Make your own artist residency.

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.

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

Cheryl was a writer, a poet, but I first knew 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 same band, The Maul Girls. Hanging out turned into 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

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!

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

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...

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

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