“New Season, New Song,” acrylic on canvas, by Mary Gow
New Work
Open Studios in November
“Stepping Out…Slowly,” mixed media by Mary Gow
It’s that time of year again when you can drop into artist’s studios and alternative spaces to see a huge swatch of the art made in the San Francisco area. The event covers 4 weekends in a row and begins this weekend and continues through November 9th.
Back in 2008 when I told my good friend, Regina Held (owner of Matrix Fine Art Gallery and New Grounds Print Workshop & Studio in Albuquerque, NM), that I was in Open Studios she said, “Well don’t be too hard on yourself. It takes three years to get it right. The first year you don’t know what you’re doing. The second year you make some changes. By the third year you know what you’ve got the hang of it.”
2014 San Francisco Open Studios will be my chance to show I’ve got the hang of it. My first two official appearances were at the Graphic Arts Workshop at 2565 Third Avenue in 2008 and 2009 in Suite 305 of the American Industrial Building. If you haven’t been by there I’d recommend you go. There’s a irresistible bakery across the hallway from the Graphic Arts Workshop that cooks up the pastries for many of the bakeries in town. There’s nothing like the lilt of cinnamon rolls in the air while mixing inks and rolling the press.
You’re cordially invited to drop by and see my work at the Grotto Gallery at 1590 Bryant Street, SF 94103, on Weekend #3 – November 1st and 2nd. There’s a party on the evening of November 1st so hours of viewing are 11am to 7:30pm. Sunday I’ll be there 11am to 6pm. Light refreshments will be provided. And it’s rumored the Fat Chance Belly Dancers are performing Saturday evening.
On view will be the best display of the range of my work – perhaps ever to appear in one space. I’ll be showing what my best favorite works in the main media I work in: photography, painting, monotypes, and cameraless art (also known as “photograms”).
Mention this blog entry and you get ten percent off any purchases of my work at the Grotto Gallery at Sports Basement at 1590 Bryant Street.
Click here for a PDF of a map of the areas you can visit each weekend.
Happy Anniversary ArtSpirit7
“Lake Union,” photo by Mary Gow
This is the fourth anniversary of my blog. Here’s where I share my discoveries on my journey of creative discoveries as an artist and self-improvement geek. I confess, I’m fan of “Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday” and Flora Bowley’s Bloom True e-Course on Intuitive Painting. I’m working on becoming the best I can be by honoring my intuition and these two ladies are among my many teachers.
Four years ago I went to a workshop on how to blog given by Sharyn Abbott. Many of her tips were ahead of the curve. Back then she was already endorsing the use of Fiverr.com and 99 Designs as resources for the self-employed. She showed how to use Hootsuite coordinate your social media. She advocated using WordPress and demonstrated some basics.
And that’s how I got started. I wrote my first post in Abbott’s class in August of 2010.
Thank You Maya Angelou
“Hatiku di Indonesia (My Heart is in Indonesia),” mixed media by Merry E. Wilcox
She had a dignity and presence that communicated with some deep eternal part of me. She moved me. She helped me remember to be grateful for all the ancestors on whose shoulders we stand (Oprah Winfrey also reminds me of this).
Thank you, Maya Angelou, for your life and legacy. Thank you for reminding me how important it is to be authentic.
(Thank you artist, Merry Wilcox, for this beautiful mixed media piece I saw in the Dallas Area Fiber Artists show in Spring 2014).