So it's been a decade since I've submitted for exhibition so it's been that long since I've had the pleasure of watching people walk up to my sculpture with a loved one while sharing their comments (loud enough for me to hear) regarding how my art makes them think.

Tonight was the "Fresh Art" Awards ceremony and it was packed.  They said they counted over 200 people there.  It was great. My piece was definitely the only illuminated sculpture. There were many other pieces that were very interesting.  The show was mostly painting/digital photography with a few sculptures here and there. 

Good times!

Checking email has become fun but I have to confess that I'm a little overwhelmed.

"Congratulations!!!! And welcome to the Expressions Gallery show: “Playful, Funny, Wild, and Wacky.” Attached you will find some things that you need to complete and return."

The show is called “Playful, Funny, Wild, and Wacky" and runs August 3, 2013 – October 18, 2013 at the Expressions Gallery in Berkeley, California. I'm not sure how many artists will be participating and I don't even know which piece(s) they are interested in showing but will get all the deets next week. :)

I love that my art is getting out there.  I wish that I had been submitting to more shows in the past years. It kind of seems like I missed some opportunities.  Life is complicated you know?

Neato! Three of my sculptures were selected for a show called "The Story of the Creative". This is a seven week exhibition that will celebrate and digitally display the works of artists around the world. This massive exhibition will run July 25th - September 10th at the See | Me Exhibition Space in New York City.

To read more about See|Me, go to their site.

More about See.me on Wikipedia: "See.me" (originally founded as 'Artists Wanted' in 2007) is a web-based arts organization located in Long Island City, Queens, New York City. The organization is dedicated to supporting artistic talent, harnessing online creative communities, and promoting artists' work.

After several rejections, I've been rewarded with an acceptance to exhibit in a group show called, "Fresh Art" which was juried by Rene de Guzman, the senior curator of the Oakland Museum of California.

The show was open to all California residents and I am completely honored to have been chosen to exhibit this piece, titled "Apothecary".

I've been submitting for exhibitions which is expensive and emotional.  So far, I haven't been selected - which as I recall from earlier years it was JUST as I was feeling defeated when I would get a letter of acceptance.  So... steady she goes. 

I've completed another piece called "Wheel In the Sky" and I just love it. I find myself looking at it all the time, it's made from our old broken fence and some old bicycle parts that were leftover from some bicycles that my husband was given about a year ago. 

We had been invited to a birthday party of a friend and saw 2 bikes that were leaning up against the fence, clearly no longer used and covered in spider webs with some rust and flat tires.  Dave asked about the bikes and they were owned by the deceased husband of one of the guests. Dave spoke to her about them and offered her some money and she gave them to him with the hope that he would make good use of them.  He made one functioning bike from the two bicycles and the leftover parts managed their way into this sculpture.  Hence the name, "Wheel in the Sky" in honor of her husband who is most certainly in heaven. I don't even know his name.

Yesterday my tube mounts, GTO wire and end caps arrived. Woot! If there are any neon artists out there that are looking to buy reasonable quantities of neon parts, I highly recommend West Coast Custom Designs. They are super nice and ship right away and offer really reasonable prices.

I brought my pieces in from the studio and have been "living with them".  Every morning I walk past the pieces and think (or rethink) the decisions I have made. In doing this, I think I know where I want to go with these two pieces and I look forward to this weekend. 

This weekend there will be distraction relating to the time I will be able to spend in the studio. Looking optimistically though, the time is WELL spent - we're expanding the studio!  The current space is used for both construction and assembly which creates some logistical challenges (like keep saw dust from getting onto things that are being stained/glued etc.)

So... we're (we: my husband) building a separate studio specifically for grinding, sawing, drilling, painting, etc. Yup... this will be a VERY good thing! My role in this construction effort will be determined by my husband. I suspect I will be called upon to hold this or that while he drills or screws or fastens etc. but I also suspect there will be time for me to 'run with' the ideas that have been percolating in my mind since last weekend.

Last weekend was an extremely productive weekend.  I have decades of "stuff" that I have collected that I end up cataloging in my mind.  On those nights that I lie in bed unable to sleep or in the hours I spend commuting to work each day, I sometimes think about my art and what I will make with all my "stuff".  In my head I juxtapose that object with this object and imagine how I can pull it all together and resolve 'hiding' all the electronic bits that I don't necessarily want people to see/focus on. Or maybe I do... ? Sometimes in my head I get stuck on how to connect this with that or how I'm going to make everything work from a logistical perspective due to the weight of the whole piece or because of the dimensions of one or many of the objects that I'm working with. In my head I'm experimenting with assembly - imagining how an idea might work with wire, or screws, or bolts, or nails or glue or whatever method I can think of.

Last weekend, two of the many sculptures I had created in my mind, began their lives in the 'real' world in my studio. I was able to get to the point with each of them where I needed to step away and spend more time thinking. Sometimes when I start to execute something I had imagined in my head, it evolves because I notice something in the studio that you could never imagine without touching the things themselves.

I also needed to order some additional parts... those will be here Thursday.

Needless to say, I'm really looking forward to this weekend. :)

Just as soon as I said I was going to focus on my art and this website, I've found myself spending time working on the website (and think I'm ok with leaving it where it for now).

I've submitted for three exhibitions... which is exciting. :)  The process has reminded me of how exciting it is to imagine the possibility of my work being represented in a public venue again. 

It's been awhile and it feels good. REAL good.

So much to do and so little time...

Being that I work in IT, it takes a lot to get me excited about working on my website. What? Spend MORE time behind a computer?  Exactly! In any case, it's one of those things I just need to make time for.  I have completed pieces that I need to photograph and upload so that all of YOU can see it. 

Speaking of my art being seen...

I am working on a new body of neon work that I am planning to exhibit at Zocolo Coffee shop.  I'm hoping for a holiday exhibition because there's something nice about having the neon (and the Christmas tree) brightening up the place.  Now I just have to see if they already have someone slated for that time (I hope not).

I've also thought about getting my work in the Oakland Art Hop and Art Murmur but the challenging bit about shows like that is that my work isn't exactly easy to transport and install.  In fact, it's a downright project to transport and install.

But... it's what makes my heart go pitter-patter, so... it's time to focus and submit for exhibition, and exhibit.

So in December of 2010, I had a show at a little local coffee shop named Zocalo. During that one month long show, I had numerous inquiries from people interested in buying my work.  /honored! However, this is something that I hadn't really emotionally prepared myself for... selling my work would be like selling a piece of my soul. 

Over the past 18 months, I've thought seriously about the 'concept' of actually selling my work.

I have resolved myself to the idea of selling my work but not adapting my work for sale. Does that make any sense?