New Art Studio

We are moving to our first home soon and I will have the opportunity to create my perfect art studio in a detached garage. It’s a blank canvas right now, just 4 framed walls and a roof. I get to decide everything, insulation, lighting, drywall, flooring, I mean everything. As excited I am about it I am also a little nervous, not sure where or how to start. The construction/finishing part of the structure shouldn’t be too bad. It’s the actual art space set up and organization that I am trying to decided on. So far I have some up with these areas.

Small office space/mailing area
Book shelves
Inspiration wall/area
Tool organization section
Paint & art supplies organization
Sink wet area
Gallery/showcase area
Screen & block printing area
Ephemera, paper & fabric area
Completed art storage
Electroforming area
Standing work table

I know that’s a lot but I am sure there are some things I am forgetting. I am going to try and record the process and progress and post it up here. I plan on doing lots of research and looking at other artist studios to give me ideas. I have grabbed a couple of books and magazines to get ideas.

Sound Installation

I just updated my website with excerpts from the Incremental Phases sound installation by Compartment Music that was featured at my Open Studios this year. Stop by to check them out http://www.shannonamidon.com/Efflorescence.html

Right now in addition to making new pieces, I am scanning and getting all of the current images into digital format. I am working with Compartment Music on an art book that will have the images, writing and a CD. I am hoping it will be out by the end of the year.

Content Exhaustion

I had a wonderful Open Studios event this past weekend. I want to thank everyone who came out and shared a great time with me. We had lots of fun with the Lumen printing station, lots of people were able to create and take home their very own piece of artwork. We all enjoyed the amazing coffee and espresso drinks on Saturday from Zambrano Coffee. The sound stations with the Incremental Phases installation was very thought provoking and inspiring. Astronout kept us grooving all weekend long with incredible Live Ambient Lo-Fi Grooves.

Silicon Valley Open Studios

You're Invited!

Please Join me for Silicon Valley Open Studios

Saturday May 9th & Sunday May 10th
11:00am - 5:00pm

My Home Art Studio
1108 Delno Ave.San Jose, CA 95126
For a map & directions click here

Featuring:
New artwork from my Efflorescence series

Hands on lumen printing station

"Incremental Phases" sound installation by Compartment

Live ambient lo-fi grooves by Astronout

Gourmet coffee tasting by Zambrano Coffee (Sat Only)

Stop by any time between 11-5 to delight all of your senses.

Silicon Valley Open Studios is your chance to visit artists in their studios and shared spaces during the first three weekends in May. Here you'll discover the tremendous diversity and wealth of artistic talent in this creative valley.

New Orleans

New Orleans was an amazing jam packed trip. On our first day we walked around the French Quarter and enjoyed the shops, galleries and beautiful architecture. We stayed in a great hotel, Place d'Armes right on Jackson Square. Our second day we got up early and went on a voodoo cemetery tour. The old tombs were striking and full of character. After the cemetery we went to The Voodoo Spiritual Temple to see a voodoo priestess. She was very interesting and had an amazing alter room, filled from top to bottom; every inch of the room was packed with relics and offerings. After that we walked over and went to the insectarium. One of my dreams come true, a whole museum filled with bugs. It was a really cool place and I even got to snack on a few meal worms and crickets. Later that evening we walked down the Mississippi river and then went to a rotating carousel bar that made killer lemon drops.
Our third day we woke up early again for a plantation and swamp tour. We went to the gorgeous Oak Alley plantation. It’s about an hour outside of New Orleans. We had a great tour, and the kitchen had some of the best gumbo I had in Nola. The grounds were so beautiful, quite and peaceful and we learned a lot about the plantation life. After that we went to the bayou for an airboat ride. What a thrill that was, speeding over less than 2 inches of water filled with alligators. The boat captain would attract the gators to the boat with marshmallows. We got a great lesson all about alligators and I even got to hold a baby alligator, it was soft and cute. After a long day we went back to our hotel and rested for a bit before we went to the House of Blues to see Glasvegas. It was a great show and interesting to people watch at a concert in another city.
Our fourth day was all about leisure, shopping and walking. We explored the quarter more, going into voodoo and antique stores. We went on a horse carriage ride in the rain and then purchased some unique artwork from one of the artists selling in Jackson Square.
We ate and drank well and had a fantasist time. There was a lot more that happened but those are the highlights. We have uploaded our pictures, click here to check them out - Pictures

This and That

Life has been moving along at light speed again. Good intentions to keep up with things and in touch with people get lost in the madness. So I thought I would share a few random bits of things I have been doing and enjoying.

People:
I recently went to two great shows, Tapes and Tapes and Airborne Toxic Event. Both shows were fabulous and I even got to dance on stage at the Airborne show. Nothing like a little music to inspire and make your heart sing.

Places:
I just booked a trip to New Orleans for my Birthday in Mach. We are staying in a beautiful 19th century hotel on Jackson Square in the French Quarter. I cant wait for this trip and am very excited about all of the art, architecture and food.

Things:
EyeFi wireless memory card. This is a really cool card that makes your camera digital wireless, it uploads any picture you take to your computer or the internet wirelessly. It makes things very easy and convenient.

Creative Caffeine

We had our fist creative caffeine group meeting today. While the group was small 4 out of 12 people showed up, it was a great first meeting. We decided to change the guidelines a bit and give people a choice of doing one or both of the exercises instead of 2 a month. We discussed the process and obstacles that we dealt with on each project. Here are some of the results.

1st exercises for January:

Our lives are filled with pattern. We see patterns in textiles, buildings, nature, even food. With as much pattern as we see it begs the question" Is anything random anymore" time to explore the answer. Grab a digital camera (your phone will work too). Your task is to take ten pictures of things in your environment that have no pattern or order. Find things that are completely random. Go!

Rachel

Shannon
Rachel

Shannon

Rachel

2nd exercises for January:
Symbols and graphic depictions have been around since man first picked up a piece of burning wood and started drawing on walls to explain events and communicate ideas to his fellow cave-dwellers. Since then, certain symbols have become so ingrained in society that it is difficult to display them as anything else while still effectively communicating your message. - The task therefore is to create new recognizable symbols for:
1. A Sun
2. A Moon
3. A Star
4. A Person
Consider how these elements are associated, what they produce or even what we've learned about these items since the time of cave drawings.

Shannon

Shannon

BobbBobb

Interview

Check me out, I am interviewed as the the featured artist on an art Blog.

http://dzfantasy.blogspot.com/2009/01/featured-etsy-shop-shannon-amidon.html

Thanks for featuring me Donna, I had a lot of fun answering the questions. It looks great.

A little pick me up

This past weekend I went to Sonora for a wedding. It’s a quaint little gold rush town, surrounded by trees, filled with history. We stayed in an old Victorian house that served the best homemade scones for breakfast. The wedding was nice but what was even nicer was getting away, being somewhere different. I enjoyed walking around the town and visiting all the little shops. I bought a rock, well it’s a huge piece of dessert rose gypsum from Mexico. In a town filled with beautiful antiques I come home with a 10 pound rock, I do love my rocks and fossils. It was a very refreshing trip and just what I needed to shake me up a bit.

My Desert Rose-
After a wonderful getaway weekend I came home and made 20 new Lumen prints. I am moving in a new direction with this series and am very excited about the possibilities. I can’t wait to debut them at Open Studios in May.

Not much to say

I admit I have been neglecting my blog lately. Lots of big life changes happening keeping me busy but also in limbo if that makes sense. I am superstitious so no clues on what the changes are until they actually happen.

So what I can tell you is that I have been reading obsessively and its talking up way to much of my time but I can’t seem to stop. I have signed up for Open Studios in May. I like having deadlines so Open Studios will give me the kick I need to really pull everything together. I have been creating, I have about 120 lumen prints created and lots more to make. The project is evolving in interesting new ways.

I recently got a new book “Caffeine for the Creative Mind - 250 exercises to wake up your brain” and started a creativity group with some friends. The plan is to work on a few of the exercises and meet once a month to share our results. I realized that I really need to practice my creativity in a variety of ways to keep myself sharp. I plan to post the outcome of my projects. We will see how the group works out. We have our fist meting in a couple of weeks.

Looking Back Part 1 – Reflections on the Past Year

I began 2008 in Bangkok Thailand, with a 360 view of the fireworks from the 25th floor of our hotel. I spent the first 3 weeks of the year traveling around Thailand and Cambodia. It was an amazing trip with many unforgettable experiences. Throughout the year I worked on new art, set up my Etsy shop, and started my experiments in electroforming. I participated in many successful exhibits and had one of my best Open Studios.
I was also able to travel to Maui where I snorkeled with giant sea turtles, ate great food, and had an awesome ATV ride. I went to Disneyland with my nieces and nephews and had a wonderful and exhausting time. I also spent a wonderful white Thanksgiving in Denver.

When it's to cold to work in the studio, I bring it in to the kitchen.

Holiday Gift Guide

I am part of the the IndieBizChicks.com Guide To A Great Holiday Season 2008.

This is a FREE 40 page guide full of articles, party ideas, tips on how to save money on holiday travel, ideas to keep the kids occupied during winter break, recipes, and more that will carry you all the way from Thanksgiving through New Year's!

Check it out!

http://indiebizchicks.com/hgg2008.pdf

My world

This is me in my studio – The portrait was taken by Nathan Proctor, check out his website here http://www.nathanproctor.com/

Passion

I was reading an article in the Art Calendar magazine and it really spoke to me. I will share the part the resonated the most with me.

A sage was teaching a young man about passion. He took his student to the ocean and instructed him to begin walking into the surf. The sage said” Keep walking even after your head is covered by the water. When you are near passing out, remember that feeling. That is the feeling of passion. When you feel for something as strongly as you want to breathe, you have passion. Passion is wanting to accomplish something more than any other thing in your life.

Passion is more than determination or pride. Passion is the fuel for your soul. Passion brings you back into the studio after you have faced humiliation and rejection time and time again. If you don’t have passion for making art, then no matter how much pride you have in yourself an how determined you are you are going to fail. Without passion, our work has no soul, and it wont reach people.

Back on the Road

Maui was an amazing experience. Swimming in the ocean with giant sea turtles and jellyfish, ATV riding, the best pineapple I have ever had. I didn’t get as much art done as I had planned but that’s ok, I did a lot of reading and research. I am hoping to post some pictures from the trip soon. But its going to be a little while because I am leaving home again, this time to Disneyland. A quick little play date with my nieces and nephew. I have heard Disney at Halloween is spectacular so I cant wait.

After I get back I have a few days of a stay-cation in which I plan to get lots of artwork done. I just got a new rectifier that has 3 power outputs. That means I can electroform more things at one time. I plan on making a lot of new pieces for the holiday season. I have lots of new shells from Maui and seed pods and other fun stuff just waiting to be covered in copper.

Reset

I am looking forward to my tropical escape. I have been needing to hit the reset button for some time and I am hoping this trip does it. I am going to continue work on my Lumen project. The intense sun creates some wonderful results that I can’t get on the mainland.
My plan is to turn this series into a book. I am contemplating whether it should just be a standard art book or something more in the fiction/fantasy style. I really like the idea of a multi sensory experience so I am going to have a cd companion to go with the book.

Hello - My Name is Shannon

and I am addicted to Cameras - yep, just got a new one. I couldn’t resist.

Its for my Maui trip, I needed– no wanted a good underwater camera. Let me introduce my new toy, Olympus Stylus 1030SW 10.1MP Digital Camera. It is sooooo pretty and submergible up to 33ft, shock proof – it can be dropped from 6.6 ft and if I ever go to Antarctica which is on my list, the camera is freeze proof to 14 degrees Fahrenheit.
No I am not a camera snob; I still use my plastic Holgas and my 3 Lomo’s. I just like to have camera variety. I am excited about the possibilities. I already have my airbrush tan and a 7 hour Deluxe Dolphin Lanai Snorkel Adventure booked and I promise to post lots of underwater pictures.
Of course time slows to a crawl when a vacation is waiting, just down there around the corner. It will get here, I am hoping sooner rather than later.

This Friday

Please join me for the opening reception of:

-Art, Math, & Science-

A Different Day Gallery
1233 Solano Avenue
Albany, CA 94706
(Near Berkeley)

Friday Sept. 12th
7:00pm-8:30pm

Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion

One of my puzzles is featured in an Etsy add in Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion magazine. Its a magazine about arts, crafts, decorating, etc. The magazine is out now, check out the second page, 5th row down, middle - Purple Swallowtail Butterfly. This piece as well as some new ones are featured in my Etsy Shop - http://www.shannonamidon.com/etsy