I've just completed what I believe to be one of my best pieces ever, September in Eden, and it has just been delivered and put on display at the Columbia City Gallery. Opening night for the 6 week exhibit is this Saturday, Jan 16, from 5-8 pm. I'll be in attendance along with many of our 26-member cooperative gallery artists. The photo of the piece just does not do it justice, it's much better in person, so I hope to see some of you in person. The gallery also has our annual Silent Secret Auction, running Jan 13 - 24. I have three older photographs available at exceptionally low prices to help them find a new forever home. The 3 works are 14.5 x 14.5" prints, framed to 20 x 20" in contemporary black wood frames.
2015 was a year of important decisions and progressions in my art making. I started in a new artistic direction with these layered/collaged photographs and with the encaustic process which debuted in my February 2015 featured show. It was so exciting to have something NEW and so completely different from any previous work. I strongly suspected at the time that this would be a new body of work that would take a few years to put together, but I've come to realize I think the work is significantly more like a complete paradigm shift. I think it's the work I'm going to be making for many many years to come. I still get as amped up and excited about the possibilities for new pieces now as I did when I first developed the process.
In 2014, I jumped back into making photography after a long hiatus. I joined a cooperative gallery (The Columbia City Gallery), and committed to exhibiting 6 times per year. But in 2015 I started to take it all a bit more serious. I began looking to the future, thinking and determining what I wanted to accomplish with my art practice. I began to connect more with the arts community in the northwest. I applied and was accepted into the Artist Trust EDGE professional development for artists program. I spent a lot of time talking about art with fellow artist friends. I began to make a plan for "what next?".
In the short term, I will continue to make art and continue building a body of work. In the longer term, I will be looking for a formal studio space (ie, not in my apartment). I will be looking for exhibit opportunities to show beyond my gallery. I hope to continue making larger and more complex artworks. And I'll continue to develop my work into new and interesting directions.
Thank you all for your appreciation and support so far!
September in Eden, 2016, Photo and Encaustic on Wood Panel (triptych), 36 x 36"