Collaboration

Before we came to live out here in the dusty ol' desert, we lived in a little town in South Central Colorado called Salida. It was another place of beauty and wonder - the kind of wonder 14,000 foot peaks and a river running through town can produce. I was running an art gallery called Cool Mountain Art, which enabled me to meet nearly all of the artists in town right away. One of the artists I met and befriended is an artist named Harold O'Connor. Mr. O'Connor is a world-class goldsmith and an artist I admire greatly.

What I discovered about running an art gallery is that the business of running a gallery takes away time and energy needed to be an artist. So as my gallery became successful, my art got pushed aside. I got to the point where all I seemed to manage were little drawings that I could do in between people coming in, hanging shows and organizing openings. Those little drawings were often tiny - the size of a postage stamp. I began gluing them to card stock and selling them as original art cards. Harold came in one day and bought a stack of them and said "these would make great pins!" Of course I loved the idea that my little tiny drawings might one day become pins, but I did kind of think, deep down, that Harold was just being nice to me because I had shared half of my sandwich with him.

Turn the clock forward and now it's 2013. The phone rings and who is it but my friend Harold O'Connor. "I'm sending you something." ?? What could it be? Well, about a week or so later I got an envelope full of little brochures showing off my drawings alongside PINS Harold made based on those drawings!!! How cool is that?!?

A few of the drawings:

The amazing pins Harold created using my teeny drawings:

My drawings look so much better, transformed as Harold O'Connor jewelry.

In other news, I will be tending the gallery this weekend at JTAG. If you find yourself in downtown Joshua Tree, stop in to say "hello." I will be there on Friday  for a sneak preview from 4 to 7 pm, Saturday from 10 to 3 pm, the opening is from 5 to 8 pm, and then I will be there again Sunday from noon to 3.

The exhibit "Real and Imagined" continues to do well at the Metro Galleries in Bakersfield, CA. The show is up until the end of May.

December is here

Here is a blog post from Colorado, where I am currently visiting.  I am here to show my art at the beautiful Framed Image.  The artist's reception is this Thursday, from 4 to 7 pm, and I will be there with some of my newest paintings and monotypes.  I am showing with Susan Harrington, who is a Denver artist, and does richly colored paintings.  Come and join us Thursday, if you are nearby!  Click on the Framed Image website above for location and more details.  The show runs until the end of December.

I was in Salida, Colorado for Thanksgiving last week.  It was fun to visit our former home town, and to have a chance to catch up on friends there.  On the Friday after Thanksgiving, every year, Salida has a parade at night just before they light up the Christmas tree on top of "S" Mountain.  We went downtown to see the parade and the lighting of the Mountain, because everyone in town comes out for it.  It is so much fun!  After the parade, we headed to the Steamplant, where there was live jazz music, free hot chocolate and cookies!  We watched them light the mountain and shoot some fireworks from there, hot chocolate in hand.   Festive!  Anything that involves cookies and hot chocolate is going to be high on my list of great activities.

Before the parade, we did a little bit of walking around downtown.  I like to see what all of my artist friends have been doing.  My friend, Padgett McFeely had an exhibition of her paintings at Bongo Billy's Cafe.  Then, we saw the felted work of P.J. Bergin at the Paquette Gallery in the Steamplant.  We also visited several galleries, including cultureclash, where there are a few of my paintings for sale.   Here is a photograph of a little bit of P.J. Bergin's show.  Unfortunately, I was not in my prime photo form, and failed to get a photo of Padgett's art.  (Sorry, Padgett!)  I think that's what happens when I take some time off - my brain takes time off, too!


All in all, I had a happy Thanksgiving, even though my husband was working and not with me.  It is always a little lonely, celebrating holidays without him.  You would think after fifteen years I would be accustomed to it, since it is common for him to work on the holidays, but you know everything is always better with him around.  What did you do for the holiday?

Another list of things I am grateful for:
1.  You, my blog readers
2.  Hot peppermint tea
3.  small towns
4.  travel opportunities
5.  crisp apples
6.  the sun, shining on exploding cattails
7.  prairie dogs
8.  falcons
9.  the green walking path, where nature has been preserved in the heart of suburbia

10.  good walking/running shoes

The Sixth something

I have been tagged by Priya, of the Plum Tree. I think what I am supposed to do is find the sixth photo from my sixth folder. As you can tell, I am too lazy to verify I am doing this correctly. Sorry. I'm just a little tired! What the sixth of the sixth ended up being was a photo taken in 2008, when we still lived in Salida, Colorado. This is a photograph I took on one of the hikes with Mr. Pono the fuzzy dog. I had intended to paint a pastel painting of this, but I haven't yet. It was very beautiful there, in Salida. The Arkansas River runs right through town, and it is surrounded by 14,000 foot peaks! The lower forests are juniper - pinon, and that is what you are seeing here.

Kay, I'm getting a little homesick here. Gotta go before I tear up. Bye.

oops. I forgot. I have to tag six others!
Here you are:

High Desert Diva
Melissa and Emmitt at Pugnotes
Nancy Medina
Carla Sonheim
Patricia Scarborough

The rules (I checked now) are
1. post the 6th photo from your sixth folder and tell the story behind it.
2. tag six others
3. let them know!

There.