I've got Georgia on my mind!

The state, not the country.

Today, March 7th, means that I will officially be an artist in residence at the Hambidge Center in EXACTLY ONE MONTH! I applied to the Hambidge Center at the end of last year in hopes that the residency decision making gods would shine in my favor. Since finding out that my application was accepted I have been excited...but now that it is so darn close I am not excited anymore...I am SO excited. Got that? SO excited. I will be taking a leave of absence from my job and hugging my friends goodbye on March 31st. The residency doesn't begin until April 6th but I have a few stops planned along the way and want to give myself a good amount of time to get down there.

First stop, New York City my friends! I love my brother, but I love him most when he moves somewhere cool and I get to go visit. He is currently living in the village and I will be making the trip down to stay with him in his wonderful, cozy (small) studio apartment and eating lots and lots of Vietnamese sandwiches. I'd like to see the Whitney Biennial, but if the weather is really nice a stroll through Chinatown is in my future. I won't be in the NYC for too long because I will be scooping Michael into the Subaru and driving down to my birth city of Washington, DC.** I can't wait to visit with my sister Katharine (currently a med student) and my dear friend who left Massachusetts behind for a wonderful internshipturnedfulltimejob opportunity. As always, a walk past my childhood home and a visit to Eastern Market are the two mandatory stops on this leg of the trip.

After a few days in DC I will say "so long" to my siblings and begin my journey to Charlotte, North Carolina. I made a wonderful friend while at the Vermont Studio Center, and when I knew I was going to Georgia, I pretty much knew I would be visiting her in Charlotte too! After Charlotte I will swing through Asheville, NC to visit another friend and check out the galleries. From there I will make the one and a half hour ride to my cabin/studio in the woods! I will be posting regularly while in Georgia, despite the lack of Internet connection in any of the studios (available in the main building.) So please follow and stay updated!

Thanks for listening, and be sure to click that first link, it's a gem.

** A few people have asked me if they could join me on this adventure, and I have told all of them (even Dad...sorry!) that this is a solo expedition. When I am in the car for long periods of time, I pretty much go all "Jung" on myself and access my life situation. I figure travelling alone will be a really good way to reflect on how I will be spending my time in Georgia. HOWEVER, when Michael asked if he could hop on board for the trip to DC I said yes, it is rare that all three of us (Michael, Katherine and I ) are together and I really love the bizarre conversations that happen when we are.

Ten drawings + sheet of paper = One wild ride.

Hi Friends,

It was pretty counter intuitive, but for the past month or so, I remembered to take a photograph every time I was at a stopping point with a drawing. It is really interesting to see the progression of a drawing because it allows me to reflect on the process a bit more, and after the fact. Sometimes I think I should stop working on something but I am having such a good time, it's hard to. Anyway, I'd love to hear feedback. A teacher once told me I needed to figure out when to stop...I believe she may be right. It's always a wild time wrangling these drawings into something I can live with, and that my friends is what it's all about.

Enjoy!

I'd love to hear what your favorite "phase" of the drawing is. Did I just do ten drawings on one surface? Or could the final product not exist without all of the other drawings underneath to support it? Magical mystery.

This Collective Pull : A Mass Collaboration Opening Reception!

Thank you to all of you who attended the opening reception for This Collective Pull : A Mass Collaboration! We had a wonderful turnout at the reception and received a lot of great feedback, and made a lot of new friends. The work looked great in the space, and I have been back a few times since to see the show sans-crowd and to show the exhibit to a few who were un-able to make the opening. While hanging the show it was really wonderful to see the connections between pieces that I didn't see while Julie and I were sorting through the submissions. We also began to see connections that the pieces made with the actual gallery space. I am so pleased to see the growth of this curatorial project from the first installation (and the second!) Below are a few photos from the evening, with more to follow!

Julie and I (after a glass of wine and making a weird face) in front of a collaborative piece between Bradford Rusick and Allie Hornak, and an altered book by Anthony Montouri.

I will be posting a more thorough documentation of the exhibit soon. The work will be up until February 28th. If you would like to view the exhibit please contact me at this.collective.pull@gmail.com to set up an appointment! More photos to come!

All photographs in this post are copyright Julie O'Boyle

You're Invited!

This Collective Pull : A Mass Collaboration

February 6 - February 28, 2010

fivesevendelle

57 Delle Avenue

Boston, MA | 02120

OPENING RECEPTION : Saturday, Feburary 6th | 6:00 PM

(left to right)

Top: Jenna Antonangeli, Anthony Montouri, Hayley Perry, Julia Puriton, Catalina Viejo

Middle: Judy Brown, Peter Brefini, Bradford Rusick, Justin Bothwell, Kathy Archer

Bottom: Luba Grenader, Heather Counselman, Rose Olson, Mary Bucci McCoy, Counselman

This Collective Pull is a Beverly, MA based movement formed to raise awareness of Boston area artists while working to encourage a strong, collaborative community. Working in collaboration with Boston's alternative gallery space fivesevendelle, the members of This Collective Pull are pleased to announce this month long exhibition featuring the drawing, installation, mixed media, paintings and photography of 16 Boston based artists. Join us at the opening to speak with artists and learn how to become involved with fivesevendelle and This Collective Pull for future projects. We believe collaboration and community lead to the cultivation of new ideas and hope you will join in our efforts.

Visit and follow This Collective Pull's blog at www.thiscollectivepull.blogspot.com for updates on this project, future projects and to get involved! We are also looking for new friends to work with so drop a line!

Check out the Facebook invitation HERE for a list of participating artists.

See you there my friends!

Two New Creations and a Whole Lot of Ideas

Well my dear friends, I have been a busy Bea (HAH!)

My curatorial project This Collective Pull : A Mass Collaboration is well underway in terms of getting the word out there and receiving submissions. To any of you readers out there that are interested in exhibiting artwork in an alternative Boston based gallery, please scroll to the previous post and upload the PDF call to artists! I still can't believe that a small exhibit that began in my friend Dan's apartment will now be a month long installation in a real honest to goodness gallery! I hope you will all make it to the opening on February 6th at 6:00pm. The gallery, fivesevedelle , is located at 57 Delle Avenue, Boston MA (get it?)

Work in the studio has been slow and steady, there is a large drawing that I have been struggling with that is nearing completion and I have been photographing it along the way so once it is done, I will post pictures of it going through the transformation from beginning to end. I have also been working with lots of collage work in which I am really building up the surface. I am antsy to be working three-dimensionally again, and have lots of ideas for how to do this. I have been working with clay and building up surfaces with torn paper as well. I am hoping that while in residence at the Hambidge Center in Georgia this coming April I will have the space to work larger. That being said, below are two pieces that crawled out of my brain this past week. I'd love to hear what you think!

Untitled, 10" x 13" Shellac, graphite, gouache and ink on bristol board. 2010

(Detail)


Untitled, 9" x 12", Shellac, graphite, gouache and ink on bristol board. 2010

I recently cleaned my studio (normally atrocious) and set up a flat surface to work on which was very helpful for the creation of these pieces. I really enjoyed working with the gouache, and I have begun working to incorporate it into my larger pastel drawings. I think the "chalkiness" of the paint will work nicely with the texture of pastel. We'll see!
Thanks for reading!

This Collective Pull : A Mass Collaboration

Hi Everyone,

I am happy to announce the Open Call to Massachusetts Artists for This Collective Pull : A Mass Collaboration. This will be the latest installment of my curatorial project with Julie O'Boyle. I am happy to say that this time around we were offered a beautiful alternative gallery space in Boston, MA for a month long installment! The space is called fivesevendelle, and occupies a beautiful brownstone from the late 1800's, complete with fireplace and chandelier!

To download the PDF click here.

For those of you not living in Massachusetts, or not working as an artist, I hope you will save the date for the opening which will be February 6th at 6:00 PM. I will be posting directions and details soon! In the meantime, help us spread the word by referring people to our blog at www.thiscollectivepull.blogspot.com. Visit our blog by clicking here and become a fan of our facebook page here!

For images and information about the last This Collective Pull, see my blog post here.

I look forward to seeing your submissions, and if you have any questions you can email me at this.collective.pull@gmail.com

Now hop to it! Deadline is January 28th!

Happy New Year!!

It's been said many times by now I'm sure, but let me add my "Happy New Year" to the list.

2009 was a pretty good year. It started off in the best way possible with the inauguration of Obama, an event I am so thankful to have been able to attend, and not one I will forget. I am thankful that the end of 2009 marks yet another year that I have managed to balance my job and life with making my art. I kept my studio practice going while applying to exhibitions and shows, some I was accepted to and some....well....not. I am also thankful to have readers like you who follow my blog and leave some wonderful encouraging comments for me. I am going on three years having a blog now, and trying my hardest to make it a more regular part of my schedule. If I made New Year resolutions, maybe this would be one??? I pretty much make resolutions every day, so I stray from making a blanket resolution at the beginning of the year. However, I do have goals for this year. It's pretty simple: maintain my studio practice, continue exhibiting my work, continue to apply to residencies and get into graduate school. When I graduated from college I gave myself a few 5 year goals. I have achieved 2 of the 3, and have two years left to achieve the third. It is a once a year chance for that one, so we'll see!

I hope you all had a wonderful New Year's Eve and here's to hoping 2010 is your best year yet!!

Images of new drawings coming soon, keep being patient! Also, please forgive the inconsistent formatting, I promise to make up my mind soon!