GETTING A HEAD OF THE DAY OF THE DEAD …

Even though the traditional Mexican Day of the Dead holiday is celebrated in November, there’s no reason not to get ready for it in June!  I’ll be working with participants to make Day of the Dead mementos using some of the embellishment materials I often use in my work.  The workshop is scheduled for next Saturday, June 20th.

We’ll look at pictures I took in Oaxaca when I was there for the festivities and talk a little about the holiday itself.  Then it’ll be on to the art!  My friend, Betsy Cannon, and I taught this class last year at a spa in Mexico, and their blogger wrote: “It reminded me of being a kid, yet there we were, a room full of adults of all ages having a blast doing arts and crafts.”

There’s still room left, so plan to come and join the fun; no talent or experience required!

University of Wyoming Art Museum, Saturday, June 20th, from 3 to 5 pm.  To register, call Rachel Clifton at 307-766-6621 or email her at rmiller@uwyo.edu.  (Or, talk to her in person if you’re coming to the Biennial Exhibition reception Thursday night. Art Museum, 6-8 pm.)

And there’s some room left in the two other workshops that will be offered in this series (contact Rachel about them if you want to know more):

Creating Art with Water-Based Inks, with June Glasson on June 13th, and

Exploring Needle Felting, with Diana Baumbach on June 27th

BIENNIAL EXHIBITION IS OPEN!

shadows of conscience i

The concluding celebration of my fellowship award is the Wyoming Biennial Exhibition, showcasing the work of two years of Arts Fellowship Recipients. I made a new series for this exhibit entitled, “Shadows of Conscience,” and I have a number of other pieces there also.  If you can attend the reception, it is this Thursday, June 11th, 6 to 8 pm, at the University of Wyoming Art Museum in Laramie.

The exhibition will continue through August 1, so if you’re not at the reception, you can still see the exhibit for several more weeks.

This promises to be an exciting and thought provoking show, displaying the work of an extremely diverse group of artists.  I’m enormously honored to be counted among the artists who will be exhibiting with me: Diana Baumbach, June Glasson, Thomas Macker, Suzanne Morlock and Aaron Wallis.

TOOK A FLIGHT TO SAN DIEGO …

el soldado square copy
No, not me, just this little soldier.  Last year, several people called my attention to “The Crow Show,” to be held at The Studio Door gallery in San Diego this month. The juror selected “El Soldado” out of my series of crows with hats.

 

I was able to see the catalog for the show today, and I’m feeling honored to have my work included in this collection of amazing artistry.  You can see the entire catalog here: http://issuu.com/thestudiodoor/docs/the_crow_show_exhibitino_catalog_we/1

 

If you’re near San Diego, and interested in seeing the show, here’s the flyer:

 

000503

an invitation …

Fiber Visions, a group including a number of distinguished, nationally recognized fiber artists will be presenting an exhibit at the Bas Bleu Theater in Fort Collins, Colorado, this November and December.  I’m fortunate to be a member of this group, and I hope, if you live nearby, you will have an opportunity to stop in to see the show.  (For more information about these artists, you can read our group blog, www.fibervisionsartists.blogspot.com.)

There will be two first Friday receptions, on November 7th and December 5th, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm.  I’ll be in Mexico during the first of these, but I plan to be at the December reception.  If you can come then, I hope to see you there.

 

Bas Bleu show

from Lander, Wyoming … to Tecate, Mexico

I’ve just returned from Lander, where a show of my work, along with beautiful and provocative art by Melissa Strickler and Spencer Bohren, opened Friday night.  Openings at the Lander Art Gallery are a big social event in this small central Wyoming town, and this one was topped off with a rousing performance by Spencer, who is an outstanding musician as well as an artist.  You can see Melissa’s iconography and collage work at sacredwindwyoming.com, and learn about Spencer’s music and reliquaries at spencerbohren.com. The show, “Storytellers,” was curated by Lisa Hueneke and will remain at the gallery until November 1.

And now ….

Back in my studio, I’m turning my thoughts to the presentations and workshop Betsy Cannon (betsycannon.com) and I are planning for our visit to Rancho La Puerta, a lovely spa in Mexico not too far from San Diego, at the beginning of November.  We’ll mount a show of our Day of the Dead quilts, talk about how our experiences in Mexico have influenced our work, and give a little tour of our own exuberant celebrations of Día de los Muertos in Oaxaca.  We’re also planning a workshop for participants to make their own small Day of the Dead mementos.  Here’s my latest piece for the Rancho exhibit. (Still looking for a title … suggestions?)

 

Exciting summer!

image: Jurors Marji Vecchio and Sean Miller, with fellowship artists Aaron Wallis, me (!) and Suzanne Morlock.

This spring, I was very fortunate to be awarded one of three visual arts fellowships by the Wyoming Arts Council.  This gives me a generous stipend and a year to spend it, plus the opportunity to exhibit in the biennial fellowship show to be mounted in Laramie in 2016.  Here’s a picture of the fellowship recipients with two of the jurors.

With the fellowship has come a windfall of opportunities to exhibit my work!  This summer, I’ll have pieces in shows in Lander (Wyoming), Fort Collins (Colorado) and Jackson (Wyoming), with more to follow in the fall and winter.  Here are some details of pieces in these shows to spark your interest:

in Lander: WxNW: West by New West Cheyenne Artists July 3 - August 30 Reception: June 27, 6-8 Lander Art Gallery
in Lander:
WxNW: West by New West
Cheyenne Artists
July 3 – August 30
Reception: June 27, 6-8
Lander Art Gallery
in Jackson  Hole: Best of Wyoming: Equality State July 3-August 30 reception July 2, 5:30-7:30 Jackson Art Association Gallery
in Jackson Hole:
Best of Wyoming: Equality State
July 3-August 30
reception July 2, 5:30-7:30
Jackson Art Association Gallery
in Fort Collins: New Legacies Art Quilt Exhibition July 11 - August 30 Lincoln Center 417 Magnolia
in Fort Collins:
New Legacies Art Quilt Exhibition
July 11 – August 30
Lincoln Center
417 Magnolia

 

I hope you’ll be able to go to one of these shows.  Because I’ll be traveling to London and Berlin during the first half of July, I won’t be able to attend the receptions in jackson and Fort Collins; if you do go, I’d love to hear your reactions.

Day of the Dead at Rancho La Puerta

Exhibit, Presentations, Workshop
Tecate, Mexico
November 1-7, 2014
visit website

An exhibit of work by Betsy Cannon and Do Palma at the Rancho La Puerta spa in Mexico, in honor of the Día de los Muertes festival. We will be presenting stories about the holiday and photographs of our own experiences in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. We will also lead a workshop in which spa guests can create their own Day of the Dead mementos. If time permits, we will discuss and show photographs of our artistic work.