A while ago, I created the painting "Don't Mess with Me!"  I finished it in mid-Oct, then showed it in November's version of Sacred Flesh.  During the next month, I used up 4 6"x6" canvases I had just because I had them.  I painted vegetables on them with fun patterns in the background.  I had so much fun doing them!

When Chris saw them lying next to Don't Mess with Me! he held them up by her side and said, "I should make a frame for this piece that can hold all these pieces right next to it!"  When I agreed, his project for the next two months was born!  Last night he finished the final coat of paint after so much tender effort working on this gorgeous thing!  It's a very complex frame - he had to create the inside plus all the small outer frames.  First he built a tic-tac-toe framework, then the outer frame, then the inner cross pieces.  He had to do all kinds of fancy woodworking to connect the pieces - different kinds of joins, etc.  He had never done any of these things before!  The first one he made wasn't precise enough, so he started all over.  He's so careful and exacting - great qualities in a framer - and a husband - I am very blessed.

After sanding it for several days (necessitating a new sander, of course!), it was smooth as a baby's butt, finally ready to paint.  He put on a coat of primer then the paint we'd bought - but it was too light and too blue - so I mixed in some black paint, and the next coat was just right.

We haven't attached the painting permanently yet, so there's too much space at the top, and we're going to put a piece of black matboard on the back so you don't see the wall behind the piece, but otherwise it's finished.  I'm so excited!  I love Chris's concept, and I think it ended up looking really powerful!  It's a fun, fun piece!

good work day

I'm really enjoying having so much time to focus on creating art and finding places to show it.  I wake up in the morning ready and raring to go (quite a change for me, as people who know me will attest to!), full of things I want to do all day.  I feel completely focused almost all the time whether I'm painting, blogging, writing emails, advertising my classes, setting up exhibitions, writing my book, or whatever else has arisen to do.  Each day is new and different and exciting and full of joy.

Today, for example, I had an 8 AM appointment with Larkin Garbee, the owner of James River Tile.  Larkin saw Sacred Flesh and immediately started thinking about how she could help others see it too.  She has invited me to hang it at her company's showroom (a very cool place with amazing tiles all over the walls - check it out!) and is planning a black tie dinner for Valentine's Day, to be entitled Love Your Body, to showcase it.  We met today so I could see her space and to discuss more details of the dinner.  It's amazing to collaborate with others about things - so many great ideas get generated, ones I never could have come up with on my own!

After meeting with Larkin, I went and took down an exhibit I'd had at the Central Virginia Legal Aid building.  They had asked for an artist to show his/her work there to help brighten up their offices, so I put some of my fruits there in June.  I'm glad to have gotten them back home - Larkin would like me to show those at her place too.

At 10, I went to Johnston Willis Hospital to meet with a woman about having my students have an art show in their cafeteria.  They have a beautiful space which was carefully designed for art displays and are looking for folks to show there.  One of my students works there and told me about the opportunity.  I've arranged for them to show in April.  I think it'll be very exciting - it'll be a juried show with 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place ribbons.  For many of the students, it will be their first opportunity to show their work in public!  We're planning to have a small reception in their honor as well.

After meeting at the hospital, I came back home and did some office work - emails, etc., then finally got into the studio at 1:30.  I spent the afternoon painting the small 6"x6" canvases to go around Don't Mess with Me.  I have finished 15 of them, I think - 5 more to go!  It's quite a process!  Today I painted some garlic, a seashell, a wooden puzzle, and finished an apple and some broccoli from yesterday.  Unfortunately I can't show you how they look yet because my camera is at the shop for repairs.  Hopefully I'll hear tomorrow what's up with it and how much it'll cost to fix.

This evening I've spent more time painting the small canvases, printing up tags for a show, sending my resume and artist statement and list of pieces out to the curator for a show.  In a few minutes I have to go organize the pieces for that show so I can take them to be hung tomorrow.  It's a lot of work keeping track of all this, but it's so much fun!

While I'm working out in the studio, Chris has been in the wood shop the last few weeks working on a very elaborate frame for Don't Mess with Me.  It has one 18" opening plus 20 6" openings surrounding the central one.  He thought he was almost finished, but when he went to put it together, he found things didn't fit right.  He said  he's learned a lot from his first attempt and will be able to do it more quickly this time around.  I would be so frustrated I would screech with fury, but he is so patient and persistent, he seems OK with starting all over from scratch.  Good thing it's him and not me!  I feel incredibly blessed to have his support and help in my art.  I couldn't do it all without him.  He is an amazing man and a real blessing.

Don't Mess with Me - enhanced

 The last week or so I've been working on a series of small paintings, 6"x6", of fruits and vegetables with patterns in the background.  I originally started painting them because I had 4 small canvases and wanted to do something fun and simple one day.

When Chris came out and took a look at them, he hung them up next to Don't Mess with Me which also has a strong pattern in the background and suggested that I surround the canvas with 20 small canvases like that with fun and funky patterns.  The model's expression is so strong that she still dominates the scene, but the fruits and vegetables give the viewer LOTS to look at and delight in. 

Today we talked bout how to build the frame and think we'll make it like a shelf into which the small canvases slide.  We may leave a few of the openings empty for the purchaser to fill him/herself, or maybe we'll put real fruit into it.  It's very fun playing with the ideas for it.

 

The picture here gives an idea of sort of how it might look, but I've only done 11 small canvases so used some of them twice in this image.  I wanted to be able to see how I like it to see if it it needs tweaking or not.  This version of it will be 45.5"x45.5" when finished.

Chris is going to have to develop some more woodworking skills to create the frame for it!  I also figure I could sell the smaller fruits separately during a show if anyone were interested.  I think it's always wise to have some smaller works available for purchase.

This piece is quite different from anything else I've done, and I don't really think it's the start of a new direction, but it's very fun playing with a new idea and taking it to its (natural?) conclusion.  It's wonderful brainstorming with Chris and see where our combined imaginations take us.