Happy Monday, Artsies! Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend. Or are you one of the lucky ones who gets a President’s Day holiday? We’re totally jealous!
Our weekend was full of ups and downs– Let’s get the bad stuff over first.. The Downs: Discovering a hole in the kitchen sink pipe of our rental Friday night ( yikes! ), the Disneyland like atmosphere of wineries in Temecula made us miss Oregon even more, crowds at the local breakfast joints on Sunday ( where did all the people come from?? ), still no working sink Sunday night ( the dishes are piling up! )
The Ups: Attending the Palms Springs Fine Art Fair on Friday, a day filled with wine tasting in Temecula on Saturday, discovering less crowded, out of the way wineries, soaking up the warmth on the back porch with Mr. F & a cocktail on a restful Sunday. I’d say The Ups outweighed the The Downs for sure!
[ Carole Feuerman greeting at the Palm Springs Fine Art Fair ]
[ Aldo Chapparo, Robert Kelly, Oli Sihoven ]
[ totally needed some of this over the weekend ]
[ art candy by Klari Reis ]
[ wine, wind, wonderful ]
[ hmm.. which do we want? ]
[ Dr. Evil cherub ]
[ the Foragers love a game of bocce ]
[ warmth of the sun ]
Hope you had a lovely weekend, Artsies! Lots more photos from the Palm Springs Art Fair, Temecula, and more from This Artsy Life on the Artsy Forager Instagram feed! And tons of loveliness coming your way this week, including the opening of our very first online show, City Mouse | Country Mouse in the Found Gallery! Such exciting stuff I can’t stop using exclamation points! 😉
After what has seemed like a busy few months, and with Mr. Forager fighting a cold, we welcomed a weekend at home in Joshua Tree. A weekend at home for us is the chance to enjoy simple indulgences like reading and chatting over a second pot of coffee and getting our creative juices flowing which, for me involves paint and for Mr. F, involves malts & hops in the form of a newly brewed Oatmeal Cookie Stout. I am keeping my fingers crossed that it tastes as good as the name sounds! We’ll know in a few more weeks.. We also stopped by the Joshua Tree ArtWalk for a while on Saturday night. Small town ArtWalks don’t take long to see– we were still in bed by 10pm! Now that’s a good weekend. 😉
[ downtown Joshua Tree ]
[ weekends are for coffee ]
[ catching up on what’s happening in my hometown ]
For what was supposed to be a relaxing weekend at home, we kept ourselves pretty busy! But isn’t it when we finally rest our souls that we find ourselves filled with creative energy? More on how I’m getting my creative mo-jo back later.
**See more from photos from This Artsy Life on my Instagram feed. Come follow me!
In the book I’m currently reading, The Opposite of Fate, author Amy Tan writes a great deal about the concept of fate, how much of what happens is in our own control or predetermined or even mere chance? In that same vein, how much control does an artist truly have in the creative process? Yucca Valley, CA artist William Loveless takes his own chances with the action & reaction of his materials in his series of glue paintings, which I first saw ( and fell in love with ) last weekend at The Red Arrow Gallery here in Joshua Tree.
#116 ( Resonance Strategy ), mixed media on panel, 36×36
Through this work, Loveless is able to “probe the intersection where the creative act meets the mystery of creation itself. Through experimentation with materials and their various autonomous interactions, I seek an organic empathy with the complex patterns and processes of the physical world.”
#12-53, mixed media on panel, 3.5×3.5×1.5#12-13, mixed media on panel, 3.5×3.5×1.5
Although the primary way in which the materials will react is known, what cannot be foreseen is the unique end result of every interaction. The final result being a record of a unique synergy to be found between the materials in that one moment.
#1204, mixed media on panel, 10x10x1.5
I see these interactions as similar to the way in which we connect with the world around us. Each moment we exist is a unique interchange between other individuals, other creatures, and the world around us.
To see more of William Loveless’s work, please visit his website/blog. If you’re Southern California, you can see his work in Culver City, in the exhibition ELEMENTal at Fresh Paint Art and in Joshua Tree at The Red Arrow Gallery.
While most of the time I’m drawn to saturated “happy” color, occasionally my soul calls out for a little moody darkness. So when I laid my eyes upon the work of photographer Sarah Johanna Eick at The Red Arrow Gallery here in Joshua Tree, the quiet power in the work took hold of me and I just had to feature her in my Artist Watch over on Escape Into Life today ( see the EIL post here ).
From The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing series by Sarah Johanna Eick
It seems like every Fall when the Open Studios and Art Tours gear up we seem to just miss them. So I was elated to know we would be able to spend a Saturday checking out some of the local work Joshua Tree and the surrounding communities have to offer. A day spent seeing new places, meeting artists , getting a peek inside their studios and process– what could be better?! Wanna go along for the ride? Buckle up. Safety first in the Artsy mobile!
Not MY Artsy mobile, but someone else’s spotted in Joshua Tree
Our first stop took us down a few long, lonely dirt ( OK, sand, really ) roads. We hoped the trek would be worth it. And when we came upon Judy Wold’s studio, something told me it would be.
Outside Judy Wold’s studio
Judy and her husband Bob live in Santa Monica, but the desert keeps drawing them in, allowing them to enjoy the best of both worlds. We were greeted warmly and with mimosas ( my favorite kind of hello! ). Her little abode/studio is tucked away from the rest of Joshua Tree, overlooking an undeveloped valley and a spectacular view of the mountains to the north.
Views around Judy Wold’s studio
Mr. Forager and I fell hard for the painting in the bottom right above. My photo doesn’t do it justice– it was full of color, depth and texture in person. We’re contemplating a purchase..
If you’ve ever been on an Art Tour, you know that artists not only open their studios, but utilize other spaces to create make-shift galleries. Judy’s Airstream guest room turned gallery was our fave. It had just the right boho vibe. Definitely got our wheels turnin’!
Wold’s Airstream gallery/guest room
Next we ventured out to Twenty-Nine Palms to check out some work that had looked a bit interesting in the brochure.. unfortunately, the photo was very deceiving and I found the building to be much more interesting than the art inside. Bummer.
Artsy building filled with so-so art. Art Tour number obliterated to protect the innocent.
Back to Joshua Tree we went, this time heading to the South and the studio of wood sculptor Mark Doolittle. This artist is one of those fascinating creatives that begins in a largely left-brained profession ( biomedical research ) then transforms into a beautifully creative artist.
Symbiosis, amboyna burl and basswood with bubinga base, 32x33x6. George Post, photographer.Mark Doolittle’s work bench and the fossils that inspire him
In talking with Mark, he related to us how he was always struck by the aesthetic beauty in microbiology. The same quiet, patient methodology needed to work in the biomedical world equips him with the ability to spend hours carving meticulously. Truly phenomenal work!
A few more stops, among them an installed re-creation of Western Motel by Edward Hopper, created and installed by Jenifer Palmer-Lacy and the studio of Marjorie Franklin and Janis Commentz ( click on the artists’ names to check out their websites! ) One of our last stops was the home & studio of Karine Swenson. Her paintings of desert wildlife really enchanted me, as did her postings throughout of random facts regarding her work and her process.
One of Karine Swenson’s rabbits with a little note about her process
What I love most about this kind of outing is the conversation. Not only with the artists, but with Mr. Forager. Coming from outside the art world, he looks and questions with a different perspective, one that always makes me stop and think. Hope you enjoyed this little virtual Art Tour as much as I enjoyed the real one.
Quick question for my readers– Would you like to see more posts like this in addition to artist features?
As you may have noticed, I’ve been a bit absent from Artsy Forager for the past two weeks as Mr. Forager and I made our way from Coeur d’Alene, ID to our new temporary home in Joshua Tree, CA. We spent nearly two weeks on the road, seeing sights and visiting with friends. I’m trying to get my bloggin’ groove back today and will be back in full Forager mode on Tuesday! Until then, I thought you might enjoy a few postcards our trip!
Bryce Canyon, UtahSouth Rim of the Grand Canyon, ArizonaSan Diego Museum of Art, Balboa Park, San Diego, CASunny Jim Cave, LaJolla, CAArt on the back fence of our little house in Joshua Tree, CA
![This Artsy Life: Weekend 7 [ Art, Wine, & Who Really Cares About the Rest? ]](https://artsyforager.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/20130218-110955.jpg)
![This Artsy Life: Weekend 6 [ Artsy & Mr. Forager Make Stuff & Walk Some Art ]](https://artsyforager.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/20130211-115502.jpg)
