Edward Hopper Exhibit

A few weeks ago we drove to Richmond, VA especially to see this Edward Hopper exhibit. We are both great fans of this magnificent artist.

I have much more to share of Richmond, but first I wanted to show you some photos I took at the exhibit.

They aren't the best photos. Even though it was allowed to photograph the art, I always feel like I'm doing something I shouldn't be doing.

What I found most fascinating were seeing some of his preliminary sketches next to the final artwork and the changes he ended up making. 

Now, here we have an actual hotel room (below) that was recreated from the painting above. 

What we found out just this morning from a radio interview, you could book this hotel room for $150 a night. There would be guards around at night, but we could have slept in a Hopper painting! If only we had known...

❧ Silke

A Milestone

As you know from my previous post, Daniel and I had a show of our artwork and the opening was last Friday. It was amazing! And absolutely so much fun! 

And as I get time to reflect, I realize it was so much more than that. In one of the quieter moments, I told Daniel that since our wedding day, this was probably the most significant event in my adult life. I was surprised when I said it, but then realized it was true. 

It was so much more than just showing my colorful art alongside Daniel’s exquisite watercolors. I spent the last six years following my soul’s urging to give it visual expression. When I finally decided to listen and stayed with it, I completed painting after painting, following my intuition and finally finding my own colorful voice.

Last Friday, I shared that with family, friends, students, some of Daniel’s fellow art professors, and the occasional stranger. And I felt not a hint of insecurity! I would say it was a miracle, had I not done a lot of inner work to stand strong in my own self.

Even with working on my sense of self worth, I wasn’t sure that I was up to public scrutiny of my art. Showing it online is very different for me than showing it all together in person. So it was a good thing I made a firm commitment when earlier this year Daniel and I planned to have a show together. That way I couldn’t bail at the last moment....

I called myself an artist before, but now I FEEL like one. 100 percent! And when several people told me how happy my art is and how it uplifted them, I knew that I am finally living my life purpose. Spreading joy and uplifting people has always been my wish, and even more so during these tumultuous times on our planet.

For over 40 years I have tried to find “my path.” I have had different careers, lived different places, had different interests, and nothing ever felt quite right. Or quite enough, I should say.

When I listened to the call to paint, I thought it was just another hobby I was going to try for a while. I never thought I’d find myself through color and paint.

Every painting I approach from a soul level. I never plan it, never do a sketch or figure out a composition first.

I pick a few colors and start dripping them into water on the canvas. When that dries, I try to look at it without judgment and wait for my intuition to guide me to the next step. Every painting is a new adventure!

I thought I could figure out my particular soul work with my mind, by reading books and thinking or writing about it, but that didn't work for me.

Painting the way I do helped me to get out of my head. I am a good thinker and analyzer, but my head was actually getting in the way of my heart and soul work. My art takes me into that space beyond words, which is where I found my path.

And last Friday, standing next to my extraordinary husband, I was brave enough to show it to everyone who attended our opening! And now my heart is filled with gratitude and so much love, especially for Daniel's unwavering support in my life's journey.

❧ Silke

Big News!

So much has been happening around here, and all of it having to do with Daniel's and my upcoming art show this week. This is so exciting for both of us! It's by no means Daniel's first show, but it definitely is mine. If you are in the Savannah area, please stop by. If you aren't (and I know most of you are not), I'll definitely have lots of photos to share!!

I snapped a few pictures as I was varnishing my art to get it ready.

I love seeing so many of them together - they just make me happy!

 And here a few of the bigger ones.

 Oh, happy cows and ostrich!!

And of course I'll have a few mugs and tote bags to sell at the show as well.

Wish me luck!! 

❧ Silke

Synchronicity

I love when things happen that are not at all connected, but then again maybe they are. I'd like to think they maybe everything is much more connected than we think... 

When I first started this current etching class, on my way to and from school, I started listening to the audio book "The Serpent on the Crown," number 17 in my favorite ever audio book series by Elisabeth Peters. I listened to the first one (Crocodile on the Sandbank) 17 years ago and will probably listen to all of them again at some point in the future. They are set in Egypt around the turn of the 20th century and narrated by the amazing Barbara Rosenblat, who is a true artist when it comes of different voices and accents! 

Every time before I get to class, I am immersed in archaeological excavations with a good murder mystery added to the mix. So I thought I was still not yet quite present in class when my professor mentioned an international juried student print show that was happening in Egypt, at El Minia University in March.

Egypt. Really. Weird coincidence, right?!

She urged us all to enter. The show had stringent print size restrictions, so I printed both of these on eastern paper (the Japanese Kitakata paper), which is super thin but you can print right up to the edge of the paper. Beautiful, warm, luminous, and incredibly delicate.

Both of these prints were accepted - along with many other beautiful prints by other students from the print program - and are going to be traveling to Egypt! And if they don't sell, they will become part of their permanent collection.

My art.

Going to Egypt.

Some day Daniel and I will, too...