How do you take your coffee?

My sister in South Dakota called today to see if she and her family could visit June 18th. She was here last summer and really loved it. I'm excited but this means I really have to kick up my painting schedule in order to get ready for the July 1 opening. I've also had to cancel a big party I was to host on the 18th.

I went down on Saturday to see where I’ll be showing and it’s pretty small, I may not have room for all of my paintings which means fewer to have to finish. The walls are YELLOW! I took a photo of the walls and then virtually hung my pieces on them in PhotoShop but the colors don't seem to clash.

Heritage is a cute coffee shop, I swore I’d never show in a coffee house because of crap lighting and a host of other reasons (like my work being too “nude”) but this particular series doesn’t have any nudity and Heritage is in good location and is set up to show artwork with permanent hanging fixtures and track lighting etc. so I feel better about it.

This will be my first coffee house show so I’m not sure what to expect. I think they still take at least a 25% commission and not sure how opening night will work since they sell food and drink…hmmm, does anyone else have experience with showing in a coffee house? I’d like to know what your experience was like.

Elise on 06.06.05 @ 05:47 PM AK [link] [3 Comments]

A walk around Douglas

Went for a walk tonight to take some shots of the old waterpump from the gold mining days for a commission I'm trying to finish up (haven't started the one yet for the radio auction)...

I took a bunch and I think they all turned out pretty good. The last shot is looking back towards downtown Juneau with a couple cruise ships still docked.

Elise on 06.04.05 @ 11:23 PM AK [link] [11 Comments]

Crisis or Opportunity?

I just got an email from the director of the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council asking me if I’d like to have an exhibit at Heritage for the month of July. The JAHC has just taken over managing the space and they’re looking to set up some new exhibits for the summer and she knew that my show in April had been cancelled at that I had a body of work ready to go. It seems like an excellent opportunity but there are some down sides too.

First of all, the work is far along but not finished. I’d have a month to complete the pieces, which is plenty of time if I buckle down…but right now my schedule is filled with sailing and now kickboxing. I just asked my friend Jen what she thinks and she’s basically told me she won’t be my friend anymore if I take the show, because I get so obsessed and stressed out (and difficult to be around). I know I’ve been a lot happier since I decided to put exhibiting on the back burner but…

I’m an artist damn it! This is what I do…am I wrong?

Elise on 06.03.05 @ 11:54 AM AK [link] [12 Comments]

Roommate wanted?

Well, I'm getting ready to take off for my first kickboxing class. I'm a little nervous but I think it will be fun. Today I printed off some "Roommate Wanted" signs to hang up around downtown. I do this all the time, it's practically a hobby for me (making the signs) but then I never end up going through with it. I really *need* to now, I've been on this manic, sunshine induced charging extravaganza and I'm at the point where I really need to start bringing in some extra money. Particularly since I'm not showing my work or selling as much at the moment...

I was wondering if it's a common phenomenon for artists to slack off a bit in the summer when the days are long and the weather intoxicating (more so than a lung full of Liquin)...

I just read Anna Conti's journal and it seems the long days and sunshine are helping her to paint more than ever. Somehow that made me feel guilty. I'm using all my energy to play play play....(and spend money I don't have yet).

Oh well, I'll have all the long dark winter to make up for it.

Elise on 06.02.05 @ 04:51 PM AK [link] [2 Comments]

Wa Hoooo!

Some positive urges have resulted from what I can only describe as an embarrassing Alias marathon in which I watched 66 episodes in two weekends.

Urge 1. Nothing motivates me more than sitting on the couch for hours eating cheesy poofs while watching a gorgeous, physically fit woman run around kicking the shit out of everyone. Tomorrow I’m starting kickboxing lessons (don’t laugh) and I’m hiring a personal trainer. Truth is, I miss being strong and getting sweaty. Here’s the bag I ordered (ps. My dad won several Golden Gloves lightweight boxing trophies so maybe it’s in my genes!)

Urge 2. Something in me just shut down about (oh god!) 3 years ago. I basically quit men cold turkey and never looked back. Well, let’s just say I’m looking back again!

Urge 3. I never buy new clothes, shoes, make-up, jewelry, or style my hair etc. I don’t think a woman has to “doll up” in order to look good, but it’s fun to make a *little* effort.

Urge 4. I used to be adventurous, traveled and lived all over. 3 years ago (not a coincidence) I bought a house and I haven’t left the country since. I can take time off in the summer (I’m on a 9 month contract) so I’m going to start planning a big trip for next summer. I’m not sure where to go though, I’m thinking Giza, Hong Kong, Moscow or somewhere tropical and inexpensive where I can rent a sailboat and also go scuba diving again which I’ve never done without a cold water dry suit.

Anyway, how will I bankroll my Alias-inspired makeover? I’ll probably have to get a roommate (groan) but it will be worth it. By next summer a roommate would bring in an extra 6 grand! That’ll do pig. That’ll do.

Me in a year (OK, I still won't be tall but...any ideas for my new moniker?)
PS this is supposed to be funny.

Elise on 06.01.05 @ 05:33 PM AK [link] [13 Comments]

Would it be petty if...

Yesterday I got another request to use one of my images for a full color Greek magazine called Ododeiktes ('Road signs' in Greek). They're going to publish my info and send me the issue. The image they want to use is one called "Communication" that I used in my BFA thesis show.

This is the *third* image from that series that I've had published from my BFA thesis show which (as you may recall) got a C-. I felt particularly devastated because the committee failed to mention how terrible they thought it was during the year I met with them and saved it all up for my anonymous final review; it's the main reason I quit printmaking. I mean, they were ruthless. I want to write and tell them how much their spineless attack impacted me and show them how work from that show has been published in magazines and on book covers so nah nah na nah nah!

Speaking of which...I never charge for allowing my work to be reproduced. I look at it as good exposure etc. and just feel flattered to be asked. People keep acting like I should be demanding payment or something. I have a feeling if I did they'd just say "no thanks" and publish someone else's work. Any thoughts?

Elise on 06.01.05 @ 08:18 AM AK [link] [9 Comments]

I'm Alive!

Actually, I never made it out of the mouth of the harbor on poor ole Rozinante. It was so sad. We packed a ton of supplies. The tank was full, the outboard started easily...we got out into the channel just as the other sailboats were crossing the start line. I opened up the throttle and it nearly died on me. I could have hoisted the sails and gone anyway but I didn't want to get stuck out in Stephen's Passage with no outboard. So, we hobbled back into the slip, my GPS unit tracked our progress which was a hilarious looking mass of loops as we circled the mouth of the harbor trying to fix the outboard.

I took it apart when we got back to the slip but there was nothing obviously wrong with it. I hate this piece of crap outboard. My friend Jen, the one who made the outboard remark before, said "maybe you *do* need a new one". Another friend, Mark, who has a much nicer boat on the same float offered to take us out sailing for the afternoon. We were out for 6 or 7 hours in excellent wind with ample snackage, so it turned out OK.

I wasn't going to write about not going on the trip as my friend Wayne took my Sunday shift so I could go on the trip (even though I didn't..guilt guilt!). But I have to tell him the truth sometime. I just felt tired and lazy the next day and proceeded to watch an unhealthy amount of Alias. Suddenly have urge to take kickboxing and dismantle my alarm clock by clipping all the little red and green wires.

Elise on 05.31.05 @ 11:54 AM AK [link] [7 Comments]

Getting a little freaked out...

Well, I have tomorrow (Friday) off and I plan to go down and prep Rozinante for the big weekend race. The only trouble is, this will be my first weekend trip in my little boat. I've only been out overnight in big yachts with experienced crew. It will just be Jen and I, and she's never done it on a small boat either. Rozinante is seaworthy but the Alaskan coastal waters are icy cold (you have 10 minutes tops if someone goes in the water) and the weather incredibly unpredictable and quick changing.

I went and bought a combination GPS chart-plotter with maps of the area where we'll be sailing, but I don't have a depth sounder (a warning goes off if you're about to ground or run into something under the water)..which makes me uncomfortable.

I ran into another sailing friend at the marine store, he helped me pick out the GPS unit and he seems to think we'll have no problem either but now that the time is fast approaching, I'm starting to feel really nervous. Anyway, I guess it's the next step for me as a sailor and I want to do it, even if I'll be stressed out the entire time. I do plan to take a sketch pad and water colors for when were in the harbor, that makes me feel less guilty about neglecting my artly ways.

So, just in case I meet my fate in the dark dark depths...I bid you all adieu!
(drama queen much)

Elise on 05.26.05 @ 08:10 PM AK [link] [9 Comments]

Taking Balance to the Extreme

So, my quest for balance continues, the problem is that I suck at it. I interpret "balance" as doing a little bit o this and a little bit o that...I thought for awhile that I was isolating myself too much with my die hard work ethic in the studio and decided to scale back a little so I could do other fun summer stuff, like sailing. Now I find myself slowly becoming obsessed with sailing! When I get home at night rather than painting I go sailing, or research gear I can't afford, or read about making my own sails.

I promised myself to get some painting done, go see a movie, work in the yard and (finally) finish my damn taxes over the long weekend. Then I remembered this weekend is the start of the Juneau Cup:
from Mayflower Island to Taku Harbor, "where we will spend the night barbecueing, telling lies, and having fun". 2nd race starts at Taku Harbor to Twin Points and back, "where we barbecue, lie, and have fun again". The last race is back to town from Taku Harbor.

These overnight races are a ton of fun but it's a three day committment which means nothing else will get done. Anyway, all I think about these days is sailing, sailing, sailing...it's like my mind only has room for one desire at a time. Is there a prescription for that?

Elise on 05.25.05 @ 08:39 AM AK [link] [9 Comments]

Setting standards

This weekend I met a friend downtown for lunch. I don't see him very often but I've always thought of him as a good guy...he's an artist and we always find a lot to talk about though the conversation is almost always exclusively about art. This time I was really taken aback by some classist and borderline racist things he said. Normally I would have stopped him in his tracks for saying such things, but instead I just changed the topic.

I left awhile later on what (I'm sure) he considers good terms...with him saying that we need to hang out more etc. and that he'd call me. I guess I feel conflicted because he was one of the first artists I met when I moved to Juneau and our art related conversations always left me feeling inspired.

Someone I respect once told me that I set impossibly high standards for my friends. I don't know if I'm overreacting or what. Part of me would like to stay his friend because I don't have that many people who get as excited as I do about art. Most of my friends are over-educated liberals with similar beliefs on social issues etc. This guy is wealthier by far but also uneducated (academically speaking); maybe this is a chance to expose him to a different way of thinking? Or maybe I just won't return his calls.

On a much less serious note, I just started watching Alias this weekend. OMG, it's so addictive!

UPDATE: I hope the above didn't sound pompous. I meant that maybe it isn't a good idea to surround ourselves only with like-minded people...that maybe we need to have friends who hold opinions that we find slightly abhorent just so we can keep challenging each others ideas.

Elise on 05.23.05 @ 07:47 AM AK [link] [16 Comments]

Lazy, hazy days of summer

I know it isn't technically summer yet, but I it sure feels like it. We've had sun through most of April and into May so far (at least by Juneau standards). I've been spending my free time planting flowers in my yard, sailing, and sitting on my porch practicing guitar and sippin ice tea. I'm reading "Guitar for Dummies" and I really recommend it for people who want to learn guitar, or for people like me who already know how to play but never took lessons.

I have learned so many interesting things from this book. For example, my finger position on two of the most used chords, has been off and by using the correct finger positions, I can make transitions to other chords 100 times faster.

Another interesting tid bit I learned is called the Oldies Progression, either C-Am-F-G or G-Em-C-D, depending on your vocal range...but I'm not kidding, if you just keep playing those 4 chords in that order you can play a ton of different oldies, like Blue Moon, Duke of Earl, Earth Angle, etc. I'm also learning about playing in the open position, and how to play fingerstyle as opposed to just strumming chords. It's a lot of fun...

But I'll tell you what I'm *not* doing...I'm not painting at all. I haven't for, close to 2 weeks now. I've been doing other creative stuff, web and graphic design mostly, but it's not the same. I'm having ideas, looking at a lot of other people's art, taking notes, letting things sort of gestate and trying not to fret about it (no pun intended).

I had a bit of a health scare recently. Nothing I want to go into, but it was very scary there for almost a month and I just got the "all clear" on Thursday, (not dying after all, perfectly healthy...just like my teeth)...but I did a lot of soul searching when I thought otherwise and what I've come to is this: I'm going to try and not get stressed out about how often and how much art I'm producing...and everything I do is going to be based soley on what I enjoy, what makes me happy...not what I think will be seen as important by some phantom "art world" if that means giving up my art business, well that is something I'm considering doing. I'm putting an awful lot of time and energy into the business end of things and not enough into producing good work. I'll get back to that later though, right now I'm late for sailing. Sat. morning is bouy racing day...even though it is a bit rainy and overcast at the moment, the wind in the channel looks perfect.

LATER THAT DAY: Update

Just got back from the bouy racing and it was tons of fun. There were 7 of us out on the water at one point, all different sized sailboats. The wind was excellent, after sailing for awhile though my friend Jen and I decided to stop as there was mist, rain, and white caps. It was good sailing but I was afraid if the seas got any bigger we might get into trouble, especially since Jen and I haven't sailed much together. Below are some pictures I took of the other boats from the comfort of the Hangar on the Warf where we went for beers and blackened salmon afterwards. The wind died down significantly right after we pulled back into the harbor.



The big colorful sails are called spinnakers. I don't have one, but I really *want* one. Right now I have the highest rated boat in the fleet (meaning the biggest handicap) but a spinnaker would change that.

Elise on 05.21.05 @ 08:31 AM AK [link] [8 Comments]

Alaskan Wild Life

Tonight I went out for my first actual sail of the season and it was perfect. The wind picked up a few times and we were really heeled over. It was warm and sunny, there were beautiful funny looking black and white sea birds everywhere...aside from a fouled bow line when we were leaving the slip, everything went like clockwork. My sailing partner DeLynn and I have every Monday and Wednesday scheduled for sailing this summer and tonight was exactly what I needed. I took this shot during a bit of a lull.

The nights are starting to get a lot longer, the pretty golden twilight lasts for hours and hours.

The funniest part of the night was when DeLynn pointed out the harbor seal to me...it had it's head sticking out of the water and appeared to be watching us. We started whisphering, wondering how close we could get before he'd dive. I asked her to go below and get my camera. I must have taken 5 or 6 excited shots before we got close enough for me to get a really good look! There's a picture of the little fella below. LOL

Elise on 05.18.05 @ 09:53 PM AK [link] [11 Comments]

The Pollen is Gonna Getcha!

So, I've been having terrible headaches and blurry vision etc. for the past several weeks due to the huge amount of pollen floating about this spring but I though this photo from Juneauphotos.com might be worth a 1000 words.

It has gotten slightly better since it rained some recently, but there's still a lot of it around.

Elise on 05.17.05 @ 03:21 PM AK [link] [7 Comments]

Finding Inspiration

There are times (many many many times) when I sort of lose my way and quit seeing the potential in everyday things. Tonight I took a spin around some of the artist blogs I haven't visited in awhile and saw such inventive and beautiful work. It's amazing how rejuvenating it is just to see what's being created daily, all over the world! 10 years ago this would have been impossible for someone living in a remote area like me.

Another thing I like to do is check out other figuative artists galleries using Google's subject directory. If you go to: Arts > Visual Arts > Painting > Painters > The Human Figure you can see a over 200 contemporary figuative artists' online galleries.

In other news, I got a really nice email from the guy who won the commission from the radio auction; I'm excited that he and his wife are interested in a painting in the alluvial flow vein, and not a portrait of George W or something awful like that. In fact, it was just cool to learn that the item was sold after all. For some reason, thinking that it hadn't had really gotten me down.

Is it just me or is there really that fine a line between feeling despondant and feeling over joyed?

Elise on 05.16.05 @ 11:07 PM AK [link] [No Comments]

The price of music

Another Monday is here...how did that happen? I had big plans for the weekend, primarily I was going to do some bouy racing on Sat. morning, but then it was raining and there was zero wind so not the best sailing conditions. Instead I played the guitar all weekend. The calluses on my left hand have reached impressive levels! I have a crappy $90 guitar from Costco, so I spent a great deal of time researching online for a new one. No, I don't have the money, but if I ever *do* get the money, I'll know more about what I want. I think I have it narrowed down to a 3/4 guitar made in Canada called the Seagull Grand Artist. It's beautiful and has (from everything I've read) an amazing sound. They quit making it but there are several mint condition ones being auctioned on ebay. I'm so so so tempted!

Elise on 05.16.05 @ 08:43 AM AK [link] [7 Comments]

Preservation

So here is a picture of Kaia from the Tangent Press in Washington, actually using a tradional letter press on the "To Stand to Sea" covers I designed here in Alaska for my friend Susana's book (in Switzerland). Working on this with all the time-zone differences was challenging but fun.

The photo brings back memories, as yours truly actually got her BFA in printmaking! I was big into collographs and Intaglio...back in the day, before non-toxic printmaking studios, we used nitric acid baths and lots of hard core solvents and wiped oil based inks off zinc plates with our bare hands! Yes, I know I'm a walking vessle of toxins at this point in my life.

Have I ever mentioned that one of my long-term goals is to get into good enough shape to be a candidate for plasticization when I die?

In other news, I didn't listen to the radio auction this afternoon. For one thing, I didn't have any $ to bid on anything, and like I said before, I didn't want to be listening if the item didn't get any bids...which is what I think must have happened. I say this because I haven't heard anything from either the radio station or an individual saying that the item was purchased. So...glad I missed that. But like Greg said, if I look on the positive side of things, this means more time for working on my own projects (I won't lie to you though, it stings a bit)...

Elise on 05.14.05 @ 11:21 PM AK [link] [14 Comments]