What a whirlwind it’s been!
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| Hooray! The sign in front of the Taos Center for the Arts |
My primary focus for the past twelve months — and the past four months most especially — has been creating art for an intense two days in Taos. Not only did I deliver, but Taos delivered as well!
Last summer Joan Fullerton suggested to me that we do another art show together in Taos. We’d had two previous shows together — in 2006 and 2008. Both times we rented the beautiful Stables Gallery of the Taos Center for the Arts (TCA) for the exhibition. Both times we started planning the shows a year in advance. Both times we put a ton of planning into the shows. Both times we used the upcoming shows as an opportunity to experiment with new work. And both times we cranked out a helluva lot of artwork.
And that was the whole point with Joan’s proposal.
Since moving away from Taos (I to Santa Fe in December of 2009; Joan to Denver in September of 2010), we’d both been feeling a little off-kilter in our studios. Lots of Life had been fogging the focus in our studios.
What we needed was a goal.
A deadline.
And we both knew that nothing motivates us quite so well as having a show date on the calendar.
So we set the date — Friday, August 9th — and got busy!
More details about the process (and why we decided to make the show for just two days) can be found in this cool article in the Taos News [THANK YOU TAOS NEWS for the amazing 3-page spread in the Tempo! We are blown away by the coverage!]
The show was a splendid success, with tons of friends streaming in throughout the weekend. Indeed, it was heartening to see so many lovely people, many whom we had not seen since moving away. Equally heartening were the folks whom we’d never met before, who had read the Taos News article and decided to come see the exhibition, or those who simply happened upon the show by accident. The enthusiasm and positive feedback for our work has us glowing with validation and motivation. So thrilling, too, was it to see our work on the clean white walls of this beautiful art space.
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| joan fullerton’s latest paintings on display at the stables gallery in taos, new mexico |
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| new paintings by dawn chandler |
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| a selection of dawn chandler’s new “have you gazed?” series of mixed media paintings incorporating traditional landscape with passages of text and abstract elements. |
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| a selection of dawn chandler’s ‘traditional’ landscape paintings in oil on panel as well as her suite of “spirit series” abstracted landscapes made with the leftover oil paint form her traditional paintings. |
I’ll write more soon about this new work I’m doing as a result of this “deadline.” Meanwhile…
Thank you Taos!
Thank you friends — old and new….
Thank you Taos News and the TCA….
Thank you Cafe Renato (as well as the other many great eateries where we dined & drank over the course of the week. YUM)…
Thank you dear friends out on the mesa who let us stay in your beautiful home while you were traveling…..
Thank you JB and family for love and traveling so far to come and show your support….
Thank you CW of Southwest Framers for responding to my 11th hour request (plea) for a frame….
Thank you JS — STUD! — for helping us take down the show, and the delightful post-show luncheon; you charmer….
Thank you, Joan Fullerton, for the idea, inspiration, encouragement, professionalism, friendship and — most especially — your good humor and downright sassiness!
And most of all, thank you my dear late parents….for everything. I miss you.
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| the ‘spirit series’ by dawn chandler ~ oil and mixed media on panel, each panel 8 x 8 inches ~ copyright dawn chandler 2013 |