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NIH Clinical Gallery: installation photos

Today's installation at NIH went very smoothly, thanks to hands-on help from Judy Coady and support from the gallery's curator, Lillian Fitzgerald. Getting onto the NIH campus was a breeze as well - they have it down to a friendly but thorough system.

In Three Acts is a way for me to take advantage of the unique opportunity that three empty glass cases presented. It's a lot of fun to see it come to fruition.

What a healing atmosphere there! There is art gracing most walls and quiet spots to contemplate beauty. I'm thrilled to have my work included. The exhibition is open to everyone, and runs through March 4, 7 am to 9 pm daily.

Act One: Moving PartsAct Two: Finding GraceAct Three: Telling SecretsIn Three Acts: work by Kelly O'Brien

haiku exhibition: installation photos

With the help of fellow Printmaker Judy Coady and my hubby, I installed my first exhibition at our co-op studio. Each member selected a print and paired it with a haiku. Some wrote their own, others drew from the master, Yosa Buson. I love that my sister, Katie Engen, collaborated with me to write the haiku for Leap Year.

The exhibiit is up until February 28. If you're near Old Town Alexandria in Virginia, stop in and spend some time in our gallery, Studio 325. The haikus take the prints to a whole new level, and it's a nice way to spend a winter's day.

a new year full of things that have never been

Now let us welcome the New Year, full of things that have never been.

-Rainer Maria Rilke

2010 was full of surprises, both delightful and difficult, that I could have never anticipated. Last New Year's Day, as I sat with my journal and planner, thoughtfully mapping out the things I wanted to do and achieve for the year, it wasn't even on my radar that I'd...

  • sustain a self-inflicted major injury that would require me to face down my fear of surgery
  • have to learn to be still and allow healing to occur
  • find out the hard way what harsh self-criticism can do to a still-healing body
  • accept levels of support from friends and my husband that I'd previously been unable to ask for
  • become a juried artist at the Torpedo Factory and be asked to join one of the most desirable studios there
  • find out what it really means to be married, finally
  • be reunited with my beloved French host family after a 5-year separation
  • forgive myself and significant others, allowing compassion to enter my heart
  • learn how to choose love and joy over fear, every time
  • have the opportunity to say yes to a long time dream: living abroad again (yes, we're moving to Germany! More on that in a later post)
  • say no to the home addition of our dreams in exchange for the financial flexibility to pursue my art

So on this first day of 2011, I'm not even going to waste my time plugging a bunch of must-do's and tasks into my calendar. Sure, there's stuff I've got to and want to do. But why spoil the surprises in store by cluttering up my life with a bunch of "shoulds?"

As my wise yogi friend Jen said in her Facebook post this morning: 2011, bring it on!

bound in japan

My very talented friend, Kieu Lam, is embarking on a big adventure in 2011 to Japan. Bound in Japan will bring a community of non-native residents together in Japan to create, talk about, and exhibit their book art. The goal is to increase awareness about diversity and cultural issues faced by non-natives in a host country.

All of this - the travel and living expenses, book art workshops, materials, an exhibition, publicity - is being facilitated and funded by Kieu, and she could use a little help! For a very good cause (what could be better than spreading awareness about the book arts around the world? okay, the diversity and cultural awareness stuff is good too), please consider making a donation.

I can vouch for Kieu and that your money will be very well-managed and appreciated. C'mon...for as little as $2/month, you can make a nice statement about your support for the arts. And for $20/month, she'll send you a handmade hard cover journal AND monthly mail art subscription.

How cool is that?

For more info and to support the cause (all tax-deductible, mind you), click here.

ballet is hot

Is it just me, or is ballet hot these days? And I'm not refering to the Nutcracker. This sense started nearly two years ago for me, back when I started work for the CityDance project. I noticed a trend in couture fashion that was ballet-inspired, with designers using lots of tulle, soft colors and draping. At the time, I thought it was just me having ballet on brain for a dance-related project.

Then this fall, I read about Rodarte's involvement in costuming for Black Swan and got pretty excited. This week, I bumped into this exquisite piece, Little Ballerina, by photographer David Eustace for the ANTHROPOLOGiST. Today, I listened to Terry Gross' Fresh Air interview with Jennifer Homans about her new book, Apollo's Angels: A History of Ballet.

This all makes me very happy, of course. I was feeling a little nerdy about my obsession with sewing layers of tulle onto handmade paper. But now I just feel rather fashionable.

the healing power of art

Proof that art has the power to heal, The National Institutes of Health has a permanently rotating series of exhibitions in the Clinical Center Gallery. My work will be shown in three glass sculpture cases. In Three Acts will feature my artist books and paper sculpture. Curated by Lillian Fitzgerald of Fitzgerald Fine Art. Open to the public 7 am to 9 pm daily, January 14 - March 4, 2011. For more information, directions and parking, click here.

if you can make it in new york...

This was a big weekend for the book arts, here in the Northeast. I think we're all still recovering from the wonderfully successful Pyramid Atlantic Book Arts Conference & Fair (more on that in a later post), and New York was buzzing with bookish delights at Printed Matter's NY Art Book Fair. I love that the art form is getting some attention in the blogosphere, even if it is from "one of our own," book artist Marilyn MacGregor.

thanks to pinkline project for video short!

A couple of months ago, we gathered together at the venue for this weekend's Book Arts Fair with a little handheld camera and shot this video short. It's a fun way to learn about the event. Thanks to Philippa Hughes of the Pink Line Project for being our interviewer, and Pyramid Atlantic's Gretchen Schermerhorn, Jose Dominguez, and Matt Sole for a great job.

Hope to see you there!

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good advice: proceed and be bold

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I'm sitting here watching the documentary, Proceed and Be Bold, about printmaker Amos Kennedy. The man is calling my name.

Amos left a well-paying career as a systems analyst at the age of 40, returned to school to get his MFA, and hasn't looked back. He's figured out a way to make a living doing what he loves and apologizes to no one.

Some Kennedy-isms I particularly like:

"What do I have to do in order to make my stuff?"

"Life is short. But as long as you got it, make something of it."

"Instead of being afraid to leave something you don't want to do, leave it and do something you want to do."

"Nothing is permanent, so why are you going to put your faith in something you have no control over? At least you have some control over your own life."

You can catch a local screening of this terrific film on November 6th at 1:15 pm here.

photo works exhibition opens this weekend

If you're in Denver next month and looking for something different to do, stop by Abecedarian Gallery. Owner/curator Alicia Bailey holds a flame for the book arts in the Denver Arts District, with special exhibitions in the Reading Room.

Photo Works opens this Friday with a reception and shows through Oct. 30.

This is the debut for my piece, In Case of Panic, an artist book about what I did to thwart a panic attack while driving over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

Moving Parts on the move (still!)

Photo credit: Paul Gordon EmersonIt's been a long haul, Moving Parts. It was a year ago July that we kicked off the boxed edition, and well before then that the idea was hatched and put into motion.

We've been steadily making progress, one clamshell box and one tiny artist book at a time - there's a dedicated handful of talented people who give of their time and talent bimonthly to make the boxes, not to mention the ten artists involved who continue to chip away at their artist book edition of 50.

So it's a nice lift when we get a little visibility and a reinforcement for our mission (to sell these lovelies to collectors and raise funds for Pyramid Atlantic and CityDance). Recently, we've been on a bit of a roll.

I'm happy to report that the edition has been accepted for consignment by both the Minnesota Center for the Book Arts and Vamp & Tramp Booksellers. The project's documentarian, Francisco Campos-Lopez, has some of his films (including Moving Parts) featured on SONY Worldwide's Professional Site.

autumn update from TurningPointe Press

Photo credit: Jim VecchioneTime again for a quick update on places you can find my work this fall. I've been doing these updates by email as a way to stay in touch with people I meet at book arts workshops, conferences and events. Can't hurt to post here as well, right?

Pyramid Atlantic 11th Biennial Book Arts Fair, November 5-7, 2010, Silver Spring, MD. Moving Parts project demonstration: Nov. 7, 1:15-2:15 pm

Beyond Text: Contemporary Books, invitational group exhibition, Montgomery College Cafritz Foundation Arts Center, October 15 - November 15, 2010, Silver Spring, MD. Opening: Nov. 4, 5-7:30 pm

Small group show, ArtSpring-Pyramid Atlantic retail store, November 4-7, 2010, Silver Spring, MD

Sequenced Fibers juried exhibition, University of Nebraska at Omaha, October 1-29, 2010, Omaha, NE. Opening: Oct. 10, 1-4 pm

Photo Book Works juried exhibition, Abecedarian Gallery, Denver, CO, September 30 – October 30, 2010

chaneling warhol part 2

Marty Ittner, in action at Pyramid AtlanticKnocked out some good solid prints last night at Pyramid Atlantic, under the expert and paaaaatient guidance of screen print Queen Marty Ittner. These are for my friend/trade buddy Jim Vecchione's portfolios (he's the talent behind the images of my work on this site).

Boy, did I learn a lot through this process: a) screen printing's not as easy as it looks (SO many variables contribute to all kinds of surprises), b) I tend to come up with complex ideas that are best simplified a bit, this project being no exception, c) being picky is a good thing (thanks, Marty, for insisting on super-sharp logos), d) I need to quadruple my time estimates when I'm doing something for the first time.

I love the element of surprise in screen printing, which I hadn't anticipated at all. The interaction between digital image x screen prep x substrate (in this case, three different kinds of book cloth) x ink x how you pull any given print = who knew the image we thought would be our problem-child ended up being the one I like best?

Jim's portfolio covers, drying

Thanks, Marty, for helping produce something that I think Jim (and his clients) will love. Can't wait to bind them and put them to use!

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unseen hands: women in the arts

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Seems art is no exception to the lack of visibility women have received through the ages. The current exhibition, Unseen Hands: Women Printers, Binders and Book Designers at Princeton University is an illustration (thanks, Mark, for the heads-up!). I was first introduced to the notion of women's diminished visible role in printmaking by Susan King, whose work Women and Cars is included in this show. Susan was part of The Women's Building, a pioneering group of women printmakers in the 1960s.

Other opportunities for visibility are in the air. One of the films we're screening at the Pyramid Atlantic 11th Biennial Book Arts Fair, Who Does She Think She Is?, explores the issue on a very personal level. And then there's the new reality television show, Work of Art, where women and men have equal opportunity to shine or fail.

This is not a new issue and it shouldn't surprise me, since I come from the business world and well know the issues of women's equality in the workplace. So why are we still talking about it today? Instead of talking about it, I'd much prefer women just garner as much recognition, opportunities and success as we can earn.