As always, I hope to make more than one post a month, but hey. It least I did make one for this month!
On some levels this month is a happy month. The holidays of course, my birthday was really fun, and this month has been a bit less stressful, at least for me, than previous ones.
Unfortunately, I'm about to loose my main art gallery. Art & Soul By Phoebe Gallery in Muncie will be closing at the end of the year. Because of its positioning in downtown Muncie, gallery owner Phoebe Wantz is keeping it open to watch the Muncie-version of the New Years Eve ball drop, and then after that: gone.
Phoebe had a stroke at the beginning of November. It was a small one, thank God, and she seems to be doing MUCH better even just a month later. She had to miss the First Thursday opening of her November show and alot of her great friends pitched in to run the gallery in her absence. In the end though, there's no arguing with doctor's orders: The gallery had to close to relieve some of the stroke-causing stress.
There was talk of maintaining the gallery as a co-op and there's talk of an online gallery or some quarterly shows to be hosted by various venues in Muncie. The co-op was unobtainable, but I do look forward to future projects with Phoebe. She's a force to be reckoned with, and no dumb stroke will slow this lady down for long!
We had our final First Thursday show at Phoebe's in Muncie on December 2nd, my birthday. It was bittersweet: The bitter being the last show there, and the sweet that is so much that has come from it. I sold a painting! "Pylons" is no longer on the market! I'm so happy for that. (For the next week, the four remaining windmills are still on display at Phoebe's, but they come down December 17th--Go see!) My other Muncie friends, Debra Dragoo and Michael DuQuette had a joint show at the 111 Arts Gallery in downtown Muncie. It was called "Dirty Words and Pretty Faces," with the Dirty Words being art that Michael created featuring (very prominantly) cuss words in an artful form and the Pretty Faces being Debra's collection of, well, pretty faces (colorful paintings of women, almost in a folk-art style--Debra--forgive me if that's a wrong assessment, I'm not too good at pinning down styles!). It was a cool venue, I think by day it's a tattoo shop.
I'm not done with Muncie. No way. I'm slated to be the featured artist at The Artist Within there next March. AND if I remember to bring my camera for reference photos, I hope to have a whole bunch of new stuff, with a special theme, but I'm not leaking any hints yet. Those that need to know, for now, now.
I wouldn't be done with Muncie anyway. Last January, I had my first show at Phoebe's. I've only been out there and showing for a year. I saw a posting on Craigslist, a call for artists, and responded and she gave me a shot. Now, it's a year later. All the shows I've had! Clowes! Phoebe's! I've got a Facebook fan page and this art blog and my work has gotten out there! That's all I really set out to accomplish and I did it. I'm so happy for that and so thankful for that first shot. I'm still shy about my work a bit, I'm still nervous when trying to find new places to show, but I'm not as nervous, my confidence is way better. So, thank you, Phoebe Wantz! Thank you so much! (I know, I've said this to you in person many times, but hey, one more on the internets never hurts).
I'm working on other shows; it pretty much seems to be accepted that the art world slows down around here when winter hits. At least it seems like it. This December has been freaking harsh, single digits just for funzies. I don't blame people for wanting to stay indoors and not go out to see stuff! So its a good time to reorganize and see what's where.
I have a really cool event coming up in January, but I don't think I can talk about it just yet. But, when I found out, let's just say there were many happy dances involved. I know, I know a big horrible hint, but I'm smiling ear-to-ear and that's all I'm going to say so I don't jeopardize the opportunity.
I've started making greeting cards featuring my art and they're doing very well! I'm so happy for that! So yeah, again, if you would like a pack o' cards, they're 6 for $5 and you can either just get a pack of randoms or you can select which 6 images you'd like and I'll bundle them into a pack. Still, I've got over 100 works (yeah...I paint fast.) I like to say they're like Pokémon: Gotta Catch'em All! I have a sample pic in the previous entry and over on Facebook, you can message me there (or shoot me an email, subject: greeting cards) if you'd like to order some. I ship too, or deliver if its within a reasonable distance.
Got to make the annual trip to the Motherland (Illinois--not Russia) for Thanksgiving. I usually try to go around my birthday and it works out that it was so close to that holiday. I took some pictures of my recent favorite subject matter. That's right. Return of the windmills. This time in watercolor. I painted three, smaller pics this time, and one shows them at night. I'll get pics as soon as possible to post.
And, I'm having a SPECIAL SALE!! I have priced 13 works down to $25! Why? Well, basically, because I have 100 Pokémon/I mean, art works that take up space. So I figured this was a good way to make some room. I paint too fast, they stack up too fast, and I'm not going to quit painting, so they're priced $25. They're marked in the Facebook photo album as SPECIAL SALE and they're all types: Acrylic, Pastel, Watercolors. Once again, shoot me a message if one catches your eye and we'll arrange. Thanks!
In the mean time, I've been hanging out at the Art Bank in Indianapolis on First Fridays. I don't have any work there, but have made quite a few artist friends among those that do. It's such a fun gallery, and over all wonderful vibe and the art's amazing. I highly suggest checking it out!
Next month: I don't know! haha Probably updates on the upcoming Muncie Show and we'll see what else happens. Because this time last year, I never would have guess I would have written about all that I have so far!
