Many Mansions

Memorial Day Weekend signaled the end of my first desert foray. It also signaled my first exhibition - a group show at the Art Queen organized by Shari Elf and Randy Polumbo. The show had a loose theme of spirituality and the title referred to the many guises in which spirituality is embodied. I had a print – Free Tibet – that I could have submitted yet I decided to produce something fresh. My collages had been progressing into various forms of authored work – the prints, drawing, watercolors – and I had been yearning for a larger canvas to work on than the 8 ½ x 11 sheets I was using as backgrounds.

As I looked around the cabin, I noticed a reserve of brown shopping bags. I decided to cut them open, form a canvas and then sew them together. The first one of these I had made was quite large and the submission request had included a request to keep things manageable. So, I made a smaller canvas from a Trader Joes bag John Luckett had used to wrap a gift. The shopping bags made a good canvas, particularly owing to the handles which allowed for easy hanging. I drew, collaged, watercolored and sewed onto the canvas. I then located a deep frame at a thrift store, scraped off the alpine decal that it sported, framed the work and oiled the frame. It was as good as…well, you get the idea. Just as I finished up, I noticed that a hair had become trapped under the glass. I tried to shake it free to no avail. I just couldn’t face opening the whole thing up again and went with the flow. So much so that I ended up calling the piece ‘Untitled: Hairy Problem”.



On the Friday before the opening, I dropped into the Art Queen to see if I could help. Shari has already hung more than half the show in one gallery and I helped her get most of the second gallery done. Not only was this fun, it helped me score rime real estate for my piece, right next Randy’s brilliant corner of many spiritual and other delights. Saturday dawned, I had a delightful coffee date at Regina and Dimitri’s. Then it was time for the main event. The Art Queen was wonderfully decked out with seating in the courtyard, fires in braziers and the outdoor fireplace, a bar and great catering by Chantale. A new stage had been built and there were several musical acts, some twirling and chanting accompanied by a harmonium.












The crowd was diverse, the conversation fun and the action energizing. I bartended a bit, talked a lot, ate a lot, twirled and chanted and generally had a ball. Toward the end of the evening, Shari performed accompanied by Randy and the evening drew toward a close with a performance by Anne Magnuson. Lovely. The show will be up for several months – drop by if you’re in the area ;)