Forgive me my absence, friends, I've been snuggled under blankets, barricaded in my house, thinking colorful thoughts in response to white drifts of endless snow. It's enough to make me dream of Atlanta (where there will soon be more art, merci!).

So much snow, so much change, I keep finding ways to forget to blog. But the truth of it is that sitting down and writing is important. I can therefore share the site that helped me rethink Victor Vasarely (thank you Deb), the ridiculous idea that you should follow anything but your heart into buying art(wait, I haven't changed my mind about that. Mr. Investor might not see the mystery, history, joy, pain, and vitality of good art but only money, honey, and that's a little sad from my point of view. Even a slick chart can be misguided and I think this one is.)

My painting class didn't happen tonight but I hijacked a space and painted speedily, sloppily, passionately. I ended up using much more blue than I needed and a gleeful amount of nickel azo and plenty of red lines. Painting is often cheaper than therapy, more exciting than the movies, and my own space. Plus I do think art makes me warmer (all that moving around, all that thinking about anything but being cold).

And maybe, if I am lucky and work hard, the stuff I make will be more important than a profit to somebody other than me...
see ya,
Rachael

Earlville needs art! This is why I like living in New York state again. An active and progressive foundation for the arts posts opportunities for artists like this one:

Earlville Opera House Art Gallery Call for Artists
Earlville Opera House
(Earlville NY)

The Earlville Opera House Art Gallery invites artists to submit slides of recent work for review for 2006 exhibition schedule. The EOH Art Gallery presents 7 exhibitions annually of regional and national contemporary visual artists in all media.

High quality work by professional and emerging artists who live part-time or full-time in the Central New York region is given priority. Artists from greater New York or outside New York State are also considered. All media and styles are considered, as are installations and proposals by curators.

For gallery guidelines, email: earlopra@dreamscape.com or visit our website at www.earlvilleoperahouse.com under Gallery.

Earlville Opera House Multi-Arts Center
PO Box 111
Earlville, New York 13332

Application Date: N/A

email: earlopra@dreamscape.com or visit our website at www.earlvilleoperahouse.com under Gallery.

So now, you know and I know and anyone who makes art can know that there's an opportunity. I see this kind of info sharinmg much more here in NY state than I did in Georgia, although Georgia has an artists registry that rocks.

The way little old me sees it, there are things working artists in this country can do to support a more vibrant, more important, more interesting level of arts production and distribution in this country.

We can:
make more friends with more artists
share information
make great art
speak about our work whenever, wherever, however we can
ask questions about others' artwork
learn more
teach more
refuse to be exploited by galleries
take responsibility for the work you make and the ways it gets seen

Once upon a time, artists formed unions. The John Reed Clubs weren't exactly unions and a little too doctrinaire for Bernarda Bryson Shahn (who recently passed). I'm still amazed by, fascinated with, and influenced by the history, the work and the audacity to be honest I see in the lives and work of artists like Shahn (and her husband, too).

Another thing I know is that Earlville needs good art. Send it on!
take care,
Rachael

I stumbled upon some resources on the work of John Biggers, whose line, whose narratives, whose work continues to impress me. That powerful drawing above is an early work and that's what I think about sometimes. How we can see promise in the marks of the artwork of children, how those who are drawn to draw will always find ways to draw, and how much can be said with light and dark. Sleeping boy sleeps.

Basic Biggers from a Boston show.

Extensive teaching resource from the Getty center

Biggers essay from the extensive American studies resources in Virginia

A beautiful Biggers in the Driskell collection

bigger and better, baby, I'm off to draw some and sleep some and fight the good fight to help more people draw better, bigger, bolder...

take care,
Rachael

Phew! In time for the January 15th deadline, I have my application for a prestigious and simply wonderful art opportunity ready to send. I don't wanna jinx it and my fingers are so tightly crossed it's a little hard to type...but the feeling the relief of putting the whole package together is nice.

That's about all I've been doing (aside from day job work) this week, but I did start a painting class. The teacher is one well known for his honesty, his ability to push painters hard, and his humor. So far the combo is very helful and the other students are focused, smart, and productively painting their own work, at their own pace, in their own way.

Community is inspiring, as is a kick in the ass to make the work better, better, better, keep looking at it, keep listening to it, keep engaging with it. That's the whole fun of painting, drawing, even blabbity blabbing in this forum.

Ah, yes, but now, I am ready to sleep. See ya!

Rachael