You are currently browsing the monthly archive for January, 2009.
My expectations were low for Portland Open Studios 2008 as the economy was tanking, and one never knows with art sales anyway. My dear friend Tina was here to help, thankfully, because it was a slow morning and gave us a chance to get some clay work going. Later, Tina was a godsend because she can do numbers when things get busy, while I get excited and scatter-brained.
I took advantage of the two-weekend option and was curious to see what kind of attendance we’d have. Day one we ended up having 62 people through, and 17 the second day. I am grateful to neighbor Portland Open Studios artist Ann Munson, who directed many people my way. People did tell me they saw publicity for Portland Open Studios everywhere; one of my images was once again featured in Portland Monthly magazine due to the efforts of Bonnie Meltzer, who does an outstanding job with the PR every year.
Meeting and greeting visitors is always a blast, and people were just lovely. Sales were beyond expectations. Weekend one sales were not that far from the previous year’s. Weekend two brought in another 57 people and a few more sales, bringing my total to about the same as 2007. As a result of Portland Open Studios, I received a commission from one of my patrons. I’ve decided having minimal expectations is a good strategy for me, as is working in clay the whole time, emphasizing connecting with visitors as much as possible, and talking about my classes and workshops. Several people who came through ended up in my January workshop and one person has been in my Saturday classes since October. What a delight to form relationships through art and artmaking!
I tried to price things to sell, especially pieces that had been around for a while, and that which did sell represented a range of sizes and prices that seemed to follow no pattern. The studio felt significantly emptier by the end of the weekend. I love that feeling. This year I also offered cards and prints as an experiment. I sold a few cards and no prints. POS is the perfect laboratory to try new things. I also offered some thrown bowls and hand-built vases and sold a number of each. All in all, the experience was heartwarming and rewarding, and I will certainly apply again next year, trying to let go of any expectations, experimenting with new offerings, and staying open to whatever happens.
By Susan Gallacher-Turner
Above, installation view of Intersect/Parallel at Walters Cultural Arts Center. Seen are artist’s books by Robert Hanmer, paintings by Roslyn Lindquist, and sculptures by Laura Freeman.
When I think of computers and engineers, I think math and science. But that’s not what Shu-Ju Wang sees, at all. Shu-Ju holds a degree in computer science and worked as a design engineer for over a decade before becoming a full-time working artist. So when she looks at fellow engineers, she sees a group of talented artists, “I consider many of the engineers that I’ve worked with to be true artists in their fields – they are creative problem solvers. And many of them also create visual art of one kind or another.”
Shu-Ju designed television test equipment at Tektronix and chip design tools at Integrated Measurement Systems. It was during this time that she saw the wealth of visual artists among her fellow engineers. Wang understands the value of the arts in this technical field, “I think that having a visual arts background was very helpful when I was doing graphical user interface work. Also, if you have someone on a team who’s able to organize or see the problem/solution a little differently, that’s always a good thing. And, of course, being comfortable with computers is very handy and important nowadays even for visual artists.”
It seemed a natural connection, then, for Wang to bring together five computer engineers/scientists and their art this month in a group exhibit entitled, “Intersect/Parallel at the Walters Cultural Arts Center. The center located in Hillsboro, Oregon seemed just the right spot for the show according to Shu-Ju, “Since the Walters Cultural Arts Center is situated in Hillsboro, the center of the Oregon high tech industry, I thought it would be appropriate to do a show there.”
Featured in this show is photography by Mike Nakamura, book arts by Robert Hanmer, paintings by Roslyn Lindquist, sculpture by Laura Freeman and book arts and paintings by Shu-Ju Wang. You can see the show during gallery hours Monday-Thursday 9am-9pm, Friday 9am-6pm and Saturday 10am-4pm at the Walters Cultural Arts Center 527 East Main Street, Hillsboro, Oregon until January 28, 2009.
You can also read about Shu-Ju’s bookarts project with the elderly on the Oregonian’s Visual Arts blog.
Below, another installation view. Seen are photograph by Mike Nakamura and “pillow books” by Shu-Ju Wang.
