caravan gallery

i've got a thing for roving art shows like the ceramics artstream. Found a neat new one today - the tinier caravan gallery. I love how these rolling walls can bring the art to any venue, and make art more approachable (hopefully) to average folks.

Empty easel

Today I spent a few hours restoring acci gallery to its normal display state after their twice-yearly "seconds sale". It's the oldest artist co-op west of the rockies, and its cracked cement floor, brick walls, and warm light endear me to the building.

By the time I arrived, the room was devoid of the discount crafts and textiles. White-papered folding tables topped with cinderblock shelves needed breaking down. We compacted this into a small storage shed behind the sculpture garden, and re-filled the space with the normal medley of sun-catching color. Still feeling like a new member at ACCI (even after 2 years), it was a good time to learn about the craft of my fellow member-artists. 2 hours stacking, tilting, and arranging colored glass and clay in cubbies did the trick.

Last year I worked the "seconds sale" event and watched Berkeleyans enthusiastically fill baskets with plates, vases, and mugs. They stocked up and came back for more. This venue is a great place to display and sell work that can be stacked, worn, or tossed in a dishwasher.

Not so great for 2-d work so far.

With art venues on my mind, I sat down at the computer. Ran across emptyeasel, which feature some reviews of sales on digi-art sites. I've offered cards and prints at Etsy for a while, and am curious about alternatives. So far, nothing beats hanging a show and making the sale myself.

Birthday!

What better demonstration of aesthetic perfection than in an an unexpected gift. My neighbor brought over this delicate cream-colored birthday bowl and treats.
I am trying not to do to much math this year, I am thirty....something

artists i like

Sorting stale paperwork has led me circuitously to revisit some new favorite painters.
particia chidlaw
kenny harris
They both show at Terrance Rogers - a Santa Monica gallery on my list of places to visit down south. Because the subject and tone of the represented work is similar, the different artist's style should be thrown into relief. The web is great for previewing painting, but it it tends to flatten everything - robbing the viewer of the impact of scale and texture. Serves to highlight one of the neat things about an original painting - the richness of texture and varied quality from different viewing directions. A good painting offers me something fresh upon every visit.

new digs!

the new digs!,
originally uploaded by robin kibby.

Embracing future days at Davis by moving my studio in advance of the quarter. I picked a space in the TB-9, the building which houses the ceramics department, and 2 other grad students. Some compelling features - windows that open, great natural light, and the humongosity of it. This studio is at least 4 times the size of my last spot in Oakland. Looking at the walls incites visions painted highway interchanges and rolls of paper unfurled for large drawings. I ran into the goldfish phenomena in cricket engine, painting as large as the width of my studio. It was only when I hung the work that I realized its scale was smaller than i intended.
The Donaldson men were gracious enough to help me fill and empty a big truck - starting with the easel in Oakland, and a flat stuff pickup in Berkeley. We cinched everything to the truck walls, hoping it would arrive intact after an hour drive north. Fortunately, most of what I am moving are ingredients rather than finished items - making it less-precious to pack.
My moving anxiety allayed as soon as we climbed into the truck cab and turned onto the highway. We bounced along at eye level with semis. Compact cars slid in and out of our view way down below. We chatted the whole way, having the kind of easy visit that tends to happen on accident on the road to somewhere new.