New Orleans

Apr 04 2016

And Another Week Down…

By melissasasichambers New Orleans Sojourn

Time flies. Even when you’re not “having fun.” Which is not to say we are NOT having fun, we are, but we are also just living “normal” life, which believe it or not is about work, and laundry, and “making groceries,” even in New Orleans where your work schedule may vary.

I do love having the luxury of two months here though because we don’t feel like we’re missing out on anything when we have days like Friday which we spent keeping cosy and dry in our little hideaway.

The day before the deluge I’d taken the ferry across the Mississippi to the foot of canal:

and hung out with Joy — having “True Blood” juice at the Canal Street Bistro:

and coffee at Monkey Monkey Coffee & Tea.

The sun came out again for the weekend, just in time for First Saturday. First Saturdays in New Orleans are like First Thursdays in Boise, with art walks in all the gallery districts and many openings of new exhibitions. (Well, Boise X 1,000.)

We spent our evening in the Warehouse District on Julia St., and as the storm of synchronicity which keeps raining down on me would have it, Karen Bubb and Rachel Reichart (of Boise City Department of Arts & History fame) were in town too. So we visited the galleries together.

Here’s a little of what we saw at the Arthur Roger Gallery:

But my favorites were the amazing embroidered portraits “Friends & Neighbors” by Gina Phillips at the Jonathan Ferrara Gallery:

It would seem that little dogs showing up with their people at art galleries and openings, and even in the artwork itself is the new thang round here.

Lula?

Are you ready for your close-up?

Mar 10 2016

Getting a Jump on the “To-Due” List

By melissasasichambers Tarpage

You already know I’m a big “To-Due” list keeper, and, because I DO get things done, you would think I could keep those lists pretty short.

Nah.

Of course the little habit I have of adding things to the existing list after I have accomplished them, just so I can cross them off said list might be one reason for the length of those lists.

But I don’t want to talk about that right now.

Anywho. I’ve got a really long list this week because on Saturday — 2 days from now — we are getting on the road to NEW ORLEANS!

But you don’t want to know what’s on my To-Due list before we hit the road with 3 dogs, all of Mike’s paintings for his exhibition in May, clothing for 3 versions of climate change, and at least a couple of my new tarpestries from this past year, do you?

Nah.

So instead, here’s a photo album of the Tarpestries I’ve created for the Boise Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (BUUF) Social Justice Partners 2015/2016…

November 2015: Farmer’s Market Mobile Market — Food Justice, food security, income inequality

December 2015: ACLU of Idaho — Criminal Justice Reform, Against the Death Penalty

January 2016: BUUF Partner Church Meszko Sholarship Fund — Supporting UU 6th principle of world community

February 2016: Feed the Gap — Child Hunger, Food insecurity

March 2016: Interfaith Sanctuary — Homelessness

And because we are going to be away, and I didn’t want to leave work undone, I have gone ahead and made the tarpestries for the months we will be in New Orleans….

April 2016: Women’s & Children’s Alliance — Domestic Violence

May 2016: Planned Parenthood — Reproductive Justice and Comprehensive Sexuality Education

June 2016: Habitat for Humanity — Affordable Housing

I have 4 more tarpestries to create to finish the year — which I’ll make when we get back from New Orleans, and, I’m planning on creating another book with the help of my friend Debra Smith who is doing the Social Justice coordination for which I am creating these tarpestries. Team work, baby. Collaboration is the name of the game for me these days, and my tarpestries are my medium.

I’ll update you from the road, and then undoubtedly inundate you from NOLA, because that city knows how to make Action Girl work up a serious head of steam!

Jul 01 2015

Making a Splash at Reel Foods

By melissasasichambers Tarpage

The Fish Tarpestries are up!

Terry Burkes and I met at Reel Foods this morning and put them up together.

I’ll be adding a few more velcro straps here and there to help keep them a bit straighter, but they look awesome — if I do say so myself!

You know what else looks awesome?

The totally fresh seafood at Reel Foods.

After we finished installing the tarpestries, Terry and I were treated to some wonderful Sushi — we had the Boise River roll with smoked trout. And, I am very impressed by, and can’t wait to try, the variety of oysters they offer. Chef Mark thinks the Steamboat oysters will charcoal grill nicely — just the way we loved them in New Orleans!

Hungry yet? (Jeez, I am!)

Well, you should go to Reel Foods on Capitol Blvd. and check them out…

the fresh seafood, AND the Fresh Fish Tarpestries!

May 08 2015

Up and At ’em

By melissasasichambers Exhibitions

Tonight is the Opening for Spring Awakening, the latest TVAA exhibition at Boise State Public Radio. It is also the debut of my tarpestry “Spring Awakening (The Unconcious Arsonist).”

I’m excited to have one of my original tarps out in the world where people, besides my nearest and dearest, can actually see it in person. Descriptions and detail shots don’t do it justice — you have to see the entire “elephant” if you know what I mean.

It’s been a whirlwind around here lately what with making plans to sell my beloved artists’ home, and being so jazzed about making more tarpestries inspired by our New Orleans trip, and having a new traffic box to design — yes, I’m doing a “traffic tarpestry.”

It’s actually a bit ironic that I am oozing with inspiration at the same time I have to subtract myself and a lot of my art from this house. Potential buyers have to be able to “see” themselves living their lives here, not me living mine.

(This bad boy is coming with me!)

I’ve “restaged” a couple of the rooms so it is more “housey” and less “artsy.”

Buh-bye “Gallery,” hello Living Room…

Buh-bye “Music Room,” hello Bedroom…

I left myself enough space in the Living Room to work on my tarps, sort of. It’s a little cramped, but that just highlights the kind of studio space I really need, and is helping define what we want for our next place. The next space has got to work as a studio first. We can live in our studio, but it’s much harder to turn traditional living space into working space. I’m guessing a lot of you are very familiar with that conundrum.

This is my latest New Orleans inspired tarpestry — sorry about the usual less than great shots since it is so big, and is on the floor.

Some detail shots…

And this is the “traffic tarpestry” under way…

(More to come on this piece in my next post.)

I hope you can make it to the Opening this evening for Spring Awakening — there is a ton of other work besdides mine to enjoy as well.

Up and at’em!

Apr 29 2015

The World is My Oyster

By melissasasichambers New Orleans Sojourn, Personal Her-story

Our sojourn in New Orleans is over for now. We are back in Boise, and as usually happens to me when I travel and have a literal change of perspective, I’m in an entirely different “place” than I was when we left.

If you’ve been following my blog you have undoubtedly gathered how much New Orleans means to me and to Mike. How vital it is to our sense of being who we truly are as artists, as a family and as citizens of the world. It is our true “heart home,” the place we feel WE belong.

Don’t get me wrong, we love Boise too! It’s like Boise is our BFF, and New Orleans is our Soul Mate, and we believe we can have both. It’s just going to get a little complicated around here while we make that happen!

I know you have heard me muse on ways we are better using our house in Boise as our artists’ home — repurposing rooms as studio space,

turning our former living room into a “gallery”

and Logan’s former apartment into our new living room

and studio space.

That’s been done, and it absolutely works for us as it reflects the way we live now that we are empty nesters who also happen to be artists.

BUT…we want to have another home in New Orleans too, and we can’t do that and keep this house. So, our plan is to sell this house and buy two condos — one in Boise, and one in New Orleans.

We have bought and sold houses before, but there has never been a house I’ve loved as much — or have poured as much of myself into — as this house. It hurts physically to think about selling it, but no pain, no gain, right? My wish is that someone will fall in love with it the way I did and I can hand it over to them with a light heart.

Wish us luck as we embark on this next phase of our lives which I have dubbed “Bon Temps Le Boi.”