A Scary Gallery Experience

Last month, I wrote about gallery experiences without knowing that I was about to face the worst experience ever. Just days after writing the blog, my sister, Jan, suggested that we call the owner of a gallery in Boca Raton which had three of my late father’s pastels. We hadn’t heard from the gallery owner in a while, and Jan thought it made sense to check in with him before the “Season.” She called him on a Saturday and was surprised to get his voicemail and no return call to the message she left. By Monday when we still hadn’t heard from him, I tried calling and emailing.

Feeling slightly paranoid when he didn’t answer either the calls or the emails, I decided to look online. I freaked out when I discovered that the website was down. This did not bode well. Clearly the gallery was closed, and what happened to our paintings!?! After some research, we located the property manager who confirmed that the gallery was shut down, but he was not forthcoming with the whereabouts of our pastels. We were very anxious for a day or two and then decided to call the Boca police.

Our talk with a police officer prompted the gallery owner to return our calls. He sounded devastated about the loss of his gallery and explained that he owed the property management rent money so they were holding the artwork hostage. More calls to the property management went back and forth until we finally reached their lawyer. We informed him that we had a signed Consignment Agreement, a legal document which required him to return the pastels to us.

Thankfully, in just a little over a week we had Dad’s work back. I’m convinced that without the Consignment Agreement our work might still be in storage along with all the other artwork we saw the day we picked ours up. I’m writing this as a warning to any artist who has work in a gallery without a signed agreement. I’m very grateful to J.B. Berkow, a well-known local artist who wrote the book What They Don’t Teach You In Art School. It’s a must read, and the agreement I use came straight out of it.

On a happier note, I’ve been enjoying the Unleashing Creativity Workshops so much that I’ve decided to offer my services as a creativity coach to individuals for private sessions. I met with my first client and found it extremely rewarding.

I’m also pleased to announce that I’m a featured artist for December in a Unique Art Gallery, 226 Center Street in Jupiter, along with Han, Lupe Lawrence, and Nancy Fried-Tobin. Everyone is invited to our Second Wednesday Open House on December 8, 5:30 – 7:30 pm. The theme is “Nurturing,” and a portion of the proceeds will benefit Loggerhead MarineLife Center. Jan and I are happy to announce that we will be showing Dad’s pastels in the gallery beginning in December. Another reason to attend the open house. Happy Holidays!

For the nurturing theme, I’m exhibiting my orchid paintings. The above photos are “Orchids in the Entry” which I just finished and “Orchids On the Fence” from a couple of years ago.

Gallery experiences improve with Susan Lorenti's A Unique Art Gallery

The past six years, I have had both positive and negative experiences dealing with galleries that have exhibited my paintings. Rare Earth Gallery in Stuart this past year has been particularly pleasant, but nothing can compare to the experience in A Unique Art Gallery in Jupiter, the creation of businesswoman, Susan Lorenti.

Creating art has been a part of my life since the 1960s, and back then I exhibited work at the Cambridge Art Association in Massachusetts. For over two decades I focused on my mental health career, so it wasn’t until 2002 that I joined Women In The Visual Arts and began to exhibit my paintings again. In the past six years, my work has been for sale in eight galleries. The first, 2004 – 2005, was The Unknown Artist in downtown West Palm Beach, not the best experience. Pandora’s Hope, a lovely space in Pineapple Grove in downtown Delray Beach, was much better. Unfortunately the owners couldn’t make a go of it and closed the gallery six months after I joined, but I did have a solo show there in 2005.

Now I’m hoping for better luck in A Unique Art Gallery. Susan Lorenti, who has worked in galleries and frame stores for decades, decided last spring to open a gallery collective. She created the Artists Association of Jupiter (AAoJ) and opened A Unique Art Gallery at 226 Center Street in June 2010. Rather than take a commission on artwork, she charges rent for the wall or floor space an artist occupies. Though each artist has an investment in the success of the gallery, Susan is the director. She is a member of the four person team that she selected to jury in new artists, she hangs the work, and she does the daily gallery sitting. Hours are 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Saturday. Most importantly, she has brought together a wonderful group of artists, and like gallery owners of the more distant past, she nurtures and develops each one of us.

If not for Susan I wouldn’t have a brochure or be giving thought to prints and giclees. She encouraged me to do a class, and now I’m running Unleashing Creativity workshops, which pays my rent and is good for my soul. Using my therapeutic skills and integrating the therapist and artist within me has been pure joy. Working with other artists has also been extremely worthwhile. Though I’ve been involved in the Artists of Palm Beach County for a couple of years and have been a board member for the past year, the experience of covering the gallery with Susan and collaborating on Second Wednesday monthly art openings with AAoJ members has been especially rewarding.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the “Season” will bring shoppers into the gallery. Our Second Wednesday theme on November 10, 2010 is “Returning and Re-Discovering Home,” which will showcase four of our artists, Mare, David Willison, Raymonde Tallyrand, and John Rachell. I look forward to this season with enthusiasm and feel grateful for Susan Lorenti and the Artists Association of Jupiter.

The photo above is of Susan Lorenti at the North Palm Beaches Cultural Alliance Event

Dealing With Rejection

It's only the end of September, but the season is beginning to rev up. Next Thursday, October 7, 2010 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. is the opening of Landscapes: Painters of Scenery at the Lighthouse ArtCenter in Tequesta. Clay Surovek of John Surovek Gallery in Palm Beach juried the show, and I was pleased to have two of my paintings included in the exhibit. One is "Sin City," a large collage painting of my Las Vegas experience in 2008 (I used the image for a blog I wrote a couple of months ago). The other is "Sugar Sand Park Carousel," a 24" x 30" oil on canvas pictured to the left.

I was particularly pleased when I heard from the Lighthouse, because a couple of days before I received a rejection from “Land-Escape” for "Roman Sunset" (pictured to the right). Coincidentally, the Palm Beach County Art in Public Places exhibit at the airport is having an Artists Reception also on October 7th. In spite of the rejection, I’m nearly finished working on a 24” x 30” landscape of a waterfall and Japanese sculpture in the Morikami Garden, and I’m thinking about doing another collage painting. I decided to concentrate on painting for a while because the rejections from agents and publishers are more discouraging for the time being.

Before I went up north this summer for a two week vacation, I sent a query letter, table of contents, and a chapter of my non-fiction, The Fabulous Art Scene, A Guide to the Art Community in Palm Beach County Florida to Pineapple Press, which publishes books about Florida. I was very optimistic that they would be interested in my regional guide, a compilation of my articles in Examiner.com, so I was deeply disappointed when I received a standard rejection letter. Still the very next day, I emailed a query to Leapfrog Press about my novel, Spirit Seekers. The novel is currently a finalist for a Florida Writers Association Royal Palm Award.

Usually I have to wait weeks or even months to get a response to a query, but the very same day that I emailed the Leapfrog query, I received an email requesting a ten-page sample of the novel. I was so proud of myself that I hadn’t let the Pineapple Press rejection devastate me, and I decided that Leapfrog would be my publishing company. I went off to Massachusetts feeling confident, but not willing to look at email while I was away. I didn’t want to spoil my vacation in case I received a rejection, and I decided I could wait until my return home to check my email.

The rejection arrived last week. It was almost anti-climatic by the time I received it, because I already felt rejected. But I was so busy painting and covering A Unique Art Gallery for the Artists Association of Jupiter that it wasn’t until the actual rejection letter arrived that I realized I hadn’t sent out a query in weeks. I let the art scene (painting, the gallery, openings, and writing Examiner articles) distract me.

At some point though, I probably will again pursue publication. After all, the Florida Writers Conference is in three weeks, and who knows? I may win an award, and I love the manuscripts that are sitting in my closet. I really do believe that they deserve to be published. They may not be the best works ever written, but they are at least as good as much of the stuff out there. Blah, blah, blah… rejection stinks.

Back to the old grind

Yesterday, August 29, 2010, I returned home from a fabulous two-week vacation, and now I have to face going back to work. The first part of my break was spent on a trip up to Massachusetts where I visited with family and close friends in beautiful surroundings. My cousin, Ed, and my dear friend, Cherie, both live in central Mass. near Northampton. I enjoyed seeing pine tree filled neighborhoods, and Ed took me to a Peace Pagoda erected by Vietnamese priests and nuns in wooded Leverett.

As you walk around the perimeter of the large, white, rounded pagoda, you see four alcoves with statues of Buddha at different stages of his life. Adjacent to the pagoda, a beautiful temple is nearly completed, which was built for anyone and everyone who wishes to pray there, and a lily pond area for walking and meditation is decorated with colorful prayer flags. It was a lovely place to visit.

My main reason for the trip up north was a reunion on Martha’s Vineyard with five old friends, two of them, Bonnie and Carol, from childhood. The six of us had a wonderful time together exploring the island, visiting beaches, and reminiscing. Before and after the Vineyard, I spent time with two other good friends mostly eating in gourmet restaurants and seeing the sights – Bayside to Castle Island in South Boston with Bette and Longfellow’s House in Cambridge with Ronna. I had absolutely no desire to visit an art museum, and for the most part I avoided the art galleries on the Vineyard.

I don’t know if other artists/writers are as driven as I’ve been the last five years. I imagine most are, so I recommend a vacation like this one, which ended back at home with a five-day stay at the beach in Delray to celebrate my sister’s birthday. Wright By The Sea is an affordable resort just south of Linton Blvd on A1A with comfortable suites and wonderful views of the ocean. We were fortunate to have gorgeous weather until the last day, and that made it easier to return home.

I did break my avoidance of all that is art by attending the opening, August 26^th, for the Artists of Palm Beach County exhibit at the Crest Theatre in Old School Square on Atlantic Avenue. The show is beautiful. It will be running until October 30^th and is definitely worth seeing.

Now I’m back in the studio/office ready to do the under painting on a 24” x 30” canvas thinking about what I will write next and happy, very happy, feeling blessed, for the two weeks and two days away from it all.

Photos: Top middle Peace Pagoda and lower left in Oak Bluffs in the Vineyard

Painting or writing, which to do?

Summer is speeding by, and at times I think I’ve been too busy to enjoy it, although I love the long days. Going out to the patio for a swim in the evening before the sun goes down, is definitely a pleasure I wish I could indulge in year round. This month has been as busy as last with writing, painting, covering the A Unique Art Gallery in Jupiter, going to art receptions, etc., etc.

I’m almost finished with a large collage style painting of Las Vegas that I’ve really been enjoying, but it’s gotten a lot of competition from my writing. I did mail off my novel for The Florida Writers Association 2010 Royal Palm Literary Award Competition, which is now officially closed, and I’m pleased to announce that I am a Finalist for the Women’s Fiction Award. But I’ve already started another writing project that I am very excited about. In fact, earlier this week I mailed a proposal to Pineapple Press. I’m keeping my fingers crossed about all of the above.

The Florida Writers Association’s 9^th Annual Writers Conference is being held October 22 – October 24, 2010 in the Lake Mary Marriott. Early registration ends on July 31^st, and since I’m planning to attend I mailed my registration this week. Two years ago, I went to the conference and had a wonderful time meeting and networking with fellow writers. One of my writing group friends, Mark Adduci, sat next to me at the Royal Palm Award Banquet, and we were pleased to congratulate each other when thankfully, we both walked off with awards. His was for a suspense thriller Cursed Blessing: Book One of the Trilogy of the Chosen.

Mark did everything one should do to get an agent, but even without one he found a publisher. His book was recently released with his pseudonym J. M. LeDuc, and Mark has been busy doing book signings in bookstores and libraries up and down the east coast. Look for his thriller in local bookstores. A page turner that has an inspirational message of redemption, it’s a really well written book, and he’s a good guy who deserves success. An active member of the Florida Writers Association, Mark leads a critique group in the Wellington Library the second Wednesday of every month from 6:30 to 8:45 p.m. I’m hoping I will see him again at this year’s conference.

For anyone who has been thinking about attending the conference but missed the early registration, you can still save some money. If you register by September 22, the cost is $309. After that late registration is $329. This conference promises to be the best one yet, and I would highly recommend it to any active or aspiring writers.

Above is "Sin City" my 36" x 48" soon to be finished oil on canvas.

The business of art

The past month, I have been busy beyond belief: painting, marketing the work, writing Examiner articles, and completing a major edit on a novel I submitted to the Florida Writers Association for a Royal Palm Literary Award. I’m keeping my fingers crossed about that, but whether or not I win an award I do plan to pursue agents and publishers. Writing and sending out query letters is grueling work, which I haven’t had the energy to begin yet, but it must be done.

Meantime, I spent two Saturdays covering A Unique Art Gallery (an art collective in Jupiter that opened on June 1) and hours afterwards putting together a binder for the gallery. Though I use the computer all the time, I’m still only semi computer literate, so it was a lengthy process sizing and laying out the photos of my work to make attractive pages in the gallery binder.

Summer is a difficult time for art galleries. There isn’t a whole lot of foot traffic, so the galleries I have contact with are trying to come up with ideas to get people in the door. At least two of the galleries told me that they want artists to come in and set up their easels. The theory is that people will enter the gallery to watch the artist work and then hopefully will purchase some art.

In the Jupiter gallery there’s room in the back for classes, and that’s certainly one way to attract some people to the gallery. I decided to teach a class on creativity, and I’m hoping that people will sign up for the two-hour workshop, Unleashing Creativity. The class is for the novice who longs for the opportunity to unleash creative potential and for the seasoned artist who wishes to deepen creative pathways and to learn tools for overcoming periods of blocking.

For me it’s the opportunity to use my psychotherapeutic skills without doing therapy. I closed my psychotherapy practice over five years ago, and though I don’t miss being a therapist I like the idea of integrating my new art career with my old expertise. I plan to use art therapy techniques to help participants tap into their unconscious and release their inner muse as well as overcome fears, self-doubts, and self-defeating messages which hamper people in expressing themselves artistically. More and more research indicates that physical and mental health is affected by our ability to perceive in a positive light. People can learn to be more positive. Opening up our creative juices and allowing them to flow freely is one of the pathways to establishing healthy minds and bodies.

Lupe Lawrence, one of my fellow gallery artists, teaches at the Center for Creative Education and at the Artists Showcase, both in West Palm Beach, where she inspires young people to express their artistic natures. She will bring her teaching skills to the A Unique Art Gallery as well. So if we don’t sell art at least we might earn some money helping others to create it.

(Photo by M. Schreiber of Lupe Lawrence and her work at the A Unique Art Gallery)

The Art Scene

“The season” is over, but the art scene in South Florida is busy, busy, busy. Considering that our economy is still pretty bad, it’s almost amazing that art seems to be taking off. People who read my Examiner articles often express their surprise at the number of local art events happening each week. It’s really exciting.

Recently, I joined an art collective which is opening a gallery in Jupiter on June 1, 2010. I spent part of Saturday along with my friend, Mag, hanging seven of my paintings and nine of hers in the freshly painted and remodeled space. Susan Lorenti, a warm, savvy businesswoman who has worked in art galleries and framing stores for years, decided to spearhead an artists alliance, and she is very excited about this new venture.

Artists Association of Jupiter presents “A Unique Art Gallery.” Each artist pays a monthly rental fee starting at $50 for a 4’ x 4’ space and up for larger spaces. Susan, who will have her framing business on site, will run the show, but she won’t be taking a commission on any of the artwork. The gallery is located at Center Park Plaza, 226 Center Street in Jupiter, an attractive shopping plaza that already houses Carolyn Austin’s Unique Glass Art gallery. There’s still space for more artists, so anyone interested should email Susan at Susan2381@bellsouth.net or call her at (954) 588-7275.

As an active member in the Artists of Palm Beach County (APBC), I am pleased that the proposal we submitted to the City of Delray Beach was awarded. Starting in October APBC will have a 5,000 square foot Art Center in Pineapple Grove. The space will have artist studios, a co-op gallery, exhibition and performance space. In the near future there will be a call for artists to be juried for studio or exhibiting spaces. There will be monthly charges, but artists will run their own gallery space.

In May, Ross Gallery of Art opened at 2900 South Dixie Highway in West Palm Beach. Owner, Guy Chaifez is a longtime resident who turned his video business into a large, beautiful gallery space with the intention of promoting local South Florida artists.

The recent oil spill in the Gulf has caused much alarm and sadness. Not only are hundreds of thousands (perhaps millions) of creatures being killed, but the beauty of nature is being destroyed as well. Once crisp clear water is now blackened, and pristine beaches are soon to be tarred. Still the exploding art scene gives me hope. In the difficult times we are living through, we will be okay as long as our creativity prevails.

Top right photo is of Mag's wall in Artists Assoc. of Jupiter and mine is below on the left.