busy-ness

Like so many creatives/independent artists wearing all the varied hats of their business, I tend to neglect my blog/news page. I don't need to explain, we all feel the quickening pace of life in these increasingly technological times!

Since I last wrote, I've participated in six shows, at galleries like AR4T, Hibbleton and Curbside, and had all sorts of new opportunities both with my illustrative works and with the audio visual collaboration, Pageant of Living Things. For now, you can see photos of much of it on my Facebook page, and hopefully I will get better at keeping up with fresh news in the coming year! 

In the meantime, I'm working away at making prints, earrings and commissioned paintings, all with the big deadline approaching much too quickly...

Here's to a lovely holiday, joy to you and yours! 

pageant of living things

I've been working on a collaboration lately with electronic musician/audiovisual designer Jason Phillips- we call it the Pageant of Living Things. As the project progresses, it has become apparent just how appropriate that moniker is. Our shared aesthetic and level of enthusiasm for artistic evolution seems to have tapped into an unlimited resource for glittering creative inventions. 

We currently work with Resolume Avenue VJ Software- layering our own videos, photography and drawings with a plethora of carefully salvaged content from books and rare seen films- then sync it to original music organized in Ableton Live. This medium is fantastic for live performance, and for me personally, a fresh and exciting aspect of what I hope to continue doing on a broader scale. Still images are captured from these constantly changing video compositions and made into prints, as a way to preserve and make tangible these singular moments in visual time and space.

Check out the magic at one of our upcoming shows:

July 5th, 6-10pm- "Create Now: An Artistic Tribute to Alan Watts" at Hibbleton Gallery in Fullerton

July 6th, 7-11pm- "Wavicles" at Curbside Gallery in Santa Ana

July 11th, 6-10pm-  "Submersible Cocktail" at The Mercantile Lofts in Downtown LA

Please take a moment to read about how delightful these events promise to be, here on our news page!  

when girls rule

What a lucky space and time to be in! 

Yesterday, I stopped by the offices of Riviera Magazine to pick up a stack of glossy, extravagant copies of their February issue with Ne-Yo on the cover and an interview with yours truly on page 64! 

I can't say enough how encouraging the local art community is here in Orange County and I am so delighted that writer Kelsi Maree chose to approach the feature with the importance of this in mind. 

I was photographed in AR4T Gallery while the show that I curated there in November, Where the Sidewalk Ends, was still up- you can see the beautiful work of Liz Brizzi on the wall behind me- which was a perfect setting for the theme.  The show itself brought together the work of nine talented ladies from OC/LA, with the support of AR4T owner, Torrey Cook, who has been a force in generating publicity for the artists and galleries in OC. 

I was able to choose three local artists to highlight for the article and naturally immediately thought of Jennie Cotterill, Nancy Chiu and Yevgeniya Mikhailik, each of whom I asked to participate in WTSE without realizing they were all best friends! 

All this lady love isn't to say that boys totally drool... I'm off to Fullerton artwalk tonight to check out exciting shows at Hibbleton, PÄS & Bookmachine, all run by handsome artist dudes and tomorrow will be attending openings at Curbside and F+ in Santa Ana, ditto!

Yup, I feel fortunate.

And inspired to do what I can to help sustain this community of artists and galleries because the more exposure and opportunities we have, the more art we can contribute. 

showing at the penthouse

Yesterday, I began setting up my booth for VIEW : LA's New Gift & Home Tradeshow in the loft-style Penthouse level of the California Market Center, centered in the Fashion District in Downtown LA. I've exhibited there before for Unique LA, and love the space, with its giant windows around the whole perimeter offering what feels like a priveledged view of the city.

Almost every show I've done in the past carried with it the nervous anticipation reminiscent of first day of school jitters-  will I make friends? what will everyone think of me/my art? what should I wear???- but finally, I'm starting to feel the confidence that comes with experience and taking your business or craft seriously. I feel prepared and excited because I know I will make friends, that at least a few people will like- and even love- my art ...and I have outfits planned and ironed for all four days of the show already. Ha! 

Another difference about this show is that it is open exclusively to qualified retailers, wholesale buyers & interior designers. This is new for me and I have no idea what to expect from customers that represent entire companies, but I'm open to the bigger opportunities that will hopefully arise from displaying my work in this context. 

I have in no way let go of my dedication to the ideals inherent in handmade, local production, but I am definitely ready to expand my retail exposure in order to sustain myself by making art for a living. 

Time for the next phase of evolution.

welcome to the new!

Happy new year, ev'rybody!

I'm still working on some details, but I very much appreciate your visit to my -finally!-updated website. Sometimes I spend so much time in real life, I neglect to maintain my "internet presence" but this year is going to be different! There's just too much art that I want to share, and too many beautiful people that I'd love to share it with.

I don't even know where to begin to catch you up on what I've been studying/writing/ making, so I will just start with the freshest.

A review came out today on the Rogue Art Research & Writing Journal website, please read it here, that I would consider one of the most thoughtful pieces written about my art. The author, Suzanne Walsh, is a fantastic artist with a similar curiosity about nature and our relationship to it, which must explain why her eloquently chosen words seem to connect with my work in a way that I hadn't yet been able to verbalize myself.

Her review of the show, "Where the Sidewalk Ends", that I curated in November at Artists Republic for Tomorrow (AR4T) Gallery in Laguna Beach also grasped the sentiment behind the collection of paintings, drawings and installations with an understanding and perspective that I think makes feedback by your peers so critical to the creative process.

Which is one big reason that I'm so delighted to be part of the growing community in Orange County of emerging and independent artists/galleries who are willing to participate in order to create a local art scene that we've all been needing. The efforts of gallery owners like Torrey Cook, who formed the OC Artists Republic site, writers like Evan Senn and Andrea Steedman who formed RARW and artists like Suzanne who contribute to these sites, keep us informed and therefore inspired. 

Looks like I'm heading towards a call to action here...let's see, to sum it up I'd say, think about putting this on your resolution list:

"This year, I will do more to support and encourage artists and handmade craftspeople with my attention, my wallet, and my voice! "

Thank you!! 

-Chantal