Infectious Nature

This past weekend I traveled to my hometown of Port Townsend, WA to hang my first solo show, Infectious Nature. It was a quick, whirlwind trip and travelling with artwork was stressful but I am very happy with the way the show came together. The show is at Elevated Ice Cream, an iconic landmark for both locals and tourists alike (www.elevatedicecream.com). 

Photograph by Robert Foster

Photograph by Robert Foster

Not only is this my first solo show, it is also the first time in a while that I've shown original drawings and paintings rather than ceramics. Without current access to a potter's wheel, I've been making many blind contour drawings and abstract gouache renderings of bacteria lately. This will come as no surprise to those who follow this blog or website. 

A special thank you to the people who went above and beyond to help make this show possible: Alexandra Robinson, Payton McGowen, Hollis Hammonds, Joyce Foster, and Edgar Marin. 

WEST

I had a wonderful time showcasing my student artwork and selling my own today at West Austin Studio Tours stop #289 at Ann Richards School, where I completed my student teaching. Scroll through the photo gallery below.

Again, coming home feeling inspired by the other artist vendors and being around creative people in general, I created some new blind-contour drawings of a bouquet of snapdragons I picked up on my way home in the middle of a thunderstorm. Scroll through these blind-contours below and be on the lookout for many more from my mother's garden this summer.

Gouache Paintings

After attending 3 art openings last night and with today's dreary weather in Austin, I was inspired to make some new work. I haven't painted with gouache since my color theory class in college but was reminded how much I love it. It truly is a joy to mix color, I had forgotten how much I love to paint. The compositions are very similar to my color studies from 2013 though on a larger scale. They will be for sale during West Austin Studio Tours at Ann Richards School on Saturday, May 14th from 10am - 3pm. I hope to see some familiar faces there! Click on the large photo below to see close ups of my new work, titled "Rain."

I also encourage Austinites to check out the AISD Teacher Art Show, Rhythm of our City, currently on view at the Performing Arts Center. Anyone who has said, "those who can't, teach" certainly hasn't met the talented art teachers in Austin! There is lots of wonderful work on display on the mezzanine level and in the display cases on the main level, which is where you can find a set of my virus plates. 

Double Blind Contour Portraits

At Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders, a public all-girls school, I taught a 3.5 week long unit on experimental drawing. One of the most-loved exercises was this double blind contour portrait where students were randomly assigned a partner …

At Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders, a public all-girls school, I taught a 3.5 week long unit on experimental drawing. One of the most-loved exercises was this double blind contour portrait where students were randomly assigned a partner and with their sketchbooks under the table, drew a blind contour of their partner with first their dominant hand and then with their non-dominant hand in a different color. The results are beautiful and the students thought it was hysterical.