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Today's Art Salon

Today I taught a mixed media collage class. Thankfully, the weather cleared up and it was beautiful, though a bit on the warm side. There was a photo class taught by Beth Moon going on at the same time, so I kept sneaking peeks at what they were doing. So torn, being in one wonderful place and wanting at the same time to be in another.

Here are some images from the day's activities. Thank you Pam!

Beautiful Day at UC Berkeley Today

Today, I attended the ELEMENT: Eco Arts conference at the really beautiful David Brower Center on Addison Street in Berkeley. David Brower was instrumental in creating the Pt. Reyes National Seashore, as well as lobbying for many federal protections of open spaces and national parks. After leaving the Sierra Club, he founded the Earth Island Institute. The space they created in Berkeley is a wonderful homage to his work and spirit of eco-activism.

We walked around the campus a little bit and I took this photo of a sculpture near the Oxford/University entrance.

It was nice to be back on campus. And yes (por supuesto!), I did have Arinelle's Pizza! 

More Photos from Bellingham

Photos I Took Today in Bellingham

BP Art in Bellingham

Saw this art (pointed out by Claire) in Bellingham today. If anyone can provide the artist(s)' name(s), it would be most appreciated. The piece was in an otherwise vacant storefront on Cornwall Avenue in Bellingham.

According to the Seattle Times, the BP Refinery in Bellingham experienced a fataility in 2005.

Billowy

     Here are some photos I took that are in the "billowy" theme.

Idea for New Photo Project

And I'm counting on the sun to shine to be able to do it, plus I may have to use my best bed sheet that is super amazingly comfy but also transparent. It wasn't inexpensive (Williams Sonoma Home Store)...and may be worth the sacrifice.

News!

Nothing Like a Good Sunny Day to Hang Laundry on the Clothesline

I've been waiting for a day like today to wash my bed covers. The dogs got muddy paw prints all over my comforter and sheets about 2 days after I last washed everything! I love that sunny fresh smell to my sheets, so I've been waiting - now a couple of weeks since then - to do them again. Last week every day was quite foggy and sloggy. This weekend has been wonderful here on the coast, and hellishly hot everywhere else, from what I hear. 

I put the sheets and pillowcases through the washer with lavender scent (thank you Melanie, for turning me on to this), then I hang them on my "no homeowner's association here thank you" line to dry. I put the pillows and duvet out on the lawn in the sun for a little bit of organic microbicide treatment (sun's UV rays).

Bed is now all made up fresh and clean, and I got a good photo out of the whole thing too. I always sleep like a bay-buh on these nights.

Now I'm going to make some biscuits for the strawberry shortcake dessert to go with the ribs, corn on the cob and baked beans I'm making for my second oldest for dinner tonight.

Garage Sales

I am loving taking photos of items at garage sales. Here's one from today - a friend's aperitif glasses reflecting on the white plastic table. The hot sunny day made for some good photos.

And here are a few more from a sale I had in 2008.

 

A Photo for Today

Sunny Photo for a Sloggy Day

It is "raining" in HMB. Not real rain - but they heavy soupy fog that makes everything wet. I call that sloggy.  It is pretty warm though. But not hot or humid. Just not freezing.

So here's a "sunny" photo to remind me that the sun is shining somewhere today.

Sunset Magazine Open House Menlo Park

Flogged with people, right at opening time of 10 am. It was warm and muggy, and lots of fun things to see. I concentrated on cheese tasting and photo taking.

Here are a couple of shots of the event.  Nice to get out of the house and fog (House of Fog?) and be around some people. Lots of people. (Notice how I avoided taking photos of the crowds?)

It's Saturday, and I'm a bit exhausted, but in a good way. I've been working - at work stuff and art stuff - pretty furiously since I got back from Italy in mid-March.  I submitted to shows I forgot I'd applied to, and got accepted into things that I thought were a long shot, so why bother. It's not a lot on the grand scale of life as an artist, but it is starting to feel like traction. 

My art refresher a couple of weeks ago with Eileen Goldenberg was a good reminder that success doesn't usually fall out of the sky into your lap. My favorite saying - Luck is When Preparation Meets Opportunity - reminds me that though creating new work or applying for a show, or putting a posting on Facebook about my latest goings-on may seem too small to matter, these little things start to add up.

I saw a friend yesterday I hadn't seen in 15 years. We had a nice time chatting at Starbuck's and she asked me to send her information about what I was doing. When I put the email together I realized "whew," that's a lot going on (each one has a link to images):

Italy Photos Book

Current Monotype Print Show in Half Moon Bay May 3 - July 30

Photos for Eco Art/Blue Planet show in SF June 24-27

Fins, Feathers and Fur Show at Pacific Art League June 2010

25 Boxes (SOLD OUT)

 So today, I'm celebrating. I'm taking it easy, catching up on reading and surfing, puttering around the house a little, and enjoying this brief plateau of art success.

Thanks for hanging in there with me. I'm going to keep up the good work. And maybe have a little nap!

Props to Bay Photo

Ok - if you haven't ever done this (photos printed on metal), please consider it. Wow. They are so amazing.

I started on this journey Thursday 6/3, at about 9:30 am. I had a migraine starting to go into overdrive, so I worked fast on the computer by uploading Bay Photo's ordering/management software. I had sized my photos on Photoshop using Image Size for 30" x 20" and saved them as .jpgs. I uploaded the files (~14-16 MB each) using the BayROES software. They uploaded like a breeze...so fast!

Then, I went and had a power nap with a towel wrapped 'round my head and ears to block out noise and light. I woke up around 1 pm feeling a bit better, but still off. I worked some, and rested some more. Then, around 5 pm I got an email from Bay Photo saying the order was at UPS!!!!  The website promised processing within 3 business days, so this 6 working hours was amazing.

Today - Friday (6/4) (one day later) at 6:30 pm, UPS showed up with the prints. They were packaged beautifully, and they matched what I ordered to perfection. Very professional job all the way around and an excellent example of underpromise and overdeliver in action.
 

I would highly recommend Bay Photo in Santa Cruz - the totally on-line aspect of the system will work for anyone, anywhere.

It is hard to appreciate how amazing these are in a photo of a photo. Bay Photo made it so easy that I already feel like a metal printing expert!

On the Water II Accepted for Blue Planet Show

Wow - they emailed today to say they'd forgotten to tell me that the companion piece to On the Water I was also accepted into the Blue Planet show. Too (two) cool!

On the Water II

30 x 20"

Digital Print on Aluminum

On the Water I Accepted for Blue Planet Show

On The Water I

30 x 20"

Digital Photo Printed on Aluminum

 Laura D McHugh

Eco-Art Blue Plant Exhibition

 SOMArts Cultural Center, San Francisco

June 19-26, 2010

 

Eco-art often carries a layered meaning that aids in the understanding and appreciation of the environment, addresses community values, and/or inspires activism on behalf of the ecological systems of which humans and their cultures are a part. For the Blue Planet Exhibition, work that examines and explores the social, political and economic issues related to water will be exhibited. Given that water covers 70% of our “Blue Planet, this exhibition is an opportunity to re-envision, reclaim, remediate and restore our relationships with this most precious resource.

ORGANIZED/PRESENTED BY: Women’s Caucus for Art-Pacific Region 
JUROR: Eco-Artist Kim Abeles

EXHIBITION DATES: June 19 – June 26, 2010
LOCATION: SOMArts Cultural Center 934 Brannan Street, San Francisco 
RECEPTION: Saturday, June 26, 2010, 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.


We were pleased to receive 270 submissions in a broad range of media from 117 artists throughout the United States. It was a time-consuming and difficult task for the juror, Kim Abeles, to evaluate submissions for this show. In the end, she selected a range of pieces from 50 artists that spoke of our precious element, water, and eco-art activism.