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Treasure Valley Artists’ Alliance

Time Flew!

By Everything Else

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Oh, Hello!

I guess I’ve been a wee bit distracted with things besides updating my blog these past few, … er, well…several days, but I’m back now, and I apologize!

Don’t I look contrite?

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Yeah. That’s me, suffering at Tour de Fat this weekend.

Mike “Mr. Stripey,” with his bike “The Bee,” sacrificed his Saturday to accompany me.

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We’ve ridden in the bike parade for 5 years now and it’s one of our very favorite things to do in the summer in Boise.

TVAA set up a booth at Tour de Fat two years in a row. We had the public paint tiny paintings of where they liked to ride their bikes in a grid we imposed over a larger painting of a bike we painted in advance. I painted the bike the first year, a red and white cruiser.

That painting hangs in the workshop at the Boise Bicycle Project.

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Terry Burkes painted the bike the second year. It’s a bike made of tree bark. It hangs now in the new studio space in the offices of Boise State Public Radio.

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My favorite painted bike though, is my bike. Which I painted in 2010. It always gets a lot of compliments during the parade. Especially from anyone in a tutu, and the under 10 crowd.

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I’ve got lots more to tell you, but as you know, it is best to “take little bites and chew them well” — so this little bite will have to do for now!

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Ride on!

Don’t/Stop Looking At Me

By Personal Her-story

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I pinned this on my “Wise Words” Pinterest board this week and realized as I did so that I whole heartedly agree with the sentiment. As someone who is keeping a blog — the point of which is to make myself MORE VISIBLE — I also realized that it puts me in constant conflict with myself. Look at Me! Don’t look at me! Stop looking at me! Don’t stop looking at me! Jeez.

It also helps me understand why I don’t post as regularly as I intend to. Even though I have a daily practice of writing, and 60 notebooks worth of my thoughts which could fill a blog every day for several years to come — I could call it “TMI” — I hesitate to be that visible and instead of just posting a little something and calling it good, I disappear.

Now you see me. Now you don’t.

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And I feel bad about that. So, with the knowledge that there are only about seven of you who read this blog anyway, I’m going to do something I do in my daily writing to declutter my brain, and just list in no particular order the things which are on my mind right now — some of which have been taking up time I might have spent writing posts for this blog.

+ I am applying for the Nampa Public Libray Feature Art Wall project and would dearly love* to be one of the 3 artists selected to create a proposal.

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*serious understatement

+ I’ve been working on two pieces for the upcoming “Monsters!” exhibition TVAA is having. Here’s a preview of one of them:

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+ TVAA Exhibitions have been my primary focus and volunteer commitment for the past 4 years since we founded TVAA, and after 13 exhibitions I am ready to pass the oversight on to another individual, or group. Come out, come out whoever you are?!! I will continue to participate in the shows by creating art for them, and I’d love to curate now and then, I just need to pass the baton. Especially if we are not even going to be in Boise part of the year….

+ We were thiiiis close to booking a way cool artists’ compound Airbnb in what is admittedly a pretty rough (but getting better since Katrina) neighborhood in New Orleans for our Winter 2015 adventure, when our friend (and guard dog) Joy forwarded us a very dispiriting news report about an artist being beaten within an inch of his life by a gang of boys with bats and pipes just a couple of blocks from “our” place. Boo.

We’re definitely going to New Orleans, but we’re debating whether or not to take a risk on this particular (and particularly awesome in every way except location) housing possibility.

+ We’re thinking about trading in our 2001 Forester for a 2014/15 Forester with the 250 hp upgrade. Anyone?

+ After 6 years of pouring my heART and soul into this house it has “suddenly” dawned on us that most of the reasons we moved here in the first place — to create a home within a home for Logan (he now lives in Supported Living), and to evolve into a sort of family compound for Idaho raised grandkids (Lina seems to be heading further East these days and has no inclination to return to Boise) — no longer exist. Couple that with the fact we need more open work space for the larger pieces I am interested in creating, and it’s looking like move #36 is on the horizon.

Interested in a 3600 sq.ft. house with 2 kitchens, 2.25 baths and 6 bedrooms (2 bedrooms, 1 workroom, 3 studios the way we’ve used them), with a huge back yard? Then stay tuned.

+ My hair is giving me fits.

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Ok. You can stop looking now.

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Four Eyes: An Optical Collusion

By Exhibitions

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I’ve been busy for the past couple of days getting ready for the next exhibition — Four Eyes: An Optical Collusion, An Exhibition of Collaboration.

That’s meant literally dusting off older collaborations TVAA did for the Modern Art in 2010 and for Tour de Fat, as well as receiving, arranging, and yesterday hanging — with Sue Latta’s usual expertise and a very cool laser level — the whole show including the new work.

I framed the mock-up of the wall of panels which we hung on the outside of the stairwell of the Modern Hotel for our first collaboration. There were 60 panels in all, either T’s, V’s, A’s or self-portraits.

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These are some of the actual self-portrait panels:

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And these are some of the actual T’s, V’s and A’s in a grid format just like our TVAA logo:

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The other 16 pieces are hung in the atrium…

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and the open hall.

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Here’s my collaboration with Barbara Bowling, “The Abdication of the Sylvan Beauty Queen on the Occasion of Her Epiphany” right next to Mike’s collaboration with Lauren T. Kistner, their acrylic painting “Getaway Bike.”

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The Opening Reception is tonight from 5:00 to 8:00pm at the offices of Boise State Public Radio at 220 E Parkcenter in Boise. I hope I see you there!

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Guilty as Charged

By Exhibitions

Last night’s Art Journaling panel went really well. I found it fascinating and inspiring to see the variety of approaches we each take with our journals and how they reflect so accurately our unique personalities and talents. I even have renewed appreciation for my own journals and am excited to dust off some old friends that could use some new chapters.

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Before I can get to that adventure however, I have a more pressing assignment for this week. We are mounting TVAA’s 13th exhibition Four Eyes: An Optical Collusion, An Exhibition of Collaboration which opens this Friday, June 6, 5:00 – 8:00 pm at the offices of Boise State Public Radio.

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Collaboration is at the heart of the mission of the Treasure Valley Artists’ Alliance. When we founded the organization four years ago we envisioned artists working together with each other, with the public, and as an organization with other arts organizations. You’re familiar with the aphorism “Whatever… is like herding cats“?

Meow.

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Four Eyes: An Optical Collusion will be a comparatively small exhibition. We have 16 pieces which are original collaborations created for this show and, in the spirit of our original vision, I am bringing back elements from two of TVAA’s previous collaborations with the public.

One of those is the bicycle painting which Terry Burkes painted for our second collaboration with Tour de Fat. I painted the bike for the first collaboration and it hangs in the Boise Bicycle Project shop.

The finished piece is 7′ x 4′ framed and she and I hauled it over to the radio station this morning in her pickup because it doesn’t fit in my Forester. Actually, Terry and I have each had a hand in 8 of the pieces in this exhibition, including “Confluence” which is one we worked on together.

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I guess that makes us collaborators. Or really manageable cats.

Art Journal Preview #3 — Panel Discussion Tonight!

By Inspiration Book

Tonight’s the night we have our much anticipated TVAA panel discussion of Art Journaling at 6:00 pm at the Creative Access Arts Center at 500 S. 8th in Boise.

Besides me, you’ll hear from Pam McKnight, Beau Van Greener, Jeanette Ross and Lisa Cheney. The panel’s discussion will be led by Dr. Kathleen Keyes, President of the Boise Art Museum Trustees.

But before that, I have one last preview of one of my art journals — my Inspiration Book. I mentioned yesterday that it’s like a visual bucket list of things I want to have, or do, or make, and because for me there’s not much separation between my art and my home (painted floors, doors, dishes, etc.), or my wardrobe (painted boots, appliquéd bracelets, etc.), or any holiday or celebration, the book reflects a very broad range of things which inspire me….

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I hope you can make it to tonight’s discussion. If not, I hope you are aware of the many pleasures and benefits of keeping an art journal. And, if the whole concept is new to you, I hope seeing a little of the kinds of art journals I keep might inspire you to begin your own.