after working with a lot of showrooms @ the boston design center + even opening my own gallery in the bdc [2018], once I stumbled upon the seattle design center i just knew I had to somehow get back into designers world. as i sent my intern off to a few selected showrooms she instantly had a connection with sue, a seasoned sales rep at baker | mcguire. turns out said interns mom + sue both were in the same sorority! she shared my sustainable collection samples + discussed how it would work well with the aesthetic of their space. modern + textured, it was a match. excited to color match for them using a specific blue [baby blue eyes] + create new works that have been in my mind for a while. next step is getting the word out about sustainable art while still a relatively new concept here hopefully one that is appreciated among the naturesque evergreen state. thank you to baker | mcguire for this amazing opportunity.
if you gossip about others, share confidential conversations, judge other peoples life choices, compare your kids to others, use religion to convince yourself you're a good person, use social media to share only your good side, use money to manipulate: maybe don’t? one thing I can say rings true @ half a century old is:
continuetobe. kind. + clear out the bs
thx to my loves. who support me
my best friends who take the time. + always learning from each other. everyone’s struggles are real + grateful to those who understand the life of an artist. a life most don’t understand.
forever. the jaded optimist.xo
“when someone shows you who they are. believe them the first time” M.Angelou
every project is vastly different, even if the style is the same. my ever popular gold horizon seem to be a theme. my framer creates + delivers the custom frame built meticulously to scale. i prep canvas, start music, + begin. the horizon is a one shot deal. no mistakes can be made. alas everytime i hold my breathe and do it. they say that your craft gets perfected the more you do it. like a tennis player learning to serve. it really holds true. even though I do not paint every day anymore. its in my brain. i often catch myself imagining how i want to paint + how I would like to try the mediums in a different way. its always white and ends up being quite timeless. just like the gold horizons. each are so similiar but different in their imperfections only i can see. every placement is different + my favorite part of the project is seeing it in situ [a Latin phrase that translates literally to "on site" or "in position]. so it is: in situ, placed perfectly in a new build among other carefully curated spaces. hopefully it will be admired here for an established amount of time. that is what an artists dreams of right?
as mentioned in my earlier posts, travel has been a highlight for us this year. most summers spent boating off boston harbor was a bittersweet goodbye upon our move out west and was traded in for passports. having lived in Italy for quatro medzi in 2004 I knew this trip would be much different than that. i booked a couple of eurorail trips within our weeks-long stay in paris. as we arrived the limestone surrounding the city was breathtaking, the Eiffel was way bigger than we imagined. the louve closed earlier than planned. d’orsay mesmerizing van gogh. tre manifique! cafes. who knew the arch was built for napoleon? london rain at parliament + abbey road. pleasant people. amsterdam canal ride. anne franks house. cafes + countryside. it all was smashing. standing where the most talented artists + poets roamed the streets, barefoot, carefree + uniquely mad in their own right, comforted my soul. thank you tu mi familia for dealing with my madness while en route.
when you get to go to an event with a friend it makes it way more fun. joining tailored home design (sara s) was just a pleasant surprise. she tells me she wants to attend the lecture by hgtv show personality candice olson + we have about twenty minutes before it starts so we casually stroll the halls of the sdc. unlike the boston design center that I was part of for about ten years the seattle design center is smaller but more intimate. this being my only second visit, we know the showrooms + what they offer. a new fun showroom is craftex, a custom cement artisan. candice olsen’s lecture is about to begin. we take seats. like most events you get asked to put our biz cards in the bowl. i have never won anything in my life + when candice calls shapirodesigns in front of her 100+ crowd I slowly stand up + wave for winning the grand prize from the shade store. during the talk candice describes her upholstery collaboration with kravet in detail down to the name. sensual boucle in dove is my favorite. super luxurious + ultra soft! post my win at the sdc event we casually shove cupcakes + cookies into our hungry faces each labeled by flavor: true sdc style. i get the chance to pitch my artwork to candice + give her my card. wow what a day! even when you might not feel too social + stuck it really does help to get out of your comfort zone: it truly is refreshing.
stumbling upon an ad in a local magazine*, i reach out to an interior designer, sara of tailored home, who was from boston as well and relocated to the pnw. she was happy to join me in one of my first creative ventures in the pnw, + we quickly scheduled a road trip to the seattle design center.
An industrial area not too different from the Boston Design Center minus the bustling waterfront, the Seattle Design Center was a bit smaller than expected albeit just as filled with enticing showrooms. The inviting lobby is adorned with a large Hunt Slonum from his Blue Diamond Rhapsody, 2021 series.
The symmetry of the space + showrooms makes it easy to walk through. Well-known showroom Baker hones a grey glass modern pedestal that I covet. We spend much time in Resource Furniture, an innovative way to customize any space with a futuristic appeal.
After a satisfying lunch in their open + quiet courtyard, I contemplate how I see my work in this area. We discuss design and how my modern work remains ahead of its time + unique. It’s just the beginning of my life as an artist here in the PNW. So much to see so little time…
having lived in mukilteo for over a year and a half now, home improvement projects took over taking my soul with them (a first-world problem i know). interviewing artists fills the void for about six months. as the winter looms, i take pup down to the local beaches every chance I get. this winter from november to april seemed as if they were the longest rainiest months of my life. it has been dark + lonely in this city by the mountains. everything shuts down, even the people. as i struggle to stay focused on my next creative venture i go through my images. our long-awaited trip to israel in December seemed to give me hope. whether traveling locally or to a new place across the globe, i believe it gives renewal + a sense of belonging in this world. traveling is a luxury. traveling is the unknown. snowboarding in the mountains, joining the garden club, and a recent trip back home to the house I grew up in (and was a front runner for the movie american hustle) brush strokes of creativity into my mind that was once a blank canvas. a photograph there a vision of a very specific color here, i am excited as i have been searching for this image of simple texture for some time now. now to execute the vision. that’s the fun part…linger in this moment of possibility..to be continued…
painting in a new place, studio, and lighting is always a challenge but a challenge is also a good problem. my new mentor at Impact, whose sole purpose is to assist women in all stages of their business, suggested I read The Mountain is You. available in audio, it was filled with constructive advice on how to get over your own personal mountain. anyways, I am all for supporting women in business + was thrilled to hear from suzi h. at alchemy station art, where deep knowledge + creativity intersect.
so, back to painting. In this new sun-drenched studio space, I start my playlist + go through my checklist. although this list starts way before any tangible products are strategically placed, my mental list forms all the details. communication is key, down to the amount of texture + placement of color. I really do like it when they know exactly where the client wants what as much as I enjoy total creative freedom. freedom is what I am struggling with now. a new fresh idea, it’s all in the details. and I am getting close. You have just to jump in + try even if it might be an utter failure. that’s just it. that’s art: being okay to fail, to learn + then grow.
On view in the fp3 gallery are uniquely textured acrylic paintings by boston artist, wendy shapiro. these eco-friendly works are layers of horizons, clouds and soft sea storms. being environmentally conscious has always been incorporated in wendy’s art. by using greenguard gold certified (for low chemical emissions UL 2818) acrylic paint in this series she continues this practice. wendy hopes the viewer takes a moment to imagine taking a step into each piece and visualize what the infinite horizon is today and will imminently be.
On Thursday, April 16, 2015, celebrate SPRING in Southie by coming out to support your local businesses. Shop at local boutiques and one-night-only pop up shops, dine & drink at your favorite restaurants, and stroll the streets! See below for a list of participating businesses and the discounts they will be offering.
