I’ve been pretty busy lately with lots of different focuses. Here’s something that’s fun that I started in a class taught by Lisa Kokin. She’s a neat woman and I really enjoyed the class. Her site is really beautiful as well. I appreciated the chance to see her artwork in person.
I’ve just placed the buttons on the dictionary for now. I’ll be drilling holes in the book eventually…
I’m really excited about this upcoming Artist Business Circle that I’m facilitating, inspired by Cay Lang’s Book Taking the Leap: Building a Career as a Visual Artist.
Artist Business Circle
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Need help launching your career as a visual artist?
We’ll begin this circle by dreaming big and sharing those dreams in a safe, supportive environment. The sessions include:
• Creating artistic goals and a workable strategic plan to make your dreams a reality
• Practicing self-introductions that pique another’s interest
• Discussing the importance of a mailing list and an artwork inventory record sheet
• Learning a daily practice to discover your mission as an artist
• Discussing your work as a tool to develop your artist statement
• Developing business cards, a resume, bio, letterhead and invoice
• Researching and developing a list of ten places, which reflect your personality, where you’d like to exhibit and sell your work
• Discussing the value of blogging, the effectiveness of a website and selling online
Including guest speakers: Michele Pred and Dona Turner
About the facilitator: Leah Virsik is an artist with a passion for bookbinding and repurposing everyday objects. She brings a marketing degree, a wide variety of resources and a love of research to this circle. You’ll also find her on the Alameda Women Artists board. Learn more about her at www.leahvirsik.com.
Dates/Times: Nine Tuesdays from 7:00 P.M. – 9:00 P.M.
Sept 9, 16, 23 Oct 7, 21 Nov 11, 25 Dec 9 & Jan 13, 2009
Location: Frank Bette Center for the Arts
1601 Paru Street, Alameda, CA 94501
Register Online Now or call 510-523-6957
Questions? Email: leah at leahvirsik dot com
Cost: $150 (FBCA Member) $165 (Non-FCBA Member)
Plus guest speaker fee: $25 or less*
*Total speaker fee will be prorated among all artists.
Minimum sign-up for class is four artists.
Photo: Tom Virsik
My mom gave this previously white lamp to me years ago and I’ve moved it from place to place hoping to paint it. I finally got to it with Tom’s help. He not only helped with the painting but also with the encouraging… encouraging me to finish… it’s very helpful… and I feel much more productive with finished pieces. I also started using my great $10 sewing machine for the edges of the velvet.
The light purple is milk paint which I have previously mentioned in this blog and the dark purple is just acrylic with some gloss medium. This glossy/matte contrast was inspired by Sol LeWitt’s exhibit at the SFMOMA years ago.
I’ve been busy today, working on stuff… This morning I did a bit of web design. I’m designing Alameda Women Artist’s new website. It’s so much fun. Slowly, it’s coming together, the css and xhtml, but it’s making sense and I’m learning which is the extraordinary part.
I’m going to take my bike in to get it tuned up for next week’s Oakland Museum bike tour.
The mornings are generally FULL of potential for me, probably even when I’m in bed, dead to the world. Lots of stuff in my head. Looking forward to Wednesday’s AIGA Design Shorts.
There is so much I want to learn. My photos are cut off when I post them from flickr but I’m glad that they are the length of the text. It’s minor stuff but I obsess about it a bit. And then how do I post multiple photos from flickr in the same blog? And then what’s the best way to organize my photos? And what size? And when I take them in raw format, it’s such a hassle to save them down to jpgs, should I even be taking them in raw? Learning, learning.
I lost 20 pounds prior to my wedding and someone noted that it was really quick. It wasn’t quick for me. It took six months with Weight Watchers and was such a process. I kept going up and down the scale, little bit up, little bit down, until I levelled off. And maybe that’s a more realistic way of looking at things, if you step back and see something from a different perspective. Not so close.
This photo is a close up actually of a tree on the University of North Carolina campus in Chapel Hill, North Carolina from our honeymoon. Great murals too.
Hammie (the Hamachi) is our latest project… Tom and I found him at Urban Ore and are very excited to begin painting him. He’ll be emerging out of the ground in our garden. We have an early August deadline so that’ll get us moving and I’ll post our work in process.
ALAMEDA WOMEN ARTISTS presents A VISUAL WORD
16 Artists at the new Alameda Free Library Meeting Rooms Gallery
1550 Oak Street, Alameda, CA | June 6-July 19, 2008
The Artist Reception is the First Friday, June 6th, 6-8pm. LIVE MUSIC.
Exhibit hours: Mondays-Saturdays 10 am-4 pm, Sundays 1-4 pm.
This is just one of my pieces that’s in the show entitled “Rhymes with Pink”. I’ve been collecting aluminum cans (thanks especially to Cheryl and Stephanie) and I’m looking forward to developing more pieces for this series.
Lots of updating on my website tonight. Some photos from Savannah from our honeymoon, one in particular of wine bottles in a garden that has me starting to collect bottles now. I would love anyone’s help in this process.
Tom and I are talking about painting a big concrete sculpture that we’ll put in our front yard. It’ll be obvious that our place will be the neighborhood art house. I’m looking forward to that!
Photo captured by Mr. Virsik. Thank you.
We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers. They see things in the soft haze of a spring day or in the red fire of a long winter’s evening. Some of us let these great dreams die, but others nourish and protect them; nurse them through bad days till they bring them to the sunshine and light which comes always to those who sincerely hope that their dreams will come true.
~Woodrow T. Wilson (1856-1924, Twenty-eighth President of the USA)
I thought this quote was appropriate for today, brought to me by Cyber Nation. Tom and I had an incredible wedding. So touching and precious to me. Much more than I expected and very easy. Someone asked if my mouth hurt from smiling and when I thought about it, I think it did.
We just got back from from a really enjoyable and relaxing honeymoon. I have lots to share with my loyal readership! Here’s just a list to tempt you with… yummy fried pickles from Blowin’ Smoke in Savannah, Alligator Soul, gourd trees in North Carolina, sweet grass baskets in South Carolina, wildflowers on North Carolina freeways, Angel’s BBQ, Telfair Museum of Art, SCAD shop, sushi/Thai restaurants?, how walking/running is such a great way to explore and cover more territory, Myrtle Beach, metalwork photos in Durham, Savannah Bed & Breakfast Inn , Meredith Brickell’s ceramics and paintings in Bull City Arts Collaborative, recycled art show in Savannah, clean restrooms in SC, Chapel Hill, Greek deli, NC fleamarket, grits, croutons, key lime pie (it’s not green), live oaks and Spanish Moss, Back in the Day Bakery and much more…
Tom and I got our marriage license today. Whoo hoo!
The Alameda County Clerk-Recorder’s office has such great art. Of course, I can’t go anywhere and not pay attention to the art. Here were some of the artist’s that stood out for me: Lisa Kokin. She’s got a great website as well. Plus, Christine Wong Yap, she’s got a blog and writing that I want to read.
Tom and I had dinner at Delfina. Excellent food. We’re a bit on the critical side. It’s nice to enjoy such wonderful food. Of course, more art I was interested in: Gregg Renfrow. His work includes pigment dissolved in polymer medium applied to translucent sheets of cast acrylic.
We had some yummy tastings of ice cream at Bi-Rite Creamery. We accidently went into the Bi-Rite Market at first. I would love one of those in our neighborhood!
Afterwards, we went to a birthday party at a friend’s house and met someone who told me about Climate Theater. They have show and tells, where you can bring in slides of your artwork and talk about it for $5 or less, if you bring food. Their next event is April 13 from 2-4. What a great place to practice speaking about your work. They mentioned you can bring work in progress as well. Sounds like something that would be good for me.
Thanks to Tom for getting these photos developed and for helping me stage them. At least one of these books will be shown at the Frank Bette Center for the Arts this Friday night, April 4th from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. through April 27th.
I’m feeling crappy with a head cold so this is a short post.
Look at all I’ve done. I mean really. I make these lists every once in a while to see how far I’ve come and to see my progress. No list at the moment but I’m gently reminded by Tom how important the process is. I had an idea that I could have the great relationship that I have with him. I also have the idea in my head that I could have the great job that I picture in my head. It’s actually happening… I’m doing the work, I come home to framed art pieces in the living room… I’m working on fun stuff in my studio garage…
Anyway… I’m excited about this woman’s work right now: Erin Zam. I found her through Decor8
at this great shop: Three Potato Four.
