SUMMER SPECTACULAR!

It’s time for the Hey There Projects annual Summer Spectacular group show, and this time they are doing things a bit different. The gallery in Joshua tree is back up and running full speed so this year the Summer Spectacular will hang in the gallery as well as art being available online from July 10 thru September. A opening reception will take place in Joshua Tree on Saturday, July 10, 5-9pm.

LOOK AT THE SHOW HERE!

Art will also hang in Hey There’s LA location. And the Spectacular will also include special Instagram LIVE events…FOLLOW THEM AT @heythere_projects

As work sells, we will add new additions, so keep your eye on the prize.

My pieces in the Summer Spectacular are included below.

XO

Wild Violets, 9x12”, mixed media on panel, 2021 $350

Pink and Gold Flower Field, 9x12”, mixed media on panel, 2021 $350

Elbe Goods!

Pink and Gold Flower Field, 11x15”, mixed media on paper, 2021

A garden grows at Elbe Goods! I’ve planted an array of flower mound paintings in downtown Tucson at El Be Goods bouquet. Each painting on display is available for purchase, framed, measuring 11x15”, mixed media on paper. You can go by to see the work anytime during regular business hours starting on June 8th when El Be reopens after a brief summer break. The work will be up through August 31st.

Flights of Fancy! (And more)

Well, this is fancy! Flights of Fancy! It’s the recent edition of Southwest Contemporary Magazine which features not just my new work but tons of amazing stuff by dynamic southwestern contemporary artists. Order your copy now. And check out SWC’s website as a great resource for art in this region, especially valuable if you are planning a visit. Thanks for including me SWC! 🏜🙏🏻💕🌵

Excited to be included in the juried portrait exhibition I Am You, You Are Me, which can be viewed virtually HERE and in person in Scottsdale, AZ at the Civic Center Public Gallery. Thank you Scottsdale Public Art for being so supportive of my work.

Much like the year 2020 the virtual exhibition Picturing 2020: A Community Reflects has ended but is not forgotten. And like anything that lives it survives online lives forever and you can still view this exhibtion with the UA Museum of Art. This exhibtion opportunity along with the talk I gave really has been a lodestar for me in many ways. Thank you to the UA Museum of Art staff and friends for making sharing my pandemic made art possible so early on in this missagash. Take a look here.

One more delightful bit of news, recently I was nominated for a Governor’s Award for visual art by Citizens for the Arts. Though I didn’t move along in the process it truly was an honor to be acknowledged by being nominated.

Mounds on Pink @TinyTown

Last minute art show! Tiny Town needed art for their gallery walls so I stepped up with my series, Mounds on Pink. I began creating on this series, an extension of my Flower Mounds works, on Christmas Day 2020. These Mounds are mixed media including house paint, ink and flashe on a textural pink Mulberry paper. Each piece is framed, measuring 15x22”, and is affordably priced and includes shipping.

Mounds on Pink can be viewed safely IRL at Tiny Town Gallery at 408 N. 4th Ave, Tucson AZ NOW till March 28th. Please enjoy and brows Mounds on Pink online HERE.

Untitled (Flower Mound) #2, 15x22”, framed, mixed media on paper, 2020-2021

FLOWER MOUNDS IN PASADENA!

Pasadena, California is the home of the Rose Parade so its only fitting my my flower mounds would pop up there too. Currently on display at sp[a]ce Ayzenberg I have a grouping of flower mounds so monumental that they can only be best described as mountains. To ogle these pieces online and to purchase follow this link. And if you are in the Pasadena area arrangements can be made through sp[a]ce to safely view the art in person.

Click here to see these pieces in more detail unframed on my website.

Paint with ME! (again)

Another fun chance to paint with me via ZOOM and help fundraise for the Tucson LGBTChamber’s University of Arizona scholarship is coming up…and this time is just in time for Valentine’s Day! On Saturday, February 13th at 4pm I will lead you step by step in paintings a bouquet of kisses! So invite your loved one from a far, your chosen family or best friend to join in this light hearted event by clicking the link below to donate and register. This event, as always, is open to anyone at any artistic level.

More info here.

Register NOW!

(Imma dork)

UA MUSEUM OF ART TALK IS NOW ON YOUTUBE!

If you missed The Coping, Context and Magic of Making Due about persevering and my artistic process during the pandemic, well, HERE IT IS. I really had a fantastic time chatting with University of Arizona Curator of Community Engagement, Chelsea Farrar. I hope you watch it and have as much as fun as we did!

THE COPING, CONTEXT AND MAGIC OF MAKING DO 🌟

Please join me on January 21st at 5pm MST via ZOOM in the special event “The Coping, Context and Magic of Making Do: A Conversation with artist Lex Gjurasic.” I will be chatting about my recent work created during the pandemic and how making art gets me through tough times with Olivia Miller, UAMA’s Curator of Exhibitions and Chelsea Farrar, UAMA’s Curator of Community Engagement. Broken Rainbow which was created at the onset of the pandemic was featured in the virtual exhibition at the University of Arizona Museum of Art, Picturing 2020: A Community Reflects.

More info and to register on ZOOM for this free, virtual event here.

Broken Rainbow, 11.75x16”, mixed media on handmade paper, 2020

👠 Red Shoe Auction

It’s been a crazy year and many of us have hardly worn pants let alone shoes. But when Ronald McDonald House Charities reached out and asked me to embellish a pair of red shoes for them I couldn’t say no! It is so special to participate in creating this auction item because in the past I have had friends that have relied on the support that Ronald McDonald Houses across the country provide to families. When I was informed by my daughter, who has volunteered at Ronald McDonald House Tucson, about the services, support and love they provide our community I was was astounded.

For THE BIG BENEFIT I chose to decorate a pair of red clogs. The result is a one-of-a-kind, hand-crafted shoes with major cottage core vibes. If you follow my work on IG you will notice the same daisy inspired flower mound motif I’ve been playing with since COVID isolation started and now it’s manifested onto these size 8.5 women’s Bjorn brand clogs, pictured below.

I’m a 7.5 and they definitly fit me, though my husband keeps reminding that I can’t keep them! And let me tell you, they are VERY COMFORTABLE.

The Red Show Auction kicks off December 1 and runs through December 5.

Visit the online auction website at redshoeauction.org where you can view all the extraordinary shoes by Tucson area artists.

Go directly to my RED SHOES HERE and BID!

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING RMHC SOUTHERN ARIZONA.

¡Arizona Daily Star!

Me with a stack of paintings I’ve created since the pandemic began.

Photo: Mamta Popat for the Arizona Daily Star

Extremely excited to be featured in today’s edition of the Arizona Daily Star!

Along with an interview about my art and a cute photo this feature includes the announcement that my painting Infinite Flower Field will be printed as a full page of The Star on Friday, Dec. 4 that YOU can pull-out and use as WRAPPING PAPER for holiday gifts!

See the full article which includes the other artists featured in The Star’s 12 Days of Cheer HERE.

Thank you to Kathy Allen for including me in this festive holiday project and to Mamta Popat for taking my photo for the profile.

What a way to kick off the holiday season!

Infinite Flower Field, 11x15” mixed media on paper, 2020

COVID TALES

Sharing a little bit of what I've been working on during isolation with Zocalo Magazine’s for COVID Tales. Everything I've be making in my studio right now feels so intense and so personal and really different from anything I’ve created before. Read the full post in my own words here.

Thank you for the opportunity to share my art with our sweet community Gregory McNamee!

Also a reminder that there is still time to sign up for my funfunfun ZOOM painting event that benefits the Tucson LGBT Chamber of Commerce scholarship fund! More details on painting a crested saguaro on the Oct. 24th with me famous artist Lex Gjurasic here! All ages, all experience levels, all people WELCOME!

And finally the reminder of all reminders, MY ANNUAL CYBER STUDIO SALES STARTS SOON! Soon all subscribers to this newsletters will receive an email with the subject: STUDIO SALE. Open it, follow the directions and make your first dibs pick for a 24 hour head start to the sale! After that window of time ends the big sale opens to social media friends…

PAINT CRESTED SAGUAROS WITH ME!

What the heck even is a CRESTED SAGUARO?

Well, it’s a biological anomaly in the cactus that looks like if a regular saguaro had a baby with an alien. Ya dig?

On Saturday, October 24th from 4pm MST I will be hosting this lively painting event via ZOOM. So any and all y’all can participate no matter where you live!

Click HERE for more information and to sign up.

It’s a only a $25 donation that goes to support the Tucson LGBT Chamber of Commerce's scholarship fund. Once you are all signed up, a supply list is provided for you to order from or gather up the materials you might already have on hand.

Below is our project sample that is a crested saguaro that brings big BLM fist vibes!

I can’t wait to paint with you!

Picturing 2020

Its exciting to begin to finally sharing the art I’ve been working that’s kept me afloat since the pandemic changed all our daily lives. Picturing 2020: A Community Reflects is a virtual exhibition with The University of Arizona which is LIVE NOW and can be revisited thru March 2021. More info about Picturing 2020 below (but I’m not sharing the piece here so you go check out all the work in the show!)

View this tremendous exhibition HERE.

To get more insight on my new work like the piece in Picturing 2020 listen to ARTISTORIES.

Artistories!

I had the most wonderful conversation with Eva Romero for Artisories on KXCI. We chattered on about radical happiness, celebration as a sacred act, Flower Mounds and tv shows with too many babies.

I’d love for you to listen to it here!

And to see all my flower mounds, flower fields, and petal globs Ive made since COVID look here and here.

Artistories is a mini-program and podcast, hosted by Eva Karene Romero, focused on connecting you to the people creating the arts and culture experience in our region. It’s a real moment with a real person exploring the story we tell about ourselves, our values as a community, and how they can inspire and guide us. Artistories is a project of The Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona, which is partially funded by the City of Tucson and Pima County.

Q&A🍑

Earlier this week I started a conversation (virtually and over the phone) with James Schaub the curator of exhibitions at Tohono Chul Gallery. Our chat evolved in to an interview about shape in my work which you can now read online. Thanks James for always thinking of my art, even while we are all in isolation. And thanks Tohono Chul for always lovingly hosting my art. I can’t wait to visit the grounds again soon!

Read the full interview here.

Fun photo of me that has nothing to do with the interview.

🎨 PAINT WITH ME VIA ZOOM🏎

Bored at home? Sick of a summer inside? Miss da club?

Join me for a guided painting event to help raise funds for Tucson LGBT Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s University of Arizona scholarship for queer students! Together, with my step-by-step instruction, we will paint a flowering “Super Bloom” landscape that gives big Pride vibes, complete with rainbow! If you follow me on IG you’ll know I’ve been painting landscape inspired work like this since going into social isolation. This is your chance to do so too!

For a donation of only $20 per participant (you can always give more!) you will join me and other supporters of our LGBTQ community via a ZOOM link on Saturday, June 27 at 6pm. When you sign-up you will receive a recommended supply list for the project with direct links to a LGBTQ friendly retailer. If you already own art supplies feel free to use your own.
This project is inclusive to all levels of creativity and skill. Do not feel intimidated, it’s going to be playful. No one will be forced to share their final results unless they feel comfortable.

Register here!
Please share this event with your friends.

More event info

Get your supplies ready and get ready to have fun!

I’M TAKING OVER!

Me (and my cats!) are taking over the Instagram of the Arts Foundation of Tucson and Southern Arizona. I’ve been invited to share what I’ve been working during the pandemic in AFTSA’s Instagram Stories on Tuesday, June 16, from 11-3pm. TUNE-IN and we will have FUN! Also I’ll be doing a mini studio tour and a Q&A, so get your questions ready!
Join us here.

Watch me talk…

Last week I got together with my pals Jax and Will for a chat on the podcast Tucson Talks. Enjoy our fun conversation over zoom as we talk about Tucson(Seattle), IBT’s, Real Housewives and of course ART!

LOOK/LISTEN HERE.

Please note I’m available for any and all podcasts. I’m the ultimate guest. Hit me up!

Don’t forget WEIRDOS, the virtual exhibition, is still up and running thru May 31st. Check out the pieces that are still available and ready for me to mail to you.
CLICK TO GET WEIRD.

🔥WEIRDOS IS LIVE! +MOCATUCSON AUCTION 🔥

It’s time to get WEIRD!

WEIRDOS the exhibition is now live! This virtual exhibition runs till May 31st. Shipping is available and no contact pick-up available to locals.

Click here to enjoy the show.

Nobody Likes a Show-off, mixed media, 2020

Also starting today is the MOCATucson online auction which supports the EXTRAORDINARY educational programs. As you might already know I’ve enjoyed teaching the Art Installation Camp as well as having my own child be a camper. More info here about the auction and how to bid on my painting Heaven’s Gate.

Heaven’s Gate, 8”x8”, mixed media on panel, 2020

WEIRDOS @TinyTown (Online)

Small grouping of WEIRDOS which includes over 60 pieces…

WEIRDOS, my exhibition of new work, is a series of sculptural pieces made from single use materials and is on display, ONLINE! May 1-30, 2020.

That means on May 1st THIS LINK will go live and you can purchase work thru Tiny Town Gallery.

BUT because you are a subscriber to my newsletter you can preview the exhibition HERE, including prices.

Previously scheduled to be installed at Tiny Town Gallery and because of these weird times, WEIRDOS has been moved into the virtual realm. WEIRDOS  created from the charming trash I’ve collected over time is inspired by weekends in New Orleans only eating petits fours and the garbage interwoven in the trees at the beach after Hurricane Katrina. I had envisioned WEIRDOS displayed in a floating array on the wall of the gallery like The Great Pacific garbage patch but now you can enjoy viewing them from home. These pieces are made of reclaimed materials such as Styrofoam, packing materials, plastic and other unconventional materials to bring a delightful second life to single use items that otherwise would be thrown into the garbage.

Sure it’s disappointing to not be able to present WEIRDOS as I had envisioned like a massive ocean garbage gyre of art but adapting in these challenging times is a must for everyone as the era of throw-away culture comes to an end.

WEIRDOS the exhibition is able to be viewed for its scheduled duration at www.tanlineprinting.com. All work is available for purchase. Locals only, no contact, pick-up can be arranged. 
View all my WEIRDOS on my website here.