patio as art

Yep, I'm channeling Goldsworthy with each and every paver, shovel of dirt and cubic yard of gravel I haul into and out of my backyard. Now intimately familiar with the properties (complex) and attitudes (bad) of clay of which Napa Valley (unbeknownst to me) is famous for growing vines that grow grapes, that make wines that win awards (and taste good too, but that's someone else's blog), we've hauled so much clay out of here, I truly wonder why anyone does this professionally and why they don't charge about ten times their cost to cover this type of labor. If and when my hands and fingers recover from this amount of dirt moving, I will be so thrilled to get back to my painting.

In the meantime, I have not been idle in my artistic pursuits, lest you think I've forgotten one of my callings here in Happy Valley.
(did I say that?) I did submit for a juried space for the open studios here. I suspect that there is something highly politically sensitive with this as up until this year, open studios was not a juried event, but open to any artist with the desire to share their art and their presumably private work space with the public for a couple of weekends.( and plunk down a few hundred dollars for the honor) But, alas, this year it has become a juried event and I've submitted on time and with positive attitude. My studio space is most inappropriate for a client to see and access, so my next big push will be to find shared space with other artists whom also lack appropriate, "client friendly" studios.

One step at a time, right?
End of April is the target for the completion of the art piece, uh, patio that I mentioned. Stay tuned: I may just post a picture.

are we kidding?

oh, brother... 

I've got to post more on this at a later date due to the fact that I can't sit here and post right now. 

as usual, as I can't get up to the studio. As usual.

notice a  trend?

Is it always the truth that when we throw, both literally and figuratively,  all of the contents of our lives up into the air, keep them turning, suspended and a bit off kilter, that when they do come down, they won't necessarily be in the shape and form of our liking? Some things even, a little dented, mussed. Some things better. Shinier, prettier, more to our liking.

But about those things that crash down harder. 

What to do then?

really I am

trying to work that is. 

As I write this my son P is playing with my youngest Q who it seems is losing his diaper.

I really am trying to get into the studio. I've started a canvas, "Mustard rising" inspired by all of the vineyards surrounding my new digs- not that I live surrounded by vineyards, but rather when I drive around, there are myriad vineyards in the Napa Valley and they are blanketed with said mustard flowers currently. 

The first 5 weeks here, nothing but rain. I spent a lot of time in the car, up valley/down valley.

(do I sound like a local?) In the light of the days of rain and overcast, the mustard plants (flowers?) are neon yellow against the black/brown of the dormant vines and the icey-cool of the grey/blue skies. lovely.

So, I began a canvas, rather large because it was the available canvas in my studio and I have a large wall on the landing going upstairs that needs a large "statement" painting. 

Layed in the bright yellow ground with which  I start most every painting. Onto the amazing, changing, cool january sky (that I frankly was growing tired of due to the amount of rain we've had) and then onto the brown black vines that are  cut back for the winter, dormant but sleeping as they should. Being drenched, day after day with the cold, January rain I can only speculate is a good thing. It's the freaky-global warming rains of off months that cause problems for the vines.

Onward my painting... I will get back to it and soon. The time that I have spent on it this last week or so was very satisfying. I can definitely not abandon my work. That is to say, not be an artist. 

k

life is what happens...

when you're making other plans, right?

So, the plan is/was to be painting small "postcard" (that's the current vernacular as per the painting a day trend) sized paintings.  Great idea, challenging for the large scale driven artist like myself.  What's on my easel right now?  Coming in at 5 by 6 FEET.  I've got walls to fill people and the itty bitty sized canvas just doesn't do it for me (or at least the walls that I am looking at every day) I generally paint for myself, use my home as gallery space and sell "off my wall" 

Of course, I also farm out work to various gallery space, salon and the like, but by and large in such a word of mouth occupation, my walls tend to be an effective display surface.

That said, I am still determined to see this postcard challenge through and apply it to my work. 

My current direction of  "not what it seems" group of paintings in a postcard size? Sure. Or maybe a tad larger: 12x12 inches?  Got to be shippable, packable, easy to "deal" 

Stay tuned: I'll do it, I know me.

k

back in the saddle again....

Yep, feeling good about unpacking the studio- nothings ideal of course but we're in our new digs and enjoying it and I finally escaped to the upstairs and  one of the last rooms- my work space.

Should have  been the first maybe, but hey, we had to eat and sleep right?

Unpacking felt great due to having very different places to put nearly everything. So much of my space in my previous house inside the studio was used for some such nonsense storage as saws, ceramic pots and 2x4's. No more. I now have the luxury of a garage. Welcome to suburbia, it is good.

That said, I have worshiped at the alter of fung shui and all things clear of clutter for quite some time, so if anyone comes to visit me in the future in my humble home, you are free to inspect the contents of said garage and if I've taken leave of my senses and begun to pack-rat the contents of my life in there, you have my permission to publicly humiliate me. There. 

Nearly all "moving" flotsam is out of said garage, has at least found a home in some room in the house and will methodically be analyzed as to it's worth, and if not, out it goes.

I digress: back to the studio.

New work, yes, new work.  I got not one but two calls for potential work today- one existing painting in inventory that happens to be farmed out to Marilyn Jaeger and the other for  a commission that I'll be starting.  Very happy that I've not been forgotten just because I moved out of the city and small seeds planted so long ago are beginning to show their little sprouted heads in the form of client contact.  Life is very good indeed.

Back to daydreaming about making art

Friday, January 4: big wind and rain storm in the bay area. As my friends remind me (post move) "you had to pick the worst day in four years to move" Thank you.

Highlights: (lowpoints?) 30 minutes in, the power is out.

the move out is taking much longer than anticipated, it's pouring outside and the movers are slowing (three flights of stairs, go figure) 

they fill the semi to the brim, I say.

We flee the flat at 2:30, only to find out that the golden gate bridge has been closed all day, has just re-opened, but 2 other bridges are closed, so all of our closest commuting friends are joining us on the drive up to napa valley, creating an almost 3 hour drive where it's normally 1.

I almost have a nervous breakdown, but many positives to report: not raining on this painful drive to our new home. When we arrive, the power is on (!!), the house is just plain lovely, so I once again concede to my smart husband R and thank him for convincing me to not buy a fixer upper.  (see nervous breakdown) 

All that to say we are here and for the first time in four weeks, I can get back to  the business of daydreaming about making art and then making it.  That makes me very happy indeed.

Napa Valley

Yes, escrow has closed and we're about to flee this house that contains nothing but cardboard boxes and take same to new digs, where I'll empty those boxes into new space.

Try as I might, I was unsuccessful in tossing a lot as I anticipated as well as holding some grand garage sale to pay for the move- I purge plenty and often and because of this, there wasn't much to toss. Go figure.  I suppose all those fung shui  based books I've read have paid off.

I did have to educate R about the big purse theory: He supposed that in our last move, five years ago, from 1100 sf or so to our current home of about twice the size, we surely did not have as much as we are moving now. So, I launched into my simple, and in my opinion, accurate theory called "the big purse theory" Here it is: you have a small purse, you carry a little bit. Usually just the necessities. The bigger the purse, the more stuff you carry. Simple (the genius theories usually are) So, the bigger the house, the more stuff.  Duh, you say.

Ok, so the new house does have more square footage, yet again.  From around 2200 sf to 2800 plus. I'll tell you right now, I know we'll ultimately have more, because it has a yard.  A yard! And by definition, that requires a certain bit. Lawnmower for instance. I'm a gardener at heart, so it warms me to no end that I'm going to be able to get my own and my children's little mitts in the dirt, as I believe that is just where their little mitts belong. 

I'm sure you may becoming a tad bored with this line of thinking what with my going on about our new digs and how obviously excited about it I am. But, one must not lose sight of the fact that Napa Valley is where I'll be making my fortune with my art, and after all is said and blogged, that is what this blog is about.

P.S. I'm driving the contents of the studio out in the next two days, so wish me luck on it's smooth and eventless transport. I wish I could say that I have some cool concrete space that I can drip paint on with abandon, but alas, I am once again setting up shop in a bedroom. 

You can re-read the last paragraph here, as it explains that I'll be making my art fortune in Napa Valley, so that does imply either an outside studio or building onto our house in some fashion.  Stay tuned

Kate