The Meal

Nothing makes us feel connected quite like sharing a 

meal together.

 On February 22nd at 12pm Eastern Standard Time, 

thousands of strangers from around the world

 will sit down for a bite in unison and capture a

 shared experience at the exact same time

with simultaneous snapshots

 – self-portraits of people and their foods –

 will then be tweeted and posted online for the world to share.

 The aim is to inspire a feeling of community across

 geographic and cultural boundaries. 

So wherever we were  

  camera handy and

 something delicious nearby – and remember

 that thousands of strangers, both near and far,

 are sharing that meal with you.

The Meal 2013

One moment. One meal. 

One photograph. Let's eat.

Last year over 4,000 people from around the globe

 sat down together to share a meal. 

Not only did we help to raise awareness

 about world hunger, 

but we also shared a community experience

 the Art House way.

 This year on February 22nd at 12:00PM EST

for the 2nd annual The Meal.

 Whether it's breakfast in LA or a midnight snack in Beijing, 

let's take a moment from our hectic lives 

and share it with strangers around the world.

My Photo is titled "Even Better The Second Day" 

honoring the amazing first dinner Jenni created 

for us in her new place.

Amazing meal and we got to take home leftovers for today!

VAKA

Last night, I had the privilege of being in the audience for the dance performance by Black Grace, from New Zealand. It was incredibly powerful, both the athleticism of the dancers and the story they told with their bodies. According to Neil Ieremia, the choreographer, "the dance forms are carved out of the space that surrounds them. Sometimes the thing that interests me is the space between the dancers rather than the dancers themselves". I identify with that feeling, as I sculpt the clay and integrate found objects into my sculptures. For me, dance is just another medium to create sculptures, whether as a dancer myself, with my own body or the space between my fellow dancers and myself, or as a member of an audience as a witness, one who beholds the dance. I am moved to share some words that Ieremia, wrote in the program notes. I quote, "During this creative process we have realized that we are our own vaka (canoe) carrying our values and belief systems, experiences and memories good and bad, and a hope that when we leave this planet we leave it in a better shape than when we found it". He also posed some questions for the audience to ponder. He spoke about the "VAKA, as a vehicle for survival that carries our hope for life". Ieremia was also inspired by artist Bill Viola's video installation The Raft.
 Vaka was such a timely piece for me to bear witness to. I am always thrilled by the synchronicity that life presents to us, when we least expect it, if we move through life with eyes wide open. I have been revisiting my "boat" series of sculpture these past few weeks, as I move forward developing my body of work that will be a part of my solo exhibit next year at Gallery 114. I have a number of these "vessels" from my past, one of which is currently at the gallery. Lately, I have felt compelled to create some new boats. These boats are imbued with a bit of a different  story for me, it seems, as they unfold, but still carry with them some of the past. They still are vessels that hold things, move through time, represent journey, staying afloat, moving forward. They have evolved into a story that seems to be almost a continuation of where I left off. The dance performance made me think a lot about the things we hold onto, and the things we leave behind, be they people, objects or memories. I suppose that this vessel, still has many new journeys to take and new places to visit, in my internal and external landscape. I welcome these voyages into the unknown, with a sense of wonder and mystery, about the stories they will continue to tell me, and lessons they will teach me as they unfold.

The Chair Affair Is Gearing Up! Get Your Tickets

table & CHAIR AFFAIR 2013

WHEN: Thursday, March 21, 5 - 8:30pm

WHERE: Castaway, 1900 NW 18th Ave, 97209

YOU'RE IN FOR A TREAT...

Come help the Warehouse provide basic donated home furnishings to over 6,000 people each year. Together,  we can put used goods to good use every day! As March 21st approaches, stay tuned to the EVENT WEBPAGE for art & artist sneak previews, auction catalogue, dinner menu, parking info, and other event details!  Questions? Email Jocelyn or call 503.235.8786.

February at Gallery 114

The current exhibit at Gallery 114 featuring Hannah Karsen' photographs and Jeff Leake's paintings, is outstanding. I also have a sculpture in the members corner of the gallery. The exhibit will be up through the month of February.

Chair for Chair Affair 2013 Completed!

SESAME STREET TIME- CHAIR AFFAIR 2013

Today I am putting the finishing touches on my chair for the Community Warehouse's Annual Chair Affair. This year's creation is a child's rocking chair, with the timeless theme of Sesame Street. It was only yesterday that I shared watching the show with my little ones, now 30 and 33 years of age (and by the way Jenni and Adam are participating in the Chair Affair once again along with my newer "kid" by marriage, the very creative Tiffany). My little rocker is perfect to cuddle up in and watch Sesame Street or rock and read in. It comes with a blanket for snuggling on those chilly Portland days. It also comes with a little Ernie doll and Sesame Street tee shirt to wear, along with a sleep sac for those nights when your little one wants to go "camping" with Ernie in the comfort of their own bedroom. I know that the lucky recipient of this chair will make hours of memories with it and hopefully it will be an instant heirloom that they will share with their little ones someday.

The Never Ending Eloquence and Relevance of Mary Oliver's Words

Red Bird Explains Himself

~ Mary Oliver ~

“Yes, I was the brilliance floating over the snow
and I was the song in the summer leaves, but this was
only the first trick
I had hold of among my other mythologies,
for I also knew obedience: bring sticks to the nest,
food to the young, kisses to my bride.

But don’t stop there, stay with me: listen.

If I was the song that entered your heart
then I was the music of your heart, that you wanted and needed,
and thus wilderness bloomed that, with all its
followers: gardeners, lovers, people who weep
for the death of rivers.

And this was my true task, to be the
music of the body.  Do you understand? for truly the body needs
a song, a spirit, a soul.  And no less, to make this work,the soul has need of a body,
and I am both of the earth and I am of the inexplicable
beauty of heaven
where I fly so easily, so welcome, yes,
and this is why I have been sent, to teach this to your heart.”

It has felt like a whirlwind lately with the Gallery 114 interview and I have missed Tuesday night dance. I rejoiced in returning this week and was met with our new poem that had begun the week before, "Red Bird Explains Himself". My hidden line beaconed to me and it couldn't have more perfectly illustrated my life right now. The hidden line that I picked was "a song, a spirit, a soul.  And no less, to make this work". Indeed it is what is needed for me to create my work.

I was thrilled to have gotten this line. It first resonated for me, as an expression of my elation at being the newest member of Gallery 114, and all the possibilities that it holds for me. My creative spirit has felt as if it has been given a much needed jump start of sorts, with the prospect of my always longed for one woman show, that is scheduled to take place next February. Yes an entire year, a lifetime away, so it seems, but much work/passion has to transpire and come to fruition between February 2013 and 2014. The line spoke to me of the song, the spirit and the soul that seems to flow through me as I create and am created as I birth my work. But that word "work".... when I read it a second time I was met with the two meanings of the word "work". I first thought of the thrill of the work yet to come, and then the fear set in, and I was met with the question, can I make it "work"? I hesitated for a moment and then affirmed the first word of the poem aloud, YES! I am filled with many emotions now as I ponder this coming creative year. There are pieces I have recently created, as well as pieces yet to be created, that long to take their rightful place in the gallery next year. It will be a process that will unfold and no doubt hold many surprises, fears, joys and satisfactions for me as it evolves. I welcome them all.

New Membership in Gallery 114

I was delighted to find out today that I have been accepted as a new member in Gallery 114. After a wonderful experience with Taproot last month, and being honored by being chosen best artist in the exhibit, I decided to make the leap and apply for membership. Now, as a member, I look forward to many opportunities to exhibit and share in the creative endeavors that this gallery and it's talented artists journey through. It is a time of new beginnings and what a great day to be given this news, at Jenni's house on her 30th birthday. Lots of excitement and lots more creating to come!

We Have Come To Be Danced

This lovely piece was shared with my by a friend who has listened to me speak of my passion for dance and has really "heard me"! Thank you Kate.

"We have come to be danced

Not the pretty dance

Not the pretty pretty, pick me, pick me dance

But the claw our way back into the belly

Of the sacred, sensual animal dance

The unhinged, unplugged, cat is out of its box dance

The holding the precious moment in the palms

Of our hands and feet dance.

We have come to be danced

Not the jiffy booby, shake your booty for him dance

But the wring the sadness from our skin dance

The blow the chip off our shoulder dance.

The slap the apology from our posture dance.

We have come to be danced

Not the monkey see, monkey do dance

One two dance like you

One two three, dance like me dance

but the grave robber, tomb stalker

Tearing scabs and scars open dance

The rub the rhythm raw against our soul dance.

We have come to be danced

Not the nice, invisible, self-conscious shuffle

But the matted hair flying, voodoo mama

Shaman shakin’ ancient bones dance

The strip us from our casings, return our wings

Sharpen our claws and tongues dance

The shed dead cells and slip into

The luminous skin of love dance.

We have come to be danced

Not the hold our breath and wallow in the shallow

end of the floor dance

But the meeting of the trinity, the body breath

and beat dance

The shout hallelujah from the top of our thighs

dance

The mother may I?

Yes you may take 10 giant leaps dance

The olly olly oxen free free free dance

The everyone can come to our heaven dance.

We have come to be danced

Where the kingdom’s collide

In the cathedral of flesh

To burn back into the light

To unravel, to play, to fly, to pray

To root in skin sanctuary

We have come to be danced

WE HAVE COME." 

~~by Jewel Mathieson~~

2013 Chair Affair is Coming!

EXPECT THE BEST at the 7th table & CHAIR AFFAIR Save the Date - March 21, 2013 Looking forward to seeing you at Portland's most creative Thursday night party! Always something new and used. Always for Community Warehouse. Stay tuned to website for upcoming event details, ticket sales,  and sneak previews:   communitywarehouse.org/chairaffair **** To view last year's fabulous artwork and artists, click here.    www.communitywarehouse.org

A Wonderful First Thursday at Gallery 114

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.” ~Nelson Mandela

It has been about a year since I have put myself out there and taken the risk, that always comes with showing my art to the public. This past year has been filled with many emotions that have drained me, and often stood in the way of my creating. Usually when something is moving me in life, I am helped to move through it by creating. This past year though I have felt stuck. I never thought I would ever be at a loss for creating, but although many creative impulses have moved through me I have felt somewhat paralyzed to create consistantly. When I saw the call for entries into Gallery 114's annual juried exhibit Taproot, it somehow stirred something inside of me, that compelled me to take the risk and submit images of my work. The theme Taproot intriqued me. I explored the word more thoroughly and thought of the center as well as the rootedness from which my work grows, what inspires and connects the artist to this limitless world. So I put myself out there and dared to fail.

 I chose four pieces and when I was informed that they were all accepted into the exhibit I was filled with many emotions.  Excitement and sense of accomplishment that comes from being accepted by your peers, to join in an exhibit, as well as the fear that comes from showing your vulnerable side, since my work is all a very personal reflection of my life, and in essence a part of me. I cannot ever separate myself from my work, my creations.

The First Thursday reception was upon me, and I was surrounded by my family and friends, who came out to support me and help celebrate, even some wonderful surprises from friends near and far that brought great joy to me. I entered the gallery with the trepidation that always seems to accompany me to these events, even thought I don't invite it, this shadow side always seems to hitch a ride. Not only did my sculptures stand front and center looking so strong as they felt anchored in the gallery, but the piece that somehow, as a harbinger, Jenni had chosen to use on the announcement card she created for me, heralded a sign that said First Place! 

I was in shock, disbelief and pride that I am still in the process of digesting. 

I close with a quote, shared with me by the wisest woman in my life, who always knows the most inspirational, supportive things to say, just when I need to hear them, Jenni. 

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” 

--theodore roosevelt

Here is the promo video for Gallery 114 Taproot exhibit. Tomorrow night is the First Thursday opening reception from 6-9 and the exhibit will run through the month of January. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rebQXgGX924

Another Artful Vagabond Contribution on New Year's "Resolutions"

I was happy to once again be a part of the year's round up on day 363 in Serena Kovalosky's Artful Vagabond, 365 days of art and artists project, as it winds down and comes to an end, for this year at least. This time the question put out to artists was about New Year's Resolutions. You can see my contribution at:
http://www.artfulvagabond.com/new-years-resolutions-for-artists-day-363/

Artful Vagabond

Artful Vagabond Serena Kovalosky

I am happy to be a part of the Artful Vagabond blog community of Serena Kovalosky who has created a vehicle to connect artist from around the world through their artwork and their words. Check out my contribution on favorite museum and a featured sculpture. Serena's project is 365 posts a year about art and artist. A great way to feel like a part of a larger artist's collective. More posts on her blog to come.

Thank You Donate Dinner Volunteers!
Once again I was proud to be a Meals on Wheels volunteer. 

More than 1,200 individuals volunteered to distribute Donate Dinner cards at 25 independent grocers during the five days before Thanksgiving. We helped raise nearly $200,000 to provide meals for seniors this winter! If you didn't get a chance and would like to contribute, you can still Donate Dinneronline!

Exhibition Announcement

Thanks to the amazingly creative Jenni, I have an awesome announcement for the upcoming juried exhibit Taproot at Gallery 114.

Taproot

“We do not have to be long in the woods to experience the always rather anxious impression of ‘going deeper and deeper’ into a limitless world….” 

--Gaston Bachelard

Gallery 114’s annual juried show Taproot examines the artist’s impulse toward meaning-making, toward the process of finding the source. What in daily life provides context, gives form to meaning? Rather than put forth a set of specific content criteria, the Gallery was looking for submissions that either draw from or describe this impulse, what connects the artist to this limitless world.

That call for submissions seemed like a call I could not ignore. I feel like all the art that I create, is an impulse toward meaning-making and that process always leads me on a journey to find the source. Without expectation, I always arrive at a place I could have never anticipated, and that keeps me forever engaged in art making.

I was delighted to find out that all four of the pieces that I submitted to the jurors of this exhibit, were accepted for Taproot.

Gallery 114 is the only established gallery in Portland that has persisted in allowing its artists absolute artistic freedom throughout its 20-year history.

Founded in 1990 as an artist collective, Gallery 114 and its members have consistently produced a diversity of art work. Paintinsg, sculpture, photography and installation can be seen from its members, as well as curated events. The gallery is located at 1100 NW Glisan.

Gallery 114 will host Taproot during it's First Thursday opening reception on January 3, 2013 from 6-9pm. The gallery is opened Thursday-Sunday 12-6 pm.  

I awakened this morning to pouring rain. When I looked out upon the lake, it looked like a small child was standing on a nearby dock. I got my binoculars to see if my eyes were fooling me. Indeed they were, as I gazed upon a large blue heron, standing stately and patiently looking out upon the lake, unbothered by the driving rain. His stillness was statuesque and meditative. I thought of the line we danced the prior week about the impatience of stone. How the heron stood seemly purposeful and purposeless simultaneously, but who am I to judge. I guess I watched with a sense of envy.  It also reminded me of the Mary Oliver poem I read yesterday from her new book A Thousand Mornings.

"This morning

the beautiful white heron

was floating along above the water

and then into the sky of this

the one world

we all belong to

where everything

sooner or later

is a part of everything else

which thought made me feel

for a little while

quite beautiful myself."

~ Mary Oliver

Aftermourning

It has been over a month since I have felt moved to write. As I sit looking out the window, the water a still sheet of ice, reflecting its world, and the tree, framed by the picture window, a world unto itself, reveals a tree experiencing the changes of autumn. I too, find myself, once again, in my own personal autumn. The tree is almost barren, short of a few red leaves that remain, the color of the hummingbird food that stays untouched, yet hangs as it lies in wait. As the birds playfully and territorially tussle at my suet feeder, fueling up for their journey into winter, they shake the tree, almost imperceptibly, yet their movement sets one of the last leaves free to waft to the ground. It makes me feel sad as I watch this lone leaf make it's final, slow, graceful journey of the season, it's work done. There is no reason to hold on any longer. It no longer has a purpose and so it lets go. I hear the voice of my yoga teacher resonate in my head, "to have but not to hold". Once again, I am faced with the lesson that constantly visits me, how does one let go? How do you hold fast to the memories, the good times, let the sadness and the difficult times go, knowing that they have all served their purpose. Autumn is inevitable. My old friend/acupuncturist/massage therapist once told me that when you struggle in life, look to nature and the seasons for the answers. The tree outside my window now has one less leaf on it. It has a few more left to let go of. It can't be any other way.
These past weeks have felt like a huge wave I have named "aftermourning". It has felt almost more powerful than the original mourning process that I busied myself through when my mom died a year ago. I entered into the energy of Thanksgiving with a mixed array of emotions, and I now sit in solitude and solace that I feel grateful to be able to create for myself. Though I am not sure how to do it. I know that the aftermourning will always be with me, although it will morph and present itself in ever changing incarnations. I have felt so creatively stymied this past year. I reflect on it and see that I created only one sculpture that stands in my studio, unfired, unfinished with a crack at the umbilical cord. I have no need to fix it, it stands as it needs to. I did two large scale drawings and have not felt compelled to do an others just yet. I just finished another glass mosaic salvaged window. Aptly putting broken pieces of glass onto an old window to create something changed, new. I will polish it today and ready it for hanging on my porch. It will also help serve as a reminder that things break, things change, things can never be the same yet they can be put together in a new way, to create something with it's own beauty. You can see it and see through it, and it lets the sun illuminate it, even in the mostly dark days of winter. 
Memory... it is quite elusive, at times so close to your face that you cannot even focus on it, and at times memory is in a place, not necessarily of comfort, but in a place that we can settle in with it, and see it the way it presents itself, with a glimpse of clarity, at that moment, and that moment only. We can't even grasp it, as it is as fleeting as the birds who have knocked the spent leaf off the tree, to have but not to hold.

This About Sums It Up!