Artfest, Day 1-We're here!

Welcome to the Artfest 2011 recap, Part One. We're out of the car and we're here!

And someone thinks it's really freakin' cold.

Before Tally-the-weather-weenie-from-L.A. and I headed to our home-away-from-home in the Fort Worden officer housing, I set up my pieces in the gallery space. Artfest allows you to exhibit pieces you've made, for free, and you can sell them if you like.

From prior experience, I wasn't expecting to sell either of the pieces I brought; I just wanted eyeballs on the art.

And I got compliments right away, which was lovely. One of them from Michael deMeng, my instructor for "Strange Angels," who was chatting with someone nearby. Another compliment from the mother of my second instructor Andrea Matus ("Veils of Psyche") -- Katarina loved the layering. Why, thank you -- you're too kind.

Then it was off to our house, 10-E, which stands for "there's a bunch of excellent artists who also happen to be total tens in the looks department."

Coincidentally, that's the east end of the same house we had last year. Kinda hard to unpack while I'm handing out hugs to all my art peeps, whom I only see online because we're all scattered. Hey, Julie! Gonna take some pictures this year?

So I didn't bother.Off to dinner and the Opening Ceremony. (Look -- a photo taken from a distance that's not ridiculously dark!)

Teesha and Tracy Moore, the organizers, lay out a few ground rules, but it's mostly welcome and inspiration time. The instructors also introduce themselves, which is especially great if you've never taken a class with them before. Here's Jesse Reno...

Andrea Matus...

... and Michael deMeng, among many others. 

After the instructors' hellos, Teesha introduced a woman who discussed chakras and how they relate to creativity... she had us breathe and visualize stuff to inspire us. But I have to say, it brought the mood down from giddy excitement to peace-like-a-river contemplation. Not nearly as fun as last year's surprise dance rave: 

Bring back Surrealized for next year's Artfest!

More tomorrow on my first class. You can also see a few photos on Facebook: Go to the top right column of the blog and Like my fan page friends and supporters page, or send me a friend request. Love to hear from you!

Our Lady of Georgetown

May I present... Our Lady of Georgetown.

 

 

My grandmother was born in Georgetown, Kentucky. But I actually decided on the title because, coincidentally, she moved onto Georgetown Street in Lexington when she married my grandfather. They married really late, for her era -- she was 36 in 1935. Apparently she waited so long because "I always wanted to marry someone who had something."

Gran-Gran stood out: 5'10", college educated, and haughty when she chose to be. All this made me think of queens, and virgins... which led me to the Virgin Mary, sometimes known as the Queen of Heaven.

By the standards of 'colored' Lexington in the 1930s, her "castle" was pretty swanky -- in what my aunt called "a Park Avenue kind of area."

But being a queen also means being a brood mare, even if you're running a country.

Gran-Gran once told my aunt she "spent her honeymoon in the back of [my grandfather's plumbing] truck." I don't know if that was due to a certain... impatience on my grandfather's part -- he'd already been married and divorced twice -- or if she meant he went right back to work after their wedding and brought her along. But the first version is more interesting.

You might say Gran-Gran got the fairy tale. But it's one thing to hold out for Prince Charming. It's another to be rejected, possibly, for being an overeducated, hardheaded giant of a woman.

Maybe those 'flaws' add up to something I read in a sci-fi short story by Walter Jon Williams: "Imperfection is worth more. Perhaps that says something about our world."

So close!

I just cut the skeleton for the last layer of this endless piece! The end is in sight!

(Now that I think of it, the above outline kinda looks like the door to the afterlife from "Beetlejuice.")

I plan to bring the piece to Artfest in two -- two! -- weeks, and you know how these things need to set and air out for a little. Plus I'm factoring in whatever rain we'll get during the coming days. Dampness always slows down the setting process.

Also need to add one, maybe two finishing touches to the central figure. 

Projects expand to fit the time available...

You can see more work-in-progress photos on my Facebook fan/friends page. Go look!