Author Archives: Chris

Photographic Mixed Media Artist

Pick of the week, July 17

July 17, 2012 by Chris | 0 Comments

I got the better end of this deal!

Rachel, a precocious young lady in her coke bottle bifocals, had a plastic sleeve like those used to store baseball cards filled with her original artworks. The offer was this – for the mere price of a business card baring my artwork we could select a business card of hers. This piece was untitled but did have her name in both english and chinese characters on the back. Kyle chose it because of the faces on the feet!

What a great way to get a child engaged in an art fair and it made my weekend!

untitled

What’s your best trade?

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Whew what a week!

July 13, 2012 by Chris | 1 Comment

Sorry about the lack of blog post last week. I wanted to write to you, but, the thing is, the last couple of weeks have been really, really busy.

I have captured some of the high-lights and low-lights for you in pictures. Each one could be a post by itself, but the clock is ticking and I must go set up my show again in a few minutes. Continue reading »

Pick of the week, July 9

July 9, 2012 by Chris | 0 Comments

 

What can you see today that you couldn’t see yesterday?

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Pick of the week, July 2

July 2, 2012 by Chris | 0 Comments

Happy July!

“The space and quiet that idleness provides is a necessary condition for standing back from life and seeing it whole, for making unexpected connections and waiting for the wild summer lightning strikes of inspiration — it is, paradoxically, necessary to getting any work done.”   Tim Kreider

Be sure to read the rest of Kreider’s recent article: “The Busy Trap”

MIle Marker 274, 16" x 22"

 

What one thing can you scratch off the list today to avoid the busy trap?

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Editing

June 28, 2012 by Chris | Comments Off

 

This morning, we decided that we needed to thin the bumper crop of apples growing on our apple tree. For anyone that knows anything about growing apples you can plainly see that this was a decision that should have been made some time ago. Of course we know that by decreasing the amount of apples we will make them larger, healthier, and tastier, and the overall tree health will improve. But sometimes, despite facts, pruning/editing is a difficult thing to do. This is evident in our own lives; sometimes we need to remove some of our own load to improve the health of others and ourselves. And increasingly our role as editor of our own lives is becoming overwhelming, as more and more information is coming at us and more decisions are required. Continue reading »

Pick of the week, June 25

June 25, 2012 by Chris | Comments Off

“Green was the silence, wet was the light,
the month of June trembled like a butterfly.”
― Pablo Neruda, 100 Love Sonnets

 

Mile Marker 266, 22x34

My refuge

June 21, 2012 by Chris | 0 Comments

Our van and bags are packed and we are driving to the Des Moines Arts Festival today. I love the show. I love the citywide support. I love the director and his team of staff and volunteers. And I will be happy to be there and to see everyone, including some of my best friends.

But that doesn’t mean that I am not always a bit sad to leave my studio. When the work tables are cleared and the artwork from the walls is packed for travel, I usually find myself lingering. There is something about the bareness that allows my mind to wander and dream up all of the things I wish to make on my return. The freedom provided when the last thing is checked off the pre-travel to-do list fills me with energy and inspiration like no other time. A conundrum I suppose…

Good-bye studio, until we meet again.

 

Front studio with empty walls
back studio

Can you relate?

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Pick of the week, June 18

June 18, 2012 by Chris | 0 Comments

“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field.
I’ll meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass the world is too full to talk about.”
― Rumi

Mile Marker 270, 22x34

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The rest stop

June 14, 2012 by Chris | 2 Comments


I just returned from my 6th show of the year, this one in Chicago’s Old Town neighborhood. It was a fairly typical fair, with all the stimulus that entails: the thousands of people in the hot sun, the hundreds of fantastically talented artists’ booths, bands playing, dogs and strollers jockeying for position and making their standard noises, the smell of the brats being cooked on the corner. It can be overwhelming, and occasionally I have to seek a reprieve in the back of my booth, a quiet moment to myself that acts as a reset of sorts.

At this particular show, however, my booth space backed up against the front stoop of an apartment building. For this weekend, it too became a place of respite, the rest stop for the tired or overwhelmed fair goers. I was fascinated by how this public place had become a quiet, intimate place of rest, and began documenting the people that sometimes needed a break like I do. The ones that need a moment to themselves to reset, to recompose. And it struck me that it was all the same – the back of my booth, the front stoop, the open plain. They all can become a place to catch your breath, a quiet interlude before diving into the fray once more.

frame48.jpg

Move Your Hands

June 7, 2012 by Chris | 1 Comment

One the road

Kyle and I are on the road – heading to one of our favorite shows in one of our favorite neighborhoods, the Old Town Art Fair in Chicago. We are excited to have a full extra day in Chicago to see some galleries and spend some non-work time with our friends (and gracious hosts) Gregory and Clark.

So while my face is planted in the windshield of our van, I thought I would share a piece from our great friend Lynn Whipple. I have a print of it above my desk and I LOVE IT! If you endeavor to make anything, from cupcakes, to artwork, to the next great american novel, this is the guide for you. You should buy one here!

 

The Arc of Making Something – Lynn Whipple

 

The Arc of Making Something by Lynn Whipple

 

From Lynn-

Heres how it goes:

Step 1 MOVE YOUR HANDS!!

Step 2 Happy moving hands will let your instincts take over- follow them

Step 3 WHOOPS! Now, you might have a big ol’ mess- no worries- that is perfectly normal, perfectly healthy

Step 4 Take a break, relax, chill, your brain will continue to solve the problem

Step 5 Return to your work with enthusiasm and feeling refreshed! Keep going

Step 5.5 Positive Feedback

Step 6 Go for the big finish, edit, be clear about your bigger idea and what you want to communicate

Step 7 REPEAT!!

Step 8 This is super important. Keep the cycle going and going…….

MR. DEADLINE!! He is kind of bossy, but he’s a poophead that keeps you in line and causes a FINISH, which is very important! Now you can relax and start again….and again…..and again!!

 

What do you want to get your hands moving on? join the conversation