Red Door Show

On Friday I trekked with Lance and Susan to Oakland for the opening of Small Work for a Small Space, the show I am in at the Red Door Gallery and Collective. I had no idea what to expect. I've been to a few art shows before, so I knew there would be some mingling, some wine and cheese, and lots of interesting art to see. But I didn't know how I would react. I wasn't that nervous on the drive out, which surprised me. But when we arrived, the nervousness started to creep in.

Those old negative messages played in my mind. They said my art wasn't as good as everything else there, that all the other work was more creative and more likely to sell. The messages left me feeling small. I guess I was a small work in a small space too.

But I also felt proud. Proud that I took the leap and submitted my work, proud that it got accepted, proud that I was brave enough to show up and be with my unease. And I learned that the messages can still be there and I can work through them and ultimately feel good about putting myself out there.

I wasn't brave enough to mingle with the other artists, so after a while we left and walked down to the Oakland Art Murmur. I was inspired by the spontaneous music that sprung up, the vegan cupcakes for sale, and the fascinating art in the galleries. I felt uplifted that so many people are willing to put themselves out there and totally be themselves, and that so many other people come out to support that. Thanks to everyone who came to the show and gave their support to art that night.

Small Work for a Small Space

I am thrilled to announce that my collage piece "Repair" has been accepted for the upcoming show Small Work for a Small Space at the Red Door Gallery and Collective in Oakland!

The reception is on March 6 from 6-10 p.m. and I'd love to see you there. You can see the address in the "Events" section of my blog. The piece will hang through March.

This will be my first showing at an art gallery, and it is doubly exciting that this piece was chosen, because it holds special meaning for me. I made the piece last summer while I was learning about Terrapsychology and writing a paper about the local landscape and what it might want to say to us. After spending some time by the side of the road near the former site of the Concord Naval Weapons Station, I heard this: "Repair. Restore balance."

This land, which appeared pimpled by abandoned bunkers, is blocked off by tall chain-link fences. No one can even approach it. It's sealed off from the healing it needs.

Here's an excerpt from the paper I wrote last summer, which had a piece about this land:

"'Repair. Restore balance.' Quite an appropriate message from a land that has been abused and neglected. The Concord Naval Weapons station was established in 1942 to store weapons. In 1944, the marine area was the scene of a massive explosion that killed more than 300 men when a munitions ship exploded. Two-thirds of the men were African American. Surely, this had a devastating effect on the land, and since it became a weapons station it has endured enormous change, death, contamination, and neglect. The Naval Weapons Station was deactivated in 1999 by the military, and in 2007 it was declared 'surplus property,' giving the City of Concord a chance to develop or conserve the land.

What has happened to the land here is truly a microcosm of what has happened to the land across the globe. And our destruction of the land does not just affect the land--it directly affects us."

The City of Concord chose in January to use 65% of the land for open space and parks, with the remaining space going to community facilities, a satellite campus for CU-East Bay, and commercial and residential use. It will be interesting to see how the land feels during and after this transformation.