Weekend in the North Bay - Pt. 1 Bolinas

October 24, 2014 in Adventure & Hiking

I like doing wacky things sometimes, like driving up to the North Bay coast two days in a row, with two different sets of people. The drive is maybe 2.5 hours to Bolinas and 3.5 to Cazadero. Let's start with Bolinas.

Gospel Flat Farm - This is a family farm. We live here so please smile and say hello.

We started by heading to Gospel Flat Farm, a family run farm in Bolinas. I had never stopped here before, usually because I beeline for the beach and on the way home, it looked closed. I learned they have a 24 hour farm stand that operates on the honor system. I love Bolinas even so much more now.

Look at all that kale! Their farm was beautiful. So many good things growing here.

The reason we came to visit the farm was because of an art show title Nature Babes. I knew of one of the artists from Instagram. Chris and Claudine came along with us and as you can see, they had a blast. We were lucky to spend their 5 year wedding anniversary with them. I enticed them with the following question: "Wanna go to an art show on a farm with wood-fired pizza and wine in a small beach town and have a killer dinner and pie at the Coast Cafe afterward?"

Who could say no?

Wood-fired pizza with toppings from the farm

It was nice to meet Maria Schoettler in person. We follow each other on Instagram and I must say, these kinds of things make you love the internet. Her work is so lovely. The textures and colors are pure bliss.

Lindsay Stripling, part one of two of one artwork

Linday Stripling, part two of one artwork

Aren't these pieces gorgeous? Lindsay Stripling created this diptych of an invasion of a campsite. Looks like the wolves and turkeys took over everything.

Emily Ritz created highly detailed watercolors with ink details. You can see the scale of this one by looking over at that window sill. The work is really insane closeup. So much detail!

You know I love a good A-Frame. Another one coming in Part 2 of this weekend:)

A glimpse of my installation for the Shelter show

Black and White Mood

April 11, 2014 in In the Studio, My Art Shows, Ramblings

Have you noticed that I've been in a black and white mood lately? If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you may have seen a lot of black and white art in the making. I have been working with Sumi ink and paper a lot in the last few years, but it wasn't until I hung my drawing wall at my Lay Low show at Seeing Things Gallery that I saw just how much I was using this medium.

Keeping it simple with Sumi ink, a rag, brushes and a palette

A few months ago, I was approached to do a show called Shelter. This dual exhibition was to take place at two galleries. The first show at Works Gallery opened last weekend and the second show at The Citadel Gallery opens this Saturday night, April 12th. For the Works show I submit a drawing, titled Buried History. It shows a living room underground, the living room of my childhood. It shows my dad's records, mom's books and my grandmother's black floral loveseat. We had to get rid of all this furniture due to financial circumstances and moving when I was young. It's actually one that I almost wanted to keep, but it sold so I will let it go.

For The Citadel show, each artist explored the idea of sanctuary and creativity. The initial idea was to create an installation that shows your creative space. At first, it seemed too easy. I have lots of interesting things in my studio, including my paint-covered studio desk, little vintage nicknacks and natural objects like driftwood and rocks. At some point I came up with the idea to draw my studio instead. It was for a mix of reasons. For one, I thought about how I could live without my desk in my studio for a whole month? I've been wanting to do an installation for awhile now. I also loosely had an idea to draw my show at Seeing Things Gallery, but decided against it. I am so happy I finally made it happen with my piece We Have Overcomplicated Things. The title comes from the drive I have to simplify my life and minimize this past few months. I am in the process of cleaning my studio and plan on having a much more calm and clear workspace, much like this art installation.

We also got a lot of rain in the Bay Area recently, so maybe these overcast skies had something to do with all this black and white too!

This has been quite the project. It was all painted freehand. Mistakes were made. They were erased, covered up, left. I definitely planned some things in advance but a lot of it was carried out intuitively and spontaneously. Very satisfying to not have any pressure but from myself. It’s been a test of my patience and a will to roll with mistakes. This little installation shows how I feel when I am in my creative space. Everything feels expansive, good, simple.

You can see the show at The Citadel Gallery. Opening reception is April 12th from 7-11pm. Can't make the show? I will post an image of the work on the day of the show.

Rey Giese, sign painter show at Kaleid Gallery

February 27, 2014 in Artists & Art Shows

I was relieved I was able to make it in to Kaleid Gallery before the closing of the Rey Giese show. If you don't know, Giese was a sign painter from San Jose. We don't have too many claims-to-fame here beyond computer chips so it was a real pleasure to pop in and see the walls covered in vintage signs painted by Giese. If you have the time, the show is open until tomorrow, February 28th noon-7pm.

Rey Giese installation. You can see the incredible variety here.

Rey Giese was incredibly prolific. Born in San Jose in Sept. 25, 1919, Giese passed away just last year. He worked his way through a career in sign painting and it seemed if you were walking downtown in the 1930s, you would easily spot one of his signs. There is just something about dedicating your life to mastering a craft that I find so honorable. The focus and steady hand needed for sign painting is something to be admired as well. You really should go see this legend's work before the show ends.

The show also features some local artists and their super interpretations of Giese's work.

Read the write-ups in the images below for more information on how he got started. You can also read this article to find out more about Rey Giese.

How nice would it be to only have to use the Yellow Pages and your signature as advertisement?

Lay Low Art Show and Self-Discipline

November 16, 2013 in Ramblings, My Art Shows

I've been working very hard for months on a solo show at Seeing Things Gallery. It's been a wild ride of commissions, returning to teaching about 10 hours per week and creating new work for this show these last few months. I spent a lot of quiet time on a chaotic workload. I am happy the flyer is finally finished as the December 6th opening date looms closer. Please come by from 7-11pm!

Lay Low, new work by Frances Marin at Seeing Things Gallery

For me, working on a show means digging into the fragile parts of my brain. It means negative self-talk happens, moments of insight create positive and productive work time and this up and down usually happens up until the night of the show, when I breathe a big sigh of relief. This show, more than any prior, was very intuitive. The paintings evolved and changes were made by gut feeling. I can often over-think my work, and though that still happened, I was more easily than ever able to quiet that side and just get to work.

A big reason I was able to work on this show, commissions and teach part-time these last few months, is because of a very disciplined schedule. While I wasn't actively working every single second, 24-7, I was working pretty close to that. I missed shows that I wanted to go to (Mazzy Star?!), celebratory events with friends and overall most human interaction that was outside of my teaching job. I exercised almost everyday and only drank water, coffee and green juices. Spending a lot of time alone is great in some ways. I found the past resurfacing and made better sense of that. I thought a lot about changes I want to make for next year and beyond. I realized what was most important to me in all categories of my life. Spending a lot of time working alone can also be rough. There can be too much thinking and too much self. You realize how important it is to get outside and live life.

While self-discipline has been a recurring thing in my life: it got me through college, put me in a swimming/yoga/running routine years ago, quit smoking, multiple detoxes/cleanses, it was this time that I felt it in a more true sense of the phrase. I'm excited to see where this goes.