The "L" on the Hill Must Stand for Laughter!

We had such a great time in Lewiston.  Ellen Vieth is the most fun I've had in a long time.  It was so great getting to know her and watch the energy that just exudes from her very being!

I've been watching her from afar on facebook, but in real life it's dazzling and so is she!  In all of our photos we're cracking up and having a wonderful time.  The reception was super and we had an amazing crowd and wonderful food from La Boheme.   Ellen also hooked me up with some Potlatch Paper and those of you in the know, know what I'm talking about, right? Well, maybe not.  It's overruns of great clay coated paper that I'll have fun experimenting with.

Ellen has a penchant for shoes and so do I, so we got a shot of our shoes - Earle's too!  Can you figure out who's are whose?

Lewiston marks our final run for 2009 with Immigrant Shadows and will run through January 15, 2010.   It's really been a great ride and Earle and I have learned so much and had a terrific time.

It was a long drive home and we ran into snow in Riggins and nearly all the way home.  It's beginning to look a lot like winter around Idaho.  In fact, on the way back to the Red Lion last night, I was startled to see all the trees in a little park down the hill from the hotel all lit up.  It was Lewiston Aglow!

Sorry it's a bit blurry; April was driving and we were moving when I took the shot. The colors were magnificent and were a great finale to a wonderful day.

So, it looks like the holidays are on their way!  Everybody have a safe and thankful TG!

Lovin' Lewiston

Found a great bakery/restaurant/cafe today.   It was recommended by gallery director and new friend  Ellen Vieth for my luncheon date with Moscow Installation artist Gerri Sayler.    Gerri drove down from Moscow today to see Immigrant Shadows at the Lewiston Center for Arts and History and met Earle and me at the Gallery where she gave us some great feedback on our work and asked so many insightful questions!   

It was barely over a year ago when I first saw Gerri at work hanging her Ad Infinitum BAM exhibition.   I remember being so in awe of her work and being way too shy to interrupt her and  introduce myself.  And it wasn't long after that when Earle and I bumped in to each other at BAM when we agreed to combine our work and become co-collaborators on Immigrant Shadows.

Gerri and I had  a wonderful conversation about our work, and our thoughts on women artists, returning to school to study art, risk-taking and reinventing ourselves.  Gerri, of course, has been prolific since earning her degree and has presented many installations at significant venues throughout the Northwest.

My camera batteries are charging so I can get some photos at CAH tonight!  My dear friend April is driving up as I write and it will be wonderful to have such a fabulous day of female support.

Thank you Ellen, Gerri and April!

A Garden in our Grove

Here's a photo from New Holland Brewery with artist Pamela Krikke's glass and copper gardens in the foreground.  Pamela arranged for the venue and Ric did the install.  This time the trees and castings are suspended from a second story ceiling and are several feet above the floor.  According to Pamela there are skylights that allow the natural light to shine through the filagree of the  trees and canopies on the castings, panels and floor.   Pamela has taken Immigrant Shadows to new heights and Earle and I are both very grateful to her for her vision and this opportunity to collaborate.

Earle and I leave Thursday for Lewiston to install another show.  Earle's driving his motor home and we should arrive late and be ready to hang it all on Friday.   The last time I was in Lewiston was for the kick-off for the Lewis and Clark centennial several years ago.

Look out, Lewiston!  Here we come.

Yup, It's Up

And I'll soon have the pictures to prove it.  But not without a few little glitches.  The ceilings at New Holland Brewing are really, really high - 23 feet to be exact and apparently the brick masonry was not conducive to hanging.

But Ric prevailed and we  now have a reason to go back to Michigan.  Not that I needed a reason, I loved it there.  So did my daughter Jessica.  And we made new friends  and I can find my way around Grand Rapids plus I still have to see the Frederic Meijer Sculpture Gardens.
But in the meantime, here's one for Ric Carroll - the guy that helped us make it all happen.  According to my translation guide, Proost is popular, but Gezunheid is proper.

To your health, Ric!

On its Way Up Again

Immigrant Shadows is on its way up again.  It will be an abbreviated version as we sold some of the pieces and donated others while we were at ArtPrize.   All the same, it will still be a good representation of trees, canopies and castings.   Our new collaborator, Pamela Krikke, will be doing an installation of her work within our installation in Holland, Michigan.   She left a message early this morning that she and Ric, our "go to guy" installer, de-installer, agent, landlord, you name it is on his way to help install the work.

Pamela will be taking photos today.   I'm anxious to see her work and how it all comes together. She's been doing a lot of behind the scenes work in getting the location, transportation, press releases and completing her own work for the project.

Our work seems to gravitate toward food and drink in Michigan.  At ArtPrize it hung in the entry at San Chez Bistro, a popular, upscale tapas restaurant.  Now it will be displayed in a space within a popular brewery called New Holland Brewing Company.  Although I hate the word juxtaposition, it seems to fit when imagining the isolated grove Earle and I created  suddenly front and center where people come to celebrate, dine and enjoy one another.   Perhaps that's what the immigrant sheepherders dreamed about in their silent isolation.

I can sure imagine myself with friends enjoying ourselves at a table near the window in this charming Michigan town.