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.
read my statement >>>
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
its a triptych by bonnie mancini.
a self portrait,
ruthi auda custom-made a sculpture out of coffee filters that she dyed.
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.
this project honestly sparked a little passion in me for art in public spaces.
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!)
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.
1 comments so far
personal challenge....
dont care as much about the order of the photos, the quality of the photos, the flow of the photos, the timing, the pacing, the yes's, the no's..... just put them up. whew. so here you go. my lovely weekend with ruthi and megan in lancaster at meg's hip hot artist's loft.
and now i'm back with cosmo watching him sit on the top of his cage tweeting to regina spektor. he loves her i think. which i do as well.
8 comments so far
You all are so cute. And what a great apartment!
(03.28.10 @ 07:05 PM)love these;; every single one of them. meg's place IS hip. !! in the good way.
(03.28.10 @ 07:14 PM)Love love love them. I just adore your vision and the way you view things Shannon. I just adore you! :) P.S I wanna talk to Ruthi re: branding. How do I get her contact info?
(03.29.10 @ 10:41 AM)play him "two birds on a wire..." i just know he'll love it!!!!
(03.29.10 @ 01:57 PM)that cat wins for coolest fur pattern EVER.
(03.31.10 @ 07:01 PM)
its a monthlong celebration of love and happiness and red and pink and white.
i, being both of their friends, get a showering of parties every feb.
its magic.
get inspired by rachel's decorating strategy,
photos where i'm testing the light always turn out the best. love this one,
trying so hard to have a natural smile. are you kidding me right now? hilarious.
4 comments so far
I used to think - long long ago that you should NEVER wear pink and red at the same time - well, I don't think so anymore!!! Loved these pictures. I heard that Heather was going to be with you gals and there she is. Looks like you have had a good time. love ya, gr ma
(02.19.10 @ 06:57 PM)ahh! fireplace! candles! i want it!
(02.19.10 @ 09:10 PM)Love all the hearts! Used to think both the color pink and the heart shape itself was cheesy, but somehow that shifted and now I embrace both. That starbucks cup Heather is holding makes me super happy! It's like getting a Valentine every time I order coffee! I'm into that! Lovely view of February, Shannon!
(02.22.10 @ 01:10 AM)aww, rachel! rachel told me about your site and i have been checking in occasionally because i admire that you are on a creative mission. it helps me keep making things, to keep breathing, expressing, getting out what is in me...
(03.13.10 @ 12:20 PM)
she rotated two pairs of pants: these purple ones, and some magenta ones.
we went on a whirlwind adventure to five different valentines parties over the course of three days.
i dont think i've ever celebrated valentines so intensely.
have you ever had heart-shaped meatloaf?
i now have.
the joy of having friends who value february.
so much love, people!
2 comments so far
darling scarf! p.s. heart shaped meatloaf...glad you could experience it. now i don't have to! :)
(02.16.10 @ 07:13 AM)Um... wow. of all the photos to cover the whole weekend of love these are it. C.T. fashion show = love feast x 3
(02.16.10 @ 09:07 AM)
more than roses.
the smell the look the color.
the ability to cook with it.
etc.!
happy valentines day :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :):) :):) :):)):):):))))))))
1 comments so far
it was kind of beautifullly forced upon me,
because i won the trip through a raffle at my church!
out of 800 tickets mine was magically chosen.
rosanna and i had been wearing neon orange all weekend,
and when they asked who i'd be bringing on the trip i said:
the other girl in orange!
everyone cheered.
and,
oops!
we both wore pink pants the whole time.
and i love giving people my huge camera and letting them work their own magic.
usually the photo is unflattering, awkward, and awful,
and i never make them re-take it.
i love just living with what comes out.
besides eating at taco temple,
we also watched lots of trashy TV and visited the elephant seals.
the guy next to us (70 years old) was flirting with a 40 year old lady,
so instead of ruin their MOMENT i took this one myself.
no seals, which is probably good since it's mating season.
middle-of-the-week vacation,
the life of photographing weddings :) :) :)
5 comments so far
my friday is your monday. where do you come up with this stuff.
the last photo makes me feel like ro is smelling oranges blowing in the wind while your heads are sticking out of a car window.
(02.05.10 @ 05:14 PM)awwww! i live in san luis obispo but am from southern cali originally :)
hope you loved your visit and the central coast!
jennifer
YAY for free vacations! Love the images. Hope you guys had a ball!
(02.05.10 @ 08:15 PM)
we had to look GOOD.
professional & lovely,
something that wasn't a dead giveaway that we were fanatics.
unfortunately we had no clue that at JPL everyone just wears jeans and polo shirts...
so our heels and skirts and headbands and makeup definitely gave us away as trying a bit too hard.
but i'm okay with that,
because we had a blast.
a few weeks ago, our neighbor David gave rosanna, rox and i our own private tour of JPL.
lots of people have asked me what JPL is...
and in case you're in that camp, think NASA!
space!
Jet Propulsion Laboratory!
think, DREAM COME TRUE IF YOU ARE ME!
so we all woke up at 8am,
got our JPL outifts on,
and freaked out as we drove there.
but then we stopped and wondered,
would the tour be.... GOOD??
would we actually get to see things?
when the first thing we saw was these guys in all white suits MAKING a spacecraft,
we knew that YES. this would be good.
no more words.
just smiles.
:)
shannon
13 comments so far
lucky! and that roommate picture turned out great!
(01.29.10 @ 01:21 PM)AHH! I'm in love with NASA & SPACE! seriously so jealous.. but I totally went there as a kid on a field trip! but wish I could go again! the pics are awesome & I miss you :)
(01.29.10 @ 03:02 PM)roommate picture not so great do I have pink eye?
JPL however life changing....perhaps my eye was read from crying?
(01.29.10 @ 06:31 PM)yeah ro--- you kind of look cross eyed. oops.......... people know how pretty you are from the other million posts i've done about you though. right everyone?
(01.29.10 @ 06:42 PM)so totally rad. completely. utterly. RAD. thank you for sharing! what a blessed neighbor and adventure! :)
(01.30.10 @ 02:15 PM)Fantastic! I remember loving field trips when I was in elementary school, but who takes a field trip as an adult!? You do! I've also walked by and around JPL and had a lot of X-Files flashes while doing so... but you went IN the place! I'm in awe!
(01.31.10 @ 02:14 PM)do you remember Amber... Eli's ex-girlfriend who married Chris's brother? Her dad worked at JPL for a long time -- I think he's retired now though.
I'm so glad you girls had this roommate experience together!
(02.01.10 @ 01:42 PM)It's good to know what kinda guys turn Ro on: guys in white suits.
Of all the JPL pics here, the best are of you guys, ahem, gals: y'all look so angelic & innocent!
this is so random...but when i was little i totally wanted to be an astronaut. i loved loved loved apollo 13 and went to shuttle launches as a kid. i'm jealous that you got to see this! BUT, it did remind me that my mother-in-law got me the HBO miniseries "from the earth to the moon" DVD set for Christmas...sooooo, i think i'll get working on that tonight. :)
(02.06.10 @ 02:49 PM)Awesome, but just another day at the office for some of us. :)
I never thought my job was sooo cool, but after reading this blog i am proud to be a JPL'er again. Nice work....
SO stinking amazing. I want it all in my house to look at every day.
(04.03.10 @ 04:59 PM)