Earth, Wind & Fire at Kaleid

Bay Area artists Dotti Cichon and Jamila Rufaro have a joint exhibition, Earth Wind & Fire at Kaleid this month in downtown San Jose, California. The show focuses on the use of natural and weathered materials, rworn and rusted materials, silk papers and metalics. I was so happy to attend the Aritsts’ Reception which coincided with Kaleid’s fabulous Two-Buck Tuesdays!

Artist Dotti Cichon at Kaleid, 88 S 4th Street, San Jose, California.

Reception

Dotti Cichon’s silk panels have beautiful abstracted patterns printed from her manipulated digital photographs of global architecture. They can be worn as scarves as well  (I’m a proud owner of one not depicted here).

In this gold leafed panel Dotti Cichon  strikes an elegant balance between the organic, “worm-holed” treatment and the sumptuous gold finish.

This copper-leafed textile is another beautiful metallic treatment of an organic feeling surface.

Here is a detail of silver leafed papers, some with remnants of calligraphy from the silver kimono assemblage below.

Silver kimono assemblage.

Kimono Angel assemblage by Jamila Rufaro and Dotti Cichon.

Book art by Jamila Rufaro is inspired by imaginary sea life and Cortez. I have one of here pieces from this series that was exhibited at Sanchez 50/50 2017!

I love the forms that Jamila Rufaro has created manipulating book pages!

Such a Fascinating interactive sculpture with video depicting the origins of the cosmos by Dotti Cichon.

 

Red Wheelbarrow 2017 Launch and Reading

What a transporting evening of poetry and prose at the Launch Reading for the Red Wheelbarrow 2017 National Edition last night! So excited to be with curator and artist Sara Cole and editor Ken Weisner holding my very own copy of Red Wheelbarrow 2017!

The book, the painting, the artist, the curator and the microphone, warming up and ready to go!

Joe Miller of Works/San José hosting the launch and reading.

Rob Pesich of the Poetry Center San José and Ken Weisner, editor of the Red Wheelbarrow and a faculty member of the Creative Writing Department at DeAnza College.

Artist and poet Sara Cole was the Art Curator for this beautiful edition of the Red Wheelbarrow , she selected works curated for an upcoming show Repository, a group show of Bay Area Women.

Congratulations to Partridge Boswell from Vermont who read his poem “Pop a Wheelie” which took 1st place in the inaugural Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Prize!

Lauren Goldstein, from New Mexico (Poetry Prize Finalist) reading “Elegy with Feathers”.

I’m happy to report that poetry is alive and well, heartbreaking, hilarious, tender and kicking! Go get some! Go write some!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heather Wilcoxon’s At Sea – ICA

Black/ White – oil on paper mounted canvas

At Sea is a stunning exhibition of Heather Wilcoxon‘s boat paintings at the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art in until September 10, 2017. These powerful images of the skeletal structures of boats seem to be seem to be dematerializing as you gaze at them, transcending their former life and hover in a transitional, almost spiritual state.

In her artist statement Heather Wilcoxon says in part,”I felt that the boat form could be explored on many levels: the metaphor of decay, my dealings with cancer……the physical beauty that surrounds me is ever changing – the tide comes in, the tide goes out.

As a Maritimer in love with old rotting boats and the history they carry, I can say I was thoroughly moved by this work!

Hot Water – oil on paper mounted canvas (Freedom & Divided)

Blue Water – oil on canvas  (Storm & Wet)

Storm – oil on canvas

Protest – oil on canvas

Remains at Sea – oil on canvas

Worms – oil on canvas

Calm – Oil on Vellum

Blue Water – oil on canvas

 

Detritus – ICA

Just some of the fabulous detritus artists leave in the wake of their art making on exhibit at the Institute of Contemporary Art in San Jose through to September! There is something very special about this show, it speaks to the labor, the hours and the dedication to the artistic process!  Have you looked around your studio for the art you didn’t realize you were making?

Ricardo Richey

 

Pablo Cristi
Kelly Turnstall
Michael Hall
Evan Bissell
Carlo Abruzzese

Robin Kandel

Tiffanie Turner

Lauren Di Cioccio

Tiffanie Turner or Sandra Ono?

Adam Shriverdecker

Dana Hemenway

Chris Dorosz

Chris Dorosz

 

womanKind Reception

The womanKIND reception was a warm-hearted gathering on a very cold night at the Citadel Gallery in San Jose. The exhibition, a Cole / Drews Watkins project was held in support of the YWCA Silcon Valley – eliminating racism, empowering women! Last day to see the show is Monday, December 19th from 12 to 6 pm.

Power houses Susan Drews Watkins and Sara Cole who put together the show welcoming us all to the exhibition.

Tanis Crosby, CEO of the YWCA Silicon Valley speaking eloquently about the importance of being there for each other as women, as community. Very inspirational!

                             

We were touched by the powerful spoken word poetry of Diana D’Angelo, Sara Cole and Ashlie Andrade.  Check back soon, I’ll be posting video links to these readings!

Many of the exhibiting artists were present, here I am with my floral paintings.

Jhina Alvarado with her Mixed media encaustics.

Diana D’Angelo and her mixed media paintings.

Ashlie Andrade with Sara Cole’s paintings on paper.

Sara Cole with her self portraits.

Susan Drews Watkins and friends.

Susan Drews Watkins sculpture, metal, water and glass.

Joy Redick and her watercolors.

Lisa Renée Falk and her Citrus Dress – glass, silk and plastic citrus bags.

Lisa Renée Falk and her Citrus Dress, glass, silk and plastic citrus bags.

Trace Galbraith and her slumped glass work.

My Birds and Teacups cards.

Tableart by Henri Mansfield Herns.

Work by Tableart, Gutfreund, Cole, Cameron

       

        

Marti Somers Squirrel over Tumbleweed, Mixed media on panel.

Karen Gutefreund‘s Perpetual Motion,  mixed media on canvas. Karen had been to the show early in the afternoon before racing off to Arc in San Francisco for the opening of the F*ck U! exhibition reception!

Brigitte Carnochan‘s  Pot of Daffodils , silver gelatin print.

Jhina Alvarado’s Alberts, mixed media encaustic paintings.

Jamie Woods, YWCA Silicon Valley’s Associate Director of Philanthropy and Sara Cole.

It was an honor to meet Tanis Crosby and help to support the YWCA Silicon Valley for all that they do – eliminating racism and empowering women! I hope we’re able to raise lot’s of money with this show for the important work that they do in our community!

womanKIND Reception Tonight!

The womanKIND reception is tonight  from 6-9 pm at the Citadel Gallery, 199 Martha Street in San Jose in support of the YWCA Silicon Valley – eliminating racism, empowering women!

There will be an address by Tanis Crosby, CEO of the YWCA Silicon Valley and spoken word poetry at 8 pm! This is a free, fundraising event and a chance to see lots of great painting, photography, sculpture, glass,  jewelry (and cards). There will be a raffle of works donated by organizers, Sara Cole and Susan Drews Watkins and maybe you’ll end up falling in love and taking and something special home with you!

Here is a sneak peek from last night, photos compliments of Sara Cole:

For more on the artists exhibiting tonight: please check out this link: http://www.saravcoleart.com/cdwprojects

 

Birds and Teacup Cards!

Was there a particular Birds and Teacups painting you’d like to have as a card?

Let me know if you’re interested as I’m putting through an order in the next few days… I’ll be donating  $1 per card to the YWCA Silicon Valley as part of the womanKIND exhibition, a Coles / Drews Watkins project running December 16-19 at The Citadel Gallery, 199 Martha street in San Jose. I will have a selection of cards available for purchase at the reception, Saturday, December 17 from 6-9 pm and will reserve cards or mail them out upon request.

These are folded cards, printed on premium paper stock with a matte finish and an accompanying envelope in a cellophane sleeve. 5″x 5″ cards are $5 and the 5″x7″cards are $6.

The titles are up on my website, check older entries to find them all:http://mariecameronstudio.com/category/portfolio/fauna/

womanKIND

I’m so honored to be taking part in womanKIND, an upcoming exhibition uniting women, creativity and community by Cole / Drews Watkins Projects, in support of the YWCA Silicon Valley – eliminating racism, empowering women!

womanKIND will be held at the Citadel Gallery & Studios, 199 Martha Street, San Jose, California and will be open to the public December 16-19. Tanis Crosby, CEO of YWCA Silicon Valley, will open the reception to be (December 17, 6-9 pm) and there will be a spoken word performance at 8 pm!

Friday December 16th 4pm to 8pm

Saturday December 17th 11 to 3pm, 6pm to 9pm (reception)

Sunday December 18th 12pm to 8pm

Monday December 19th 12pm to 6pm

For more information about the womanKIND exhibition and all the great artists involved, please check out the following link: www.saravcoleart.com/cdwproject I’ll be showing a number of my Birds and Teacups paintings (and selling cards as well).

By the way, I’m seriously in love with that dog by Jhina Alvarado!

Anne & Mark’s Art Party Closing Bash

OK – it’s been over a week now and I really should have had this post up long ago but I’ve been suffering from an art hangover like you wouldn’t believe (unless of course, you were at the party)!

In fact, this is what the inside of my brain looks like now – a cacophony of pattern, lights and color like this giant kaleidoscope by Ned Greene!

Or this detail from Emanuela Harris-Sintamarian’s gouache Die Gesteze der Stukturen!

And here are the synapses of my grey matter firing in pops of dreamy florasl and dandelion puffs of exploding fractals seen here in Carrie Lederer’s Clear Night!

The computer of my mind is overloaded and is threatening to crash (detail from Karen Gutfruend’s CTRT ALT DEL)!

And my dreams are haunted by a blind white rabbit, thank you Tulio Flores and Asiel Design….so here we go – one more trip down the rabbit hole before I move on!

First of all I’d like to thank everyone who made it out to see my Florilegia and shared with me their response to the work – this input is simply invaluable to an artist  and means do much!  Thank you , thank you , thank you!

And then there were the visitors who seemed like they were exertions of my paintings!

So Fabulous!

And then there were my art crushes…..like this discarded cigarette packaging piece by Robert Larson.  He was able to take something dirty and disgusting and transform it into something sublime!  I smelled it too  – not a hint of nicotine or anything else. Pure alcmemy!

I also adored this woman’s torso fashioned from safety pins, Lacey by Bob Marzewski, like little stars or snowflakes tenuously welded together.

Lorraine Lawson’s missed media paintings,  Bob Marzeweski’s torsos and Tessie Barrera-Scharaga’s Matrix of Chaos, an installation piece of multiple images of the Virgin and kneeling benches.

So easy to get lost wandering through the maze of galleries – at least if you’re doing it right.

Kristin Lindseth’s prints.

Gianfranco Paolozzi’s Journal, enamel, robber paint, glue on recycled role of paper.

Will Marino’s Paradigm Shift , wound and folded paper

Patrick Hofmeister’s Aware.

Malia Landis’s IIiima in Kiawe.

Marianne Lettieri’s Memory Bank.

Lynn Dao’s Domestic Apocalypse

Love the simplicity of this delicate bowl  against a simple grey background in this oil painting by Deborah Trilling.

John Hylton’s Moon Watcher, canvas, paint wood.

Monica Van den Dool’s Behold in front of Emanuela Harris-Sintamarian’s gouache  Die Gesteze der Stukturen.

Wesley T. Wright – California Coyote – Stoneware, underglaze, glaze, concrete, steel in front of Nanette Wylde’s monoprints.

It was such a delight to meet Natalia Bertotti and Michael Garlington who collaborate on intensely dark, curious and magical images that somehow tap into some cultural core of ours – Grimm’s American fairytale crossed with something ripped out of the headlines of an old newspaper – or rather the stories that was never fit to print or maybe a precursor to a circus side show. They photographed Susan Sarandon in amazing paper dresses here’s a link to this process.

          

Love the flask action!

I’m not even sure what I’m looking at here, but it feels like a pierced and leaking Padora’s Box emptying out into a sea of melting glaciers – a big old barrel of global warming by Briget Henry with Ann Altstatt. Feel free to go with another interpretation!

Grant Wells’s  Ocean Structure 1, pigment transfer on canvas.

Tim Craighead’s oil and alkyd on linen, Without Constantini.

Adon Vaneziano’s sculptures.

Brian Taylor’s  Changing Nature, photography.

Dotti Cichon with her installation she collaborated on with Jamila Rufaro.

Pantea Karimi and her paper vovelles.

With Lorraine Lawson and her mixed media paintings.

Sara Cole’s Forgotten Women 2 , acrylic, graphite, gesso on paper.

Oleg Lobykin’s bronze Flex Cube.

Ann Sconberg’s  photography,Thirteen One and Two.

Quinn Peck’s archival ink jet print on fabric.

Betsy Braun-Kernaghan and her mixed media work.

Michelle Longosz photographs.

A detail from Jenifer Renzel’s The Contraption.

Vanessa Callanta’s self portrait.

Marc D’Estout’s A Briefcase of Puppetry  (detail)  found objects, fabricated steel, paint, patina.

Joe Uglyeye – Personal Demons – spray paint, screenpaint, acrylic on birch panel.

Denise Harris-Olenak’s Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin, photographic plates on copper and wood.

Beyond the visual art, the big draw go the Closing Bash was the fabulous runway put on by Pivot:  The Art of Fashion!  The lights the crowds, the fantastic music and and even more fantastic fashion! Above are Charlotte Kruk’s  Bossa Nova Bombshells made from recycled Ferrara Pan Chewy Lemonhead & Friends, Lemonhead, CherryHead, Grapehead wrappers!

And her Godiva coat!

                         

Tullio Flores

Lace design work.

                          

Tulio Flores

                          

                         

IB Bayo

                          

Rose Sellery (left) Charlotte Kruk’s Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend, recycled Tiffany bags and chandelier pieces (middle) Katraa (right)

Rose Sellery

MC Kim Luke thanking Pivot Oraganizers Tina Brown, Rose Sellery and designers, Charlotte Kruk, Tulio Flores, Katraa, Sudnya Shroff, Ruby Roxanne, Ricochet, IB Bayo and Many others…

Food truck fun.

Rose Sellery’s designs and sculpture

D’Arcy Couture models in front of Khaled Akil’s Requiem for Syria.

D’Arcy Couture.

Model Izzabelly Santos in IB Bayo.

Pivot MC, Kim Luke in front of

Sunya Shroff’s designs and painting and models in a moment of pre-composure

Pivot models in front of art.

Jessica Hilltout’s phtographs of handmade balls.

Pillar Aguero-Esparza’s multicultural Crayolas on paper.

Pivot model in front of Miguel Machuca’s Orchestrated Religion.

Butterfly model wafting by Teresa Cuniff’s There and Back

Glowing butterfly floating by Alan Silver’s oils on canvas.

Finally alighting on chair sculpture.

The morning after….picking up my work there are still a few remnants from the Art Party – Bill Gould’s sculpture tinkling overhead and the fabulous murals painted with Empire 7 glowing in the early morning sun. Farewell Wonderland, you will haunt my dreams until the next occasional and irrational art fest! Thanks to all involved with Anne and Mark’s Art Party – you’re the best!

Update – I’m delighted to hear that Anne Sconberg and Mark Henderson have just been presented with the Creative Impact Award for their extraordinary vision and hard work with Anne & Mark’s Art Party!  So well deserved!

In case you’re still game for more and missed previous Art Party posts, here are the links:

Tower of Bauble

Angels Among Us

Down the Rabbit Hole

Anne & Mark’s Art Party 2014

Connect & Collect – Going, Going, Gone!

The San Jose Institute of Contemporary Artis holding it’s 36th annual art exhibition and auction, Connect & Collect! Last weekend was the opening reception, silent bidding and buy it now options have begun and will build into a crescendo by October 22 . For more details and to get your bidding number visit: http://sjica.org

Jody Alexander’s linen wrapped and sewn book piece was already purchased!

Cynthia Ona Innis’s Tioga

Kirk Maxson’s Hummingbird Wings

Katja Leibnath and Katy Kindig‘s paintings had already sold!

Two pieces I adored by Pantea Karimi and Kim Froshin.

Dotti Cichon and Katy Kindig

Charlotte Kruk’s  Bomb Shell!

Detail from Michael Koehle’s Young Hillary

Monica Van den Dool’s– ceramic bird

Hung Liu and Eric Fischl!

Lorrie Fredette’s Distant Measures

Mary Souza with her Tuming 1



Carolynn Haydu’s
Sand

Jenifer Kent’s  Tum

So great that all these artists have donated work to help the ICA keep giving back to the arts community!

Tower of Bauble at the Art Party!

I so loved Marianne Lettieri’s Tower of Bauble that was on exhibit at Anne & Mark’s Art Party that I thought I should group all the details in a single post. As a collector of antique and vintage bits and bobs, this six foot Victorian column of ceramic chachkis really connected with me! The mania of collecting, the pile of stuff that looses it’s meaning in its mass, or perhaps presents a new meaning, one that points out the derangement of our obsessions and unending desire for more…and still the lesson doesn’t sink in and I am drawn like a moth to flame by mounds of decorative color and pattern!  I’d love to hear Marianne Letteri’s thoughts behind her work!

 

 

 

 

Silk Screen Printing at the TechShop

Woohoo!

We signed up for lifetime membership at the TechShop in San Jose and dove in with a silk screen printing class for starters….what a great place, I can’t wait to try my hand at everything they have to offer (and they offer so much)!

The vinyl cutter, cutting out our designs to mask out the silk screen.

The boy pulling his pint.

Nice firm, even pull.

His Bermuda Triangle print on a black T.

And here it is again on a canvas tote.

The boy modeling the finished product against a TechShop mural – so bright, it’s hard to see the design, FYI, don’t use translucent paint on black unless you’re going for subtle.

My toy sailor mask applied to the screen.

THe first pull was loaded with a mix of royal  blue and white for this almost glazed look.

By my second pull the colors had mixed more, creating a great vintage look.

My third and last pull was even more blended and looked great against this royal blue tank.

So much satisfaction for a first go, thanks to our instructor Aaron Baker and the other students in our group! I think I’ll work some more on this theme, adding toy sailors and some jellies to coincide with a painting I’m working on…

Studio Visit with Shannon Amidon

Shannon Amidon Studio Visit - photo Marie Cameron 2015

I was so happy to enjoy a visit with artist Shannon Amidon in her San Jose studio preparing for her upcoming show, Diary of a Naturalist at TechShop 300 S Second St
San Jose, CA 95113  where she is currently artist in residence – the opening reception is Friday, September 4 from 7 -10 pm with live music by Mark Camp!

Shannon Amidon Studio Visit - Diary of a Naturalist prep- photo Marie Cameron 2015

In this series Amidon has used laser cutting tools to create artwork inspired by Victorian naturalists, exquisite silhouettes cut away from the top layer of vintage book covers.

Shannon Amidon Studio Visit - mile's o book covers - photo Marie Cameron 2015

I adore the period feel of these pieces and am quite taken by how environmentally friendly  they are too.

Shannon Amidon Studio Visit - Back Plate - photo Marie Cameron 2015

Here’s a sample of the back  in which a wooden panel has been applied to provide a secure base for hanging hardware.

Shannon Amidon Studio Visit -  insect silhouettes - photo Marie Cameron 2015

I love this array of laser cut insects in front of one of her encaustic paintings featuring a silhouette of a tree. No matter which medium Amidon is working with, there is a strong voice running throughout, a respect and love of nature, of materials and of the silhouetted form – a modern Victorian perhaps?

Shannon Amidon Studio Visit -  entomology - photo Marie Cameron 2015

Here the insects are pinned to a wall like an entomologist had passed through…

Shannon Amidon Studio Visit - butterflies and beetles photo Marie Cameron 2015

…maybe one had.

Shannon Amidon Studio Visit - still life - photo Marie Cameron 2015

Oh, and a biologist too.

Shannon Amidon Studio Visit - etched glass bottles- photo Marie Cameron 2015

These lovely specimen bottles were also laser etched by Amidon at TechShop.

Shannon Amidon Studio Visit - book planters- photo Marie Cameron 2015

So much to discover in Amidon’s studio – like these planters she’s created out of vintage books…

Shannon Amidon Studio Visit - cascades of creative paper work- photo Marie Cameron 2015

…and cascades of printed pages in a variety of different treatments.

Shannon Amidon Studio Visit - Inspiration Wall - photo Marie Cameron 2015

It’s always fascinating to study an artist’s inspiration wall – it turns out someone was a ballerina!

Shannon Amidon Studio Visit - Wall of Tools- photo Marie Cameron 2015

A ballerina with a wall of power tools – my kind of artist!

Marie Cameron visiting Shannon Amidon Studio  - photo Marie Cameron 2015

I’m really looking forward to the reception – I dare say there will be more than a few red dots! the exhibition will run until September 25 and Amidon will be teaching some classes at TechShop too!

 

Le Petit Trianon Theater

Le Petit Trianon Theater and Palms - Marie Cameron 2015I had the pleasure of dropping off two of my Cherry Blossom paintings today at Le Petit Trianon Theater in San Jose for a show juried by the Los Gatos Art Association.  The Trianon is such a pretty place! Built as a church in 1923, it’s now an intimate performing arts venue with great acoustics. Recently they have been opening their doors to poetry and visual art as well.

Le Petit Trianon is located a half a block north of San Jose City Hall, at 72 North Fifth Street.

The  LGAA exhibition will run April 25 -July 24 with a courtyard reception May 24, 3-5 pm.

 

Le Petit Trianon Theater Facade - Marie Cameron 2015

Cherry Blossoms at Le Petit Trianon  - Marie Cameron 2015

Foyer Chandelier, Le Petit Trianon Theater Marie Cameron 2015

Lobby, Le Petit Trianon Theater - Marie Cameron 2015

Chadelier Le Petit Trianon Theater - Marie Cameron 2015

Wood Work, Le Petit Trianon Theater

LGAA - LPT - Marie Cameron 2015

I just eat up all those period flourishes, like the detailed woodwork and showy chandeliers but what I enjoyed even more was remembering my daughter’s piano recitals that were held here!

 

Color High

I was quite taken with this riot of retro color going on at Three Sisters in Willow Glen! All this glittery, dazzling, saturated, kitsch was set up in an alcove the size of a phone booth. I felt like I’d entered the land of Dr. Seuss!

Marie Cameron with Orange Antlered Deer

While not particularly a fan of orange, I fell in love with this little deer with her vintage coral beads and crazy orange antlers (oh, I guess she’s a he and I had wanted to call her Cora)! I thinks it’s the unexpected surprises that makes it all so fun.

Color on Crack Ornaments - Three Sisters 2013

The tree is all about complementary colors, contrasting textures, static shapes and sprays of movement. It’s vibrant and happy, I think I need a cocktail!

Pink Felix - Three Sisters 2013

My eyes are still darting back and forth (like the pink Felix the cat clock). So much stimulation, it will be interesting to try and break down these elements that I find so compelling and playful here and try to draw creative inspiration from them!

Street Art at Stockton & Taylor

Sadly, it seems I’ve been spending more time behind the wheel than in front of my easel this summer.
Happily, there’s something to see while driving about. I’ve particularly enjoyed the local street art the intersection of Stockton and Taylor where there is a sad concrete underpass. Someone had noticed it was in desperate in need of some humanizing!  For me, this spot combines color field painting with elements of urban landscape. The fences, signs, power lines and structures speak of human activity while the paste-ups or “wheaties” sing of the human spirit. I like how all this contrasts with the very sparse representation of nature (the fluttering pigeon, the shadow of a tree, the clump of dying grass in a crack).

My thanks to the anonymous artists who see an opportunity for the sublime in ugliness!

Street Art - Fan of Dripping Paint  at Stockton & Taylor photo by Marie Cameron 2013

Street Art - Dripping Paint in the Shadow of a Tree at Stockton & Taylor photo by Marie Cameron 2013

Street Art - Dripping Paint at Stockton & Taylor photo by Marie Cameron 2013

Street Art - Native American Paste-Up at Stockton & Taylor photo by Marie Cameron 2013

Street Art - Dripping Paint & Pointing Arrow at Stockton & Taylor photo by Marie Cameron 2013

Street Art - Dripping Paint Red & Pink at Stockton & Taylor photo by Marie Cameron 2013

Street Art - Diagonal Dripping Paint  at Stockton & Taylor photo by Marie Cameron 2013

Street Art - John and Yoko Paste-Ups at Stockton & Taylor photo by Marie Cameron 2013

Street Art - Purple Rain at Stockton & Taylor photo by Marie Cameron 2013