The artwork of Shannon Amidon

Eco Art?

2012-01-31T13:21:00.000-08:00

This post is directly from the Healthy Art Program: An Energy Smart Exhibition blog that I wrote.

The past few weeks I have been working on my pieces for the Healthy Art Program: An Energy Smart Exhibition. Admittedly it’s been more difficult than I anticipated. I was struggling with the content/subject. Most of my artwork is already directly inspired and influenced by nature and natural history. So why would I do anything different? I know whatever my subject is that it will relate to the environment. Does this make my work Eco art? Is this the point of this project?

From the Greenmuseum's website, a definition of Eco Art:

In a general sense, [Eco-art] is art that helps improve our relationship with the natural world. There is no definition set in stone. This living worldwide movement is growing and changing as you read this. Much environmental art is ephemeral, designed for a particular place (site-specific) and involves collaborations between artists and others such as scientists, educators and community groups.

See "A Brief Introduction" by Clive Adams of the Centre for Contemporary Art and the Natural World.

Some environmental art:

Interprets nature, creating artworks that inform us about nature and its processes, or about environmental problems we face

Is concerned with environmental forces and materials, creating artworks affected or powered by wind, water, lightning, even earthquakes

Re-envisions our relationship to nature, proposing through their work new ways for us to co-exist with our environment

Reclaims and remediates damaged environments, restoring ecosystems in artistic and often aesthetic ways

The more I thought about it the clearer it became that for me this should be about the materials and process. My art subject already speaks to some of the above statements and for me, this project isn't necessarily about making eco art. What I want to explore is a more practical approach; like how to use new materials, how to reduce waste. Is this something that is cost effective, easy, and convenient? Materials are expensive already, will using earth friendly products cost more, are they harder to obtain.

So while I am making my artwork I am also doing a lot of research. I think it is worthwhile for artists to use earth friendly materials even if they are not “eco artists.” I have been experimenting with making my own paints, oil and tempera, as well as finding non toxic solvents, earth friendly paper and other goods. I have also been measuring my energy use. Although I am not quite sure aside from the basics (CFL or led lights, etc) of how to change that.

News & Updates

2012-01-26T11:53:00.001-08:00

The ol' blog has been a bit quiet lately. Just working away in and out of the studio. So lets see whats going on with me.....

This Friday there is an opening reception for an all woman group show I am in. You should come by and check it out.

EnDanger

Opening Friday Jan 27th - 7pm

On The Corner Music

530 E Campbell Ave

Campbell, CA 95008

Awesome Artists include:Tracie Elliott
Anabella Pinon
Shannon Amidon
Allison Karn
Rachel Wright
Frances Marin
Veronica Graham
Kim Christman
Kook Teflon

In other news, I recently volunteered to teach a class of high school seniors about encaustic art. It was a great experience, all the students were very considerate, polite, creative and very talented. At first I was a little apprehensive because I have never worked with high school students, especially not 30 of them. I wasn't sure how they would respond to me or the art. I gave them a quick overview of myself and the process and them cut them loose. I didn't want to give them too many restrictions as this was more about learning the materials. All of them created great pieces and the teacher later told me they had wonderful things to say about the lesson. It was a really fulfilling and fun experience that I hope I can do more of.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150516503376382.395878.133213886381&type=3

I also have a few other things in the works, I am working on some art for City Hall for the Eco Art Grant project. Busy making lots of new artwork for a feature show in April - more info on that soon. Plus I am learning how to make my own Eco friendly paint and will be giving a demo at Kaleids next Two Buck Tuesday event. That's it for now, I am sure there is something I am forgetting but I just wanted to start somewhere.

Happy New Year!

Year In Review

2011-12-31T13:40:00.000-08:00

It’s time for my year in review blog post.

2011 was creatively and professionally an amazing and really, really busy year for me. My year began as I was returning from a month long Artist Residency in Costa Rica. I returned invigorated and inspired. The residency experience was a wonderful one and I was hooked.

In January I participated in the very first ever SJMADE event and it was a fantastic success. February was an awesome month; I was interviewed on a live TV show called Talk Art. You can watch the episode by clicking here. It was a new experience that I had a lot of fun with. My bullet shell jewelry was also named in Silicon Valley Metro’s best of issue.In March I had a solo exhibit at Good Karma.

I think April might have been the climax of my year. I was named the Arts Council Silicon Valley artist laureate in photography and received an Artist Fellowship Grant. I was also featured in a really well written and brilliant full article in the Silicon Valley Metro.

The summer months of flew by with Open Studios in May, SubZERO Festival in June and First Friday Art Street Markets in August & Sept. September also brought another successful SJMADE event.

In October I was awarded an Eco Studio Makeover and grant from the Art Inspectors Healthy Art Program. I am really excited about this program and will have lots to share about it in the including an exhibit at City Hall. October also marked the beginning of my new blog San Jose Creatives which features weekly interviews with the creative community in San Jose. I am really excited about this little project. It has received a lot of great feedback and I am meeting so many wonderful people.

If all this wasn’t enough at the end of October I flew to Iceland for another artist residency at Herhús in Siglufjördur. It was such a magical and incredible experience. I worked on a new series that I will be exhibiting in 2012 and had lots of adventures.

November and December had a couple more solo exhibits. Kanji Garden, a site specific installation made of hundreds of hand dyed and folded books at Phantom Galleries and my Efflorescence series was exhibited at the Saratoga Library. In November I was featured in a beautiful and insightful article and interview in Content Magazine. It was so great meeting the Content crew and working with them. December also brought Hark the Holiday Show at Kaleid Gallery.

This year I also started to show and sell my artwork and jewelry at Modern Eden Gallery in San Francisco and The Bone Room in Berkeley.

As you can see my year has been remarkable and filled with many wonderful events and opportunities. I am so grateful for all of the wonderful and supportive people in my life. Your belief, support, friendship, and encouragement mean the world to me.

Happy New Year! I wish you and your loved ones a creative, happy and healthy New Year filled with lots of adventures. Here is to making 2012 an even better year! Keep pushing, keep fighting and never give up.

Merry Happy Christmas & Holidays

2011-12-24T17:35:00.000-08:00

I hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday season. I am excited to get back in the studio after over a month of absence. Lots of art to make and shows to get ready for. I plan on posting a little year in review post in the next week.

Merry Christmas!

New Eco Friendly Materials

2011-12-15T19:45:00.000-08:00

The Art Inspector came to my studio a few days ago and gave me some new materials and took away a lot of my current ones.

I was given Red River GreenPix Photo Matte paper, FSC wood panels, raw pigments, eco glue and sealer. I will be receiving bees wax and watercolor paper soon. She took away quite a few materials including my sealer, oil paint, adhesives, and paint thinner.

One thing we talked about that really peaked my interest was about the amount of waste that is created from art making and how that impacts the environment. I am a materials based artist, my materials and processes are very important part of art making for me. Although I try and reuse and recycle a lot of objects for my art, at times I have a lot of left over materials/garbage. I am really interested in creating without wasting.

An example of a process that creates a lot of waste is my photographic encaustic work. I use a large amount of paper towels, rubber gloves and electricity. Digging down even deeper I have a lot of my materials shipped to me. The boxes and packaging that they come in are waste. If I print my own photos there are the paper trimmings, empty ink cartridges and the packaging they come in.

It’s all very interesting to me and something I really want to explore further. I am an artist whose primary inspiration and subject matter is nature. It bothers me that I have not really thought about how my art making process impacts the environment.

Better Late Than Never

2011-12-04T20:29:00.000-08:00

This post is a bit late because a lot has been going on in my life. Unfortunately I had to leave Iceland and the artist residency a couple of weeks early. Sadly there was a tragic family emergency and it was very important for me to come back home.

I really had an amazing time in Iceland and hope to go back some day. Although my time there was shorter than planned I did get a lot done. I finished several large weaving projects and completed 6 smaller encaustics.

Life has been chaotic and difficult lately and I haven’t really had time to reflect on my adventure. I just wanted to get something posted because I know there are a lot of people wondering about the trip and residency. Hopefully soon I will be able to write a fabulous post filled with all the wonderful tales of my Icelandic journey.

For now here is a link to my pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/amidon/sets/72157627987759449/

Now that I am back home things are picking up for the holiday season. I have lots of new jewelry and artwork at several galleries and stores. Here is a quick list of where you can find my work right now.

Hark the Holiday Art Show
December 2nd - January 6th
KALEID Gallery
88 South 4th Street (at San Fernando)
Downtown San Jose
http://www.kaleidgallery.com/
Here I have a wall with my artwork and I will be showing my upcycled bullet shell jewelry for the holiday show

Kanji Garden
October 30th December 30th
Vacant Storefront Exhibit
95 South Market St.
San Jose, CA
Kanji Garden is a site specific installation made up of hundreds of hand
dyed and folded books that were destined for the landfill.

Woodland
December 10th - January 16th
Modern Eden Gallery
403 Francisco st.
San Francisco, CA
http://www.moderneden.com/home.html
I have one mixed media encaustic piece in the Woodland group show. Modern Eden also carries my bullet and copper jewelry.

The Usuals San Jose
1020 The Alameda
San Jose, CA 95126
www.ShopTheUsuals.com
The Usuals carries my upcycled bullet jewelry.

I hope to get back to my regular posting soon. There is still a lot going on personally that may keep me from my usual routines but I do have lots of great things coming up in the New Year.

Happy Holidays

Time Lapse Video

2011-11-12T12:55:00.000-08:00

Here is a time lapse video I made of me creating a hand woven photograph. The photo was 20 x 20 and took about 4.5 hours to weave, the video is about 55 seconds.

You can also watch it here on Youtube

My First week at Herhús

2011-11-09T13:41:00.000-08:00

I arrived in a snow covered Siglufjördur one week ago today. Driving in was a beautiful scene of snow and sea. Not exactly sure where the house was we stopped at the local grocery store to pick up some provisions and asked the clerk, he told us the street was 3 blocks away. The house is set back from the street a little bit but I recognized it at once. The front door opens onto a huge bright white art studio. It is 3-4 times larger than mine at home. There are 4 windows which let in a lot of light but the ceiling lights are also very bright and powerful. There are two big work tables, a desk, sink and a nice sitting/reading area. To the left are the stairs that are more like a ladder to the top floor living area. It’s about a quarter of the art size of the studio with a queen bed, wardrobe, and small kitchen area with a little table for two.

The whole place is really quite wonderful and I got settled in and ready for business pretty quickly. I set up my two work tables, one for photo weaving and one for encaustic as well as a little “office” area. I did have some problems with the power conversion and burnt out one of the adapters. Seems my encaustic tools, heat gun and hot plate draw a lot of power and the dinky converters I brought wouldnt work. I was very fortunate because Gundy one of the Herhús team members did a lot of work to help me find what I needed. She loaned me a hot plate and called around to several different towns to find me a heat gun. She was also able to find a man one town over who use to live in America and had a power converter to loan me. The people here are all so kind and helpful; they really go out of their way to help you.

I got right to work creating some warm up pieces just to get my mind and hands in the art making routine. I try to get out and go exploring while the sun is out especially if it is good weather and then work in the studio at night.

Friday we ventured out to see the Northern Lights, leaving the house about 11:30pm and driving out of the town to an area with no lights except the moon. The night was cloudy but we were able to see some of the green streaks coming thought the clouds. It was freezing cold out but I was out there with my camera on a tripod and 30-45 second exposures. It was an amazing experience. We were right next to the ocean, so the waves were crashing and the sky was sparkling. Even saw a shooting star flying across the lights.

I’m not having any problems with my motivation or creativity like I did in Costa Rica. I have more direction and focus for this residency. I also have several projects just in case one isn’t grabbing my attention. The one thing that is hard to get use to is the time difference from home. All my friends and family are in bed when I am awake. I go online (yes I am allowed to do that) and nobody is there. I miss you guys.

The Herhús team came by the studio last night. I shared what I was working on and discussed my processes and projects. It was a very nice visit; I always enjoy sharing my passion with those who are interested.

Today I made a time lapse video of me creating one of my woven photos, I have to do a small amount of editing and then I will post it.

I know there is a lot more to write about and share, I just hate for these posts to get to long and loose you. Also, I will also be posting a bunch of photos soon, it has only been two weeks and I have taken over 650!

Some quick observations:

It’s difficult to get up when it’s so dark outside

There is a school across the street and sometimes I use the recess bell as my alarm. Shhh it’s only 9:20 and I stay up late.

There are some crazy tunnels here that go right through the mountains. A couple of them are only one lane and they are dark and kind of scary.

It’s impossible to describe what a heat gun is to someone who doesn’t speak English. Searched the whole store to find it and it was sitting next to the front check out counter.

You really do get use to the cold after a while.

You can’t figure out what the traffic signs mean by the pictures on them.

All the toilets flush with a button.

The hot water smells like sulfur.

This place is wonderful, there’s magic flowing through Iceland ;)

Reykjavik Wrap Up

2011-11-03T08:15:00.000-07:00

After 3 ½ days in Reykjavik I have traveled north to Siglufjördur. Here is a little recap of my time in Reykjavik. The Golden Circle tour was nice, we had a great driver/tour guide and only about 8 other people on the tour. We saw geysers, huge waterfalls, craters, the Continental divide and the Viking parliament. Let me tell you it was sooooo cold. Especially at the waterfall, with water filled winds so strong they could push you over. The Icelandic landscape is amazing though. It is so diverse, with waterfalls, geysers, lava fields, mountains and craters. I love the moss covered lava fields that go on forever.

The next day we waited for an hour outside in freezing temps for the tour bus to take us to the Blue Lagoon. Sadly they forgot about us and after we called to inquire we had to wait another 30 min. until they arrived. The Blue Lagoon was nice but not what I expected. Again it was freezing cold, literally 0c. The lagoon is suppose to be 102F so while my body was warmish (I’m not sure it was really 102) my ears and face felt like they were going to fall off. Getting out and running to the building soaking wet in my bathing suit was unbearable. But I did it and am a stronger woman for it ;) An awesome thing about Iceland is that there is never a shortage of super hot water. Water that has thawed me many times. Plus inside all of the building is nice and warm.

When we got back from the lagoon we went to the Reykjavik Art Museum and saw some great contemporary Icelandic art. Reykjavik is a beautiful city and we spent many hours just walking around and enjoying the scenery.

After dinner it was back to the apartment to pack and get ready for our plane ride to Akureyri. I tried really hard this time but we still brought so much stuff. As a mixed media artist I never know what supplies I am going to need. I brought a lot less than I did to Costa Rica but the weight still added up. I got dinged for 75 Euro for weight overage on the intercontinental flight. Contemplating shipping a bunch of stuff back rather than dealing with the airline fees.

We took a little propeller plane up North to Akureyri. Flying over Iceland was beautiful, there was so much snow. There was no snow in Reykjavik, it was just cold and rainy but there was lots of snow in Akureyri. We rented a car and headed out to Siglufjördur. It took us a little while to get on the right path, we tried to wing it but soon found out we needed to ask for directions to get us on the main road our of Akureyri. The drive to our destination in Siglufjördur was about 45 min and breathtaking. The landscape is a lot different from Reykjavik, huge snow covered mountains surrounded us and everything is covered in a blanket of white.

Later I will write all about Siglufjördur and the residency house. This post is too long already.

Lava Field

Shannon at the geysers

Icelandic Horse

Continental Divide Area

Blue Lagoon with silica mask

Arrived in Iceland

2011-10-30T19:57:00.000-07:00

Its 3:30am in Reykjavik and I can’t sleep so I thought that I would write a quick blog post. The flight over was pretty uneventful, long and a bit tiring but everything was on time. We arrived at Keflavik airport at 6:30am (10:30pm CA time) so needless to say I didn’t really sleep much on the plane. When we arrived everything was pitch black. We took the fly bus from the airport to our apartment. The apartment is beautiful and looks very similar to an IKEA show room with better art. Everything is very new and modern and comfortable. The apartment is above a little shop on Laugarvegur st, the main shopping, restaurant, tourist area in Reykjavik. By the time we reached the apt. it was 8:30am so I thought it best to shower and take a nap since I was running on no sleep. The nap ended up being 3 hours long and it was excruciating to make myself wake up. But I knew if I didn’t it would be worse in the long run. Not really sure how my little plan worked out since I am awake now but…

View from the apartment

Bundled up we made way out of the apartment and onto the Laugarvegur st. Reykjavik is a beautiful city, it’s very clean and the architecture is great. There is amazing street art everywhere. Unfortunately a lot of the shops were closed because it was Sunday. It was good to walk around and get a feel of the area though.

Street Art

A note on the weather, it’s cold here but nothing unbearable. If you dress right you will be warm and comfortable. There is always a mist/drizzle and it’s when the wind blows that you really feel the cold. There is no snow and the ground or anything, it’s been about 35F.

After walking around for a couple of hours we spotted the magnificent Hallgrímskirkja cathedral. It is really quite impressive and took 38 to build. It has a huge organ with 5,275 pipes. We jumped in the elevator and took a ride to the very top of the bell tower. The views of the city were breathtaking and when the bell rings your skull vibrates a bit.

Views from the Cathedral

Had a simple dinner in a pub before returning back to the apartment. Meat soup in a bread bowl. It was good but heavy and I should have asked what kind of meat was in it.

There are a lot of fancy and expensive shops around. I have been looking for a local art gallery. There are a lot of galleries but they seem to be more tourist galleries. I’m looking for something a little more contemporary. Not painting of puffins or ponies please. Things are definitely more expensive here, 5 postcards and 5 stamps was $12.50, coffee and banana crepes about $15.00.

Overall the first day-ish was great. In a few hours we will be picked up to go on an 8 hour Golden Circle tour. The tour includes, the world-famous Geysir geothermal area, a geothermal field where hot springs are in abundance, geysers explode and pools of mud bubble. The magnificent Gullfoss waterfall and visit Þinghvellir national park, the original site of the oldest existing parliament in the world. There the great Atlantic rift is clearly visible, a rift that is slowly pulling

Iceland

apart along tectonic plates.

Content Magazine Featured Article

2011-10-24T11:09:00.000-07:00

I was recently featured in Content Magazine. It is a great article I am really happy with. If you are interested you can click on the image below to read it. My article is on page 13 but images of my artwork are throughout the magazine. Hope you enjoy!

Open publication - Free publishing - More design

My Studio Inpection

2011-10-20T11:28:00.000-07:00

Last night the Art Inspector Danielle came over to my studio with her crew, videographer Ryan and photographer Wendy. It was an interesting experience and I really learned a lot.

We started out discussing me and the type of artwork I create. The studio was measured; outlets and light sources were counted. Daniele then tested the electricity usage of the products I use most often with an electricity usage monitor. My heat gun, hot plate to melt wax and Dremel were all tested for about 1 min.

The Dremel and heat gun were not too bad but the hot plate was an energy sucker potentially costing thousands of dollars each year to run. She left me with my own reader so I can measure the output during normal use. Also , I will need to monitor my rectifier which I use for hours at a time for my copper electroforming.

She then tested my studio for air leaks and insulation. Since I was able to pretty much build it from the ground up it was pretty good. I have double paned windows and insulation throughout. The only suggestion was to get weather stripping for the large roll up door.

Next my supplies were tested with a cool voc reader. As I suspected some of my electroforming supplies are pretty toxic. I will have to look into some alternatives if possible.

Overall it was a very informative inspection and visit. I look forward to working with some new materials and monitoring my energy usage with the electricity usage monitor.

Iceland or Bust

2011-10-07T13:39:00.000-07:00

I can’t believe that it in 3 weeks I will be in Iceland. Time just slips by so quickly. A lot of people have been asking about the residency and what I plan to do during my time there. So I thought I would share some of my plans and info about this adventure.

From the West coast it will take about 9 hours to get to Iceland with a 2 hour layover, they are also 8 hours ahead of PST so I will arrive at 6:45 AM - yuck. I am going over early so I can spend a few days doing the tourist thing in Reykjavik.

From Reykjavik I fly to Akureyri the second largest city in Iceland that is about 45 min away from Siglufjördur the northern most town in Iceland and home of the Herhús residency. I will be at the residency from Nov 2^nd – 27^th. Here is a little blurb from the residency website.

Herhús in Siglufjördur is a newly renovated artist-in-residence home and workshop located in the centre of town next to all service. The house, commonly referred to as Herhúsid (the Armyhouse) , belonged to the Salvation Army and many of the inhabitants in Siglufjordur cherish joyful memories from the meetings held there in the old days.

While there plan on focusing my energies on three main areas:

1) Photo weaving project: I will be brining lots of large scale 20x20 photos with me and hand weaving them while there. I will have all my supplies, X-ACTO knives, cutting mat, straight edge, ect to assist me with this project. I will also be creating some smaller pieces 8X8, 10X10. Since I don’t know if there are any printing facilities in town, I am planning on brining all of my prints with me. If I am lucky there will be somewhere I can get prints made of the photos I take while in Iceland.

2) An encaustic a day: I would like to make a small photo encaustic piece each day. This will allow me to practice my encaustic painting and have lots of new little 6x6 pieces for the holidays. I am in the process of making lots of encaustic medium to bring with me along with my hot plate and other tools.

3) Business Stuff: This is not always the fun stuff to work on but I will have time and it needs to be done. I would really like to put some proposal together for new exhibits, grants, and other art related stuff. I also just got a new artist business software GYST (short for Getting Your Sh*t Together) and plan on getting everything entered into that.

So there you have it, a brief overview of my plans. Sometimes it seems like a lot but it’s all I will be doing 24/7 for a month so I think it is doable. I do plan on taking some photo excursion and exploring my surroundings. I really hope to see the Northern Lights and interact with some of the locals.

My New Project – San Jose Creatives

2011-09-22T09:25:00.000-07:00

I am starting a new project that I am calling San Jose Creatives. It is a simple idea motivated by two things, the desire to showcase San Jose’s local creative community as well as the need to get it right when it comes to artist interviews.

The first reason is pretty self explanatory. Being a 4th generation San Jose native, this area and its creative community are important to me. We have so much talent here and I want to share that with everyone. I think the creative community needs to stick together and learn from each other. I want to feature a variety of creative talent, artists, designers, musicians, writers, makers, art supporters and anyone who lives a creative life.

The second reason is motivated by more selfish desires, but ones I know I share with other creative’s. This is the desire to be represented correctly in interviews or articles. Often we are misquoted, or our answers are taken out of context. The interviewer makes assumptions about our desires and creations and does not get a clear view of who we are. Other times they just ask bad or tasteless questions. Now, I am not saying all interviews are like this. I have had some really awesome interviews where I felt like the writer really got me and my work, did their homework and were genuinely interested. I do feel these good interviews are not necessarily the norm though.

So for these two reasons I am starting “San Jose Creatives” a blog and FB page that interviews the extremely talented creative community of San Jose. Everyone is asked the same 13 questions to gain insight into and find out what makes these individuals unique. The answers are not edited in any way. What is written by the individual is what I post. I will also include a picture of the person(s) and their work.

I have sent requests to about 20 people so far and already received a number of completed interviews back. What I have read so far has been great, so interesting and inspiring. It’s wonderful how you can always learn a little something about a person even if you thought you knew them already.

I am really excited about this project and have been getting really positive feedback. I plan to launch the first interview the beginning of October and the idea is to feature a new creative every two weeks. So if you are interested in being featured or know someone who might be just send me an email – sanjosecreatives@gmail.com

Busy Busy Bee Girl

2011-09-09T16:21:00.000-07:00

Life has been full of lots of wonderful things keeping me very, very, busy. Unfortunately I don’t think this is going to be a very exciting post. All of my brain energy is going into making art and jewelry and putting together the best exhibits & shows for everyone. So my blog will be suffering a bit. I promise I will write lots in Iceland. I just got my plane tickets so its super official now. Only about 7 weeks until I get to the land of fire and ice!

Here is what I have coming up:

SJMADE
Saturday & Sunday September 17^th & 18^th11:00am – 7:00pm
San Pedro Square Market
87 N. San Pedro St, San Jose, Ca
I will have a booth and be selling my feather and bullet jewelry

4th Annual Luna Park Chalk Art Festival
Saturday September 24^th
10:00am – 4:00pm
Backesto Park, San Jose, CA
I will have a booth and be selling my artwork and jewelry

Works Gallery
Members Exhibit
September 30 through October 22, 2011.
365 South Market Street, San José, CA

I will have a new hand woven photograph in this exhibit

Kanji Garden
October 30^th December 30^th66 South 1^st Street
Vacant Storefront Exhibit

Kanji Garden is a site specific installation made up of hundreds of hand dyed and folded books that were destined for the landfill.

Here is where you can see now:

Kaleid Gallery

Today I went over to Kaleid Gallery and added some new insect encaustic pieces. My wall is full and looks fabulous.

Saratoga Public Library

On Tuesday I hung select pieces from my Efflorescence series at the Saratoga Library in Saratoga. That show will be up until Oct 26^th.

Modern Eden Gallery

I currently have one mixed media piece at Modern Eden Gallery for their Memento Mori exhibit.

An artist’s rant

2011-08-28T08:30:00.000-07:00

Getting rejection letters/emails suck. Nobody likes them, the I’m sorry but… thank you but unfortunately… your work just doesn't…..There were so many great artists to choose from …….. we appreciate your submission but… It is just something that comes with the territory of being an exhibiting artist. We have to have thick skin and move on to the next thing.

Let me tell you what I think is worse than a rejection letter, being flat out ignored. Not getting a yes, no, drop dead or any response at all. It just drives me crazy. Yes, I know the curators, boards, directors, gallery or store owners are busy, but guess what, I am too. I took a lot of time to format my images to your exact specifications, to write a nice proposal, cover letter or any other documentation you required to even look at my submission. I met your deadlines, I did every song and dance requirement you asked for. The least you can do is respond; I don’t even care if it’s a form letter. That way I am not waiting, hoping or possibly putting something else on hold.

Now maybe these people don’t want to be mean, negative or make me feel bad as an artist. Well, I’m a big girl and I can handle it. It makes me feel a lot worse when I go to your website and find out that you chose other artists and didn’t have the consideration to inform the people you didn’t choose. It’s that simple really, it comes down to being considerate. It’s really not that difficult. So please, we are all professionals here. Let’s act like we are and communicate with respect and consideration.

I usually don’t like to be negative or rant and complain but this is something that really bothers me. Now that I have that off my chest we can get back to our regularly scheduled happy blog posts ;)

When life gives you books, make art

2011-08-11T20:29:00.001-07:00

Recently I saw a posting on the Bay Area Book Artists (BABA) discussion board from a publisher with a large quantity of books they were looking to donate. I contacted them inquiring what a large quantity actually was and it turns out it’s about 10,000. Well, I don’t think I need that many (although it is tempting) but they were willing to give me what I wanted. So I headed up to SF not knowing what I was getting myself into. I didn’t really ask any questions about size, color, topic etc. I generally have a que sera sera attitude on these things.

It turns out the writer and self publisher of the book passed away 10 years ago and his family has a mountain of books and wants them to go somewhere useful. They were such friendly and warn people and were so excited that some of the books were going to an artist.

From across a courtyard and down a basement I slowly transferred 21 boxes of books to my car. Neither my back nor my car was happy with me, but these are the sacrifices an artist must make plus the books were free.

So now I have 756, ½ inch 5x7 paperback books titled Understanding Kanji charters by their Ancestral Forms by Ping-gam Go. Initially I only intended to take a couple hundred books but after I saw how small and compact the boxes were I decided to fill my car.

So now what to do with my loot? I promised the family I would turn their loved ones books into something special and give them a new life. I have some thought rolling around in my head. More specifically a site specific installation for Phantom Galleries vacant storefront exhibit. I really don’t have much time to figure this out and work on the project. Actually, I install in about 17 days, just thinking about it is freaking me out a bit.

I am sure I will figure it out and along the way I thought it would be fun to document the process. Over the next couple of weeks I will be posting pictures of how it’s going.

2011-08-04T11:56:00.000-07:00

Recently I have been participating in a lot more outdoor, pop up and special art market/festival/fair type of events. I generally do not like to participate in the huge city art fairs. The booths are very expensive, the customer base isn’t always my demographic and a lot of times I don’t feel our creative and artistic philosophies line up. So I have been carefully choosing ones that I feel fit with my artwork, jewelry and creative philosophy. I especially like ones that are community based filled with real hard working artist who support each other.

They are still a lot of work, days and weeks of preparation go into a 4-6 hour event. It is a very different way of sharing my work with people. In a gallery or other exhibit setting people usually see my art and not me. It can be more difficult for them to connect with a piece without knowing its story or meeting the artist.

With an art event where I am manning my own booth I get to really talk to and interact with people. I can describe my art and inspirations. Give them more details and background on my process and specific pieces. I really get to connect with people. That is also a part of what makes it such hard work. Artists tend to be solitary creatures and I am definitely in that category. While I don’t have any issues with or phobias about socializing I tend to prefer being in my art studio.So being present, professional, and basically “on” for hours can be a bit draining. Don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining at all. I love a challenge and enjoy talking to people about my artwork. This is one of the reasons that I really enjoy this format of showing and selling my work. I just need a nice cold cocktail or two afterwards ;)

Here is a list of these types of event I will be participating in:

South First Fridays Art Walk and Street Market
An Indie DIY Urban Street Fair

Friday August 5th
7:00pm - 11:00pm
SoFA District San Jose, CA
South 1st Street between San Carlos and Reed

I will have my own booth that will be in front of Anno Domini Gallery. I will have lots of new encaustic & book pieces, copper electorformed art and jewelry and my upcycled bullet casing necklaces.

South First Fridays Art Walk and Street Market
An Indie DIY Urban Street Fair

Friday September 2nd
7:00pm - 11:00pm
SoFA District San Jose, CA
South 1st Street between San Carlos and Reed

I will have my own booth on first St. I will have lots of new encaustic pieces, copper electorformed art and jewelry and my upcycled bullet casing necklaces.

SJMADE
Saturday & Sunday September 17^th & 18^th
San Pedro Square Market
87 N. San Pedro St, San Jose, Ca 95110

I will have a booth and mainly be selling my jewelry

4th Annual Luna Park Chalk Festival
Saturday September 24th
10:00am - 4:00pm
Backesto Park, San Jose, CA

I will have a booth and mainly be selling my jewelry

Come and enjoy some amazing chalk artists, Aztec dancers and lots of arts and crafts. Proceeds benefit arts education in local schools. I will have my own booth at the Art Street Market and will be selling my original jewelry and artwork.

I hope you can make it out to once or more of these events and stop by to say hi.

SJMADE Table 2011

Studio Tour

2011-07-28T13:23:00.000-07:00

It has been approximately two years since I moved into my new art studio. Like many artist I created where ever I could find a space. In one house it was the dining room, in another it was a spare bedroom and there was even a pantry I created in. One of the necessities when we moved was that I had a dedicated studio space. I am so fortunate and blessed that we found such a perfect house with a little detached garage in the back yard. When we moved into our new home I was very excited about creating my very own art studio from scratch. I soon found out what a daunting task it would be. Sometimes having no limitations and constraints is a lot more difficult than working in a defined set of rules.

I knew I wanted to have specific working sections to the studio. I needed an office/business area, storage, wet/messy work area, tool section, display wall, etc. The challenges came with putting it all together and finding the right layout, furniture and supplies.

The first thing that happened was electricity, insulation, drywall, windows, and flooring. After all of those things were completed I had a blank canvas to work with. It took a while to get everything the way I wanted it and find the furniture that would work for my needs. Thank goodness for Ikea! Their kitchen counters and carts work perfectly for my needs and are relatively inexpensive compared to other options out there. Having open storage was really important to me as well because I really need to see everything I have. Slowly my studio started coming together and now it is pretty much perfect. I am sure over time it will change and evolve as I do, but I really can’t describe how happy I am with it. I love creating in there; I turn on my music, pull up the large roller door to let the light come pouring in and work away. I also love having the view of my garden and being able to run into the house if I want a snack or something.

I thought it would be nice to share my studio set up with you. I created an album on Flickr with photos of every section big and small. I have tried to include a title or description to explain each picture. I hope you enjoy it and that my studio inspires you to make a special place of your own to create in.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/amidon/sets/72157627281154972/

Before

After

In search of the Northern Lights

2011-07-06T20:36:00.000-07:00

Happy Summer ! I hope you are enjoying the warmer weather and longer days. This year has been so amazing for me, and it keeps getting better.

I am very excited to share that I have been invited to another artist residency. This November I will be heading out to Herhúsid Artist Residency in Siglufjördur Iceland, for a month. I know this residency will present unique physical and mental challenges with the average temperature in Nov at 30⁰F and only 4-6 hours of sunlight. But, I am really looking forward to experiencing the Northern Lights and the unique landscape of glaciers, volcanoes, waterfalls, geothermal springs, rolling pastures and much more.
My Silicon Valley Arts Council Fellowship Grant will assist me with airfare, food and art supplies. I have a couple of projects in mind to work on during my stay including continuing work on my hand hand woven photographs that I began in Costa Rica.
In addition to that wonderful news I also have two solo exhibits, one group exhibit and several art festival/fairs coming up.

I am excited to invite you to the following events:

Solo Exhibitions:
Solo Exhibition - Efflorescence Series
September 1st - October 30th
Saratoga Library
13650 Saratoga Avenue
Saratoga, CA
I will exhibiting select pieces from my Efflorescence Series
Solo Exhibition - Wax Libris
September 1st - October 30^th
Cafe Trieste
315 S 1st St
San Jose, CA
I will be exhibiting all new encaustic book art pieces

Group Exhibition:

Memento Mori
Opening Reception on August 20th, 2011
Modern Eden Gallery
403 Francisco st.
San Francisco, CA
I will have one new encaustic piece in this show. Modern Eden also carries my upcycled bullet jewelry

Art Fairs & Festivals:

STREET MRKT - First Fridays Art Walk
Friday August 5^th
7:00pm – 10:00pm
SoFA District (So. First Street between San Carlos and E. Reed streets)
I will have a booth and be selling my artwork and jewelry

STREET MRKT - First Fridays Art Walk
Friday September 2nd
7:00pm – 10:00pm
First Fridays Art Walk
SoFA District (So. First Street between San Carlos and E. Reed streets)
I will have a booth and be selling my artwork and jewelry

SJMADE
Saturday & Sunday September 17^th & 18^th
San Pedro Square Market
I will have a booth and be selling my jewelry

4th Annual Luna Park Chalk Art Festival
Saturday September 24^th
10:00am – 4pm
Backesto Park, San Jose, CA

Come and enjoy some amazing chalk artists, Aztec dancers and lots of arts and crafts. Proceeds benefit arts education in local schools
I will have a booth and be selling my artwork and jewelry

The Business Side of Art - Keeping Track of Everything

2011-06-23T15:26:00.000-07:00

No artist likes to deal with the paperwork or the business side of creativity. The fact is, it is a necessary evil if you actually want to exhibit and sell your artwork. More and more artists are self represented and independent. More and more galleries are relying on artists to do a lot more than create their artwork. So I think it is time for me to take the plunge.

The longer I create and the more I sell the more apparent it becomes that I need a good art business management software system. I have many steno pads with inventory info scribbled down, spreadsheets created that I attempt to maintain, several versions of my resume all saved in different places and lots of file folders stuffed full of important paperwork. Although the initial start up will be lots of work I am confident that once I get everything in one place and managed by one system my business burden will be a lot less.

While doing some research online I came across a few different Blogs that were really informative in terms of comparing the different software systems. While I know there will be no perfect one, there are a few that I think will work. What I would really like is a cloud or web based system that I can access from anywhere on any devise. Maybe one day

This is a great post from 2011 that compares the pros and cons of 7 different software systems. It even has some screen shots.
http://erinsparler.com/blog/2011/03/software-for-artists/

This is a pretty old Blog from 2007 but still has some relevant info
http://blog.natdickinson.com/2007/12/back-to-business-art-business-that-is.html

One thing to note is that these programs are not for bookkeeping/ accounting, that’s a whole other software program L

I will keep you posted on which one I choose and how it works out.

SubZERO

2011-06-01T10:26:00.001-07:00

I am so excited about SubZERO this year. I will be there selling and exhibiting my vintage book sculptures, copper electorforms and my popular upcycled bullet jewelry. My booth will be right in front of Gallery AD and Eulipia Restaurant. I hope you can stop by and say hello.

Here are just a few of the other awesome things that will be going on that night:

Lots of live music with 3 different stages
Tons of talented artist like Lacey Bryant, Michael Foley, Bugs and Monsters, Joshua Marcott, & MejiaArts
Fashion shows and performance art
ArtCar Fest
Better Brew Tasting Garden
Lost Village half pipe
San Jose Taiko
Silicon Valley Roller Girls
SJEats Moveable Feast Trucks
South Bay Music Swap
Zine Party
Fashion including jewelry by Kerfufle & Clothing brought to you by The Usuals & Empire Vintage

Best of all, it's a FREE event!

I really hope you can come out and support San Jose and all of its talent.

FRIDAY JUNE 3, 2011 from 6pm-midnight
SoFA district in downtown San Jose
(on South First Street between San Carlos & Reed Streets)

http://www.subzerofestival.com/stages-2011.html

Reason #1 - Viewing art gives same pleasure as being in love

2011-05-20T10:35:00.000-07:00

It’s going to be a beautiful weekend. Get out of the house, and enjoy the day. Time experiencing art is time well spent. Researchers from University College London have discovered that the same part of the brain that is excited when you fall for someone romantically is stimulated when you stare at great works of beauty.

Viewing art triggers a surge of the feel-good chemical, dopamine, into the orbito-frontal cortex of the brain, resulting in feelings of intense pleasure. Dopamine and the orbito-frontal cortex are both known to be involved in desire and affection and in invoking pleasurable feelings in the brain. It is a powerful affect often associated with romantic love.

I would love to see you this weekend at my Open Studio

Saturday and Sunday May 21st & 22nd
11:00am - 5:00pm
492 Arleta Ave
San Jose, CA
Cross Street Scott

#2 - There is Something for Everyone

2011-05-19T09:17:00.000-07:00

Original art, unique jewelry, prints, cards, and home décor, I have it all. You’re sure to find something completely unique and one of a kind. Unsure about purchasing artwork? Start out with something small like an archival print or a one of a kind piece of jewelry.

Peruvian Lillies Fine Art Print

Copper Electroformed Sea Urchin

Pink Tourmaline and Upcycled Bullet Necklace

Feather and Upcycled Bullet Earrings

Reason # 3 - Set Yourself Apart from the Crowd:

2011-05-18T08:59:00.000-07:00

Set Yourself Apart from the Crowd:
Help defeat the big box mentality! A lot of people only buy posters of famous artists or assembly line artwork that everyone else has from department stores. Purchasing original artwork from a contemporary artist or crafts person sets you apart and shows that you have the confidence to know what you like. It’s a wonderful feeling to connect and grow with a piece of original artwork that nobody else has.

Silicon Valley Open Studios
Saturday May 21st & Sunday May 22nd
11:00am - 12:00pm

Shannon's Art Studio
492 Arleta Ave
San Jose, CA 95128

http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=189108237801920

Reason # 4 - Be an Artist for a Few Hours

2011-05-17T08:30:00.000-07:00

Create and Take Home your Very Own Artwork:

I will have an all ages, complementary, hands on cyanotype making station. I will provide all of the supplies for anyone who wants to participate to create and take home one 4x6 cyanotpye on watercolor paper.

Even if you don't think of yourself as creative you can still try your hand at making art. A cyanotype is a photographic printing process using the sun that gives a cyan-blue print.

Saturday and Sunday May 21st & 22nd
11:00am - 5:00pm
492 Arleta Ave
San Jose, CA
Cross Street Scott

Queen Annes Lace

Nude in Lead Frame

For more info about my Open Studio or to RSVP go to
http://www.facebook.com/?sk=lf#!/event.php?eid=189108237801920

Let the countdown begin!

2011-05-16T09:00:00.000-07:00

5 days until my Open Studio and each day a new reason you should go.

Reason # 5 - Get a Behind the Scenes Look:
Have you ever wondered about the glamorous life of an artist? Come by and see where all the magic happens. You can check out my work space, supplies, inspirations and more. Got questions? Curious about how I create things? Learn about me and my art in a relaxed and fun environment.

My messy studio counter

Me being interviewed on TV

Top Ten Reasons to Buy Art From a Living Breathing Artist:

2011-05-10T18:07:00.000-07:00

I came across this wonderful blog post from Sarah Bush and had to share it.

Top Ten Reasons to Buy Art From a Living Breathing Artist:

1.Hang art in your home and surround yourself with images that reflect your taste, define who you are, and resonate deeply for a long time. As with a good book or a great piece of music, your relationship with a work of art can develop and change over the course of a lifetime.

2.Support the Arts: Supporting an artist by buying their artwork is directly, positively affecting the stability of the arts in the United States. A lot more middle class, regular people buy contemporary art in Europe…when you buy a work of art or fine craft, you’re having a serious, positive impact on the health of the arts in your community and the country as a whole.

3.Become a Collector–make your own mark by collecting art you care about that speaks to you. Building a collection is a unique creative act in and of itself–one you can enjoy over time and hand down to the next generation.

4.Set Yourself Apart from the Crowd:  Most people don’t buy art or only buy posters of famous art instead. Buying artwork from a contemporary artist or craftsperson really sets you apart and shows you have the confidence to know what you like before it’s been sanctioned by museums or some other higher authority.

5.A work of art is a unique and passionate creation, which not only reflects the soul of the artist, but your soul as well, because you chose it. (This one, and the next two, are paraphrased from Mary Baker’s site, who I thought did a great job of expressing why someone should buy a work of art.)

6.Works of art can inspire your life and have the power to nurture and strengthen the spirit.

7.Be a part of the mystery: almost every artist will tell you that they don’t have complete control of their art–it has a life of its own that must be respected and listened to. Connecting to a work of art is connecting to the larger mystery of life.

8.The thrill of the hunt: Enjoy the enriching experience of developing your artistic taste–develop your own eye for up-and-coming artists or crafters, or support one or two artists whose work really speaks to you.

9.Get back in touch with your own creative self.
Most people don’t make things anymore, but this wasn’t always true, and our primal selves are all creative, hands on mammals who first began to express themselves to connect with the magic of the universe, to decorate their world, and to make their mark. Buying art and living with it every day reconnects you to that self.

10.Discover someone.

New Work

2011-04-24T20:04:00.000-07:00

I have been working on a new series of hand woven photographs. The series began during my residency in Costa Rica this past December. There are two main components to the pieces. The first component is the photographs; I take them spontaneously wherever I happen to see a piece of nature that catches my eye. I incorporate the sidewalk or flooring around me as the background. The second component is the presentation. I hand weave the photographs into paper tapestries. Using a variety of weaving techniques and patterns I hand weave two identical photos into one. The process can take hours depending on the size and weaving details. After I finish weaving each piece I dip them into a bees wax encaustic.

I am really enjoying the experimentation, using different size strips and incorporating different materials and patterns. I will be exhibiting these pieces for the first time at Open Studios this year which is May 21st & 22nd 11am-5pm.

Below you can see a piece in progress

Feature Article in the Silicon Valley Metro

2011-04-18T09:49:00.000-07:00

Recently I was interviewed by Cat Johnson a writer for the Silicon Valley Metro. The article is out in this weeks Metro and it is wonderful, I absolutely love it.
FOR Shannon Amidon, artistic inspiration is often found right outside her door. The multitalented photographer, designer and jewelry maker, who has made quite a splash locally with her feather-and-bullet-shell earrings, and was recently announced as one of the 2011 recipients of an Artist Fellowship Grant by the Arts Council Silicon Valley for her photography, attributes her creative inspiration to the organic objects that she finds on hikes and walks around town or just exploring her yard.

“I find the complexity of nature so inspirational and fascinating,” she says while showing me around her San Jose workspace. “That’s the inspiration for everything.”

Amidon’s studio, which houses a host of curiosities—claws, stones, fossils, feathers, doll heads, pods, shells, skulls and much more—alongside distressed photographs, bins of art and jewelry-making supplies and an abundant collection of tools, is an open door into the creative mind of an exceptional artist with a talent for re-framing nature. Read More Here

Silicon Valley Arts Council Fellowship Award

2011-04-08T17:46:00.000-07:00

I am humbled and honored to announce that I have been chosen as one of the 2011 Silicon Valley Arts Council Fellowship Awards recipients.

To read the full press prelease go to: http://artscouncil.org/sites/artscouncil.org/file/ArtistFellowship2011PRfinal.pdf
San Jose, CA, April 6, 2011 – Arts Council Silicon Valley today announced the five recipients of Artist Fellowship Grants for their ground-breaking contributions to the arts in Santa Clara County. This year’s recipients are: Shannon Amidon, San Jose, (Photography); Terry Berlier, La Honda, (Sculpture); David Perez, Campbell, (Spoken Word); PJ Hirabayashi, San Jose, (Music Performance); and, Karen Gabay, San Jose, (Choreography).
Now celebrating its 20th anniversary of recognizing local professional artists, the Arts Council annually awards Artist Fellowships to exceptional artists to enable them to continue to pursue their creative work. Fellowships of $4,000 each are awarded in up to six artistic categories. Artists were selected by experienced judges based upon the artistic quality and originality of work, community impact during the past three years within Santa Clara County, and professional development by demonstrating continued exploration of their art form. Arts Council Silicon Valley is the only funding agency south of San Francisco that awards artists unrestricted grants for career accomplishments.
“As the Artist Fellowship Program observes its 20th anniversary, we are proud to once again recognize outstanding artists who consistently strive to push the boundaries of artistic excellence in their creative pursuits,” said Nancy Glaze, Interim Executive Director, Arts Council Silicon Valley. “This year’s 2011 Artist Fellowship grantees exemplify the highest standards of this program and we are honored to help support their creative journeys.”

Book Review - Ignore Everybody

2011-04-03T06:36:00.000-07:00

Ignore Everybody and 39 Other Keys to Creativity by Hugh MacLeod
I really enjoyed this little book. I first listened to it on a long drive and when I got back home promptly ordered a hard copy of the book for reference and reminders. It is short, sweet and to the point at 157 pages with a lot of illustrations.

There are a lot of books about creativity and motivation out there but most of them don’t seem to be based in reality. The reality that a lot of artist have day jobs, the reality is that you have to work your ass off if you really want something bad enough. Don’t get me wrong some of these other books are good but as a working artist I can’t always subscribe to the idea that if you ask the universe or say your mantras everyday that everything you want will come to you. You also need to put in the work.

MacLeod’s book is based in reality. He talks about putting in the work, commercial vs. artistic and many other relevant ideas. There are so many little gems in this book. One of my favorite keys is 25 – Don’t worry about finding inspiration. It comes eventually. Inspiration precedes the desire to create, not the other way around.

Below are his 39 keys to creativity and you can read 25% of the book on his blog http://gapingvoid.com/ie
1. Ignore everybody.
2. The idea doesn’t have to be big. It just has to be yours.
3. Put the hours in.
4. If your biz plan depends on you suddenly being “discovered” by some big shot, your plan will probably fail.
5. You are responsible for your own experience.
6. Everyone is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergarten.
7. Keep your day job.
8. Companies that squelch creativity can no longer compete with companies that champion creativity.
9. Everybody has their own private Mount Everest they were put on this earth to climb.
10. The more talented somebody is, the less they need the props.
11. Don’t try to stand out from the crowd; avoid crowds altogether.
12. If you accept the pain, it cannot hurt you.
13. Never compare your inside with somebody else’s outside.
14. Dying young is overrated.
15. The most important thing a creative person can learn professionally is where to draw the red line that separates what you are willing to do, and what you are not.
16. The world is changing.
17. Merit can be bought. Passion can’t.
18. Avoid the Watercooler Gang.
19. Sing in your own voice.
20. The choice of media is irrelevant.
21. Selling out is harder than it looks.
22. Nobody cares. Do it for yourself.
23. Worrying about “Commercial vs. Artistic” is a complete waste of time.
24. Don’t worry about finding inspiration. It comes eventually.
25. You have to find your own schtick.
26. Write from the heart.
27. The best way to get approval is not to need it.
28. Power is never given. Power is taken.
29. Whatever choice you make, The Devil gets his due eventually.
30. The hardest part of being creative is getting used to it.
31. Remain frugal.
32. Allow your work to age with you.
33. Being Poor Sucks.
34. Beware of turning hobbies into jobs.
35. Savor obscurity while it lasts.
36. Start blogging.
37. Meaning Scales, People Don’t.
38. When your dreams become reality, they are no longer your dreams.
39. None of this is rocket science

Best Bullet-Shell Earrings

2011-03-11T14:51:00.000-08:00

Wonderful news!
I am in Metro’s Best of Silicon Valley Issue, page 94 - Shannon Amidon "Best Bullet-Shell Earrings"
Here is a link to the online version it’s on page 94. http://www.metropdf.com/metrosiliconvalley.html

Opening Reception

2011-02-27T11:22:00.000-08:00

Join me for South FIRST FRIDAYS Art Walk March 4th! - It's an eclectic evening of arts and culture in downtown San Jose's SoFA District (& beyond)! Venues are open 7pm-11pm & are free of charge

Artist's Reception- Phosphene Series: Hand Painted Polaroid Emulsion Lifts by Shannon Amidon
Good Karma
37 South First Street
San Jose, CA
7pm

Phosphene is an entoptic phenomenon characterized by the experience of seeing light without light actually entering the eye. Flashes of light, often caused by rubbing the closed eyes. These images were created by hand painting blank 35mm slides. Polaroid pull-a-part prints were created using a vintage slide printer. The prints were boiled in water and the emulsion was carefully removed and placed onto watercolor paper. Each emulsion print is hand manipulated and one of a kind.

For full listing of events and information: please visit http://www.southfirstfridays.com/ or call
408-271-5155

Media Sponsor: Metro Newspapers

Enjoy FREE PEDICAB RIDES between art venues courtesy of South First Fridays and Eco City Cycles!

Bullets and Feathers

2011-02-25T12:49:00.000-08:00

Check out this weeks Metro Silicon Valley page 80 to see artist Charlotte Kruk wearing a pair of earrings from my Bullets and Feathers line. Charlotte creates amazing wearable art out of candy and food wrappers.

Click on the image for a closer look

Interview for the Style Section

2011-02-24T16:28:00.000-08:00

Cat Johnson a freelance writer and photographer came out to my studio today to interview me about my jewelry lines. The article will be in the Silicon Valley Metro newspaper the beginning of April. I will be sure post it when it comes out.
It was a great interview; I always enjoy talking with people and sharing my process and inspirations. She made me feel very comfortable, asked great questions and took a bunch of pictures. You can check out her other articles at http://www.catjohnson.wordpress.com or http://www.houseofcat.net

You can see my original, one of a kind jewelry inspired by natural history here : http://www.etsy.com/shop/ShannonAmidon

Peacock Feather & Bullet EaringCoyote Tooth and Bullet Necklace

Copper Electroformed Muskrat Skull

TV Time

2011-02-17T15:34:00.000-08:00

If you would like to watch my Talk Art episode you can see it streaming live during the times below.

Sun,Feb 20th 7:30pm "TALK ART– Shannon Amidon- Insects, Puzzles & Plants"
Mon,Feb 21st 5:30am "TALK ART– Shannon Amidon- Insects, Puzzles & Plants"
Mon,Feb 21st 11:00am "TALK ART– Shannon Amidon- Insects, Puzzles & Plants"
Wed,Feb 23rd 10:30pm "TALK ART– Shannon Amidon- Insects, Puzzles & Plants"
Thu,Feb 24th 5:00am "TALK ART– Shannon Amidon- Insects, Puzzles & Plants"
Thu,Feb 24th 1:30pm "TALK ART– Shannon Amidon- Insects, Puzzles & Plants"

At the designated time you can go to http://www.communitymediacenter.net/watch/stream/ You should see a little video player and next to it will say “Channel 27: Arts, Issues & Entertainment” Click on play to watch the live stream. Since this is a live stream there is no pausing, rewinding, etc. The program runs for 30 min. I will also be posting it up on YouTube in a couple of weeks.

If you want to see some behind the scenes photos go to:http://www.flickr.com/photos/amidon/sets/72157626025499634/
Hope you enjoy.

Bibliophile Book Reviews

2011-02-14T19:20:00.000-08:00

I am a self proclaimed bibliophile. I love books, reading, collecting, and sharing them. I have a huge collection of physical books and a growing collection of digital books. They are my treasures, my escape, and my teachers. As an artist a huge part of my collection are books about artists and techniques. They give me ideas and inspirations as well as teach me new processes. Some books are better than others, although I always try and find some kernel of wisdom in each. So what is this post all about you ask? Well, I have decided to start reviewing these books and sharing my thoughts about them with you. These are not going to be in-depth professional reviews, just my thoughts and opinions on the books. I am not trying to endorse or tear down any book; I am just attempting to share my observations. I hope you enjoy.

Title: Encaustic with a Textile Sensibility
Author: Daniella Woolf

This is a very nice 8.5x11 paperback book. The book features 23 different artists who use encaustic and fiber in their artwork. The pictures are beautiful, great color and details. They are very inspiring and good for getting ideas and viewing different techniques. Each artist gets about 3 ½ full color pages for their artwork and ½ a page of text. The texts length varies anywhere from 1 small paragraph to 5 paragraphs. Although I love the pictures I would have liked more in the way of text. The text consists of statements about the artwork directly from the artist. While it can be interesting to learn about an artist’s motivation and intent I would have liked more content about their process. I know this is not meant to be an instructional book but always appreciate more of an interview format that reveals more. I enjoyed the portrait of each artist in their respective sections. This gives you a more personal connection with the creator and artwork. The index of artists with their website and contact info at the back of the book is a great addition as well that allows for more exploring.

Me on TV

2011-01-30T12:26:00.000-08:00

I have some great news to share. I am going to be on TV! I am going to be the guest artist on “Talk Art” a local community access television show featuring current art events and notable local artists. Their mission is to give artists another venue to present and discuss their art outside of showing in the studio or gallery. It is broadcast to 4,887,000 homes in total throughout the Bay Area and New York.

I am really excited and nervous. There is lots of preparation involved; in addition to getting images and artwork together I have to think about hair, makeup, clothing, etc. It is live to tape (so now retakes) and has a live studio audience. My taping will be Feb 10th, 8pm to 11pm and is open to anyone who wants to come down and watch. For info on being in the studio audience go to: http://www.svtalkart.org/Talk_Art_TV/tv_show_direction.htm. I am not sure when it will be aired yet but I will defiantly post that info when I get it.

SJMade Vendor Faire

2011-01-23T19:46:00.000-08:00

Please join me this Saturday for SJMade.
SAN JOSE MADE is a one-day event comprised of local storeowners, makers, artists, and purveyors of San Jose made and inspired goods. We make good stuff here in San Jose, so you should come check-this-out!

I will be showing and selling my original, one of a kind jewelry inspired by natural history

SJMade Vendor Faire
Saturday, January 29 ·
1:00pm - 7:00pm
151 W. Santa Clara St
San Jose, CA

For more info check out
http://sjmade.squarespace.com/vendors

Don’t forget Valentines Day will be here soon, get your loved one a unique, locally made, awesome gift.

Two Buck Tuesdays

2011-01-13T08:26:00.000-08:00

Join me next Tuesday at Kaleid Gallery for Two Buck Tuesdays. I will be demonstrating painting encaustic techniques. See below for the line up of other wonderful artist and speakers on that night.

Two Buck Tuesday January 18th 7-9pm
Happy 2011!
Our monthly $2 art sale and quirky people coming-together event is back for the new year and we have tons of goodies for you!

J. Marie Valdivia & Mike Dvorkin of Surgery.Art (along with several of their participating artists) will host a Q&A about their current show “Dark Matter” at KALEID Gallery. www.kaleidgallery.com/

Joe Decker will demonstrate how to photograph paintings and other artwork, talking about lighting and filtering issues, avoiding reflections, getting the color right, and coping with digital issues. There may also be a rant about metallic paint.
www.rockslidephoto.com/photographing-artwork/

Reiji Hirayama will teach us how shoes are made, how to identify quality shoes and will give a demo on how to properly clean leather shoes to make them last. Bring a pair of shoes (non-lacquered or patent calf, bull or horse leather shoes in Black, Brown, Tan, Grey, Burgundy, Red, Navy, Purple, Heather) to participate!

Richard James will talk about his love of collage and the endless possibilities presented by the art form.

Michael Denning will teach a workshop on how to make art trading cards. Make your own art cards for $2!
www.heartofchaos.net/chaosblog/?page_id=244

Shannon Amidon will give a live demonstration of encaustic painting and mixed media techniques. Encaustic is a paint composed of beeswax, damar resin and pigments. Encaustic painting was practiced by Greek artists as far back as the 5th century B.C.!
www.shannonamidon.com

Lisa Mejia will create beautiful henna designs for a small fee.
Sonoma Walden Pond will host a vegan tea complete with cucumber sandwiches!
J Swizza will spin some sweet indie records.
David Mejia will be drawing portraits while you wait.

Marilyn Rowe will be recruiting yarnbombers.

Insane Craft Posse will hold a surprise crafting workshop! http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_120938521295733
Live Painting By:
Kimy Martinez
Erikka Hugger
Jehoiakim Santos
Steven Reece
Jimmy Oliver Halverson
Jean Davis
Jo Anne Yada
Courtney
Laura Callin Bennett

This event if FREE & all ages welcome!
KALEID Gallery
88 South 4th Street
Downtown San Jose
www.KALEIDgallery.com
(408) 947 1785

Making Art in Costa Rica

2011-01-07T10:32:00.000-08:00

Here is a time lapse video of a day in the studio in Costa Rica. I work better in the morning in my pajamas, so I put vanity aside to show you what I do.

Artist Residency Wrap up

2011-01-01T15:45:00.001-08:00

I have been home a few days now and slowly starting to get back into my routine. Although I was sad to leave the colony I am enjoying the creature comforts of home. While all of them are not needed they are all appreciated, especially my amazing bed and super hot shower. Being bug free is great too.

I am truly grateful for the residency experience. To be able to have uninterrupted time to focus on my craft in a peaceful and beautiful setting is priceless. I began this journey planning all of the things I wanted to accomplish. I set expectations for myself of what I would create and do. Then I got to Costa Rica and the universe had other plans for me. At first I struggled and felt lost. The hours and days would drag on and inspiration wouldn’t come and I would try and force myself to create. I just went through the motions, starting piece after piece without finishing or feeling passionate about any of them. Time was constantly on my mind, I kept reminding myself that I only had 4 weeks and I must do something. After toiling with these issues for a week I decided to just let go. Part of being an artist is “filling the well” and that’s what I decided to do, no longer fighting with my muse or mind and just enjoy my surroundings. Some days I did nothing at all, didn’t even get out of bed. I read a lot and researched different techniques or topics that were interesting to me. I swam and walked, took in the sites and just enjoyed myself. I realized that this is really what I needed as an artist. This has been a difficult year full of highs and very low lows and through it all I just kept pushing myself. As my family and friends know I never really stop, I am extremely prolific and usually have several projects going at one time in addition to my “day job”. I don’t feel at ease unless I am being productive or planning something. I do know how to relax and have fun but even then the wheels are still turning. This residency forced me to stop, to do nothing and be mindful. Like I said it was very difficult at first, but it all turned out for the best.

After that first week time flew by. I slowly started working on projects that interested me. One of those projects was taking portraits of the local plant life. It was so abundant and beautiful I felt the need to capture it. I didn’t take pictures in the traditional way of the plant or flower in its natural environment. Instead I brought it into my studio with special lighting and really focused on it as an individual piece. After I had the photos I then began experimenting with a paper weaving technique. I printed two copies of the photo out onto watercolor paper. I then cut strips into one vertically and one horizontally and then weaved them together. After the weaving was done I dipped the finished picture into encaustic wax to seal it and give it a softer look. I must say that I really like the results of this technique and plan to complete a series of them. The act of weaving the photos could take a long time depending on the size and was very meditative and relaxing.

The second major project I worked on was my “Thought Pods” I found and collected lots of interesting seed pods around the colony. I wanted to use them in some way in my work. I also had brought some old books to work on book art projects. I combined the seed pods, book pages, and encaustic in interesting ways to create what I call “Thought Pods”. These were fun to create, I love books and writing and try to incorporate them into my work when possible. It was also messy and sculptural work witch was enjoyable.

I had a revitalizing experience at the colony and even came home with a good amount of finished artwork. I am eager to attend another artist residency, although it probably won’t be for a while due to life and its responsibilities.

I want to truly thank everyone who helped make this experience possible. All of my family, friends and art patrons who have always been there and supported my work and adventures, without you these journeys would not be possible.

Here are some samples of my photo weaves. I will be posting more soon.

Merry Christmas! Feliz Navidad!

2010-12-25T17:11:00.000-08:00

Currently working on art and listening to Elvis sing me Christmas carols. I had a great Christmas, Willy and Pat who live at the colony permanently had a wonderful Christmas lunch for all of the artist and residents. It was a lovely meal with great company. They even gave us wonderful classical music CDs for presents. Everyone hear has been so kind and friendly, it has really been such a wonderful experience. I do miss my family & friends and our more traditional holiday rituals but changing things up is always good. Plus it makes you really appreciate what you have.

My Costa Rican Christmas Tree

A few days in the North

2010-12-24T14:40:00.000-08:00

Early Sunday morning I boarded the Interbus (which is actually a van that seats 10) heading up North. I had contemplated renting a car and doing the 2.5 hour drive but renting a car here is a production. They want a $1,000.00 deposit, you have to get their insurance, most of the cars are manual and they never seem to have the compact cars in inventory so the only option is a 4x4 that costs double the price. After a few hours online and on the phone I opted for Interbus and I was really glad I did. Interbus is a company that picks people up from their hotel and drives them to their destination. It is cheaper than cabs or renting a car and there was only 2.5 other passengers in the van. It was a very beautiful ride up and our driver was really nice and played tour guide a bit on the drive. About half way through we stopped for sodas and bathroom breaks at a little souvenir shop.

I was dropped off at my tree house hotel around 11:00am. Yes, I said tree house. The Tree House Hotel is a bed and breakfast hotel with 5 tree houses (each very private) on 8 acres and surrounded by a 70 acre wildlife refuge with a waterfall and river. It was incredible. I was a bit early since check in is at 3pm so I took a walk/hike on the property. There are tons of fruit trees – star fruit, mangos, cacao, breadfruit, etc. It was very hot and humid and there were lots of mosquitoes. I wasn’t prepared with this first walk so I was a nice little snack for the rainforest insects. I am currently sporting many quite attractive red bumps all over. I prefer to think of them as nature body art.

The whole place was extremely beautiful, peaceful and relaxing. When I returned about 1.5 hours later my tress house was ready. I stayed in the Toucan house, its two stories and small but comfortable. There was a nice little deck with table and chairs out front. Inside there is a full size bed, on one side of it is there is a shower room and the other side is the bathroom. Both have closing doors and everything but are open to the outside protected by a screen. Up the latter to the second floor was a little loft type area with another bed. Every time you walked or moved really the whole tree house would sway. It almost felt like I was on a boat.

The first day was kind of laid back since I didn’t have any excursions planned. Walked to a little bar/restaurant down the street and enjoyed some Casique, it's known as the liquor of Costa Rica, and is made with sugar cane. It's very similar to rum. The owner of the hotel recommended an Italian restaurant for dinner. Juliani the owner is from Italy and makes wonderful Italian food and has a wood fire pizza oven. He was also kind enough to pick me up since I didn’t have a car.
The second day I woke up to the loud sounds of the rainforest, including howler monkeys. I enjoyed a great breakfast of coconut French toast and fruit surrounded by tons of beautiful birds. Around the outdoor eating area hang several hummingbird feeders and wooden pillars with fruit on them. All of the birds fly around eating and playing while you eat. It was really quite spectacular with several different kinds of hummingbirds, Amazon Kingfishers, Blue Crowned Mot Mots, and many other species. A few hours later there were a family of howler monkeys hanging out in the tress and I got a pretty good view of them.

Around 2pm some of the other hotel guest and I went on a trip to the Arenal volcano. We were picked up by our tour guide who drove about 45 minutes to Arenal National Park. It was pouring rain when we got there; thank goodness I had a portable poncho with me. We started our walk up the side of the volcano, this is an active volcano I might add. About half way through our hike it cleared up and became to hot for the poncho. We had a great view of the volcano that is usually shrouded in clouds. Unfortunately there was no rumbling or lava action. We made our way back down and headed for Baldi hot springs. There are many hot mineral springs in the area that are heated by the volcano. This place, as with many of the other springs are tourist Mecca’s. It was like a cross between Disney and Vegas. There are about 8 different hot spring pools that are different temperatures. A few of them have swim up bars and there is even a waterslide at the top pool. It wasn’t very natural or relaxing as they had the loudest Mexican pop music blasting throughout the whole place and had more people than I prefer. I did enjoy the 113 degree pool though - muy caliente! I will spare the more boring details of having to pay for towels, getting dressed in a semi open locker-room and the buffet dinner. Overall it was a fun experience but I would prefer something a little less commercial.

We got back to the tree house around 10:45pm. When we arrived the night watchman was waiting for us at the gate. He is a bit of a nature enthusiast and took us on an impromptu night tour of the property. We saw several three toed sloths and lots of frogs. I don’t know how but this man can spot almost anything in the dark. It was a great way to end the evening.

This post is getting very long so I am going to wrap it up by saying I really enjoyed the Arenal area. The climate and landscape are a lot different than the colony. It was a great side trip that reinvigorated my creative spirit. I am happy to be back to my studio though.

Howler Monkey

Arenal Volcano The Tree House

Interbus

Thought Pods

2010-12-16T14:55:00.001-08:00

Had a productive day in the studio today. During one of my walks I found these great seed pods. I am not sure what they are but I decided to create “ Thought Pods” using vintage book pages and encaustic wax.

I wanted to capture the wind

2010-12-15T08:12:00.000-08:00

I made paper kites with plastic bag tales
Tied them to a palm tree
Recorded the wind whipping them around for 10 minutes with time lapse camera
Condensed down to 15 seconds

Week 2 Update

2010-12-14T18:07:00.000-08:00

The weather has been a bit crazy, it usually is between 74F-78F and lately in the evenings it has been getting down to 70. The crazy part has been the winds and they have been spectacular; they are so strong and loud. It is really hard to describe them but there is no ignoring them, they are like the birds and insects - a part of everyday life here. It’s wonderful to just watch the way the tress and bamboo groves sway and listen to the thrashing and creaking. They even made the power go out in the whole town for a while the other night.

I have been to town a few more times for supplies and found a nice little restaurant/café- Maya Cafe. They serve a variety of food from curry to bruschetta. It’s very small, just 3 tables and a counter where you can sit and watch them cook the food. It’s a nice little reminder of home and I know it will be a regular stop for me when in town. It is also a nice break from eating beans, rice, cheese and bread. On Sunday I went to a really interesting art lodge and restaurant called Corteza Amarilla with Gaylord – poet from Tennessee and Lorraine – Artist from Rhode Island. The décor is wonderful, shoe chandeliers, record trees and everything is mosaic. We had a great evening out, it was nice to get away from the colony for a bit and interact with people.

Today I finally got up the nerve to take the public bus to San Jose. It was an interesting ride, less than $1.00 and took about 45 min. One observation about the people here, they seem to keep to themselves and don’t smile or make eye contact with you. That is until you speak to them, and then they are wonderful and helpful. Several times I have had to ask for directions or if I was getting on the correct bus and I have always been met with kindness. They don’t really have addresses here so it can get confusing getting around. After getting off the bus and walking in a few circles I made it to the Plaza De La Cultura and then to the Museos del Banco Central De Costa Rica. At the museum they had a Pre- Columbian gold, Numismatics (study or collection of currency) and a temporary exhibit of Felo Garcia. I particularly like the paintings of Felo Garcia and even picked up a catalog of his work. After the museum I got a churro, coffee and taxi ride back to the colony. The sky was dark and it was cold and I didn’t want to deal with trying to find the bus to get back. I would say that San Jose is very similar to San Francisco, lots of people, street vendors, tourist attractions, and crazy cabs.

The art has been slow going. I have been taking lots of pictures, and collecting a lot of specimens. I just haven’t been producing that much. I have been reading and researching a lot, absorbing the nature around me and trying to find my inspiration. In a way I feel that I am at a crossroads with my art and I am trying to figure out which path I want to take. With that there has been a lot of reflecting going on. The book I am reading Art Without Compromise by Wendy Richmond has been a wonderful tool and very beneficial on this journey.

On a lighter note, not working my “day” job, waking up with the sunrise and drinking Costa Rican coffee with the birds, doing what ever I want – when ever I want, and having this time to develop and nurture my creativity has been awesome and a true blessing.

Oh, and I think I am getting payback for my extensive insect collection at home. The huge spiders, flying, crawling and jumping bugs, millipedes and lizards have been driving me crazy! They are everywhere all the time. Thank goodness I am not squeamish about them and that I have a handy bug extractor living with me. All spottings are being documented and will be made into a lovely photo collage at the end of this trip.

Panorama of the trail I walk everyday (click to enlarge) Me at the Maya Cafe enjoying a Coke Zero

The Sketchbook Project

2010-12-10T17:59:00.000-08:00

I am participating in "The Sketchbook Project". Each artist has a theme (mine is Secret Codes) and they are sent a blank sketchbook. In March the sketchbooks will go on a nation wide tour and when the tour is over they will be permanetly at The Brooklyn Art Library for people to check out. Mine is a very loose interpretation of a “sketch” book. I am a mixed media artist so I wanted to create something more inline with my area of creativity. Since my theme is Secret Codes I was inspired by the Ancient and Mystical Order Rose Crucis (AMORC), also called Rosicrucian Order. I dissected the original sketchbook and then merged it with a bound antique book. I hand folded and printed on the pages and then cut a little niche out the middle section of the book. I collaged the inner/main section and then coated with encaustic wax. I burnt and crumpled pages of to obtain an old and sacred.

FYI - Facebook

2010-12-10T15:31:00.000-08:00

Although I try and post to the blog as often as possible I usually post to my facebook fan page more. There I can just put up little snippets and quick updates. You don’t have to have a facebook account to see the page. If you do have a FB account "like" my page and then you can see all of my most recent posts.
http://www.facebook.com/shannonamidonart

Week One Recap

2010-12-07T17:04:00.000-08:00

Coming up on 1 week here in Costa Rica so I thought I would do a little recap. The colony is pretty secluded; and it takes about 20 minutes to walk to town. So far most of my time has been spent here. I have ventured out to town a couple of times for groceries, but that’s about it. It’s a small town about 8 square blocks. It has all of the essentials, markets, pharmacies, a few small restaurants, church, etc. Money and the language have been a bit challenging. Most people only speak Spanish, but there is the universal hand gesture language that usually works. As for the money, they have Colones and 10,000 is about $20 USD. So it can throw you off a little bit when you see that a loaf of bread is 1,825 C. Which brings me to another observation, prices here are equal to and sometimes more expensive than they are in California. For some reason I was expecting it to be like when I went to Peru and everything was significantly cheaper.

Eating and cooking has been interesting, while the food markets have a lot of stuff they don’t have everything. So I kind of wander the isles trying to figure out what the packages say, the pictures usually help a lot. Also, there is only a 4 burner gas stove to work with. So I have been trying to get creative with meals, lots of beans, rice and bananas. So far I have made fried banana chips, and a sort of banana ice cream concoction, put banana in my cereal and on my peanut butter sandwiches. Bananas are everywhere around here.

Currently there is an oil painter for New York, a watercolor artist from Rhode Island and a poet from Tennessee. A couple more artists will be arriving in the coming weeks. We had nice dinner Monday night at the colony owner’s house which is on the property. We all got to know each other and then went back to the poet’s apartment for evening drinks and talk. It is nice to hear about everyone’s creative process and what they do.

So now down to the nitty gritty - the art. To be quite honest it has taken me some time to adjust. I would love to say that I have jumped right and have been creating feverishly since I arrived. Unfortunately that is not the case; creativity can be a fickle partner. I have been a bit unfocused an anxious. I start something then walk away and start something else and never really get into anything. I know this is only the first week but I was hoping for more. I am trying to just be present and not worry about expectations or time, but it is easier said than done. Time can move very slowly here as well, there are no mind numbing distractions like TV, work, phone or anything. While that can be a blessing it can also be quite oppressive when you are not feeling creative. So I have started a little routine of waking up early (mainly because the sun is soooo bright in the morning) having my coffee on the porch listening to the birds. Then I try to do some yoga or take a walk before going into the studio, of course I always have an afternoon siesta too. The rest of the afternoon is open to what may come.

New Pictures

2010-12-06T05:46:00.000-08:00

Good morning, I thought I would share some pictures of the colony and where I am staying.

Trail on the property

View from the top of the trail

Our little apt, standing in the kitchen looking out

View from my studio door

My art studio

Stove/kitchen

Bathroom

Beautiful Decay

2010-12-04T13:29:00.000-08:00

Lots of interesting dried and decaying leaves around here.

Day 1 and 2

2010-12-02T15:15:00.000-08:00

Day 1
After traveling for 16 hours by car, plane, and taxi I made it into Costa Rica at 8:45pm. When I stepped off of the plane, the sweet, tropical, humid air hit me. It reminds me of a combination of Maui and Peru. It was a whirlwind getting to the artist colony but alas I did. The accommodations are simple and rustic but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Although exhausted from traveling I was not sleepy at all, so I took the time to unpack everything and get settled in. It is very hot and humid so the windows are kept open for the cooling breeze. It rained all night and the sounds of the rainforest are incredibly loud, the animals and birds seem to be more active at night.

Day 2
The owner and caretaker Francisco is extremely kind and helpful. After eating breakfast in his home with some of the other artists we took a trip to the grocery store. It is pretty comparable to US stores in terms of selection. After I returned I set up my art studio in a little room in the back of the apartment.

I am still settling in, trying to adjust to the temperature, time change and new environment. It’s a pretty quite and secluded here and things are a lot slower. I know that is exactly what I need but it is an adjustment from my busy and eventful life at home. It can be difficult to just jump in and start creating. I spent the day setting things up, exploring the grounds, and reading some books on creating altered book art.
During my afternoon walk I discovered a grove of banana tress with lots of dried, dead laves hanging from them. The leaves are nice and big so I cut a few down and plan to use them in some of my work. They make great paper or surface to create on.

Oh and yes there are lots of bugs and a gecko that lives on the stove. I can deal with the bugs but the lizard is freaking me out.

My view

Ready - Set - Go

2010-11-30T14:23:00.001-08:00

I am finally all packed up and ready to go. I have a huge suitcase full of art supplies and I have maxed out on my 50 pound limit :) I intend to post frequent updates here about my adventure, so check back often.

hasta luego

Thank You

2010-11-20T15:45:00.000-08:00

I would like to formally recognize and thank the people below who contributed to my Costa Rican Artist Residency Project. I truly appreciate your confidence and support of me and this project.

Adam B
Alexander B
Blake E
Bobbi & Andy A
Buck N
Carol E
Christa and Jon O
David & Ricki S
Ellen M
Gretchen K
Ken G
Marge O
Mari Y
Marilyn E
Marilyn & Steve M
Nancie F
Nathan L
Rachel & Rick B
Ria & Andrew A
Richard & Kay F
Rick B
Rob S
Rob & Jeanine A
Therese L
Tim H
Todd H

Quick Update

2010-11-06T08:51:00.000-07:00

Just over three weeks to go until I arrive in Costa Rica. I am so excited and even a little nervous. I have been busy getting everything together. There is a lot of prep work that I have to do in order to be able to create what I want. I have been making digital negatives to create my gum bichromate and cyanotype prints. I love these methods because they do not require a darkroom, just some chemicals and the sun. I also plan on continuing my Lumen print series. The conditions in Costa Rica are a lot different than they Bay Area and I think I can get some really great images with the humidity and sun.

In addition to getting ready for the residency I have also been working on a couple of shows. Currently I have new pieces in exhibits at Works Gallery and Kaleid Gallery in San Jose.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this project. It really means a lot to me and I can’t wait to continue to share my adventure with you.

Residency Update

2010-10-20T09:19:00.000-07:00

Today I am 6 weeks away from my Costa Rican Artist Residency. There are still some concerns about raising enough funds to get there but I am confident that I can do it. In addition to the kickstarter project - www.kickstarter.com/projects/shannonamidon/costa-rican-artist-residency - I am also selling my art and jewelry on Etsy - www.etsy.com/shop/ShannonAmidon - as well as a few galleries in the Bay Area.

I have been making lots of lists to ensure I will not forget anything. My mind has too many ideas and I really would like to focus on one or two that I can concentrate on during the residency. Although it is not a project based program I want to accomplish/complete something. Trying to figure out what art supplies to bring has been a challenge. It might be easier if I was an illustrator or painter and just had some tubes of paint and brushes. Being a mixed media artist comes with a lot of supplies. Also the alternative photographic processes I want to work on require special chemicals. I am currently trying to find out if I am allowed to bring them on the plane or into the country.

Keep checking back here for updates as my plan is to write a little each week leading up to and during the residency.

Remember that I only have 25 days to reach my funding goal, and I can't do it alone. So I am counting on YOU to help me spread the word about my project! Please invite your friends and family to help support this project and encourage them to share it with their friends too! Not only will you be helping an artist fulfill one of her dreams but you will also get unique artwork in return.

Big News & Updates

2010-10-11T16:12:00.000-07:00

I have some wonderful news to share with everyone. I have been accepted to the Julia and David White Artist Colony in Costa Rica for a month long artist residency in December. This is a wonderful opportunity for me to explore and create in the lush landscape and cultural traditions of Costa Rica. They provide me with a private apartment and art studio and this opportunity will give me the gift of time to create in peace and tranquility amongst other artist and creative people. I am so excited and nervous about this trip and I can’t wait to create in another country. This will be longest I have ever been away from home.

To help offset the costs of this venture I have created a kickstarter.com project. Anyone can contribute and help support me and get artwork in return. Please go here for more info: http://www.kickstarter.com/e/DRRwO/projects/shannonamidon/costa-rican-artist-residency

In other news I have a couple of exhibits to tell you about.

Oct 1st-30th
Resolutions and Dissolutions
San Jose State University
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library
One Washington SquareSan Jose, CA 95192
This exhibit consists of artwork by members of The South Bay Area Women’s Caucus for Art (SBAWCA) and I am exhibiting an encaustic piece.

Oct 31st – Nov 25th
My Favorite Nightmares
Works Gallery San Jose
451 South First Street
San Jose, CA 95113
Reception on Halloween, October 31st, 7-11pm & November 5th, 8-11pm

I will be exhibiting a brand new fiber/mixed media piece in this show.

2010-09-20T08:26:00.000-07:00

I have been neglecting this blog in a terrible way. I am a lot more active on my facebook page because it allows me to just send little updates more often. Go over there and "like" my art page and you can get a lot more info about me and my artwork. http://www.facebook.com/shannonamidonart

I have a couple of new exhibits coming up:

Resolutions and Dissolutions
San Jose State University
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library
One Washington Square
San Jose, CA 95192

Opening Reception Sunday, Oct 3, 2-4 pm
On exhibit through October 30th

This exhibit consists of artwork by members of the The South Bay Area Women’s Caucus for Art (SBAWCA) and I will be exhibiting an encaustic piece.

My Favorite Nightmares
Works Gallery San Jose
451 South First Street
San Jose, CA 95113
Gallery: 408-286-6800

Reception on Halloween, October 31st, 7-11pm & November 5th, 8-11pm
The art will be on display from October 31-November 25.

I will be exhibiting a brand new fiber/mixed media piece in this show.

Trunk Show

2010-07-16T21:31:00.000-07:00

Please join me for a night of art, music, hair styling, fashion, and trunk shows.
I will be participating in an artisan trunk show selling my upcycled bullet casing necklaces.

Friday July 23rd
6pm-9pm
The Usuals San Jose
1020 The Alameda
San Jose, CA

The Usuals is an awesome new clothing boutique & gallery in San Jose.

...Join us for a jam-packed evening! We're excited to have Josh Marcotte grace our walls with views of our city. A portion of Lost SJ artworks sold at the opening reception will go toward the Trace Elementary School Parent-Teacher Organization.

Local Artisan Trunk Show:
Kerfufle
Yeah Hello
Shannon Amidon
Vivikids
EniThing

Complimentary hair styling by 5 COLOR COWBOY.

Mini fashion show featuring fresh new tees from Deadstok, including ones designed in collaboration with Lost San Jose! 8PM.

Treatbot will be here! We've got Squareone and Cutso spinning beats, tantalizing eats from Chris Talosig, red wine, white wine, great artwork, and lovely company.

A portion of all Deadstok shirts sold during this event will be donated to the Trace Elementary School Parent-Teacher Organization. Though they lost part of their school to a recent fire, the community is coming together in order to support the rebuild. Help us put funds toward their new school year by grabbing a Deadstok tee!

Trying New Mediums

2010-06-06T13:55:00.000-07:00

So as part of my whole sabbatical journey I have been making an effort to try more mediums and or just do different craftier things. So here is a little preview of my endeavors.

I am part of a creative group and we have monthly creative/artistic projects. This past month’s project was to create wearable art. At first I really started to over think the project and that is the exact opposite of what the group is about. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to make jewelry or some kind of body armor, maybe paint directly on a piece of clothing. I kept questioning whether those were really “art”. The night before our group meeting when the project was do I went into the studio and just started pulling things out and putting them together. No thinking at all, I just created without any inner critics or restrictions. I created a skirt out of my unusable Lumen prints from my Efflorescence series. I didn’t think about color or pattern, I just cut and glued. I really like the way it came out.

I tried needle felting. It was fun but took some time and could be a bit dangerous. Basically it’s using raw wool and poking it with a super sharp barbed needle until it becomes a stiff felt. You can make shapes, creatures, flowers and all sorts of things. Below is a picture of a little owl I made. It took a couple of hours while watching a movie. I enjoyed it but am not sure if I will make anything else.

Just today I tired my hand at screen printing. I have had all of the supplies for a while now and having been wanting to give it a try. My first attempt didn’t turn out to well, mostly because I didn’t read any directions. I made a big mess and had a lot of fun. I think I will read the directions now and try again.

Taking a Break

2010-05-24T15:56:00.000-07:00

The last few months have been artfully exhausting. It all really hit me after my Open Studios 10 year retrospective. I have been prolifically creating and exhibiting non stop for so long. I have accomplished a lot and have had some amazing experiences. Unfortunately sometimes the business of art takes up more time and energy than creating art. It has been a bit draining and not as much fun taking care of all behind the scenes details.

So I feel that its time to take a break, sabbatical, respite from my constant creative output. I need to absorb and experience more, fill the well and renew my creative spirit. I also want to slow down and be more present and engaged.

I am sure I will still create because it’s in my blood and I can’t stop. However, it will be intentionally without purpose or meaning, just random artfulness.

I plan on participating in workshops, taking spontaneous photo trips, museum stalking, devouring lots of books and magazines and doing some things that push me out of my comfort zone a bit. Maybe I will take some piano lessons and try other activities that frighten me like life drawing, singing and mountain climbing.

Last Chance

2010-05-22T09:30:00.000-07:00

This is the last week to see my Efflorescence exhibit at KALEID gallery.

Gallery Hours:
Tuesday - Friday, Noon - 7pm
Saturday, Noon - 5pm

KALEID Gallery
88 S. 4th St.
Downtown San Jose, CA 95112

http://www.kaleidgallery.com/

Two Buck Tuesday

2010-05-17T08:49:00.000-07:00

I will be giving a talk, Q&A session, and a demonstration of the print-making process for my Efflorescence series during TWO BUCK Tuesdays at KALEID Gallery in San Jose.

TWO BUCK TUESDAY, May 18th 2010 6:30-9pm

TWO BUCK Tuesdays is an all day $2 art sale and evening quirky speaker series that happens on the 3rd Tuesday of the month.

KALEID Gallery 88 So. 4th St. (btwn Santa Clara & San Fernando)
Downtown San Jose, CA 95112 
www.KALEIDgallery.com  408.947.1785

Parking: street metered parking (free after 6pm)
or 4th St. Garage (@San Fernando) $3 after 6pm.

See past events- flickr.com/photos/phantomgalleries

Efflorescence Exhibit at KALEID Gallery

2010-05-09T20:18:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who came out to the opening reception for my Efflorescence Exhibit at KALEID Gallery. It was a wonderful night and I enjoyed meeting and talking to everyone. The show will be up until May 28th. If you didn't get to the reception you still have time to see the artwork. Here are some pictures from the show.

Come on Out

2010-04-28T08:48:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone, I hope you can make it out to my Open Studios this weekend. I am very excited about this years event. The new studio is all ready and it has been quite a process pulling out artwork from the past 10 years.

Silicon Valley Open Studios
May 1st & 2nd
11:00am – 5:00pm
Shannon Amidon Art Studio
492 Arleta Ave
San Jose, CA 95128
Directions

This year marks an important milestone for me as I have been seriously exhibiting my artwork for 10 years. To celebrate I am featuring “A Decade of Art” and will feature select pieces from my Formication Blues, Lucid, Phosphene, Subtle Meditations, Into Pieces, and Efflorescence series. I will also be displaying my gift collections, including copper electroformed nature, jewelry made out of natural stones and bullet shell casings, prints and cards.

I will also be introducing my brand new art studio. I am excited and thrilled to share my new creative space with everyone.

Compartment will continue their collaboration with me this year at Open Studios. Compartment will be previewing a new adaptive live sound installation prior to it's debut at the Kaleid Gallery the following Friday. Digital images from the art presented will be used to transform both
pre-recorded audio and live audio captured from the studio resulting in a true melding of the visual art and aural art.

Live ambient lo-fi grooves will be provided by CAMP

Official Press Release

Upcoming Events

2010-04-10T20:07:00.000-07:00

Thank you for your ongoing support of my artwork and creative development. This year marks an important milestone for me as I have been seriously exhibiting for 10 years. In honor of this accomplishment, I am pleased to announce three important upcoming events. You are invited to join me to experience my latest collection and to celebrate my artistic journey.

Silicon Valley Open Studios
May 1st & 2nd
11:00am – 5:00pm
My Home Studio
492 Arleta Ave
San Jose, CA 95128
Directions

To celebrate, my Open Studio will feature “A Decade of Art.” I will present a tableau of my favorite series from the last ten years along with my gift collections. The event also gives me an opportunity to introduce my brand new art studio. I am excited and thrilled to share my new creative space with everyone.

Compartment continues their collaboration with me this year at Open Studios. They preview a new adaptive live sound installation.

Live ambient lo-fi grooves will be provided by CAMP.

To learn more about my Open Studio, the sound installation by Compartment and CAMP go to: http://www.shannonamidon.com/events.html

Efflorescence
Featured Artist Exhibit
Opening Reception May 7th 6pm
Kaleid Gallery
88 South 4th Street
San Jose, CA 95112

I will be one of the featured artists in a two-person exhibit at KALEID Gallery in San Jose. I will be exhibiting pieces from my Efflorescence series including a large site-specific wall installation. Efflorescence is a series comprised of distinctive lumen prints inspired by my interest in blending artistic renderings of nature with old world photographic techniques.

An integral part of the exhibit is a collection of auditory journeys entitled “Incremental Phases” presented by Compartment and inspired by my pieces.

At the opening of the show, Compartment will be presenting an adaptive live sound installation. Digital images from the art presented will be used to transform both pre-recorded audio and live audio captured from the gallery. For opening night only, come see a true melding of visual art and aural art.

To learn more about my KALEID exhibit and Compartments sound installation go to: http://www.shannonamidon.com/events.html

Two Buck Tuesdays
May 18th 6:30pm-8:30pm
Kaleid Gallery
88 South 4th Street
San Jose, CA 95112

I will be giving a talk, a Q&A session, and a demonstration of the print-making process for my Efflorescence series. TWO BUCK Tuesdays is an all day $2 art sale and speaker series on the 3rd Tuesday of the month at KALEID Gallery.

.

New Gallery

2010-04-03T16:34:00.000-07:00

You can now find my copper electroformed pieces at Gallery 1603 in Surf City NJ.

Recommended Books about creativity, Art & Artists – Part II

2010-02-28T20:10:00.000-08:00

The Lives of the Muses: Nine Women & the Artists They Inspired- Francine Prose
In The Lives of the Muses, Francine Prose writes a spirited and enlightening exposé of nine women who fired the imaginations of some of the most inimitable artists and thinkers of the 19th and 20th centuries. With wicked wit, she shows how these women were both exemplars of their times and iconoclasts struggling to assert their own identity within the unconventional relationships they formed with these men. In doing so, she undertakes an examination of the concept of the muse in all its permutations--from the static nine Muses of classical Greek mythology, through Dante's oft-recycled Beatrice, to its ironized figuration in contemporary popular culture.

The View From the Studio Door – Ted Orland
In the perennial best-seller Art & Fear, Ted Orland (with David Bayles) examined the obstacles that artists encounter each time they enter their studio and stand before a new blank canvas. Now, in The View From The Studio Door, Orland turns his attention to broader issues that stand to either side of that artistic moment of truth. In a text marked by grace, brevity and humor, Orland argues that when it comes to art making, theory and practice are always intertwined. There are timeless philosophical questions (How do we make sense of the world?) that address the very nature of art making, as well as gritty real-world questions (Is there art after graduation?) that artists encounter the moment they’re off the starting blocks and producing work on a regular basis.

Letters to a Young Poet - Rainer Maria Rilke
It would take a deeply cynical heart not to fall in love with Rainer Maria Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet. At the end of this millennium, his slender book holds everything a student of the century could want: the unedited thoughts of (arguably) the most important European poet of the modern age. Rilke wrote these 10 sweepingly emotional letters in 1903, addressing a former student of one of his own teachers. The recipient was wise enough to omit his own inquiries from the finished product, which means that we get a marvelously undiluted dose of Rilkean aesthetics and exhortation.

Anything by Nick Bantock
Griffin & Sabine: An Extraordinary Correspondence
The Museum at Purgatory
The Forgetting Room

The Power of Myth - Joseph Campbell

Some of my favorite movie about art, artist, writers & other creative people

2010-02-01T15:30:00.000-08:00

Basquiat-
Basquiat tells the story of the meteoric rise of youthful artist Jean-Michel Basquiat
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115632/

Beautiful Losers-
This documentary follows the lives and careers of a collective group of Do-it-yourself artists and designers who inadvertently affected the art world
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0430916/

Frida-
A biography of artist Frida Kahlo, who channeled the pain of a crippling injury and her tempestuous marriage into her work
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120679/

Rivers and Tides-
Portrait of Andy Goldsworthy, an artist whose specialty is ephemeral sculptures made from elements of nature
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0307385/

Henry and June-
In 1931 Paris, Anais Nin meets Henry Miller
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099762/

Inspirations-
Documentary film by Michael Apted explores the creative process through candid discussion with seven artists from diverse media. David Bowie, Roy Lichtenstein, Dale Chihuly, Edouard Locke, Louise LeCavalier, and Nora Noranjo-Morse answer the questions regarding their particular artforms:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0125249/

Immortal Beloved-
The life and death of the legendary Ludwig van Beethoven
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110116/

The Agony and the Ecstasy-
The biographical story of Michelangelo's troubles while painting the Sistine Chapel at the urging of Pope Julius II
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058886/

American Splendor-
An original mix of fiction and reality illuminates the life of comic book hero everyman Harvey Pekar
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0305206/

Total Eclipse-
The self-destructive relationship between 19th-century teenage French poet Arthur Rimbaud and his older mentor Paul Verlaine
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114702/

Barfly-
Henry Chinaski never cared for the American dream, the thought of needing to become 'something' and fit into the system disgusts him
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092618/

Current & Upcomming Events

2010-01-31T20:11:00.000-08:00

February 5th
Anti-Valentine's Show & Auction

WORKS San Jose
451 South First Street
San Jose, CA 95113
I am exhibiting 2 new pieces for this show, you can take a sneak peak at them here.
www.workssanjose.org

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

January 12th - March 6th
Earth & Sky Oasis Urban Retreat
391 Sutter street, suite 710
San Francisco, CA 94108

I will have about 15 pieces from my Efflorescence series on display. Treat yourself to a wonderful spa treatment and see some artwork.

www.earthandskyoasis.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

January 4th – February 27th
HeArt Cats
Black Swan Boutique
44 Elm Street
Los Gatos, CA

I was one of 21 artists chosen to create an art cat to be auctioned off to benefit the Art Museum of Los Gatos. You can see my cat on display at Black Swan Boutique until Feb 26th , then it will be auctioned off at the gala on the 27th.

To see the other cats look for the paw prints in front of the business in Los Gatos and find the hidden heart on each cat designed by other award-winning artists.

www.museumsoflosgatos.org

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

December 4th - February 28th
Art at Axis

Axis Building
38 N Almadend BLVD
San Jose, CA

Ten pieces from my Efflorescence Series are on display on the 12th floor and Penthouse
www.art-at-axis.com

Kimama – Shoshone for Butterfly

2010-01-02T21:12:00.000-08:00

I was one of 21 artists chosen by The Art Museum of Los Gatos to paint/create artwork on a life size plaster cat. The cats will be displayed in Los Gatos for 6 weeks and then they will be auctioned off with all proceeds going to support the Art Museum of Los Gatos.

Each cat had a theme country, mine was the United States. This piece is meant to be a modern artifact. I was inspired by the Native American culture, traditions, crafts and artwork. Each butterfly on the cat was handmade out of clay, and the image on the front is a Santo Domingo symbol. The butterfly means everlasting life in Native American symbolism.

New Website

2009-12-21T08:44:00.000-08:00

I Just launched my completely re-designed art website. Artist, designer & friend Chris Kisler designed and built the site.

Check it out and tell me what you think. http://www.shannonamidon.com/

Help Name My Art Studio

2009-12-11T18:56:00.000-08:00

My new art studio is finished and it needs a name. I am having a heck of a time coming up with something and would love your input. I would like the name to be influenced by its surroundings and/or my artwork and processes. Whoever’s name fits the best will receive a gift print from any of my series. Just leave a comment with your suggestion or send me an email.

See a video tour of the studio here:
http://www.youtube.com/shannonamidon
See photos from start to finish here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/amidon/sets/72157622858564823

Some more background info:
It was originally an unfinished garage.
The studio is shaded by a beautiful old Fuyu persimmon tree.
It is in the historic Burbank area of San Jose.
The house was built in 1928.
About me and my artwork http://www.shannonamidon.com/

SmuTopia's Blog

2009-12-11T08:03:00.000-08:00

My Copper electroformed Seahorse is featured in Smu-Topia's blog - Gifts for the science lover.Check it out here http://smutopia.blogspot.com/2009/12/smus-friday-finds-gifts-for-science.html

Mermaid Relic

2009-11-29T14:58:00.000-08:00

Mermaid relic found off the Lost Coast of California. It appears to have originally been a hubcap for a 1949 Chevy Bel Air. It has since been embellished with pearls, abalone, coral and precious items from the sea. This rare find will be donated to the Landfill Art Project and be included in a book and traveling exhibit.

landfill Art Project

2009-11-27T09:20:00.000-08:00

I am working on making art out of an old hubcap (metal canvas) for the Landfillart Project. http://www.landfillart.org/index-2.html.

Landfillart is an international effort encompassing 1,041 artists to claim a piece of rusted metal garbage and create fine art.

I will be posting a picture of the finished piece soon.

Current & Upcoming exhibits

2009-10-24T09:24:00.000-07:00

Los Gatos Art Association Members Exhibit

Opening reception October 25th 1:00pm – 4:00pm
Exhibit Runs October 22, 2009 – Dec 2, 2009

Art Museum of Los Gatos
4 Tait Avenue at W. Main
Los Gatos, CA St.

I am exhibiting “Dogwood” from my Efflorescence Series
___________________________________________

Halloween Day of the Dead Exhibit
October 18, 2009 – November 15th

Phantom Galleries Redwood City
Corner of Broadway and Middlefield

The Phantom Galleries project brings together community artists to enliven vacant storefronts and alternative spaces with vibrant art exhibitions and murals.

I am exhibiting 6 pieces from my “Nightmares” Series
_________________________________________________

WORKS San Jose Members exhibit
October 2, 2009 – November 6th

WORKS Gallery San Jose
451 South First Street
San Jose, CA 95113

I am exhibiting “Sea Holly” from my Efflorescence Series
_______________________________________________

Puzzle Exhibit
November 14th

Black & Brown Clothing
1225 W San Carlos St
San Jose, CA 95126

Black and Brown year end puzzle show. The puzzles will be sold and in the spirit of the holidays all proceeds will be donated to an environmental organization.

I will be exhibiting & donating a puzzle from my “Into Pieces” Series
___________________________________________________

Bullets, Bones, Copper & Stones

2009-10-08T08:13:00.000-07:00

I recently updated my Etsy shop with a variety of new pieces including a new line of jewelry inspired by nature using recycled and natural objects. Kyanite, Porcupine Quills, and Fluorite are a few of the objects that I have mounted into old bullet shells. There are also pieces using copper electroformed shells, bones and other bits and pieces. I have also just completed eight new electroformed pieces including a nutria mandible, Mustelid Skull, shark jaw, Raccoon Baculum and a variety of shells. Stop by and check out the new goods, I offer free worldwide shipping on everything.

www.shannonamidon.etsy.com

Los Gatos - The Cats

2009-09-26T20:46:00.000-07:00

I was one of 20 artists chosen by The Art Museum of Los Gatos to paint/create artwork on a life size plaster cat. Each cat will be displayed in a downtown Los Gatos store front for 6 weeks in January then they will be auctioned off with all proceeds going to support the Art Museum of Los Gatos.

I am very thrilled to be a part of this event and just picked up my raw cat. I have three months to complete her. The theme this year is global community, and each artist is picking a country to inspire them. There are so many amazing countries and I have traveled to several of them, so it has been difficult to choose my inspiration county.

I am not sure what I am going to do yet but I do know it will be photo based. So I will be experimenting with different photographic process. I will try and post my progress as I work on it.

Where do I get my insects & other unusual objects?

2009-09-21T16:53:00.000-07:00

I love to collect insects, fossils, minerals, feathers, shells, eggs, and all kinds of natural curiosities. Often I have people asked me where I get my treasures.

One of my favorite stores is “The Bone Room” in Berkeley. It is filled with weird and wonderful things. Bugs, bones, feathers, fossils, taxidermy, eggs, shells, antique medical equipment and jewelry are just some of the objects they have.

Some of my favorite things they sell are:

Pinned Insect Specimens -
Most people who know me and my artwork know my love of insects. Beetles, butterfly, moths, weevils, & walking sticks, they all inspire me.

Spider Webs Under Glass -

These are amazing; I don’t know how they captured the spider webs without breaking them.

Ammonite Fossils -
I love collecting fossils & minerals. I have several different Ammonite Fossils. Some of my favorites are the Pyritized Ammonites, they look like they are from another planet.

Another of my favorite stores is Paxton Gate in San Francisco. They are another natural history store with an eclectic mix of insects, gardening, taxidermy, science equipment and other oddities. I love wandering around this beautiful little shop, there are treasures from floor to ceiling.

Some of my favorite things they sell are:

Sea Life –

They have a variety of beautiful sea shells, urchins, and other interesting sea life. I love covering them in copper and making jewelry with them.

Plants & Garden -
They have an assortment of fascinating plants. The carnivorous, succulent and orchids are my favorites. They also have terrariums, tools & vintage containers for the plants.

Fossils & Minerals -

I recently brought home a beautiful piece of Chalcanthite. Also called the "copper flower" because it is generally found in the late-stage oxidation zones of copper deposits.

Become a Facebook Fan

2009-09-14T21:52:00.000-07:00

Click here to become a fan of my artwork on Facebook

Shannon Amidon

Promote Your Page Too

Evolution of a Studio

2009-08-20T21:41:00.000-07:00

Electical & studs

Insulation

New window installed & drywall

Drywall finished & floor preped

Paint is up

Taa Daa

Really? Infinite tulips

2009-08-13T20:49:00.000-07:00

So I was quite disappointed while browsing the photography section at the local book store today. Looking for inspiration and all I found was well, lots of crap. Infinite tulips, Naked Babies, The Big Book of Boobs, World’s Worst Hotel Rooms, these were photography books? WTF

Shaking my head I decided to take one last look. Then I saw it, tucked away inbetween the rubbish. Elephant House or: The Home of Edward Gorey. Oh what a wonderful treasure I found, full of hope and inspiration. The publisher writes: This photographic tribute to the mordantly whimsical Edward Gorey captures the domestic life of an artist and writer who, in Updike's words, "never strayed from his curious, carefully crosshatched corner of sinister nostalgia, yet wound up widely on view."
So I rescued the book and am giving it a nice home amongst books it should be surrounded by.

Operation Electricity - Day one

2009-08-10T09:50:00.000-07:00

We made some changes to the electrical plans this morning at 7:45 am. I have decided on recessed lighting instead of the standard garage overhead fluorescents. I am going to have all of them on dimmers and a couple of them will be adjustable for the gallery wall. Here are a few pictures of the garage. I had to move a lot of boxes out this morning, left just a minimal amount of stuff that I had no room in the house for.

Studio

2009-08-09T19:31:00.001-07:00

We have been in our new home about 6 weeks now. The house is pretty much finished, all the walls are painted, boxes unpacked, furniture placed, art and décor hung. I love it, it feels like home and I am so happy that it is ours.
I haven’t been creating with all the house happenings and its starting to drive me crazy. I can’t wait to get in the new studio and start working. Tomorrow the electrician comes and I just realized with everything else happening I have no idea where I want the outlets or what the actual layout of the studio will be. So today I research and try and draw up some interior plans. It’s exciting but also daunting making all the decisions about the space. After the electrician, the insulation, drywall, new window and floor goes in.

Studio Exterior

New Art Studio

2009-06-17T20:13:00.001-07:00

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

2009-05-17T15:12:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-10T21:05:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-22T21:17:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-26T18:58:00.000-07:00

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

2009-02-27T21:03:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-08T13:23:00.000-08:00

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

BobbBobb

Interview

2009-02-03T13:38:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-02T20:29:00.000-08:00

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

2009-01-18T18:23:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-31T18:55:00.000-08:00

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.

2008-12-28T13:58:00.000-08:00

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

Holiday Gift Guide

2008-11-18T22:27:00.000-08:00

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