Salem Art Association – Page 3

Scattered By the Wind: Not Quite the Final Post

I was going to make this my final post and update on my Scattered By the Wind Prayer Flag Project, but flags are still flying and being sold. Last Wednesday was the final reception and it was a huge success. Over 300 flags were hanging at the Project Space venue; by the time the reception ended at 8:00 pm, we had sold a total of 50 flags, which, when added to the 107 that had previously sold, totals 157 sold flags. Generous people have also been donating cash to the project, and that money is still coming in. I’ll share the final results of the project in a couple of weeks. Finally, I’m happy to share that there are two more opportunities for people to purchase flags (details at the end of this post). For now, I want to share photos from the First Wednesday final reception at Project Space.

My excellent crew of helpers: Spencer, Debra, and Tory. Howard was also helping, probably on a ladder attaching a red dot!

Howard in his element, surrounded by women artists!

The past two days I’ve been sorting the sold flags, packaging them for personal delivery, or preparing them to mail.

The good news is there are two more opportunities to purchase flags. The first is this coming Sunday, September 7, 12-4 pm in downtown Salem. The Salem Art Association will have a booth at the Salem Sunday Streets event and the remaining Scattered By the Wind flags will be available there.

The other opportunity will be the weekend of September 13-14th, from 10-4, when my studio will be on the Willamette Valley Open Studio Tour. I’ll be posting details about that in my next post.

Scattered By the Wind: Coming to a Close

My Scattered By the Wind project is coming to a close. It started in June and the final reception will be held on Wednesday, September 3, 5-8 pm. I have tracked the progression of the project through several blog posts, which can be seen by working backwards beginning with my July 17th post. I have also posted photos of all the flags received and created on my Facebook page: Scattered By the Wind. Flags are due by next Tuesday and then on Wednesday night, we celebrate!

As to today, here are the numbers:

198 flags have been sent or given out

131 flags have been returned

116 flags have been created at Project Space venue

28 flags created by me

Total flags flying: 275!

104 flags have been sold

$1,295 has been raised through the sale of flags and through donations made to the project

The final reception and celebration will be held on Wednesday, September 3, 5-8 pm, at the Project Space venue located in downtown Salem on the second floor of Liberty Plaza at 285 Liberty Street NE. Flags will be available for viewing and purchase ($10 each). All flags purchased will be released at 8:00 pm. Flags will also be available for pick up on Thursday, September 4th, from 11-1.

Salem Art Fair and Festival: Creature Creations

The 2014 Salem Art Fair and Festival has concluded, but I was lucky enough to be invited to lead an activity in the kids area on Saturday. The activity was painting and decorating a 16″ muslin Bendi doll. I led this workshop for the Salem Art Association back in October, 2013; here’s a link to that post: I’m Nuts For Art. Both art doll sessions were sponsored and generously funded by the Bush Barn Gallery Guides.

I’ve done lots of planning over the past couple of months in preparation for yesterday, with the most important being rounding up 60 dolls!

I got all of the supplies to the Salem Art Association and then on Saturday, arrived early enough to get everything ready.

Kids purchased tickets for the various activities . . . . .

We immediately had kids ready to make a creature and for the next four hours, there was a steady stream of activity. (PS We even had some adults creating dolls, some under the guise of helping their child and others blatantly creating!)

It was a wildly fun and successful day. But boy, was I tired that night.

Scattered By the Wind: July Update

I have hardly had time to do an update on my Scattered By the Wind prayer flag project. In a nutshell, anyone can make a flag, which is then hung in downtown Salem at the Salem Art Association’s Project Space venue. Flags are for sale for $10 each, with proceeds going to art programming at Hillcrest Youth Correctional Facility. For more information on all of this, please check out my previous posts.

May 27, my initial post about the project

June 15, an update on the project

June 24, the idea to sell the flags

All three of these posts were done before I was even set up in my area at the Project Space venue in downtown Salem. Since getting set up, I have hosted a First Wednesday, two community flag making days (four more to go), and received dozens of flags. That’s what this post is all about. Here is what it looked like as I was moving in the first of July.

Then the fun began. The public was invited to make flags in July during the First Wednesday art walk and reception.

Even the City of Salem mayor stopped by and was captivated by my project.

I’ve hosted two community flag days. Here’s a look at the first, where so many great flags were created (and sampling of a few flags).

Then, last Thursday, a second community flag-making day (and again, just a sampling of the flags that were created).

To see all of the flags and more photos as the project progresses, please visit my Facebook page: Scattered By the Wind. Flags can be purchased by getting in touch with me to make payment and pick up arrangements.

Oh, I almost forgot. The most recent statistics for the project. Here they are:

Flags sent or given out: 177

Flags received back: 59

Flags hanging: 114

Flags sold: 47

There is still time to make a flag! They aren’t due back until the end of August, so shoot me an e-mail if you would like to participate: dayna@daynajcollins.com/curele.

Walkabout: Paths, Journeys & Destinations: The Opening

Last Friday was the opening of the Salem Art Association Radius 25 show, a show for established and emerging artists living with a 25-mile radius of Salem. The theme for the show was Walkabout: Paths, Journeys & Destinations, with creative interpretations of this theme encouraged. I wrote about my pieces and how I chose to interpret the theme in a previous blog post. You can see it by clicking here.

I didn’t take many photos, but here are a couple.

Me with Cameron Kaseberg, the guest juror for the show.

With fellow artist and friend, Julie Jeanseau (and her adorable daughter).

The reception was so crowded and I did so much visiting, that I never got to see the entire show. I want to go back when I have time to enjoy all of the wonderful art. The exhibit, at Bush Barn in Salem, is up through Friday, August 29.

The Journey Home

The Journey Home. My three paintings were accepted into Salem Art Association’s annual Radius 25 show, a show open to established and emerging adult artists living or working with a 25-mile radius of Salem. The theme for this year’s show is Walkabout: Paths, Journeys & Destinations. I immediately knew that my theme would be The Journey Home, the journey home for my dad, who died May 17.

I decided to use a previous painting (that my mother has hanging in her kitchen) as my inspiration. Here’s a page from my working art journal.

We were asked to write a process statement, describing our process and subject matter. Here is what I submitted:

My three Journey Home pieces were created by painting cradled wood panels with acrylic paint, applying a layer of plaster for texture and interest, sanding, scraping, then staining the plaster with watered down acrylic paint. All of this was in preparation for painting, which I did using a mixture of oil and cold wax applied with a putty knife. The subject matter is a further exploration of working in layers and its relationship to memory, something I began experimenting with over and year ago in response to my father’s descent into dementia. My dad lost his battle with Alzheimer’s just a few weeks ago and these pieces were created in response to his death.

Lots of layers and contemplation went into these three pieces.

The finished pieces.

"The Journey Home: Without a Pang of Remorse," 18x18 inches, plaster, oil, and cold wax, on cradled panel. — “The Journey Home: Without a Pang of Remorse,” 18×18 inches, plaster, oil, and cold wax, on cradled panel.

"The Journey Home: Caught in an Undertow," 18x18 inches, plaster, oil, and cold wax, on cradled panel. — “The Journey Home: Caught in an Undertow,” 18×18 inches, plaster, oil, and cold wax, on cradled panel.

"The Journey Home: The Ease of Slumber," 18x18 inches, plaster, oil, and cold wax, on cradled panel. — “The Journey Home: The Ease of Slumber,” 18×18 inches, plaster, oil, and cold wax, on cradled panel.

The show runs from Friday, July 11 through Friday, August 29, at Bush Barn in Salem, Oregon.

Scattered By the Wind: An Update

My prayer flag project, which I outlined in a previous post, is gaining momentum. It officially begins in July, but I’ve been doing posts on Facebook about my project and inviting friends and acquaintances (or strangers) to join in by making a flag. So far, I’ve sent out and distributed about 100 flags, which means lots of ripping, ironing, and sewing is going on so I can send out the flags.

All of the flags will eventually be curated and strung together, then hung for the Salem Art Association Project Space opening reception on September 3. My initial idea had been that after the reception, I would contact the library or a school and see about having them hang somewhere public for a while. Then a friend asked if the flags would be for sale, which got my brain to swirling and I’ve decided that I’m going to sell the flags with proceeds going to the Salem Art Association’s art program at Hillcrest Youth Correctional Facility in Salem. I’ve also been invited to offer a class to the boys teaching them to make a prayer flag.

I’m thinking out loud here, but my thought is to sell the flags for $10 each, making them affordable to purchase. As of today, I’m thinking the flags will be available for purchase on September 3. More on all that later, but I’m excited to think that the flags will serve a greater purpose.

In the meantime, I’ve been painting and creating flags myself. I have three series going. One is crosses and cruicforms.

Another focuses on black and white (with a spice of red).

And finally, a whole series where I’m using vivid color and lots of line work.

Want to make a flag? E-mail me your name and address and I’ll send you prayer flag kit. I’ll even include a stamped, self-addressed envelope to make it easy to send your flag back to me: dayna@alleyartstudio.com

Scattered By the Wind: Prayer Flag Project

I was juried in as a participant of Salem Art Association’s Project Space and I’m excited to share what I’ve chosen to do. But first, a bit about Project Space and then details about my project.

The Project

Project Space is Salem Art Association’s dynamic, temporary and contemporary non-commercial art initiative, which offers artists a place for experimental art and interaction with the Salem community. Open June 3 to September 5, 2014, this year’s program will include openings on four First Wednesdays starting in June in addition to other receptions, performances and events.

My Project

I have long been intrigued by prayer flags and it is my intention to create a series of prayer flags, experimenting with various mediums and ideas, including repetition, painting, embellishments, words, themes, color, composition, and journaling. The tradition of Tibetan prayer flags dates back thousands of years. Traditional flags were stamped with prayers, mantras, and symbols then hung and left to flutter in the breeze, spreading wishes for happiness, long life, and prosperity.

Community Involvement

Along with my series of prayer flags, I’m inviting the community to join me in creating flags. This will be accomplished by invitation, requesting a flag, or by attending one of my open community days. Using fabric, paint, texture, images, and words, I will provide everything you need to create a prayer flag that will be strung with others to create strands of community flags that will be displayed at the Project Space venue on September 3. Community sessions will be held from 12-3 on the following dates:

Saturday, July 12

Tuesday, July 15

Thursday, July 24

Tuesday, August 5

Saturday, August 9

Thursday, August 14

All of these sessions will be held on the second floor of Liberty Plaza in downtown Salem.

Behind the Scenes

In preparation for creating all of these prayer flags, I had to cut and rip lots of fabric . . . . and I had to dig out my sewing machine and learn how to use it. Thank heavens it came with a DVD.

I became pretty proficient at sewing straight seams.

I have 131 flags all ready to be arted up.

Private Flags

In order to involve as many people as possible, I have put together personal prayer flag kits. The kit includes a piece of muslin cloth that can be embellished any way you want. There are no parameters, no limitations, nothing that is off limits. You can paint, use rubber stamps, write with felt pens, glue or sew on fabric scraps, add embellishments (buttons, ribbons, jewels . . . .). It is my hope that you will play and have fun creating a flag.

In the kit, I will include a stamped, self-addressed envelope for mailing your prayer flag back to me. I’ll need your flag no later than Friday, August 15, so I have time to string the flags together. Send me an e-mail if you would like to participate (dayna@alleyartstudio.com). I’ll be making a list of everyone who joins in, which I’ll have on display at the unveiling and reception on Wednesday, September 3.

Art in the Annex – “I’m Nuts For Art!”

I was invited to join two other artist friends, Deanna White and Cynthia Herron, to teach a children’s art class at the Salem Art Association. The class was the brainchild of Deanna, who writes:

Both my children still have fond memories of the many art classes they attended at the Bush Barn Annex so many years ago. I have been a Gallery Guide for 13 years and have seen the Gallery Guides support many art educational opportunities and so would like to revisit this tradition again.

Deanna put together a proposal, invited Cynthia and I to participate, and presented it to the Bush Barn Gallery Guides, who approved the proposal and funded the class. The class was limited to 15 students, grades 3-5, and it cost each student only $10 for an afternoon of art.

The day was divided into three segments:

Station 1: Book of Your Own with Deanna White

Station 2: Coloring Outside the Lines with Cynthia Herron

Station 3: Fantastical Creatures with Dayna Collins

For my station, we played with bendable muslin dolls and I set up a big table with fibers, jewels, feathers, boas, leather strips, buttons, ribbons, googly eyes, and lots of paint. Here’s my doll collection, which I brought for inspiration: