanating from my studio at the farm.
quoted from Molly Gordon at AuthenticPromotion
Why Your Business Needs You to Do Less, Not More
Graphic designers and layout people will tell you that white space is what makes it possible for us to register text on a printed page or a computer screen. White space gives order, context, and emphasis to what matters. Without it, everything seems equally urgent and important.If you’ve ever tried to read an email or web page with long paragraphs, you know what happens when too much content squeezes out the white space. It is hard to track meaning, hard to isolate key points, hard to know how to respond.
The same thing happens when there is not enough white space in our lives. Depending on our individual styles, we may get irritable, weepy, bossy, or simply forgetful. In an ironic turnabout, we may start saying “no” to things we’d like to say “yes” to and vice versa. Play feels like work, and work loses its charm.
On the other hand, when we expand or maintain white space in stressful times, we discover unexpected opportunities and solutions.
When a problem is too big or complex to be solved with available resources, we have to go to another level to solve it. White space helps us find that other level, when pushing harder and moving faster won’t work.
If the white space in your life has been shrinking, or if, like me, you need more white space than usual right now, pause. Revise your commitments and declare a moratorium on promises for a few days.
Preserving white space allows the shape of what is truly important to emerge while giving us the breathing room to respond more completely and effectively.
That’s a good thing.
Until next week,
Molly Gordon
http://www.authenticpromotion.com
Thanks, Molly, for just confirming what I already knew!
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Installation shots of show
I finally got back down to the museum today to take some installation shots of the show that opened Saturday night. No, I didn’t go around and take pictures of the whole show……..I’m being selfish and just taking MY long wall of 17 pieces.
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Coming Home exhbit
Photos from the opening reception
It’s been a busy and exciting couple of days. I’m pooped and will get to bed early tonight probably.
I’ve uploaded a set of pictures of the Longview Museum of Fine Arts current show, “Coming Home”. My work is very favorably shown on an entire wall of the largest gallery. We had a fantastic crowd there and I saw a lot of people I haven’t seen in some time and met a lot of new ones.
As most artists know, it’s rare that you get invited to show work at your local art museum. I’m honored to be one of 15 artists in this show.
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Coming Home
A week ago today, I took twenty four paintings to the Longview Museum of Fine Arts. This is my local home town art museum. I have work in their Permanent Collection. This year marks the 50th Anniversary for the museum. To celebrate this event throughout the year, there will be three large exhibits that will show work from artists who are included in the collections and from artists who live around this area.
I’m proud and honored to be included in the Coming Home exhibit that will open July 19 and run through August 23. My work will be shown on the entire west wall of the Wrather Gallery when you enter the museum.
If you are in Longview during this time, please come by to see the show. AND, if you are there for the opening, please let me know as I will be there.
Here’s a link to the show invitation…. http://www.lmfa.org/archLMFA/cominghome2.htm
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Farm stuff
Busy at the farm. This morning we sat on the front porch drinking coffee and I noted how much Granny’s lilies were blooming….give’em water and they bloom like crazy.
DH has been working on the closet in the front bedroom. Old houses don’t have much in the way of closet storage so you just have to make do with what you have. We now have two rods on one side for tops and bottoms…….and a higher one on the other end for long stuff. The shelves are WAAY up but I’m tall so will make do until something better comes along. At least the old carpet in now pulled out, and the floor sanded and varnished. There is one more small closet in this room to work on later…………..one step at a time. We pulled out an old cabinet and tried to recycle it into shelves in the middle…..however, it is just too big so out it went to the garage. I’ll have to be on the look-out for something else for shoes up the middle of the closet…maybe just a lot of wooden cubes attached to the back of the wall.
I’m still waiting for the tile people to show and tell me what’s what in the bathroom. We got the new vanity/sink/faucet and lighting installed ourselves. Now to wait for the tile people to tell me when they can do their work. If I didn’t know better I would think I was in France where repair people show up 6 months after you call them. I did get a plumber to come out immediately when we called them about the lightning hitting the hot water pipe last week-end though……and it ended up taking out two breakers at the garage apartment and ruining the DISH connection to DH’s aunt’s television.
Last night we sat on the east porch drank, a glass of wine or two and watched all the fireworks from the nearest neighbors and town………..big display and surprising to me since I’ve never been over here for the big Fourth of July display before.
I brought a collage from home to put in over the bed to think about…..might work, or maybe better later to put up three very small panels. For now, it’s up. When the electrician gets here to do some work in the computer room, I can get the fan re-installed……..now it’s now functional after taking it down to shortened the “wachamacallit” that hangs from the ceiling. I’ll be glad when all the tile boxes and extraneous stuff is cleared out of here and I can move on to another room.
I’m determined not to put too much in any of these rooms with two households of furniture to combine. It will just be given away to family or given to free-cycle after figuring out what goes where. This is an opportunity to clear stuff out after living in one house over 40 years.
.
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OR NOT!
As my blog statement mentions……….what’s going on in the studio, or not! Well, not is it for right now. I’m anxiety ridden about needing to be in the studio but other comittments are taking me in and out of the house. That is just not conducive to working creatively when you are there. Your mind is just not there.
Work at the farm is coming along, although very slowly. I’ve been over several times since returning from Italy. This last visit was to take a new bathroom vanity over. We got it put together and some of the plumbing stuff done…now to wait for a real plumber for other things that need doing. I’m really not that much of a DIY person but my husband is always determined to try to do it himself unless he just has to call a service person. My thoughts are that for things like this, it is time. Who knew there were no water cut-offs until looking………well now we know. It’s not a good thought that you might have to have water turned off all over the place just to work on a shower installation or a lavatory update. Now we have a cut off in that bathroom for the lavatory……….slow progress for sure. Sticker shock for sure as well for “you know who”. Of course, he should know I’m a bargain hunter so I’m doing the best that I can with what I’ve got.
Don’t even think about me not still having painting going on in my mind..although you might wonder lately. It is there, all the beauty I soaked in while in Umbria..just waiting for the opportunity to escape into paint on canvas, or wax or collage on panel and paper.
Actually, I’m pulling out work for the show at the local art musuem to see what is available and to consider picking up a few pieces if needed. The show opens mid July with area artists featured this time, which is unusual. There is a 50 year celebration going on this year for our museum…I’m in the permanent collection there so I’m honored to have been selected for one of the shows.
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Last days
June 10
Well……it was here, the last day to get out and bid farewell to the wonderful area around Casa Rondini. When we had our bags packed about as much as wel could and had sorted things out for our night in Rome before the flight, we set out.
First we headed toward Monteleone di Orvieto and just looked around the area………then headed back to cook a little dinner and clean up.
The next day we took a picture of our lovely host family, Franco, Bozena and their two daughters before driving out for the last time. As we headed toward Fabro Scalo, we saw that the poppy field was really putting on a show for us so we had to stop to take a few pictures. I also took a picture of the sign we’d passed so many times going that way with the names of so many of the towns around there we had passed through going and coming every day.
If anyone is heading to this area, you should definitely check out Casa Rondini. It will live up to your expectations and more as an ideal location for exploring Umbria and Tuscany.
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Pizza, Castiglione del Lago
June 8
Last chance for Pizza Night at Casa Rondini. Usually pizza night on Sundays is sort of an instructional “how to make pizza”, like the pasta night. If it rains that might change since the oven is outdoors, but we will have pizza tonight…..Franco said so. (addendum: no pizza since the oven is outdoors because of rain..Stuffed Foccacia instead, with antipasti, wonderful spring peas and broadbeans from the garden, artichokes stuffed with garlic and parmesan. Ice cream and a blueberry tart for dessert. Way more food than we needed.
We’re hoping our last laundry will have time to dry since it’s been rainy/cloudy for several days. If not, then pack some in plastic bags for the trip home. We check out of our wonderful agritourisimo Tuesday morning and make the drive back to the Rome airport and the Hilton on the grounds there. We want to get the rental car all checked in and our hotel notified about out shuttle for departure times.
This has been a really marvelous trip. The time has flown by so quickly. How could it be already almost 28 days?
One last little trip out this afternoon….We went to Castiligone del Lago up on Lake Trasimeno again. No bags for Pat, sorry Pat, they were closed on Sunday at the only place I found them. We had a nice lunch, looked around, headed to Citta Della Pieve again so Carolyn could pick up a last minute item. It started raining and I took a 20 minute nap in the car while she went in to shop. Boy did I need it as I was really sleepy.
With that question about time passing so quickly, I’m also ready to get back in the studio. I’m thinking ahead to a big show at the local museum that will have my work featured and all that comes with slowly getting ready to move to the farm. I will be a very busy person. It has been really nice (understatement) to have no agenda for this whole trip. Every day or so we decided what we wanted to do and just went or NOT.Heaven. Umbria must be the greenest area in the world not withstanding Ireland although I’ve never been there so I wonder.
I found these pictures awaiting me as we walked to dinner………Bozena’s lilies were all in their glory. There was even a magnolia blooming today. I also took some pictures of the storm rolling in as we left Castiglione del Lago. Whatever the weather, the skies here are always awesome.
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Saturday at Casa Rondini
June 7
This day (Saturday) started with a lot of fog….I just turned over and went back to sleep. I was up early looking out due to that darn humongous crow or whatever he is pecking on the glass of the French doors in the kitchen again.He starts about 5-6 am. The only day he hasn’t wakened us this week is the day we beat him up at 4:30 am to get ready for Rome.
Internet came back on so I uploaded some blog entries and downloaded to the laptop pictures from a couple of days. It looked like another good day for a pot of lentils so I did that as well.
A lot of the day is spent packing bags to see what will fit, and especially what will go in checked or carry-on baggage. Hum…what to wear now for the next couple of days???
The pictures for today were really made at the Vatican Museum in Rome yesterday………….those Romans sure did love their baths. This is not the largest of the tubs they have displayed there. Looks like a big party could be held in some of these….and probably was.
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