Red Tent Evening

Tonight's a big night!  The Red Tent Evening at Khalima's Illumination Dance Studio.  I'll be showing slides of my work and taking women on a journey through the ages and stages of a woman's life.  Afterwards we'll have plenty of time to talk about whatever came up while looking at all the bold, gorgeous women who are my models.

If you're interested in coming, you can RSVP on Facebook (just search for Red Tent Evening) or just show up.  We'll love to have you.

Here's the information Khalima wrote about the event - I couldn't have said it better myself!

Join us for our third Red Tent meeting at Illumination! We will have a special guest speaker this month: Susan Singer, an amazing Richmond-based artist who paints women of every age, race, shape and size, doing her part to show the beauty in all women.


She will share with us slides of her work, and we will take part in an open discussion about nakedness and women. This will be an introduction of sorts to her upcoming biweekly class series, "Naked Self Portraiture: Drawing Inward to Draw Outward", which begins February 11th here at Illumination. Visit the calendar link on February 11th to read more about the class.


What is the Red Tent at Illumination?

Join together in camaraderie with other women under the glow of Illumination's Red Tent! Inspired by the book written by Anita Diamant, these meetings will hearken back to times when most women had a lineage and community to share with, learn from, and enjoy the company of, within the comfort of the red tent and otherwise. The goal is to relax and foster love, compassion, support, and community among women during a period in society where competition and lack of positivity towards women still exists.

We will have a topic of discussion each month, and no subject is taboo. These gatherings are for you, by you, with love. Let us see what grows within the red tent! Leave your shoes and inhibitions at the door, bring a vegetarian dish to share, and a floor pillow to lounge on. Bellydance, yoga, massage, meditation, healing, laughing, crying, and honesty are all possible here.

For the maiden voyage of the Red Tent, we discussed what the Red Tent means to us, decided on some topics we would like to discuss at future meetings, and enjoyed the company of women in a casual atmosphere. Let us have this and more! Welcome are all people who identify as woman, of every orientation, nurslings/babies, and children/teens who are able to participate/focus/learn/enjoy. This is learning, sharing, community, and lineage all at once, so please bring your daughters, mothers, grandmothers, aunts, and cousins! Know that this is a place to be open and very honest about all aspects of women, so please take this into consideration when deciding whether to bring your children. We look forward to sharing this very special ongoing gathering with you."

*Please bring a vegetarian dish to share, and your own cup, plate, and utensils so that we can cut back on the environmental impact of disposable items.

Fee: donation to the Illumination scholarship fund.

Taking down Sacred Flesh after two glorious months!

Yesterday morning Chris and I went to Visual Art Studio and took down Sacred Flesh after its two month run.  It's so bizarre taking a show down...  After months of conception, planning, painting, advertising, talking, emailing, marketing, sharing, the show gets hung.  It's a long, arduous, 6-7 hour process, yet it's ultimately a very satisfying experience because the result is so gratifying - a opportunity to see all the work in one place - the concept comes to life!

Then the Opening Night!  What a thrill!  It's kind of like a wedding.  So many wonderful friends and family members take the time out of their busy lives to come see the work you've put your soul into for months/years.  It's an opportunity to share the work with the public and to gauge their reaction.  Openings are one of my very favorite things to do!

Then the show hangs for a month or two.  Sacred Flesh was up for 2 months.  There are scheduled artists' talks, luncheons, impromptu visits to meet friends.  The energy continues unabated, helped along by wonderful emails from people who have seen the show.  So many things have evolved from this show, but I'll talk about those in another post.

Then, finally, after all that time, it's time for the show to come down.  Before leaving home, we loaded the Highlander and the truck with cardboard and other packing material, tools, and containers and headed to the gallery.  The owner was on Thanksgiving vacation still so we let ourselves in.  I took some photographs to remember the show by then we started taking the pieces off the wall.  Down came the labels and the women's stories.  Down came the paintings.  We packed up the catalogs and prints.  Then we began hauling the work to the truck and the car.  What took 7 hours to do only took 45 minutes to undo.  We were home within an hour and a half of leaving!

We carried the left over paintings into the studio where we left them propped up against walls and easels and tables.  We waited until today to put them away neatly.

One of the things artists are sometimes (understandably) shy about talking about is that shows don't usually sell out so there is often artwork to store or to hang in ones own house.  I've noticed that I actually get depressed when I take down a show. I know I did yesterday.  I don't like the feeling of bringing home so much work into which I poured my soul and having to find a place to store it.  I want it to have found new homes!  To have been loved and cherished and taken home!  It's painful to put it away where it won't be seen for months.  I hang much of it up in my house, but I only have so many walls, and I have to have room for the furniture too!

So yesterday was a bit sad and depressing.  I didn't notice at first, but Chris and I were hanging some artwork (we bought a hanging system for our house and were working on installing it then hanging pictures on it) and I was totally grumpy.  I felt like jumping down his throat for no reason.  Finally I realized that I was feeling let down like I frequently do when a show is over.  It passes, and my vitality returns, but it hurts for a bit.  Thankfully Chris was kind and gentle and understanding (as he almost always is - I'm a lucky woman!) so it passed, but ouch!

It's a powerful thing to have an art show. To be see so thoroughly by the public.  To have ones soul scrutinized, analyzed, judged, admired, despised, reviled, loved.  It's a vulnerable thing.  Fortunately I believe in my work completely so the negative comments generally roll off my back, and the positive ones serve to reinforce the rightness of what I'm doing.  (Some might call it selective hearing!  That's not a bad thing to have as an artist!)

Paragons of health and aging

I have two friends who are paragons of health and well-being as they age.

Lynn is 66 and will be climbing Kilimanjaro in February.  She was running marathons frequently until last year when Plantar Faschiatis sidelined her a bit - she still swims and bikes several times a week and even slows down a bit to walk with me a couple of times a week.  I love her attitude towards life and her can-do attitude.  I want to be Lynn when I grow up!


Frances is my other role model.  Everyone in Richmond knows Frances.  She is 91-years-old now.  She founded the dance departments at both U of R and VCU, if I have my story right, and she is STILL teaching dance and performing!  She even performed in London last year.  She posed for me for my Sacred Flesh series then was bold enough to be at the openings to talk to people about her paintings.  She said she didn't feel embarrassed at all - it's just a body,and bodies are meant to be used.  I want to be Frances when I get to be 90!

These two women are showing me a different way to age than I understood when I was younger.  When my grandmother got to a certain age, she stopped doing things to take care of herself.  For example, her teeth were giving her trouble.  She said it wasn't worth doing anything about them.  She was 84, I think.  She lived another couple of years.  It's about attitude, though.  If you feel like it isn't worth maintaining your body because you're not going to be around much longer, then the chances are probably very good that you won't be!

My former in-laws were amazing.  They lived into their 90's and were still riding adult tricycles up until shortly before they died.  He had prostate cancer.  She had breast cancer.  Each had many ailments, but none of the illnesses or injuries stopped them one bit.  They were just as ornery and strong-willed and fit at 90 as they were at 70.  Two more very inspiring folks.

My intention as I age is to stay fit and to pursue my passions wholeheartedly so that there is more to get up for tomorrow than there was today.  I intend to be creatively engaged on a daily basis and to share my passions with others.  Why else am I here?  I've got this one life - maybe I'll have others, but I can't know that - so I may as well get as much out of it as I possibly can.

hanging the show

I'm guessing some of you haven't given much thought to how an art show at a gallery happens, so I thought you might be interested to learn a bit about it.

Yesterday Chris and I re-hung Sacred Flesh at the Visual Art Studio here in Richmond.  I had a showing of it in October, but, because I have a lot of paintings, we decided to put new pieces in for this month's opening/exhibition. 

This past week I took some time to try to arrange the paintings on the virtual walls I created in Adobe Photoshop so I would know which paintings to take and, perhaps, how I would hang them.  I also typed up the models' stories and printed them out so I'd have them ready for the show.  Still to come, I need to send the gallery owner, Anne, an Excel file with titles, mediums, and prices in it so she can print out the labels.

At 2 PM we began loading the minivan with canvases then went to the gallery to show my brother-in-law the exhibition.  (He was in town for a mere 23 hours, so we had lots to cram into such a small amount of time!  What a joy to see him!)  After he left, we loaded a few paintings into the minivan then headed back home to get the rest of the paintings, the computer, and the tool box with hammers, hooks, nails, tape measure, level, etc.

Returning to the gallery around 3:45, we unloaded the car then began what turned out to be the most difficult part of the process - figuring out where everything should go.  I think it's exceedingly important to place the works well so the viewers get led around the room in an interesting way.  I also want the pieces to relate to each other in terms of color/size/subject matter/scale or any of several other ways.  The schematic I had developed in Photoshop was a good place to start, but what we ended up with was NOT what I'd designed there!  We had to work around windows and heat returns and thermostats and light switches and all sorts of things like that.  Being there is the only real way to be able to set up a show.

The left wall was the hardest to hang because there are two windows which we covered with cardboard and sheets then hung the pieces using fishing line from hooks in the ceiling - not quite the safest-feeling way to do it, but so far it's worked.

Another challenge to this month's show was that we decided to group the pieces a bit more tightly and to double-hang some.  It took some time to figure out at attractive grouping of the pieces.  I ended up feeling delighted at the groupings and how handsome they look.  This image of them doesn't really do it justice because they're not laid out just quite accurately, but it'll give you a feel for it until you can come see for yourself!

After we got things laid out and the first part of the above wall hung, I was out of energy, so we walked down to a restaurant for some restorative repast.  That was very helpful - it is Restaurant Week in Richmond, so many of the best restaurants in town are offering a $25.02 three course menu with $2.10 of each meal going to the Food Bank.  Nice!  We weren't hungry enough to go for that, but we profited from their outstanding offerings and enjoyed our meals greatly.

Then back to it...  The front wall, the one you see when you enter the gallery, was next.  There were light switches and a telephone jack and wall outlet plus the lettering to work around on that wall, but I think we came up with a terrific design.  I love it that people see Frances' Joyful, Joyful when they walk in, flanked by new life in Lolly's Pregnant and Waiting, all accompanied by Lara, a woman who's inbetween the two women in terms of age and where she is in her life.  Chris framed Lolly's Pregnant for me this week, and it looks amazing.  I'm thrilled with how beautifully it turned out.

The right wall was next.  There we were working with a heat return and a window as well as a very small space to the left of the return.  There is a nice stretch of open wall between the return and the window, though, so I made the most of it!  I had planned to put another painting in there as well, but Chris felt it was too crowded with so many paintings, and I had to agree (even though I didn't want to!), so we took one out and allowed the pieces some breathing room.  Several of these pieces (Mother and Daughter Jocks Bound by Caution, Yes, this is me, and Sleek Back, Saucy Shadow) were in the show last month, but the rest are new this time around.  The one to the left of the Jocks, Classical Beauty is brand new.  I just finished it last week! 

The only other space we had to fill was the front window which I don't have a picture of, but I put Woman in a Chair and Don't Mess with Me! in there.  I really wanted to put Don't Mess with Me! in the gallery itself, because I don't think people take the time to really examine the window pieces as much as they do the wall pieces, but it just didn't fit color-wise.  The colors in it are so different than the others that it really  needed its own environment.  I figure both of those pieces will also do a great job attracting folks to the show (unless Don't Mess with Me! scares them with her look!)

After all that, we were DONE!  In more ways than one!  We got home at 9:30 PM, ready for relaxation and rest.  Of course, I didn't quite give it to myself - instead, I wrote emails to the models to let them know which pieces are in the show so they'll know if their piece(s) is/are in it, then sent out an invitation to people about the show.  There's a lot to do to launch a show, so much that the viewers don't realize, which goes into making it a beautiful, interesting, intriguing experience for each person who walks into the gallery. 

Sometimes I wish being an artist were only about painting and drawing, but I think that's nothing more than a fantasy.  I realize I also like the marketing efforts which go into it as well as the public aspects of talking about my work and having shows.  It felt very satisfying, too, to have created a beautiful space last night.  I'm happy with how the pieces look all hanging together.  It's great having the women on display for all to see.

Thanks to each of you for helping me realize my vocation of being an artist.  I am grateful to you each and every day.

Susan

Saturday Stroll October 16th Three for One!

This Saturday, October 16,

the Visual Art Studio will be offering a noon time (12 noon - 1 PM)

THREE FOR ONE SPECIAL!

 

An autographed Sacred Flesh Catalogue

A box lunch from Cucina

The opportunity to hear Susan Singer talk about Sacred Flesh, her exhibit of female nudes which is currently on display in the gallery

All for the amazing price of $38!

OR

TWO FOR ONE SPECIAL!

A box lunch from Cucina

The opportunity to hear Susan Singer talk about Sacred Flesh, her display of female nudes which is currently on exhibit in the gallery

For $12

Saturday Stroll will continue along Broad Street until 4 PM, with most of the galleries being open for your viewing pleasure. 

My Son the Doctor  will be providing lively music at the Visual Art Studio beginning at 1 PM.  All are welcome.  There is no charge.

For more information about the exhibition, see Susan Singer's website.

To sign up for Saturday's luncheon, please contact Anne Hart Chay by Wednesday, October 13th.  804.644.1368 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              804.644.1368      end_of_the_skype_highlighting. 

Lunch options are listed below.  Please peruse them and let Anne know your choice when you call her.

 Lunch options:

Cucina Fine Foods & Catering BOX LUNCHES   Choose either a Sandwich or Salad Box Lunch

Sandwich box lunches served with a choice of side salad and a dessert.Choose a Side: roasted red potato salad with dill, pasta primavera in balsamic vinaigrette or curried cous cous & wild rice pilaf with almonds & apricots

• Mesquite smoked turkey with spinach, artichoke and cream cheese on ciabatta
• Roast beef with cheddar, lettuce and herbed mayonnaise on sourdough
• Chicken salad with red grapes, almonds and lettuce on croissant
• Roast chicken breast with roma tomatoes, fresh mozzarella & fresh basil on ciabatta
• Grilled eggplant and red peppers with goat cheese on ciabatta
• Dijon shrimp salad with oranges, ginger, water chestnuts & lettuce on croissant
• Black Forest ham and Swiss with lettuce on sourdough
• Vegetarian wrap, roasted red pepper hummus with lettuce, cucumbers & sweet red peppers

Salad box lunches served with flatbreads and toasted pita chips and dessert combination. Dressings packaged in separate containers.

• Classic Greek salad with kalamata olives, cucumbers, tomatoes and feta
• Mixed greens with tomatoes, cucumbers, apples and almond
• Caesar salad with grilled chicken and garlic croutons
• Dijon shrimp salad with oranges, ginger and water chestnuts on bed of field greens
• Mediterranean Medley Chicken salad with curried cous cous and wild rice pilaf
• Chicken salad with grapes and almonds on bed of field greens with cucumbers & plum tomatoes

Special Thanks to Cucina, located in the Museum District, for their assistance with this Luncheon.  www.cucinarichmond.com

More info about Sacred Flesh

      In today’s society, the media seems to be in charge of creating the image people have of the “perfect” woman’s body.  Singer hopes to crash through the belief that a woman must be tall and rail thin to be beautiful.  She presents women who are beautiful because they feel gorgeous.  They live authentically within their own skin and feel great about themselves. After viewing her show, Singer hopes that people will look at women, including themselves, in a new, more accepting, compassionate way.

     Singer writes about her work, her process, art, and her thoughts about women’s body image frequently on her very popular blog, Exploring Women’s Bodies, at www.susansingerart.blogspot.com Please visit www.visualartstudio.org  or www.susansinger.com for more infomation.

Sacred Flesh Opening, Part III

In the last post I was talking about the Opening for Sacred Flesh and how it went.  There were more stories to tell...


Susan gesturing to "The Bliss of it All", photo by Susan Hribernik



First, though a funny picture Susan Hribernik took - perfect placement of my fingers, wouldn't you say?!  Silly, silly!







The  picture I got the most questions about during the evening was "Yes, this is me."  A lot of people were surprised I had included a naked picture of myself in the exhibit, but I told them I would have felt like a hypocrite if I hadn't.  How could I expect others to allow nude pictures of themselves to be displayed if I weren't willing to show one of myself?


Others were very interested to know the technique I'd used to create it.  I've written about it before on this blog, but for those of you who haven't read it - I occasionally do "blow out" paintings - emotional pictures done in a flurry of feelings when no other modality will help me let loose of them.  They have not yet proven to be paintings I would show in public, but they're important for me to do - incredibly helpful.  I guess it's like someone going out and hitting 100 golf balls to let go of the stress of the day.  At any rate, I have some of these blow out pictures in storage, so when I was needing a canvas, I decided to get creative and paint on top of one of them.  Well, not paint - draw, with pastels.  The surface was very rough so the pastel didn't go into the crevices.  I sprayed the surface many times with fixative to get the pastel to stick to the canvas then sprayed it again when I was finished to seal it (hopefully).  It's still a somewhat fragile surface, but that's OK.  Life and everything in it is transitory.

Another piece people liked a lot was Flinging the Red Scarf. I think they like the energy in it and the attitude of the model as she strides off the stage.

The third painting that people asked me about a lot was Mother and Daughter Jocks Bound by Caution.  If they hadn't read the text that went along with it yet, they wanted to know why the tape was there, and if they had, they wanted me to tell them more about it.  They could understand the women's feelings about being shown naked in public, and they could understand my frustration at having to alter the piece so late in the game, but I think pretty much everyone agreed that the piece and the message behind it are stronger for the tape.  I agree as well.

I had another encounter I wanted to relate from the evening.  I stood in the middle of the room most of the night so I would be accessible to anyone who might have questions.  Sometimes I would go up to people to try to strike up a conversation.  One such time I saw three young men, maybe 18-20 years-old, gawking at the pictures, looking around from their tall selves in amazement.  It seemed to me like they were wondering why anyone would paint women like that?  I asked them what they thought.  They said they weren't sure they liked it because of how the women looked and they wanted to know why I'd painted them.  I told them that I thought it was important for them to know what real women look.  One of these days if they get married, their wives will probably look like one of these beautiful women, and it would be great for them to know that.  The one kid shook his head, "No way, man!  My wife is gonna be hot!"  I told him she might be at first, but that as she aged, her looks would probably change - just like his would - and she would become beautiful in a different way.  I have no idea what those guys went away thinking, but if they went away thinking then the project is doing it's job!  It's interactions like that that make me do this work. 









Sacred Flesh, Part II

Lara O'Connor was so great Friday night!  Not only was she bold enough to be one of my models, she also signed her name to her text, AND she spoke at the Artist's Talk, AND she even recorded the talk!  I am a very blessed woman to have models as amazing as she is!  (And they all are.  Bold, courageous, supportive, etc., etc.  I could tell you stories....!)

Here is the link to the  Second part of Artist's Talk.  I haven't had a chance to watch it yet because I'm working all day today.  It's about 8 minutes long.  Enjoy!

Lara O'Connor talking about modeling for me.  Picture by Susan Hribernik

Sacred Flesh Opening, Part I

Susan enjoying herself tremendously during the talk.  Photo by Susan Hribernik

  The Opening for Sacred Flesh was absolutely wonderful!

photo by Susan Hribernik

Around 5:10 people started arriving for the Artist's Talk which I began at 5:30.  It was wonderfully gratifying to see so many familiar faces there as well as people I didn't know but who had received a card from the gallery and were interested in it.

photo by Lara O'Connor

I spoke for about 20 minutes about my intentions, the project, how I work, why I do what I do, then a couple of the models, Frances Wessells and Lara O'Connor, spoke about their experiences modelling for me, then folks asked questions. 

Here's the link to the first part of the talk which Lara O'Connor filmed - thanks, Lara! - link to Susan's Artist's Talk. 

Susan and Frances Wessells, photo by Susan Hribernik

photo by  Lara O'Connor

After the talk, folks hung around for a little bit looking at the paintings and reading the texts.  I was so glad to see them lingering in front of the paintings, reading what the models had written.  Many people commented to me how much richer that made things.  Thank you, models, for taking the time to give viewers such a gift!

Lara O'Connor and Susan, photo by Susan Hribernik

There was a lull in the crowd around 6:30 for about 15 minutes then things picked up and didn't stop until 10 when people were still trying to come in!  Anne estimated that we had over 1200 people come through.  That's a lot of people!  Lots of people I knew, but many more that I didn't - students from VCU, middle-aged couples out for an evening of art, people out for a good time, groups of teenagers wanting to see what was up.

There were several incidents that moved me.  At one point I saw a group of 6-8 teenagers clumped together in the middle of the room gesturing and smirking and laughing uncomfortably.  Those are the kinds of groups I love to talk to.  I went up to them and said, "I wonder what you're thinking about the art or if you have any questions?"  One girl, who seemed to be the spokeswoman, asked me why I paint naked women.  I looked her in the eye and said, "I don't like the way the media portrays women and how they make me feel about my body, so I paint gorgeous women who don't look like Playboy models so everyone get start to see that beauty goes way beyond those images."  She looked at me, appraising what I'd said, and nodded slowly.  I looked at the other kids.  One young man said, "That sounds about right to me."  "Yeah, that's cool."  They asked some other questions and seemed genuinely interested at that point.  I find it wonderful to talk to kids and address their discomfort by giving them helpful information.  As Chris observed, I was in teacher mode. 

At that moment, someone tapped me on my shoulder.  I was rather shocked when I turned around and had to look up to be able to see my son, Dylan, bowing and flourishing a rose!  He and four of his friends had rented a Zip Car in Williamsburg so they could come to the Opening.  It was one of the sweetest things anyone has ever done for me.  It was terrific to see him and to see/meet his friends from W&M and from Maggie Walker.  So incredibly nice of them to come.  That was certainly one of the highlights of my evening in a night full of wonderful events!


The photos in this blog are by Lara O'Connor and Susan Hribernik who were generous enough to take them then send them to me.  Thank you both so much!

The Opening!!!

The opening was perfect!  Thank you to all of you who were there and to the zillions of you who sent good wishes but couldn't make it.  Your energy made it a fantastic night and one I'll remember for years to come.

I've been in an amazing art workshop all weekend, Fri - today, 10-4, taught by Rob VanderZee, so I haven't had a second to blog about the opening, but I will first thing tomorrow.  There are so many stories to tell.  So many wonderful interactions with people who engaged with the work in visceral and powerful ways.  I'm really looking forward to sharing the Opening with you, but I have to be in class in about a half hour and need to eat some breakfast first.

Til tomorrow then! 

(If you were at the opening and have some thoughts or feelings or impressions to share, please send them on.  I'd love for this to be more than just my impressions!)

Tonight's the Night!

Tonight is the grand opening, First Friday!  At 5:15 we'll begin to gather for the Artist's Talk.  I'll begin speaking at 5:30.  Several of the models will be there to share their experiences as well.  The evening will continue until about 10 PM.


Last night was the Preview.  Though it was a grim rainy night, many of you came out to see the show. It was lovely seeing you.  Thank you for coming out in the messy weather.  I met several people I've gotten to know through Facebook but hadn't met in person before.  I imagine the same will happen tonight.  I'm moved by the network and community it's possible to build through venues like Facebook and this blog.  I love being able to share my thoughts and get feedback on my work in such ways.  Thank you for that.

Something interesting happened at the Preview last night - people kept asking me who the models were.  They seemed to have a strong desire to put names with bodies and/or faces.  They seemed to like knowing the picture of me was me, and they readily identified another model because her face was showing and she's well known around town.

Along the same lines, apparently during the day, a man had come into the gallery and had asked the owner, Anne, if one of the models was his daughter **.  Anne didn't know and told him that.  I haven't identified the models to her, nor will I, nor will I tell anyone else who they are, unless they have specifically chosen to list their names with the texts they wrote.  These women have trusted me to paint them and to keep their anonymity in tact.  I completely understand the viewer's desire to know, to identify, to identify with, but the integrity of my models is first and foremost.   I've had several incidences of people telling me they knew who the models were (they were usually wrong) and I just tell them I don't disclose that information.  I'm curious to see if that happens frequently over the course of the show.



I'll look forward to seeing you tonight if you can make it!  Otherwise, the show will be up until November 24.  Gallery hours are listed below.

Visual Art Studio
208 West Broad St
Richmond, Va 23220

Gallery Hours: 
Tuesday-Friday Noon-6PM, Saturday Noon-4PM & by Appointment
First Fridays 6-10PM
Saturday Stroll (3rd Sat each Month) 
Please call for Appointments (804) 644-1368 
(804) 644-1368     Convenient Off-Street Parking.

Weekend Plans... Rob Vander Zee and Sacred Flesh

What a strange day today!  I think I'm actually done with preparations for the show!  That means I've had relaxed time to spend with my daughter who's leaving for Germany for the year tomorrow.  And I had time to make a nice lunch.  And I can even think about making dinner too.  This is novel behavior this month!  I hope I can get used to it.

Tomorrow is the Preview at the gallery from 5-7.  208 W Broad St, Richmond, 23220.  Visual Art Studio.  Be there or be square!

Friday I'm taking an art class for the whole weekend at Crossroads Art Center with Rob Vander Zee.  I saw the advertisement for his class and immediately felt drawn to take it.  There have been a few times in my life when I have just known there was a right thing to do.  Whenever I've followed such strong leadings, it has proven to be the right thing to do.

One such leading occurred at Quaker Meeting when I saw an advertisement for a singing weekend.  It just felt like the right thing to do so I signed up.  While there, I met a person who became very important in my life and set the trajectory of it for the next several years.  That was a good leading!

I love it when it happens because it's exciting to see what comes from it, so I'm really looking forward to the class.  Rob teaches classical forms of painting and talks a lot about marketing.  He's located in DC, so I'm hoping he'll be able to give me some tips about galleries that might be interested in my work in that area.  Who knows what the future holds?  I'm curious to find out!

After class Friday is the opening for Sacred Flesh!  Super exciting!  I'm really looking forward to seeing people there and sharing my work with the public.  Many of the models will be coming to the Artist's Talk to talk about their experience modeling for me or simply just to see the work.  It should be a very fun evening!  Hope to see you there!

Things I've learned while putting together Sacred Flesh

Things I've learned while putting together this show:

* It takes a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG time to shrink wrap 72 prints!

* 5 weeks is NOT too long a time to put together and publish a catalogue, especially when gathering texts from 20 different people.

* Two months before a big opening is NOT too long to have all canvases finished.

* Models sometimes have second thoughts about the paintings of themselves being shown in public.

* When people have feelings about the artwork, it means my project is working!  It's helping people look at their feelings about their bodies.

* Measure the capacity of the car before building canvases to make sure I can get them to the gallery for the show.

* Pay careful attention to the dimensions of the gallery and notice big windows when planning how many pieces to put in the show.  (Big windows = less space = fewer paintings)

* Don't sign up for a weekend art workshop for the same weekend as a big opening.

* Try to get daughter to leave for a year abroad either a week before or a week after a big opening - not the day before.

* Try to get son's college to plan Parent's Weekend for a different weekend than the weekend of a big opening.

* Try to get husband to plan huge stress at work and 80-hour weeks to fall a different month than the month of a big opening.

* Don't plan an out-of-town meeting about the next big opening four days before a big opening.

* It's more important to take off for the day to see the son in college with the daughter who's going overseas for the year than it is to get 72 prints shrink-wrapped.


* 19 large paintings barely fit in a Honda minivan and a Ford truck, but much patience and mathematical brilliance can in fact make it happen - if the stars are aligned just right and a once-in-20-year Harvest moon happens to be happening that very night.

* It's wise to breathe every once in a while in the midst of everything else.

* It's even wiser to relax and trust that everything is going to be just fine, even if it doesn't all get done and even if glitches happen.


* People will offer to help at the most perfect times.

* Everything will turn out just right.

Sacred Flesh is up and ready to be seen!

Chris, Laura (my daughter) and I spent the day today hanging Sacred Flesh at Visual Art Studio!  Chris and I had spent several hours a few weeks ago laying out which pieces we would put where, but once we were in the studio we changed our minds about several of the pieces.  It was fun hanging all the paintings and drawings and the results of almost two years worth of work on the walls at one time.  I think it looks quite good.  I loved being in the midst of so many of my models at one time.  I'm very excited now for Thursday and Friday nights when the crowds will come. 

Here are the events for the week regarding the show:

Thursday evening, September 30, from 5-7 there will be a Preview for Discerning Viewers - what that means is anyone who would like to can come take a look at the art at a time when the galleries aren't as crowded as they are on First Friday.  I'll be there until 6:30 when I have to leave to go teach my pastels class.

Friday evening, October 1, at 5:15 I'll give an Artist's Talk about the show.  Several of the models will be there to answer questions as well.  It'll be a great opportunity to ask whatever has been on your mind as you've watched this show evolve.  The talk will (hopefully) be on YouTube later if you miss it Friday.

Friday evening, October 1, beginning at 6:30 and going until about 9:30 is First Friday, a great opportunity to explore and be a part of Richmond's art scene.  All the galleries along Broad Street stay open late; street musician, magicians, fire eaters, jugglers, etc. come out to perform; anyone who is anyone goes there to be seen!  It is a very fun way to spend the evening, checking out the culture that is Richmond and seeing scores of people you know.  I'll be at the gallery that evening until we close around 9:30 or 10. 

If you can't make it this week, the gallery is open during the week and on weekends (see the website for hours).  I'll be there the Third Saturday, October 16 for Saturday Stroll from 1-4.

Thursday, November 4, from 5-7 there will be another Preview for Discerning Viewers with a new set of pictures.  I had so many paintings, I couldn't fit them all in one show, so I'll be trading out pieces for the November showing. 

Friday evening, November 5, 5:30 I'll be giving another Artist's Talk about the new work as well as the work in general.

Friday evening, November 5, 6:30 - 9:30 is one of the best attended First Fridays of the year.  People come out to enjoy the nip in the air and to shop for Christmas presents for their loved ones as well as to enjoy the festivities.

Saturday, November 20, 1-4, is another Saturday Stroll.  I'll be there to talk to folks about my work.

Catalogues and prints will be available at the gallery during the show as well.

It would be wonderful to see you at one of these events.  I hope you'll introduce yourself if we don't know each other already.  I look forward to meeting you!

Susan

Catalogue for Sacred Flesh can now be purchased!

While I was tutoring calculus and heavily into derivatives and differential equations this morning, I got a most exciting phone call!  Michael at Uptown Color was calling to let me know all 75 copies of my catalogue were ready!  I went to pick them up immediately after the session.  Michael has been fantastic helping me get the color just right and working with me as I give him different versions of everything as I edited it and played with the color, etc.  I am so thankful that docucopies.com wouldn't print the catalogue (because there were nudes in it) and I had to go local.  It made all the difference in the quality for me to be able to see proofs of it and to correct it several times before going to press.  The product is infinitely better because of it.  Things do tend to work out how they're supposed to, but I sure was frustrated when docucopies told me they wouldn't do it.

If you ever need to get anything printed in Richmond, Uptown Color is definitely the place to go!

So now I have 75 copies of Sacred Flesh awaiting the masses of people eager to purchase them!  They are $25 if you get them from me before the show (plus $2.25 for postage if you want me to mail it to you in the US), $30 at the show or afterwards.  You can send me a check to my home address (email me for it if you don't already know it) and I'll get it out in the mail right away.  The Buy Now button down below can be used if you want to pay with PayPal.  It doesn't cost you anything extra and they'll ask you all the pertinent information.  A very easy way to go, I hope!  If you have any problems with it, please let me know and I'll figure out how to fix it.

Here's an excerpt from the catalogue so you can get a sense of what to expect:

When I told this woman that I wanted to paint this image, she was horrified - No!  It looks too much like me!  Everyone will recognize me!  I found her statement fascinating.  It’s ironic because you can’t see her face, and it’s likely that not all that many people have seen her nude.  It’s also wonderful because perhaps I captured the essence of her in this image.  That’s exactly what appealed to me about it - and what made her uncomfortable with my painting it, I assume.

Intent upon honoring her desire to not use that image, I had my husband come out to the studio and photograph me in the exact same position, with the same lighting, at the same time of evening.  The pictures he took didn’t work at all.  He did a great job, but the images were not compelling the way this one is.  It isn’t a normal gesture for me like it is for this model. 

Stymied, I completely released my desire to paint this painting.

Well, sort of.  I tried to, but the image stuck with me still, so I drew it in my sketchbook.  I drew a detail of her hand.  I kept thinking about the image.The next time I saw her, I told her about my compulsion.  She laughed and said, “Oh, good grief!  Go ahead and paint it then!” 

I was so excited, I began right away.I love the essence of this woman and how it comes across in the painting.  Her comfort in her body is clear.  Her centered nature and grounded being give me comfort and strength.  SS

I've been thinking a lot about judgment today as I'm preparing for my October 1st opening.

Inherent in any art show, of course, is judgment.  Viewers are there to see the artwork, and along with that come their private (or not so private) assessment of whether or not they like the work.  They may also judge whether they think the artist has any talent.  There are so many things to judge - the work, the installation, the gallery, the artist herself should she be present.

I'm used to those judgments from previous shows and don't mind them, generally speaking.  Occasionally I'll have someone at a show tell me they don't like my work, but usually people don't have that much chutzpah - they'll just leave if they don't like it.  That's all part of the territory, and normally openings are actually really fun because people, in general, tend to be incredibly nice and supportive and friendly and curious.

But with this show, I think there might be a different level of judgment happening.  The pieces I'll be showing (the nudes) are challenging for many people.  Some people won't go into a gallery at all if there are nudes there - they perceive them as pornographic, or they don't want their children to be exposed to nudity/nakedness.  I think most people have accepted that artists paint nudes and can deal with David, the statue by Michelangelo, for example.  He is a gorgeous man with beautiful musculature and a stylin' pose.  Or Rubens' work is OK.  Maybe.  After all, art historians have said it's OK, and people pay LOTS of money for these paintings, so they must be acceptable at some level.  Right?

My paintings haven't yet stood the test of time.  And I'm not using the nudes in a scene of war and devastation like the painting by Reubens above.  Instead, I am showing the women by themselves, for the sake of showing their bodies.  Plain, pure, and simple. 

And some people are decidedly uncomfortable with that.  Naked bodies.  No clothes.  And especially bodies we don't normally see - ones that aren't perfectly airbrushed.

I think people will probably judge the bodies of my models (me, included - I'm one of the models).  They'll notice we're not perfect.  That we have bones protruding because we're quite thin.  Or that we have rolls of fat in places society declares unbecoming.

My work tends to trigger people sometimes.  They feel uncomfortable; strong feelings come up.  They don't want to see what I am presenting.  Sometimes they get angry.  Sometimes they get angry with me for painting what I've painted.  Sometimes they accuse me of things.  In psychology, that's known as projection - what I've done has made them uncomfortable so they blame me of being/doing/thinking what they're being/doing/thinking/feeling so they can externalize it and not have to feel it themselves.  It can be quite effective at distracting them from dealing with their own feelings.  As I've been working on this project, I've had examples of that happen a few times already.  It won't surprise me too much if it happens at the opening.

Before I go to the gallery the night of the opening, I intend to take some time to sit quietly and meditate and to remember why I'm doing this - to help women love and accept their bodies, and to help us all let go of our judgments of others.  Positive intention is a very powerful thing.

I realize that if someone reacts strongly to the show then it's doing its work.  It's making them become aware of their innate prejudices and strong feelings about bodies.  And perhaps, if they're up to the task, it will give them an opportunity to work through the feelings and come to accept themselves and others more gracefully.

That is my hope.

I'm very very curious to see what happens, and excited to experience it!

Please come join me if you can.  Sacred Flesh, Oct 1st, 5:15 Artist's Talk, 6:30 - 9:30 opening reception.  Visual Art Studio, 208 W. Broad St., Richmond, 23220.

Crazy busy day, and "Don't mess with me!"

"Don't Mess With Me!"



Closeup of necklace



Way too tired to write anything of note tonight, but I wanted to post these pictures of "Don't Mess with Me!" as she is now.  I worked on the necklace a lot the other day.

Today I tutored, took the catalogue files back to the printer once I'd re-worked almost all of them, tutored some more, worked on an application for a grant which is due TOMORROW!, visited with my lovely daughter who just got home for a couple of weeks before a year in Germany then worked on the grant application some more.  I'm not quite done and it has to be postmarked the 15th.  I have an appointment tomorrow at 7 AM to go over the contract for the publishing company tomorrow, then, at 9, an appointment to get my work scanned for said publishing company.  9:30 or 10 will find me picking up art a friend was kind enough to transport here from NC.  After that it's back to the printer to OK the proof (hopefully!) so the catalogue can be printed.  I think I'll take a nap after that.  Then I'll have to print out the grant application and double-check it before I put it in the mail with best wishes for a bon voyage and successful application.  Then there's laundry to do, meals to cook, cats to care for, and maybe, just maybe, a painting to work on somewhere in there!

To anyone who thinks all artists do is sit in their studio and play, they can read this blog and revise their picture just a tiny bit!  Sometimes it's quite a lot of work too!  It's all good - just a bit much at times when everything needs to be done at once.

Off to bed.  It's almost 1 AM.  5:45 is going to come VERY early!

Road blocks happen sometimes

Sometimes it's really hard to stick with something, especially when road blocks keep popping up.  It makes me worry that I'm on the wrong track.  Or maybe the Universe is just testing me to make sure I'm serious about my intention.  It's a little bit hard to tell the difference sometimes.

Here's the deal.  My art show opens October 1 at the Visual Art Studio here in Richmond.

I've been working on a catalogue for the show for a couple of weeks now.  It's been grueling getting everything together.  The first printer refused to print it because there are naked people in it and they don't print nudity.  The second one is doing a great job so far, but, when I picked up the proof Friday, I realized the colors aren't right and I don't know how to make them right.  Plus the fonts look bad, some of them, so I need to re-work all that.  It's going to take many hours to sort it all out.

I shipped a piece of work to someone, and the glass broke, messing up the mat.  I had to cut another one to send to them but forgot for too long, so now I feel guilty that that's late.

People are starting to have feelings about some of the art that will be in the show.  I will need to be very centered before I go to the Opening so I can be detached and open about the work and not take their concerns and feelings personally.  My intention is for my models to be 100% safe and as comfortable as they can be given their own feelings about being seen naked in public (if they happen to have any feelings about it).  If other people have feelings about the nudity, it will be interesting to hear about it, but I hope I'll manage to not personalize it.  I'm starting to sense that there might be some discomfort provoked by the content of my show!

A question:  do you happen to know if a woman or man can be fired from a job for posing nude?  Several of my models have expressed concerns that they could be fired if anyone at their work found out about their posing for me.  That is one of the main concerns expressed about working with me.  I don't know if it's true.  If it is, I want to protect my models in every way possible.  If it is not true, I want to let my models know so they needn't worry. It could be, too, that there's a grey area - that wouldn't be a legal reason to fire someone, but companies don't really need a reason - they can just fire someone - so, if they found out about it, the person could be fired anyway.  I'd love to have some facts.  If you know of a lawyer who handles art law or someone in HR who would know, I'd LOVE it if you could put me in touch with them.

I hate it that this could even possibly be an issue.  It is MY body.  I should be able to do what I want to with it, including having it photographed naked and painted.  Especially for a project which is all about honoring women and their bodies.  It is NOT pornography.

Tricky stuff!  Wish me luck!

docucopies won't print the catalogue

I've been so busy this last week, I've barely had time to write here.  My focus is split because there are several things I'm working on:

the catalogue for the show

my newest piece, "Don't Mess with Me!"
checking out the company which wants to license some of my artwork
tutoring at school again and trying to pick up some new clients
working out so I enjoy my body
being with Chris when he has time
several meetings this week
marketing a new art class which starts next Thursday
framing work for the show
laying out the artwork for the show

It's a LOT for one week - no wonder I'm feeling a bit fragmented!

So - progress report -
I sent the catalogue in to Docucopies.com.  It took 4 hours to upload all the files.  Tedious, to say the least.  The next day I got the following email from them: 

Hi Susan,


We do apologize for the inconvenience, but we will be unable to print your orders. It is a company policy that we do not print nudity, whether it is a painting or photo. Again we do apologize for the inconvenience.

Ashlee Anderson
Docucopies.com

THAT was a bummer!  I ranted and raved for a while about it then realized there wasn't a darn thing I could do about it other than find a new publisher, and FAST!  Of course I have a lot of ethical stuff to say about it, and of course it feeds into my project very effectively - what is our society about if a company won't publish a catalogue celebrating women and their bodies and supporting positive body image?? 
 
But pragmatically I had to act quickly to get the catalogue printed in time for the show.  I went to a local printer, Uptown Color.  They do a fabulous job, they're professional, they print nudes, they're local.  The only reason I didn't go to them right away is because they charge somewhat more than twice as much for the catalogue which makes the price a bit high for folks to buy.  But they're good, and they're willing.  So I'll be spending $825 plus tax for the catalogue.  I sure hope I sell out the copies of them!  I picked up the proof Friday.  It looks good but the colors are off, so I have to try to fix them somehow.  I haven't been able to figure out how to calibrate my monitor, but the colors are consistently too yellow, so I'll take that into account and try to adjust accordingly - however that is!
 
It will be done in time for the show.