Tag Archives: artist inspiration

Warming up to spring

February 15, 2012 by Chris | 2 Comments

I added a show to my schedule and didn’t tell anyone – until now.

For many years our first shows of the season have been in Florida. With the copious amounts of sunshine, the beaches, the warmth, who could resist it this time of year? And because we do love all of those things – and we do love the patrons and friends we have made there over the years, our annual pilgrimage is still on. But why should the warm, tanned people of Florida always get the first look at the new work coming out of the studio after my winter’s creative bout?

How about those of you still in ear muffs and longjohns? Why must you wait until the sun gets high enough to warm your northern climes to claim some of the soothing golden prairie as your own?

So on the appointed day please pour yourself a glass of wine and enjoy the show! Let me know asap which one I can mark sold for you because on February 28th it will be packed up and on it’s way to Florida!

Warming up to Spring

Friday, February 17 – Tuesday, February 28
Right here at chrisdahlquist.com
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Peace of the week, Feb 13

February 13, 2012 by Chris | 1 Comment

Happy Valentines Day.

My valentine and I are busy in the studio getting ready to begin our show season. Two weeks until we leave for Florida, but who’s counting?

Mile Marker 262, 15x29 (x 4 pieces)

 

Please contact me to check availability.

 

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Street theater

February 2, 2012 by Chris | 1 Comment

There is time for art

Musicians and street performers are in almost every plaza and jardin. And this week there is a street performer’s festival that has brought artists from all over Mexico to every corner of Guanajuato. (Really one should be forewarned so when they encounter a troupe of clowns wielding swords in an otherwise deserted callejon they don’t become TOO startled!) I have seen plenty of places that have buskers in the streets, subways, train stations, etc. but something makes this distinctly different – in this unhurried pace of life people take the time to sit and watch.  Not only is there art but there is audience everywhere! How/why is it that people have become too busy for this, hurrying past with one ear cocked?

And now Kyle and I are off to see some art –  two gallery openings, some street theater and our friend the cellist in one of our favorite restaurants.

 

Street theater in front of Teatro Juarez

 

From the book I am currently reading:

Starting to Wander: Living and Traveling in Central Mexico by Stephen Arthurs

“There were broad palatial rows of steps leading up to the entrance of the very opulent theater, but on this night (and on most nights as we later learned), the steps had been commandeered by the general public for use as bleachers for the sole purpose of watching entertainment just as medieval as the estudiantinas: street clowns. It seemed fitting somehow that the common people had turned their backs on the ostentatious grandeur of the Teatro Juárez, and were making their own amusements outside in the streets, the true home of mexican culture.”

 

Do you make enough time for art? What could change so that you did?

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Architecture as Teacher

February 1, 2012 by Chris | 1 Comment

There are a lot of poets in Guanajuato

I have been thinking about the poets a lot this last week. Having never known an ex-pat community anywhere else, I don’t know if this is unusual or the nature of those prone to leave the US. Perhaps poets are just naturally drawn to the magical town of Guanajuato. Or perhaps it is something about studying and living amongst another language. I know that Kyle and I have been speaking in a type of shorthand, both in English and in Spanish. When I am uncertain of the pronouns and all the little connector words, it seems that ideas get distilled down to the most basic elements. So much so that all of the complex ideas I had about life here in Guanajuato spilled out of my head in four simple lines this morning.

The Teacher

silently yield to one another.
move slightly to make passage.
patient in the steps.
there is room for everyone.

 

silently yield to one another

move slightly to make passage

patient in the steps

there is room for everyone

 

What do you think? Have you lived as an ex-pat?

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I have a confession

January 19, 2012 by Chris | 15 Comments

I have a confession

Besides being late with another blog post, and having my languages so jumbled I can barely speak or write in english or spanish, I am also having a hard time photographing in this city. I had the same difficulty last year and perhaps that is what has drawn me back.

Yesterday Kyle was feeling a bit under the weather, so I took a short walk to get him some pozole verde (the sure cure for whatever ails you). The best source of this miracle is a restaurant, Tapatio, approximately 400 yards from our apartment. I can’t adequately describe to you how much life there is between here and there. Imagine within the length of four football fields is the symphony hall, 3 basilicas, 1 major state university, 1 garden, 1 plaza, a dozen street vendors, 100’s of homes, dozens of restaurants, and smells of both open sewage and fresh tortillas. Now line all of these items up and paint them each a unique bright color and insert 100’s of people making sounds that you are trying desperately to understand. This is just a simple errand to pick up a cup of soup.

 

Look at all those textures!

This city is in every way the antithesis of my artwork. The close proximity of everything and everyone, the brilliant colors stacked one upon the other, the cacophony of sound and smell has my brain on overdrive. And while the research on sensory processing by my good friend Dr Winnie Dunn has allowed me to understand intellectually why my brain is short circuiting I still find it disconcerting that I can’t “see” this city.

So yesterday as I was leaving for my walk, I gave myself an exercise to focus my eyes. What I am unable to do in this bombardment of stimuli is to focus, so by giving myself strict boundaries, I could begin to see. Using only my Iphone camera (so I would not get caught in technicalities) I would photograph anything yellow that I encountered. Things became more clear (and Kyle got rather hungry)!

A few selections from my yellow walk:

dahlquist_yellow1.jpgdahlquist_yellow15.jpgdahlquist_yellow8.jpgdahlquist_yellow10.jpgdahlquist_yellow11.jpgdahlquist_yellow12.jpgdahlquist_yellow14.jpgdahlquist_yellow3.jpgdahlquist_yellow7.jpgdahlquist_yellow4.jpgdahlquist_yellow5.jpgdahlquist_yellow6.jpgdahlquist_yellow9.jpgdahlquist_yellow16.jpg

 

What tricks have you learned to help you “see”?

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Back to regular programming

January 9, 2012 by Chris | 1 Comment

Pick of the week – Jan 9

I started spanish classes today in Escuala Mexicana in Guanajuato and boy do I have a lot of studying to do. So with that I will return you to your regular blog programming and present you the piece of the week.

Mile Marker 29, 16x22

Have questions or want to check the availability of this piece? contact me

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All I need to know

January 8, 2012 by Chris | 1 Comment


Reflecting on the best of 2011 has been a great way to begin the new year.

Of course there are many more things that could be included in my lists of bests; celebrating the union of our friends Gregory and Clark, after 20 years of togetherness my sister-in-law and her boyfriend throwing caution to the wind to get married in the San Juan Islands, and many pieces of great art made, viewed, and experienced. But with my mind running a million miles a minute, I know the most productive thing for me to do is set some limits for myself. I find that a narrowed focus helps me distill my thoughts, and get to the heart of the matter. (i.e. four words about my work)

 

There is always room for growth

So after a week of many, many words describing the best events or experiences of 2011, I have realized that there is a commonality, a core idea that I will stay mindful of and that will guide me into 2012:

Growth and experiential learning, and spending time with people that are striving for the same.


 

 

 

 

 

Can you distill your best experiences of the year into one sentence or phrase?


 

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Best of 2011 #6 – Artistic Expedition

January 6, 2012 by Chris | 3 Comments

Terra Nullius = No Man’s Land

Every year I try to schedule at least one gallery exhibition, preferably with my long time partner, the Perlow-Stevens Gallery in Columbia, Missouri. Jennifer Perlow and I have the best type of gallerist/artist relationship, one based on a long-standing mutual trust. We are both able and willing to schedule a show up to 18 months in the future with neither of us knowing what my work will be at that point. This year PS Gallery moved to a beautiful new location and I was able to show with them twice. My second show of the year with them, Terra Nullius, I used the opportunity to showcase new work, to push myself further and to explore new questions.

Thank you Jennifer, this was one of the highlights of my year!


Terra Nullius Tryptich

 

The show Terra Nullius just closed at Perlow-Stevens, but there are still a few pieces remaining. Are you interested in one of these inaugural pieces? We would love to find a home for them all. Please visit the entire series and inquire with Jennifer about pricing and availability. (Although not hanging, they will stay in Columbia until I return from Mexico.)

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Bests of 2011 #5 – The Plaza Art Fair you don’t see.

January 5, 2012 by Chris | 5 Comments

I traveled to my first art festival in May of 2000 and on my return home I exclaimed to Kyle, “I have found my people!”

That is as true today as it was in 2000, and continues to be the one of the major highlights of doing shows. And so it is bittersweet in September when we get to the end of our season of travel and spend the last few days with our crazy talented friends that are scattered across the country. Fortunately for us this last hurrah of the season is the Plaza Art Fair in Kansas City, which gives us the opportunity to host our friends. We fill our house and studios (and now our new trailer) to overflowing with the most talented visual artists we know. Then on Sunday night we host a party for all the artists that can make it – the night is filled with many stories, and much laughter and music. It has definitely become one of the highlights of our year, and one we always look forward to. But there is more…

With the fun that everyone is having and the knowledge that it might be half a year before we see one another again, the party has been extending, so much so that now it continues through the week. As we say good-bye to those that have to hit the road, many of the closest stay and indulge in more laughing, junking, music-making, card playing, and world’s problem solving, all at the languid speed of a summer beach vacation.  It’s reminiscent of when I was a teenager on the phone with my boyfriend, not wanting to say goodbye – “You hang up.”  “No, you hang up.”  “No, you hang up.”  “You hang up.”

I have found my people and I love them!

Jim C BrownPaul Andrews Beth Bojarski and Mark WinterDamian VelasquezChris Bruno and Lynn WhippleJohn WhippleGregory Story (we missed you at the party this year!)Audrey HellerDamian Velasquez and Lisa BurgeLisa Burge and Lynn WhippleJim Brown and Beth BojarskiLynn WhippleGregory Story and Jim BrownSo much laughingSoo tired

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7 Bests of 2011 #2 – A love affair

January 2, 2012 by Chris | 3 Comments

I fell in love with a new (to me) technique – polymer photogravure.

I decided that with all of the left-brain work I was doing as a facilitator in Artist Inc. I needed to reward myself with a creative workshop. I was specifically looking for a workshop outside my discipline of photography, but when a short polymer photogravure workshop close to home presented itself I couldn’t resist. I’m not sure how it will present itself in my future work, but I know I am in love with this technique. Gravure employs so many elements that I have been desperately missing since giving up darkroom work – chief of them the tactile involvement and constant decision making that continues until the print is resolved. And another plus is that its historical significance photographically places it squarely within my central area of focus!  (I will write more in a later post about photo gravure itself.)

Thank you Debe Riley for the wonderful instruction and the perfect technique to present images from Guanajuato.

 

 

Photogravure taken of furnishings in Museo de Gene Byron, Marfil, Guanajuato

 

El Fusilado, Valenciana, Guanajuato

 

I’m looking for new workshop opportunities for 2012. Do you have any favorites?

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