AOM Alumni Exhibition

3 of my mixed media ladies are at the AOM Gallery

for an Alumni Invitational Show

Featuring all new work from Art On Main's current & past alumni.

 

The show opened on July 1st and runs until August 31

with a reception this coming Friday, July 17th.

So if your in the neighborhood, do drop by and have a look...my works are in some great company.



Resignation From Art On Main

So sometimes we have to make some choices and decisions when we realized our energy is short & that our time isn't being wisely spent...

Sometimes we have to stop, take stock of what we're doing and get rid of the things that are pulling our energy and time away from forging a path towards what we really want...

Sometimes we have to be brave and NOT care what other people may think or say about our choices & decisions (this is a hard one for me because I always want to explain & make people understand)...

And sometimes we have to change gears to fully align ourselves with our dreams and goals....

So, in that frame of mind & after having bounced around on a decision for quite some time now, even though I knew some time ago what my decision would be, I have resigned from the Downtown Artists Collective, Art On Main. 

I was an exhibiting/working/contributing member with this group for almost 2 years but based on a variety of things including; future goals, a small business budget, not being the right market for my work, not getting what I was hoping for from the place & all the time I loose due to migraines, I decided it was best to move forward and resign, so February was my last month.

It was bittersweet to pull my work down, repair my wall space & walk away leaving it blank...

But, I am proud of myself to have made a hard decision which I know is for the best.  I am extra proud because I am the kind of person who doesn't let go of things easily.  I was worried that I would feel my resignation was a failure, but I know it wasn't a failure of any kind...it was a great success to have even tried it & something I proudly put on my c.v.

So there will be no more Art On Main posts...some may have noticed & I wanted to explain why.

No worries for any one local wanting to buy my work.  You can always find me online in various places as you know and there are still two full walls at Veg Out (downtown), as well as a selection of my cards at The Framemakers Gallery, plus you can always schedule a a studio appointment.  Also there is my solo exhibition at the WKP Kennedy Gallery this May.

XO A Decisive Bijou & Her Beautiful Bunnies who are glad their mama doesn't have to do gallery shifts & meetings anymore, ha ha.  XO

Art On Main Refreshed

I have been a working member & exhibiting artist at The Art On Main Gallery for 1.5 years now and once in awhile I like to show you what my display & the rest of the store/gallery looks like...

During my last shift I was able to pull everything off the walls, plaster up holes, sand, repaint, rearrange & hang new pieces...

Here are a few shots showing what the rest of the store is looking like these days...

And this was the January window display, my pal Rachael & fellow member is a whiz at decorating/designing the windows...



The window has 3 of my Wee Whispy's (which I am anxious to get back to the studio to rework abit).

My gallery shifts are sometimes interesting, sometimes extremely satisfying & lovely and sometimes annoyingly negative!  I am luckily greeting with 90% positive but there is some kind of uncanny & unexplained mojo happening around me as well where the most negative of people find their way to me.
There are strange people who first, find out I am the artist of the body of work they are looking at, than they proceed to say 'Oh I see your an animal lover" and upon my very adamant 'Oh Yes I am & I am so glad your getting that message from my work' they than feel that it's appropriate to tell me some horror story about an animal they had, make a joke about animal testing, show me pictures of  the deers they just shot or tell me that their fathers just love to hunt bears...!

Now, I am aware of the atrocities that our animal kingdom faces, I do willingly educating myself in the devastating & gruesome  knowledge of animals plight including heartbreaking knowledge of animals in slaughter houses & testing labs etc...the knowledge breaks me down, yes,  BUT it also opens my eyes & gives me ammunition to use when I hear 'there's nothing wrong with eating meat'...and it easily keeps me on the strict & narrow path of what kind of human being I want to be, which is a kind & compassionate one whose akin to our natural world, not averse to it...Why do these people think that the artist who just professed to being a great animal lover wants to hear their death & destruction stories, seriously what is wrong with people!  Jeepers! 

The last couple shifts brought brand new criticisms/negativity:  I heard from one very forward customer that my asking $100 for a little original piece was asking 'way too much' and that 'she understood what went into it because she was a hobby crafter herself but still'...Okay!!!

Another very opinionated patron felt it was her solemn duty to tell me that my work was 'much to bright and cheery', that my 'colour palette was suitable for a country such as Mexico' but that I'll 'never sell well in Canada unless I neutralize my colours and change my style to fit in abit better'...
Yeah, because I work my butt off to find my own style & voice only to abandon it to blend in with the masses, okay sure, I'll get right on that!

Anyhoo..ha ha..Every artist needs to vent out the negativity once in awhile...

...It's important for us artsy types to remember the somewhat crude but true adage
"Opinions are like assholes, every ones got one"!

Any artistic ranting/gripes to share this week?  feel free to leave a comment & vent & release your artsy stresses....& know that your certainly not alone. 

XO Mandy & Roo who is shedding like mad & who will not let his mama pluck or brush him!

DownTown Christmas Walk & New Lino Cuts For Our Show

Tonight is our small city's Annual Downtown Christmas Walk...the whole street is closed, there is music, cider, hot chocolate and treats, the big tree is lite up & all the shops are open to welcome in visitors & shoppers...and I'll be one of the artists welcoming people into our beautiful art collective 'Art On Main'.

The evening also marks the opening night for our Member's Christmas Show/Fundraiser...all new works and all for either $50 or $100...

Want to see the pieces I have in the show???....

I did 3 hand-burnished & hand-coloured lino-cut prints on Stonehenge paper & put them in silver metal frames, the prints themselves measure 8 x 8inch and priced at only $50.00 each...

I am at the 12th Annual City Streets Sale/Show tomorrow...I wish all of you lovely blogging peeps were able to magically transport yourselves here because I know so many of you would come out to visit me in support...

...I just hope I don't have a sore head like the past couple days!

P.S.  You only have a couple more days to enter your name for my November Giveaway...the winner is announced on Tuesday...Good Luck.

XO M & The Dill & Bean Munching Bunnies

Art On Main Rearranged...

I am popping in today to show you my latest rearrange of my Art On Main space...

I have to figure out a better way to display my necklaces, but this is how they are at the time being...

I brought in abunch of new framed prints, I am really happy with the quality and how they look and also to toot my own horn, I don't think you can beat the price ($45.00).

I took most of my beloved 'Nubbins' back to my studio but I left 4 or 5 at the store even though North Bay doesn't quite seem to 'get them'!  The few I've sold thus far have been to tourists living in bigger cities like Ottawa...

I separated my "Beautiful Birds" series abit,  I was hearing that people thought they needed the whole series to 'make an impact', so I thought if I separated them into 2's and 4's people would see they are lovely as singular purchases or as small groupings...

I also brought in my 2 little owl originals, they have been mounted on pine blocks and I am sure someone out there is just going to have to have them...

So that is my most recent AOM display, rearranged and best yet I think.

I am so pleased also to show you this...

...which is my AOM display featured on The Swirl Marketing site, It is a site all about creative merchandise displays from around the world and I am so happy for the inclusion and I also like what Becky wrote about my section as well...Thanks Becky.  Click here to visit the feature.

That's about it for today...join me here again this Friday for some shots from a recent adventure and some sweet greenies.  Have a great day everyone...Happy Creating and Many Furry Snuggles Wished to Yous.  XO. Mandy and The Buns (who are so sick of these hot hot days)

A New Mini Promo Site For Art On Main...

Instead of showing you a new picture this Wednesday, I couldn't wait to show you this new jem. My handsome & brilliant sweetie made another mini promo site for me. This one circles my involvement with Art On Main & our move to a new location this past June. It is of course for me & my business so therefore central to me & my work but I also think Jonathan did a nice job of highlighting the collective as a whole. I love how Jon made my decorative birdies into the buttons & he even included all the video from our opening night in cool little chaptered sections...

Jonathan put so much work & time into this...I always tell him not to but he says he enjoys doing these type of things for me & my business & well I sure do enjoy them as well...they are wonderful interactive photo albums that I can go back to when I want to remember a certain event. The first promo site that Jonathan did for me was for my solo exhibition in 2009 & it can be found here or on my sidebar.

I'd sooo appreciate you taking the time to check this new beauty out, browse around, have a look & than come back here & tell us what you think...we'd so appreciate any feedback, thanks everyone:D....and of course above all the biggest thanks to my sweets.

Art On Main's July Storefront

Good Monday everyone.  Firstly THANKS SOOO MUCH to all of you how have left comments on my last couple of posts, every single one means so much.

I hope your weekend was a good one...ours was amazing.  Jon & I finally went up to Toronto so I could see my best friend Judit & her cutie-pie 6 month old, that was such a huge huge treat.  I also got to stock back up on art supplies & despite the cost of it, that was nice.  Than on Sunday Jon and I went to one of the best concerts ever...a post on that coming soon, I can't wait to show you.

I am participating in Illustration Friday's theme of 'Double' this week, one of the images I had just conjured up is perfect for it...I should also have a sweet little mixed media bird to show you as well...so far that is what will be up for this week.

For today I'd like to share with you the lovely window displays at the artists collective I am a member of...these are July's windows and I am always so glad when my work is selected for the grouping...

That's 2 of my little funky fish originals swimming merrily amid the sand and other treasures....

Are any of you members of artists collectives??? if so do share a comment & give a link to your store/gallery.

A New Wee Whispy

Another new cutie pie in my "Wee Whispy" series...

she quietly whispers..."Kindness Is Key".

(The original is currently available at the Art On Main Gallery.)

The super sweet Lori over at Happiness Through Art posted about a piece she bought from me recently...it so made my day and surprised me when I popped into her blog...thanks Lori so much, so glad she's in your home...she's in good, kind, sweet and lovely company:D

In my studio I always have music playing, often even when I am not in there, just becaues I like to 'fill' my space with my favourit tunes, often jazz...and I am soooo in love with Melody Gardot's music, I think she is my favourite female jazz singer next to Diana Panton and I just can't get enough of this one song...it's so fantastic and I am playing it over and over, I just had to share:D

My New Display at the New Art On Main...

So finally, I am posting to show you my new display for "Bijou's Whimsy" at the newly moved Art On Main (the artist collective I've been a member of since June of 2009). I've been getting tons of great feedback and people seem to love my Beautiful Birds Collection AND the water blue I painted the fantastic shelves Jonathan built for me...

I am also getting lots of positive comments on the cedar branches I decided to put up to hang my Nubbin birds from:D...

...I worked my butt off to get 14 (of the so far 20) Beautiful Birds prints mounted...and I am so so so pleased with how they turned out, the whole process of making them and the quality...

Two of my Beautiful Birds are in the window display alongside work from our newest member Dave Carlin. I find it such a lovely thing to be in the same window as Dave because he's been such a significant light to me and to my creative world...he was my first mentor in the art world and one of the first ones to nurture my creative spirit...and to this day, even after attending one of the best art schools in Canada, he is still one of the best art teachers I have ever had..and he is also a dear wise friend, so needless to say I am proud to be in the same space...

...So that's me and my work, what do you think of my new display???

Art On Main Is Moving To New Diggs...

I think I forget to mention that the arts collective and art gallery that I am a member of and feature artist in is moving! I've only been with the group for a year come this May but AOM has existed for over 5 now and everyone figured a move would revitalize the store and also give us room for new members.

The new place is just a few doors down from where we currently are and it has loads of potential but also needs loads of work. Most of the members have been pretty good about chipping in time and energy to get in there and help with the renos and a handful have been superstars shouldering the majority of work.

Unfortunately we can't afford any type of hardwood or laminate so industrial carpeting must go down but that goes in in a couple weeks time and soon after that we can begin moving everything over.

My first job was to paint over the ugly brown wallboard until a grant comes through and gives us money for drywall and proper gallery wallage! but in the meantime we'll make due. When I was in last time I scrubbed down the kitchen area and gave it a coat of fresh white paint.

I am not sure how much longer I'll be with the collective but in the meantime I love getting to work alongside, splash paint on and spend time with my fellow member and friend Rachael, we always have a good time together....

So send me and the AOM group some good mojo for the new location. Oh yeah if you've time check out my artists page on AOM brand new website, I am happy with it.

AOM's April Windows...

I like showing you the window displays at Art On Main. My pal Rachael always does a great job. These are April's windows... ...and my sweet Nubbin "Ellie Ebben Grey" made it into the showcase, hooray! I've heard quite a few times that these little art dolls of mine are what prompts some people to come in the store so that's always great to hear.

The right side window looks great too...(the big blue textile on the wall is one of Rachael's, I am trying to convince her to open an Etsy shop because she makes fantastic jewelry)...

...and my little birdies look great hanging in there too:D

Also, making life at AOM much lovelier these days is my new friend and our new intern Jenn...I am so glad she's joined us and I look forward to my shifts much more knowing I get to spend some time with her...and she's just as huggy as me, ha ha.

There are ups and downs to being part of an art collective...alot of different temperaments, work ethics and personalities and well honestly things don't always jive together quite as well as they should but I assume it's like this in most collectives and it's a learning experience that I welcome. For the most part I feel pretty lucky to be part of the organization because it's the only one of it's kind here in our Northern Area. There are only 15 of us, with only 8 more spots for new comers in the new location and half of those are filled up already...so if your local and interested send in an application cause spots are very limited.

Jana Brogan "The Forest Speaks"

As mentioned a couple days ago my pal, the lovely Jana Brogan is having a solo exhibition of recent works at our arts collective Art On Main.

..."Jana Brogan has always felt a special connection to the life and energy of forests. She is known for her beautiful silver and copper jewelry inspired by trees and organic shapes. However, while preparing for this exhibition, she began to ponder the question, “When the forest speaks… what does the forest say?” The answer took her in a new and exciting direction, and she began an exploration of non-traditional materials which were, in her words, “kinder to the earth… in an attempt to create without destroying. In the spirit of environmental protection, preservation, and sustainability, Jana’s makes use of organic, recycled material such as sawdust, wood ash, and coffee grinds, and combines them with found forest detritus such as bark and branches. The results are quiet and haunting works that truly capture the essence and magic of the forest".

I had fun photographing the pieces in Jana's show...here's a sampling...

Jana's opening is tonight and will be great fun...come on out to celebrate Jana's exhibition and her exciting divergence into sculptural work and join us for some hot cocoa and other wholesome and healthful nibblies and treats.