my art year in review
Taking a cue from other artist-bloggers I visit, I guess it's time to take stock of (artistic) accomplishments of the year gone by.
1. We hosted two Open Studios at our place: Art at the Source, in June, with sculptor friend Patrick Scott; and ArTrails in October, for a total of 4 open weekends. (we've decided that next year at least, we'll do only the one in October) Both were extremely well-attended, and ArTrails in 
October was my most successful ever. Gretchen Giles, of the Bohemian wrote a nice column about us.
2. In January, we switched from being partners in Arches Gallery (Healdsburg), to having our work represented there. I had work prominantly featured in the very fun wine/painting pairing event in April, and also in the Final show, before Arches turned over to new management. In the final weeks, I had my biggest painting sale ever, the 'Coleman Valley" tripych, 4 x 10 feet. After almost three years at Arches, which has been good for both Tony and I, in terms of sales and exposure, this change seems like a good time to really evaluate what the best venues for showing our work will be in 2007.
3. We did this huge-ass (yes, that's the technical term) project for Burning Man, collaborating with dozens of other artists. It took over our studios and lives for a couple of months. 8 feet tall by 40 feet long, covered with thousands of drawings. And then we took it to Burning Man.
4. Not exactly art-related, I had neck surgery to remove a benign tumor of a nerve sheath in mid-July. So health was a major theme of particularly the first half of the year. It doesn't sound like such a big deal now, but from the previous fall, when I first felt the lump, until the surgery, through Cat scans and MRIs and inconclusive biopsies, we didn't know it was benign. It was pressing on both my carotid artery and jugular vein, and I was told that the surgery would involve severing the nerve, which would have a permanent side effect, perhaps effecting my eyes. It made for an interesing year, let's just say, and in a number of positive ways.
5. It was the year we started blogging. In March, of 2006, one fateful day, our friend Claire came over, and voila, this blog was born. (more on how blogging has Changed Our Lives in a separate post).
6. Since early October, I've had my work up on display at the Willow Wood, the excellent eatery just two blocks from our house. Everyone eats at the Willow Wood, and I've gotten loads of good feedback, and it sure beats storing them in the racks. I've also been showing at Mosaic, another excellent restaurant, one town over.
7. We started getting out to see art (outside of our own county) a lot more in the second half of the year, with more trips to San Francisco and the East Bay, exploring new galleries, the new De Young, and discovering the Art Murmur, in Oakland. We look forward to more in 2007! including a trip to New York and environs in May/June.
8. I made some good paintings, which is the most important thing. But not nearly as many as I'm going to make this year. As Tony likes to say, of painting goals, generally,
'Bigger, Better, Faster, More'.
Certainly more. And we always hope, better.
We're hoping for a very good year.
1. We hosted two Open Studios at our place: Art at the Source, in June, with sculptor friend Patrick Scott; and ArTrails in October, for a total of 4 open weekends. (we've decided that next year at least, we'll do only the one in October) Both were extremely well-attended, and ArTrails in 
October was my most successful ever. Gretchen Giles, of the Bohemian wrote a nice column about us.
2. In January, we switched from being partners in Arches Gallery (Healdsburg), to having our work represented there. I had work prominantly featured in the very fun wine/painting pairing event in April, and also in the Final show, before Arches turned over to new management. In the final weeks, I had my biggest painting sale ever, the 'Coleman Valley" tripych, 4 x 10 feet. After almost three years at Arches, which has been good for both Tony and I, in terms of sales and exposure, this change seems like a good time to really evaluate what the best venues for showing our work will be in 2007.
3. We did this huge-ass (yes, that's the technical term) project for Burning Man, collaborating with dozens of other artists. It took over our studios and lives for a couple of months. 8 feet tall by 40 feet long, covered with thousands of drawings. And then we took it to Burning Man.
4. Not exactly art-related, I had neck surgery to remove a benign tumor of a nerve sheath in mid-July. So health was a major theme of particularly the first half of the year. It doesn't sound like such a big deal now, but from the previous fall, when I first felt the lump, until the surgery, through Cat scans and MRIs and inconclusive biopsies, we didn't know it was benign. It was pressing on both my carotid artery and jugular vein, and I was told that the surgery would involve severing the nerve, which would have a permanent side effect, perhaps effecting my eyes. It made for an interesing year, let's just say, and in a number of positive ways.
5. It was the year we started blogging. In March, of 2006, one fateful day, our friend Claire came over, and voila, this blog was born. (more on how blogging has Changed Our Lives in a separate post).
6. Since early October, I've had my work up on display at the Willow Wood, the excellent eatery just two blocks from our house. Everyone eats at the Willow Wood, and I've gotten loads of good feedback, and it sure beats storing them in the racks. I've also been showing at Mosaic, another excellent restaurant, one town over. 
7. We started getting out to see art (outside of our own county) a lot more in the second half of the year, with more trips to San Francisco and the East Bay, exploring new galleries, the new De Young, and discovering the Art Murmur, in Oakland. We look forward to more in 2007! including a trip to New York and environs in May/June.
8. I made some good paintings, which is the most important thing. But not nearly as many as I'm going to make this year. As Tony likes to say, of painting goals, generally,
'Bigger, Better, Faster, More'.
Certainly more. And we always hope, better.
We're hoping for a very good year.
posted by LisaBee at 11:39 AM
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