i stumble across collections of words, phrases, and fall in to them like a tar pit, screaming THAT'S WHAT I WAS TRYING TO SAY! and loving the feeling of being stuck (so crazily, inexplicably comfortably stuck!) in someone else's writing.
i have been thinking about (fearing) homelessness for months as we searched and searched fruitlessly for new digs, always coming up empty handed, making phone calls that were never returned, making appointments that the other person always forgot, running face first in to rules that i could not wrap around my life, could not endure the strangulation, could not abide by just to end up being stuck in place i wasn't all that happy about being anyway. we began planning to put all our boxed possessions in storage and living in cars, surfing couches, buying a gym membership just to be able to take showers. i'm serious. and i thought of Genet and i thought i have no real home anyway and i thought no, wait, my real home is my notebook, my real home is this Blackland, these images i create.
these thoughts have been present and potent. they originated when my mom leaned in to death and the threat of homelessness surfaced the moment i returned home from her funeral. too much at once. and it has been too-much-at-once for months now. it was so impossibly hard to find a new apartment in santa rosa that i really did start thinking maybe God doesn't want me to live in the north bay? the fates really have seemed pretty opposed to the idea. and so we start looking in our beloved east bay again, in good ol' Oakland, and the very first place we submit an application to becomes ours. we pick up the keys tomorrow evening. we will load our boxes of books in to the truck tonight.
the reception at Project One last night was beautiful and felt like a homecoming, like a longing satisfied, like a return. art on the walls, my Worry Roses for my mom installed, friends all around, happy to hear that we are moving back after three long years out here in the countryside. three years... it doesn't seem real. it doesn't seem possible that it's been that long. a long, strange dream... not a Home.
and i needed the connection. i needed the tall white walls and people milling around with wine glasses in their hand. i needed the air, the space, the breath of these things.
i'm reading Just Kids by patti smith right now and it's the most perfect thing i could be reading. my friends freya and doug read it, one right after the other, a week or so ago and lent it to me the second they finished reading it. it's the perfect follow-up to volume 2 of anais nin's diary and the perfect preface to our move back to oakland. my fear about homelessness lifted instantly and i thought well, patti smith slept on a stoop in new york... i could sleep in my car in san francisco. what's the big deal? and then of course, the very next day, we get an apartment. God approved. hahaha!
the week i didn't write here i was dealing with all these things and a long-time friend of the family who has known me since i was about 7 years old or so that we lost track of a few years back tracked me down on facebook. still thinking of us as family, still thinking of my mother as her best friend, still thinking of my mother as her sister, she sent me an excited message asking about my mom and how to get a hold of her, she called me mija just like always, and then in her happy hunt for connection she stumbled across my blog. she read, here, about my mother's death. her best friend, her sister. and another message was sent. she left her phone number and i called her the second i got in the door from work. hearing her stunned horror was painful. hearing her voice, a voice i've heard all my life since i was just a little girl, felt like Home. she looked at my work online and felt proud of me.
and a few days ago i read this post at repat blues' blog.
"There is no such thing as home. Home becomes art, the creation of art. Turning to art, working the wound. Stew's play. Passing Strange. I've always been passing strange. I'd rather be bad at this (writing, acting, fucking) than good at X (Selling air conditioners. Public relations. Saying Good Morning. Making eye contact)."
these are the words that i am happily stuck in. all of it. each word, a bell ringing. a knock on the head reminding me of what i must do. i got out of class yesterday (my last day of instruction before two rounds of finals next week) and immediately got in the truck and got on the freeway and went to san francisco. i left this life behind and picked up another 70 miles away in a beautiful room in a beautiful city. i hugged friends and i met strangers and i had champagne.
freya brought me roses and her children painted me a little picture of a rainbow which will go on the refrigerator in our new kitchen tomorrow evening. i turned in my almost-two-week notice at my retail gig and will be back on a crazy, meandering job-hunt in no time. i think of Genet and patti smith and repat blues and my friends. i think of the struggle and i think it's so completely fucking worth it when i think of what an artist's life is. if it ever comes down to it, the roof of a car is still a roof and i can totally live there because my Home is in my notebook and the graphite on the page, the paintings on the wall, and the words that women write.
Showing posts with label art reception. Show all posts
Showing posts with label art reception. Show all posts
May 19, 2011
Feb 10, 2011
red roses, information
tonight is the opening of Literati at Slingshot. it is our last show in the beautiful venue at 890 Valencia. yep. our time there is coming to a close but i can't tell you how lucky we are to have had it for the passed 3 months. if you've been inside the space, you know how lucky we are. it is that gorgeous. but if you've never been and you're in the area, i highly encourage you to come out tonight. music, wine, art, ME. hahahaha! if you need more reason than that, show up and i'll give you a few more. ;)
also, we decided to leave my installation Worry Roses (for my mother, for myself) up. freya said she wanted it to have more time, every moment possible, to be seen and considered. especially in such a beautiful space. as a result, i decided to be brave and go ahead and "show" the new piece for my mom. the red roses. i say "show" because it isn't completely finished yet. i will be constructing the piece on site. you will be able to watch this bed, this garden, this head stone, be built and shaped. it's important to me to get this piece made quickly. there is something deep down that calls for its existence. i must make it. i must make it for her. and it's a risk to put such a personal narrative in public, especially one that is so current, one that is still being lived through, but i feel it necessary to open the door to that discussions. i know i am not unique in this. this story is happening in other people's lives too. we need a place to be. so few places feel right. i will build this site for all who need it.
<3
also, we decided to leave my installation Worry Roses (for my mother, for myself) up. freya said she wanted it to have more time, every moment possible, to be seen and considered. especially in such a beautiful space. as a result, i decided to be brave and go ahead and "show" the new piece for my mom. the red roses. i say "show" because it isn't completely finished yet. i will be constructing the piece on site. you will be able to watch this bed, this garden, this head stone, be built and shaped. it's important to me to get this piece made quickly. there is something deep down that calls for its existence. i must make it. i must make it for her. and it's a risk to put such a personal narrative in public, especially one that is so current, one that is still being lived through, but i feel it necessary to open the door to that discussions. i know i am not unique in this. this story is happening in other people's lives too. we need a place to be. so few places feel right. i will build this site for all who need it.
<3
Feb 4, 2011
YO!
.
For Immediate Release
Slingshot: Launa Bacon, Lea Feinstein, Freya Prowe , Angela Simione
What………Group exhibition: Literati
When………Feb. 10 through early March
Reception….Thursday, Feb.10th, 6-9pm
Location……Slingshot Gallery, 890 Valencia St., San Francisco, CA
Hours………Thurs -Fri 12-5pm, Sat-Sun 1-6pm
Contact……Freya Prowe: freya@freyaprowe.com, 323.350.1042
Whether taking the shape of a poem, fairy tale, diary entry, grocery list, or miscellaneous receipt, text fuels the tempo of life and identity. It establishes the contour and texture of a day. Language, in its many forms and functions, creates and re-creates reality. It is through words that the world is made.
Whether building poems from spatters of coffee, building zoos of dark fantasy from children's tales, or finding a reflection of one's identity in the life story of a writer, the artwork in Literati offers a map of how text expands our loves, fears, ideas, desires, and philosophies. The artists in this exhibition, great lovers of books and language, pay personal homage to the power of the written word.
Launa Bacon’s work is middlebrow, low-def and “creepy.” Her work is often an examination of the narratives that shape female identity.
Lea Feinstein’s performance and installation work incorporates narratives drawn from nursery rhymes, fairy tales, and other “domestic” sources. She also creates mixed media art books which include her personal narratives.
Freya Prowe’s work is lyrical, dark and draws upon the tradition of European fairy tales of her childhood. Prowe creates images that playfully prey upon the duality inherent in human interactions.
Angela Simione uses the methods of erasure to create her own "redacted" documents, making metaphors for the experiences of loss. Simione presents fragments, tiny bits of evidence, allusions to a lost history.
image:
Dutiful (1 & 2)
44" x 30" each
graphite on attached paper
angela simione, 2010
For Immediate Release
Slingshot: Launa Bacon, Lea Feinstein, Freya Prowe , Angela Simione
What………Group exhibition: Literati
When………Feb. 10 through early March
Reception….Thursday, Feb.10th, 6-9pm
Location……Slingshot Gallery, 890 Valencia St., San Francisco, CA
Hours………Thurs -Fri 12-5pm, Sat-Sun 1-6pm
Contact……Freya Prowe: freya@freyaprowe.com, 323.350.1042
Whether taking the shape of a poem, fairy tale, diary entry, grocery list, or miscellaneous receipt, text fuels the tempo of life and identity. It establishes the contour and texture of a day. Language, in its many forms and functions, creates and re-creates reality. It is through words that the world is made.
Whether building poems from spatters of coffee, building zoos of dark fantasy from children's tales, or finding a reflection of one's identity in the life story of a writer, the artwork in Literati offers a map of how text expands our loves, fears, ideas, desires, and philosophies. The artists in this exhibition, great lovers of books and language, pay personal homage to the power of the written word.
Launa Bacon’s work is middlebrow, low-def and “creepy.” Her work is often an examination of the narratives that shape female identity.
Lea Feinstein’s performance and installation work incorporates narratives drawn from nursery rhymes, fairy tales, and other “domestic” sources. She also creates mixed media art books which include her personal narratives.
Freya Prowe’s work is lyrical, dark and draws upon the tradition of European fairy tales of her childhood. Prowe creates images that playfully prey upon the duality inherent in human interactions.
Angela Simione uses the methods of erasure to create her own "redacted" documents, making metaphors for the experiences of loss. Simione presents fragments, tiny bits of evidence, allusions to a lost history.
image:
Dutiful (1 & 2)
44" x 30" each
graphite on attached paper
angela simione, 2010
Jan 26, 2011
Dec 13, 2010
elated
the opening friday night was wonderful. and insane! it was so packed with people the gallery got hot! :D and that's 3000 square feet of tremendously high ceiling space we're talking about! it was amazing! the art-going public in san francisco rarely disappoints. they come out in droves and love to laugh and smile and join in the fashion parade too. it's impossible for a people-watcher to be bored here. if you're bored in san francisco you might have sadly been born without a capacity for joy.
i've been lost in my elation even since. :)
and i finally got to meet the sweet and talented and absolutely adorable artist Amanda Smith. if you don't know her work you are missing out! it is fantastic! gorgeous! and with a splash of darger on it that is unexpected and beautiful and just so intriguing! it was so wonderful getting to speak with her and we totally had one of those cute and awesome moments when you meet an artist who's work you love and you both say "I LOVE YOUR WORK!" at the exact say time! hahaha! :D i am so happy to have work on the same wall as her.
and this morning, dark and early, i took the first steps toward a few new year's resolutions and enrolled in spring classes. german and ceramics. i'm probably one of the extreme few art-nerds who, in high school, did not take 2 years of ceramics. i think i had one semester and then focused on drawing and poetry as my electives. anyway, i've been wanting to learn how to make crazy plates to hang on the walls for a couple years now so i figured why not now? especially after getting up close and personal with Amanda's work and seeing how beautiful ceramic art truly is. and the same goes for learning german. so many of my favorite artists and writers are from germany and austria. i'd love to be able to read the work of elfriede jelinik and herta muller in the original. though the translations are absolutely beautiful, it is apparent that some soul has been lost. and so here we go! i'm a bit nervous but also very excited! it's been a goal of mine for a very long time.
the month that stands between now and my first day of class is going to fly by in a crazy, wonderful blur of work and art. in the middle of the reception, Freya and i were already working out a plan for the january exhibition. :)
i am stunned by all that has happened and is happening.
i've been lost in my elation even since. :)
and i finally got to meet the sweet and talented and absolutely adorable artist Amanda Smith. if you don't know her work you are missing out! it is fantastic! gorgeous! and with a splash of darger on it that is unexpected and beautiful and just so intriguing! it was so wonderful getting to speak with her and we totally had one of those cute and awesome moments when you meet an artist who's work you love and you both say "I LOVE YOUR WORK!" at the exact say time! hahaha! :D i am so happy to have work on the same wall as her.
and this morning, dark and early, i took the first steps toward a few new year's resolutions and enrolled in spring classes. german and ceramics. i'm probably one of the extreme few art-nerds who, in high school, did not take 2 years of ceramics. i think i had one semester and then focused on drawing and poetry as my electives. anyway, i've been wanting to learn how to make crazy plates to hang on the walls for a couple years now so i figured why not now? especially after getting up close and personal with Amanda's work and seeing how beautiful ceramic art truly is. and the same goes for learning german. so many of my favorite artists and writers are from germany and austria. i'd love to be able to read the work of elfriede jelinik and herta muller in the original. though the translations are absolutely beautiful, it is apparent that some soul has been lost. and so here we go! i'm a bit nervous but also very excited! it's been a goal of mine for a very long time.
the month that stands between now and my first day of class is going to fly by in a crazy, wonderful blur of work and art. in the middle of the reception, Freya and i were already working out a plan for the january exhibition. :)
i am stunned by all that has happened and is happening.
Nov 18, 2010
glowing and motivated
things are busy and wonderful and i'm just rolling along with it, feeling so satisfied and happy and encouraged. more than i've felt in a long time. i really can't stress enough how absolutely wonderful it feels to work with people who trust the ins and outs of my practice, who want me to do what feels right and just be myself. it's amazing and i am absolutely grateful for this experience. and we've been reviewed twice more! DANG! and DOUBLE DANG! ha! Artbusiness.com covered it the other day. scroll down til you find Slingshot. and Content at Fecal Face too! beautiful photographs! and tons of them! and i'm in one of them! see if you can spot me. i'm wearing a black shirt that says THE END in big white letters but the END is blocked by someones arm so it just says THE. :) but YAY!!!!! i'm blown away the opening got so much attention! it's so exciting! and we're already working working working on the december show which could prove to be our last exhibition in the space (we're only guaranteed our spot until january).
i'll be sitting the gallery again today. please do come down and say hi. 890 valencia @ 20th. i'll be there from noon - 5pm. maybe even a bit later today. people seemed to be really streaming in around 4:30 last week so i might keep the space open a bit later today if it ends up being the same.
in other news, i've finished the admissions paperwork for my local JC so that i can learn a new language in the new year. :) it's been on my TO-DO list for a very long time and, as i thought about new year's resolutions, i decided it was time to take a run at it. i can't enroll until the middle of next month but the first step has been taken and i am looking forward to wandering around on a college campus again. i love college. i always have. i highly recommend it. :) and also, if i take a second class (which i definitely will. probably something like screen printing or ceramics. fun classes!), it defers my student loan which is awesome. two birds, one stone. survival at its finest. :)
i'll be sitting the gallery again today. please do come down and say hi. 890 valencia @ 20th. i'll be there from noon - 5pm. maybe even a bit later today. people seemed to be really streaming in around 4:30 last week so i might keep the space open a bit later today if it ends up being the same.
in other news, i've finished the admissions paperwork for my local JC so that i can learn a new language in the new year. :) it's been on my TO-DO list for a very long time and, as i thought about new year's resolutions, i decided it was time to take a run at it. i can't enroll until the middle of next month but the first step has been taken and i am looking forward to wandering around on a college campus again. i love college. i always have. i highly recommend it. :) and also, if i take a second class (which i definitely will. probably something like screen printing or ceramics. fun classes!), it defers my student loan which is awesome. two birds, one stone. survival at its finest. :)
Nov 12, 2010
awesome!
so many people came through Slingshot yesterday! it was amazing! and here i was, all set to spend the day quietly crocheting, greeting the few people who might come in to look around, drink tea from the coffee shop next door, and just kick back in such a beautiful space for the day. nope! my retail you-had-better-greet-every-single-person-who-walks-in-that-door experience kicked in and i did not get much crocheting done at all! there was a constant flow of people all day long. so many people from the neighborhood came in to wish us well on our venture and express their hope that we'll get to stay in this space for a long, long, LONG time. i can't tell you how many people told me that it was wonderful to see a gallery pop up that shows this kind of art. awesome!!! :D i can't even tell you how good that makes me feel.
we are already busy planning the december show. it is the last month we are guaranteed to have the space so we want to do the best job we possible can. it's such a wonderful opportunity and just so rewarding. the beautiful artist Meagan Donegan is at the gallery today. i love her drawings of sheep. LOVE! if you're in the are, pop on in and say hello!
sunday afternoon (2-6pm) is the reception for 'tiny' at Studio Gallery which i am very much looking forward to. i love just being in jen abd rab's space. it just plain ol' feels good to be there.
i tell ya... the last few weeks it has felt so amazingly wonderful to be a working artist. :) i am so so so thankful.
we are already busy planning the december show. it is the last month we are guaranteed to have the space so we want to do the best job we possible can. it's such a wonderful opportunity and just so rewarding. the beautiful artist Meagan Donegan is at the gallery today. i love her drawings of sheep. LOVE! if you're in the are, pop on in and say hello!
sunday afternoon (2-6pm) is the reception for 'tiny' at Studio Gallery which i am very much looking forward to. i love just being in jen abd rab's space. it just plain ol' feels good to be there.
i tell ya... the last few weeks it has felt so amazingly wonderful to be a working artist. :) i am so so so thankful.
Nov 7, 2010
i am smiling so much my face hurts!
i am still reeling from the opening at Slingshot last night. it was amazing! simply, totally amazing. i had such a wonderful time. and it was PACKED! the turn-out was unbelievable and i am joyfully overwhelmed by the amount of support we received last night. incredible and humbling and so beautiful. and we've even been reviewed already! thank you Arteaser! AHHHHHHHH! :D
Aug 31, 2009
waking up...
yesterday i dropped Lineage (4) off at the gallery. my ladies are gone and on their way to finding a new home. it is always a happy/sad moment. mostly happy, but i always feel a bit of a tug on my heart when i let go of a work that i feel i really put myself in to and that canvas is definitely in that crowd. but stopping in at the gallery and hanging out for a bit always puts me in a better mood and eases my mind and heart. i've been all twisted up lately over life's big questions - a very obnoxious, uneasy, un-fun occurrence - but going to the gallery yesterday and just having conversation about art and looking at the work of others really helped me calm down and refocus on the positive aspects of life.
i'm in the next show at the gallery which opens tomorrow and the reception is a couple days later on the 3rd- my birthday! i'm really looking forward to it. really, really, really! all the little apron portraits that i've made so far (save one) will be on display (one of them was used as the image on the show postcard! yay!), along with one of my favorite mono prints and the big canvas i just dropped off. shows are always exciting and a very happy moment and it's just what i need. there's really nothing i'd rather do on my birthday than this. it's the best present ever. :) whoever's in the area, please come by! bring a friend and have some wine and some laughs and celebrate art and birth and change and work and progress with me! click the gallery link for details.
i'm in the next show at the gallery which opens tomorrow and the reception is a couple days later on the 3rd- my birthday! i'm really looking forward to it. really, really, really! all the little apron portraits that i've made so far (save one) will be on display (one of them was used as the image on the show postcard! yay!), along with one of my favorite mono prints and the big canvas i just dropped off. shows are always exciting and a very happy moment and it's just what i need. there's really nothing i'd rather do on my birthday than this. it's the best present ever. :) whoever's in the area, please come by! bring a friend and have some wine and some laughs and celebrate art and birth and change and work and progress with me! click the gallery link for details.
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