Monday, June 23, 2014

MAC Show Opening for Martha, Art by Jay Inslee and 'Squirrls Gone Wild'




 

 
Well, a lot has transpired in our art world since our last blog post. 

For starters just after our last post we had a very nice visit with Nicole Benoit a 26 year old dancer and singer come home to Wenatchee from New York who is creating a multi artist event called LEAP to take place August 23rd. We were very interested in the whole concept but unfortunately the next day August 24th is the day I am scheduled to ride the Pikes Peak Hill Climb in Colorado a ride for which I will need to be there a few days ahead in order to acclimate to the altitude.

 A few days into the month my photos were installed at the Wenatchee Chamber of Commerce office just in time for the June First Friday Art Walk.  When First Friday came around Martha and me were of course going to stop in there to see the show and visit with folks there. But first we stopped in at the Tumbleweed Bead Co. to see the art there and visit a bit.  Visiting with the owner we were surprised to discover that it is her husband who owns the Ila Yoga studio and who does the slack line in the park which some readers may recall I tried awhile back in the middle of one of our bike rides on the Loop Trail. And, speaking of bikes, while there we spotted these cool bicycle themed coffee cups, two of which Martha was so good to buy for me. Thanks Martha.

After our stop at Tumbleweed we went to the Chamber where it was so nice to have so many questions about my photos: where they were taken and what was the story behind each of these mostly Nature photos.  Some folks came in asking to see my abstracts which I originally thought I would place in one of the two rooms there, but had instead focused on nature forgetting that I submitted an abstract for the Chamber to publish. OOPS. So; by popular demand I will change out all or some of the work there for abstracts in time for the July First Friday show. Thanks by the way Jerri Lea for the chance to show at the Chamber. After the Chamber we headed to Two Rivers Gallery to see Reed Carlson and his high School Students show there.  It was a really good show and we had a great time there visiting with all the artists and friends there.

A few days later I received the word that two of my photos were accepted into the upcoming show on the theme of ‘Home’ at the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art in California. And; so between getting Martha’s prints and paintings matted and framed at the Nu-Art Gallery and Frame Shop ready to take to Moses Lake for her show there, I printed up the two photos and got them matted and framed as well. That reminds me today is the day I need to send them off to Cali.

And, speaking of Martha’s show, on Thursday the 12th of June we hauled 80 count them 80 paintings large and small, including this one of a mother and children in Guatemala, in a rented UHaul and still had to use the bed and back seat of my pick-up for several bronze and clay sculptures and a number of prints to be installed for the opening on June 20th to the Moses Lake Museum and Art Center in beautiful downtown Moses Lake… and what a beautiful facility it is. In fact some folks who had never been there before who came from Wenatchee commented at the opening reception that they were amazed at the quality of the facility that it is probably the best facility to show art at between Spokane and Seattle. And, that just might be the case.

The opening reception just this Friday past was by all measures a success. Martha was so happy to find that one of her newer works which included a poem by Martha had sold even before the opening and it was nice to see that so many younger folks mostly local business professional were there and enjoying the art.  Thanks, by the way ,to Freya Liggett and Ann Schempp for everything and especially to Ramon Cerna for the great installation. Talking with Ramon I was surprised to learn that he lives near Laguna Beach CA. and comes up here to set the shows... WOW! Thanks again Ramon.

Martha had a great time at the opening dancing, talking and visiting with friends old and new and meeting and talking art with local folks from Moses Lake like Tiffany Sukola and Shawn Cardwell who are with the Columbia Basin Herald. As it turns out Shawn has been to the Iguana Perdida Hotel on Lake Atitlan in Guatemala at which Martha painted a mural a few years back while I was scuba diving in the lake. Small world indeed.

Meanwhile,  I took lots of photos and got to visit with graphic artists Michaell and Jeremy Boetger while tasting the very enjoyable wines of Camas Cove Cellars. As it turns out Jeremy rode in the Apple Century Ride as did I on June 7th. That was a great coincidence and we had fun talking about rides coming up like the STP which he is riding soon and rides past like the Century Ride which I rode with our governor Jay Inslee. Speaking of which Jay, who is a bit of an artist himself, did a drawing of me leading our group through the woods near Lake Wenatchee shortly after the Century Ride. Thanks Jay.

And, of course nothing stops when it comes to art. Just yesterday while riding with friends in Wenatchee I learned from Majka Sadel, who rides with the ‘B’ team, that she is having her paintings and ink drawings in one of the venues of the Third Thursday Art Walk in Edmonds this week. Congratulations Majka and good luck with the show.

Also, yesterday, while Martha was on the phone and looking out the window she spotted two squirrels having fun playing in the front yard. So; I grabbed  my camera and took some pics and shot
some video from which  I published a short, funny and cute video called ‘Squirls Gone Wild’ (yes squirls with one ‘r’ as there turned out to be another video with that title) which includes music which can be seen on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXPMiksgQ8k. Just for shiggles and gets, I discovered today as I was preparing this blog that our blog page has recently been discovered by Germany and that over the past month there have been more views from Germany than from the U.S. ... go figure.

Well all in all it’s been a great month for the art and art activities of Rod and Martha and the month is not over yet. So; bye and back to work for me as I think on the words of Pablo Picasso who said, “Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.”




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