The world wide web can be a strange place. We “meet” folks with whom we share interests and affinities. Friendships are made with people we’ve never laid eyes on in real life. Seattle artist Melanie Biehle and I share a love for the Northwest, Gilmore Girls, art, and travel.
Her most recent painting series, Nomads, “is inspired by wanderlust, how it feels to be a traveler, and what I imagine it would be like to accept a new place as home for a while.” No wonder I love it so much, it perfectly describes my life!
I love the graphic quality of Melanie’s work– can’t you just see the wanderings across each of these pieces? See more from the Nomads collection and read about the inspiration behind each piece on Melanie’s website. And be sure to follow her artistic journey on Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram!
Ya’ll it has been a whirlwind few months. Followed by a whirlwind five days in Greenville, SC for the opening of my LATITUDE show at Art & Light Gallery! Greenville welcomed me with warmth and sunshine and made this Northwestern girl feel right at home.
Teresa Roche, the owner and curator of Art & Light has created such a beautiful space! From the moment you step on the front porch and open the screen door ( so Southern, ya’ll! ), the space feels like stepping into sunshine. The house turned gallery/ art studios exudes old Southern charm, yet its clean white walls and sparse rustic furnishings feel completely modern. The mix of contemporary and organic is perfect for my work! Want to take a peek inside? Come on in!
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Because A&L is housed in an old Greenville home, the galleries are small rooms perfect for wandering. Candidly, I was a bit worried that my work was too Northwestern in feel to fit in with Greenville’s historic, Old South vibe.
I was so surprised not only with how beautifully it fit, but with how many Gville folks either had NW connections or found their own LATITUDE moments in mine.
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Ceramic artist Dee Sullivan created custom pottery pieces to go with the LATITUDE paintings, such a treat and they were just perfect! If I had a home to put them in I would have gladly purchased several, one wall pocket especially caught my eye ( and everyone else’s I might add! ).
My family came in from Florida and North Carolina to be with me and see the show but I also have a new Greenville family! Thank you to Teresa, Kiah, Everett and all the Greenville folks who have made this show such a success! There’s still time to see LATITUDE, the work will be up at Art & Light through the end of March. And if you’re not in Greenville, you can peruse all the paintings on my website.
Most images by me. Family group photo and panoramic gallery photo by my sister-in-law. Greenville family photo by Everett Waldrep.
Exclusive just for Artsy Forager readers! I’ve updated my website with all the works in my solo show, LATITUDE, opening tomorrow and I’m only sharing the news here on Artsy Forager.
Tenderness & Time (48.53.53 N), 2015, acrylic on canvas, 36×36
So if you’re not in Greenville but would like to see what’s in the show, just follow this link to the show page on my website. I’m on my way to Greenville as I type! Will be posting updates on Instagram and be back here next week for a recap of how it went!
Even though I’ve been focusing much of my energies these last few months on my upcoming LATITUDE show at Art & Light, I’m still working behind the scenes helping other artists through Forager Services. And if you’re in or near the Greenville area, I’d love to help you, too!
I will be teaching two workshops at Art & Light Gallery in Greenville on Saturday, March 5th and I’d love for you to come and join the fun!
Interested? Here are some details–
FINDING YOUR VISUAL VOICE ON SOCIAL MEDIA
SATURDAY, MARCH 5 (11:30 AM – 1:00PM) $35
Social media has become an integral part of any artist’s marketing program. Your social media platforms should represent your brand to potential clients, collectors, and collaborators in a way that inspires and excites. You already create beautiful artwork. We’ll work on cultivating your social media outlets to reflect that same creative voice!
What we’ll cover in the workshop session–
Why a unique and unified visual voice is important to your success on social media
We’ll look at the major social media outlets ( Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram ) and discuss the advantages to each
How to focus your energy on the platform(s) that work for you
How to use one platform to funnel content to others
How to look objectively at your work and discover and identify your visual voice
How to incorporate your unique visual voice into your social media posts
How to style your voice across several social media platforms
CALL THE GALLERY WITH YOUR PAYMENT TO RESERVE YOUR SPACE
ART & LIGHT, 16 AIKEN ST. GREENVILLE, SC 29611 (864-363-8172)
FINDING YOUR WORDS AS AN ARTIST
SATURDAY, MARCH 5 (2:00 – 3:30 PM) $35
Creating art comes naturally. Writing about yourself and what you’ve created? Not so much. So many artists struggle to put into words what makes them create, what their work means to them, what they want it to say to the world. Sometimes they just need someone to help them find their own words.
Whether you’re an artist, gallery owner, or other creative type, maybe writing just isn’t your forte. We’ll work together to put into words what can be so difficult to express.
What we’ll cover in the workshop session–
Examine examples of good & bad art writing
How to begin
How to edit your words
Keywords to include and avoid
How to present yourself verbally
CALL THE GALLERY WITH YOUR PAYMENT TO RESERVE YOUR SPACE
ART & LIGHT, 16 AIKEN ST. GREENVILLE, SC 29611 (864-363-8172)
You can also RSVP on Facebook here but you’ll still need to call the gallery with your payment. If you can’t attend, please help me spread the word by sharing a link to this post or the Facebook event! Thanks, friends!
only love can bring the rain, 2015, acrylic on canvas panel, 6×6
As the year comes to an end, I choose to focus on the positive things that happened this year. There were so many! Because I love a good list, here’s a wrap up–
It has been an amazing year despite the stress, the worrying, the painful loss. I am ready to get a new year underway as I prepare for my March show at Art & Light Gallery and can’t wait to see what else 2016 brings!
Hiya artsies! I’ve been super sick this week with a horrible cold– that always seems to happen around the holidays, doesn’t it? But I just had to pop in and tell you about this amazing show opening at Voltage Coffee and Arttonight!
The show, Jealously Curated, is the brainchild of artists Jenny Brown, Jessica Brilli, and Anna Jensen. Jealously Curated is a collection of work by East Coast artists who all have one thing in common: they have all been featured on Danielle Krysa’s wildly popular blog, The Jealous Curator. For the first time on the East Coast, alums of the blog have organized a show at Voltage Art and Coffee to share their latest work—and to celebrate the blog that inspired and brought them together.
Artists and art bloggers are an incredibly supportive community and I absolutely loved this idea when I heard about it! If you’re in the Cambridge area, be sure and check it out! You can find more info on the show on the Voltage website.
I’ve featured several of these artists here, if you’d like to check out their Forager features– Jenny Brown, Jessica Brilli, Leah Giberson, Jeremy Miranda. And of course, check out the websites of all these amazingly talented artists!
I’m trying really hard not to be one of those artists who never has their latest work on the website. So, new work has been added to my artist site!
above us only sky I & II ( diptych ), 2015, acrylic on masonite panel, 12×24 overall
As I prepare for my solo show, LATITUDE, at Art & Light Gallery in March and waiting for my Ashland studio to be ready for me to use, I’ve been working on small works on panel at the kitchen table. Not ideal, but creating these smaller pieces helps me work out composition ideas and palettes. Some I love, some I don’t. OK, there’s only one I don’t love. I’ll leave you to guess which one.
**Updated 12.26.2018 scroll to the bottom of this post for an update after 3 years of using Genie Canvas.
Our gypsy life can put a serious damper on my studio practice. Not the actual practice of creating but finding space to store my work and the high cost of shipping to galleries and clients. Until recently, I’ve been working on paper and small panels, though I’ve always worked larger and was itching to break into painting BIG again. But there was the problem of storage and shipping. Then I discovered Genie Canvas.
These collapsible canvases seemed like they just might be the answer to my go bigger dilemma. So I reached out to Genie Canvas and they graciously offered to send me one to try. As it’s been a while since I painted a large canvas, I went with one of the smaller sizes they offer, a 36×36 ( sizes range from 24×36 up to 60×96 ). The collapsible canvas arrived neatly packed in a 50x6x6 tube, including 1 1/2″ outside stretcher bars, inner stabilizer bar, and heavy gessoed cotton canvas.
Easy to follow detailed instructions for both assembly and repacking for shipment were included, but being a visual learner, I opted to follow the instructional video on their website. The canvas arrives with two of the stretchers pre-attached, so all you have to do is fold over the other sides, attach the installed velcro, fold the corners, slide in the hinged support and voila, you have a tightly stretched canvas ready for paint!
I wasn’t sure about the velcro but I’ve worked on the canvas for five days, moved it around, on and off the easel and it remains as tight and firmly in place as it was when it was first assembled. I haven’t had the need to ship this canvas out yet ( though we’re leaving Idaho Falls sooner than we thought, so I’ll be packing it up in a few weeks! ), but I’ll post an update to let you know how it went.**
**Update! The 36×36 painting shipped easily across the country from Idaho to South Carolina for only $45 including insurance. It arrived safely with no damage to the painting and was reassembled and ready to hang in minutes! I’ve ordered 4 more Genie Canvases. 😉
In the meantime, I’ll share the finished work I created on my Genie Canvas—
This 36×36 painting is a sneak peek of the body of work I’m creating for my solo show at Art & Light Gallery in March, Latitude. I’ll be sharing more sneak peeks and info on the Latitude show and series over the next few months. Stay tuned!
**Update: originally I enthusiastically recommended this product and after this initial experience, over the next 3 years I purchased over 24 canvases in various sizes from Genie Canvas. At first, I was happy with the product as it made shipping affordable but as time went on, I began to notice slips in quality– canvases were arriving with dirty edges and one of the art consultants I worked with told me there was an issue with the canvases not being square (which caused an issue with framing for her client). I brought this to the attention of the owner of Genie Canvas in an email, to which I didn’t get a response. We are all busy so I didn’t think much of the lack of response and I continued to purchase canvases from him until two incidents happened which brought to the forefront for me that these were no longer a reliable product– A canvas ordered for a commission came in with a very large flaw on the surface of the canvas and the stretchers were noticeably bowed when the center structural support was added. Then, a finished canvas was sent to a gallery and one of the canvas stretchers broke in two– again caused by the center support placing too much torque on the other stretchers. I debated whether to update this review, not wanting to seem petty or mean spirited but I cannot in good conscience allow this review to be on my site without an update of my experience with this product.
All I can say is buyer beware. –Lesley
Genie Canvas sent me one of their products free of charge for review. All opinions are my own.
We aren’t all outdoorsy and it can truly be a challenge to give up the luxuries of beds and showers for a few days. But if you’ve never strapped on a pack and walked into the wilderness, as an artist, I can tell you the benefits will far outweigh the short term sacrifices. I have a love/hate relationship with backpacking. The whole no toilet/no shower thing isn’t my fave. Neither is carrying a big pack while hiking. However, I love the feeling of being on the trail, sleeping under the stars.
Last weekend, Mr. F and I took off into the Grand Tetons for a night and it got me thinking of all the ways backpacking can benefit us as artists.
A literal change of scene.
Artists tend to be solitary creatures. We toil away in our studios, sometimes forgetting to go out, eat, even talk to other human beings. We can get so wrapped up in what is going on within those four walls that we begin to overthink, overwork. Backpacking is a fantastic way to get a change of scene, to physically and psychologically distance yourself from the work. You’ll go back to it with a refreshed vision.
Quiet your mind.
No iMac. No iPad. No iPhone. The only I is you. Getting out and leaving technology and distractions behind, allows your mind time to calm. As your feet take you down the trail, your mind is free to wander, to look up, look down, look around and notice the beauty in the three dimensional world around you. You may even find new ideas flowing fast and furious thanks to a bit of peace and quiet.
Find room to breathe.
Those four walls I mentioned earlier? They can be suffocating. Especially when tied to pressure, responsibility, deadlines, all that adult stuff that goes along with being an artist. The longer you hike, the farther you go into the wild, the farther away from those four walls, the more air you’ll feel going into your lungs. Despite the weight of a pack, you feel lighter than air, your only concern is one foot in front of the other. There is finally room to breathe.
For the inspiration.
This one seems obvious, especially if like me, you are an artist for whom nature is your muse. But even if what you do isn’t remotely involved with nature, there are still mountains of inspiration to be attained. Watch the changing light, notice the textures and shapes at play, the juxtapositions of color. I dare you to come away uninspired.
For the adventure.
How often do we get to go on adventures? Our grown up days are usually filled with the monotony of errands and responsibilities. Backpacking will get you back in touch with your inner Huck Finn. There is adventure and possibility around every bend in the trail. Tackling a grocery store run with kids in tow will seem like a piece of cake once you’ve climbed steep switchbacks with a pack on your back.
If you get the chance, take to the trail. Your legs might hate you but your mind, your spirit, and your work will thank you.
All images by Lesley Frenz. Images from the Top of the World trail to Marion Lake and Granite Canyon, Grand Teton National Park.
Every person’s cage is of a different sort. We may feel trapped by our jobs, our circumstances, even the things that we own. Even the most opulent and luxurious of places can seem like a prison. As I begin contemplating a new body of work, I’ve been thinking a lot about the idea of freedom, of space to move. A feeling of space doesn’t necessarily correlate to a large building– depending on our state of mind, we can feel more free in a tiny studio than an extravagant mansion.
For us, feeling confined correlates with traffic and overpopulation. We feel most free surrounded only by trees and mountains. But for you, it might be different. The thought of being out in the wide open wild might seem incredibly imprisoning. The important thing is to be able to identify what it is that makes you feel free and then run headlong straight for it.
Paintings above by artist Bradley Wood. To see more of his work, please visit his website.
