Saturday, June 26, 2010

Woohoo! Solo Show at Trois Gallery at SCAD-Atlanta

I'm really happy to report that I made it back home to Savannah, safe, sorta sound, and grateful to experience the gentle Southern glide that distinguishes our fair region! There were so many things I found stimulating and interesting about nyc but these days I am really basking in the greenery and ease of movement here.
I went into nature withdrawal up there (yes, I know about the parks but so do 100,000,000 other new yorkers) and so I am re-gratified when I see a scarlet finch on my window sill here or even a cardinal or bluejay!  Yes, one has to be patient to endure my chipperings of amazement these days:).
New York is a people (and pigeon) zoo. Once you accept that and treat it as such you're good to go. Just enjoy the incredible variety of facial arrangements people possess. Just enjoy standing, walking, or sitting shoulder to shoulder with strangers, feeling quite comfortably as if we are just amiable fellow travellers in the concentrated spaceship called the big apple.  Just experience the collective rush towards the opposite end of the car, anguished cries and moans of horror of a crowded subway when a poor, inebriated college student vomits on the floor. Truly an observant person's paradise; things that usually occur within the privacy of one's vehicle or home are kindly offered for your viewing pleasure without having to do anything electronic.
Other than that, a very welcome and disarming thing I discovered is how open, friendly, and helpful people were. Expressive, yes (horns blasting, yelling, crying, making out)  but if you need help finding a place they'll just about carry you there. So delightful...adding touches of human grace to at times bedraggled schleppings around.
A sure thing: one of the best things about the residency was just learning my way around, discovering in a general way what's what and where so that when I go back I'll be more oriented. All in all this trip was both a galvanizing and grounding experience.
So, for the follow-up! The above pic is of me standing under the heading of my solo exhibition in Atlanta, which opened a couple of weeks after I got back, so there was some scrambling to be done (framing, mounting) when I hit the ground here! About mid-way through the residency, SCAD-Savannah Exhibitions proposed a show at SCAD-Atlanta  highlighting my New York paintings.  So in the end, the works were created with that goal in mind.
Jon and I visited last week and I was really impressed with the professional look of the show, and with the gallery itself, located on the same floor (4th) as the SCAD library.  It was a really great experience to see my work up like that under nice lighting and arranged thoughtfully on the walls. It's the first time I've seen a whole slew of my paintings together in such a 'supportive' situation and it really gave me a shot in the arm  in how I feel about the whole painting trip. It's just really rewarding and I look forward to more experiences  like this!
Here (the one above with the red figure walking fast) is one of the 4 pieces  spawned from the original big giant fiasco (BGF) painting. I'm calling the painting "The Next Best Thing" meaning the tendency to focus on whatever's ahead on the horizon while tripping over the little paradise right at our feet. Those 4 pieces were mounted on wood panels.
The one below it, "SpoiledGirl" was one of the illustration board pieces. That one and another piece "The Anxiety of Flowers" (the black one above) I had framed at my favorite place on Earth, Maldoror's Frame Shop in the Starland District of Savannah. Whoopee! Jenny, the owner of the shop is one of the most gracious, conscientious, and generally exceptional people I know.  I adore that such a gem of  a place and person resides right here in Savannah. Thank you, Jenny, for your careful attention to your craft and to your customers.
I added a little paper figure painted in gouache of Jesus as a Hypnotist to this painting when I got back to Savannah. I think it completes the piece, putting a spin on being mesmerized, hypnotized by oh, so many things....name your poison/salvation.
This blog has been so much fun to do that I'm going to continue it, though most likely under another heading (or two). I really hope that you've enjoyed reading it, and that you'll continue to accompany me on my thought journeys. Happy Trails!



1 comment:

  1. i sure like the woman standing next to your paintings.
    max miller, alpine

    ReplyDelete