Tag Archives: gregory story

Make artists part of your holiday tradition!

December 5, 2013 by Chris | 1 Comment

Last year between Thanksgiving and Christmas I encouraged you to “Buy Personal” and embarked on introducing you to some of our friends. It was so much fun and a great way to spend some time thinking about and being thankful for all of the amazingly talented friends we have. This year I am no less thankful and it is no less important that you support independent artists of all varieties while making your holiday plans. But I’ve got to tell you, that was a herculean task to take on while still maintaining my studio practice. So this year I have chosen to spend more time working on my new series while reintroducing you to the fantastic artists you met last year. Continue reading »

Wall Balls – Gregory Story

December 3, 2012 by Chris | 5 Comments

I want to introduce you to the artist I sleep with every night (well…one of them).

Gregory

I love to see artists homes and how they curate them. Most of the time you can walk around their house and see their shared history with a lot of other artists. Mine is no exception. Each piece we have in our home has special meaning; I can tell you many stories about the artist and the circumstances of how the piece came to live with us. And because our entire collection is created by people we know, it is like living and waking up with our friends everyday. Continue reading »

Plaza Art Fair #13 – Thank you Kansas City!

September 27, 2012 by Chris | 4 Comments

What a welcome home!

After 13 years of doing shows around the country, my hometown show, my 13th Plaza Art Fair, provided the best show of my career! It was great to see familiar faces as well as make new friends at the show, so my special thanks to all that came out and made it a fantastic time! It really is all about the people!

Here are some of the awesome things about this week that you didn’t get to see:

pleeeeease

Our street filling up with large vans signaling the arrival of our people!
An impromptu and delicious dinner party with a houseful of my favorite artists: Beth Bojarski, Mark Winter, Lynn and John Whipple, Jim Brown, and Gregory Story. (Ask them about the tamales!)
Helping Laura Robson orchestrate a surprise visit from Oregon. And despite the fact she hadn’t done a show with all of us in six years, it felt just like old times.
Laughs so hard on our car rides to and from the show that my side still hurt the next day!
Hosting a fantastic party for the artists after the show with the AMAZING help of our good friends from Pandolfi’s. I never want to host anything without these guys ever again!
Sitting back and thinking about the collected talent at the party, and the interesting lives they are leading traveling from all corners of the country (and Canada). A brain trust assembling in our house, overflowing onto the porch, driveway and yard!
Dozens of sleep deprived and staggering artists digging through the River Market Antiques the day after the show, and the show and tell that happens afterwards.
Card playing on Monday night that is so exuberant the house vibrates with the excitement. (Who knew that dime ante poker could get successful adults so wound up?)
Quiet porch conversations that begin to happen as the crowd starts to thin.
The energy created by having so many of our best friends gathered in one place to sustain us through the winter season until we all meet up again in Florida in March.
My new piece of artwork from Kina Crow that perfectly expresses how I feel when everyone leaves.

Somebody pleeeease come play with me!

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

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.”