Sunday, October 21, 2007

open studio

"Art is linked to the wisdom culture of its time. It permits the artist and the recipient to perceive what is great in our own life. Art links the performer and the audience with the performance. Therefore art is yoga... Every person has his or her utterly unique expression of the great life that we are." — Mark Whitwell, in "Yoga of Heart: Th e Healing Power of Intimate Connetion"

I dove into this book this weekend amid friends' shows, my own show at Caffe Trieste, grocery shopping, two yoga classes, the laundry and stopping by Studio Valencia where both Peter Whitehead and Elaine Buckholtz were showing their work as part of Open Studios. Peter was one of the first people I met when I moved back to California nearly 10 years ago when he played a gig in Santa Cruz. Peter's still composing for film, singing in Conspiracy of Beards and putting out CDs (I am now listening to his 2006 release "Under the Gun" which features many of his trademark original handmade instruments) but he's also been painting a hell of a lot. It was fun to catch up in the studio-turned-gallery, surrounded by his spiral and abstract designs that have also been showing up on fabrics of late.
Next door, studio mate Elaine was displaying her prints and light sculptures. She's been lighting designer for Meredith Monk since 2000, and had pictures of a very cool projection project I missed earlier in the year. Check both of these hard-working artists out! Some of Peter's paintings reminded me of Agnes Martin; Elaine's of James Turrel, but of course, they are all their own.
Later in the day, I shared an afternoon gig with Vanessa Van Spall, who has an amazing voice and is a great person to boot. It felt good to play-it seemed like it had been a while-and go over some songs with Alex Walsh in prep for Friday's Muir Elementary benefit....

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