Exhibitions

My next pop-up show: Atherton Arts Foundation September 15, 2017

| WildTomato

I’m honored to be one of eleven local artists exhibiting for one night only for the Atherton Arts Foundation Fall Reception on Friday, September 15, 2017, at Jennings Pavilion, Holbrook-Palmer Park, 150 Watkins Ave, Atherton, California.

In celebration of the show’s theme, “Through Artists’ Eyes: Land, Sea and Sky”, I will be showing a collection of my plein air watercolor sketches, all created on location in outdoor settings during my travels to Yosemite, Gettysburg, Vermont, Idaho, and out my front door in Half Moon Bay, California. I will also have copies of my Badass Women Portraits book, prints and cards available for purchase.

I hope you will join me!

Atherton Arts Foundation Fall Reception featuring 11 local artists

Gearing up for Gettysburg!

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Fresh from a trip to the mountains of Yosemite National Park, I’m now getting geared up for my 2017 residency in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania! Last year, I spent thirty days sketching, walking, biking, and painting in Gettysburg National Park. I came home and shared my work in an exhibition at the Half Moon Bay Library in my hometown.

Next week, I’m going back for one action-packed week of teaching, sketching, exhibiting, and reconnecting with all of the historical significance and natural beauty this place has to offer.

Here’s a list of the things I’ll be involved with in Gettysburg, from July 29 through August 4, 2017:

  • Instagram takeover of Destination Gettysburg’s account! I’ll be posting photos of my adventures and stories during the week on Destination Gettysburg. Be sure to follow this account to keep up with my latest news from the road.
  • Sketch crawl at Gettysburg National Park! Sunday, July 30, 2pm to 4:30pm. Bring your sun protection, hydration, and sketching supplies and wander the park with me. We’ll meet at the Pennsylvania Monument, and you’ll be set free to sketch landscapes, sky, barns, people, nature journaling, and maybe even historical reenactments happening in the park. If you need a prompt or a demo, I’ll happily provide it, or you can simply enjoy your own practice in the company of others. Details here.
  • Hope for the Late-Blooming Creative workshop at Adams County Arts Council! Tuesday, August 1, 6:30pm to 9pm. Part of the Healing HeARTS Initiative presented in partnership with Gettysburg Hospital, this workshop will help you reignite (or discover for the first time) your creative spark! Whether you’re a professional artist needing a kickstart, or someone who has always wanted to make art, you’ll leave this workshop with a renewed sense of your own ability to create with freedom, spontaneity, and joy. Register here.
  • Sketchbook Journaling for Youth Summer Camp at Adams County Arts Council! Ages 10-13, Monday, July 30 through Friday, August 4, 9am to 12pm. Observe and record the world.  This unique camp combines drawing and writing to create expressive journal pages with a visual story on every one. You will work with various media and venture outdoors to create Gettysburg sketches. Register here.
  • First Friday pop-up show at Grant Building in downtown Gettysburg! Friday, August 4, 5pm to 8pm. Exhibition of my work created in Gettysburg, live music, light refreshments, & artist talk at 6:30pm. Some items available for sale. Enjoy a night on the town, where multiple venues in downtown Gettysburg will be featuring artists’ work. Made possible through generous support from Lynda Taylor, Monica E. Oss, and J. Jay Mackie of Gettysburg. Details here.

I hope you’ll follow along on social media or join me in person for one of these events!

Stay tuned for a gear report on the supplies I’m bringing on this trip…

Instagram: @drlisachu Facebook: wildtomatoarts Twitter: @drlisachu

PRE-ORDER your copy of the Badass Women Portraits book!

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The design is done, the proof copy is on its way, and it’s time to announce your chance to pre-order the Badass Women Portraits BOOK! Yes, I always have big book plans from my art projects, and they always take so much longer to complete than I anticipate. But this one is DONE and ready to be printed.

This book is a great way to hold the entire exhibit in your hand, and savor it for years to come.

My goal is to sell 100 books by May 31, 2017….will you help me do it?

The book is really an exhibition catalog of all thirty-one pieces created in thirty-one days (including ones not shown at the Bamboo installation) created for the Badass Women Portraits project, plus bonus materials, like pages from my sketchbook, and scenes from the Bold Audacious Daring Women Painting workshop and opening reception at Bamboo.

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I hope you will think of a woman or girl in your life who would be inspired by seeing the names and faces, plus a bit about these thirty-one Badass Women. Imagine the conversations you can start by looking at these portraits, contemplating these women’s lives, their contributions to the world we live in today, and the work we can each do, starting where we are now.

Plus, I’d like to think that my own story of being a “late-blooming creative”, pursuing the creative life in mid-life, will be a beacon of light to those who are wondering what’s possible for themselves.

This book is a great way to ask the question, “What makes a badass woman badass?“.

You can preview the entire book here, and place your pre-order (at a special price through May 31, 2017) here.

And even if you’re just inspired by looking, please share the links above and spread the word!

Thank you for your grins and giggles!

The price goes up on June 1st, so order yours now!

Announcing: My Gettysburg 2017 Residency

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Last September, I decided to create my own artist residency at Gettysburg National Park. I had been a finalist for a sponsored residency, and I told myself if I applied a second time and wasn’t accepted, I would do it anyway. So that’s what happened, and in so many ways, it has turned out to be exactly the kind of inspiring experience I – and my creative process – thrive on.

You can see and read more about the unfolding of this process here, but the reason I’m writing this is to announce that I am returning to Gettysburg this summer! What started as a mention, a pipe dream, is swiftly becoming reality. Here are the events confirmed so far:

First Friday Pop-Up Show & Artist Talk – Friday, August 4, 2017, 5pm to 8pm, Grant Building, 12 Chambersburg Street, Gettysburg.

Light refreshments and Exhibition, 5pm to 8pm, Artist Talk 6:30pm to 7pm. Presenting illustrations created during a 30-day residency in Gettysburg in 2016: Battlefield & Beyond. Plus, a public interactive textile created during exhibition of this work in California.

Event made possible through generous support from Lynda Taylor, Monica E. Oss, and J. Jay Mackie of Gettysburg.

Youth Sketchbook Journaling Summer Camp at Adams County Arts Council – Observe and record the world.  This unique camp combines drawing and writing to create expressive journal pages with a visual story on every one. You will work with various media and venture outdoors to create Gettysburg sketches. Ages 10 to 13. Monday, July 31 through Friday, August 4, 9am to noon. Register here.

Hope for the Late-Blooming Creative: adult creativity workshop at Adams County Arts Council. Tuesday, August 1, 6:30pm to 9pm. Contact Adams County Arts Council to register.

Follow me on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook to hear about other spontaneous events while I’m in Gettysburg. I’m looking forward to a collaboration with Destination Gettysburg, maybe doing some sketch crawls, creativity jumpstart sessions…who knows? I’ve learned to embrace all the pleasant surprises in the beautiful compost of life.

NBC Bay Area picks up Badass Women Challenge story!

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In the whirlwind week before the Bold Audacious Daring Women Painting workshop, I got front page coverage in my local newspaper, Half Moon Bay Review, followed by video coverage by NBC Bay Area!

Here is the link to the local piece, and a look at the coverage in the print edition:

 

And here is the link to the video and story created by NBC Bay Area:

Photo by Rebecca Greenway, NBC Bay Area.

The exhibition is on display at Bamboo hair + body in Half Moon Bay, through May 13, 2017. For more on the Badass Women Portraits project, visit this project link.

Before and After: Gettysburg-inspired Community Quilt in Half Moon Bay

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Today was finally “Uninstall Day” for my Gettysburg in 2016 installation at Half Moon Bay Library. It had been extended by two weeks, and I was excited to see how FULL the jar of fabric squares was today. Visitors were invited to write their responses to the excerpt from Lincoln’s Gettysburg address presented on a muslin painted panel above them.

And now, my work is to make these squares into a community quilt of our own words, in 2016, resonating with Lincoln’s ideas in the present moment. I have some sewing to do!

“The Unfinished Work” – words excerpted from Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address
Community Quilt prompts
Assorted responses to Community Quilt
Before…
…and after!

Thoughts on the power of our stories

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death-valley-sketchbook-1

If you’ve followed me on Instagram (@drlisachu), you’ve seen pages from my daily illustrated journal practice called “Before 10am”, which I’ve kept since July 2016…that’s over 150 consecutive days so far! I have kept a written journal for many years of my life, but only recently, in 2013, did I start playing with blank pages of a sketchbook, permitting not only words and sentences to appear on the page, but also colors, lines, shapes, scribbles, collage, and other experimental images. This liberating practice has led me and followed me through the daily routine of home life, to wilderness adventures in several national parks, and everything in between. This one new habit has changed my life by deepening my observations of the world around me, and slowing me down each day to reflect on what I have experienced. It has also given me an object to share with others, and a way of connecting with people around the world via social media.

I just returned from a road trip to Death Valley National Park, where I celebrated my birthday. While there, I learned that “Timbisha” is the Shoshone name for their home (which we call “Death Valley”). The word “Timbisha” refers to the sacred red color of the rocks in the area, and symbolizes the future, or the way forward. As Park Ranger Alexandra, a geographer who led a brief program in one of the colorful canyons in Death Valley, shared various theories on the formation of the canyons, she also said that many of the Shoshone stories of this place are stories she is not allowed to tell. Continue reading →

Yes! Installation Day for “Gettysburg in 2016” at Half Moon Bay Library

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Here’s to stretching beyond our comfort zones.

This morning I installed the pieces of my exhibit at Half Moon Bay Library for my “Gettysburg in 2016” show. This involved several firsts for me.

  1. I have never worked on this large a scale (36 inches by 72 inches) before.
  2. I have never used fabric and yarn in my work before.
  3. I have never hung a fabric work from the ceiling before.
  4. I have never exhibited pages from my sketchbook on a wall before.
  5. I have never tried making giclee prints of my sketchbook pages and mounting them on panels for wall hanging.
  6. I have never tried an interactive art piece using fabric before.

I am making this list mostly to remind myself to celebrate today. Everything looks beautiful! I finished installing in about three hours. I managed to use a ten-foot ladder safely. Continue reading →