after the Hand-Car Regatta

... a smattering of photos from today's event.
Thank you! to the event organizers Spring & Ty, (and everyone else!) who helped to create this event.

And keep your eye on their great Hand-Car Regatta website-- I bet they'll have some follow-up photos of the actual Hand-Cars & the racing. (click on any image below to see it big.)

Check out this enthusiastic review, and
This just in: video! via the Press Democrat.

This Sunday, Sept. 28:

Please join us at the First Annual(?) Handcar Regatta in Santa Rosa, where two of Art Farm Motel's projects will be on display.
A Very Good Time is Guaranteed.

See the Shrine in person, plus o so much more!

(Two photos at right: yesterday at sunset-- back view)

All info is at the Regatta's site, here.

Next stop: ArTrails '08

Oh, yes, it IS that time of year again: We warmly welcome you to visit us (Lisa Beerntsen & Tony Speirs) at our studios and garden when we participate in Sonoma County's annual Open Studios:
October 11 & 12, 18 & 19th. 11-6pm each day.
We hope to see you!

moving it along

I've been at work on this commission piece-- trying to get it to a level where it can be seen at a house-warming at its new home tomorrow.

It sometimes seems that the more you do-- the more you need to do.
The main 'characters' and colors have been here for some time, now I'm working with pattern, texture, connections-- and what Tony likes to call the 'music'.

update:
here it is, leaning in its new room!

Reception this Thursday

Please join me this Thursday (Sept. 11)
at 'My Daughter the Framer', 5:30-7pm, for wine & nibbles at a reception for my work on view there.
'My Daughter' is on Terrace Way in Santa Rosa-- near to the Pacific Market in the Town & Country Plaza--
Map, more info, is here.

the Shrine of Fortuna

Here's the Shrine of Fortuna as installed at Burning Man '08. This is the third piece, conceived by Tony, that we've made collectively with others (this year with building design/construction by Michael Coy, lots of work by Else Olava, Tim McG, and so many other great people) and taken to Burning Man.

This one, was well-- a little too challenging ultimately in a few ways, yet beautiful, and very well received.

She'll be appearing on Sunday, the 29th at Santa Rosa's Handcar Regatta, and then... a new, more permanent home...?

More Photo Updates re: 'Shrine'

Oh, it's a regular beehive of activity around here-- lots of great helpers-- with less than a week 'til the 'Shrine of Fortuna' heads out to the Nevada desert...
(see following post for link to the projects blog, and more details)

Burning Man's 'Shrine of Fortuna' grows...

Here's a glimpse of what's *really* going on around here. Tony, that crazy mastermind, has yet another over-the-top project going. This time, with more BUILDING!

Visit the project's blog for more complete project updates.

progress shots

Some very much 'in-progress' shots of the previously mentioned commission piece.

'sketch' for commission

I have a fun assignment right now-- something that got underway during Art at the Source Open Studios...

Neither Tony nor I usually do a lot of pieces by commission, but we met a lovely woman who's building a great place quite nearby-- and along with her designer (Neko, of the very cool 'Spirit Hill Farm', pictures from a garden tour are here) wants to feature local artists. We're each designing paintings which will slide away to reveal (or to hide) flat-screened TVs in recessed wall openings... so the dimensions had to be somewhat specific (height of the left panel in this sketch is 44").

I don't usually work from any kind of preliminary sketch, but because I'm working with multiple panels, and including specific kinds of imagery the client responded to in my other work-- it seemed a useful way to go. I'm working on the piece down at the New Studio-- the first piece totally started onsite. I still have some work to go on the lighting there, but I'm on my way!

At left is the room where the painting will be.

a few show announcements...

I have a few pieces out up in exhibitions locally, and I'll be hanging a small show tomorrow... so if you're in the neighborhood, check 'em out!

Two of my most recent "postcard album page" pieces are include in a show called 'On Paper', at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts.

This second piece, (courtesy of Eric Kent Wine Cellars collection-- it will appear on a label sometime next year!) will appear in a show opening tomorrow evening at the Arts Council Gallery, in Santa Rosa (opening in conjunction with the Friday Night Artwalk events).

The Arts Council Show is entitled "The Gallery Show"-- and includes a piece representing the current exhibit in every gallery, museum and arts organization in Sonoma County. Mine is representative of the show 'Garden Song' I'll hang tomorrow at the gallery space of Sally Baker's 'My Daughter the Framer'. More on that one soon.

Greetings from TonyLand

Oh, Tony's been a very busy boy...
One of the cool things he's been involved with this summer is ArtStart-- where he worked with a few young apprentices in designing and painting this mural on the history of cartoons... It's a very cool program...

Here's a pic of Laura Hoffman in front of the mural she was in charge of...

Wish I'd gotten a photo of the fabulous Mary Vaughan, who does a huge amount of work down there...
The other Big Thing Tony's now turning his attention to full-time: this year's Burning Man Project-- a shrine to the Goddess Fortuna. Visit Artfarmmotel.blogspot.com for much more on this-- and how to contribute drawings to the collaborative effort!

what's going on....

More small works, progressing.
Trying to keep the work going as I transition between the 2 studio spaces.
I've committed to a small upcoming show, so it gives me the focus of a little deadline on the horizon-- always useful!

le space

You may remember a while back I alluded to some sort of surprise coming up.

These here are pictures of my new studio space at the Atelier One, just down the street from our house.
Yep, we live in this tiny rural town, yet 2 blocks away is one of the few artists' studio warehouse buildings in the county.

I knew that one day our shared studio (beautifully situated in our backyard garden) would become cramped for both Tony & I to work in, with our mutual penchant for large works, and all the accumulation.
And the opportunity to rent this high-ceilinged bright space came up, and well, I took it.
I have a new studio-mate as well-- who will be on the other side of that wall, and we have some set-up issues to work out, with lighting, floor protection, some construction et al. Plus, due to a fairly recent knee injury, it's going to be a very gradual move-in. (upstairs, you know). But I think it's gonna be a very good thing, and fear not, I will be keeping an area to work in the 'old' studio as well-- so I'm not giving up on the garden!

cool science-y inventions

Love these inventions by engineer/designer Chuck Hoberman-- small clip below, but click here to go to more, with interview.
via dear ada.

getting back to this...

Work in progress.

Something always gets put on hold when it's time to shift to Open Studios Mode...This painting was one of those things I was in the middle of, a month or more ago. So I'm getting back to it now.




Some other exciting developments are in the works--- more on that soon!!

oh, the possibilities

Here's a stack of old wallpaper samples, recently acquired via our friend Wendy Addison (of Theatre of Dreams Fame-- hey kids, now she has a blog!)
I'm guessing these samples will soon find their way into something...

And a shot of the colorful chaos of my collage area today.

another round of small

Yep, in the week (last week) immediately following Art at the Source, I was back at work on a new batch of small pieces, all including collage inspiration, this time on 8 x 10 plywood blocks. I'm still mostly using magazine materials, but once I work out some printer-computer issues, I plan to start using more of my own photos.