Do you ever feel like life isn’t quite real? Like you’re sleep walking or drifting in and out of a surreal existence. Occasionally, I get the strangest sense of deja vu. Its like finding yourself in a place you experienced in a dream, but this time in reality. These photographs by Finnish artist Nanna Hanninen have that same kind of unreal fluidity.
Her figures are obscured, seeming to float on the surface, wandering in and out of the frame. I feel like there’s a parallel somewhere for our lives, the way we roam from place to place, whether physically, mentally or spiritually. How often do we find ourselves in one place, but feeling like we belong to another? We are physically present but the mind and soul are elsewhere. It happens, too, in our daily interactions. Are we truly present in each and every conversation? Or are we allowing ourselves to be someplace else?
Tomorrow’s the day, ya’ll! I’m making my “appearance” at the Thriving Artist Summit tomorrow December 9th, sharing my tips and thoughts on how artists can use tools like blogs and social media to promote their work, as well as insight into Artsy Forager, tips for approaching galleries, and more!
The interview will be available for 72 hours but if you can’t listen in the next few days, you’ll be able to catch a replay at a later date, but you have to register for access! You can do so by clicking the image above. Please share with your artsy friends!
It has been so long, but I’m finally back with a recap of what Mr. Forager & I were up to these past few weeks. It was a roller coaster ride, for sure! The Friday before we were to leave WA, Mr. F thought he had a job in Ellensburg, WA sealed up, just waiting on the contract to be sent over. We waited and waited and finally got fed up and called the facility who’d wanted to hire him only to find out they’d changed their minds! So now we were leaving WA on a Saturday morning with no idea whether he would have a new contract at the end of our road trip. Stress!! But we decided to make the most of our trip anyway, taking a leisurely drive down the Oregon Coast. *Note: The Coast is beautiful anytime of year, but would have been much more enjoyable in summer. Brrr!
canon beach, oregon
We got in a cold but enjoyable walk along Canon Beach and made it to our car seconds before the downpour began. Trying to be budget minded on this trip, we tent camped the first night– we survived ( our sleeping bags are rated to 23 degrees ) but the wind ensured that Mr. F’s side of the tent, which is a bit more suited to backpacking in summer, got wet. That, combined with my whining, put the kibosh on the tent camping! We kept making our way down the Coast at a leisurely pace, stopping in Manzanita, Pacific City, Florence and a few other coastal towns I can’t recall at the moment!
view from a coastal town i can’t remember the name of!
So much beauty to behold, you really need more like a month to make this trip, not the week that we gave ourselves. Despite the cold and rain, we loved every minute of it. We discovered the joys of yurt camping ( totally the way to go in Oregon ) and chatting with locals. Once we hit California, we figured out that we’d perhaps been a bit too leisurely going through Oregon, so had to make up some time. Mr. F also was able to secure another contract to begin in Idaho after Thanksgiving. I was a little bummed, not that Mr. F got a job because yay! but because I’d already been looking at rental prospects for the area and well, they were bleak. So some stress was added back into our fun.
We drove through stands of giant redwoods and inhaled the scent of eucalyptus through much of the Northern California coast. We spent the night in a hostel at Pt. Reyes, arriving at dusk and leaving just after dawn, so all we were able to see of Pt. Reyes itself was through a thick layer of fog. Bummer. But the little town of Pt. Reyes Station was a sweet little artsy spot, definitely worth a stop if you find yourself in the area. We continued our journey over the Golden Gate Bridge, heading for our next destination, Big Sur.
golden gate through the rain
But before we hit Big Sur, I had always wanted to see Carmel, so we stopped for a bite of lunch and a good leg stretching. I’d read about the architecture and charm of Carmel years ago and had always longed to see it. Let me assure you, it did not disappoint! Such a lovely little spot filled with fairy tale cottages.
carmel by the sea
And then came Big Sur. This place totally enchanted us. The friends we were headed to visit told us it was their favorite place and now we understand why. It is the most “Northwest” feeling of all the places we’ve been in California so far. We camped in a tent cabin along the banks of the Big Sur River and drove along Highway 1 with our mouths agape.
The clouds continued until we hit Santa Barbara and then it was like BOOM you are now in Southern California where the sun is always shining! After nearly a week of cold rain, it was a welcome change! Thanks to stopping in at the SB Visitors Center, we scored a nice deal on a sweet little boutique hotel for the night. Off we went in search of dinner and stumbled upon the Santa Barbara Funk Zone, a fun change after the more touristy center of town. But the best part was knowing that after a few hours of driving the next day, we would reach our friends in San Diego and be able to settle in for a nice long visit.
santa barbara mission
I’ve written before about our friends the Jameses and their boys. Any visit we have with them is sure to be filled with lots of food, fun and laughter. And always way too short. We began our trip back up to Idaho the morning after an over indulgent Thanksgiving!
afternoon at the park
The whole time we were in San Diego, we were still trying to secure a rental in Idaho. And no dice. It became increasingly frustrating, especially after we arrived in the area and saw one rental that was, well, lets just say the Craigslist photos were very deceiving! After three more hotel nights, we were finally able to move into our little apartment here in Moscow, ID. We’ve been so busy looking for a rental and moving in that we’ve barely been able to explore town. Hopefully I’ll have more to share from Moscow next week! Have a fabulous weekend, Artsies!
If you’d like to see more photos from our trip and from This Artsy Life, follow me on Instagram!
I love the warm glow of window light at night. In fact, when I lived alone, I used to put my lights on timers so that I came home at night to a welcoming glowing light. In his Homes at Night series, photographer Todd Hido focuses his lens on the glow of evening abodes.
There is a strange phenomenon that happens in the dark of night. Some things become softer, more welcoming in the night, while others take on a more oppressive, sinister air. Hido’s work strikes me as having elements of both, making me wonder what is going on beyond those lit windows. Warmth and laughter? Loneliness and despair? I love the ambiguity of these photographs. Each one seems to be the beginning of a story.
I have to stop myself from running my fingers over paintings in galleries and museums. I’m such a sucker for the texture of paint and the way it informs and enhances a piece of work. Sometimes, the texture is merely a by-product of the artist’s process, but for artists like Patricia Larsen, the texture is the star.
I know that often, for me, when I’m painting, I get caught up in the deliciousness of the juxtapositions of texture and color. There is a certain zen like state that happens when an artist surrenders to what is happening on a canvas. A kind of stream-of-consciousness type of painting tempered with a thoughtful composition results in a wonderful tension.
To see more work by Patricia Larsen, please visit her website. If you happen to be in the Tulsa area, you can see her work in person in the current exhibition at Exhibit by Aberson.
There is nothing quite like a quiet day surrounded by wilderness to get us in touch with the wildness inside. Even more thrilling is to spot an elusive animal on its own turf. California artist Jane Rosen sculpts wild creatures in all their quiet, untamed beauty.
Rosen’s sculptures have a caged serenity about them, as if reigning in their innate wildness for the spectator. I bet they come to life the minute your back is turned! The artist’s choice of materials bring a purity and etherealness to each piece. They almost seem to be representations not of the animal itself, but of its spirit.
An artist who draws upon art history for his inspiration then gives it his own unique, modern spin speaks my language and immediately draws my interest. The work of New York artist Jansson Stegner reflects his attraction to the “weird figurations” and exaggerated forms of artists like El Greco, Schiele, and Ingres, yet infuses them with distinctly contemporary style.
Unlike historical portraiture, these aren’t portraits of actual people. The artist creates a conglomeration of figures in order to arrive at the figure to fit his vision. Elongated limbs, distorted torsos and amplified eyes give Stansson’s figures a caricature like quality, yet the portraits somehow have more gravitas for it.
December is here! Mr. F and I are back living in Idaho ( Moscow, ID to be exact ) for the next three months. As we were driving up, we were treated to a spectacular display of snow juxtaposed against the evergreens, rocks and rushing waters. These pieces by this month’s Featured Artist, Casey Matthews remind me of that wintery palette I love so much.
I’ve been in love with Casey’s work for a long time and she was one of the first artists I featured on Artsy Forager. Her work is full of luscious texture and lots of delicious little details that don’t always come through in digital form. Orbs and circles are a large part of her visual language and some of her latest work, she’s exploring a whirlpoolish composition in addition to her characteristic floating shapes and drips. And I’m especially enamored of the way she is overlaying linear elements, adding yet another intriguing dimension.
Casey lives in North Florida, so its pretty doubtful that her inspiration would have come from the snow and evergreens of Northern Idaho. Yet these pieces have much of the atmospheric feel I was imagining as we drove through snow covered canyons and delighted in patches of white dotting the rocks along the river. Isn’t it amazing how an artist’s work can resonate your own imagination?
If you’d like to see Casey’s work in person, you can do so at a number of representing galleries, a list can be found here. If you’re in North Florida, Casey will be showing work at the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club during the month of December, with a holiday reception on December 12th. Or if you happen to be in the Atlanta area, her work will be a part of the annual Masterpiece & Its Minis show at Gregg Irby Fine Art, where you could snatch up a sweet smaller Casey Matthews original, what an amazing gift one would make!
Many of you are artists. Or you know an artist or two, or twenty, you love their work and want to see them succeed. So I’m super excited to share with you the Thriving Artist Summit, a FREE online event happening December 2-13, 2013!
My friend Bonnie Glendinning of artmuse.com is on a mission to help artists be successful and THRIVE, not just survive. Bonnie has brought together 20+ highly successful artists, experts, and mentors ( including Yours Truly! ) to share their key insights for real success.
I shared my expertise in blogging and social media at this powerful summit and I hope to help you learn how to use these powerful tools to promote your work, find your own unique online voice and draw collectors to your work. You can learn more and reserve your FREE spot here: http://thrivingartistsummit.com/lfrenz
During this special community summit you will discover how to:
Make Your Creative Biz a Real Success
Build Your Brand for Your Ideal Buyers
Price for Real Profit and Growth
Increase Your Sales with Marketing, PR, and Social Media
Diversify into Licensing, Wholesale, and Direct-to-Consumer
Get Into Galleries, Shows, and Raise Project Funds
I’d love for you to experience this yourself and JOIN US FOR THIS FREEsummit. In addition to all the incredibly valuable information you’ll receive from industry experts, you’ll also get exclusive access to helpful downloads available to no one else!
The Thriving Artist Summit
With Lesley Frenz and Bonnie Glendinning
December 02 through December 13, 2013 Approximately 1 hour, replay available to registrants
I’m sure many of you will be spending the next few days celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday with friends and family. Thanksgiving is Mr. Forager’s absolute favorite holiday, because it is all about coming together with the people you love, celebrating life and cultivating gratefulness. I’ll be taking a little break over the next few days, enjoying time away, but before I go, I wanted to express my heartfelt thanks for each and every one of you.
For the readers who follow along on this journey with me, for the folks who’ve become clients and friends, for the artists who continually inspire me and make this website such a labor of love, THANK YOU! I wish for you a more abundant and joyful life than you could ever imagine.
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