Transformation

You are cordially invited to come to Transformation, 

a special exhibit of wabi-sabi to contemporary 

ceramics and digital art by 

Kiyoco Michot and Nancy Coleman (that would be me) 

September 21-October 16. 

Opening reception on Friday, September 24 from 6-8 pm

with refreshments and live music.

Gallery House, 320 California Ave., Palo Alto (entrance through Printers Cafe)

  Before Show and After Show... I am starting to believe that my life this year is bifurcated into these two segments. You'd think that preparing for an art show wouldn't be such an effort – after all, many artists do this regularly, do they not? Well, this one will find my work on all four walls. Fellow artist-ceramicist Kiyoco is also showing with her gorgeous ceramics  on pedestals through the room, leaving me horizons of white walls to fill. Because most of it is to be "new" work, it has been daunting.

For this show, I have created not only new images but experimented with additional ways of creating them and producing them, including using Alias Sketchbook Pro as an additional digital method, printing on aluminum panels and mounting prints on wood and layering with beeswax medium. There is also quite a bit more to it all beyond making the new work and framing much of it (I do my own matting and framing), to all of the planning, producing and promoting. (It's the P-factor.)

If you have ever been intrigued or just curious about my work, this is the time to come see it  ~ and talk to me about it. I appreciate your support, and your friendship. I will also be staffing the gallery on Sept. 22 from 11-4 and on Sept. 30 from 11-4 if you want to stop by during the show's regular hours when I am scheduled to be there. 


Note about the image: The flower hand image (on the left side of the postcard, above) is one of my new works that will be at the show, and is titled Compassion. The background is a Loving Kindness Mediation in my own script, which I drew using Alias Sketchbook Pro on top of a Photoshop collage of digital images that took me weeks to complete. The blue bowl and the three vases are some of Kiyoco's works, beautiful and functional.

This time it's Art!

It's been difficult to cast off the cape I wore for so many years as Marketer, Writer, Business Coach, and all-round Entrepreneur. But, I am shrugging it off in fits and starts as I step down from some of the professional association boards I have been on and eschew marketing project involvements. It's hard to do; I had been hustling work for so many decades that letting go has been akin to scuttling an addiction. Is there a 12-Step Program for those attached to their market-carved identities? Being a marketer and design manager had been so satisfying on so many levels.

But now I am ready for this new challenge. I know that to be true because it feels more like my new vocation has chosen me rather than me choosing it. I mean, why else would anyone choose Art as a career in an economy like this? 

I just find that when I am creating something or producing framed prints from my digital images, hours go by without 

my noticing. In general, I have a much higher spirit level than usual and I look forward to getting back to the studio or to working on new concepts. It is a wonderful way to live.

One of the things that I like about this process the most is how warm and supportive everyone has been as I tell them what I am doing -- business colleagues, other artists, friends and all of my family. Indeed, my family has asked me consistently for decades "When are you going to do your art?" Recently when I told one of my daughters that I was declaring myself an artist, she replied, "Mom. We all knew it. It's like you're gay or something and you think you're coming out." An apt metaphor.

So...this blog will now be dedicated to all things Art: my work and thoughts and processes, plus my role as a Commissioner on the Palo Alto Public Art Commission, sharing the spotlight with fellow artists when I feel like it, and more. I will also post a new image or two from time to time just to share what I am doing, and whatever takes my artist fancy. Comments and feedback would be welcome and fun.