returning to the web

i've mostly not been posting here because of the tremendous health issues i have faced since 2008. all my energy went into either healing or making art. i did continue to promote my work and it continues to be accepted in san francisco and berkeley. but my health issues have made my mixed media work nearly impossible. and i felt to tender to be sharing all the details of my limitations.

Probably the most exciting even of 2009 when i accompanied my husband to a old time music gathering in Centrailia Washington. Morey played music to his hearts delight and i had all the time in the world to experiment with some fabric "inks" i found. it was so funny when people passing out site responded to my test patches as though the were art! ok people were drinking alot, that likely explains it.

So now that it's 2010 (don't you just love saying "twenty-ten"?)" i'm rapidly recovering from the latest challenge i'm feeling strong enough to share with strangers again.

the image at right is from the campout. we were staying in a sheep pasture and there was plenty of rusting farm equipment throughout the fields. this is me celebrating the sun set while getting up close and personal with a tractor. it was fantastic to watch the light twist and turn while i worked my lensbaby. i was astonished to see the light curve in two or three directions at once!

getting my work out there!

it's been such a busy time! i'm really getting my work out there and feeling good about the positive feedback i'm receiving. this month my work will be in three galleries and a coffee shop. two shows have been juried by real artists! one by the guy who owns the coffee shop. so i have some smaller works at the intimate Cafe Musica in the Mission at 564 South Van Ness Ave., San Francisco CA. 94110 415-834-5804 - artist's reception to be announced.

the theme this month at Frank Bette Community Art Center. 1601 Paru Street, Alameda, CA 94501 is "What if ..." and the opening is the Second Friday of July, July 10th 7-9 pm - i have a dreamy beach piece in that show.

i'm also very proud to have one of my newest pieces "flying leaf" accepted in the 2009 National Juried Exhibition at ACCI Gallery 1652 Shattuck Ave Berkeley, CA, 94709 Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday, 11- 6; Saturday, 10 - 6; Sunday, 12 - 5. re-read that slowly. not only is it Juried, it's National. that means my work was among a small group chosen among a national wide applicant pool! in fact they told me there were over 900 entries! and a mere 76 pieces chosen! So please come to that opening Also on July 10th - 6-9 pm.

And finally my most exciting news is that i've juiried into the artists' coop at City Art which is also in the Mission at 828 Valencia Street near 20th Street. i will take part in the next show with several brand new pieces. the opening is July 3rd 7 -10 pm be there!

I will post some examples of my new work very soon!

better late than never

yes i know it's been what 5 months! but better late than never. in case you weren't sure - no Morey couldn't come but i put him there with this van morrison song

big sur

Morey and i spent several days in big sur a few weeks ago. we stayed in some cabins that had little kitchen and sat right on the river. we had a tiny deck off the kitchen and a skylight in the shower.
i brought my new toys with me and spent some time getting to know how the new anti lenses work. i had a zone plate and a keyhole optic for the lensbaby. these drop into the composer i've mentioned earlier. they are 50 mm focal length; Pinhole: f/177; Zone Plate f/19. these are TINY apertures. you can't see a thing in normal light when you look thru the lens! you must take long exposures. so i used the preview more than usual and took a million shots til i got an idea of what is going on. there is also a color shift because bright colors have higher (faster??) light waves so the light colors hit the capture sensor many more times than the darker colors. for example, it you were shooting a black and white subject the white would hit the sensor so many more times than the black that the white image spills over to the black and it looks ghost like. the color shit comes about when you have colors that tend to occur and certain frequencies, like yell0w tends to be fast and dark blue is very slow. but these colors make up most of the oranges and pinks and have an impact on green and magenta. skeptical? try it in photo shop. just try turning on and off the channels in a color image and see how surprised you are!
actually, i just messed with the channel mixer for several of these and while i'm right there's a color shift i may not be at all right about which way it's shifting!
so i'm still trying to decide if i like the images i captured!

back to work in baby steps

i have found it hard to get back to work both physically and emotionally. i still don't have quite enough energy and i feel like i really lost ground. not only ground but my camera equipment! yes when i moved back to berkeley i hit a snag - someone stole my camera backpack - which had every last thing in it because of the move. my insurance company found a way to only cover about half of the loss. not even the price of a new Rebel - let alone all the equipment lenses, gadgets, silk clothes, tripod, filters, battery charger, home current adapter and the backpack itself which was a really good one, lightweight with excellent padding and a perfect hip belt.
so even though that was about 6 months ago i have not even begun to make up the loss. economic times being what they are neither channuka nor my birthday were excuses for big spending so it's been slow.
i did get the new rebel and i got a lensbaby composer - thinking i'm still to weak for all the physical challenges of the squeeze box experience of the original lensbaby. and a small tripod. for my birthday my mom got me more new lensbaby equipment, so i have enough to get going again.
the tough work is submitting for shows and getting my stuff organized. both my digital files and my art equipment are a mess. ah well here's something i took a little bit ago it's looking straight down as usual, so i'm not sure if i should display it vertically or not.

Open Studio 2008

Come to Open Studio 2008 Saturday and Sunday October 11th and 12th (11am - 6pm)!!
2169 20th Avenue, San Francisco, Ca. In the Sunset near Beautiful, if foggy, Ocean Beach!

daydreaming arts is proud to be able to participate in ArtSpan's SF Open Studios after kayla's incredible year of recovery from her bone marrow transplant and renewed creativity!

Come see kayla's All New Art invoking bold, vivid life or peaceful serenity, a look at details of our world reinterpreted through kayla's personal vision. This year kayla all new work includes 13 full sized prints, framed up to 26" x 32"; several all new mixed media found object pieces; and a growing collection of wearable art. Many of kayla's original collection will be on display, as well as work that has yet to be framed and works in progress.

This year's Open Studio is a celebration of Life and Health. In keeping with that theme daydreaming arts is sponsoring free massages to all visitors on Saturday by Sarah who just completed her massage certificate.

On Sunday there will be Musical Entertainment by Morey and from 4-6 we will finish with a gathering of old time-blue-grass-folk musicians answering our open call to jam.

Also on Sunday from 1-3 kayla will demonstrate several of her artistic processes including hands on opportunities to work with the Lensbaby, Photoshop, silk printing and more.

This year Sarah has found her ability to help others through massage has been satisfying and stimulating. On her way to a career as a massage therapist, which can support all her creative endeavors, daydreaming arts is proud to sponsor her debut!

Morey has pursued his interest in music by regularly getting together with various Bay Area musicians. It's so inspiring to be part of such a talented family creating a joyful environment for me to heal and create in!

So it's fully fitting that they should help celebrate my new art. Please come and be a part of this delightful family growth. (Avi is off at college but was home for part of the summer learning to play the banjo and doing my heavy lifting so he contributed to the flow too!)

thanks,
kayla garelick
daydreaming arts
vist my new website at http://daydreamingarts.net
get directions at google: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=2169+20th+ave+san+francisco&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=47.215051,83.320312&ie=UTF8&z=16&iwloc=addr

Open Studio 2008

Everyone is invited to come to my Open Studio for 2008! Organized by ArtSpan

San Francisco Open Studios occur throughout October, with different neighborhoods open each weekend. my studio is in The Sunset and we are open Oct 11th and 12th 11 am to 6 pm.

daydreaming arts studio is located at 2169 20th Avenue Just off of Route 1.

I have so much new work this year it's very exciting getting ready. I will have 13 brand new oversized abstract photos framed and hung for presentation and a mountain of new prints that have not yet been framed.
You can see these at my new website, daydreamingarts.net

I also have mixed media work including several new silk works such as hand printed scarves, wall hangings and a new "found art" window with a silk montage and beach elements.

for my photographic prints i always use the original capture, but for the mixed media and silk i enjoy creating montages with those images so this work has a surreal impression. The picture on the right is one such montage that i used one my latest window.

Is it attachment or motivation?

Five years ago i had aggressive chemo for AML and was confined to one hospital room during treatment. the first round was 30 days, the second a bit longer and the last stay was 45 days. throughout each stay i longed to go outside. Morey brought me books about the high country and pictures of the great outdoors. Mom read to me from a travel book where a fellow wandered throughout Kansas on foot.

My longing became one of my motivations for getting better. (my family and art were others.) it combined with memories of the joys of hiking and camping, and my renewed desire to create art and share it.

Likewise the restrictions on fresh fruits and veggies, created a longing to be strong enough to enjoy these normal everyday pleasures.

the restrictions kept me healthy by keeping me safe from germs, fungus and viruses, but also served to deepen my appreciation of a healthy life. this longing was part of my fight, i longed for green grass between my toes more than i longed to lay peacefully in God's embrace.

i’m wondering about this longing as a positive motivation in contrast to longing which is unhealthy, little green monsters of envy, disruptive attachment. what is the difference. how do i know when my heart pulls me toward the light or toward the dark when i don’t know what direction i am facing?

according to Pema Chodron who has written some wonderful books like “the places that scare you,” the difference between positive motivation and negative attachment or desire is completely discernible by us mortal. Each of us is capable of listening to our heart. staying with the longing long enough to determine it’s true nature and weather it’s positive or negative.

when i first read this about three or four years ago i felt betrayed because i wanted a clear cut answer! but after all the work i’ve been doing getting in touch with the base of many of my obsessions, i feel that i too can tell the difference. for me one clue is listening to my body. if my jaw is tense, even a fraction, if there are butterflies in my stomach, then it’s likely a little green monster is near.

i also listen to the child’s voice in me. is she resentful? feeling cheated or deprived? or is she feeling joyful or sweet satisfaction when imagining reaching the goal?

i think i can react either way to the same situation. locked away from nature i could be an angry and resentful child counting the days, dreaming of breaking the rules. or i could be a joyful child imagining the freedom to run on the beach, reaching into physical memories of fun in the sun to create a moment of imagined pleasure. which amounts to pleasure when you are stuck in a hospital bed!

Sometimes i can even change the course of this. if i feel the physical tension, heard the resentful child and i can sit with it long enough to really acknowldge it, to feel the source, the base of fear, and sooth that by thinking how safe and loved i am now, then sometimes i can change my reaction overall.

so now when i think of being deprived fresh fruit and lightly steamed greans i think how comforting the over cook veggies of the 50s were, how comforting a baked apple can be (even if’ it’s “baked” in the microwave! while still seeing the raw food as a reward down the road for when i’m health again.

peace
kayla

imagining the future

I have not posted since the open studio, as that was the last big thing i did in my art career because of my health. I will be having a stem cell transplant, likely next month.

Imagining the future has been so hard that even considering submitting to a show would cause me to freak out. would i be available to bring in the art if i were accepted? Something else less well defined is tearing at my heart. when i got sick again, i suddenly took a look at all the activities i'd engaged in as part of marketing and entering the art world and as i looked back i felt i'd gone astray and i wanted time to think about my direction. all i wanted in the beginning was to share my work and have people appreciate it. but then so many materialistic concerns began to pull and twist till i was beating up my mind and body working too hard for a goal that had become so unclear.

Being sick has really put a damper on my ability to work. i'm too tired to manage the physical challenges of a shoot, i've only done two small ones in all these months, and i don't have the will to work on any mixed media stuff around the house.

Today something weird happened. I was talking with my girlfriend Julie who had been such an inspiration to me last winter in admiring my work and encouraging me to submit to the TV of Tomorrow show. We were talking about everything under the sun as we usually do when suddenly she was talking about my immense talent and how galleries should be representing me. She starts rattling off the names of galleries she thinks i'd do well in and how they can get prices that i don't even imagine. I was floured by the complement that she thought my work should be in galleries. I thought i had i long ways to go.

The idea of galleries representing me fills me with tingles! I've been concerned about ways in which i can share my work when i don't think i'll ever be able to hang my own show again. but if i was represented by a gallery i'd never lift finger! well ok it's not that much a cinderella story but still, ... she's got me imagining a brighter future!
thanks Julie!

Kayla's Open Studio Oct 13 & 14

To all my Art Lovers and Friends:
Yes it's been a whole year since the last Open Studios here in San Francisco.

Next weekend The Sunset and surrounding neighborhoods will be having Open Studios. Come see my most recent fine art photography, which focuses on the spiritual in the material world. I also have some handmade books, and wall & window hangings that utilize my photography.

Kayla's Open Studio
Oct 13 & 14, 2007 at
2169 20th Ave., San Francisco, Ca, 94116

Part of the fun of open studios is seeing works in progress. I have been experiment with many forms of mixed media and going through and exploratory and playful period with working with encaustics, polymer clays, incorporating real objects of nature into these works. Feedback on these experiments is very valuable to me so come see the process and give your opinions.

Because i have been diagnosis with a second serious bone marrow cancer and will have to go through a bone marrow transplant soon, i feel a strong urge to share my work this last time before i undergo this procedure which will likely keep me busy for the next year. I feel that the work that I've done will be complete when it hangs in homes and spreads the joy! I will continue making art - it brings me so much satisfaction - but i will not have the energy to have open studios or continue to submit to galleries for quite some time.

So please come by. Prices are deeply discounted to facilitate spreading the deep connection with nature that i hope my work creates. 10% of sales will be donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma society. http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/ who do so much to support research and public understanding of bone marrow diseases, while providing practical assistance to patients and family. I love this organization!

Go here if you want information on my disease (MDS):
http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/all_page?item_id=55442

My Heath Story and more information on MDS and Bone Marrow transplants:
http://daydreamer.pnn.com/2713-health-and-wellness
See some of My Art: http://daydreamer.pnn.com/2103-the-art-page (explains spiritual connections and http://daydreamingarts.blogspot.com/ discusses process

October 13 - 14th 2169 20th Ave., San Francisco, Ca. 94116
use google maps to get directions: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&time=&date=&ttype=&q=2169+20th+Ave,+San+Francisco,+San+Francisco,+California+94116,+United+States&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=71.064097,111.972656&ie=UTF8&lr=lang_en&cd=1&geocode=0,37.747299,-122.477098&ll=37.747355,-122.476251&spn=0.008908,0.013669&z=16&om=1

Noe Valley Show at Gallery Sanchez Opens

The opening at the Gallery Sanchez in the Noe valley Ministry yesterday was a very nice event. I really enjoy working with this group of artists from the Sunset, we are an interesting mix of ages and life experience. The space is really lovely, hi ceilings and loft feeling with out being overly religious. Although The Noe Valley Ministry is a church with crosses etc here and there, it's also an active community center where various groups meet including a Jewish Group and the have regular musical performances. I also really enjoyed having time to talk in depth with the other artists about our plans and dreams.
This piece, One Leaf, is part of the show at Gallery Sanchez. It was taken on a drizzly / foggy day at Fort Funston. It's special to me because of the subtleties in it. The smooth shading indicating the shape of the leaf in the softened background and the intense yellows and oranges on the leaf edge as the plant reacted to the pressures of the weather on the bluff. The part that clinches the deal for me is the curve of the edge and how seductive it's path through the image is.

hanging the show in Noe Valley

today we are hanging the show in Noe Valley Ministry, Gallery Sanchez. hanging shows can be a long, complicated process and it'd be great if i could do all this faster. i will be helping to hang the Altered barbie show and i can't be this methodical, i will have to think on my feet as artist bring in last minute changes.
my current belabored process started over a month ago when i got the dimensions for my share of the space in the gallery. At that point i was submitting my work to a couple of shows and planning on submitting to a few more so i made a master plan of what was going to be where. i had to settle all this in my mind before sending out my image to be included in the publicity for Noe Valley.
so i thought about the themes for the other shows and then thought about coherence for this show. i decided that certain pieces were definitely going to other shows and could not be included in this mix. decided the Yosemite image was the anchor for the Noe Valley show. I thought it made a good publicity photo because it's hi contrast, recognizable even shrunk down, and people had responded so well to it at the Art on the Avenues show.
next i did the math to figure how many framed images could fit in my Noe Valley space allotment. I had not yet unpacked everything from the Art on the Avenues show, so i started pulling out pieces and sorting them. propping them up around the house (my studio was too small for all this visual thinking). finally the idea of green/blue tan and blue came together and i started selecting sand, ocean, and greenish blue plant images, mixing vertical and horizontal work.
next i began to draw layouts of the famed pieces on my section of wall. my first layout was just six pictures, but it looked sparse when i used my graph paper to put things in scale. so i tried other combinations. i stopped when i had a fairly settled idea.
yesterday i took up Debra's suggestion and measured out the 5x7 space on my floor and laid out the actual framed images on the floor. good thing too because some of my frames are a tiny but bigger than others and that made a big difference in my little plan! i tried moving them about but eventually found it too physically demanding to avoid stepping on them and bending over so much (i've been a bit under the weather). so i went back to drawing on my graph paper. I should have used a pencil because i changes my mind so many times and made a bit of a mess with my pen. this morning before i pack them up to take over to the gallery i will clean them and lay them out on last time.
so i could improve by:
being organized through keeping a folder or searchable database of images of what's in frames now so i can sort thru the images on the computer to help me choose rather than moving them about the house;
deciding faster through confidence in my decisions;
being more accurate, through knowing the actual dement-ions of my work and using a calculator;
being sensible by using a pencil and good eraser when drawing plans;
learning to use the computer for layouts (so that it's faster than drawing on paper which it's not now cuz i fumble through it) because designing on the computer will be more accurate and give me more visual feedback than my sketches on graph paper and be physically less demanding than laying the framed art out on the floor!
the reason for exploring process is to see where you can make changes and help others think about there own process.

"Patterns, Portions, and Pieces"

Patterns potions and pieces opens tonight at the Frank Bette Center for the arts in Alameda. I'm not even sure if i'm in it because ii was bad and forgot to call in yesterday. I hope folks can come to the First Friday Opening Gala July 6, 7-9 PM tonight at 1601 Paru Street Alameda, CA.

I have to explain the process of submittal and acceptance at FBCA so you can understand the previous statement. FBCA, like alot of community art centers, has many open calls. Every month they have a Theme which artists use to guide them in selecting what to bring in for the show. There is a drop ff day when we all bring in our work. there is no jury for these open shows (unlike Alameda on Camera), rather the pieces are selected as how well they all fit together to make a show. the process of the gallery is to go through all the pieces and begin to plan the hanging and as they do that the way the whole show will look gels in their minds. Then they hang the show. The artists call toward the end of the week and determine if they have something to pick up. Because we often drop off multiple pieces, we usually have to pick something up even if we are in the show. this process tends to keep these shows local, but it helps me to make it to the opening because i make one trip to pick up art and go to the opening.

Altered Barbie getting ready

Photo depicts "Barbie's Hood Ornament" by Leigh Radtke.
Well the Altered Barbie show is coming closer. I'm running like mad to get organized. the press release went out, the post card is at the printers I actually had some input, but mostly i fixed the issues with the logos for the sponsors in the press release.
this is just the sort of thing i'm good at. problem solving on the fly.
the first acceptances went out. there are actually some artists who don't have email and that makes it hard to contact them, snail mail is well, ... slow! so i won't publish all the names yet.
I actually made a spreadsheet - yeah i know!! this is tough for me of course with the dyslexia and all but i have to get some skills in this area. i need them for Frank Bette Center for the Arts too.

I went out and purchased the domain name for altered barbie and set it up with a real life server. there were lots of little bugs at first, several caused by my inexperience! but i worked it through with tech support.

So now i really have to update the Altered Barbie site and blog and our pnn.com interactive news site cuz so many details have firmed up. I also have to start adding artists pages and gather artists info for the book and website. Oh and the sponsers! (of which daydreaming arts is one!)

I love working on this show but i've been doing it pretty much non stop for two weeks now with just a short break to help with intake at Frank Bette last Sunday. Boy was that demanding!!! Also I did my shots but have yet to print them cuz my printer still hasn't arrived (another crazy story) and i've been working hard on helping Sarah with her dioramas. getting Barbie to stand up is really hard!!! Oh and Sarah and i were at the mall yesterday and we started planning what we will wear to the Barbie Ball, it's getting so exciting!!!!!
so i'm heading over to the blog right now.

Sunset Artists Noe Valley Show July 10th to August 18th

I'm excited to announce that I will be part of a group show of local San Francisco artists in the Gallery Sanchez of the Noe Valley Ministry 1021 Sanchez Street, near 24th St. San francisco Ca. Our artists reception will be Saturday July 14th from 2 to 4 pm. The other artists whose work will be hanging in the show include: Roger Thoms, Ann Eby, Kelsie Tinker, (who will also be in the Altered Barbie Show the end of this month) David Grote, Susan Grote, Voula Sideris, Kate Salenfriend, Kyla Johnk, Steve Dehlinger and Kate Dopheide two more Altered Barbie artists!!! small world huh?

The artists in this show are all part of the Sunset Artists Society which puts on the annual Art in the Avenues show at the County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park.

I'm looking forward to this show because I will have a large space to fill. Instead of just one or two pieces in a group show of many artists, we will each hang several pieces in a show with a small group of artists. I will have a section that is 7 feet wide, so the show will be more focused than the Art on the Avenues show where i hung over 30 pieces from the last year.
I'm also looking forward to the process of us hanging the show on Monday. I've planned the pieces I want to bring and I know I'll get lots of help from this great group of artists. Planning and hanging shows is an important thing to learn. Each time I feel more in control. Debra at the Frank Bette Center for the Arts in Alameda taught me to do my layout on the floor in the studio first!

Please come to the reception Sat July 14th 2-4 in the afternoon! I want to have a good turn out of friends and admirers to help fill the huge gallery space.

Capturing Light

i keep promising myself that i will post more often and get back to the real use of this blog which is to talk about my artistic process and teaching.
but first this commercial break. I have several shows coming up. in Petaluma at the Aurora Colors Gallery i will have my piece "Hooks" (from the Alameda on Camera collection) in their show: Capturing Light - Photography. it runs July 21st to August 18, 2007. the opening is Saturday July 21 6:30 -8:30 PM at Aurora Colors Gallery, 145 Kentucky Street, Petaluma, CA 94952. PLEASE COME! To contact the Gallery, call Vangie Pullins at (707)762-0131 or email events@auroracolors.com

"Hooks" is not the piece's real name, but the name is a joke and i didn't think it would be appreciated outside of the context of the Alameda on Camera show. the real name is "disappearing hooks" because of the crazy story that goes with the taking of the picture and it's aftermath. this is a story of process so i will share it here.

the Alameda on Camera event, you may remember, was a challenge to photographers to reflect their vision of their little corner of the City of Alameda. 40 photographers reached into a hat and grabbed 1/40th of the map of Alameda. they then spread out across the city to grab their visual impressions of that little corner of the map. we had but 48 hours in one weekend to capture the essence of our piece of Alameda.

i was lucky enough to draw a map piece that represented a part of Alameda that was mostly off limits! the Coast Guard, the Navy and a private community all posted signs making it clear i could be arrested for being there. So i was lucky to be forced to mostly focus on the few public areas available.

one public place was a short path by the canal where huge container ships come and go. at the end of the path was a dry dock where much smaller ships and boats we being worked on. between me and the work was a high chain link fence. so i began shooting all the junk that was hanging on the fence - you know i love junk. there was all sorts of stuff, paint roller minus the covering, parts and piece of things - - and then there were these fantastic hooks. i was drawn to them like love at first sight. but the footing was horrible and it took me forever to get into a secure position. the light was low, it was raining and i had a long lens on so i really needed to steady myself against a fairly long exposure.


finally ready to shoot, i'm interrupted by "ma'am can we help you?" from a couple of guys in hard hats and dusty work clothes. i back up from the work and turn on the charm, explaining all about the Alameda on Camera event and the Frank Bette Center for the Arts. i show them my ID around my neck and take out my little piece of map showing where we are and finally seem to make them comfortable. they tell me the hooks are illegal because they are broken and then move on. i return to the hooks, working to get myself positioned securely. the ground is uneven and muddy (it's still winter) and the angle of me, my long lens, the fence and the hooks is difficult.

right as i settle in, it happens again. i went through the whole explanation again. again they tell me how the hooks are illegal and finally moved on. i reposition myself, really getting to it as fast as i can. by now my back is killing me and my legs are quite put out. but when it happens a third time i manage to keep my humor and charm and go through the explanation all over again. this last pair (why are they always in twos?) took particular pains to explain why the hooks were illegal, pointing to the failures of safety features and insisting that they were not used. that's why they are on the fence you see. cuz they're broken and no one uses them. so i explain that i really like the colors and the textures of the peeling paint, and that i like that they are old and broken. they look at me like i'm nuts! finally, when they move off i move really fast (for me) and zero in on the hooks. then i move on to some mushroom growing nearby.

the next day i came back to the same spot before dawn and took some great shots of these folks working in the rain long before you could see well. when it was finally light enough, i left the path and went back to take more of the hooks, hopeful that i will be better able to take my time and make sure i have the shot. but look! they're gone! all the other junk is still hanging on the fence but the illegal hooks have disappeared! despite all my charm they did not believe for a minute that i was an artist, i had to be from the Government catching them with the illegal, disappearing hooks.

"Peaches and Cream" at FBCA

So the latest show at Frank Bette center for the arts is Peaches and Cream." I submitted a classic of mine (read not made in the year since i moved tothe sunset district). I call it bite because it integrates the natural "imperfection" which is nature getting along fine, bugs gotta eat!

Hall of Flowers show a great success!

I really had a wonderful time at the Hall of Flowers "Art on the Avenues" show. I really hope it's not the last one - it went so well! I sold some small things and one of my silk wall hangings so that i covered the money i spent on new frames for the show! not exactly a profit but there was so much more than money that i profited from. It's an incredible learning experience to Put together 32 new pieces for the past year and see how your work is developing. and then to spend two whole days looking at my work and the public's reaction to it. WOW. I can see where i will be heading next - but alas there are no words for what i saw!

Hall of Flowers Show this weekend!

June 2nd and 3rd from 10 am to 5 pm, at the "Hall of Flowers" in Golden gate Park which is on the corner of Lincoln and 9th Avenue. It's the Annual Art on the Avenues Show by the Sunset Artists Society, I'm so excited I have over 30 new pieces - all made in the last years since i've moved to the sunset. It seems like I've been so productive since i moved here and i wasn't finding time to frame everything so this forced me to! All week I've been matting and framing and this morning i finally got them all in boxes to take over and unload later today. I'm so excited! Everyone should drop by and see my new work!! Oh and there are 18 other Arts whos art iss pretty good if you ask me! it's a juried show after all.

Altered Barbie on the web

in addition to the blog for altered barbie http://alteredbarbie.blogspot.com/ I've made a whole new website for the show: http://alteredbarbie.home.comcast.net/ and a really cool site at pnn.com which is very multimedia and interactive alteredbarbie.pnn.com/ I've been immersed in barbie and pink. Now those who know me may be wondering what's going on here! well it's a fun change for me and i'm learning tons working from the inside out. so check it out. there's some fin videos at the blog and pnn already. go and make comments and let's all do barbie up right!! I especially love the Jack Spicer video "i'm a barbie girl in a barbie world, plastic plastic, its fantastic." "you can brush my hair, undress me everywhere!, imagination that is your creation!" "come on barbie let's go party!!!" the song is by Aqua. go barbie!! the other video just came up with a Barbie search at that video station and it's this very funny bit with a couple of young adults playing with a whole load of barbies. at the blog i have a couple of other videos from uTube. One has a whole country western thing going on. and it's really funny although maybe for different reasons for diff people - but the new "cross dresser ken" ready for the toy shelf is worth wading through the 70''s waitress.