a work in progress

I had to prepare for the publicity materials for the Eureka Springs Artist Studio Tour and thought I’d share them here. These are the photos and the info which will be published in the directory for the tour. The Studio Tour will be happening at the end of September again this year and I will be sure to post again as the event nears.

Background:

I have lived in Eureka Springs for 7 lucky years.

Work/Media

I have always been interested in discovering other perspectives and finding the common threads among people. I enjoy working with the universality of form and color. I create paintings in acrylic which serve as meditations on abundance or, as I prefer, plenty.

Artist Statement

I paint small moments and everyday objects as totems of beauty and gratitude.

I paint big eyed girls to arouse ideas about the power of child-like wonder.

My work is inspired by child’s play and science, by Wonderland and rabbit holes, by cartoons, graphic arts, and funk, by the interplay of colors, the seduction of a curve, and by the awesome experience of being part of the natural world.

Friday’s Sale and Party in the studio was a lot of fun and great folks came out to shop and visit.  One of my first guests got the fire going for me after I had grown frustrated with the wet wood. Meanwhile, the teens picked out CDs to play and sat on the floor texting, don’t you know?  As the event officially wound down, I hung out in the studio with the women pictured above talking about psychology, art, confidence, relationships, trust, faith, flow, and wisdom. Martin was caught in this picture as he hopped in for a bit of coffee. He spent the whole night playing with the fire by himself in the pouring rain, which seemed to be just right for him. At the end of the night, it was down to three artists and one major player in the local karaoke scene singing and dancing along with the soundtrack to the Wizard of Oz. More about these artists and their work later…Thank you to everyone who braved the cold rain to come over and play.  I am grateful for each and every purchase, laugh, and story.

I have mentioned before how nice Jean Merritt, the Patriots’ Herald reporter, is and now we have proof. I ran into her at a parade mid-October and thanked her for printing the photo she took of me with my painting at the Artists Studio Tour Opening Night Reception. I also mentioned that I had missed it and she said she still had a couple copies in her office that she would get to me.  A few nights ago I ran into Jean at a local restaurant and she took me to her car to give me the copies she had saved for me. She had been driving around with them for a couple months. My name was marked with a Post-It note. I knew I liked her.

I finished the postcards/fliers for my Holiday Sale and Party on Friday, December 14th. Tomorrow I am going to put some colorful lights on the outside of the studio. I’m considering my options for the yard and patio and I think I will make luminarias/farolitos for the pathway and maybe set up a small, slow burning fire for that night. I want it to feel welcoming and giving people a chance to gather in front of the fire just may do the trick. Inside, I’ll offer some refreshments and all sorts of small artwork created to be given as gifts. I hope to sell all the remaining polymer clay pieces and hand painted clothing, since I am limiting my crafty endeavors to the classroom now. I also hope to sell all of the small framed prints I have in stock since they are not available anywhere else. I will also have prints of my newest work available, and the walls will be covered with original paintings, all available, of course! I know it will be fun. I love setting up a display in my studio and enjoy talking about my artwork, this wonderful studio, and its creation. I like throwing parties, too, and I will enjoy setting the mood and seeing friends, old and new.

Happiness, 30″ x 40″
A woman came into my booth at the Eureka Springs Fall Art show looking at my paintings of the girls with big eyes. She said something to me about them looking like hybrid children and asked me something like whether I had painted them of hybrid children or if they just happened to resemble them. I said, “Huh? I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about.” She said “Google it, hybrid children” and something about alien abductions.Some other people came into the booth and I got distracted and when I looked back she was gone. Alien abduction?

Anyway, I took her advice and googled it and here’s the best thing I came up with:
Question:Should I baptize my alien hybrid children?  I also saw drawings of big eyed aliens  inseminating women. Is it interesting to note that when I  first began the Happiness painting (without a plan or end in mind), we all thought she was going to be an alien?
A little later that same day, a brilliant eleven year old friend of mine came into my booth and talked about life forms found around the vents deep in the oceans and how different it is from any other life forms we have known. She told me that she is surprised life has not been found on Mars and that she fully expects the exploration of Jupiter to lead to the discovery of life. That would be exciting news, but when would I think about that? I cannot imagine there being time enough in my life to marvel at and begin to unravel the mysterious and persistent life here on earth.

BTW, the girls have big eyes because they are observers.

This is my friend, John Rankine posing in front of my booth at the Eureka Springs Fall Art Show. John’s a photographer whose work earned him the Best of Show Award.

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you have all had a day full of little moments of pleasure and big warm fuzzies of gratitude.  My day has been full of wonderful shared food, old and new friends, and a huge fire with lots of drumming and laughing and talking while the kids roasted marshmallows. Just my idea of re-creation and just in time.
Tomorrow I’ll be setting up my booth at the Eureka Springs Fall Art Show at the Inn of the Ozarks Convention Center.  It is such a luxury to be able to set up the day before the event and to have just a couple blocks to travel! Doors will be open 10am-6pm Saturday and Sunday 11-6. Admission is $2. and there will be, as always, a group of incredible Eureka artists sharing their unique gifts.

Local artists have been busily creating art on pumpkins as part of a fund raising effort for two of our favorite institutions, the Eureka Springs School of the Arts and the Clear Spring School, which my godson has the privilege of attending. I chose an oddly shaped pumpkin and decided to carve it to make the most of it’s long curves. I cut arches and carved lines up toward its newly determined top on which I then used a gold leafing pen. I also added a bit of the gold around the edges of each opening and the result is a pumpkin that looks like a temple for mice. Fun.

Of course, each of the artists involved took a completely different approach to their craft. Carol Peacock’s  nearly heart shaped pumpkin is painted her trademark red with gold leafing at the two ends and is quietly elegant as it reclines on a pedestal. Ralph “Mr. Shrine” Wilson created a Day of the Dead altar atop his pumpkin which is truly a sight to see. Rosie Williams, who makes beautiful beaded jewelry, carved niches throughout her pumpkin and then strung beads across them for what I imagine will create the most wonderful effects when backlit by a candle. I think I need to go buy that for myself. I already took home a fanciful stacking of pumpkins for a truly fun jack o’ lantern by E. Rae Smith, my neighbor, and a wonderful stained glass artist. If you’re in Eureka Springs,head over to EurekaThyme in the Quarter at 121 W. Van Buren (that’s Hwy 62) and try to beat me to Rosie’s beaded beauty. By the way, mine has already found it’s new home, but there are probably close to twenty to choose from.

Today I set up a display in the Resource Area of the Art Links Conference. I met a couple of ceramic artists while setting up and noticed that there are many more arts organizations displaying their materials than artists. It looked like I may be the only painter in the room. Yesterday I read and read the brochure for the conference trying to determine exactly what the purpose of this gathering is and how my artwork fits in with the theme of connecting art and commerce. That in itself was not difficult for me to do, I have created designs to sell product, events, and places, to enhance the decor and interactivity of public spaces, and I cannot imagine a world without art to inspire, motivate, and tickle one’s fancy. I decided to bring along my newest big eyed girl painting and, since she looks pregnant with ideas, use her as the focal point of my display. My friend Nancy who has EureKan Art Gallery came by when I was feeling a bit stumped by how I could make a cohesive presentation and touch on all the possible applications of my art and thank goodness for that. We had a good time talking about art and brainstorming and Nancy said over and over, “Make it fun. Make it memorable.” Well, Nancy, I used it, hope you like it. I think it works pretty well as tag line for this display but I may have gone overboard with the size of the lettering!

Tomorrow morning bright and early, I’ll be wandering around the John Q. Hammons Convention Center looking for the workshop with Robert Ebendorf on Creating a Profession as an Artist. I’m glad I’m staying at the Embassy Suites which is attached to the Convention Center and can walk over, I’ll need to get my body moving again after an evening enjoying this restful hotel.

For more info on the Art Links Conference, visit the Arkansas Art Council’s website.

This painting of kiwi is on an 4′ x 8′ panel and was created to be durable to hang outdoors. I painted it for the first installment of the Artery, a downtown public art project created by local artists. The Artery now has a new set of panels hanging. This year’s theme was icons and the works include wonderful portraits of John Lennon and Frida Kahlo. It is an interesting collection of paintings and true to form, the participating artists all spoke in favor of peace and love at the unveiling ceremony. My kiwi piece is hanging out at my studio now waiting to go to its new home. It is available for $600.

The studio tour has been tremendously fun for me. Lots of people have come. It has been a pleasure for me to talk about my work and I am very excited to see people being inspired by my space. It looks like my Studio Play Days will fill up quickly with folks who want to make messes in my space. Yes! Sparkly, sticky, ooey-gooey messes make me happy. I’m looking forward to hosting these events. Today is off to a slow, but pleasant start. The wind is rustling the leaves, the pileated woodpecker is calling, and Ella Fitzgerald sings about the still of the night.

Last night was the Reception for the studio tour at the Library Annex. That is an incredibly beautiful space and such a gift for our community. I really liked being in that room and meeting some other artists in my town. Each of artists the participating in the tour brought one piece of their work to display. I took my still life painting titled kiss, which you can see at the top of this photo. As you can also see, it was a lively event and a pleasant way to kick off the studio tour.

Sherry and I had fun with our cameras, taking simultaneous shots of one another while the photographer from the Patriot Herald looks surprised. she’s really nice and I’ve been fortunate to have her cover my work in the past. It a shame I’m so lame with names anymore.

This morning, I placed the signs, hung a banner over the path to the studio and began catching up on all the work I have let go while completing construction. I enjoyed having lots of visitors to the studio and I even managed to get my schedule planned and printed up for this year’s studio events. I’ll post more about that another time, for now, you can see the schedule on my website, kathrynsemolic.com.