With age, art and life become one.” George Braque
When Las Laguna Art Gallery invited artists over 50 to submit work, I was in the middle of a pandemic pivot of my own. 2020 was the year I turned 50, and the year I started the steps to shift to full-time artist. In my 20+ years in architecture and consulting, I've always been creative at the "day job". I've worked on numerous sustainable building projects, had a stint as an exhibit designer, worked as a facilitator, created educational programs and tools for national and international organizations, all while also evolving my art practice. It's time now, in the second half, to dive into the deep end, and go full tilt on art. As I have delved more fully into my art practice, I continue to collect and realize more and more ideas, I'm ever more determined to make progress as a full-time artist. So I submitted recent work celebrating themes of transformation and light. Passage II: Into the Light was accepted. Warm glow.
This Artists "Picks"
I like that the term "the second half" accompanies "over 50". This implies we will have a nice long lived 100 years. In the year 2070, hopefully I'll be a resilient, creative matron, maybe celebrating a retrospective of my work at a gallery somewhere. With the optimism that the show title implies, I took some time to go through art of The Second Half, and see what my fellow over 50 compatriots are up to, whether long-time creatives, new to the craft, in a range of 3D and 3D media.
Virtual exhibits are quite different than an in-person gallery show, so I've decided to pretend that I was walking around with you in a gallery, and "stop and point out some favorite works" from this show. If you have time, visit the gallery for the in-person set or explore the full show at the show website. And for my "artists picks" highlights, read on!
Rose Garden
Artist: Michele Lasker
My own piece is a landscape, so nature is clearly something I’m drawn to. No wonder I notice other’s depictions as well. Fiber art to me is a mysterious world. I love the texture, I'd really like to touch this to see if it's as soft as it looks. Roses without thorns...
Galatea I
Artist: C.A. Stigliano
I’m first and foremost a painter. Sometimes I create an installation, I’ve been a performer, and an exhibit designer, I did a lot of architectural photography back in the 1990’s. But deep down, my first love is putting buttery, goopy stuff onto a flat surface and smearing it around. I admire those for whom a third dimension is their main squeeze, and this life-size goddess caught my eye. She looks ready to turn and say something, tell you what she's looking at, just whisper the right magic words to her, and she'll share her secrets.
6 Italiane
Artist: Nareen Larinde
After a year of being locked away, this picture of matrons socializing together hit home. I hope that my own second half features many good chin wags on a bench somewhere. If that bench is also sometimes located in Italy, that would certainly be a bonus! But, Seattle benches are cool too.
Ruthless Iterations #2
Artist: Abigail Carter
I'm pretty much still in mourning so every time I see RBG art, it brings out my admiration for this remarkable woman and all she did for us, sadness that she's gone, and worry in the aftermath of her departure.
Ellavision
Artist: Frank McGrath
I have an eco bent to my life, so I am thankful there are artists who see a bit here and a bobble there and collect a mélange of things and then somehow pull them all together into a cohesive image or sculpture. I think staring at this might reveal an inner story line.
Edenic Flight
Artist: Kat Moser
Dreamy, just plain dreamy. A watery dream with fall leaves, I hope it's warm water. I wonder how she got in there. Mermaids are perhaps real afterall.
There’s more to explore of course. And you can pop into the physical gallery if you are near Laguna Beach this month, or open your laptop from anywhere and peruse a plethora of offerings from this diverse set of artists.