Copeland Weekend Part II

Saturday was a very full day! I gave an art lesson in the morning and tried to stay on top of other life things (grooming, laundry, etc.). Then I made the family and Heather a quick lunch before we headed back to the museum for a workshop led by Copeland.


Me, watching Copeland teach

The first part of the workshop included a tour through the galleries with an opportunity to ask the artist about his work, a rare opportunity indeed!


Workshop

After a great tour and discussion we went to the studio and began our work in creating without fear. Copeland is an intuitive artist who maintains that the primary stumbling block for artists is fear. For those of us who had been students years ago it was so wonderful and familiar to learn from him again. For newbies it was such fun to watch them struggle for a moment before settling in and just making! My awesome mother had the girls and apparently was trying for Grandmother of the Year, they had so much fun. It was sure nice for Eric and I to just take a little time to enjoy and create.


Workshop

When the workshop was done everyone in our group split for a bit, Kendra and her friend had to leave. The rest of the group reassembled at our house for dinner and conversation. Lovely!


Eric showing his work to the group in our dimly lit living room.

Sunday morning Heather and Sean were headed back to their homes on opposite coasts. We all met up in the afternoon and made a few stops at art sales and shows. We stopped for a drink at our house before grabbing dinner at a Thai restaurant. After dinner it was time to say goodbye. Rick and Scott were catching the late flight out of town (seriously one flight goes to and from Denver all day). Michael and Victoria got an early start the next morning. Eric an I returned home and tried to play catch up on real life before collapsing in a heap on the couch.


Victoria showing Elise a painting of a buffalo at a local art gallery

We had such a great weekend, connecting with old friends, talking about art, all of it was really awesome and will be something we all carry with us through life. So amazing to know Michael and Victoria!

If you are interested in Copeland's work check here.
To purchase a catalog from the show, with an essay by yours truly, click here.

Copeland Weekend Part 1

Thursday was Eric's birthday, but it also marked the first day of a much anticipated weekend for us and for our loved ones. Michael Copeland is an artist whom I have mentioned here on this blog more times than I can count. Eric and I have known Michael and his talented artist wife Victoria for almost two decades. We have watched Copeland's art for just as long.

Eric has always maintained that if he were ever a curator he'd really like to show Copeland's work. Cope (as we sometimes call him) is on the cusp of breaking out big time and it was something special for Eric to be put in a position to "discover" (in a curatorial sense) Copeland. Eric passed the show idea by the staff and they were all so into his work. Eric, along with the amazing museum staff, set up a four decade retrospective! So this was Copeland's first solo museum exhibition, curated by Eric.

Thursday afternoon people began arriving in our small town. The exciting part was that Copeland was completely in the dark, not expecting anyone to come from out of town. Instead he had friends, family, and former students coming in from coast to coast! I think that speaks to the caliber of person we are dealing with here. We took a quick look at the exhibit before the reception.

Thursday Sean (Victoria's genius son, whom Eric and I have known since high school) and Scott (Copeland's awesome brother-in-law) flew in and totally surprised Copeland at his hotel. His amazing wife Victoria orchestrated all of this by the way.


Victoria and Scott looking at a piece.

Don't worry, we still got in plenty of birthday goodness for Eric too!


The girls, waiting for Heather's plane to arrive

Friday was when everything came together. The girls and I went to the airport to grab Heather (she is a former student of his and now good friend---I have known her since 1995). We returned to our house and invited everyone over to meet up. Heather surprised Copeland and a short time later another former student turned friend, Kendra arrived with her friend, again flooring Copeland. So our little group had people from NM, CA, IL, CT, WY---- that is not at all typical for an artist reception, but Copeland is not a typical artist.

We all sat around talking and laughing and marveling, it was a time that I cannot properly capture in words, but one I will treasure for all of my life.

Eventually the group dispersed to prepare for the evening festivities. The museum reception was Friday night. It was completely amazing. Surrounded by friends, family, great art---as life should be! Here are a bunch of pictures of our group. I am not showing the crowd who showed up for the event as they may not like their photo on some stranger's blog.

Some of our crew chatting after the reception


Some of the gallery


Eric, Victoria and Michael


Kendra and Michael


Scott, Sean, Rick


Talking in a group


More talking in a group!!

My mother left with the girls when it was time for them to go to bed. Our group completed the reception and then went out for a late dinner. We talked and laughed and thoroughly enjoyed each other.


Our crew!!!!

Tomorrow I will finish up the rest of a jam packed weekend!
If you are interested in Copeland's work check here.
To purchase a catalog from the show, with an essay by yours truly, click here.

We Dug Trenches

Two hours and forty-five minutes of sleep is how I started Saturday morning. Eric wasn't faring much better. We tag teamed it over the night as Cordelia awoke thinking maybe she was sick, she wasn't really sick. Elise was up and down as a result of the wake-up wails of Cordelia and it was all over before 5am. It was one of those days that Eric and I looked at each other, bleary eyed, across the breakfast table and wondered how many hours it would be until bed time. We had a long day ahead of us, with some really fun activities planned so we just did our best to pull ourselves together and soon enough, thanks to the power of parenthood, we were functioning in a mostly normal manner.

We got the girls dressed and ready, took the dogs to my parents' home and then headed back into town for a symphony for kids. Our good friend is the director of the symphony and we love to support her work and even more so when it gives us the opportunity to share music with the girls! We settled into our seats and enjoyed the show. There was great music, lots of laughs for the kids. Although Elise was annoyed when the music stopped for skits, at one point she shouted, "STOP TALKING." Then when the music resumed she leaned back on me, transfixed. Cordelia enjoyed the whole thing!

After the symphony we rushed home and had a quick lunch before hitting the road. We drove to Buffalo for the opening of Eric's show, a selection of works from his series We Dug Trenches, a photographic study of our life in the West. He showed his photography at The Crazy Woman Fine Art Gallery in Buffalo. If you haven't been to Buffalo, Wyoming then let me tell you it is a mighty small town with a lot of charm and character. The community is very art friendly, but we didn't really know if anyone would show for the opening. Thankfully we were pleasantly surprised as locals as well as friends from our community showed up to see his work. The event was really a lot of fun. The girls were on their best behavior and everything went smoothly.

You can see the full We Dug Trenches show here. Purchase prints here.



Elise walked around charming everyone






Cordelia was working it for Eric, telling everyone that her dad had taken all of the photos


Eric and gallery owner/artist Jenny Wuerker





After the reception we decided to return home ahead of a storm that had the potential to keep us from returning the next day. Initially we had planned to stay at The Historic Occidental Hotel, but we will have to save that for another time. We made it home in the early evening, talking along the drive to keep weariness at bay. We fed our children...not quality food I will admit...and we were all sound asleep before it was even totally dark outside.

It was Bound to Happen

Well, I suppose there was no fighting it....the arts are in their blood. We noticed it early with Cordelia. She has pretty much always been into creating. She even requests her own canvas, regularly. Now it is Elise's turn.

I recently set up the easel on the back porch. Cordelia is loving it. She has spent many an afternoon out back working on portraits (they're all portraits, even landscapes). One day Elise showed interest and I let her go for it. She grabbed a brush and waddled marched right over and started painting. She knew what to do and she was totally into it.



Now, on slow days we head out back. The clothes come off and the paint gets everywhere. Thankfully it is water soluble and non-toxic so clean up is pretty straightforward. The girls wander around painting and I do a little gardening or I just drink lemonade and enjoy the time.





I have no idea what the future holds for these girls, but I am certainly pleased that they show an interest in the arts!

Artist---Etc.

I can't really put a finger on the day that I started to consider myself to be an artist. I have been a creative type for the whole of my life, but there was a transition where I found my creative focus (focus might be an overstatement). I do remember when people started introducing me as an artist, "This is Maria, she's an artist." I am not sure why, but it felt right.

I had been known as many other things, most notably as a PK ---for those not in the know that is pastor's kid. I really hated the PK label because PKs tend to fall into 2 categories: saintly and wild. People would assume that I was one or the other, but I think I have always been equal doses of the two, so it just served to annoy. Plus it wasn't a label that I had earned, just one I'd come upon through birth.



I dabbled in the arts as a kid. I tried theater, writing, piano, singing, saxophone (it was really bad), crafting, painting, drawing, etc. I just never really sought to define myself. I was just trying things out.



I hadn't been searching for a label, but this one didn't bother me. Quite frankly I felt some happy stirring deep inside when that label became attached to me. Over time I have found several other labels that give me the same feeling: mother, writer, wife, awesome (wink)--but it was that first identifier that really seems to have become a part of the foundation of who I am. I always feel the most like me when I am making art.

When do you feel the most like you?

Art Opening

A few weeks ago Eric was asked to be a juror for an art show. We have always been on the other side, so it was a nice change for him to try something new.


Not sure what is up with the gargantuan wine bottle there...

Saturday night the show opened. We had free tickets and my parents were willing to hang out with Cordelia for a couple of hours so we could make our appearance.


Can you find me?

The show was great, located at a little bistro by the river. The artists ran the gamut from seasoned pros to first timers. Eric and I particularly loved the guy who came in 2nd place, his first art show. He had no idea how the art world is, just came in jeans and a t-shirt with his family and had his photo taken in front of his work. He seemed so genuinely excited by the positive response his work got.

We enjoyed a glass of wine. Chatted with some friends and before you knew it we were heading home. Short and sweet. Just the way we like it.




My husband


C'est moi

How was your weekend? Do anything awesome?

Vintage Photos

Have you ever been to an antique store and taken a moment to browse through the old photos? Usually they are all stacked in a box with little to identify them beyond the people in the photograph. My husband, Eric, has taken it upon himself to rescue some of these lost photos . They usually cost no more than a few dollars, but for him they are so valuable. They are about the person, but also the artist/photographer involved. I love that about Eric, he will search and search and then fall in love with the detail or some other little secret within the photograph.

Above is one of his many rescued photos. A young dancer. The photograph has been hand tinted, meaning the artist took the time to color the photo and really create a beautiful and delicate mood, which probably reflects something about the girl herself.

The photo above is of a somewhat stern looking woman. What you can't tell from the scan is that the photo is actually printed on glass. When Eric realized that I was going to use this photo in a post he had to pull it out and show me the whole production. The glass photo is in a small velvet lined case. The velvet has a pressed floral motif. The image has been hand colored, notice her rosy cheeks and the flower. Her golden jewelry has been painted in as well. I can just imagine her special someone carrying around the photo in his pocket. For some reason I imagine him riding in a train, pulling out the photo, sighing and gazing out the window onto a winter landscape...but I am always inventing scenarios like that.


The photo(s) above is actually from a stereoscope (click here if you don't know what a stereoscope is). Eric is in love with the detailed background. Doesn't it look like it is from the artists studio?

Finally, we have this photo of a little girl holding a large bouquet of flowers. She looks a little uncertain about the whole thing. I wonder what she went on to do in her life, what kind of a person she was. Did she have children? Was she a happy person?

Anyway, my husband is amazing for rescuing these little treasures. He seems to feel obligated to appreciate them and preserve them. He also has photos of guys, but those weren't nearly as personal as the ladies.