i had a new experience a few weeks ago: curating an art exhibit.

there were 26 artists and over 50 pieces of art! so rad.

the opportunity came to me through two people: rachel clark and victoria smith. they both work at biola and wanted to do an art show for national women's month.  they asked me to curate it and i got pretty excited to try something so new to me.  what got me most excited was the location: the university's library.  putting art into unconventional spaces is such a challenge, but i love that there's no right answer.  galleries have developed pretty rigid expectations, and people who break the rules are usually doing it for a reason.  there was a whole new set of obstacles at the library though: from millions of fire-extinguishers to fake plants to random lighting.  nothing about installing this show was exactly straightforward or easy.  the solution we came up with makes me smile.  we had fun with it, embraced the space, and let the work sing.     

The grace to be a beginner is always the best prayer for an artist.  The beginner's humility and openness lead to exploration.  Exploration leads to accomplishment.  All of it begins at the beginning, with the first small and scary step.
- Julia Cameron, "the Artist's Way"

Each of the 26 artists in this exhibition have willingly thrown themselves full force into the often scary process of creating art. 

These women come from a variety of different places: you will see art from Biola staff members, current students: both art and non-art majors, and alumni who are now working professional artists.  The range of work displayed is wide, but the pieces are linked by a foundation that has seen the process as more important than the product.  Each artist seemed to have some sense of the unknown, but moved forward anyway.

the word process takes on a few different meanings in this show:
>>> the exploration of specific materials
>>> the exploration of a collection
>>> the exploration of a life phase or experience


Art? You just do it.  -- Martin Ritt

here's a closeup of the three pieces up there at the beginning,
its a triptych by bonnie mancini.
a self portrait,

gretchen farwell's lovely white ceramic pieces,

want this in my house. pink!

left to right: janna lotze, summer merritt, laurel wilson, natalie anderson,

favorite image from the show.  delicate and careful.
its the back of a quilt, by janna lotze.  we displayed the back because it is lovely and payed attention to.  she said that the highest compliment you can give a quilter is to say that the back is as beautiful as the front.  janna, this is beautiful.

just peeking out and saying hi to people writing essays.
this project honestly sparked a little passion in me for art in public spaces.

angelina d'angelo, jules hays, and the prettiest fake plant.

this is one of my favorite uses of the space, hanging things from the stairs.  i sacrificed my jellyfish from my room and let them hang out here (MISS THESE GUYS EVERY DAY!), and then on the right is a series of jars with a treasure collection inside.

kimberly hocking,

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

natalie anderson,

friends photo! me meg ru sarah bernadette.

and ru getting interviewed about her piece. no biggie.

there were a few writeups about the show if you're interested:
the whittier daily news
a great one w/ photos on biola's site
the chimes
and here's a facebook album with most of the pieces documented (this is a small selection---  there were 50 pieces!)

and FYI,
the show would have zero existence if it weren't for victoria smith (click to check out her rad blog) with the events department at biola.  i kept saying that all of us art people need organized people like her who get things done.  she made so many emails and phone calls in order to pull this off------ i was in awe.  things that would maybe take me a few days took her a few minutes.  it was incredible.  i felt so supported by her.  AND----- she created the most lovely atmosphere at the the opening: poetry, LATTES, candles, live music------ it was a dream.  thank you, thank you, thank you victoria.

i also had a ton of help from friends and random people who i saw in the library and pulled over to help me.  yup, i really did that.  so thank you each person who contributed art, helped put it up, and came to see.  

so!
curating.
i like it.