It HAS been a very productive day for me both creatively and organizationally. I had a dear friend make the casual suggestion to me that maybe I should start spending a mere 15 minutes a day organizing for my big solo show in July. I have been completely stressed out about how far behind I am. And my reaction to panic is often paralysis. But the 15 minute method was a perfect way to jump start action without getting overwhelmed…and I am on my way.
But during my productive day of art and the business of art, I must have forgotten to turn off the bullseye button on my back. As most of you know, I am generally patient, tolerant and optimistic. Today, tested my ability to remain bullet proof. So…
In an effort to be pro-active, I am publishing this short PSA warning
of what you should NEVER SAY to an ARTIST… for your safety.
So I have to admit that I’m a little in love withfotoblur. While I try to remind people that I am no more a photographer than a weekend golf player is a golfer, I do TAKE photographs. Luckily, fotoblur has a category for fine art. (continues below)
My profile is growing by baby steps, and I appreciate the kind words from other photographers. But more than anything, I truly enjoy the inspiration of browsing through the work of others. I can get a little absorbed, and before I know it…hours have passed by.
At the end of 2012 when I am normally planning for the coming year with anticipation, something broke. My Dad died unexpectedly, and my creativity came to a screeching halt. I seemed unable to find a voice. I haven’t been able to find something to say for over 8 months now.
Today, while sitting in the doctor’s office hearing that I will need yet another surgery, I found my voice. While sitting there listening to the doctor explain that my body has turned against me once again, I realized how pissed off I am to be sick…again.
Not all art comes from anger, but it can be a fantastic catalyst. As I sat and marinated in my newest health debacle, I immediately began to feel guilty for being angry. Everyone’s body turns on them eventually…that’s how we die. I’m not alone.
I have generations of family whose bodies have abandoned them in the end. And I also have the pictures of them before they knew what was coming. My grandmother, pictured here at 36, had no idea that 63 years later her most common phrase would be, “Do I know you?”
Art is found in contrast. I found my voice again, and it really isn’t pretty.
I haven’t picked the winners of Knox Photo 2013 yet, and the show opens in approximately 16 hours. I’ll do my part, I promise. But, I need you to do yours and come see the show. Here are all the details from the original press release…
The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present the first annual Knoxville Photo 2013, a new exhibition featuring selected works from 36 artists throughout the Southeast region. Knoxville Photo was developed to provide a forum for artists to compete on a national scale and display their highest quality work. The exhibition encompasses photographs depicting all subjects and genres, including streetscapes, cityscapes, landscapes, environmental portraiture, abstracts, and more, and will be displayed in the Emporium Center from July 5-26, 2013. A public reception will take place on Friday, July 5, from 5:00-9:00 PM with an awards ceremony at 6:00 PM in which $750 in cash awards will be announced.
R.L. Gibson served as juror for the exhibition and viewed images from about 100 artists in twelve states to select the exhibition. “With a camera in almost every cell phone, photography has become the universal medium of artistic and creative expression,” she said. “The nearly 500 entries presented a jury challenge… so I chose to search for the soul of the image. I want the show to suspend disbelief for the viewer just long enough for them to be transported to a time, a place or an emotion.”
R.L. Gibson is a nationally-shown artist working and “living on vacation” in Gatlinburg with work in galleries from New York to Los Angeles. Gibson opened her newest Xerography series Psychomachia with Arizona artist Jerry Portelli. She is now working on a text series for show in 2013/2014. Gibson works almost exclusively as a Xerographist, producing complicated layered photographic compositions and then hand-transferring these images to a variety of substrates resulting in a unique monotype. In addition to producing her own work and work in collaboration with other artists, Gibson also runs ArtAndArtDeadlines.com, a fun and quirky, food-themed art blog that offers reviews of emerging artists, shows from great galleries, and FREE Art Deadlines and Calls for Entry as an artist’s resource. For more information on R.L. Gibson, visit www.rlgibson.com.
The following artists’ works will be shown:
+ Sheila Chesanow of Athens, TN
+ Megan Pinch and Dan Robinson of Bristol, TN
+ Mike Gannon of Fairview, TN
+ Jeffrey Stoner and Billie Wheeler of Kingsport, TN
+ Trissa Gurney of Kingston, TN
+ Melinda Adams, Kayla Anderson, Luis Caicedo, Joel Fairstein, Jacques Gautreau, Becky Huckaby, Adam PD Hutsell, Mary Gretchen Kaplan, Marga Hayes McBride, Julie L. Rabun, Denise Stewart-Sanabria, Trecia Todd, Kurt K. Weiss, and Amy Williams of Knoxville, TN
+ Karen Jones of Lenoir City, TN
+ Michael Murphy of Morristown, TN
+ Sue Henry of Nolensville, TN
+ Eric Buechel of Pleasant Hill, TN
+ AngelaDawn of Powell, TN
+ Julie Oglesby of Seymour, TN
+ Spears McAllester of Signal Mountain, TN
+ Antuco Chicaiza of Sweetwater, TN
+ Nicole Harper of Toney, AL
+ Rebecca Griggs of Chicago, IL
+ Wesley Duffee-Braun and Gary Peeples of Asheville, NC
+ Alicia Leeke of Columbia, SC
+ Trent Frazor of Pickens, SC
+ Paige Barbush of Meadowview, VA
+ Richard Phelps of Midlothian, VA
The reception on Friday, July 5, is free and open to the public, and complimentary hors d’oeuvres will be served. Knoxville Photo 2013 is on display July 5-26, 2013 at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, downtown Knoxville. Exhibition hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM with additional hours on Saturday, July 6, 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM.
For more information, contact the Arts & Culture Alliance at (865) 523-7543, or visit www.knoxalliance.com.
I am suspicious of any restaurant called Mom’s or Pop’s. Let’s face it, they are setting themselves up for failure. I promise you, Mom’s Diner’s biscuits will not taste like my Mom’s biscuits. And Pop’s Italian won’t taste like your Pop’s meatballs. But, I get it. There is comfort in the familiar. This next Call has a little something familiar to my readers. Take a look…
Check out this Call for Entries from The Arts & Culture Alliance for Knoxville Photo 2013. This is a great show run by a great organization. I’ve shown here several times, and the juror is fantastic. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge…
Hosted by the Arts & Culture Alliance, the first annual Knoxville Photo 2013 was developed to provide a forum for artists to compete on a national scale and display their work. Approximately 40-50 photographic works from both emerging and established artists will be selected by the juror, R.L. Gibson, for exhibition in the main gallery of the beautifully-restored Emporium Center at 100 S. Gay Street, Knoxville’s downtown arts anchor location.
ELIGIBILITY: All artists 18 years and older living in the US.
MEDIA:Photography in four categories:
The Human Experience(streetscapes, cityscapes, and environmental portraiture)
Our Earth(landscapes, animals, nature – should not include man-made objects)
Travel(any subject or genre, taken while away from home)
Digital Imagination(digitally enhanced in the camera or in post-production, including composites, montages, abstracts)
DEADLINE:May 19, 2013
NOTIFICATION:June 10, 2013
ENTRY FEE:$30 for up to 3 images($20 for Arts & Culture Alliance members and students). Up to 7 add’l images may be submitted for $5/each ($4 for members/students).
JUROR:R.L. Gibson is a nationally-shown artist working and “living on vacation” in Gatlinburg, Tennessee with work in galleries from New York to Los Angeles. Gibson opened her newest Xerography series Psychomachia with Arizona artist Jerry Portelli. She is now working on a text series for show in 2013/2014. Gibson works almost exclusively as a Xerographist, producing complicated layered photographic compositions and then hand-transferring these images to a variety of substrates resulting in a unique monotype.
In addition to producing her own work and work in collaboration with other artists, Gibson also runs ArtAndArtDeadlines.com, a fun and quirky, food-themed art blog that offers reviews of emerging artists, shows from great galleries, and FREE Art Deadlines and Calls for Entry as an artist’s resource.
AWARDS: At least $600 in cash awards will be presented at the exhibition’s Opening Reception on July 5 at the Emporium. Awards include: $200 Best in Show, four $100 Best of Category awards, and a cash award for Best Work by an Alliance member. In addition, the juror will provide written comments on all entries. Awards are as designated by the juror, whose decision is final.
SALES: Every effort is made to promote sales. All sales are handled by the Arts & Culture Alliance, who retains a 25% commission(20% for cash and check sales).
I am pleased to have been included in ID – The Object of Self at the Darkroom Gallery in Essex Junction, VT. Here’s a great pic of my little mermaid hanging amongst the other juried participants. Bottom right corner.
I am proud to have a single and triptych piece accepted into the 2nd Annual Edges & Curves “Close Your Eyes” exhibit presented by The Haggus Society, of which I am proud to be a member (known as Hillbilly Hag). Here’s a shot of Hear See Speak No Evil, at the Upstairs at the Market Gallery just a day or so before the show opens…
This year’s theme “Close Your Eyes” will explore wedge issues presented in the public discourse via all channels of media consumption. The center piece of this triptych takes on a whole new meaning in this show.
I am proud to have a single and triptych piece accepted into the 2nd Annual Edges & Curves “Close Your Eyes” exhibit presented by The Haggus Society, of which I am proud to be a member (known as Hillbilly Hag).
This year’s theme “Close Your Eyes” will explore wedge issues presented in the public discourse via all channels of media consumption.
Guest Juror, Natalie Abrams
“I don’t think anyone can argue we are living in divisive times. Individual rights, freedoms of person, religion or lack there of are under constant assault. Social and economic inequalities are as staggering as the apparent indifference of those who have the power to make a difference. How do we cope? Do we bury our head in the sand, join the picket line?
“As an artist, we have an added layer of reaction as we question whether or not to address these issues which are significant to us in our work. Art is a voice, active and present. As our society is being redefined before our very eyes, wouldn’t now be a good time to voice our opinions and help it grow into that more enlightened future we’d like to see?”
Featuring
the work of:
Robyn Alatorre Brian Cho Barbara Horosko Nichols Elizabeth Bruno Preston Craig R.L. Gibson Aimee Hertog Susan Hunt Lodiza Lepore Patrick Gothard Debra Girard Paul Samenfeld Sally Windle Marian Yap
The exhibition runs from August 31 – September 9, 2012
Hours
Tuesday – Thursday 11AM – 5PM
Opening reception
Saturday, September 1, 2011
6 – 9 p.m.
Upstairs At The Market Gallery
1057 S. San Pedro Street in Downtown Los Angeles
I was approached by Artist Fermin Mendoza recently; he is doing a portrait show project. He is trying to do a portrait a day, in a leap year, and show them all in the Spring. He asked me if you could use one of my self-portraits, and I agreed.
His project has the working title “artists / models / others” and are simply portraits of:
Artists– that are producing profound & brilliant work (mostly in the New York/Jersey area) Models– that have striking or unique looks. (I am certain that I fall in this category. 🙂 ) Others– that he find interesting
He is approaching the creation of the work by using the quote below, by Lucien Freud, for guidance:
“The aura given out by a person or object is as much a part of them as their flesh. The effect that they make in space is bound up with them as might be their color or smell… therefore the painter must be concerned with the air surrounding his subject as with the subject itself. It is through observation and perception of atmosphere that he can register the feeling that he wishes his painting to give out.”
Here is his 6″ x 6″ original portrait of me (above left), along with the original image from which he worked (right).
All 366 portraits are set to be unveiled at an April 2013 show in Jersey City, NJ.
Xerography is a method of artwork that is not very well-known, but the name is taken from a process that is fundamental to the media. That process is an interesting one, and here is a little bit about the way the xerography itself works. The essence of xerography is that it is a way of photocopying that can create an interesting variety of images.
First, a document, photo or object will be chosen and placed onto a surface within the copier. The process of simple xerography begins with an electrostatic charge that is distributed all over the surface of a copier drum. This charge is -600 volts and it spreads equally around due to a discharge coming from a corona unit.
Once this has happened, the process has begun and the next step is ready to take place. Only those who have come into contact with xerography or studied the intricate workings of photocopiers will know a good amount about how this process works. So if you are not very clued-up, preferring to spend your time taking part in other hobbies such as playing golf or PartyPoker, then here is a quick description of what happens next:
The flash lamps will illuminate the document or object, so that its image is projected onto the moving surface of the drum. This image is then projected onto a photoconductor and made either smaller or larger, depending on the settings.
The image is then developed and transferred onto paper. The toner that is used in this process is fused to the paper using heat or pressure, so that the image then becomes visible. Of course when this process is made into an art form, there are many variations to the whole technique. Artists can customize many different things in order to create the desired effect. It is a very unique way of creating art.
WARNING…
Here we go
