"Impenetrable"

When I was gearing up for the Artists' Garage Sale a while ago...

I thought maybe I needed more new inventory for the occasion, something more dimensional than a print. So I turned to some Library of Congress images to paint over, and found this woman.

Courtesy Library of Congress

(Dang, that collar and dress together is just... whoa. Anyway.) Although she's in a fairly standard studio pose, she seems to radiate an emotional distance. An iciness that can't be completely cracked open.

Which made me think, hmmm... an ice queen... surrounded by wintry whiteness... I have lots of textured white papers. Hey... "pure as the driven snow." So I incorporated a page of old text containing the words "purity" under her cheekbone, and "purification" at her chin.

Of course an ice queen would need a castle, preferably with a good lookout tower.

Castles need walls... Walls, walls, what do I have that looks like walls or -- BRICKS! I built bricks from wooden squares I never used for another project, and layered them with extra-coarse pumice gel I bought with my Golden Award (thanks, Tracy Fraker and Lynn Scott!).

But castle gates have to open at some point, even just once.

And even impenetrable fortress walls crumble.

The barricading of the inner person, the illusion of purity and perfection... that's how the original image struck me. In that spirit, I'm calling my painted-over version "Impenetrable." The piece stands 12" x 24",  and incorporates paper, old text, metal findings, acrylics and pumice gel.

I'm not yet certain where I'm going to offer this piece for sale. But I have a few ideas, and some layouts for a couple more dimensional wall pieces.

What's (still) in an artist's garage?

What's still in my garage after the Artists' Garage Sale at the Schack Art Center?... Well, here's what I started with.

An inside booth opened up at the last minute, ohthankGod. So I was allowed to set up the day before. (I added a black tablecloth early the next morning to class up the joint.) I scored a spot fairly close to the door. And despite the morning rain...

... bargain-hunters stacked themselves up at the door.

They LOOOVED the ATCs I made for the occasion and sold for a quarter each.

Several women helped me lighten the load of art magazines (a dollar each). And I cleared out a lot of scrapbook-y bits and bobs (a dime each) that I've never used. But the original pieces, even the camera phone photo prints for three dollars each?

Not. A. One. Lots of compliments on the original work, but still a wee bit disappointing since I was sitting next to a potter who couldn't wrap up his seconds fast enough for his customers. (The mugs he'd set up next to me were $4 each, to give you an idea of prices.)

Was the event

1. a garage sale per se, as in "nothing over $2." or
2. art and supplies so deeply discounted they're at 'garage sale' prices compared to other venues?

I need to ask around, but I'm pretty sure the buyers were thinking the former. So I really didn't need all the change I got from the bank. I earned a total of... $24.80.

At the end, I loaded up my inventory (around car seats and tae kwon do sparring pads that I forgot to take out before the event)...

... and I managed to get it all back to my own garage in one trip. Should I be happy I made a little over half the cost of the vendor fee? I don't know. How are your summer exhibitions going? Let me know in the comments or on Facebook.

What's in an artist's garage?

If you count my laptop's hard drive as a virtual "garage," I'd say you'd find "photos that haven't seen the light of day in months" in mine.

I experimented a lot with the photo apps in my phone over the past year. One regular experiment: DoubleShot Mondays on Twitter. Using the double-shot function on a camera phone app, I layered one photo on top of another.

I'm going to sell these and others at the Artists' Garage Sale on June 16th, for $3 each.

(If you're out of the Everett, WA area that day, email me and I'll give you the same price and mail the pictures to you.) I'll also have artist trading cards and assemblage pieces (mostly under 5" tall, but a few larger ones up to 16" tall).

Save the date:

June 16th, 9am-4pm

• 2921 Hoyt Ave., Everett, WA 98201 (this block will be blocked off for the sale, like a street fair)
• Bonus: GOURMET FOOD TRUCKS outside the sale! 

The Artists' Garage Sale is a great place to find gifts, too: Father's Day is the day after the sale. Bring him along and send him out to the food trucks when you're ready to buy his gift!