Home Show

It's catch up time for the year. In January and February I was in a group show with many exceptional fellow artists and friends. Our artist 'support' group exhibited at the Fort Lewis College Fine Art Gallery, displaying pieces we created based on the theme of home. "Home" included works by Katherine Leiner, Judy Austin, Tirzah Camacho, Mary Ellen Long, Amy Wendland, Louise Grunewald, Kris Hill, Linda Robinson, Terry Hobbs, Deborah Gorton, Chyako Hashimoto, Judith Reynolds, Christina Erteszek, Judy Brey, Barb Klema and Ilze Aviks. It was wonderful being involved in a show with artists which incorporated the written word, dance and a variety of visual media. Live performances were the highlight of the opening reception, truly making it a "happening."

An interesting exchange occurred at Durango Coffee Company while I was creating more sketches for my exhibit at Pure Soul (see 12/1/2007 post). I was sketching a man who was obviously homeless and who looked like he hadn't had a bath in a couple months. It was extremely cold that morning and I was sure he was savoring the warmth. He was methodically pulling paper after paper out of an old, warn duffel bag, carefully smoothing out each page, giving it a quick glance, and adding it to a growing stack beside him. As I started sketching his face, he looked up at me, I smiled, and he responded with a less than friendly stare. I figured my drawing time was limited, so I quickly worked the sketch. After a few minutes went by, the man placed the last paper on a pile about 10 inches high, picked up his duffel and started for the door. As he walked past my table, I asked him if he found what he was looking for. He angrily snapped at me "What are YOU looking for?!" and headed out the door. That sure got me thinking.

For almost two years now, Paul and I have been looking for a new home that would allow us each ample studio space, as our house in downtown Durango is too small for our needs. It's been a rough couple years and we still have nothing to show for our efforts. Our searching and selling attempts have taken up too much of our time and have caused a lot of personal stress, which is the main reason I have not been very productive creatively since early 2006. My contribution to the "Home" exhibit was this piece, appropriately titled "What are you looking for?"

Spring and the Scent of Smoke in the Air

Now that spring is on its way and we have only a few feet of snow left in our yard, it's time to get back to the business of blogging. Paul and I recently returned from a week long trip to Kentucky to join in celebrating his dad, Jim's, 90th birthday. It was a delightful trip and an impromptu party with family members turned out great. Jim is doing extremely well and was so happy to have all of us there. Most of his week was spent in long conversations with family members, playing bridge late into the nights with Bruce, Libby, and Russ, and sipping single malt Scotch with like minded connoisseurs. Though it was cold and wet, winter is a good time to visit Kentucky because you can walk the farm without fear of poison ivy, and the sycamore trees readily display their mottled skin. While there, we learned of the devastating fire on Main Avenue in Durango, which destroyed a T-Shirt shop and two of our favorite restaurants, Seasons and Le Rendezvous. Our hearts go out to all the employees and to Karen Barger, the owner of Seasons, and Pierre Rochat, the owner of Le Rendezvous, and their families. Several relief funds have been set up to help out those affected, including one at First National Bank in Durango. On our return, I notified my insurance adjuster that I had four artworks displayed at Seasons at the time of the fire. I went downtown and saw the horrible condition of the buildings, which were much worse in person than in the newspaper photos. I approached Karen Barger, who was loading up a pick-up truck with remnants from the fire, when she turned to me excitedly and said "I saved two of your pieces!" I was dumbfounded. I didn't understand how anything could have survived what seemed to be an all consuming fire, but it turns out that despite two feet of water in the lower basement level, some things only suffered minimal damage. One of my pieces was at the base of the stairs, near the wine room, and the other was on the wall between the bathroom doors. Though the frames suffered some soot damage, the works themselves are intact. I have decided to rename the pieces "Sentinel" and "Phoenix." Two pieces were destroyed by fire and water, but you can still see the images under the plexiglass. They were still hanging on the wall after the fire, surrounded by burnt debris and charred walls.
We are all grateful that no one was seriously injured and all that was lost were material possessions. The community is hoping the businesses will be rebuilt soon and are looking forward to spending time again with the great staff and enjoying wonderful meals.

I have been a bit busy for the last month and a half, which is why I have not done any posts since early January. Here is our home, with Paul, who is 6'2", showing he's had enough snow and bitter cold this winter. This photo was taken AFTER he and our neighbor to the south shoveled 3 feet of snow off the roofs and I cleaned the debris off the sidewalks that go around our house. We got another foot after the roofs got cleared. We are expecting more snow today.

Pure Soul Sketches

You can view several of the sketches I displayed at Pure Soul Coffee House during December 2007 at the bottom of this page. Click on the image to view larger images, or move your cursor over the image to pause/play. If you see yourself, don't forget to email me at maureenmayart@gmail.com and I'll send you the image (no charge, of course).

Yodit Gidey of the Durango Herald took this photo of me working on my show at Pure Soul Coffee. When she snapped this picture, I was working on a drawing of Jeff, who went to school with Paul at FLC back in the 1990s. Jeff wanted to pose for me, so I told him to sit down and relax. He said his back was hurting him and wanted to stand. He took an heroic like pose, with his chin up and his gigantic coffee mug cradled in his arm. I sketched him from a seated position, and with the folds of his hooded sweatshirt sitting on his shoulders, he looked like a superhero. I had so much fun with this drawing, making it my favorite of the show.

Year in Review Chapter 1

I just received a beautiful card from Nancy Culmone, a visual artist and writer living in Serafina, NM with her equally talented artist husband, Paul Maurer. My husband Paul and I had the privilege of meeting Nancy and Paul early in 2007 while we were on our journey searching for the "perfect home." Our friend, Louise Grunewald, suggested we seek them out, which was worth the trip very off the beaten path. Nancy and her husband had a show this fall in the Durango Arts Center library. Nancy returned to Durango in October to teach a paste paper workshop and I was lucky enough to get in. I loved working in what was a completely new medium to me, and it was a positive step toward getting me back into my studio on a steady basis. Nancy Culmone is one of the premier book artists of the country, incorporating her exquisite paste paper and calligraphy into her work. There are hundreds of references to her and her work on the internet. Here is one which gives a glimpse of a recently completed work of hers we in the workshop were in awe over, "Raven." I highly recommend doing a search of your own to see more of her amazing work.

A good friend, Peggy Maloney, stopped by to say hi and give us a beautiful hand-made Christmas wreath. She lives and works in Mancos, CO making marvelous metalworks (i.e. jewelry). Peggy exhibits in Albuquerque, NM at Mariposa Gallery. She taught with Paul at Fort Lewis College for many years in the art department. Currently she is teaching privately. It's getting dark out and sleeting, so Peggy has to get back to her cozy home and her three cats.