There were days when, to commemorate an engagement or a special occasion, one might have a tiny portrait painted for a loved one. Or perhaps even now you wear a locket around your neck, or carry a special stone in your pocket. There’s something enchanting about the preciousness of miniature treasures, isn’t there? Tappan, NY artist Jefferson Hayman forges his own liliputian remembrances in his small framed photographs.
The handcrafted silver gelatin and platinum prints are a delightful surprise when tucked inside antique boxes or frames of the artist’s making. Larger than life places like Manhattan and the moon seem forever caught in a moment inside each little box, there to charm us all over again each time they are revealed.
Although we’re living this vagabond-ish life, Mr. Forager & I are always thinking about places to put down roots. One of the wants on our list is an artsy community– one that supports and encourages music, theatre, and of course, the visual arts. The small town of Port Townsend ranks high for us because it ticks off each of those and then some. And with the opening of Simon Mace Gallery, PT is heading in the right direction for this Artsy.
A traditional white-wall gallery, Simon Mace offers up a variety of emerging and established artists from the Northwest and beyond. While the gallery sports that ubiquitous clean look, the feeling inside is warm and cozy. The beautifully worn wood floors and friendly staff help, but I think it stems most from the roster of artists the gallery has gathered.
There is definitely a personality and point of view behind the gallery artists– work full of spirit, story, and humor– and it makes for a homey, non-intimidating gallery experience. The show up during our visit, Carnival, featured the work of painter Alison O’Donoghue and sculptor Sara Swink ( both pictured below ), and painter Frank Renlie. O’Donoghue’s work draws you in, your eyes bouncing with excitement as you try to take in every little thing happening in each canvas. Swink’s cheeky sculptures and Renlie’s joyful paintings give enjoyable little pauses amongst the controlled chaos of O’Donoghue’s work.
Alas, the show has come down now, as the gallery preps for its next opening this Thursday, Wax On, Wax Off, showcasing the work of Port Townsend painter Jeane Meyers and Portland sculptor Lisa Kaser. Wax On, Wax Off promises to deliver yet another mix of artwork filled with charisma and charm. While the bulk of the gallery space is exhibition focused, a piece of each represented artist’s work is always up in the small back-room space and the staff will more than happily help you peruse more work in the racks.
We may be heading back up PT way next weekend and if we do, I’ll check in again at Simon Mace to see the new show. You can bet it will now be on my must-do list ( along with thai food at Banana Leaf! ) for each visit to our favorite seaport town. Hope it will be on your Port Townsend list now, too!
If you’d like to learn more about Simon Mace Gallery and its artists, please visit their website and follow them on Facebook.
Happy October! No more of that foolin’ around, Indian summer stuff. We are now well into Fall and I couldn’t be more thrilled. I’m equally excited to share with you the work of our October Featured Artist, Jennifer JL Jones! One of the things I love most about Fall is the cozy atmosphere that permeates each day and night and exploring Jennifer’s work, with its warm, ethereal light is the perfect way to kick off the season!
Here in the Northwest, we can go for days, even weeks without seeing the sun, but the light still manages to pierce the veil, even through falling leaves and raindrops. It is this same aura of light breaking through and of fluttering movement that draws me again and again to Jennifer’s work. In her most recent series, Sojourn, the work increasingly free and joy filled.. the atmosphere is ablaze.
If you’d like to see more of Jennifer JL Jones’ work, please visit her website and Facebook page. A trip over to the Artsy Forager Facebook page will also give you a glimpse into an album of some of my own favorites of the artist’s work. Florida Artsies can see Jennifer’s work, along with three other talented artists in Synergy, opening October 18th at Stellers Gallery in Ponte Vedra Beach. Don’t miss it! Not in Florida? Check out her website for a list of representing galleries around the country.
There is a strange bright light coming through my window.. I think it might be the sun! Hello old friend. Where were you this weekend, huh? The rain came down hard and often all weekend long. We braved the weather to make the picturesque drive up along the Hood Canal to one of our favorite spots, the beautiful artsy Victorian seaport town on Port Townsend. It had been over 2 years since we’d been there last, so we wondered, would we still love it like crazy? The short answer? Yes yes yes! Even in near nonstop rain and gusting winds. The conditions meant that we didn’t get to enjoy the PT scenery as much as we would like, hence the lack of outdoor snapshots for you, but it made for a relaxing day darting in out of the rain and then slow, casual browsing and lounging.
It was one of those blissful weekends in which we didn’t spend much time on the laptop or iPad, more time spent talking than typing. And can I just say that if the rain leads to weekends like this, then keep on fallin’! 😉
Hope your weekend was just as wonderful, dear Artsies! If you’d like to see more from This Artsy Life, follow me on Instagram. Let me know your Instagram handle in the comments so I can follow you, too!
I’ve written before about the impervious nature of technology in our lives. You’re probably tired of reading about it, especially as I’m contributing to it by writing a blog.. umm.. dang. But it’s such an intriguing subject to me and such a careful balancing act we play with it, that I can’t help but see the references in artists’ work from time to time. In these paintings by Portland, Maine artist Meghan Howland, I see the artist conveying many of the conflicting emotions we encounter in this technology we interact with daily.
Pale figures, starkly lit glow eerily as they are surrounded by beauty– birds, flowers– some soft, some seeming savage. Do you see the connection? Maybe I’m reaching. What springs to mind for me is the way we use social media to show the best of ourselves, to unintentionally inspire envy in others when all we show is the most fabulous version of our lives. When we don’t mention our struggles, the piles of laundry, the failures, alongside the beautiful moments, we create an unreal, imaginary life. We gain followers who voyeuristically join our journey, yet heap praise on what isn’t our real selves, but a persona of our own making.
I admit, I find myself censoring and editing what I share. Mainly because, at my core, I’m a deeply private person, a bit uncomfortable with so much sharing. But also because so much of the time, life is just what it is. Day by day, it is beautiful in and of itself, but not necessarily Instagram photo worthy. But why not? Are we so scared of tarnishing our “brand” that we don’t allow ourselves to be authentic anymore? I hope not. What do you think, Artsies? Do you censor what you put out there for the world to see? Or are you all in, dirty dishes and all?
If you’d like to see more of Meghan Howland‘s work, please visit her website. If you’re in New York ( lucky! I love New York in the Fall! ), her work can be seen in person at TNC Gallery.
Mr. F and I can definitely relate to snails, turtles, basically any of those I-carry-my-home-on-my-back types. Although technically, we carry home in our Hyundai Santa Fe.. still, we feel a kinship. 😉 But what if you really could carry your home on your back? These utilitarian sculptures by Julia Gabriel are hand-dyed canvas backpacks inspired by architecture and well, they are the most inspired backpacks I’ve ever seen!
I mean, how fun would it be to carry your books & laptop to your favorite coffee shop in one of these? This series is available through Buy Some Damn Art until November 5th. Check out the show online at BSDA and see more of Julia Gabriel‘s work on her website.
When I was young, I remember spending hours flipping through the Sears & Spiegel catalogs, circling every little thing my heart desired and hoping to receive a few of those wishes for Christmas. While there are still lovely things I want, my tastes and passions are a little more grown up and my treasures a bit more lasting. I am often asked, whose art I would be in my dream collection? I think about it quite a bit– too much probably! It’s so very difficult to choose, I’ve discovered the work of a great many fantastically talented artists! I think for me, a perhaps for many art lovers and collectors, it comes down to whose work do I want to live with every day?
In order to want to dwell with an artist’s work, hopefully for a very long time, I need to feel a deep connection to it, to have something inside me stir and resonate each time I look at it. Whether it’s their use of light, line, color, or texture, I need to delight in it and be able to lose myself. It’s probably obvious that I’m drawn to a certain palette, too, as color is for me, a strong part of a work’s appeal.
I consider myself very lucky to already own small pieces by a few of these artists ( all my art is in storage or I would share those with you! ), but they are, every single one, artists whose work I fell in love with the very first time I saw it. And they are artists whose work I consistently return to time and time again.
Perhaps I have a bit of an advantage, being exposed to the work of so many gifted artists, but maybe my biggest privilege has been to get to know these artists personally. And those friendships and relationships make their work even more special to me than it otherwise would be. Getting to know the artists whose work you’d like to collect will help you understand and appreciate your collection even more.
Just putting this together motivates me to save my pennies so that I can start hoarding more artwork! What about you? Who would be in your own dream art collection?
All image sources credited above. Please note some artwork has been cropped from the original.
Although we technically don’t have a home of our own these days, the idea of home is on my mind a lot. Just this morning I was browsing through realtor.com, as you do, checking out what’s around in our price range. I find the need to remind myself that home isn’t always about the roof over your head. The Trailers Collected series by the late photographer Nan Brown prove that often home is in the eye and heart of the beholder.
It might sound corny, but it’s so very true. Home is where the heart is. If a place is filled with the people we love, it provides us shelter, not just in the physical sense but in the emotional and spiritual senses. By capturing these humble abodes, some well cared, for others, barely hanging on, Brown captures the essence of what home can be.
To see more of Nan Brown‘s work, please visit her website. The artist passed away earlier this summer after a long illness. She leaves behind a legacy of thoughtful, sensitive work.
I feel like such a slacker, ya’ll. Not in general, because I’m working my little tushy off doing freelance work for art consultants, galleries and artists— which I’m super excited about! The business of being artsy is picking up steam, but the act of doing anything truly artistic has been on the back burner for what feels like a long time. And I’m definitely feeling its absence.
It’s funny how being in the desert, which wasn’t necessarily our ideal spot, fostered a creative spark I hadn’t felt in a while. I think it had much to do with three things: the lack of distractions around us, Mr. F doing online coursework meaning lots of evenings and weekends I was left at loose ends, and probably the main reason– a lack of tv in our Joshua Tree rental. I’m working hard, sitting in front of the laptop for at least 8 hours each day and there is always more to be done, so I’m finding it difficult to truly disconnect. But I do so want to. But this blank page is very intimidating right now!
I want to start a little daily creative ritual. But where to begin? I’m almost fearful of even mentioning it here because what if I punk out and don’t keep up with it? So I want to know, especially from those that are working artists AND working at another job– how do you carve out the time? Do you find yourself doing little things daily or do you save up all that energy for occasional, long, productive creative bursts?
And any recommendations for a small paint-friendly sketch book? The paper in my current sketchbook is more for dry media and I’d really like to start a little daily paint practice of some kind. I know, excuses. Just wanted to through this out there, let you know that if you’re struggling with the same, you are not alone!
Sometimes, it isn’t a matter of what you see, but how you see it. Perception can be a funny thing. Often, Mr. F & I will watch the same movie but get something totally different from it. Or we’ll look at a scene and I’ll zero in on one thing, while his eye notices another. The simplicity of these paintings by Isabel Bigelow remind me that what each eye focuses on is as unique as the person they belong to.
Bigelow zeros in on simple shapes, isolating them against monochromatic backgrounds, leaving us to wonder– am I seeing what I think I’m seeing? Or am I seeing something else entirely? The shapes become even more ambiguous when we turn the paintings on their sides or upside down.
But maybe that’s a good thing, this act of seeing differently. We can focus too closely on our own perceptions, forgetting that there are other angles of viewing. Not wrong, just different.
![This Artsy Life: Weekend 39 [ Rain-soaked Northwest Days ]](https://artsyforager.com/images/Pier+Regular/This+Artsy+Life%3A+Weekend+39+%5B+Rain-soaked+Northwest+Days+%5D.png "This Artsy Life: Weekend 39 [ Rain-soaked Northwest Days ]")
