Invitational Exhibit at Micropolis Gallery

So, as you can see, I was invited to show at Micropolis Gallery. The one with the butterfly is a detail of one of my paintings that will be in the show.

The opening is November 2, from 5pm to 7pm. I'll be there, of course.

It is in the town of Gloversville in upstate New York, a place renowned for its glove making back when Americans used to make the attire for the nation. It is also a town that my father and some of his students helped to re-design and revitalize.  

Some other artists I know of are Carol Law Conklin, Cheryl Gutmaker, Linda Hinkle, Lynda Naske, Mary Frances Millet and Judith Plotner. These are all really good artists and will also be at the opening. 

See you there!

the uncensored Valley Artisans Market interview with Debra Ann Salat

EMBROIDERED HAND
by DebraAnn Salat

I did an interview of DebraAnn Salat, but my questions, and some of the answers were rewritten by someone else (without conferring with me). This is the unadulterated version, which I think better reflects "a co-operative gallery interview" from member to member than the dry version that was published.

(A special thank you to DebraAnn Salat for the experience of interviewing her and her beautiful work)

L: I noticed when looking around the gallery, you have a theme going with hands. What do hands represent to you? 

DebraAnn: Hands represent life to me. They are pretty much at the center of every interaction, every connection. We use them to comfort, nurture, nourish, create, in love, even in anger. I like to use them in my art because they are simple but all life comes from them.

L: To me, when I look at your pieces, there is a message of healing and hope. That is the predominant message I receive. Then there are a lot of heart symbols: little sewn hearts with embroidery on them, and even framed work with hearts. Is there a message in this for us? Do you want a more compassionate world where people put healing one another, loving one another, and being thoughtful of one another ahead of other concerns? 

DebraAnn: I learned how to embroider during a very traumatic time period of my childhood. I have always used the needle arts as a soothing presence, as a meditation to bring peace and tranquility to my life. I like to translate that peace into my work so I am glad that you see them that way. Like most artists I use my art to express my emotions, be they peaceful or chaotic. I almost always end up in peace if I let myself go there. I would love a more compassionate world and think it would be if more people picked up an embroidery needle or a paintbrush.

L: Why did you choose embroidery as your medium? Like: why not painting, or drawing or another art form to express yourself? What is it about embroidery that holds a sway for you? 

DebraAnn: I have been embroidering since I was a 6 year old. Being an artist came much later in life. I can do more with an embroidery needle than I ever could with a paint brush, it's something I've been in love with since childhood. My embroidery is very organic, it starts out with a simple design that I hand draw but all the details come from a needle. It is why if you pick up two of my heart ornaments they may have the same subject but they are never identical. I also look at it as a meditation, a soothing of my soul.

L: How does embroidery make you the person that you are? How does embroidery and the imagery inform, or transform, your life? 

DebraAnn: Well it keeps me peaceful and even keeled. If I am embroidering all is right with the world. When I'm not embroidering I am an anxious kind of person and quite talkative, when I am embroidering I am at peace, quiet, contemplative. It transforms my life as it helps me to banish my demons. I process my feelings and create peace within myself. As I mentioned earlier I have always been embroidering something but it has taken on more importance since I have begun to self express this way. Since it has become an art rather than a craft.

L: Which brings me to my next question: how do you want your images to effect others? When they put up a framed piece on their wall, what kind of feeling would you like to transfer to them when they look at your work? 

Debra Ann: I would like them to feel peace and see the chaos of every moment. We live in a tangled twisty time period filled with emotions of all sorts, I'd like them to see the twisty turns of chaos come together to find peace. The hearts mean a lot to me because I tend to do them when I need them. If I need a little joy i embroider a little joy. If I need peace i embroider a little peace. They relate to people that way too. I had a piece accepted into a group show and while I was standing there a woman came up to me and said she loved my work which she had seen at VAM and had given one of my joy hearts to her sister who was quite ill so she could bring a little joy into her life. It was a huge light bulb moment that what I was hoping to accomplish I accomplished. It's one of the nicest compliments art related I have ever received.

L: I have been with you in this co-operative gallery for 5 years. To me, you represent the perfect example of a co-operative artist who is out for the group. You always have something sweet to say when a member is sick and needs a work replacement. You always inquire how people are feeling, and there is a general sense of warmness and concern for others in your personal make-up. Part of being in a co-operative is "talking other members' work up" with customers which you do with ease. I assume that these qualities come naturally to you, that you didn't have to "work at it" when you joined. I'd love to hear why you joined, and how you feel about the co-operative gallery experience as opposed to common galleries where you put your work on consignment? 

Debra Ann: I have a very good friend who is an artist here at VAM. I had a not so wonderful experience in another coop and she convinced me to jury and 5 years later I'm still here. I feel so honored to be part of Valley Artisan Market. The camaraderie and pure talent of everyone here has meant so much to me especially in the years following my divorce. It was quite painful and my fellow coop members were just so wonderful during that time. I feel blessed.

L: I notice that in the other part of your working life, you enjoy working with people, in a team. Who is the real Debra-Ann Salat? The hermit artist or the outgoing team player? Obviously you are both, but who predominates in your mind, do you think? 

Debra Ann: The real DebraAnn Salat is a contradiction. I'm a waitress in my other job which requires me to be outgoing, smiling and kind all the time. I'm a relatively happy person most of the time but I am also an empath which means I pick up other people's energy. I try to keep myself outgoing and smiling to counter others negative feelings. My art allows me to be a hermit and process my feelings and just be. I tried to just be an artist and found the isolation and lack of human interaction wasn't a very good thing for me so I'd have to say I'd like a healthy balance of both. Without my art I probably couldn't be a very good waitress and without human interaction I'd probably not be as good an artist.

L: Where would you like to see yourself in 2020 in terms of your work? What kinds of themes and concerns would you like express? Do you see yourself still making hearts and hands? 

Debra Ann: I'm hoping to still be able to make beautiful hands along with other things and still be making my hearts. Everybody needs a little heart to hang on their doorknob to remind them of what they love.

L: Are there any other things you would like to say about your work? 

Debra Ann: I am so thankful to my grandmother who taught me to embroider as a child. I make custom pieces and do bereavement work where I will finish an unfinished piece of hand embroidery or teach someone how to finish it themselves. I can be reached at VAM, or by telephone or email.

links for DebraAnn Salat:

BLOG: Tangled Stitch

ETSY

FACEBOOK PAGE

PINTEREST PAGE

GOOGLE PLUS PAGE

LINKED-IN PAGE

VALLEY ARTISANS MARKET BIO PAGE

Throwback Thursday with Jim Manngard

photo of me by Faith Brzostowski

artwork by Jim Manngard

© 2015

Jim Manngard made the art work of me from a photo from when I was sixteen. He made it for my birthday in May. He is a personal assistant and part of the sound team for the band, Blackmores Night. He takes many photos of the band. Here is just one from their facebook page. 

For the uninitiated, Blackmores Night is made up of Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple fame, a band that used to play huge stadiums, sometimes in front of hundreds of thousands of fans. Ritchie made a leap into playing Renaissance music in an innovative way with his wife, Candice Night. They also perform with band members.

And therein lies the connection: I sing and perform new interpretations of Renaissance music too. I produced a CD of Renaissance songs (called Wingd With Hopes, New Interpretations of Renaissance Songs) with Scott Petito (James Taylor, The Band, Aigne Minogue, Pete Seeger, Jay Unger and Molly Mason for Ken Burns PBS series). 

Jim Manngard has been working for Ritchie and Candice since the Deep Purple days and he is always taking photos and making artwork for the band (he also gets the photo perspectives from the stage area since he is running around trying to make sure the sound is working just as it should).

Here is one such photo he took of the band facing him backstage with their enthusiastic audience behind them:

So I feel blessed that I am sometimes picked to be his muse. And the thing about being a muse is that as he understands me more and more, he makes artwork of me in the lexicon for which I am noted. These include:

color: off-white

spirit animal: unicorn
spirit bird: dove
spirit flower: dandelion
affiliation with time period: Renaissance

my most common art image: butterfly

Here are some more images he has made of me (with more to come).

This is a closer version of the photo he used:

Artfire Collection of artists

I thought I'd share this Artfire collection. I don't think I've ever shared any before. My piece is the tree with all of the playing card symbols in the middle row. The link to the collection and all of the individual shops is HERE.

A Beltane Party, 2014

Beltane Fire Dancer

2014

In the last post, I mentioned some of the artists on my private Facebook page that celebrate Beltane and make Beltane-related art. If you are new to my blog see the previous post HERE. 

Do you wonder what a Beltane festival or party is? Go here to the Wikipedia article on it. In short, it is a Gaelic festival about the arrival of Spring typically celebrated on May Day (or a weekend before or after, for those who work M - F). 

Since I know a lot of people who love to celebrate these events, I get invited to a lot Beltane rituals, parties and art-happenings. The fire dancer above was at one of the ones I attended. You can't see her costume, but she wore boots, a mini skirt with bright metallic-like spangles and a headdress with horns. There were at least 10 drummers there to keep her on beat. At this particular event there were about four fire dancers and one fire-eater.

Some people showed up in costume: there were women with a bouquet of flowers around their head, other folks with horns and leaves on their heads and heavily tattooed, some were wearing the Celtic tree of Life somewhere on their person, some re-enactors came with full body chainmaille and impressive ornate swords, some people came with Irish capes and some people didn't dress up at all. In other years I have gone, some people showed up with Green Man masks and regalia and some came with faerie costuming. I was disappointed they weren't there this time. This year there were more tee-shirts, jeans and beer than other years, possibly because there were a lot of young rock bands in the barn on the property (or maybe it was the cold night: who wants to cover up a nice costume with blankets or a coat?).

Some Beltane festivals have Maypole dancing as well, but that kind of event usually takes place in the day time. It also features women with long dresses and flowers in their hair as this picture will confirm. I have also done quite a bit of Maypole dancing throughout the years to celebrate Beltane.

Almost all of the Beltane festivals I have been to feature a bonfire where people dance to drums. For these pictures, these bonfires had just been lit, so there were no dancers yet. There were 3 bonfires in all. A large medieval-like catapult was used to throw a minimal fire into a large pile of wood (i.e. to light the bonfire). 

Here are some pictures of the bonfires:

I liked this photo of a boy in profile:

Here are some more pictures of the fire dancers:

Beltane is also about sitting around fire pits, socializing (the picture is blurry because it was after sundown, a few minutes before the sky turned pitch black):

It is also about eating, drinking and being merry. In this case I was more interested in what was going on behind the people eating, which is why they aren't particularly featured:

Which brings me to a situation where more explanation is probably due. This Beltane party was held at a friend's studio (and grounds). He is a sculptor and there are sculptures everywhere, on everything imaginable. I'd love to tell you who made all of these beautiful pieces (and he very much deserves the credit), but since they are on his private property, I won't, but it makes for an even more enchanting Beltane experience.   

Here is one of his sculptures that has been offered a beer by some of the guests in the background (again, it was taken after sundown, so it is amazing I got any photo at all):

Here is one of the roads (this particular road led to the party, which is why there are lanterns placed along it). In the dark, the lanterns illuminate the faces of the sculptures. It is really a cool effect when you're tired and you are stumbling your way back to your car. Every road should be lined with sculptures to help you on your journey through life:

Some of the statues along that road:

Here is gypsy-type caravan he made complete with a relief sculpture above the door:

Even the wood-stacking shelter gets some sculpture:

How about a tree? Super fuzzy photo -- but you get the idea...

Even a cart that he made gets the treatment:

Here is another one of his carts (just because I liked it). One of his sculptures you can see in the background of the photo:

Here is one last one I took (before I couldn't take any more pictures of anything except fire):

Perhaps another year I can get some Beltane photos that aren't challenged by a quickly setting sun!

I hope you've enjoyed going down Beltane lane with me.

Beltane favorites

Olde Beltane Photo

by unknown

I know so many artists and musician friends who celebrate Beltane. On Facebook, many (or maybe even most) of my musician and artist friends were posting Beltane paintings and photos on May 1 and inviting me to their Beltane festivals and parties. I browsed through them and decided to post some of my more favorites here on my blog (in the interest of you getting to know them too).

I responded the most to the one above. It looks like an old photo and the arms of one practically turn to wings through the time exposure. This one was posted by Laurie Ann Haus, a truly amazing vocalist with an incredible range who does a combination of metal, Celtic and classical, somewhat reminiscent of Trans Siberian Orchestra. We found each other's music many, many years ago on Myspace and have been friends ever since.

Here are some others from my Facebook friends that you might enjoy:

    Merry Beltane by Paulina Cassidy

I got to know Paulina's delightful work through Enchanted Folk, a community of artists and musicians. She has produced many tarot and oracle decks, all fun and charming here on Amazon. 

 Beltane by Sue Miller

I became aware of Sue Miller through her brother Tom Pacheco who records CDs at the same recording studio where I record (with Scott Petito). We travel in so many of the same circles and I constantly see her work on many of the on-line magazines I subscribe to. 

Hand painted Beltane alterpiece by Linda Ravenscroft

As with Paulina Cassidy, I also got to know Linda through the Enchanted Folk community. She has published a number of books and sells them through A.C. Moore and other craft stores as well as through Amazon here.

photo of Beth Chapin Reineke, recording artist and assistant recording engineer at Scott Petito Productions (also mentioned above).

I've always loved this photo of Beth. And the dragon approves!

I hope you've enjoyed this! 

I'll be getting back to my work as a fantasy artist soon!

The Frog and the Princess video

The Frog and the Princess Video by Karen Anne Brady
~her work-in-progress video featuring a painting she did~
~the background music is from our band, Saratoga Faire, from our "Saratoga Romance CD"~

(the song is a lesser known Turlough  O'carolan piece called "Miss Noble")

Karen Anne Brady (known as Ireland Brady on Etsy) is a talented artist from the Portland, Oregon area. Her own blog post about the video is HERE.

Enjoy!

what I'm going through and new Etsy team

My life seemed to have taken a dive off a cliff on January 21 and hit bottom on February 14 (I think!! -- hopefully that is where the bottom is). Without going into too much detail, I haven't been posting or making many new things because of this new set of events, so I thought I'd do something different for a change and use the blog to promote some other artists while I am recuperating from events.

I joined a team on Etsy about a month ago. We are a team of about 80 sellers, all from the Artfire site initially (some of us are still sellers on Artfire). We are called the TART team. It is a very supportive team in every way imaginable -- personally and in business. I feel more connected to the sellers on it than I have ever felt about any other team I've joined in my life, including all of the brick and mortar art co-operatives I've joined. It is a fantastic group of talented people! I feel very lucky to be part of it!

Stay tuned!