My one and only.

Happy Anniversary.

Fava Bean and Mushroom Crostini with Caramelized Onions.

A Day in the Life of Everyone.

I am stoked to introduce a new project of mine.  This idea has been in my head for over a year and a half now.  I finally bit the bullet and jumped in full force.  My working title is “A Day in the Life of Everyone.”  An an attempt to connect with more people that I would otherwise have no reason to ever meet, to show that we are all very similar and, yet, at the same time unique and to push my concept that we are all connected, I have decided to ask several people from around the globe to take a written record of one day in their life.  Along with that day, they will send me a photograph of themselves and tell me their favorite color.

These 3 items will turn into an full gallery installation artwork.  I CANNOT WAIT for that part.  The installation is my favorite part.  But, first, I must gather enough volunteers, create a linocut print of each and everyone of them.  Decide exactly how I am going to show the work, find a gallery that is willing to host it and all the other stuff I won’t bore you with.

But, it will happen.  It is happening.  It feels good to be making work again.

Check out the blog dedicated to the project:  http://adayinthelifeartproject.blogspot.com/

I suck at Facebook.

All artists are self employed and thus take on several roles from manufacturer, purchaser, seller, manager, accountant and marketing guru.  Social media is an easy way to market one’s work for free.  I have attempted to get myself uberly involved with online art communities, twitter, facebook, reddit, digg, you name it.  I have come to the conclusion that I suck at social media self marketing.

I think I suck at self marketing all together.

I would much rather be in the studio making something than on my computer promoting that which I have made.  But, I know that I can make all the crap I want to, but with no one to buy it I won’t be able to afford to keep making it.  So, I have a new game plan that involves being more involved.

So, become a fan of my facebook page by clicking HERE.

Make art free!

I want to share a new community art project I am working on in collaboration with my artist friend Lisa Rasmussen.  Yesterday we announced our newest art adventure, Take 5:  Art Break Day!  Check out our website for more information:  www.artbreakday.com

Here is the annoucement we published yesterday.

Visualize walking into the center of a city and seeing a group of random strangers sitting around a table chatting, laughing, sharing, and getting to know one another through the act of making art together.

On Take 5:  Art Break Day folks will literally be taking an art break; taking a breather from the ordinary course of their day to MAKE ART FOR FREE!

Over the next four months we need to raise $50,000.

That is $12,500 per month.

and $417.00 per day.

That is equal to 117 Venti lattes at Starbucks per day or one iPhone per day.

How can you Help?

1. Donate, donate, donate Click HERE to donate now! Your tax-deductible donation provides crucial support for this projec. Every single donation no matter how small or large is indispensable and intrinsic in helping us create a successful Take Five: Take an ARTbreak Day!
2. Spread the Word! E-mail this post to your friends, post it on your Blog, on Facebook and Twitter.
3. Help us find Sponsorship! Email us if you know someone who might be interested in sponsoring Take 5:  Art Break Day. (our email:  artismoving[at!]gmail[dot!]com)
4. Become part of our ARTmentor Team. We are looking for 8 ARTmentors to help us prior, during, and after the event with several different tasks.  Check out the website for more info.
5. Volunteer. We have over thirty volunteer positions available.
6. Have fun with us in September! Put September 2, 2011 on your calendar NOW so you don’t forget to come out and TAKE AN ART BREAK for free!

A little backyard photography.

If you are open to wonder and willing to wander, you can discover new ways of seeing and beauty just about anywhere.  Even in your own backyard.

Vincent Van Gogh, who?

image courtesy of Van Gogh Gallery

This morning as I was attempting to convince myself to GET OUT OF BED! my husband said, “Did you know that Vincent Van Gogh only sold one painting while he was alive?”

Think about that for a second.

Van Gogh is an artist that you talk about at a party because most people will know who he is and will have an opinion about his work.  His Starry Night is plastered around the world on almost every kind of surface you can imagine.

His paintings sell in the $35 millions.

Do you think Van Gogh worried about being a “successful artist”?

I think he just painted because he had to.

My makeshift product photography studio.

I have been re-examining how I photograph my upcycled products for display in my online store.  Having done a bit of research of other successful online stores and paying attention to my own online shopping tendencies I realized my photographs may be a bit too much.  The backgrounds are distracting one’s eyes away from the product.

I have come to realize that the best way to show off a product is to show ONLY the product.

I do not have the money for a photography studio or even the proper lighting.  So, I am depending on my makeshift studio, natural lighting, my tripod and Photoshop in hopes it will do the trick.

Because I feel like white backgrounds are so atrociously boring (not in all photographs, just in my products shots) I have made a compromise with myself that the first photograph someone sees of the product will be the boring white background shot.  The rest can be detail shots and ONE artsy-fartsy photograph is allowed for each product if I feel the urge.

We will see how my customers respond to this makeover when it is complete!

Empty jars hold so much potential.

I just got back from the local grocery store where I purchased 3 cases of various sized canning jars.  I can’t wait until my gardening extraordinaire of a husband gets our garden going and I have fresh fruits and veggies to fill these jars up with.  This girls is already dreaming of delicious recipes.

Getting over myself.

I take myself too seriously. I worry too much about the work I make. And, in the end, it is extremely detrimental to the art I attempt to create. Having successfully distracted myself from creating visual art for the last 4 or 5 months while making upcycled clothing and purses I have had a hard time trying to “get back in the studio” as they say. It is not as though I don’t consider the community art projects I have been organizing and participating in and the new upcycled path I have been taking is not art making. It’s just a different type of art making. It does not fulfill a certain part of me that I can’t really define for you. Vague, I know, but honest.

So, for the last month or so I have been standing in my studio staring at an empty table with nothing to say and nothing to make. I was scared and am still scared that I don’t have anything meaningful left to contribute. What I find most interesting about my struggle with my own art making is that the artwork that made me want to be an artist is the same artwork I am afraid to create. I consider myself a conceptual artist and want my viewers to walk away from my work with a certain thought, idea, emotion, or message. The main goal is to shake people out of their own reality for just a second. Slap them across the face visually to see what happens. But, the work that influences me and gives me butterflies is not labeled conceptual art.

I would argue that all art is conceptual because all artists think about what they are going to make before they make. Even if they are not thinking at the time they are creating. But, that is a whole other topic.

What I am trying to communicate is that I love work that looks awesome, that’s beautiful. A painting of a woman walking across a plaza. A photograph of a store window. Art that captures everyday moments in time so that they can be truly appreciated. Although this artwork is fulfilling for me, the viewer, it does not seem to be fulfilling for me, the artist. Seems pretty silly to me. As usual, my concept about art is being challenged by me.

As far as I still have to go as an artist I have made one step forward today. I actually made a print. It was inspired by a photograph I took in San Francisco this week.

It’s a start!

Adventures in SanFranLand.

After my volunteer gig today I thought I would take a look at the city through my camera lens. I decided to challenge myself a bit and stick to about a two block radius. There are a number of unseen photographs in the world, even in San Francisco. Here is what my eyes and photo gut saw today on Mission Street in between 3rd and 4th street.