Monthly Archives: September 2013

A New Studio Space!

I just signed a lease on a new studio space! It doesn’t look like much yet but I have many plans to make it into a usable space for working and teaching.

First come the walls and two windows that will be put in by the building manager by October 15th. From there it’s mudding and taping the drywall, adding an stainless steel sink, lighting, a big design wall, and a 14-foot-long printing table.

I can only imagine what it will be like to have all that wall space and how it will affect my work. It’s a big project but I’m planning on being open for the Ballard Art Walk on November 9th!

More to come!

Change is Good?

My big news, which I’ve actually known since February, is that I’m going to move my studio. My studio-mates who own the building I’ve been in for over 10 years are building studios at their home and selling the studio. For a while my husband and I were looking at buying the building and keeping it as artist studios. But, unfortunately, the numbers just didn’t pencil out and it would have been a money-losing venture. It just doesn’t make financial sense. We found out right before we left for Burning Man that it wasn’t going to work out. I was sad but at least it was settled after seven months of being in limbo.

I’ve been pretty anxious about moving my studio because I don’t do change well. I’m relearning that I need a lot of security to be creative. So much of what I’m able to do is because my wonderful husband is there to support me–financially, sure, but also emotionally. Without going in to detail, I had a pretty difficult home life as a kid. Even though I’ve done my therapy and don’t like to dwell on the past, it’s still part of who I am. And having my safe and secure little studio taken away has shaken me up and taken me back to that little girl growing up without stability or control.

It’s a difficult place to make art from. The good thing is that I’ve been able to recognize these connections to my past and that takes away some of the anxiety. Going to Burning Man was really good for me, too. It’s was inspiring to see large-scale and ambitious artworks come to fruition in that harsh and unforgiving environment. I was also inspired by the open hearts and minds of the community of Burners. And the desert gave me the mental space to put things into perspective.

I came back to Seattle motivated to find a new space. It feels good to take control of my environment. To refine what it is that I need and want in a space to create. And to have Faith that it’s out there. When I would talk to friends about what was happening they often said things like, “Change is good,” and, “It’s all happening for a reason,” and other annoying West Coast platitudes. Yes, all that is true but it didn’t help me feel any better at the time.

Now I’m taking this time of change to open up my work, to expand my process, to experiment and mess around, to explore without the pressure of deadlines or a show coming up. I don’t have to be perfect and neither does my work. I do have Faith, now, that this change is positive, an opportunity to grow as an artist and as a person, to push myself past the safety zone. I can brave the center of the Char Wash, an art installation at Burning Man, with flame throwers spinning around me and not get burned.

Perhaps my next space will be a perfect place to work. Or maybe not. But whichever way, I can always make a change.

Greetings from Black Rock City

Believe by Laura Kimpton and Jeff Schomberg

I returned from the Burning Man Festival one week ago. Someone asked me yesterday why I go. It’s a hard question to answer. It’s hard to explain to someone who’s never been and, if you have been, you most likely have your own answer.

The Man and base

a view of The Man from inside the base

another view of The Man from an art piece nearby

The biggest draw for me is the art. The dry lake bed of the Black Rock Desert, called the Playa, provides the ultimate blank canvas on a grand scale. It is completely dry, completely flat, neutral cracked earth surrounded on all sides by arid mountains. It is the harshest art festival on the planet, with blazing sun, strong winds, and dust storms. The fact that any artist team can mount work under these conditions is amazing. The fact that they create work on such a huge scale with intricate craftsmanship and interactivity is astonishing. The art isn’t juried, at least not for quality or content, so you see work at all levels. I like that. I like that people are inspired to create and are supported by the event organizers.

Another pull for me is the community. The 10 Principals of Burning Man have created a structure for an event where strangers really are just friends you haven’t met yet. Where people look into your eyes, introduce themselves with a hug, offer you a their hand, a drink, an experience, their stories. I laugh a lot there. I cry, too. All my feelings are at the surface and can be expressed safely, not stuffed down until there is a better time, a better place. There is no better place to feel.

inside the Temple of Whollyness which was a 64 foot tall structure created without using nails, glue or any other metal fastener

another view inside the Temple

Then there is the freedom. The freedom to express, to be myself or an alter ego, to wake up at dawn and ride my bike across the hard packed playa wearing zebra-print pajama pants and a fur coat. Then I come back to camp where Lucky Eric serves me hot French Press coffee at the Hedgehog Repair Shop and Sizzle has a plate of bacon at the ready, all gifts given from the heart.

a sunset ride to the Trash Fence

Drifts by Michael Christian

Ichthyosaur Puppet Project by Jerry Snyder

Gifting is one of the most important of the 10 Principals. Gifts given freely, without expectation of return, without barter, without money. We gift to our camp by cooking, washing dishes, contributing our time and our resources to make it all possible. We have our Rumor Camp coffee stand in the afternoon, calling out “Iced Coffee” to passers who do a “Playa U-turn” to enjoy a cup of cold-press coffee and a home-made biscotti and perhaps stay and talk for a while.

Mens Amplio by Don Cain–at night the lights were controlled through an EEG headset

The Cradle of “Mir” by a group of Russian artists

The Cradle of “Mir”

Going to Burning Man shakes the cobwebs out of my head. It gives me the confidence to push myself further and harder in my work. It’s a great break from being a mom, managing schedules and making sure everyone gets fed and their homework done. It’s a recharge for my relationship with my husband. It’s fun, and crazy, and sometimes it’s hard.