This is a short post to apologize to my readers for my absence. My personal life is in upheaval and as such, so is my artwork. I am pushing very hard to get back into my studio and my blog. My energy and inspiration are under pressure, but I will be back! I promise!
 Jeweled Fennel 36x48x2 (detail) Acrylic on Panel  Jeweled Fog Socks, 48x24x2 (detail) Acrylic on Panel I've been so inspired by my dear friend Annie Huntley's lovely Dotted Line Jewelry and her constant support for my work. The connections to other artists and the knowing support to push through when things feel blocked is a critical part of my creative process. Annie works next door to me and when I am struggling with my work, I knock on her door and show her my blockage, she shines light on my path and helps push me to the next levels. These two pieces I've shown details of are two of my most favorite pieces ever and I am absolutely in love with the jewelry I am hanging on my interpretive flora. The photos in my portfolio are flat and don't allow the viewer to see the depth or the dimension of my work. I love to post these details above to show how different they become in person, at varying angles and perspective. I always play with dimension in my work and have been enjoying a sojourn with the mandalas below, despite the fact that these patterns have been used for centuries, I love the depth that I get with the use of the different matte and metallic paints and finishes and dimensional trimmings. My studio is filling up with them and they are a joy to work with, and are a meditation on our chakral energies, which is why people are responding so positively toward them. Both the jewels and the mandalas are bright moments in a dark time of life, of the year, and in the world. May we all be blessed with more light and joy.  Expansion (in back) 20x20 Acrylic and crystal on canvas, and Golden Crown (in front) 24x24x2 Acrylic on panel  Artist Juli Adams, working on one of my favorite pieces from the show, Enigma is Me (Photo: Gabriel Marquez) I know it has been a while since my last post, but I am back at it! Life has a way of delivering new opportunities wrapped in difficult packages sometimes. And then sometimes, life just delivers inspiration clean and pure, as it did last week via the Center on Contemporary Art's (CoCA) annual 24-hour Art Marathon & Auction. Vanguard Seattle's terrific article is Sarah Cardoza's fabulously intimate guide through our event! I recently joined the Board of Directors for CoCA and on the event committee, I was able to serve some support to this remarkable group of fine artists. I first volunteered for this event last year, as an art-walker (aka Vanna) and with set-up and breakdown on all sides of the 3-day event. This year on the Board as Marathon and Auction Artist Support, I had the opportunity to stay with and show up for the artists, and it was like getting hit by a lightening bolt (in the super-hero way). I know I can tend to get a little woowoo sometimes, but this gathering of these 22+ fine artists generated some powerful energy! The event space turned group studio space was literally buzzing with creativity. I felt it, and I kinda think that everyone there did as well (and do year after year, some of them). As an artist, it is just such a special treat to get to see the inner-workings of our peer's processes. I was so excited to get back into my studio with all of my new energy, and get back to work on my own pieces! I'll post some glimpses soon and stay tuned for an invite to my December 4th Open studio here at Gasworks Galleries...but enough about me! Let's see some shots from this brilliant event!
My Favorite Local Artist: Kalindi Thompson Posted on May 8, 2015 | By SassyCityGirl By Michele Costanza…bringing you a humorous view on consumer topics in an all-too-serious world ***************************** I know that art is highly subjective, so I’m pretty passive when it comes to art appreciation. There are certain things that catch my eye, others that lift my spirit, while most others fail resonate with me. And that’s ok. But I have to share the work of my current favorite artist because she has a show at the Core Art Gallery right now, so if you’re anywhere near Pioneer Square, get yourself over there to take a peek. Her name is Kalindi Thompson, and she’s a name to remember….well, you will read about her again on SassyCityGirl when I interview her this summer!   A view from the street outside CORE Gallery at 117 Prefontaine Pl S, Seattle WA 98104 Wed-Sat 12-6 Thru May 30  BoBo Bay, this baby measures 60x48 (5'x4') and has a play with finishes that you've gotta see to experience. It's on! The new show is up at CORE Gallery through May. Here are a few of my favorites of the show but believe me when I say that pictures don't do the live experience justice. I know this sounds a bit haughty, but I am kinda in-love with the way this show looks together. This is a kind of assemblage of parts of the natural world, my own personal garden of sorts. I wish I could make such perfect and elaborate god's eyes with yarn...so it makes me happy to make them here for the garden. Also, it just makes me so happy to see it all up together like this. I guess if I were to have children, it would be like seeing them in their big school play. These are my babies! Please enjoy and let me know what you think! (Ha! Right? Like you're gonna tell a momma her children are ugly :-P) I seriously do want feedback though so do let me know.
 That's me in my studio getting set for the final photo shoot before hanging my show at Phinney Center Gallery I've been hard at work getting my first of two Spring shows (sorry about the delinquent blogging). It's an exciting time and I feel pretty fired up about both shows. The group show, The Curious Worlds of Suz & Kelly O'Dell, Erika Rier and Kalindi Thompson runs April 1-24, Opening Reception: Friday, April 10, 7- 9 pm. This show is in a way a preview for what is to come in my May show at CORE Gallery in Pioneer Square. That show, Welcome Back to My Garden, runs April 29-May 30. As you can see, I have some large pieces in progress that will be completed for May!
If you can't make it to the show in May, the opening reception for that is Thursday, May 7, 2015, definitely come by the Phinney Center Gallery...or come to both, just know that you'll see some of these same pieces there :) The story about both shows is inspired by my recent road trip back to my home town of Bolinas and draws from the beautiful Seattle scenery and wildlife. Art Access reads " Her show harkens back to her colorful hippy youth with coastal fields of wild flowers, macramé, rainbow colored god's eyes and shimmering inflorescence.” I hope to see you all soon! Enjoy! and THANK YOU for all of your ongoing support! 
A few in-progress pieces happening in my studio today March 3, 2015
It's been a wacky winter to be sure! My blog is sadly outdated until now, as I've been heads-down busy, first with the holidays and then a battle with this heinous virus that has swept the country. I am finally back in high gear and painting away! Phew! I hope that all you out here in the Northwest have been enjoying the wacky mild winter (despite the lack of ski-able snow) and this strangely early spring season...it is indeed odd to have seen our region explode with cherry blossoms in February. I know my friends and family out there in the Midwest and East have been buried under the chill of a truly gnarly winter...but now it is March and we all (N'0) are knocking on Spring's door. The Spring Equinox on March 21 represents the promise of new starts and new blossoms. I am in high gear working towards two big deadlines this Spring. I open with a group show at the Phinney Neighborhood Gallery on April 10 and then my big solo show at CORE Gallery on May 7. The photo above is my studio yesterday, with several in-progress pieces inspired by my last summer's road trip to Bolinas. The I've been playing with these colorful Sea Urchins, and more of the God's Eyes, with the macrame, and the coastal blooms of Aloe, Dandelions and Fennel. All of my work is an homage to Nature's stunning array of color, repetition and geometry. The photo below is a set of test panels on which I have been playing at including some little Wrens on some of my pieces. I've been chicken to do it, lest they end up looking cheesy...which is so easy to do...plus they are tricky little buggers to capture. We'll see if they make it to prime time. 
A series of in-progress test panels, all acrylic on panel or board, the god's eye on the right has Swarovski Crystals
It's been fun decorating our home with my new pieces, so I thought I'd share some snapshots. I'll get more pictures of my other pieces up soon as well.  Eve's Eye and Window Box Socks with Space Needle, Quanyin and Ganesh on Dresser, Kalindi Thompson 2014  Allium Night Socks with Lava Lamp, harmonica and plate of rocks, Kalindi Thompson 2014  Dandelion Socks in Turquoise dressing up a dark hallway, Kalindi Thompson 2014 
A set of test panels sitting together in my studio.
Sitting down at my desk this morning to add to my art to-do list, I noticed a theme on the shelf above my desk where several of my recent test panels sit. Clearly, I've been having a bit of fun with Swarovski crystals and other blingy imagery.
I've been working on my artist's biography which has again taken me back, along with my recent road trip back to Bolinas, CA, to the God's Eyes I used to make as a child and the artistry of Nature's geometry... The following is are some excerpts from my in-progress artist's bio: " Not surprisingly perhaps, I was born to hippy parents of the sixties and was raised in the tiny Northern California town of Bolinas. I grew up among horses and cows, artists and craftspeople, vivid colors, and the nature of the wild and rugged seashore. My creative parents, my father a woodworker and carpenter, and my mother a potter, photographer and beautiful pastels artist, had sought to fill our world with inspiration and spirit... ...My mother’s family home is a mid-century design gem and my father’s family with their impeccable taste for fashion, and glitz set my tastes and inclination for beauty quite high. (“The more bling the better,” is something that I often say.) As I think about my biography I am continually moved by the colors and scenes of my life. As I think about defining my work and myself as an artist, I am called to the dizzying patterns and repeats. Inflorescence of flowers in a garden, composed of miraculous colors and shapes lure me and call me to mimic their wonder." This week, I continue to build out my bio and my work continues to explore the images of my colorful memories past and present. I've been working at a frenzied pace to get things in shape for tonight's open studios! Matt Jones, owner and artist of Gasworks Gallery promises a jumping party upstairs and lots of great artwork to check out. We hope to see you tonight!  Yep, that's me in in my studio getting ready for tonight. |
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