Quad Gallery Opening



Last night I was invited by my buddy Leslie Brown, artist and Director of the Riverside City College Quad Gallery to an opening reception for artists Pamela Mower-Conner and Richard White.

Leslie & Me

I talked with guest artist, Pamela Mower-Conner for a while and found out that she is also an acupuncturist. She combines real precision and science in both her art and her healing work and she explained to me that her love of nature is reflected in both fields through her work with the five elements: earth, air, fire, water and metal.

I also met Cecile Miranda, a Clairvoyant and friend of Pamela's who lives in Mount Washington, Los Angeles and found out that at the top of the mountain is an ashram built by Yogananda - must find out more and go visit!


I spoke briefly with guest artist Richard White who told me that he prefers to sculpt women clothed and that he is a feminist. He asked a young RCC student if they found his large 600 pound female sculptures 'feminine' and I just had to interject and say 'no...where is her head?'. He prefers not to draw from the nude so as not to objectify women from a male point of view, but I prefer drawing the female form nude for beauty's sake. We didn't speak much after that.

Leslie at the after-party - Mario's Restaurant - Riverside, CA.

Invisible Pain

Warm and bleeding - you like it rough.

"I guess I don't care..." from 'Like You' by Kristin Hersh - Strange Angels.

Aching for you? I'm not breaking any rules. I'm not feeling cohesive anymore.

The Ancestors speak:
Turn misery into gold,
tears catch flight,
turn into butterflies,
pain becomes water,
washing me clean,
pure.


I bathe and laugh. I am whole and lucky, plus I like spiders (mostly).

I'm gonna erase your softness, turn you invisible.

"When are you thinking of disappearing?" From "Nothing but Heartache in Your Social Life" by Gordon Downie - Coke Machine Glow.

If you were here, I'd sit you at the base of my painting and drip Iridescent Stainless Steel (Coarse) paint over you. Invisible at night, with a dash of brown ink spatters until you and the paint-ing speak as one: "Make me whole" - untouchable, perfect, forever, until tonight.

Five days later I return to this painting not sure if I can continue. The pain is gone for now - only the painting remains.

It feels like a pupae or some kind of deep sea creature, pregnant, ready to burst, release joy into the world, not hurt. I will leave it for now, start fresh. The journey continues...

Invisible at Night - acrylic & pastel on silk - 4' x 5'

Musical Inspiration: Kristin Hersh - "Strange Angels", Gordon Downie - "Coke Machine Glow".

Creativity - The Joy Diet!

Welcome to Week 4 of The Joy Diet!

This week our creative blogger's book club is exploring Menu Item #4 - Creativity - yehh!

Suffice to say that this chapter got my creative juices flowing BIG TIME!

My favorite parts:

"To increase the range of your creativity, try the following "mind-Yoga" techniques.

1. Force innovation. Think of 10 ways to solve the problem you're facing. These solutions don't have to be sensible, ethical, or even legal. The only thing they must be is different from each other. Got that? Good. Now think of 10 more.

2. Perseverate on your enemies. Target an individual or group you hate. Say what you hate most about them. See if a reframed version of this quality might be something you either need, or already have. Let yourself act as your enemy acts, within your moral boundaries.

3. Unify false dichotomies. Make a list of things that cannot coexist in your behaviour, your environment, or your life. Commit to being, doing, or having both of them. See if a solution arises."

My journey through creativity is highly personal and private so I cannot share the details with you, dear readers, but I will say that this book has forced me to re-think and re-imagine myself daring to live the life of my dreams. It feels like going out on a metaphorical limb or jumping off a cliff. It's exciting and very scary, but so is life and the challenge of living it fully.

So here I go...dear Goddess grant me wings!

You can read more of my Joy Diet posts here.

About Kathy


Kathy Crabbe
Artist & Soul Reader
kathy@luludesign.com

About Me

Art & Writing Bio:


Published in Magazines (Lefty art):

Altar (Brooklyn)

Art Business News

Art Venues (Orange County)

Broken Pencil (Toronto)

Dawn Magazine (Orange County)

Kiss Machine (On Staff)(Toronto)

Neighbors Newspaper


Published in Books:

San Diego Poetry Annual 2007 & 2008

We/Moon Journal Datebook 1993 & 2008


Published Online:

Interviews with artists and crafters - Soul Reader Blog

Creative Soup

LitVision

Turbula - http://www.turbula.net

Reviewed by Publications (Lefty art):

Broken Pencil

Press Enterprise (Reporter, Sean Nealon - 2006)

Zine World Review


Speaking Engagements & Demos:

Michelle Shocked, International Women's Day Show - Hollywood

North County Author's and Poet's Book Fair - Escondido, 2006

HGTV "Your New House" - silk painting demo

San Diego Poetry Annual Publication Party - 2007


Self Published:

- A-Z Playbook

- Odds & Ends

- Poetry Chapbooks: Barely a Taste, Ground, LuLu Discovers New Zealand

- Zines: Mugwort, Gadfly, Ground, Songs of the Lefties

- My Websites: Kathy Crabbe, LuLu Design

- My Blogs: Soul Reader, Art Mystic

Memberships:

- Founder & Facilitator of the Temecula Writer's Cafe (begun 2006): a critique and discussion group for local writers

- Founder & Facilitator of the Temecula Artist's Salon (begun 2008): a conversational group for local artists

- Founding Member and Communications Officer/Treasurer of the Riverside Art Museum Printmaker's Advisory Group, Club and Open Studio (begun 2008

- Past member of the Post MFA Writer's and Artist's Meetup Group (Escondido)

- Temecula Community Theater Usher 2007

- Temecula Valley Art League Member 2004-2007

- Oceanside Museum of Art Member 2008

- San Diego Book Arts Society Member 2008


Past Exhibitions and Events:

Baltimore Museum of Art – “Dark Matter” Zines Show

Borders Books, Chino – Artist of the Month

Jojo Pinkie Gallery at the Camp, Costa Mesa – Group Show

Musician’s Workshop, Temecula – Solo Exhibit

New York Stationery Show c/o Sherri Baldy (The Fairy Society)

Orange County Museum of Art Satellite Gallery – “Zine Scene” Show

San Jose Museum of Art – “Art of Zines” Show

San Diego Women's History Museum – “Making Zines=Making Herstory” Show

Santa Monica Contemporary Crafts Market

Sawdust Festival, Laguna Beach, CA, 1994-2001


Galleries/Stores Representing My LuLu Work:

American Visions Gallery, St. Louis, MO

Art for the Soul, Balboa Island, CA

Black Cat Gallery, San Juan Capistrano, CA

How Original Gallery, Laguna Beach

Laguna Beach Art Museum Store

Mingei International Folk Museum Store, San Diego

Licensed Art at The Fairy Society

Education:

- Bachelor of Arts, Art History - Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada

- Diploma, Graphic Design (3 year program) - St. Lawrence College, Kingston, Ontario

- Printmaking (ongoing) - Palomar College, San Marcos, California

- Life Drawing and Private Study (abstract painting) with Leslie Brown, Artist, Teacher & Director of Riverside City College Quad Gallery, California

Soul Reader Bio:

I am a professional soul reader. Through one-on-one soul readings, classes and online resources, I help soul-seekers uncover their gifts and talents in connection with their spirit guides, ancestors, and the planetary cycles. My background in the arts infuses my readings and encourages my clients to live the life of their dreams. You can find me online at Kathy Crabbe, in my LuLu Design Shop, or at my blogs Soul Reader and Art Mystic.

Interests

Favorite Movies

Favorite Music

Favorite Books

Blogs

Desire

This is Week 3 of Jamie Ridler's Joy Diet Blogger's Book Club and the featured Menu Item this week is DESIRE.

This week we combined Doing Nothing for 15 minutes (Menu Item #1) along with Truth (Menu Item #2) and now Desire - identifying, articulating and exploring at least one of our heart's desires.

It has been a week of exploration - of ups and downs while tuning into true desire - not the shallow, effervescent, cotton-candy-coated kind, but the deep-seated, sink-your-teeth into, everlasting kind.

It hasn't been an easy week although you might think that uncovering one's true desires pebble-by-pebble would be a thrill a minute.

Distinguishing secondary desires was first but getting to the core desire was the real challenge this week. And no, I'm not going to reveal what that was (I can hear your ears getting bigger) but hint, hint, in the process I did discover an excellent metal band called Master Splinter and the Shredders performing live and trust me, I was rocking out all week long!

Desire can be tricky - it can take you in many directions - all leading to the same place, I do believe.

Well I'm up for the ride, no matter what and I'm also really excited about next week's Menu Item - Creativity.

You can sign up for the Joy Diet here or read more of my Joy Diet posts here.
The artwork above is from my Lefty Series drawn entirely with my non dominant left hand.