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6
May
6

a bit of an update!

By tracey | Filed in gallery exhibits, works in progress

I hear it’s springtime outside, so I was thinking I’d venture out a bit and share a bit of an update! I feel like I have been going nonstop lately and it’s hard to take a few moments to sit quietly and reflect. I think I’m out of practice!

A few weeks ago, I took a great workshop with Beryl Taylor. I have been trying to do her fabric paper technique for years now, but I thought it would be rewarding to learn directly from the artist herself. I was not disappointed. Here you can see the piece I did in that class, as it was in progress. I’ve made more progress on it and will show it in my studio tonight during Gallery Walk.

I’m pretty excited about Gallery Walk tonight for a couple of reasons:

Reason #1: 4th Annual Artists in Dreamland Opening Reception is tonight. Fellow Poudre Studio Artist Kat Peters-Midland is the organizer and she has pulled together a wonderful and colorful exhibit this year. And I have a piece in the show. If you’re around, stop by and see visual representations of the night dreams of 15 artists.

Reason #2: My fellow artist and friend, Fran Saperstein, will be in town for the opening. I haven’t seen her in two years (ugh!), and although we talk almost every day, I’m so happy to get to spend some quality time with her. She has two amazing art quilts in the exhibit this month and they are really a must-see. If you’re around Old Town tonight, you should stop in!

Reason #3: I have one dream piece in the exhibit myself, and it’s a huge risk for me. There’s a photo here, but it’s a tough one to photograph, with all of the white-on-white. Sharing one’s dreams and the visual interpretation of those dreams can be very tricky, I’m learning. I feel very torn open so that everybody can see my insides. I don’t know if I like it very much. Luckily, I will have chocolate on standby tonight. :)

 

 

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20
Jan
0

The State of My Worktable

By tracey | Filed in art and life, works in progress

My studio at Poudre River Arts Center looks like a bomb hit it. To wit:

IMAG0214.jpg

I took this photo, using my phone, sitting on the little lavender loveseat. I was way too tired to even get up to show you all of the flotsam that’s on the floor.

To the right, you can see my piece “Ode To The Barbie Townhouse I Never Had,” which is in progress for our Interiors show in February. This is the kind of project that takes forever and is, frankly, never done. All the way to the left, you can see a hint of my cigar box shrine which is a amalgam/snapshot of every shore house I ever stayed in down in LBI (Long Beach Island, NJ). This is also for the Interiors show and features real LBI sand (thanks to my niece for collecting and my sister for shipping)!

I’m feeling run down today. I’ve had a run of good mood days…five in a row…but yesterday I hit a slump and was a big ole grouchypants. I mean, really, in what universe is it more important to have two hours of American Idol than one hour of Human Target (and my beloved Mark Valley)? Worn out from the to do lists, I know this is Life, but there is still a bit of crankypants in me today. Overwhelmed. I just typed and deleted a huge list of the things I need to get done. I don’t want to scare you. I’m going to get back to that dollhouse — the elevator needs to be installed!

I’ll just count on tomorrow being a more energetic, positive day.


“Talk does not cook rice.”


— Chinese proverb

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18
Jan
4

The Sketchbook Project

By tracey | Filed in art and life, art books, art challenges

Today, I mailed back to Brooklyn my submission for The Sketchbook Project. I am giddy beyond words about the prospect of being a part of a traveling exhibit like this. And to have my stuff archived in their library? HUGE!


And, because I can’t just see the positive in anything (ha!), I’m also a little disappointed in myself because somewhere in the middle of the project, I lost steam and ended up rushing through the book near the end. I don’t think it helped that this project spanned two months over the holidays, but it was a really good exercise for me and I’m glad I participated. And as if luck would have it, the postmark deadline was moved to today, rather than last Saturday, so I had a little more time to work on it. :)


I uploaded my favorite pages to my flickr account:



Despite being disappointed with a bunch of the work I did in this book, I’m especially pleased with a good amount of the work. I gave myself permission to play, to doodle, to be silly and childlike. I scanned my favorite pages, which are in the flickr set here. I particularly love the happy accident that is the first picture in the above slideshow. She’s a little pink girl, who I found in a random watercolor scribble. She reminds me so much of my niece, Devin, in her Christmas photo from 2003, when she was almost a year old:


Devin, December 2003

 

Just for context: Devin just turned 8, is in 2nd grade, is an awesome artist, is about to make her first communion and has brown eyes now…

 

My other favorites in the slideshow are:

- the papertowel I used to clean some brushes (I save everything), which ended up looking like a mountain range. I collaged it onto the page  over some book page scraps.

- the little running doggie. I want to practice more of the watercolor scribbling — I’ve been doing that a lot on my own, but my class a few months ago with Carla Sonheim really “enabled” me.


So, that’s my story for today. Happy January, folks!


My arthouse co-op profile is here.


More info on The Sketchbook Project.

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1
Jan
5

Tracey’s Top 10 of 2010

By tracey | Filed in art and life

I thought I should start the new year by reviewing my last one. To wit, a list of my professional successes, failures and the stuff that kept me going (and some that almost did me in) for the past year:

  1. Sold one of my favorite pieces to a gallery walk regular. She is an art professor at CSU…dig that!
  2. Began integrating regular art time into my life.
  3. Survived my first year of managing a gallery.
  4. Revamped the way I conduct business. I feel really great about starting my 13th year as a freelance web developer.
  5. Participated in my first smudging ceremony.
  6. Took workshops with Kelly Kilmer, Carla Sonheim, Katie Kendrick and Leighanna Light. Took something away from every single class and broadened my horizons a bit.
  7. Ate fresh berry pie with homemade whipped cream with my fellow PSA artists in October. Went outside of my comfort zone and went to drinks at the Rio with fellow NoCo artists, many of whom I did not know.
  8. My MacBook Pro died a scary little death. Thank God for Apple Care and the Mac Shack. Spent a whole weekend without a computer and survived!
  9. Purchased a Droid Incredible this summer. I love the freedom it has been giving me, not having to drag the laptop everywhere I go. Quite helpful in emergencies!
  10. Survived a lot of professional drama, but stayed mostly intact and learned a lot about myself and about people.

And now I will go up to the sofa and continue to drink some sparkly adult beverage while I retire my 2010 journal and start my 2011 journal.


Next post will be some workshop announcements, so stay tuned!

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22
Dec
2

Excited About “Interiors”

By tracey | Filed in altered art, art books, events, gallery exhibits

Oh HELL no, I did not let another month go by without posting! Criminey!!

Beer on the half shell

It’s Wednesday afternoon, just a couple of days before Christmas, and all is quiet at Poudre Studio Artists & Gallery at Poudre River Arts Center. Only one other artist is working in her studio and the gallery has had a few visitors, giving me plenty of time to work. I’m doing two pieces for our February show, “Interiors.” One is an ode to the Barbie Townhouse I never had and the other is an ode to all of the shorehouses I’ve stayed in during my visits to the Jersey shore.They are coming along really well and I’m getting pretty excited about them. This photo is a part of the shorehouse shrine and I call it “beer on the half shell”.

The show was inspired by the book Mixed Media Dollhouses by Tally Oliveau and Julie Molina.

When I was a child, I always loved making things for my dolls; I had a dollhouse in progress when my friend Eliza showed me the book. We all talked about it here at the center and naturally, we organized a show!

There is still time to enter your work in “Interiors”, if you have a mind to. You do not need to be a Colorado resident in order to join in the fun. You may have already-completed pieces that fit the theme and that are dying for a new audience.

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11
Nov
4

What I’ve been working on

By tracey | Filed in random, works in progress

Hello, World!

My goodness, it’s November already? I have no idea where the time goes. Days are full of caretaking and dog feeding and working and organizing and cooking and cleaning and and and…

…making art!

I bet you thought I was going to whine again about how I never have time to make art, didn’t you? :)

Believe it or not, I actually have been arting. Here’s what I’ve been up to:

  • Playing with faces. I find it a struggle, but am learning more each time I attempt something. Once I can get myself going, I find it quite fun!

    • sabrina is thinking of changing her name to sarah

    sabrina is thinking of changing her name to sarah -- acrylic and collage (WIP)

  • I took a photo of the sky from the window of the men’s room at PRAC. I loved the way the window framed that bit of blue, with puffy white clouds. Fran encouraged me to paint it, which I hadn’t even thought I could do. So far I did a watercolor and I love it. Will attempt acrylics next.

    • fort collins sky

    fort collins sky

  • Mary. I’ve been finishing up two pieces for our December exhibit, The Mary Show. The theme is representations of The Blessed Mother, Mother Earth, Gaia, whomever it is that the artist chooses. I’m ever so excited about the show…it’s going to be something special.

    • Mary has a secret

    DCP_3141

  • The Sketchbook Project. Hosted by the Art Co-op at Brooklyn Museum of Art, I have until mid-January to finish a blank sketchbook. This will go on tour with the rest of the sketchbooks and will also be archived in the Art Library at the museum. NEAT! I don’t have photos of that yet, but intend to record my progress here.

Now I am off to finish some paperwork and head to the studio. It’s Fort Collins’ first snow and I’m so excited. I love the feel of the center on a gray, wet day. Perfectly cozy for viewing and making art!

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4
Jun
2

put some nonstop hilarity on your chest!

By tracey | Filed in art and life, art for sale, encouragement
nonstop hilarity t-shirt shirt
nonstop hilarity t-shirt by traypup

It’s First Friday again, kids! As I was rushing around the house, getting ready to leave so I could open the gallery on time, I was struggling with making order forms for tonight. I was so aggravated and SO behind schedule that I vowed I am never leaving my own stuff till last minute ever again.

PUT ON YOUR OWN OXYGEN MASK FIRST

And I mean it this time!

So here’s some news:

Every month, when Fort Collins First Friday Gallery Walk visitors come into my studio, my painting “Nonstop Hilarity” is the one that makes people smile the most. At the urging of my husband, I printed it on a t-shirt and it looks awesome! It’s available now on my Zazzle shop if you’re interested. The image is also available on blank cards.

Tonight, during Gallery Walk, I’ll be taking orders for t-shirts, modeled by yours truly.  8-)  If UPS comes in time, I’ll also have cards on hand to sell. I’m really excited about this, so stop by if you’re in Fort Collins. If you’re not in the area, you can pop over to the Zazzle shop and order your very own Nonstop Hilarity t-shirt!

I have other news and musings, about things like fracturing and/or spraining my ankle and watching a documentary about Henry Darger and the state of network tv and how intensely I feel what little humidity we get in Colorado now and then. But it will all have to wait for another day. I’m off to get the studio ready for guests tonight! If you’re in town, drop by!

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8
Apr
3

What a GREAT day!

By tracey | Filed in art and life

You’ve read the tweet. You’ve liked the facebook status. Now, read the blog entry! Here’s all of the awesome stuff that happened today:

1. I had a Facebook message from Mike F., my boss when I worked at Universal. He is, hands down, the best boss I ever had. I learned so much from him and he was always such a fabulous person. I was thrilled that he got in touch.

That was just the tip of the iceberg!

2. I went to the accountant’s office to pick up our tax return paperwork. We only owe $12 to federal and we’re getting a refund from the state. This is a huge relief, even if it means I made pretty much NO money last year. And the refund will cover the accountant fees! Bonus!

3. I spent the day in my new studio at PRAC, getting things squared away. I’m almost all done, but I already feel great in the space. The move was really a smart idea — being closer to the front door and to the lobby makes my job as marketing coordinator and gallery administrator a heck of a lot more productive.

4. I won $4 in the Colorado lottery last night. I went to 7-11 to cash it in and saw that they had my favorite candy, Bottlecaps, in stock. I haven’t been able to find them in forever and only one store in town was carrying them, but now I have my Bottlecaps again! Also, I got a diet A&W and man, doesn’t a cold root beer taste good?

5. I found out today that, thanks to President Obama and the Making Home Affordable dealie, we can still afford to keep our home, even with my reduced income. This, of course, is the biggest and most awesome news of the day. And our new monthly payment and adjusted interest rate are even lower than I thought they would be. It’s a MIRACLE. We’ve been waiting about 4 months or so to hear if we were approved and thank God we were.

6. I may have found an affordable projector for us to use at PRAC and I had a really yummy sammich at lunch. Oh, and Tim just suggested we get Five Guys for dinner, which saves me from cooking. These are little things that all add up to an AWESOME day, don’t you think?

I might even be happy enough to do some art tonight!

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25
Mar
4

50% off in my artfire store: send me to a workshop this weekend!

By tracey | Filed in supplies

Hello! How are you? I’m doing well. What’s going on with me? Well… Today is my 4th wedding anniversary. Tim is the kindest, most supportive and funniest man I’ve ever known. Whiskey dog continues to barf up her dinner randomly because she gets so excited. Dougie dog is currently wearing the cone of shame because he refuses to stop licking. Work is busy. Things are moving along at the arts center. I am making local friends. I’m getting involved in the community. Oh, and Jacqueline Sullivan comes to town to teach this weekend, but I don’t have any extra cash.

I’ve spent time this week wandering around my studio, trying to figure out how to swing just one eensy weensy workshop. I realized that I haven’t actually advertised all of the art and craft supplies I put up on Artfire last week. I thought that if there’s anything that could raise $125 quickly, it’s gotta be a sale offering 50% off on cool arty supplies.


CLICK HERE FOR 50% OFF ARTY STUFF!

Right now there are rubber stamps, jewelry making supplies and a LOT OF BEADS. 50% off makes them awfully tempting, So GO! SHOP! Get fun little things that delight you. I’ll keep adding items as quickly as I can. Thank you!

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18
Feb
2

Test post

By tracey | Filed in art and life

Im not sure this will work.

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