Quiet Moment

A Quiet Moment After the Opening Night Reception

Opening night at the art show has come and gone.  The month is winding down - just one more week in the gallery.  I knew a year ago, that this would be a game changer for me.  You see, my whole life, I've imagined walking into a gallery and seeing my work on the walls.  My.Whole.Life.  For lack of a better phrase - it is a total surreal feeling to have it happen.  I am very proud to have accomplished such a high reaching dream.  More then that though, I feel such gratitude.  Gratitude for Kathy, at the Art Center, for believing in me and giving me the little shove I needed.  Gratitude for my family, especially Eric, for supporting me.  Gratitude for old and new friends for cheering me on and believing in my vision.  I feel humbled that so many people came out for the party and that many of my pieces will be finding new homes next week.  Paris Rooftops, in particular, is going to be difficult to part with - but I know after meeting the new owners that she will be well loved.  I am going to sit back for a moment and enjoy where I am at right now - well, that is until the thought of "what comes next" pops into my head.  Any moment now.

Frames!

We had a beautiful weather weekend. So in addition to spending a ton of time outside with the boys, I made a good dent in the list of frames that I need to construct before the show.

On Sunday we lugged the table saw and chop saw outside and got to work. Luckily, I had already made my run to Home Depot last weekend to get the wood. See photo below! Our poor little car hates when I make wood runs. :)

At this point I have all my wood cut and ready to assemble. Hooray! Up next, assembling the pieces, clamping, sanding, priming, painting, varnishing, installing and finally wiring. I am starting to understand why it is so expensive to have a framer do the work!

Buried Deep in an Old Tote

Back in December, my parents came to visit for the holiday. With them they brought lots of boxes. Some presents for under the tree, and others from storage in their garage that I left there a long, long time ago.

Most of the storage boxes were full of old text books from college. I found some old photos and negatives inside of a white envelope. I found slides of artwork from high school. And I found this letter below. It's funny what you forget over time. I have always loved making art, and inside of the old dusty boxes was a gentle and lovely reminder of that.

Count down to Opening Night

Last May, I put a couple of pieces into the members show at the Phoenix Village Art Center.  To my excitement, one of the pieces I entered took home best in show, to which I was given a solo show.  Dale Shuffler, a ceramic sculptor, also took home a best in show for a 3D piece that he entered.  So, we are sharing the space at the art center throughout the month of April.

I've been editing and adding to my body of work for the show over the past 10 months. Now, just 4 weeks away, the anticipation is building and I'm definitely feeling like we are in crunch time.  So, I'm going to make an attempt to keep an updated blog -daily is my goal- partly because I think it will be interesting to follow the 30 days leading up to a show, and partly because I'd like to remember this years from now.

I just finished up the postcards (shown above).  I ordered them through Vistaprint for a great price.

Here is a new piece that I am just now wrapping up...

Opening Night
20x20 Oil on Newspaper Covered Canvas
©2013 Teresa Haag

A Day in the Life

I heart San Francisco. I am not sure whether I just took amazing ref photos while visiting or if it is just the nature of the city...but I feel inspired by and compelled to paint San Francisco every time I flip through images for future work.

These rooftops are from Fisherman's Wharf at Pier 39. We were on a city tour with one of Eric's colleagues who lives in town. I love the series of angles and the muted colors that remind me of the bay.

Center City Rooftops

Center City Rooftops
24in. x 48in.
Oil on Newspaper Covered Canvas
©2013 Teresa Haag

Sometime, way back, before kids when my husband and I still had adventures, we spent a weekend at the Ritz in Center City Philly with a couple of our best friends.  The view was spectacular.  This view was from our wrap around bathroom with built in steam shower and jetted tub.  Heck yeah!  

Now, I can look forward to the day when we can go back...someday.

I'll be putting this piece in my upcoming exhibition at the Phoenix Village Art Center in April.

Baltimore

Last year at the Inner Harbor Art Festival in Baltimore, a couple stopped by my booth and chatted with me for some time.  Marlene and Sam have since become good friends and I went to visit them yesterday at their home just outside of Baltimore.  

 

Marlene is a portrait artist who has been thinking about making the leap to show her work at outdoor exhibitions for some time.  Back in the fall I was visiting with her when she made it clear that she was ready to do it, so we ordered in all the equipment she would need to get going.  Part of exhibiting your work at art festivals includes an application process in which a jury reviews your work and a photo of your display.  My trip yesterday was to help her set up the booth and display her paintings so we could photograph it for the applications.  

Setting up the booth in her backyard in the crazy wind!

Panorama of the booth.  I love my new iPhone. :)

We knew it was going to be sunny...but man was it windy.  She got a real taste of what it could be like in a summer storm! All in all, I think that the booth came out looking great.  

After the photo shoot, we formatted the images and got her applications in.  It was a great day, and as always, I had a lovely time with my new(ish) friends.