I begin my journey...off to a artist residency in France

Le CouveNt, France...








I am off for a three week art experience in Southern France.    Le CouveNt, is located in the french southwest region of Aveyron.  I will be there with two other artists, a performance artist from Canada and a installation artist from Australia (also a musician).  Hopefully they speak French...my language skills are not the best.  

My days at the residency will be filled with completing my child's book about octopus and creating a new book, the theme, a secret at this time.  I will also go back to a previous theme, The Tree Series.    


If technology works in my favor, I will post photos as well as share my experiences in France on this blog.  So fingers crossed, gearing up for an inspiring adventure!  

~ Callie

Le CouveNt is a creative space dedicated to music, visual arts, writing, multimedia and performing arts. 

Its mission is to promote contemporary artistic practices and the exchange between artists and co-creation projects that connect different creative processes.

Winning Awards at Shows

Dreams of being a successful artist...but what does success mean?  Is it making a living on just your art, with no day job to wear you out? Or does it translate into winning awards, getting shows and being in museums?  What do you think of as success when thinking about a career in art?  Where you woud like to see yourself and your art in five years from now?

The following is my dream future.  It would be wonderful to be part of an art community, to be surrounded with like minded people who understand and can relate to what it is like to be an artist. To be able to share the art viewing experience with others, to open possibilities of going in new directions thanks to hearing what the potential buyer wants in a piece.  It is very restrictive to paint in isolation, if you want growth in your work, then open yourself to other's thoughts and ideas.  You can pick and choose what you want to take from it.  Showing your work and sharing with friends and associates opens up a dialogue, gets people interested in your work.  Everyone has a different way of seeing, hearing how others see your work can be a true education.   

Another dream would be to collaborate with others to enrich the joys of art making.  Being a painter, it would be so incredible to combine my skills with a dance troupe and perhaps do the background to a performance piece.  Or work with a landscaper to create a painterly backyard scene using colors and plant textures to create a landscape painting of a different kind.

Belonging to art associations or groups keeps you in touch with what others are exploring.  I belong to two, the National Association of Women Artists, Inc, and The Pen and Brush, Inc.  They put on a few shows a year, which members can apply to.  The next show to have my piece on left in, is listed below.

Title: Feeling Trapped, iridescent acrylic on black cotton etch paper.
Winner of the Eve Helman Memorial Award for Works on Paper.

NAWA 124th Annual Member's Exhibition

The Sylvia Wald & Po Kim Art Gallery
417 Lafayette St, 4th floor

New York City

Show reception: Thursday, Sept. 19th, 2013

The show is open now and runs thru Sept. 28th, 2013 

http://www.waldkimgallery.blogspot.com/

Octopi Visit

Last week I visited the Mystic Aquarium in CT.  I really, really wanted to see the octopus.  I had my three year old nephew with me and I was so excited to see his face when viewing a real, live octopus.  It never came to fruition.  The octopus was there, sure, but curled up in a corner without so much as a quiver of movement.  Luckily I still have my paintings to share with him, and we always have videos of the marvelous creatures to watch together.

Recently I introduced him to the Cuttlefish.  He loved the word "cuddle" so of course, shared my excitement for how pudgy and cute the Cuttlefish really is.  What he did not know is that it has three hearts!  And a brain shaped like a donut.  It is an amazing creature to study and the Internet has some really wonderful videos on it.  It has many wild attributes, just one being the way it camouflages itself, simply fascinating.

I have not started painting the cuttlefish as of yet.  Octopi paintings can be purchased on Etsy.   Each painting is unique and one of a kind.

etsy.com/shop/callieart

Have a happy day!

Callie

Visiting Mexico, Playa del Carmen

At last I am off on vacation in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.  It is hot, hot, hot!  The sea is teaming with creatures, so far I have snorkeled above a sea turtle in Akumal, and saw my first lion fish, and a sea cucumber 4 feet long.  They have a gorgeous lagoon there, very peaceful and serene.  I have been enjoying the layed back, walking barefoot feeling of an island vacation.  As my feet sink into the claylike sandy beach, I contemplate if I could do this full time, actually reside in such a place.

What about health care, a car, an income?  OK, one has to have dreams in order to survive the everyday existance they find themselves in.  Art is my escapism, my way of disappearing for awhile into a dream state.  Just as movies transport, so does art.

Tomorrow my vacation ends.  I return home tanner and maybe more relaxed, only the stress of travel will tell.  For now, I am off to snorkel and dream.  ~ Callie

Seeing Art, NYC

Heard by Nick Cave at Grand Central, wow!  The MTA, Arts for Transit
program put on this wild show and the dancers from Alvin Ailey made it come to life.

Then I headed West to Chelsea, where Gagosian Gallery 

is putting on a amazing show of paintings by Basquiat.

Then on Sunday, I headed out to the Brooklyn Museum to 

see the exhibit of Ghana artist, El Anatsui.  His use of recycled metal to create beautiful metal quilts that hang from the ceiling, as massive paitings on the walls, and large scale sculptures on the floor.

Some wonderful samples of his work.  The exhibit was truly intriguing.  They have videos throughout sharing the artist's vision.

Nautical Devotion in Mungbeing Magazine

Zines are a wonderful way to share your art and be part of a network of writers, poets and visual artists.  Mungbeing Magazine, is created by Mark who is the editor-in-chief and a really sweet guy.  He is a man with many hats; all being artistic endeavors that he devotes his life and time to. The owner of a publishing company called Pelekinesis and a member of the avant garde rock band Wckr Spgt for the last 30 years.

The newest Issue #48: Devotion - "We dedicate our lives and loves to so many things."  I have three images under the title: Nautical Devotion.  Blue Octopus, Blue Moon and Feeding Frenzy are three works of mine in this issue. As an artist, you really need to put yourself out there to create more exposure and seek out new fans for your art.  This magazine requires commitment to submitting new art every issue.  I feel extremely lucky to have been accepted as part of this collective and meet every deadline as soon as it is announced.  The myth of irresponsible and scattered artist is just that, a myth.  I am thankful for all artist opportunities that come my way and respond in a responsible and consistent way.  Having a full time job, not in the arts, generates an importance for me to really focus on art opportunities that come my way.  The reality is, I want to devote my life to creating art, and hope someday to be able to support myself doing so.  

Thank you for reading, Callie

Bats at an Aquarium?

Bats and sloths can be found at the Long Island Aquarium

I am an aquarium nerd; my dream being to visit every aquarium that exists in the world.  You never know what they have on exhibit, and the surprises are wonderful.  Take for example my recent trip to the Long Island Aquarium.  I had no idea that they were going to have the Flamboyant Cuttlefish, three in fact that were born in captivity (third generation!).  I was super impressed; I stared at them, mesmerized, for quite some time.  

The cuttlefish is my favorite fish at the moment, last year it was the Nudibranch family of sea creatures.  They include sea cucumbers, sea slugs, and sea angels.  In a wonderful assortment of colors, from leopard stripes to bright pinks, some wearing flowers on the outside of their bodies.  Again, the sea never ceases to amaze me.  Yes, I am a scuba diver, but have not gone in quite some time.

Here are photos from my visit!  Enjoy.

the Long Island Aquarium