Fall, Not Falling

#112: Here and Now, Art and Fire, Louise Stigell, Bélizaire restored, Alfred Chow, “Fungi-mad Ladies," Librarians, Nick Cave on ChatGPT, Yukimi Nagano, Blind Physics, and Talilo Marfil.

Aug 20, 2023

HERE AND NOW

It still feels like summer here (a cool one, so far),1 but I’m already shifting gears, preparing for Fall. And I’m intent on pacing myself, this year, so that work doesn’t turn into the burnout extravaganza that it did last year. In the Monterey Bay Area, Fall means planning what art I will put into the Arts Habitat Artists Open Studios Tour and also making sure I’ve got all the stuff I need in order to sell the art. I’m wondering how (being carless) I will get to the Carl Cherry Center in Carmel-by-the-Sea, and back home—while carrying art. I figure it’ll work out, somehow . . .

My nonprofit work is slowly picking up its pace. The official start of our Fall season begins on Sept. 1 with a book release reception for Our Salinas Chinatown, which I edited, published by Asian Cultural Experience (ACE). The event will be at Downtown Book & Sound in Salinas. If you’re in the area and can attend, it starts at 6 p.m. Contributors to the book will be reading, followed by a Q&A. There will be music and refreshments available. If you’re interested in what’s happening in Salinas Chinatown, check out the ACE newsletter, which is also on Substack!

I’ve been thinking about the business of selling art online through third-party platforms. It has begun to feel like a burden to me. Even when I’m not actively working on the site, it still feels like it is taking some energy from me, always lurking in the back of my mind. These platforms make selling online seem easy, but it can take up a lot of time, for generally little profit and not much fun. “Fun,” creative “exploration,” contemplative aspects of creating, and other intangible benefits of art making are crucial for me. Anything that takes away from that needs to be reconsidered.

I will be leaving Saatchi Art.

I’d been thinking about this for awhile, and may have even mentioned it in an earlier newsletter. But then I realized that leaving is not just a matter of shutting down the page. Because I’d spent so much time resizing images and writing and re-writing descriptions for each art piece on the platform, I can’t waste that work. So, I’m copying every image and description, and entering them into an excel sheet, so I can post the art on my existing website in order to sell it there.

I have a few things up on my website, but have done very little to promote art sales there. And although I intend to post more art on the site, I don’t think I’ll be touting it much, other than saying, hey, it’s here. Having a central website where I can sell my art, plus joining one or two local art events per year (where I can actually meet people face to face) is enough for me.

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ART

I keep thinking of the fires in Canada and Maui. Fire season is upon us and August seems like a good time to pay my respects to the local fire spirits. Below are some fire-based pieces from several years ago. Maybe it’s time for some new ones.

Fire Season 2016: Soberanes 5. By Jean Vengua.

Sage Fire (2017). By Jean Vengua (Sold).

“Oak Carbon Anito” (from the Oak Carbon series), 2020-2021. Crushed oak carbon ink on heavy paper, by Jean Vengua.

Here are a couple of links if you’d like to help out the folks dealing with devastating fires in Lahaina (Maui) and the Northwest Territories, BC, Canada.

RABBIT HOLE

Artist Louise Stigell has come to the conclusion that painting in “collections” is not for her (from Confessions of a Terrified Creative). I love her portrait of the goat.
“His Name Was Bélizaire.” An enslaved child’s portrait was erased from a painting, then restored, along with his story:
Alfred Chow is a “maker of things” and miniature worlds. He’s also on the autism spectrum and tells stories via the miniature worlds he creates: Read and see, for example, “A Delivery.”
Ladies who studied fungi and drew them were once considered “unladylike” and possibly mad. All about those “Fungi-mad Ladies of Long Ago.” (From JSTOR Daily).
I’m partial to librarians and library staff (my son is among them). They do good work for the community and shouldn’t be vilified and attacked for making literature available for all.
Advice to a young artist about ChatGPT – from musician/songwriter Nick Cave (Redhandfiles).

SOUNDINGS

Vocalist and songwriter Yukimi Nagano and Little Dragon. The very danceable “My Step,” performed at Amoeba:

Blind Physics’ beautiful, mysterious cover of Rahsaan Roland Kirk’s “Theme for Eulipions,” Nat Wilson on soprano sax.

I noticed that a festival celebrating both Filipino hip hop and the 50th anniversary of hip hop was happening today in San Francisco. Well, I couldn’t make it over there. But I’ve included a video of Talilo Marfil and crew, including family members and community, performing “Big Flip.” Talilo was born in Iloilo, Philippines and now lives in Portland, OR.

Eulipion Outpost

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