12 may

the art.  the art!  the art.  

thank you angie and maria (and my friend laura - i had no idea you read my blog!) for holding me to it.  i mean, i know it's next week and not tomorrow, but i'm here.  and feeling like it's anti-climactic at this point, after all of the promising to talk about the art and stringing you along.  but i'm going to tell you all about it anyway because really, it's something.

paper.

it's hanging at eyebuzz until the middle of june.  a show devoted entirely to small, unframed works on paper.  tacked to the walls using a most ingenious and stunning system of reclaimed boards and steel (is it steel, tara?) strips and tiny magnets.

i love to paint on paper.  i love the feel of paper, i love taped edges and smooth texture and i love the possibilities of paper.  i love paper, but i don't love framing my paintings on paper (aside from being expensive, i really enjoy the "noise" on the edges of the paper around the painting that's lost when a painting is matted and framed.  i realize that there are framing options that would reveal these edges and this "noise," and i could go on about the framing and the edges and the noise, but that will have to wait for another day.  or another week.) and i have long imagined a show where my paintings on paper were pinned to walls.  needless to say, i love the concept for this show.

it's not only that.  there is something very precious about unframed artwork on paper, i think.  it's fleeting in a certain way.  fleeting, and precious.  so imagine an entire gallery filled with fleeting, precious unframed artwork on paper.  swoon.

the show is full (and i mean FULL - there is work lining the walls of the gallery and filling a file box on the counter) of these small artworks on paper by a host of talented artists.  i was especially thrilled to see the work of some of my friends in person for the first time.  to be introduced to new-to-me artists.  and to see a different sort of painting from artists whose work i've admired.  all of it unframed, tacked to the walls with teensy magnets.  it's something.

i wish you could see it in person.  i wish you could see the show and i wish you could see the eyebuzz gallery.  and i wish you could meet tara and tim who are two of the loveliest people i've met in a long long time.  i wish you could be there.  i wish we could all be there together.  but all of the work is available in the eyebuzz online shop, and that will have to do for today.  it doesn't have the reclaimed boards or the teeny tiny magnets (or the super cute town) or the promise of a hug from a new friend, but you'll get a sense, i hope.  have a look, won't you?

Comments

[lisa s]

i heart paper too.and it was fun looking at the eyebuzz show.i definitely wish i could see it in person.and hang out w/ such lovely artists as yourselves in person :)someday. hopefully.

[blair]

I just don't think it would be fair if we all didn't somehow, someway, someday meet up in person. Its ironic that the art you do brings online friends to you for real, full circle.

xo

[molly]

lump in my throat over your description of art on paper. seriously.

I have like a heart-tugging desire to get back to making art, and couldn't agree more about the fleeting sensation created by of bits of ones heart laid out on cotton-y textured paper. Lovely collection. Wish I could see it up close.

[laura]

This is such a great idea for display and what a fun way to be part of a show!

[Laura Beutler]

Yes, Em, I'm slowly climbing back into the blogosphere and was looking for some inspiration, and some art, and some nice descriptive language, so here I am. Yes, the way you feel about paper is the way I feel about words (and fabric, and paper too - I used to be a junkie at paper shows when I did design...) I think we just have these addictive personalities for beautiful things that we can create and mold and use to express the enormous amounts of stuff in our lives. And nothing gets your heart racing faster than to be around other artists, don't you think? Congrats on the show - what a thrill!

[Vintage Simple]

Thank you for capturing some of the magic for us, even when, you're right: it would be best to be there. In person. To be hugged and hug back. To talk and exchange ideas and be filled with the beauty others create. And to hear the rustle of paper - although I take it perhaps you meant a different kind of noise. I love it all. I love your words. I don't know what I will find when I follow your links since I'm here so late..! But off I go.

xoox.-maria