Day of the Dead Open Studio

A Deva Luna Open Studio in celebration of the the Day of the Dead and Honoring the Ancestors during this crossroads of the season. Paintings, prints, cards, stickers, small works on canvas, altars and artifacts, gifties, folk magic miscellanea and curiosities to pique interest and inspire! Nibbles, spirits and sippables will be on hand to sustain and refresh. All with la Dia de los Muertos flavor in the mix. Get a jump on holiday shopping and support a small local artista-owned business! One day only, Sunday October 30 from 11am to 6pm in the SRJC neighborhood, Santa Rosa at the back of 907 McConnell Avenue (Entrance on Beaver Street). Hope to see you there!

Green Witch

Well, I have to say my crunching and grinding and painting like a fiend for weeks on end actually bore some beautiful fruit. Yes, my Seeds and Shadows Open Studio was a surprising success, feeding me once again on so many levels. Of course, some credit falls to the gorgeous fall sunshine and my dad's cob oven fired up to full. I think he personally formed, slathered and garnished, slid in and turned so carefully over twenty pizzas all told. I had many new pieces leave to new homes, "licensed" a multitude (you know who you are), had many enlightening conversations and enjoyed the kinetic energy of a full house every hour I was open. Splendidly gratifying. I am always overcome by the appreciation directed my way when I venture to open up. Deep thanks to all!

My latest work "Green Witch" sold hot off the easel. I have lots of prints of this one which was inspired by my latest obsession with art deco/art nouveau shapes as well as my desire to just paint a witch. She is gathering her power and datura dew. Now in the private collection of Nancy Campbell, Sebastopol, CA

Two Bees

Or not two bees, that was the question. (Sorry, couldn't resist). Nevertheless, this was the case. Last year I painted a wee juicy bee that attracted a little buzz. Even after the original sold, the image held its allure and I considered painting more eye/heart/bees. Last week I committed to the contemplated continuum and produced two more in the series. Bee 2 and Bee 3. Each now has a home but there are more in the works.

Blurry shot: two 6 x 6 canvases, Bee #3 and Bee #2

Goddess Faire

Herbs, tinctures, soaps and lotions, cordials and elixirs, amulets and talismans, bee sweets and candles, velvets and soft galactic armor, beautiful medicine, powerful prayers, sensual dancers, strong-throated singers, maids, mamas and crones, goddesses and their lovers...all shimmering under one roof. There is really nothing like the annual Goddess Faire in Sebastopol. Nourishing on many levels. I haven't done it for a few years and didn't know what to expect with the ailing economy but I was surprisingly overwhelmed by the deep appreciation and support of my work. It was a pleasure to share with kindred souls. Eden and her friend Zoe premiered their Bollywood dancing on stage before a loving audience and performed with grace and aplomb despite a mixup with the music. Countless prints, several small canvases and a large giclee found new homes. I did my part as well to keep the wheels of commerce humming, which is easy to do when there are so many seductive offerings. A born patron of beauty, I want to buy it all! But I was moderate (for me) and contented myself with small plums and generous trades. The best was a tiny bottle of rosolio d'amore from Luna Fina...an oil infused with Cecile Brunner roses, my totem flower, a drop of which Annabella rubbed into the skin over my heart. Hello! (Dab the soles of the feet before bed and sleep like a baby-which I did) Copper hoops, honey truffles, jasmine cream, cacao cordial, vintage rhinestone earrings...sigh. So, my dry well was filled. Thank you all kind and generous beauties. You satiate me.

Photo: Young Goddesses: Eden, Zoe and Paisley.

Asawa Shadow

I couldn't restrain myself from snapping a few illicit photos at the Ruth Asawa show a few weeks ago. Shadow play like this is irresistible. To see her work gracing the spaces inside our own Sonoma County Museum was an unequivocal pleasure. Her work stopped me in my tracks when I first saw it at the De Young in San Francisco last year. Stunning, elegant, organic, fractal beauty.

Sound of Rain

I find this brilliant and beautiful. It appeals to my love of words and forms. Onomatopoeic sculpture by Japanese artist Atsushi Fukunaga who (literally) takes sound effects into the third dimension. It helps that the Japanese characters for giongo are themselves so comely.

From Fukunaga's website:

"I am interested in how to give form to something that is formless. Formless things have many qualities, among them sound, movement, atmosphere, taste, light and shadow, and I am particularly interested in sound, There are many ways to interpret sound, My first step being to translate the sound an onomatopoeic word. My own country of Japan has many onomatopoeic words. Furthermore, the Japanese katakana alphabet is used to communicate foreign words by breaking them down into their constituent syllables. These ‘translated’ foreign words are unique to the Japanese language. I believe there is a universal communicative quality to sound as opposed to language. In Japanese, onomatopoeic words are often used to describe events which have no sound, thereby creating an imaginative link between language and reality. I am interested in investigating ways of communicating to as many people as possible through sound, In the visual language this would be akin to road signs, traffic signals, toilet signs, and hazard patterns. I am also interested in describing sound through visual language. For example, in Japanese manga comics a loud sound is often signified by larger, bolder letters. I am currently exploring this idea further."

Image by Atsushi Fukunaga, Ame no oto (Sound of Rain)

Grace Hudson Museum

A nice fat stack of these slick mailers just arrived via snail mail announcing the Northern California Visionary Art show that I will part of at the Grace Hudson Museum in Ukiah, California. I was impressed with the quality and pleased to see Illumination reclining in ease and prominence. (It is originally a tri-fold jobbie that I condensed here for posting) The copy reads:

In the late 1960s the San Francisco Bay Area became the focal point for a new art movement labeled Visionary Art. It materialized against a background of Vietnam War protests, campus riots, a new idealistic counterculture, Far Eastern spiritual influences, underground comics, psychedelic music and poster art. It was a time of mind altering drug experimentation and free love. Massive numbers of youth were fleeing their middle class upbringing to seek other paths of consciousness and utopian dreams. Concepts of ecology and a back to the land movement were beginning to flourish. The first television generation was seeking new realities.

A nucleus of artists developed on this wave of rising consciousness. They were influenced by Surrealism, Jungian universal archetypes, personal dream awareness, ancient art symbols, and non-Western religious philosophies. These Visionary Artists expressed new alternate realities in their detailed dream-like images.

This exhibition germinated from the large number of Visionary Artists who are now located in rural Northern California. This selection of works follows the traditions of personal dreamscape, utopian landscape, spiritual awakening and apocalyptic visions as originally manifested in early California Visionary Art. Both original and recent artworks by some of the founders of this movement are represented. Also included are paintings by artists who have immigrated here from afar or are younger painters who represent a second Visionary Art generation.

It is clear from the powerful artwork that California Visionary Art remains an important contemporary, creative and idealistic force.It continues to offer alternative spiritual realities and serves as an ecological conscience, even a seer
of doom, for the competitive materialistic world. For all, Visionary Art offers a plethora of intriguing epiphanies to ponder.

Marvin Schenck, Curator
Grace Hudson Museum

A Good Friday and A Magical Easter

Friday seemed strangely auspicious. Besides reportedly being a rare convergence of various holy days, it was also the first full day of Spring after the Vernal Equinox, a full moon and a culmination of weeks of focused work in the studio. My personal day of hanging had arrived, an unambiguous ending of some kind. It was blessedly warm and golden which soothed my jangled nerves. Rob steered me through a mild panic over what seemed like a hundred tiny loose ends conspiring to overwhelm my presence of mind but all were eventually trimmed and forgotten or nicely woven in. Packing and transporting large works and so many was a challenge but we rose to it, with strategic leaning and some gentle rope tying. Hanging the pieces went smoothly and the canvases that had filled the inside of my wee studio were absorbed into the large space with alarming ease. Actually they looked more at home in their new temporary digs. They are more outgoing than me and craved some exposure. The day was rounded out with an evening of jitterbug dancing which I abandoned sooner than I wanted just because of sheer exhaustion.

Saturday was a frantic rummage through the shops collecting shiny bits and candies for the girls' Easter baskets, something I usually do in a casual way over a period of a few weeks. Between Rob and I we assembled an attractive pastel colored mess that was well received on Sunday morning, which began too early for me. The afternoon came on slowly and opened beautifully like poppy buds in a warm room. Mom and Dad hosted lunch and had the family table set out under the wisteria. Dad made what we proclaimed to be the best mac and cheese in the universe with Spring veggies, greens and bread. The meal was exalted by a '96 bottle of Clos du Val Cabernet, Mom's lightly chocolate Pavlova crowned with cream and fruit for dessert and a family meander through the neighborhood under flowering trees. Yes, a really lovely weekend. Now some rest.

Photo: My studio this Spring.

Thus Far

After developing the circle of figures with opaques and refining details, I finally feel very close but have to set it aside to "set up". Like a jello dessert. The last stage will require a fresh outlook and renewed energies, so I worked on something else for awhile. Clearly this is shaping into some kind of creation and celebration. A breaking and a birthing. A new story.

This photo is an odd angle because the canvas is actually resting vertically against the slider door.

More Color and New Shapes

I laid in more color and gave the shard shapes a soft dove gray shadowing which makes them recede temporarily. I am bringing them back by buffing in some more white. The outer edges cried out for something and these orbs and seed shapes began to orbit. Now I see planets and eggs and microscopic entities.

First Colors

The ghosties begin to get their first garments of various hues. At one point I began to almost hear the colors that wanted to be included. Something reminiscent of a dawn or dusk. Blues, golds, soft purples with touches of coral, bronze and pink. I think this image is about a birth of some kind. An ending and a beginning.

Taking Shape

A bit blurry but more coming through.

Emerging

Since I've been putting in some serious hours in the studio, I thought I'd post some pictures of my progress. I have several canvases in stages of progress but for this one in particular I have burned the candle to a nub. From a sea of blue an egg emerged. Well, shards of white, cupping some kind of tumult. This is the early stage. Allowing whatever it is to shine out. I used to call this process "ghosting in". Laying down the thinnest of veils until some shape becomes substantial enough to recognize and thus develop. A gentle capturing of the spirit of the thing.

Open Territory

I just bought my first BIG canvas. A few, in fact. One of my resolutions this year was to start to work larger. I was researching substrates online and tracked down some biggies for around $130 each (not including shipping). Rob, the ever thrifty, called around town just to compare and on a fluke Riley St. was having a big 50% off sale. So this beauty is a gallery-wrapped whopping 4 feet by 6 feet and I got it for a song. 57 bucks. It was too big to fit in the car and it takes up a big chunk of my studio space. That's a lot of white for me. I've only painted up to 30" x 40". I also got two in a 38" x 48" size. So, my work's cut out for me. Painting new territory. It's giving me some crazy dreams and not a little anxiety but the time is ripe.

Brochure Torture

Last Friday I began work on putting together a long overdue new brochure for the biz. For a few years now we have been sending stores a growing collection of product sheets, postcard add ons and desktop printed price lists with order sheets. Very agitating to my aesthetic and professional sensibilities but slick little booklets cost money and we still have lots of the other motley mix so we've put it off. Now that we have some new designs, I set to it with a fresh New Year's goal-busting attitude. I want to streamline. Simplify presentation. Pull it together with a consistency of design. An eight page booklet seemed an easy feat last week but it has waxed into a little hair pulling stress fest. I have decent Photoshop skills but when you are dealing with dozens of images of different dimensions, getting the color right, making sure code numbers are correct, accounting for full bleeds and trim lines, making constant design decisions which may or may not pan out a day later when you bring in another element, well...it can get a bit ugly. Adding to the mix is my shoulder's "stop clicking that mouse" pain nag, general household interruptions and desire to make it look more than just a bunch of stacked rectangles. I am reminded so vividly why I did not stay in the graphic arts field. So, I'm almost done. The brochure is... OK. But, boy, do I appreciate what you pay graphics folks for. I'd almost pay money not to do it. Maybe next time I should.

Body Rhythm Goddess

I painted this image for the cover of Kris Freewoman's DVD, a "Body Rhythm Goddess-A Dance Ritual for Body and Soul", a different kind of workout incorporating Yoga, African Fusion dance, Pilates and deep relaxation created with the intention to reconnect us with our own inner rhythms and inspire us to step into the "magical circle of joyful fitness". Sounds very juicy. She wanted the four elements active in the image which I think I accomplished without being too contrived. The shapes in the border were also inspired by the elements. More info about the DVD, where to purchase it and all can be found at her website.

The blue border looks curved because I just took a photo of the booklet.

yellow and red

Thorsten from Germany asked to use one of my images for his CD. He chose to sample an abstract "Realm of Childhood" which I think goes really well with his ambient atmospheric sound, some of which can be heard here.

Sweetness In The World

Yesterday was surprisingly languid and golden after the biting cold wind on Friday. It made for a good day to slide wide the door at my Open Studio. Many small indulgences. Paint, radiant wood heat, burning candles, good conversation, chocolate, port and winter sunshine. The cherry was meeting a vibrant young couple from the City who are now the new owners of the (coveted by many) painting, One With The Sweetness. I have had countless inquiries about this piece since I painted it and some generous offers to purchase it early on, before I was ready to let go. Just a few weeks ago I made the decision to place this one in the studio. The time was ripe and they were it. Some work feels like progeny. One of my children. Release is twofold. A small wrench but a greater sowing. Casting. Like a light or a seed. Makes for a good day.

One With The Sweetness-Ostapuk private collection, SF

New Babies

Overdue but looking good with all their fingers and toes. We brought them home last week and had a small pyramid of boxes (18!) in our tiny kitchen for days but Rob consolidated and moved some to the studio where they are now available. Thanx to all who participated in our focus group. Your preferences really did sway the final decision. You may notice one of the designs was not included in the voting. We actually goofed up and forgot to list it with the others but it was a top contender in not only my book but in Rob's and more importantly our rep Ginger's so it was allowed to slip in at the end of the race.

Exterior

Saturday went really well. It's true that I was exhausted and still unsatisfied by the time I rolled aside the big door but at least I was open, the primary point of all this. My space was tidy, full and inviting. Despite my anemic expectations, folks showed up! My own people as well as some stray ARTrails explorers. I got to meet some new neighbors, engage in a few lovely and unlikely conversations as well as hang out with friends laughing, playing guitar and eating cheese. Fine pastimes all! I even made some money. The best outcome of this all for me was the fresh reality of my studio being transformed. Unclogged both literally and energetically. I'm recharged and newly mapped. In touch with aspirations again. Cleared out and cleared up. Nice.