Shari Beaubien

A Day at the Museum

Steve and I went to see the Vanity Fair Portraits exhibit a few weeks ago at LACMA.  We loved it!  What history lies in that collection of pictures!  The exhibit closes on March 1, so there's still a bit of time to see it if you're so inclined...

Unfortunately, photography was not permitted in the Vanity Fair exhibit, so I snapped a few shots of the rest of the museum to share with you.

Amedeo Modigliani

Paul Cezanne

Marc Chagall

I don't recall the artist here, but I LOVE this little piece!

Diego Rivera

 

And my personal favorite...
"Weeping Coconuts" by Frida Kahlo

Thanks for spending some time at the museum with me!

Today is the load out for my solo exhibition, so I need to get my butt in gear and get out the door shortly.  It will be a big job packing up all of those paintings, but it's one I'm looking forward to.  This has been such an extraordinary experience from beginning to end and I feel truly blessed to have had this opportunity.  (Big sigh...)  Does life get any sweeter?

Art as Nourishment

Let me begin by once again thanking everyone who came to see me at the Creative Arts Center gallery last night.  It was my deepest pleasure to share my work with all of you and as I mentioned in an earlier post, my heart feels so very full.  This, my first solo exhibition, has been a labor of absolute love and I feel blessed to be so supported in this effort by so many beautiful, caring souls.

Something funny dawned on me last night though as I was sitting there waiting for folks to arrive...

I had a bit of a traumatic holiday season, filled with sick pets, stress, and a lot of painting to get ready for this show.  Once mid-January hit, I decided to give myself a break from the brush so that I could focus exclusively on the exhibition.  It was nice to feel a little less pressure in my daily life.

Now little by little this "break" dragged on longer than I had anticipated.  I hesitate to say that it turned into a "slump"...  I think slapping that label on it gives the negative too much power.  But I'd be lying if I didn't say I was starting to get worried about where the next masterpiece would come from.  Day by day that worry built upon itself to produce an increasing degree of anxiety.  And the anxiety, in turn, allowed the paralysis to find an even stronger hold.

Until last night.

An interesting thing about this show is that for the first time since I have been painting professionally, my ENTIRE inventory is out of our house.  Usually, my work fills our walls and my husband and I enjoy my artistic efforts until piece by piece, they find new homes.  I live with my artwork and I am surrounded by it.  And now, I realize, I am nourished by it.

When I got to the gallery last night, it struck me how very much our bare walls have been affecting me.  As soon as I sat down in the quiet, surrounded by the colors and textures of all of my various voices and emotions, I felt so completely nurtured.  It was a calm and a sense of completeness that I haven't felt since, well, the show went up.  My paintings give me the confidence to move forward in my body of work.  They whisper the next steps to me.  They assure me that yes, I am good enough...

Isn't that odd?  Perhaps it's not, really.  But I can't begin to tell you how hard this truth hit home for me last night.  What I had considered a possible dry spell was not.  It was, instead, a longing for the missing pieces to my soul.  How powerful is that?

Just a Reminder...

I'll be at the Creative Arts Center Gallery
in Burbank tonight from 5 pm to 7:30 pm.
(More details can be found here.) 

Stop by and see me if you can!

Art & Soul

The class schedule for Art & Soul in Portland this fall is finally up!
Check out all of the oh-so-tempting offerings here.

Plus, yours truly will be teaching two workshops...

Going Deep

(details here)

and

My Artful Heart Mixed-Media Assemblages

(details here)

Have fun pouring over all of the fantastic possibilities on the Art & Soul website!  Each workshop promises to be a terrific opportunity to have extreme amounts of fun while simultaneously building up your art knowledge base.  I can tell you from years of experience, this is an absolutely stellar retreat run by one incredibly contentious woman and her team of countless equally-caring supporters.  Don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions at all.  And just in case you're wondering, this will be my only teaching engagement for 2009.  Don't miss it!

Registration opens on March 15...

Meet 'n Greet

"Journeys of the Heart"

SOLO EXHIBITION BY ARTIST SHARI BEAUBIEN

In case you missed the opening reception in the downpour, my show runs through Wednesday, February 25, so there's still time!  However, because I missed seeing many of you (and because I'm like a proud new mommie), I've decided to hold an informal meet 'n greet at the gallery. 

If you're interested, I'll be in residence
from 5 pm to 7:30 pm on Thursday, February 19, 2009. 

I'd love nothing more to visit for a bit and show you around.  The gallery is called the Creative Arts Center Gallery and is located at 1100 West Clark Avenue, Burbank, CA  91506.  By all means, you're welcome to stop by any time though!  Their generous hours are as follows:

Monday - Thursday:  9 am - 8 pm
Friday:  9 am - 7 pm
Saturday:  9 am - 1 pm
Sunday:  closed

Call (818) 238-5397 for more information.

You might be wondering whether I've been doing anything else, since this is all I seem to talk about lately.  Well, the honest answer is no!  I've been working on various applications for art fairs and shows coming up in the late spring, but those aren't really worth blogging about.  Other than that, I've been doing all the behind-the-scenes stuff necessary to maintain the show while giving myself a complete and total break from art-making.  I'll admit to feeling guilty about such a lapse in painting some of the time, but the rest of the time it just feels good.  There was such a push to get this show together (and much of it happened when everyone else was enjoying the holidays) that I feel I deserve a bit of a break.  I think I creatively NEED a bit of a break as well... like my well ran completely dry and it's going to take some time before I can take a drink again, you know?  And I'm okay with that.

A Night to Remember

My heart is full.  So very full.

To those who wrote emails, made phone calls, and mailed cards to wish me well prior to the show, thank you.  Just knowing you were thinking about me gave me confidence and made me feel loved.

To those of you who braved the most TORRENTIAL downpour in years to be there, thank you.  Having you with me on one of the most important nights in my life meant the world.

To my friends who jumped in without a moment's hesitation to be my greeters, thank you.

And to the love of my life, my husband Steve, thank you for all the things you do both big and small every single day to let me know how much you care.

Here are some shots of the evening.  Some were taken before the reception began and some during.  I wish I had more to share, but my number one photographer was busy most of the time with the credit card machine, so I can't complain! :) 

Thanks for attending my reception via cyberspace!...

IT'S TIME!!

Today is the day!!

"Journeys of the Heart" is here!!

The opening reception is tonight...

7pm to 9pm

Creative Arts Center Gallery
1100 West Clark Avenue
Burbank, CA  91506

Join us for a chance to win one of three fine art prints!

I can't begin to tell you how excited I am.  And nervous.  Well, maybe you can guess.  But it is a good kind of energy.  I feel wrapped in this blanket of anticipation, and that's precisely what has carried me through this week.  It seems it's passed in a blur!  So much to do and so many behind-the-scenes details to attend to that I never even considered.  And, of course, tonight we're supposed to get slammed with a HUGE thunder and lightening storm from Alaska.  Alas, what can you do but shake your head?...

I do hope to see you there!  And if you're not geographically close, please send me your positive juju.  Pictures to follow next week...

Etsy Updates!

Now that my artwork has been delivered to the Burbank Creative Arts Center for my JOURNEYS OF THE HEART show, I feel I can breathe a little easier and concentrate on the multitude of things I've let slide lately.

For starters, I updated my Etsy shop!
Two new pieces were added...

AND...

I placed my "Inner Sanctum" artworks ON SALE for a limited time.
(They're marked down to only $25 from their original price of $35).

Thanks for looking!

Delivery Day!

"The Encounter"
24" x 24"

Today is the day I deliver my paintings to the Creative Arts Center Gallery in Burbank for my solo show, "Journeys of the Heart."  Nearly 70 paintings in all!  The truck sits loaded and ready.  All I have to do is navigate the Los Angeles freeways down to Burbank.  Why am I so completely nervous then?  But it's a good kind of nervous.  The best kind, I suppose.  The reception is this Friday from 7 to 9 pm.  Please do stop by if you can.