Starts next week … February 1 through March 3, 2012.

The very cool thing about all the 100 Artist Shows is that you can bid on any of the artworks …opening bid $50. … and the proceeds go to a non-profit of Mary Lou’s choosing.

Based on correspondence between artists … my penpal being Katherine Mead … we were to riff off the letter we received. I’ve had a hard time articulating my reaction to Katherine’s letter. Not because it was difficult to read or that her intent was tough to swallow. Au contraire. She was very eloquent. It was a rather nostalgic reflection on the lack of time, the quickness, the terseness of today’s communications. And perhaps we’ve lost something in the translation.

I get that.

I do.

But for me, the internet …and by association that quick, shortened form of communicating…  has been a lifeline. Living in the middle of nowhere it has allowed me to connect with like-minded artists …people… whom I otherwise could never have had access to. It has opened up my mind and my world and I will take that relationship in whatever form it presents itself. Through those 144 character phrases, I have learned  much from my online cohorts. Yes, the sentences are short. But many.  And perhaps it is just that …the “over time” part … that will be our saviour!.

Katherine wrote:

When artist, Jen Worden, sent me her letter I was struck by its cadence. The lovely

rhythm of her words mirrored the rhythm of her daily walk. The active way in which she uses communing with nature and the movement of her steps to calm and clear her mind —left, right, left, right, one, two, one two……clarity. The soothing effect of nature and the dichotomy that activity can lead to serenity.

… in the meantime, if you happen to be near Salem, Oregon next month, you can check out the 100 Artists Show. Press Release from Mary Lou Zeek Gallery:

NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date: January 12, 2012

Contact: Mary Lou Zeek, 503-581-3229

Email: zeekgallery@gmail.com

Website: www.zeekgallery.com

Art of Communication-10th Annual 100 Artist Show

Show Date: February 1 – March 3, 2012

Opening reception: First Wednesday February 1, 5-7pm.

Location: Mary Lou Zeek Gallery, 335 State Street, Salem, Oregon 97301

Salem – Remember when we looked forward to art class at least a few times a week in school? How about all that time spent learning how to print and write cursively? All of those assignments written on notebook paper? With budget crunches and ever-evolving technology in schools we have to wonder what will happen to all those words and art produced by hand. And, as technology marches on, what will be the memories that today’s children leave their family and friends? What if John and Abigail Adams had tweeted across the ocean instead of posting letters? How about Julia Child and her friend Avis emailing instead of writing? All of that amazing correspondence gone in the flash of a DELETE button?

During the month of February, the Mary Lou Zeek Gallery will be presenting The Art of Communication, the 10th annual 100 Artists show.

Over 100 artists were sent blank letters which arrived with instructions and included a stamped envelope with the address of a partnered artist. These letters made their way to 100 different artists across the country and beyond! Participating artists received a blank letter through the mail and were asked to write a thought, a story, or whatever they so chose and then send to their “partnered” artist. The artists had over three months to transform the writings into their work of art.

During this show, the artists will present their own ideas of what it is to “communicate”, while creating striking and inspiring art pieces. The act of letter writing is beginning to be a lost art, and receiving letters through the mail an almost forgotten pleasure for most of us. The idea of “mail art” and keeping letter writing as a form of communication is our theme for the 10^th annual 100 Artist show.

The artwork will be on display and the letters will be available for viewing. The sale of the art will last the entire month with a silent bidding process ending at different times throughout the month. Anyone interested can call the gallery for a bidding number, see the artworks online on the gallery website or stop in and do the bidding in person.

This year the proceeds from the 100 Artists Show THE ART OF COMMUNICATION will be used to fund a special after school art and writing project for kids. We want to replicate the DNA of this 100 artists show pairing children with each other as art pen pals and perhaps even with some of our 100 artists. While this project will be launched in the Salem area community as a pilot, an important component will be to record what takes place so that the curriculum can be shared free of charge with other communities across the country who are interested in this hands-on experience.

The Mary Lou Zeek Gallery, located at 335 State Street in downtown Salem, Oregon, is the premiere place for purchasing contemporary arts and crafts. Open hours are 12 pm to 5:30 pm Tuesday through Friday, and 12 pm to 5 pm on Saturday. The gallery is closed on Sunday and Monday. To preview the upcoming show and see work by many other Northwest artists, visit www.zeekgallery.com

 

My first finished work of 2012.
My first full “wax” piece since …uhm… a loooong time.
I actually made my own medium for this too.
Fun!

It’s for the final 100 Artists Show at Mary Lou Zeek’s Gallery.
This year’s theme is The Art of Communication.
We were given stationary and were linked to another artist to exchange letters.
Then we were to riff off that communication.

I have a feeling my letter was less than clear as I was in quite a confused mental state when I wrote it. Sorry about that Katherine (Mead).

Katherine’s letter was about the lost art of communication. Loss of time. Quickened pace etc. Her feeling that perhaps electronic communication is not as well thought out as a hand-written treatise. Certainly it can be. But it doesn’t have to be. For me, the act of typing has become as much an extension as my pen to paper used to be. I think no less about what I’m writing … here… than I would if I needed a stamp to send it.

And so… my title, “The Art of Communication is NOT Lost”.

My synapse are doing fine.
The lines are long and lean. And strong.
Carry on. Carry on.

Bridgette attended the opening of Come Together where our 3 book collaboration was really well received. What an exciting denouement for a lovely laid-back project! She sent some lovely photos too!  View her entire Flickr set here.

Proof! If you’re in the area and have a chance to go see the show, take some photos will ya? There may even be a reward!

Gallery Hours: Wednesday-Thursday Noon- 3pm. Friday, Saturday & Sunday noon-5pm.
For more information contact Jane Michalski (733) 392-1866

Some of you may be aware that over the last 2 years I’ve been a participant in a collaboration with Seth Apter and Bridgette Guerzon Mills. We each created our own book structure and then  pass them between ourselves. Here’s Bri’s much more descriptive synopsis:

My only caveat was that we each approach our books as something to challenge ourselves with, either via concept or medium. And then along with that, we had to be open to the challenge with the spirit of exploration. We were going to challenge each other, but most of all have fun and experiment. I said, let’s not get caught up with creating “masterpieces”, this is for experimentation. I would rather have a page in there that was a botched attempt at pushing oneself than a pretty page. Where’s the interest in just a pretty page?!

Bridgette’s book “Trees” was made from plaster pages. Seth’s “Contexture” was handbound from brittle ancient pages. Mine “Shine” was a compendium of metal pages. Here’s a photo of some of our metal pages:

A fitting end to this wonderful collab, is that all three books will be shown in Chicago at “Come Together” this summer (July 29, 30, 31) at the Milwaukee Avenue Art Festival, curated by Jane Michalski.

And because of that, I had to come up with an alternate way of showing Shine. My original intent was to string the pages up prayer flag style. But not knowing what the venue would have available, I decided something else needed to be constructed. Initially I thought of a Jacob’s Ladder-esque construct. Unfortunately, as I had originally felt they would be held from the top, each of us had added danglies to the bottom. And some of the pages were meant to be viewed from both sides. hmmmmm…. back to the drawing board!

Way back when, I hosted a project called 20 Things zine, wherein 20 people submitted 20 different pages which I then assembled as a loose page zine.

Maybe loose pages would translate for Shine? Something fairly hefty was required though to contain the pages. Further, having some way of showcasing each page would be a nice addition given that this is part of an exhibition. Enter the box:

Initially my idea was to create a metal box. Heh. Did I mention that in-between times I did a giant purge of most of my studio? Yah. So no big pieces of metal left. Enter the above constructed wooden box.

Anyway. The word “shine” kept coming into my mind and I thought, “Oh! Metal leaf. I’m pretty sure I have a bunch of silver left.” Uhm. Okay. Here’s where letting one’s daughter free-rein in one’s studio has it’s downside. The package was intact. But there was but one sole silver leaf sheet left. Ah well. I applied that to the top and finished the rest with just about all of my remaining “antique” leaf. Actually? I like the look better!

So the next hurdle was figuring out how to create a way of showing the pages. I happened on the idea of using the inside of the box lid as a frame of sorts.

The pages are stacked inside while two hooks at the top are ready for whichever page is chosen for display. And here are some of the pages displayed:

I hope you enjoyed viewing this as much as I enjoyed creating and participating in this phenomenal collaboration. It might be the very best collab I’ve ever been honoured to be part of. And over the years? There have been many. Seth and Bri are the most generous, compassionate, innovative, patient artists I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. Thanks so much you two! xo

Next up and currently on the “ponder table”, Carla’s stuff! Some very cool textiles including dyed cheesecloth, cowhide and lace edging. The glasses I might snarf for myself.

Only four more days of the Tour and then I’ll be back in the saddle again … the training saddle that is, as my knee feels ready to start tackling something other than walking. The last set of shots has taken longer to get over so I’m hoping those ligaments are finally tightened up for good.

Have a bunch of new projects to whet my appetite … an altered shoe show courtesy of Tricia’s Ten Women Gallery and my interest in canvas work has been peaked too. Took this photo of Granddog Figs & Stella hanging out watching the world go by and I can just see it as one of my scenics. Time to haul out the Epson to the studio!

It’s that time again … 100 Artists Show at Mary Lou Zeek Gallery.

Artist: “Nourish & Sustain” – 100 Artists Show

Show Date: Tuesday, February 2^nd – Saturday, February 27^th, 2010

Opening reception: First Wednesday, February 3^rd, 2010 5-7pm.

SALEM, ORE — For the 7^th consecutive year, during the month of February, the Mary Lou Zeek Gallery will be presenting their annual 100 Artists Show.  Benefiting the Marion-Polk Food Share, the theme of this year’s show is “Nourish & Sustain” and appropriately, the 100 participating artists were each sent a large empty food can through the mail and were asked to use this as their starting point for their piece of art.  Each can was sent “as is”, and was not packaged or boxed, but rather processed directly by the postal service firsthand.  The stamps and addresses on the cans remain a part of the artwork for identification and for evidence of the actual mailing. Each artist, starting with the exact same object, has had over three months to transform, build, infuse, reduce, paint or reinvent the can into their own unique work of art.

The exhibit will open on Tuesday, February 2^nd at 10:00 am pacific time.  The public will be invited to bid on their favorite artwork via a silent auction that will run through Friday, February 26^th at 5:30 pm pacific time.  Beginning bids are $50.00 with minimum increments of $5.00 and a maximum purchase price of $300.  The entire show will be posted online at www.marylouzeekgallery.com.  Bids can be made in person at the Mary Lou Zeek Gallery or by calling 503-581-3229.

You really need to head over to the website and check out some of the amazing pieces that have been created with a tin can. I find it interesting that so many artists this year went with a folk art vibe. Does the raw material affect the end result? Seems so!

1. Winter weather

We got a Royal Sh*tkicking aka old-fashioned snow storm that started on the 1st of January and didn’t stop until sometime in the wee hours of January3. Two full days of snow, wind, some rain and more snow. We started to dig out on Saturday the 2nd and realized it was pointless as the white stuff was coming down almost as fast as we could plow/shovel. By Sunday, the temperatures were hovering around the freezing mark making for some VERY heavy snow and within 10 minutes of shoveling my pathways I’d put my back out. Niiiicccee!

2. Back to routines abandoned – morning walks

I’m becoming less enamoured with holiday excess. Even though we’ve cut way back in recent years – starting our celebrations on Winter Solstice(Dec 21) and pretty much winding it up by my birthday (Dec 28 – my 50th this year!) – a week of overindulgence is probably 6 days too many. As such, I’m thrilled beyond belief when school goes back and routines return to normal. Wrecked back notwithstanding, I’ve jumped back on the exercise/nutrition bandwagon and am much happier for it!

3. Sticking to resolutions – more photos

Part of the reason I don’t post as often as I’d actually like  is that I feel somehow that I’m cheating you all if I don’t have pretty things for you to look at while you’re reading. Maybe that’s silly. Maybe you really like reading what I write. But just in case you need shiny things, I feel it necessary to accommodate. Even though I’m not getting quite as much studio time as I’d like (read: studio=COLD; Stella=attention span of a gnat) I can still show you my world. So one of my intentions in 2010 is to take my camera with me more often.

4. 100 Artists Show – this year the theme of  Nourish & Sustain

As I wrote in my Artist Statement for this piece, titled “Teach A Man To Fish”, I explored my whimsical side when creating this. Each artist was sent a tin can (tomato or apple juice can size … 16oz??) in the mail with something sealed inside. As soon as I realized the contents were 2 bean seeds, the Chinese Proverb: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” immediately came to mind. I also explored a technique I’d seen in Art Jewelry for the fish giving some movement to the piece. I don’t know if I’ll do anything else like this. But it sure was fun exploring my less than dark side!

And just in case you hadn’t noticed, I’ve posted “One Heart ? One World“‘s banner over there on the lefthand side. I hope to have something special made for the giveaway by the time it starts on January 25. This will be my first time participating. It should be fun!

Another one for the Barbie Redux show starting this week in California. Thanks to Tricia for supplying the photo which I forgot to take before packing/sending them westward.

The other 3 are one’s I’ve shown here before:

If you get a chance to visit the show, please take photos and send a link or send them to me. I’ll send you something in the mail for your trouble!