Been in the studio!

Yesterday and today were very productive days.  Below are the results, I hope to start working larger as soon as I have a direction in place.  Enjoy!  ~ callie

(Click on to enlarge)

My life at Le Couvent, France

The countryside is so green, the curved roofs remind me of Gaudi, and the people, super wonderful.  My French is less then minimal, but I am smiling a lot and thanking everyone.  I had a group of students march through my studio yesterday, I was not even set up yet, so we had a computer art viewing.

I have since begun painting.  I have a desire to paint the houses, will see if that comes to fruition.  In the meantime I am working on my tree series and waiting for new inspiration to hit.

Ah, Le CouveNt, France...

 My arrival happened in a drizzle of rain.  Night was falling and I had been mostly sitting in airports all day, so after a drive through extremely windy roads, filled with excitement, I was there!  Lynn set out a dinner for me, since I would not get to shop until the next day.  Laura, another resident there from Australia, showed me how to make my way around the kitchen and cook my chicken.  A nice bottle of red wine awaited me, and I shared this with my new friend and savior.

Many stories of her upbringing in Sidney later, we went out for a walk, but it as way too dark to explore the cemetery.  That could wait for daylight.  Which I did walk through today.  It is tiny and family members still seem to be buried on top of each other there.  I saw a headstone from 1960!

Sergio and Lynn run the residency.  I believe that Sergio owns a few of the buildings around the church and is from Argentina.  I respond to him in Spanish and French, or as I like to call it, "English".  A group of teenage school children came by today for a tour.  They were super curious, and I had nothing to show them.  So I brought some artwork up on my computer, brought out my paints and paper and smiled a great big American smile!  I think they were thrilled with me, right?   And were invited to come back for my final day.

The church bells went off at 8am this morning and ring forever, but I was able to fall back asleep until 11:30 and hopefully avoid any jet lag.  Luckily Laura also awoke at that time so I could bum milk and coffee off of her.  I had my packets of oatmeal with me, along with some power bars to hold me over.

You need the car to get to town, we are situated on top of the hill/mountain.  I am the only artist, out of us three, who can drive, or brought an international driver's license.  The car is standard, the streets steep and windy.  I will be fine.  Ah, the church bells are going off again, it is four.



The building we are in is quite ancient, today Laura and I explored the attic.  Although very clean, a bird was flying around in one room.  The windows are many, and screens are unheard of.  Past artist projects are about, but my studio was cleaned and I was provided with whatever I needed.  Sergio even hooked my computer to speakers for music, he is a very musically oriented kind of fella.  Musicians come to perform here, the first floor has a huge gallery space and a church alter area with two huge stained windows.

I am off to begin my work here.  More photos to come.  ~ callie

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