Here’s my latest artwork – it’s a video! It’s pretty experimental and I’m still learning what the process of stop-motion animation involves, but nothing ventured, nothing gained right?
The Gods and The Press. October 24, 2011
Had a great couple of weeks since my show opened at a.Muse gallery – 3 pieces have sold (including one to a local collector), a few more sales are looming, and I’ve been in the press a couple of times! Here‘s an article by Cynthia Popper about the show, and here‘s another by Jeremiah Barber for KQED that references the collaborative piece I made with Todd Anderson for the show about Time (the piece is mentioned at the end of the article, so keep reading!). I also managed to make an appearance in Alan Bamberger’s photo blog featuring local exhibitions. All together, not a bad few weeks!
I’m starting to learn that although I hate networking and schmoozing and self-promoting (she says as she writes a blog about herself), some really great connections and opportunities arise when you put in the effort – and I don’t just mean sales. For example, because of all the promoting Lori and I have done for my show (Lori owns a.Muse where my work is currently exhibited), I was contacted last week by two curators who have started an interesting on-line gallery idea. The website is called Violet Strays. Here’s their current offering:
PROVISIONAL ENGINEERING from Lauren Klenow on Vimeo.
It differs from other on-line gallery sites in three important ways. Firstly, it appears to be by invitation only, meaning the quality of work shown is of a high standard – not the mixed bag you often find on other art websites. Secondly, only one artist at a time is featured on the site, much like real galleries. Each artist is given a week long exhibit, then once the week is up the work is removed and the next artist gets the full attention of each visitor. As an artist I love the space for reflection that this system promotes. This is not an art superstore whose goal is to show you as many artworks as possible in a short space of time in hopes that you’ll find one you like, and buy it. Instead the viewer is offered the chance to ponder deeply the meanings and intentions of a select few artworks, sometimes just one.
Lastly, the intention of these curators is evidently not to make money, but to foster creativity and make connections with artists. When they approached me about creating something for the website they left it wide open. It was as though I was being dared to do something new – something I hadn’t shown the world yet. Fully bake a half-baked idea. In any medium. After working so hard to complete a body of work for the “Occupied” series this was just what I needed. A chance to go back to the drawing board and try something that didn’t have to relate to anything else I’d done. Just grab one of those random, fleeting ideas and make it real. So I think I’m going to try some stop-motion…. with drawings of bodies. Then again, maybe I’ll make a kite. Or a sculpture of a kitten. Or a massive installation that records all the creative thoughts that enter my head in one day.
Another amazing connection that came out of this period of focused promotion was the discovery of an artist called Kirsten Stolle. She contacted me after someone sent her a link to my website (or my show, not sure which), and a brief conversation ensued. I asked for links to her website, and I fell in love immediately upon seeing her work. There are some obvious connections between our work – scientific references, and a fondness for repetition and drawing. Seeing her work has encouraged me to try to return to painting on panels instead of on sheets of polypropylene, and to experiment more with mixed-media work. I can’t wait to get to Dolby-Chadwick gallery here in SF and see her work in the flesh. I’m actually so enamored with the work that if I can afford it I’d love to buy one of her pieces, and start my collection of scientifically themed art!
So what’s the point of this post? I suppose mostly that if you put in the effort to do the stuff you don’t like (promoting yourself), the gods will sometimes reward you with new sources of inspiration. And the press is one way in which these fortuitous connections happen. If nobody knows you’re out there, they don’t even know to look for you.
Todd and I Have Ants in Our Brains. October 7, 2011
My good friend Todd Anderson and I have been getting nerdy with ink and video and software and stuff, and have created a collaborative project called Ink Space/Ink Time. I have to admit that I don’t really have the brainpower for this amount of nerding, and have mostly relied on Todd’s colossal brain to do the hard work. You can read more about the project here, and you can also see some awesome videos of the process. But, a brief synopsis of what we’ve been doing is this: Taking a chaotic event (releasing sumi ink onto a puddle of water), and videoing the transformation of this event over time. Todd then takes the video and stacks the frames of the video on top of each other using fancy software. This creates a 3D model of the event. Finally, he uses a CNC router (or we’ll be using a 3D printer if we can afford one) to cut the shape from high-density foam. Then I paint it and make it look like an iceberg 
Here’s a photo of what one of the sculptures looks like:
On the surface, the project was about letting our curiosity guide us. I have always loved watching the way the ink interacts with the water as I paint. Todd was fascinated by it too. I could see the neurons firing on all cylinders while he watched the blackness creep outward in fractal-like shapes. Over the next few years, as Todd finished his PhD, he began to play around with ideas of using custom software to capture the event and make it physical. Then he began dabbling with machines and routers. He’s one of those guys. A genius tinkerer. His brain seems inexplicably drawn to complex things. Like a colony of ants it starts to explore and map out the new territory, biting off chunks and returning it to home base for processing. And once all the interesting pieces have been collected, investigated, tagged and stored in the big messy Cave of Stashed Info that’s been collected over the years, connections start to happen. Sometimes unlikely ones. Sometimes more obvious ones. And so, like dot-to-dots, a line was drawn between the software he used at work, the machines he was playing with at the Tech Shop where he liked to tinker, and the ink blossoms I showed him.
Why am I telling you about Todd’s brain? Well, because I think it illustrates an important issue in the making of art and in the living of life. It seems that it is important to play, with no goal in mind. Just spontaneous action guided by curiosity. The ant colony inside your head wants to find new things, learn new things, without judgement or purpose. It also wants to assemble new ideas and make new connections using the stuff its already stashed. From what I understand from brain research, your brain really needs to be doing this. You don’t want the neurons to keep firing down the same old paths. Apparently, learning new things (such as a new language, dance, quantum physics, knitting – anything) can help stop or slow down the onset of Alzheimer’s and other degenerative brain issues. It’s also just fun.
And when the ant colony is doing it’s job, creativity happens. Ideas start looming in the fog, getting clearer and clearer as more connections are made. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, they just burst into existence, fully-formed. But they’ve still come to you via the Cave of Stashed Info.
So the moral of my rambling is this:
Feed your brain.
And find yourself a Todd. Sometimes your ants need to meet new ants.
Oh, and stay away from anteaters.
My new show opens in 2 weeks! September 30, 2011
My new show, titled “Occupied: The Experience of Inhabiting a Body” opens on October 13th at a.muse Gallery in San Francisco. I am furiously trying to get everything finished this weekend so next week can be spent framing and promoting, but as ever, the creative spirit is fickle and stubborn, and does not understand deadlines. So there are some good days, when she visits and whispers good ideas in my ear, and bad days, when she sulks in the corner of my studio because she has been ousted by Anxiety.
All the pieces in the show, bar one, are brand new and making their debut at this exhibition. It’s always both an exciting and a terrifying moment when you present new works. You never know how they’ll be received, especially when you’ve departed quite significantly from older pieces. Truthfully, these new pieces are more an extension of some earlier pieces; a more in-depth, deeper exploration of some ideas I had about how important the body is. So I don’t think anyone will be utterly stunned by the differences, but there are some very large, less controlled and almost violent pieces that I love, but am not sure everyone will.
More info about the show can be found here
The opening reception is on Thursday October 13th, from 6:00 – 8:30pm
Sketch Tuesday at Minna on 9/27! September 14, 2011
So, I’ll be participating in 111 Minna’s next Sketch Tuesday, which will be on September 27th. If you’ve never been before it’s a fun way to hang out at a bar, watch artists make sketches, and possibly buy yourself an original piece of art for cheap! I don’t know who the other artists are yet, but there are usually between 10 and 15 artists participating.
Sketching starts at 6:00pm and goes until about 10:00pm.
You should come.
Photo courtesy of Arrested Motion
Why It’s Good To Get Out and Get Over Yourself June 6, 2011
Last night was the opening reception of the “Flow” show at Arc. Here I am grinning like an idiot next to my piece:
Before attending this show, I stopped by another show opening in a tiny little gallery called 60six in upper Mission. The opening included a performance piece by artist Anastasia Faiella, and was my first performance art experience. I usually cringe and cower at the idea of “performance” in any form, but this woman’s work was all about mark-making which is right up my alley so I figured time to bite the bullet - try to keep an open mind and a straight face. Stupidly I had imagined that the performance would go on for quite a while and that I could just wander in like one does at a regular reception. So I got there at 7:40 – 10 minutes after the posted start time – to find a locked door and the sound of a satisfied audience clapping appreciatively behind it. Damn my infernal powers of disorganization!
Anyway, luckily the artist had the foresight to video the event and then project it back in a continuous loop on top of the drawing once the performance was over, for those as useless as me at getting anywhere on time. Here’s an example of one of her performance pieces – though not the one from last night.
And my response to this very public expression of one’s inner self (which sounds horrifying and hellish)? I liked it! A lot. I was afraid that the artist was going to be a bit, you know, attention-needy because (I thought) why else would anyone want to subject themselves to something as awful as dozens of people watching and silently judging you – your art, your body, your talent, your soul exposed. Maybe it was because her movements were very elegant and strong, and really much more like dancing than drawing. Or maybe it was because I have performed the same exercise alone in my studio so could connect with and understand what she was doing. But either way, somewhat like when a nude model first de-robes and you have to train your brain to get over the raw nakedness and all the social awkwardness that you would usually feel, eventually the instinct to look away subsided and I could actually see form, beauty, movement and rhythm. I was offered an opportunity not only to connect with the intention and sentiment that this artist was expressing, but also with myself. Without judgement, I saw that I had brought my own issues – about performance, being on show, exposing myself – to this piece and these became part of the experience for me. I saw myself standing in the way of an opportunity to connect.
When I was able to step aside guess what happened? WHAM! An awesome idea popped right into my head, almost fully formed. An idea that fits right in with the current work I’m doing, but extends it in ways I had never thought of before. And, of course, it’s going to require me to do some performance art myself, and face my demons.
That’s all I’m going to say about it right now. But I’ve made a commitment to it, so here goes. I’m busting out the yoga pants and legwarmers.
Release #1 at Arc Gallery, June 4th 7-10pm May 31, 2011
As mentioned in a previous post, one of my newer pieces is appearing in the upcoming exhibition “Flow: The Essence of Paint” at Arc Gallery in San Francisco. The opening reception (which I’ll be attending) is on Saturday June 4th from 7 – 10pm. Arc is located at 1246 Folsom, SF. Here’s a link for more info.
In other news, it looks like I’ll be having a solo show at A. Muse gallery in September or October of this year! The details have yet to be finalized, but if all goes ahead as planned I am going to be one very excited (and productive) artist. I’m slowly trying to pull together a good idea for this show, and I feel something forming in the mist, I just haven’t understood clearly what it is yet. It will definitely be body-related, and may possibly include some 3D stuff. Will keep posting here as the ideas develop.
In the meantime, here are some body-related images I find inspiring:
Francis Bacon
Brain cells
More brain cells
More brain cells.
Get yer Limited Edition Archival Prints of my Paintings! May 14, 2011
In an unusual moment of determination and organization, I decided to follow through on plans to make limited edition prints of my work available. Through a recommendation from friend and artist Joe White, I was directed to an experienced, meticulous, and wonderful local printer called John Sheridan who patiently and generously answered all my questions, quelled all my fears, and in record-time produced beautiful archival prints of my work from scans that he picked over, tweaked, and polished until you couldn’t tell the difference between the print and the original. If anyone needs some printing done, I can’t recommend him highly enough.
Anyway, here’s the link, and below are the images that are now available in print.
Sorry about the watermarks – obviously they’ll be removed in the prints.
So, now that I have said prints, what to do with them? I opened an etsy store, posted photos of the prints, and now I sit back and wait for the $$$ and accolades to roll in, right? Not so.
It seems that in today’s over-connected wired world there are many tools available for self-promotion and we are expected to use them or perish. I thought I was terribly clever for even opening an etsy store, but it turns out I should now be tweeting, FBing, blogging, posting on other people’s blogs, and generally getting all up in everyone’s face to promote my work. Kind of reminds me of the local outdoor market where I grew up. As customers would walk past each stall they’d be screamed at by lunatic sellers who were desperately trying to be heard above the din of other lunatics screaming why their wares were best. And there was always a stall that had a crowd of people oo-ing and ah-ing around it. This seller by no means had the best product, he or she just had the best shtick. They jumped and hooted and grinned and flirted and gesticulated wildly. Anything to get attention. I believe I must become the cyber-version of this ware-flogging performing monkey to bring people to my stall. And everyone is so used to this approach by now that if I don’t, and instead try to act in a civilized manner and rely on the quality of my goods, I and my work will quietly fade into oblivion. Ah, the cult of personality.
This is why galleries are so awesome, and why my next step must be to find one (or a few) to represent me. They exist in a different market. One in which wine and cheese abound, people get dressed up to visit, and the work is the focus of attention. Maybe gallerists shop on Etsy too? Roll-up, roll-up!
BS Radar April 9, 2011
Thanks to my studiomate Angela Dominguez, I heard about an upcoming juried show at Arc Gallery in San Francisco, the title of which is “Flow: The Essence of Paint”. My work seemed like a good fit for an exhibition that explores the liquid quality of paint, given that most of my works harness the chaotic qualities of water (and ink) in motion. So I submitted three pieces for their consideration (my first such submission to a juried show), and am happy to report that two pieces were selected – one for the show in their physical space, and one for their online exhibit! The one that will be hung in the gallery is a newer piece, from the “Viscera and Effluences” series, so I was pleased to see that it was well received at its debut. It’s called “Release #1″, and it’s one of my favorites:
The “Release” pieces that I create involve adding acrylic inks to water and then rolling the liquid around on the surface of the polypropylene by tilting it. This creates chaotic “channels” and paths of ink that serve as an initial structure around which I build the rest of the composition. I enjoy the challenge of having to work with marks that I have very little control over, and then building order into and around it, much as we create meaning and structure around those things we can’t understand or control in our lives.
It’s interesting to watch my mind’s inclination toward order, and the satisfaction that arises from successfully navigating that process. And it’s also interesting to be aware of the equally strong inclination to then destroy the structure, or impose yet more chaos over that hard-labored illusion of safety and solidity. Who knows where that comes from? I think it’s a BS radar – too much settled, measured balance and some itchy feeling develops somewhere in my body that wants to yell “Bullshit!” (sorry Mum), because experience has taught me that nothing is ever as secure as it might appear. So then I go back to swimming about in ink.
“Viscera: Stomach” will also be appearing in their on-line exhibition. More details to follow…..
Onward. March 12, 2011
The reception at liquid spaces was fantastic. So many people came out to support us. I met a lot of interesting people, including Jonah Burlingame who’s work I have admired for a few years now, and got to introduce my work to new friends. I’m always amazed and touched at how many of my friends will make the effort to attend receptions, and buy work. I am a very lucky girl
Friends At the Reception
After Party
So, now that I have officially made my entrance into the San Francisco artosphere, what’s next? Doing this show and winning the Artslant contest have led to a lot of interest in my work from various people – gallerists, private collectors, art consultants etc, and I feel poised to take the next step. Whatever that is. How do I choose a path from here? What are the pitfalls I should avoid? Who do I trust? Until now it has felt as though I was stumbling around in a dark room, trying to find the door to a career as an artist. Now the door has been opened I’m both excited and overwhelmed by the possibilities that lay ahead. Unlike Alice, I’m not the risk-taking type. No white rabbits for me please. I need a map to help me find the best way through the woods, avoiding big bad wolves and witches with gingerbread houses. I think the appropriate motto is slow and steady wins the race. Right?
