Life as an Artist

MTA Arts for Transit , Artist Callie Hirsch

2012-01-13T15:30:00.000-08:00

Beach 105 Street

CALLIE HIRSCH

Vast, 2011

Faceted glass

For the Beach 105 Street station, Callie Hirsch created fantastical aquatic creatures set against rich blue and green backgrounds of water. She worked with fabricator Erksin Mitchell, who interpreted her artwork into three groupings of faceted glass panels. Each is a striking portrayal of organic ocean forms made radiant by the strong light that reflects off the nearby ocean.

Hirsch, inspired by childhood experiences, explores the universe beneath the seas through her artwork. As a child, she was fascinated by the family fish tank filled with creatures taken from the ocean. As a teenager, her interest was heightened when she began sailing and scuba diving. The variety and vibrancy of life beneath the surface continues to be a major interest to her.

With a love for the Rockaway landscape, Hirsch says the ocean is one of the most desirable places on earth. Through Vast, she hopes to encourage viewers to acknowledge and respect the beauty of the sea and consider their own participation in the power and wholeness of the natural world."

Anyone in Pittsburgh?

2012-01-09T18:21:00.000-08:00

Box Heart Gallery, PA

4523 Liberty Avenue Pittsburgh, PA

Phone: 412.687.8858

11th Annual Inter/National Exhibit

Public reception: Jan. 14th, 5 - 8 pm

Show dates: January 10 - February 4, 2012

If you are in the hood, please come by and check out the art! Some hot works are on display.

Charmed by Nature, 31" x 23" Iridescent acrylic on black cotton etch paper

Callie Danae Hirsch

MTA, Arts for Transit Commission, The Process...

2011-11-07T17:49:00.001-08:00

Vast, Coming to Fruition...

This has been a three-year process. Mostly the time frame is due to the renovations being done on the station, the art is secondary.

To the left is called a cartoon. The glass fabricator creates this to indicate where the glass will be cut. After my original designs were accepted by the MTA, I then lay them out to fit the panels that will be installed at the station. The Fabricator takes it from there. First a sample is made from a design I send to the fabricator, which had elements from the three pieces.

On the top is one of the completed panels. There are five panels to each of the three artworks, making 15 panels in total. It is faceted glass embedded in epoxy, making it a very tough material, perfect for people height art.

I am hoping to have a platform party sometime in the end of November, but the platform is still under constrution (but still open), so the North side is not installed as of yet. I found a great bar down the road to warm up in afterwards, hope it's not mid-January!

MTA Arts for Transit Commission!

2011-10-22T16:02:00.000-07:00

105th Beach Station in the Rockaways, is being transformed. Callie Art is moving in, after a three-year planning period. The station attendant today seemed quite happy with the new art.

I still remember the day I got the call telling me that I won the commission. They had brought in about 15 artists to present our work for five stations in the Rockaways. I had heard about the open call for art from the Rockaway Artist Alliance, which I have been a member over the years. My love for the sea brought me out to Fort Tilden initially. My friend wanted a car sticker to park there, so agreed to bring me to meetings. I was living in the city at that time, so it was quite a hike, but well worth it.

Fort Tilden is a quiet place, with a lot going on. They have a small theatre, fields for rugby and baseball, a garden, an art gallery and studio space. I digress, this story is about the commission, and so I will get back on track here! So a bunch of us were chosen out of hundreds of entries and we brought in design boards with our station concepts and the process was explained to us. Artists were chosen by neighborhood boards and the MTA. My work reflected the ocean and the creatures residing there. So I guess it was a good fit! It meant so much to me to taken on such a serious level as an artist. My day job manager has been trying to convince me that "IT" is my profession, that art was a hobby. I am trying very hard to prove her wrong. Many famous artists supported themselves and families for years by being insurance agents, accountants and other everyday professions until they made it, or died. I hope to support myself as an artist for at least a few years before leaving this world.

Back to the commission. After being given your station address and a huge contract to abide by, you have to choose a fabricator. I choose one that had done another station that I was impressed with. The MTA also decides the material in which your art will be created in for the station. Mine was to be in faceted-glass and epoxy; I had never worked with glass before. My fabricator told me that my artwork translated very well into this medium. I am, of course, thrilled.

So three final designs are sent to the fabricator who then translates them into "cartoons". He sends the life size cartoons to us (the MTA and me) for approval. We mark them up and send them back. Then I make the big trip, down to Baton Rouge to look at glass samples. Part of your payment from the MTA is used for this trip. I meet Erskin, who is a lovely and talented man, and then his wife, who is entertaining as all heck! I see where the work is to be created, tell him that I want glass with impurities in it. I want to imagine seaweed, eggs, and seawater in the glass. The piece is titled Vast, and it contains three panels, Egg Masses, Jellyfish, and Creature. I am not very good with titles. I am not afraid of words, but would much rather paint then write.

That said, here I am writing a blog that is way too long by now. Have I still got your attention? If so, I shall continue. So Erskin creates the panels, but this is all done only with the OK from the MTA about each step taken. Three years later the station is done with it's renovation, the thing that makes this all happen in the first place, and the panels are ready for shipping. They arrive while I am on vacation. It is not until three weeks later that I finally get out to visit the install. Two out of the three panels are up. I am thrilled and finally get to do my photo shoot!

OK, it all comes down to my love of photography. In this instance I got to be part of the creation in what I was shooting. The panels are brilliantly vibrant and the light coming through is amazing. I am so excited that they turned out so well. When you give up total control of a creation, you never are quite sure what you are going to get. This was a great ending to a three-year venture in the realm of artist collaboration, working with the MTA and having people believe in my art so much that it will be there for the next 100 years, hopefully.

Next up, planning their coming out party. I found the perfect pub for everyone to gather at after seeing the work. So I am good to go! Thank you for listening to my journey. Callie

Leaving your comfort zone!

2011-09-02T14:36:00.001-07:00

Roger Manning, 1987, photo by Callie Hirsch

Get out of your comfort zone! Give up that which is cozy and warm. Take a chance on something you would love to do, but have been too afraid to try.

How can we learn new things if we do not put ourselves out there? I just finished reading Patti Smith’s book, titled “Just Kids”. It was about her starting out her life in NYC with the photographer Robert Mapplethorpe by her side. I read this book as slow as I possibly could, loving it the whole way through. We all need to feel not so all alone, hearing her story made me realize that everyone has the same fears, and we all have the means for survival.

I went to the places she spoke of, but so many years later. I came to New York City to attend college in 1983; she came to get an education from living life in the city. My night life consisted of Danceateria, the Limelight, and the Palladium. In 1985 the Palladium was converted into a nightclub by Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager of Studio 54 fame. My friend P. worked as a graphic designer for them, her office was in the basement. We used to go there at night, seeing Steve in the Michael Todd room in the back where Basquiat painted the wall behind the bar. Keith Haring painted the backdrop on the stage, and Kenny Scharf decorated the basement walkway to the bathrooms infur and neon. I was lucky enough to see Andy Warhol in person, judging some drag talent show there. They held the MTV awards there one year and I was standing on the balcony with Tina Turner while Grace Jones was on stage. It blew me away to be so close to so many people I respected and admired.

Today it is a residence hall for New York University, which is where I happen to work. Life can be funny that way, time certainly changes things. It makes you aware of the need to appreciate things in the moment.

Make your own artist residency.

2011-08-09T13:00:00.000-07:00

Creating your own artist residency is necessary at times. It is not always easy to get into one, or take off the month or two required to attend, so why not create your own? We are artists, what we do is create, right? My manager denied me time off for a two month residency in Finland, so to keep my sanity I turned a trip to Mexico into a artist residency of my own.

With five friends along I had to carve out time for myself in which to paint. Inspired by an immense amount of wildlife and awed by the small village in walking distance, I had little trouble being creative. Staying out of the sun was my incentive to seek out a perfect shady spot to set up my studio.

You can view the work on my website: www.CallieArt.com then just click on Trocones, Mexico 2011. It was a wonderful mix of play and work, and such a grand adventure. The architecture of the cabanas was such that whole walls were missing, no doors or locks. The shower had a door to the back yard, while the views from the bed were that of the sea. Nighttime skies were filled with dramatic lightening storms. It felt safe enough, but still, we were in Mexico and who hasn't heard the stories of kidnap for ransom murders? Not much sleep was attained, but the days were relaxing and the nights full of humorous story telling. Off the beaten path, saving money by vacationing in a hot spot during the summer, and finding good travel companions equals an experience outside the realm of normalcy. The day job was forgotten, dreams of becoming an artist full-time were entertained, and taking the city out of the equation was wonderful. A highly recommend getting away any way you can. Run...

In Memory of Cheryl B.

2011-06-21T15:54:00.000-07:00

Diagnosed with Stage 2b Hodgkin’s lymphoma in November 2010...

Cheryl was a writer, a poet, but I might have first known her as a co-worker at NYU. She worked at the bookstore, I fixed the phones there. Turns out we both hung around with the band, The Maul Girls. That merged into volunteering with the monthly event around the Village called Bra Bar (The brain child of Jane Friedman, who was manager to Patti Smith back in the day). Jane was our mentor, she introduced us to the generation of performers before us, artists like Judy Nylon, Penny Arcade and Brenda Bergman and the Bodacious Ta Ta's. Bra Bar was home to the next generation of performance artists, broke and trying to survive in NYC in the 90's.

Cheryl was sexy, super intelligent and loved surrounding herself with artistic types. She demonstrated a wonderful sense of professionalism in everything she tackled. She was super sensitive, extremely caring, and deep down a really good person. She tackled battles in her lifetime, she was not fearful of change. Instead she wrote about them, and once on paper, was able to share many common themes others wrestled with as well. Her writing gave her strength to deal with her life, and in turn, empowered others.

Cheryl had cancer at a very tender age, she was just really starting to have her dreams realized and come to fruition. She was invited to take part in international performances, wrote a book, and started blogging about her life with cancer. wtfcancerdiaries.com = WTF Cancer Diaries, where she told stories about her illness, the way it weighed down on her, how it affected those loved ones surrounding her. Her honesty is painful, she showed such bravery and was not afraid to share her fears, desires, loves. She was well loved and will be greatly missed...

http://www.callieart.com/Writers/writer_cherylb.html ~ To view her work

http://wtfcancerdiaries.com/about/ WTF Cancer Diaries

http://theblist.blogspot.com/

Cheryl B. ~ a writer, performance poet and literary series producer in NYC.

Contributing Writer/Editor at GO Magazine

Cheryl co-curated Sideshow: The Queer Literary Carnival

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http://www.myspace.com/maulgirls/videos/video/52003849

The Maul Girls! "Chunky Black Shoes" video

After shooting this video at CBGB's they showed up to my Master's Thesis art show at NYU, still in make-up. Good times....

Collaboration of Artists

2011-05-26T19:00:00.001-07:00

Performing at ABC NoRio, singer-songwriter, Brenda Kahn, took part in a tribute to the celebration of the artist space. She performed her latest song, Salome, which she had just finished writing that night. The next day we spent several hours video taping the new song to put up on you-tube. It was taped at Callie Art Studio, and after numerous takes were entertained, the final video ended up very similiar to the one we started with. Sometimes a project works in a circular motion.

http://youtu.be/MspGj7sulwc

This blog is devoted to the importance of collaboration. It is challenging to work with others, but well worth the efforts. It takes you in directions outside of your comfort zone. As an artist you expand your knowledge base of what you are capable of doing. Several times I have worked this way in my career as an artist, and although not always fruitful in an obvious way, it takes you places....

http://www.callieart.com/Studio%20Sessions.html ~ to see photos and video clips

Group show, opening in May in NYC!

2011-04-24T14:41:00.000-07:00

N.A.W.A.
National Association of Women Artists, Inc.
122nd Annual Exhibition

Closes May 31, 2011

* All Welcome!

Sylvia Wald and Po Kim Gallery

417 Lafayette Street 4th Floor
New York City (below Astor Place)

212.598.1155
http://www.waldandkimgallery.org/

Callie Hirsch

Unrestricted Passion, 2011

Acrylic on stretched canvas

An exciting group show with over 230 pieces being shown. It is vital to be part of a artist collective to create connections, see how others are surviving as an artist, and to get feedback on the direction your artwork is taking. I belong to two such NYC based groups, NAWA and The Pen and Brush Club. Both are geared toward women artists. In a man's world a woman needs to find a place where her voice can be heard, or in this case, her art to be seen!

The Annual Exhibition is from May 3rd - May 31st, 2011, at the Sylvia Wald and Po Kim Gallery,
NYC. On a sad note, Sylvia Wald passed on earlier this year. She was a respected and brilliant artist.

With over 230 members exhibited there, it was a well attended opening reception. The show is worth exploring to see the experiences of these women and how it unfolds in their art. Art is visual story telling, and these women have an enormous amount to share.

The Home Design Show at Pier 94

2011-03-20T16:45:00.000-07:00

The HomeDesign show in NYC this weekend was very impressive. I had never been before and was quite taken by how many artists were present, showing their art, and trying to get the attention of designers. A few of my fav's were James Kenndy and Jedeiah Morfit, shown below.

Jedediah Morfit

James Kennedy

They started a new venture this year, "the artist project", showing 130 artists which they put in a unique area above the ground floor. I spoke to one of the artists about what it took to get in, how much it cost, and what he hoped to get out of the show. It cost a lot of money for an artist, for a four day show. He was hoping to get noticed by design professionals. His collection of photographed, then painted flowers, would look great in any hotel lobby, large, colorful and glossy.

The show was fun, except that, like any fancy show with the best in everything, you wanted to make numerous purchases at outrageous prices. I stayed focused on observing presentation by artists, and what worked best. Surrounded by creativity and great talent, I wondered if I could ever partake in such a venue. It would consist of four days of continuous selling of yourself. Some artists are not cut out to sell their own work, but until you get yourself a sales team, this is one way to do it.

Callie Art ~ Wallet Designs...

2011-03-18T15:55:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to break into textile design for some time. I spent hours each evening playing in photoshop trying to reformulate my paintings into designs for clothing, notebook covers and cards. My first attempt at breaking into the business was puzzle makers. I did hear back from one company, athough they were impressed by my work, it did not suite there needs. I decided to work on product itself, see how one of a kinds go. Above is a sample of my wallet paintings.

Sale options are: I can post them on etsy.com (a craft persons on-line flea market of sorts), or sell through a local store in Brooklyn that specializes in "one-of-a-kind items", but would have to pay a 50% commission vs handling the sales myself. I think the benefit of selling through a store is that you can build a following and really gauge how your work is received. But by selling on-line you reach a much larger audience, and keep the full selling price minus shipping and tax. The answer is, try both and see which one works! Callie

A.I.R Gallery 9th Biennial Exhibition

2011-03-05T05:24:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful reception! The show is pretty visually exciting. You can see pictures from the reception on my website:

http://www.callieart.com/AIR%20Biennial.html

show dates: March 2 - March 27, 2011

Three paintings from my Tree Series have been chosen to be included in the show.

Curated by Alexandra Schwartz, MoMA

at: AIR Gallery / 111 Front Street, 228 / Brooklyn, NY 11201 / 212-255-6651 / www.airgallery.com

AIR Gallery, DUMBO, Brooklyn!

2011-01-23T17:36:00.000-08:00

Three paintings from my Tree Series have been chosen

to be included in the:

A.I.R Gallery 9th Biennial Exhibition

To be held on

March 2 - March 27, 2011

Reception: Thurs. March 3, 2011 / 6 - 8:30pm

Artist in Residence / A.I.R. Gallery

111 Front Street, 228

Brooklyn, NY 11201

212-255-6651

The gallery is in Brooklyn's DUMBO. (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass)

The New York Water Taxi company runs a water ferry from the Fulton Slip at Fulton Landing. New York City Subwaystations are located at York Street (F train) and High Street – Brooklyn Bridge (A C trains). A convenient staircase connects the Brooklyn Bridge walkway to Washington Street, one of DUMBO's main streets.

Art Scams...Artists Beware!

2011-01-15T05:27:00.000-08:00

The past few days have been a whirlwind of what I thought was going to be a great art sale. It turned out to be a scam. Some sweet person e-mails you saying they love your work, picked two paintings they really want to purchase, inquirers about your inspiration for the artwork, and then arranges to purchase them from you. What tipped me off was the over-payment in the check, it should have been for $ 1,500, instead a check for $ 4,500 fell out of my Fed Ex envelope. My first thought - money laundering.

I searched on-line for any information, the buyer's name came up with nothing, but when I put in the address she was moving to, the scam was revealed in another artist's blog, with the exact verbiage used to lure me in. The artist had posted it as a warning. I am going to do the same here in hopes that other artists search out such information before falling into this deception.

She started out by saying that she was pregnant and at her twin sister's wedding in London... she wanted to purchase two paintings from me, and was rushing me because she was moving from NJ to South Africa and needed to arrange with her shippers to get my artwork for the move:

"Good to hear back from you. Yes, I will like to proceed with the purchase of both works. I think they are lovely works and I hope to give them a good home.

I am presently away in London for my twin sister's wedding even though it comes at a time when I was preparing for a big move and also expecting a baby, but it means so much to her. I should be back in few days.

Meanwhile, I will like you to forward your mailing address and phone number so I can inform my husband still shuttling between our home in New Jersey and Jo'burg, SA on where to forward the payment. He has just been transfer to head of the IT section of their head Office in Jo'burg.

I can also forward your contact info to the local cartage company that will be moving all our house decors so they can get in touch with you to arrange shipping details. They can arrange FedEx pick up of the artworks from your studio.

I will look forward to hearing from you so I can know how best to proceed. Cheers." Same e-mail as I got, but from another blogger's site!

then mine:

"From: Debby Barnes
Sent: Thu, January 13, 2011
To: Callie
Subject: Payment Sent..

Hi Callie,

Hope this message finds you well. Thanks so much for your patient regarding
the transaction. It has been a very difficult time with alot of things on my plate.

Anyway, I will like to inform you that the payment was sent to you by my
husband yesterday via FedEx ( tracking No 794311416237 ) and he was advise
that you will receive it today so try and be on the look out for it.

I will like you to have both our addresses, you can add it to your mailing
list. I will like to hear about your future works and art shows. Our address
in the states is...

743 Passaic Ave
Clifton, NJ 07012

While our new address in SA is....

12 Dennis Street
Nelson Mandela SQUARE,
Joannesburg
4005 JB, South Africa.

Meanwhile, I forwarded your contact info to the moving agency that will be
handling the shipment of all our house decors and they promise to get in
touch with you. Try and make shipping arrangement with them and
keep me updated with details.

I will look forward to hearing from you soon as you receive this email so I
can be sure we are on the same page. Thanks for your patient.

Best Regards, Debby.

PS...Try and acknowledge this email asap."

This is the final stage, after over-payment is acknowledged:

"Good to hear you have received payment for the paintings. Thanks for your
update. I am very excited and can't wait to have them on my wall. I hope to
give them a very good home and enjoy the pieces for years.

Regarding the payment, my husband overpayed you because he didn't have full
details of the transaction since I was sick when he sent it.

Therefore, I would like you to get the ball rolling, I will like you to go
ahead and deposit the payment, as soon as it clears, you can then remove the
asking price for the two paintings and forward the difference back to him.

Meanwhile, I was able to get in touch with the movers and i was informed
they are presently on shipping tour and will like to come for the pick up as
soon as possible. Try and make shipping arrangement with them and keep me
posted with updates. Thanks.

Best Regards,
Debby Barnes

PS...I will like you to acknowledge this email as soon as possible."

The over-payment made me think of money laundering. Turns out that the check would have just bounced (totally fake from Marvel Comics, looked like an official paycheck), and then she would have tried to have rushed me into returning the rest of the money by Western Union, another artist stated. She would have walked off with my artwork and my money had I not thought to search on the address in South Africa and found the other artist's blog on this same scam.

Looking back there were a lot of signs that should have tipped me off, but the way she flattered me, the thought of an art sale and the rush she put on it made me move forward without thinking about possible scams.

Artists be wary! Use paypal or Western Union for sales.

Traveling Artist

2011-01-04T17:08:00.000-08:00

Seeing art in foreign countries is intriguing as well as inspirational. The streets of Berlin, Madrid, London, are all filled with the most wonderful public art.

I am just back from a wonderful week in Madrid, and would enjoy nothing more then to share all the fun things I have experienced. But nothing can replace actually going abroad and feeling these things first hand. The different cultures, money and tastes of exotic foods is unbeatable.

Coming home I am all the more inspired to create my vision of these experiences. And share I will, but not in words....

Artist Residencies, Worth The Trip!

2010-09-20T16:44:00.000-07:00

Another really wonderful thing about going to artist residencies are the people you meet there. I met Stacy at the The Julia and David White Artist Colony, Ciudad Colon, Costa Rica. We were six artists in total, four writers, and two painters. The painters were given beautiful loft style apartments looking out over bamboo tree gardens. The writers were in little bungalows. In the afternoons we all met for a swim, the evenings brought us together again for dinner. It had it's intense moments, friendships were formed, and a few felt isolated. Artists are not typically the easiest to live with, so putting them together does not always make for the best of times. I enjoy the creative spirit in others and quirkish behaviors.

Stacy and I met in 2006 and remain friends today. Stacy writes for the NY Times, Business Week and has authored several books. She is very serious about her craft, and I love her for that. Every few years I am blessed to be allowed to leave my day job and go off and act like a full-time artist for a month. I love the people I meet, the places I get to visit, and seeing the productivity I am capable of. An adventure always worth taking. Callie

Nature As Inspiration

2010-06-30T16:57:00.000-07:00

Not a new idea in the least, but one that still holds strong for so many. I am quite enthralled by things that go on in nature and it is reflected in my work. My new textile designs are very beetle like and I am thinking a series may be in the works!

The rejection letters from puzzle companies are pouring in, I got one so far. They said that everyone loved my work, but that I was not realistic enough, a concept they are holding strong to. That may have been the wrong company to send my abstract work to, but it is more exposure anyway. I did send my work to better suited puzzle companies as well. You just never know who might be looking! A woman has got to try...ciao for now, Callie

Show at White Rabbit, NYC!

2010-05-07T16:42:00.001-07:00

All welcome to come to the reception on Friday, May 14th from 6 - 9pm! Good art, drink specials and fun tunes, what could possibly go wrong?

White Rabbit is a funky bar a door down from The Sunshine Landmark Theatre on Houston Street. It is located in my fav, the East Village. My co-worker, Richie, told me that his friend's friend had a show there. (By the way, Richie is the sweetest guy!) He liked the space, so I wrote the owner. The owner checked out my website and said he would love to have me show my art. He put me in ctouch with his curator and we worked out the details. Turns out that another co-worker grew-up knowing the owner of this place. My city is such a small world.

A few days later Richie and I went and had a beer there. I photographed the walls to see how my work would fit. I do not fill out the space as much as I would have liked, but since most of my smaller pieces were done on found wood, it is all I had found.

Hoping to have a wonderful turn-out the night of the reception. Spending lots of time working on the music selection for three to four hours of entertainment! Maybe I should have been a dj, this seems to be my favorite part. Come if you are in town!

Callie Art Print Store!

2010-03-29T06:07:00.000-07:00

I am working with image kind to create a store of Callie Art prints for sale. Quality tifs are uploaded and the buyer is given an option of types of paper and frames to pick from.

http://callieart.imagekind.com/store/default.aspx

They will let you put up a free store, but it is harder for people to manuever through. The paid store, $8 a month, lets you create a friendly, welcoming store front. You then create galleries based on themes of your work for sale. Groups can be joined for more exposure and is a nice way to experience other's creations of shared subjects.

Visit the store! I had some prints made on a flat matt paper and the quality is fantastic!

My Studio

2010-01-23T05:25:00.000-08:00

The Vital Importance of a Studio Space

“I always prefer to work in the studio. It isolates people from their environment. They become in a sense... symbolic of themselves.” (Richard Avedon)

“You need a room with no view so imagination can meet memory in the dark.” (Annie Dillard)

“Gather and hoard your inspirations as you live, then recapture them as needed in the studio.” (Nita Engle)

“The only thing I know is that if I get to my studio, that means I'm alive today.” (Robert Farber)

I love that my studio is in my home. It always has been, even when my “home” was a 400 sq. ft. apartment that I shared with another. One needs to always be able to work it is a vital outlet. Without the release, one may find a bottled up pressure cooker thing happening within….

The solitude can be intoxicating, especially after dealing with people all day as most of us do. The empty canvas or black sheet of paper in my case brings inspiration and desire to the forefront. Stepping into a familiar zone, one of safety and contemplation, challenging and frustration. All at once anything is possible, one just needs to start, get into trouble, see where the line leads. Be not afraid to move on, or figure out how to get out of the corner you have painted yourself into. No judges, no witnesses, censorship is in your hands. This time is vital to the artists well being, one needs to express in anyway they can, what they feel, how they see the world.

Seductive Surfaces

2009-12-04T12:11:00.001-08:00

Seductive Surfaces

Callie Hirsch’s works on paper are succulent in nature, vibrant in colors and tell of richly hidden tales of naught. They create a sensation of lusting after a fruit in all its ripeness, nectar dripping in color, indeed tempting to touch. Found to be both alluring and intriguing, the viewer is meant to be inspired.

Since the early 1990’s, Hirsch has been primarily focused on creating sea life and has, in addition, created an extensive series of tree paintings which combine the earth and sea, the natural and the emotional, the harmonic and the dissonant, with a high degree of controlled randomness. Her intentions are purely amorphous in nature. No preliminary sketches or plans are made; the painting is created in a purely unconscious manner, made up of all that captivated the artist in her lifetime.

Hirsch is deeply devoted to the physical act of painting: that creative period when she focuses exclusively on the subtle interaction of brush, hand, paint, and paper. In planning and executing Seductive Surfaces, Hirsch first selects her palette and devises a color range in which to navigate through. She focuses intensely on mark making, depicting pathways and untold journeys of a wanderer. Her love of nature and plant life is then transcribed through the intricate web of dots encountered on each painting.

By allowing her mood, induced by music, to control the wanderings, each painting has a unique message and journey to it. The process also introduces a degree of chance and the unexpected into her works. Her musical influences include works of Tom Waits, Spoon, amongst a host of other funky tunes. When she was in her late teens, Hirsch would paint in her basement listening to such music as the soundtrack to Hair and Black Magic Woman by Santana, on a cassette player. Her surroundings consisted of taxidermy animals her uncle sent the family and found animals stored in formaldehyde jars.

The tradition of dot making in painting is indelibly linked to the Aboriginal artists of Australia. They used this technique to create story telling of their dreams, maps to find watering holes, and life stories. Callie is deeply thankful for exposure to their work as well as being influenced by such notable painters as Klee, Miro, Kidinsky, and the painter and architect, Hundertwasser. He was thought of as Austria's only hippie. Both admiring and wanting to take their ideas in a new direction, she uses this inspiration in following her own pathways and journeys.

Hirsch’s love of iridescence and working on such a deeply rich surface as black paper have taken her down new roads from her previous work in oil on canvas. She favors imperfect lines produced when painting free hand, rejects the use of rulers and tape, and has no studio assistants.

Born in North Carolina on an air force base in 1964, Hirsch graduated from Parsons School of Design for photography and received her MA from New York University, while working there full-time in the Telecommunications department. She lives and works in New York City.

Visit to Glass Fabricator!

2009-11-21T06:10:00.000-08:00

MTA Arts for Transit Panel Production

My trip to visit to Baton Rouge!

http://www.callieart.com/Erskin%20Shop.html

I headed off to Baton Rouge to begin my adventure in picking out glass colors for my MTA Arts for Transit panels, and meet my fabricator, Erskin Mitchell.

Erskin’s glass shop was located in the garden district of Baton Rouge. I had chosen him as my fabricator because of the truly fantastical work he did on another MTA artists work, Jung Hyang Kim, in the same medium, faceted glass. A one-inch glass, the whole panel is fused together using epoxy. I will have three large panels at the station with the ocean as the backdrop.

Erskin greeted me at the door of his house in the garden district of Baton Rouge. It was not at all the warehouse I had been envisioning. I had googled him the night before to see if I could find a photo of him, and I did, it was a wonderful article about the piece he did for another MTA artist. He welcomed me into his art filled house and introduced me to his wife. She is a film producer and just recently returned from a two-month shoot, a film about American soldiers during WWII and their French wives. Later, when they took me out for a true Louisiana dinner, she told me how the wives were stationed at camps named after cigarettes. At these camps they watched movies which was suppose to help them in understanding and become adjusted to American culture. The film then follows three of these women’s lives as they move to America with their new husbands.

Erskin’s wife also works at a rape crisis center, is a very powerful advocate against political corruption in New Orleans, and the couple takes in stray animals and children who need much love and care. This couple was such the dynamic duo! To Erskin’s calm and quiet nature, his wife was jolting with electrical output, having gone through all three of her jobs, one after another in the past week. Oh, but the stories…the animal stories were my favorites. About the pekingese they took in, whose eyes fall out.

Back to the glass studio. Erskin had my “cartoons” laid out on the table, these are life size drawings of the panels in black and white. I put out my colored images of the panels and we set about finding color schemes that would work. I was most interested in glass with imperfections, streaks going through that would resemble the ocean and the life teaming through it! I found a lot of really wonderful pieces in his collection, having told him beforehand that my interest lay there. The glass companies that make these pieces put them off as cast offs and are gotten for much less then their perfectly colored counterparts.

I felt like he understood the direction I wanted to take with the color, creating depth, using the darker colors to recede, light greens and blues along the surface to show the sunlight on the water. Then we dove into the colors to be used for the jellyfish, creature and egg masses. I left feeling that I was in wonderful hands and am excited to see how he brings my vision to life!

My Berlin Adventure...

2009-10-23T07:26:00.000-07:00

20 years earlier, the Berlin wall was brought down, today the city is a wonderful place to explore and learn of its history (my great grandparents were German citizens). Wandering the streets, you come across public art everywhere! They are very into their graffiti artists, whole sides or backs of buildings can be found with art ranging from self expression to the political. The DZ Bank, by The Brandenburg Gate, has a wonderful Frank Gehry design, which can be seen from the lobby. All this can be seen on my website:

http://www.callieart.com/

You can purchase a weeklong transit card at the airport and then start by taking a bus from the airport to the city. They have many choices for public transport, as well as being a wonderful walking city! Everyday we mapped out a different area to visit and did a walking tour of the sights to be seen. In between the sites, we discovered interesting places to eat and experience as well. East Berlin still has enough older buildings to give you the feel of what went down during the time of the wall being up. Two rather long sections of the wall still stand, one is being painted on from artists around the world, and the other is left, as it was when the people started chipping through it in 1989. We were also told about some cold war towers that still stood in the woods of Teufelsberg.

Hiking to an abandoned Cold War listening station was one of the scarier things we ventured to do. A friend of ours said it was not to be missed, and gave us detailed instructions on what train to take, and then how to hike there. She did not tell us about sneaking in.... It is situated in the Grunewald forest and built from rubble after WWII. In 1972, the hill was "naturalized" and 1 million trees were planted around the site, making it almost invisible until you are actually upon it. The US National Security Agency (NSA) built this huge listening station, which includes five domes and office buildings, now all in a state of crumble. Buried underneath it is a Nazi-military-technical college designed by Albert Speer in the 1940s, which was destroyed by the Allies. What scared me most was that it had three fences around it with only two openings cut out, and the sound of crashing bottles told me something about who inhabited the towers at the moment. We did not venture in, had we; we would have experienced the incredible panorama of the city. Apparently, you can climb up one tower and the sounds and views are just incredible. Artists also have begun trying to create a future for the towers, making it a place of creative conversations. A flashlight is also suggested, since their are no windows inside. A staircase on the outside brings you to the second floor, and then you need to use the inside, windowless staircase to go to the top. The sound experience from the dome is said to be incredible. Even the tiniest sounds are echoed throughout the dome. I am not sure if you need to have the musicians with you, or you can hear them from afar...

It certainly was a trip of adventure and intrigue with many art sightings thrown in! I am sure that my work will be inspired by this fascinating journey. Callie

I-Park Artist Enclave 2009

2009-07-05T19:21:00.000-07:00

Wow, this is the most wonderful artist residency! They take such great care of the artists and I met such creative people from around the world. The environmental artists make the 300 acre walk chock full of wonder and amazement. I was given my own studio to create in and it had a gas fireplace and a/c unit. All creature comforts were afforded us, as well as the creatures themselves filling the night air with a full chorus of calls. Close to the Long Island Sound and to a nearby waterfall, this place was magical in so many aspects. My favorite part was the artists I met. Sharing a house, meals and our art was a really beautiful experience.

The work I created there can be viewed on my website: www.CallieArt.com

I ended up selling two of my new creations, one to a fellow artist from the Netherlands, the other to a "friend of I-Park". I can not speak enough about what a simply fantastic time I had during my two week stay. I will truly miss my new friends!

Get noticed!

2009-04-24T09:58:00.000-07:00

Association of Women Artists, Invited Member, Inducted 2007

I always belong to one artist group or another. It is a way of meeting like-minded people, and getting into shows consistently. Association of Women Artists is a wonderful organization, if you are a woman. They have four or five shows a year, at different locations, with a juried application process. Every town probably has a group similar to this. The need for showing art is everywhere, so it makes sense that their is a venue to support this need. I also belong to the Rockaway Artist Alliance based in Fort Tilden, Queens. It is right on the water, on Government property, and is a fun get away for any Brooklynite. It is through this group that I heard of the open call from the MTA, Arts for Transit commission. I also belong to New York University's Administrative Management Council's art committee. We are in our 11th year of showing and sharing, the artwork of NYU administrators.

You can not underestimate the value of networking and should pursue opportunities that give your work public exposure, because being seen is half the battle. Selling is a whole other story....

Explore the world of Etsy.com

2009-04-01T19:24:00.001-07:00

callieart.etsy.com

Selling on line is a mystery. Buyers have to trust that you will deliver the goods, and that the goods will be top quality. If you are one who desires to purchase one of a kind, quite unique artwork at an affordable price point, then this is the place for you.

Displayed in this store are many things of interest. The objects that most catch my eye is jewlery made out of wool. This seems to be a new fad, also made out of wool are cuddely little animals. I put in the word octopus and find everything from wall decals to earings made from molds of real octopi legs. Slightly disturbing, all extremely facinating. It is a great way to buy unique items from all over the world, with set pricing. Happy searching! callie

Tough times, easy measures..

2009-03-15T15:12:00.000-07:00

I am told it is a tough time to make money on artwork, ok, then it stands to reason that it is not a good time to spend money on advertising my art either. So how do I get my work out there to be seen? Find free publicity to showcase your artwork!

I have had several people find work on my site and ask to use an image on a book and magazine covers. It provides great exposure, at no cost to anyone. I also contribute to a monthly zine called Mungbeing.com. I enjoy waiting on the new theme annoucement each month and being part of a collective. During the winter holidays I sent out postcards with my work on it to a list of magazine art editors. From that I received interest from a new magazine, LX magazine. They are doing an article about my work to be published in May! I found the magazine in my gift bag from an art auction fund raiser I donated a painting to. To sum up, reach out and offer the world your work, and enjoy the wonderful responses!

A writer friend who I met at a artist colony in Costa Rica, just came out with a book about the "In -N- Out Burger" food chain. It is all about the history as well as the family behind the first burger joint to invent the drive-thru and two way speaker box. This friend needed publicity shots to be taken for her book tour. I did two photo shoots in barter for her networking abilities. She also a writer for Business Week and included me in an article on artist survival techniques. Barter, barter, barter, is my mantra.

Art Licensing, how to begin...

2009-02-08T11:48:00.001-08:00

Wow, the idea of "renting out my images", for a year or so and never losing the original, certainly is an enticing venture worth trying. What I have going for me is that my iridescent acrylic on black etch paper work is really unique. To think that no one in the world works quite the way makes me want to share more of it, not hide it away in my flat files at home....

At the moment I have work for sale in the flat files at Metaphor Contemporary Art, and Pierogi 2000 Gallery, both in Brooklyn. But to be able to mass produce and sell my favorite images at affordable prices would be ideal.

I got the book "Licensing Art 101" on Amazon and am starting to take in all the options of how to get my work out there. Recently I went to a gift show in NYC and watched as people tried to sell their shiny new products to buyers from all over the world. It was wonderful to see how sellers created different ways to package, capture and entice buyers to their booths. It is a very costly endeavor for artists to undertake on their own, $3,000 to get a share in a booth, if you can find a company to let you in on their turf. I can not even begin to tell you how much work goes into these booths and how exhausting selling for three days straight can be, but many do it and find it very worthwhile.

Which brings me back to the idea of licensing my art. My day job pretty much keeps me strapped to a desk five days a week, eight hours a day, so little time is left to create art, much less sell it. So licensing seems a good alternative to the cold sales approach. First I need to find my niche of product, should it be notebook covers, greeting cards, or textiles? The options are actually endless, like my images could be used on puzzles, or made into wall hangings to name just a few options out there. So the next step is to find a company that sells "like work", where my visuals would fit in. Then approach that company with 10-12 samples so that they understand your body of work. If they are interested, you should have a body of work that is about 24 pieces for them to choose from.

Now it is contract time, and I can not even begin to advise you except - hire a "intellectual property lawyer" to assist you. Your contract should include a royalty fee, many companies try to just pay a fee upfront to use your work for a certain period of time. You could lose out on some big money if they do a second and third run of your work and your contracted was a one time fee to use your work for a period of time. Be smart, hire a professional in helping you to understand how this all works.

I will end here, for this is where I am about to begin. Happy painting! Callie

2009 is here to stay...

2009-01-06T17:04:00.000-08:00

A new year, yay! It has been a good start so far. I was interviewed for LX magazine, www.lxmagazines.com

It is a new magazine out of South Dakota. Funny because they appear to be pretty ultra hip, says this New Yorker. Their first issue was in my Glaad auction goodie bag. Impressed with the quality of the magazine, I sent most everyone on staff my holiday postcard. They all looked at my site and loved it enough to put me in their next issue.

If you are in Brooklyn, NY, please stop by Metaphor Contemporary Arts on Atlantic Ave before Jan. 29th. I have three pieces up in the group show, mine are behind the reception desk. They make that wall pop....

www.metaphorcontemporaryart.com

Now I am waiting on Sweetriot candy tins to come out with three of my paintings on them. They will be for sale at such stores as Balducci's, Fairway, Zabars, Whole Foods, and Gourmet Garage. Can not wait to see how they turn out.

And lastly, but just as important, is that my oil painting "Fertility Goddess" is on the cover of a new Anthology out.

(M)othering the Nation Constructing and Resisting Natl. Allegories through the Maternal Body.

I know you can purchase it on Amazon.com, but it is like the price of a college text book. Women from around the world submitted papers. I look forward to getting my copy and become enlightened.

I hope everyone else is enjoying the thrills of starting over again in the new year. Be good to yourself and others will follow. (what the ...?)

Time for gift giving!

2008-12-05T20:24:00.000-08:00

happy holidays & wishing you a very healthy new year!

I have an on-line store that prints and frames my work, your choice of frame! Go to www.CallieArt.com and click on store link, start shopping today to adorn your walls with CallieArt.

If the artwork you like is not there, drop me a line and let me know which one you would like me to upload: callie@callieart.com

Getting into a Gallery

2008-04-23T12:57:00.001-07:00

Persistance, just keep sending your work to galleries that you are familiar with and that have work similar to yours. Being a good fit is important, otherwise you are wasting their time and yours.

I would not know how to do this, since I am not in one. Not true, my work is in Pierogi 2000, a well-known (in certain circles) gallery in hip Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I have a page on my website, under "shows" with the work included in the Pierogi 2000 flat files. Anyone can go and ask to see them, and they are for sale.

http://callieart.com/pierogi.html I have six works with them, the seventh was sold.

I am also showing in a gallery (the Dragonfly gallery) on Martha's Vineyard for their Flower Show. Check out the http://www.mvdragonfly.com/ They will have three of my larger works on canvas up for Mother's Day. A two week show. The gallery is in the art district, in Oak Bluffs. I got into this gallery by simply talking to the owner as I browsed, then I brow beater her with visuals of my work until she agreed that I would be a perfect addition to her annual flower show.

I was able to show at ABC Home, part of the infamous ABC Carpet family, by writing to the owner and convincing her that I was so Earth Day that if she did not hang my work for the month, well then she might as well give up her PC attitude of love and the earth. As an artist, I need a lot of love and attention.

For those starting out as a emerging artist...

2008-04-18T06:40:00.000-07:00

Some advice:

Create a buzz about your work.
Get a website and update it frequently.
Send out postcards to any show you are in - vistaprint.com is a good source for inexpensive cards of good quality
Go to artist residencies, experience what it feels like to be an artist full-time.
Find galleries that show work like yours, send them postcards to your shows, keep in their radar, send them an introduction packet about your work.

Get involved in neighborhood art clubs, get some shows on your resume and some experience in dealing with the entry requirements, costs involved, and packing your artwork up correctly. Enter juried shows in your area.

Show that you care about your work. Artists are said to be the greatest cause of harm to their work, be it because they are more into the creation and less into the finished piece, or that they know they need to let go of it after creating it for sale purposes and are trying to detach.

Speak passionately about your work
Learn how to describe it
Be the best, most unique in your field
Be different, be daring.
Stand out of the crowd
Sell for the same prices in and out of the gallery
Discounts are ok
Be reliable, keep your word, be trustworthy
Network well
Know the gallery you are approaching
Always plan bigger!
Have different sized work, collectable by all
Generate excitement about work
Be more money aware!
Visit galleries you want to approach
Sell on ebay, don't worry about being famous
Go to auctions, see the hype...feel it, demystify what it is about.
Learn to frame work. Learn about spacers and how to use hinges.

www.CallieArt.com

My First Artist Residency

2008-04-18T04:41:00.000-07:00

In 2000 my life was going through some major changes and I thought it was time to experience an artist residency. Asking for a month off from your full-time job is not an easy thing. My day job was great about it, if I had the vacation time, they would let me take it all at once.

I got accepted into the Vermont Artist Residency, in Johnson, Vermont. It was about six hours from the city. My dad had just left me his car so that helped out tremendously. I set off alone on a cold winter day on this adventure of living with about thirty other artists from around the world. I was given a small room for sleep and a studio to spend all my waking time in. I was thrilled with the studio space, having done my Masters on the six year, working full-time plan, I was never given my own studio to work in. Having this space to work in was amazingly freeing for me. I started painting larger right away.

One of the wonderful things that the VSC offers is a weekly critique from working artists that they bring in. Believe it or not, I was not really experienced in getting critiques, always afraid that they would turn me off from creating art and I needed art in my life too much to lose it that way. The advice was sound, the insight incredible. I also made a friend right away, just after I arrived and while sitting in the waiting room I met my first Karen from Seattle. Eight years later, and we are still good friends.

I made lots of friends that month, had a ton of fun, created wild paintings, and felt free of my day job after working there for twelve years. This year it will be twenty years at my day job and I have been to residencies in Hungary and Costa Rica as well. I find that you push yourself further when you think others are looking, you try harder and are a lot more serious about your work. It is a amazing feeling to be taken seriously as an artist, and not as my day time work persona of "telecommunications analyst". I suggest residencies to anyone who wants to grow as an artist.

www.CallieArt.com

The work at ABC Home is up!

2008-04-18T04:23:00.000-07:00

At first the process was slow, I sent my tree series to the owner, months later I heard from the art director that they were indeed interested in showing my work, a little while later she came to my studio to pick out possible pieces for the show, then quiet....and yet April, as talked about as a Earth Day celebration, was the planned time for hanging. I had framing to do, five pieces and it turned out I had two weeks to do it. I got it done in a week in a half in Brooklyn, at Frame It on 3rd Ave and 25th Street, I highly recommend them, and then arranged with ABC to pick up the five framed pieces along with two large oils and found out that they would not be insured until they reach the store. So I wrapped all the work up as best I could and begged the van drivers to use as much care as they could muster up for the journey. The truck was enormous and only had one couch in it. But would the couch move during the drive and crash into my work? One would think that might occur under the circumstances and Murphy's law...but no, all arrived safely and then even survived being hung several different times. Now they sit quietly in beautiful display on the second floor of ABC Home, at B'way and 19th Street.

They are up until May 20th and the store is worth the visit.

www.CallieArt.com