In Search Of Peace

Please check out the website In Search Of Peace. One of my photos was included in the exhibit and is now on the on-line exhibit. I shot it at the 2007 Portland Peace March.

Chair Affair Website Update

Well the Community Warehouse Chair Affair website is completely updated! You can view bits and pieces of my chair, as well as most of the 80 artist's chairs to tempt you to swing by on First Thursday April 2 or to attend the Chair Affair auction on April 23. Check it out and enjoy!

The Chair Affair 2009 Is Getting Closer

Today I got a glimpse at some of the truly amazing chairs that will be auctioned off at the Chair Affair on April 23. For First Thursday April 2, I am delighted that PH Reed has chosen to display my chair Kickin' Back In Portland, at their store. They are located at NW 11th and Glisan. It will be there for the First Thursday opening reception from 6-9 pm as well as the remainder of the month leading up to the big event. My chair Let The Good Times Roll Again, will be exhibited at the Anka Gallery at 325 NW 6th near the Everett Street Loft Galleries. It too will be there for the remainder of the month but they are open limited hours. Tickets to the auction will be available for purchase at those locations on First Thursday. The auction will not only be filled with the most amazing chairs of all sizes, shapes and stories, but there will be food, wine and dessert to fill all your senses. Hope you can either join me by stopping by during First Thursday or hopefully I will see you at the auction on the 23!

2009 Event

A Fun-Filled Benefit for the Community Warehouse

When: Thursday April 23, 2009 - 6:00-8:30 pm Where: Staver Locomotive - 2537 NW 29th, Portland, Oregon

The Chair Affair has expanded to over 80 local artists featuring chair-related art that includes jewelry, paintings, pottery, fabric, and of course, dozens of fabulous chairs!

NEW FOR 2009: "Take a Seat" auction items: Blazer tickets, dinner & theatre seats, a weekend at the beach, and MORE!

Have a seat & enjoy dessert during the live auction!

Tickets $50 each or, buy a dessert table for eight for the price of six tickets!

	Buy your 2009 Chair Affair tickets now!
	Buy a Dessert Table for Eight-for the price of six tickets!

or call (503) 224-0711 or email kristy@communitywarehouse.org

The Chair Affair grows closer!

Follow the Chair Affair updates as it unfolds at: http://www.communitywarehouse.org/chairaffair/2009event/artists/grishman.html Please check back often to see the pictures of the chairs as they are gathered for the big event and for more information about where you can see all the chairs in person! As of now there are over 80 artists participating in this very worthwhile event. I am personally very excited to see the other chairs that will be joining my two at the Chair Affair on April 23. They will all be on exhibit for First Thursday on April 2 at PH Reed's windows and the Anka Gallery at the Everett Street Station. The chairs will be on display for the month of April at Mario's and PH Reed's windows and the Anka Gallery in NW.

The Chair Affair 2009 Second Chair completed

I just finished delivering my two chairs to the Community Warehouse for the Chair Affair. The second chair is Let The Good Times Roll Again! or as it is they referred to in The Big Easy, AKA New Orleans, Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler Recommencer! This is my tribute chair to honor New Orleans. There is no city in the US like it. I guess I became inspired since I will be visiting this wonderful city for the fifth time next year. This will be my first time since hurricane Katrina ravaged the city on August 28, 2005. When you look at my chair you see the colorful, Mardi Gras spirit that pervades the city all year long. It is the most vibrant place I have ever visited. The people are diverse and the artistic international character is everywhere you look. The French Quarter, is filled with painters, mimes, fortune tellers and musicians. You would never know that the rest of the city and state had been destroyed by hurricane Katrina almost four years ago. You can place my chair against the wall and see nothing but the joyous, colorful spirit that makes New Orleans unique. Upon closer look, hidden behind the chair, some of the true story that has taken place is revealed. It is our choice as humanitarians to look at the chair from all sides, stop hiding the atrocities that have shattered this neglected city, and begin to truly rebuild this treasure.

The Chair Affair 2009 Update

I am please to announce that The Anka Gallery on NW 6^th is going to show the chairs during April and host a First Thursday opening on April 2nd! This is a wonderful free opportunity to preview all the chairs that will be auctioned off at the Chair affair, and to learn about theevent and the Community Warehouse. Tickets for the CHAIR AFFAIR will be available for purchase there.The CHAIR AFFAIR will be on Thursday, April 23rd this year.

I am very excited since this is my first time as an participating artist. I know it is always a fun event and this year we will be in a large space, so please help the Community Warehouse by buying tickets, bidding on one of a kind artist chairs and have a fabulous time! Tickets can also be bought through the website www.communitywarehouse.org I had such an awesome time creating my first chair Kickin Back In Portland that I am going through withdrawal, so I have decided to create another chair. As fate has it I was walking down the street a few weeks ago and there was a guy having a garage sale and I wanted one of his chairs. He said I could have it for $3 but only if I took the second chair off his hands for free! I of course could not resist the offer. It has been looking at me very intensely and beckoning me to transform it, so I gave into the burning desire yesterday. It is already half completed and it is all I can think about. (A bit obsessive/compulsive? Absolutely, but I don't think it counts if it is for charity does it!?) Well, I am attaching a before picture of the chair that is becoming Let The Good Times Roll Again! or the way they refer to it in The Big Easy, AKA New Orleans, Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler Recommencer! This is my tribute chair to honor New Orleans in many ways. There is no city in the US like it. I guess I became inspired since I will be visiting this wonderful city for the fifth time next year. This will be the first time since hurricane Katrina ravaged the city. Check back soon to see the completed chair or better yet stop by the Anka Gallery on April 2 to see it and all the others in person.

Self Published Photography Books

This is a glimpse at the three photography books I have self published. For a preview of these books or to order copies of Portals, Identity, or The Nature of Things, you can visit my bookstore at Blurb

What and Who defines an artist?

I am inspired to question what we are faced with when our creative endeavors are accepted into exhibits and receive accolades. Why do they suddenly seem to become more important. Why do we as artists need external validation to make us feel like accomplished artists? Is our work just as important whether or not it is ever seen or shown in a gallery or other public space? Who are we creating our art for? I am continually asked the question, "Oh, are you a professional artist?" and my personal favorite, "Is that what you do for a living"? Well if creating art for a living means that if I stopped creating my spirit would not be able to thrive, then the answer is yes! I am an artist because I must be! Now as I continue on my now over two year journey, challenged by my injured, post surgical right hand, I find it difficult to thrive, because I cannot create the way I want to. For the time being, I am angry, frustrated and am feeling that I am being cheated by not being able to live my calling fully. So the question becomes, "Am I less of an artist when I cannot create?"

The never ending question and debate that lives within that creative place I like to call my mind/heart is, "do I need outside affirmations to validate me as an artist?" I am currently visiting this question that lives in the dark side of my mind because, I was not accepted into a juried exhibit I just entered. This differs from "rejected" mind you, and this is a very important distinction that I constantly grapple with. Why do we continue to give "experts" the power to decide if our work is worthy of inclusion in exhibits? Why do we all dread the arrival of the generic, kind, rejection letter that attempts to console the artist? I tell myself I am proud of myself for taking on the creative challenge, as well as having the courage to put myself out there. I tell myself that acceptance does not matter. Am I constantly lying to myself to console my mind/heart? Those of us who tend to be the self-deprecating, sensitive type, do not fully acknowledge and absorb all our accomplishments, but rather diminish their importance. Yet why is it we fully embrace the non-acceptances?

The jurors take on the job of deciding what does and what does not get included in exhibits. That is their challenge. They come to this with their own eyes, their own artistic sensibilities, as well as their own visions and biases. As artists, we too share those characteristics. If we all liked the same things and created the same work, how boring it would be. Yet I expect this stranger who is deemed the "decider" (sorry, I promised myself I would NEVER use that phrase!), to love the very personal work I make, as much as I do. I begin to question whether or not my work is not as good as I think it is. Am I good enough? If my work is so personal and autobiographical, can the viewer relate to it and am I not good enough? We can weave quite a prison for ourselves!

Of course, out of curiosity and an ever so tiny bit of self confessed bitterness, I plan to go to the exhibit with my own biases to see the exhibit. I want to see if in fact the chosen work that was deemed "better" than mine. It is inevitable that I will see something in the exhibit and think, "how could that have made it into the exhibit and not mine"? I try to console myself. I know it is largely about my ego. My need for approval in order for me to continue to see myself as a "real artist".

Once I move beyond all this, I forget. I continue to create and continue to put myself into these vulnerable positions where I give my power over to a stranger. I can choose to let them decide who I am, and how good I am at what I do. I might as well let them hold my clay or look through the lens of my camera if I am going to relinquish that power! Why even bother?

The next time I am going to attempt to choose to view the situation differently. I am going to try to move beyond the ego. I acknowledge the fact that had it not been for the opportunity to enter this exhibit, I would not have examined thousands of my photographs, picking out the photos that are gems to me, and then create the narratives in three self published photography books in a week's time. I would never have taken on this challenge and I am very proud of myself for risking it. I look at these three coffee table artist books and think "did I make those? Hell I never knew I had it in me!" The next time I am going to take the credit for creating them, and absorb the pride that I feel is well deserved in my process and the resulting creations regardless of the external judgment. Why not?! It is my art and my choice! Now we all know that the next time I hang myself naked on a nail in front of a juror and give them the power to choose me or not, I will probably visit these feelings again (sort of like waiting and hoping as a kid not to be the last one picked to be on the softball team- but time to get over that one, don't ya think?) This time I am going to sit back on my cozy chair, put my feet up on the ottoman, pour myself a glass of wine and browse through my three self published coffee table books! Wow! Who made these? Cheers!

My Chair Affair 2009 Before and After

BEFORE: Well it has been such an exhilarating ride creating my chair for the Chair Affair. My chair is entitled "KICKIN' BACK IN PORTLAND"! My chair pays homage to some of the wonderful things that make Portland the perfect place to kick back and relax. I must thank some of the contributors of bits and pieces that helped make the chair come together. Portland Monthly Magazine let me forage through their archives and tear covers off their colorful back issues depicting our glorious city! Tazo Tea gave me great stickers representing their vast array of teas. The local micro breweries all graciously gave me their individual coasters depicting their micro brews. I thank my friends and family whose tirelessly made the sacrifice by drinking beer and wine, and then contributing caps and corks from the many Oregon Wineries and Breweries in town. Our wonderful 2008 Thanksgiving with friends and family didn't hurt, and Michael and I gladly contributed our fair share as well! The Chair Affair Auction takes place on April 23,2009 and the monies raised help The Community Warehouse which is a wonderful organization that has been working overtime and under supplied given this years exceptionally cold winter and our hurting economy. This has created an even greater need this year for donations of home items and funds for the many families in need. You can have a fun evening, see the wonderfully created chairs by local artists and hopefully bring home an outrageous one of a kind sculptural chair knowing you have not only artistically enriched your surroundings but have greatly helped a family in need! AFTER:

New Beginnings and our new President!!

I am still in shock! It is so surreal that our dreams and hopes have finally come to fruition! I truly believe that this is the beginning of a future filled with integrity, humanity, true democracy with a government for, of and by the people, with equality, and peace. I admire President Obama as an intelligent leader, a husband, a father and a humanitarian. I truly believe in the future for our children and our children's children! I am finally, after much too long, proud to call my self an American once again!

Blurb Self-Published Books

Well I do not usually work well under pressure but all things considered I am very pleased with the outcome! I just self published three photography books through Blurb You can view a preview of the three books containing my photography. The books are, IDENTITY, PORTALS, and THE NATURE OF THINGS. I will be submitting all three to the 23 Sandy Gallery for their next national juried exhibit March 6-28, 2009 Photo+Book: A Juried Exhibition of Self-Published, On-Demand Photo Books Check back next month to see if any of the books will be included in the exhibit.

Maternal Legends Catalogue

Today is the last day of the exhibit Maternal Legends at 23Sandy Gallery. I found out yesterday that the feedback on the exhibit was overwhelming and they have decided to make a 50 page color catalogue including all the artists work available at http://www.lulu.com/content/5414141

A shared warmth during the holidays

This is a entry that I hesitated to post at the end of the year, since it might be misconstrued as self promoting, but after pondering it for over a month I am choosing to post it now. My reason being, like a small pebble cast into a still body of water, there is a ripple effect, like dominoes if you will. If by reading this entry, even one person is moved to reach out in any small way, I feel that the energy of paying your personal gifts forward will be accomplished. Even just by writing this, I feel it nourishes a positive energy that is in the spirit of this New Year and new administration of hope, and positive change. With Thanksgiving almost upon us and the forecast for Portland being an unusual Arctic blast of cold and snow in the forecast, I reflect on my greatly blessed life. A few weeks ago I awoke with the first thought entering my mind being that I felt compelled to reach out to the large homeless population living on the streets of Portland. I knew then and there what I wanted to do to help the people who at this time are not as blessed with all their needs being met as I am. I knew that if I could make a few small differences, that added up to a bigger gift. I went to the fabric store and bought 6 yards of polar fleece fabric and a dozen one size fits all $1 gloves. The week before Thanksgiving, I sat down at my sewing machine with my favorite music playing, and proceeded to sew 34 Neck Warmers. The sewing felt like a soothing meditation and I felt so at peace doing it. Often times creating art in your studio can feel self indulgent, even though I truly believe that in the creating, it does serve a much higher purpose. As I finished the 34th neck warmer only a few hours later, I felt thoroughly nourished. A few days later the forecast predicted one of the coldest spells we have ever had. With my trusty driver and supporter in every endeavor, Michael, we drove around the city in the pouring rain (o.k. so I did mention we live in Portland, right!) As we reached the streets with the largest group of people standing outside the shelters, who were hoping that the lottery number they picked would provide them a bed for the night, the rains let up. As I approached one gathering of men, they looked at me with a sense of surprise that someone would be offering them something to comfort them without having to ask for it. A few said no thanks but changed their minds when they saw their companions immediately putting them on. They said thank you with such sincerity, and said that I would be in their prayers as I said, they would be in mine. There was a sparkle in their eyes.They accepted the gift with gratitude and pride and with the spirit in which they were given. As I walked back to the car I stopped for a moment and looked back. There was a gathering of men all wearing the fleece neck warmers that I had stitched. We continued to drive around the streets stopping at every doorway or niche where there was someone standing with their worldly goods in tote, and I handed out the neck warmers until I sadly had to tell the remaining bystanders that I had none left. As I write this I am very choked up and filled with the sense of the deep warmth that they had provided to my heart in exchange for the warmth that I provided their necks during this especially cold winter. When I was flying to sunny San Francisco for Christmas, the people I had met were in my thoughts. We had the worst snow storm in decades before I flew out, postponing my flight for two days. I knew there were 34 warmer people on the streets of Portland. That was the gift I received this year.

As Mother Teresa said: "Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat. Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing."

Yesterday as the cold spell continued, Michael and I drove around once again and distributed the gloves. I was once again received with great surprise and gratitude. Next year I will once again sew the neck warmers, but will start much earlier in the fall, and try to make 100 of them to distribute. The price of the fleece and my time were minuscule compared to the gift of comfort, warmth, caring and kindness that it helped to provide. I end with another Mother Teresa quote that always inspires me.

"In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love."

Maternal Legends Opening Reception 23 Sandy Gallery

Maternal Legends 23 Sandy Gallery About this Book

"Ice Has A Way Of Melting"

Clay, found objects, displayed on Purple Heart wooden book stand. 19 x 11 x 10 inches.

Artist Statement

Inspired by my relationship with my daughter, Jenni, two trees grow separate yet attached at the roots, that sacred container. The challenges, the love, the richness, the thorns, the pleasure and the pain. The ice has a way of melting and with this comes the water to nourish the tree(s). The light of the fire within, the incubation needed to become. The fire of the feminine. Kuan Yin is the Buddhist Goddess of Compassion and Protection who through great love and sacrifice during life and whose mysterious powers continually produced, sustained, destroyed, and renewed life throughout the universe. The growing together of mother-daughter, a part of each other yet apart from each other. The scars from the thorns begin to fade, the flowers begin to blossom as the two strong women emerge, more connected than before.

Thank you from Rubia!

Tashakor Means Thank You

Much appreciation to Mayor Sam Adams, Pollyanne Birge, and Jo Grishman for organizing the Portland, Oregon exhibition of Women Helping Women, Stitch by Stitch.

Women’s Caucus for Art–Rubia Collaborative Quilt Update

This past winter and spring Rubia and the Women’s Caucus for Art (WCA), a national organization for the promotion of women and art, created a collaborative art quilt using Rubia-inspired stitching and imagery. The quilt, Women Helping Women, Stitch by Stitch, presented a unique opportunity for women to connect through their artwork, supporting cross-cultural communication. Since its opening in May, the quilt has been traveling around the US raising awareness for Rubia’s mission and work. November 6th at City Hall in Portland Oregon was the 5th opening for the WCA-Rubia collaborative quilt. The quilt was on display during November in the City Hall. The next showing will be March 2-April 2, 2009 at the Florissant Valley Art Gallery in St. Louis, MO. Accompanying the quilt is a juried exhibition of WCA St. Louis and Philadelphia members entitled, Women and the Environment. To follow the quilt’s tour or to inquire about sponsoring an exhibit please visit www.marycrowley.com/rubia or call 603-397-3438.

Start Making A Reader Today

Since the beginning of October I have been working at the Portsmouth Clarendon Elementary School with SMART, Start Making A Reader Today. Now that my own kids are too old to read to, this is a wonderful opportunity to work with children on their reading skills. The two children I work with weekly are a delight and I am not sure who is benefiting more from our sessions, the kids or me!?

Loaves and Fishes this Thanksgiving

Saturday I worked at Whole Foods Grocery asking if patrons would donate $3.68 or more to help provide a Thanksgiving Meal to homebound seniors. Usually I work at one of the Loaves and Fishes center in my neighborhood weekly. The meals are truly accepted with gratefulness. Working at the grocery store however was truly a challenge and a test for me in dealing with anger, resentment and lack of tolerance when faced with the numbers of people who would not participate. I am trying through this, to work on those character challenges I was faced with. All in all when I completed my shift, I still was left with the feeling that in general most of humanity is generous, good, peaceful and compassionate. It is never too late if you wish to donate a meal for Thanksgiving or at anytime of the year to help a senior. Some seniors depend on this as their only meal of the day. This year there were 1,450 volunteers working and together we helped to raise $227,000!! This was a tremendous help in fulfilling the mission that NO SENIOR GOES HUNGRY OR EXPERIENCES SOCIAL ISOLATION. I feel proud to have been a part of this tremendously successful holiday venture especially in difficult economic times.

P:ear- Project: Education, Art and Recreation

Today I had my first experience volunteering at P:ear, Project: Education, Art and Recreation. P:ear builds positive relationships with homeless and transitional youth, ages 15 to 23, through education, art and recreation to affirm personal worth and create more meaningful and healthier lives. Each year the programs serve more than 350 homeless and transitional young people. I look forward to being able to play an active role in P:ear in the future.

Zimbabwe Artist Project Holiday Sale

I volunteer with The Zimbabe Artist Project. ZAP celebrates the artistry and accomplishments of women from rural Weya in eastern Zimbabwe. Through education, sale of their art in the U.S., and special projects, ZAP helps women become economically self-sufficient. Women of Weya are subsistence farmers, mothers, and householders as well as artists. Most women live on their own, providing for families. This years holiday sale will take place on December 5 4-9 pm & December 6 10-4 at 107 SE Washington St., Suite 162 Portland, OR 97214 (503)232-7057

The Chair Affair

Tonight was the artist party to select our chairs from the Community Warehouse in Portland. We will then be decorating them and they will be auctioned at the Chair Affair. This is the "BEFORE" picture of the chair I chose to recreate. I have big plans for it! The working title is Kicking Back in Portland, but one never knows, that might change. Check back frequently as I document the evolution of my chair which will be a tribute to many of the things that make Portland unique. The Community Warehouse recycles donated furniture and household items. They collect these items and give them back out to local families in need. Community Warehouse works in partnership with over 80 local non-profit and social services agencies. This fundraising effort pays for the cost of serving 25 families a week. I am very excited to be participating in this event for a very worthy cause.