About Opening a Studio

Turning a workspace into a visitor-friendly environment and still being honest about the usual look of the space is the challenge. As my friend Richard used to say: “Nothing to it, just a lot of hard work.”

I am blessed with the unsalaried assistance of my youngest daughter. She is an engineer; her brain works in ways that mine cannot and insurmountable problems are surmounted in a flash. She has done all the framing of the smaller pieces and is tireless. Ah, youth.

We open tomorrow. I hope my readers, those that reside within reasonable distance, will give serious consideration to visiting. I am excited about welcoming guests into my new studio and showing new work. The event will take place on two weekends: June second and third, and June ninth and tenth, from 11:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. on all four days. More information, my address and information about other participating artists can be found at North Coast Open Studios 2012 -- Humboldt County, California. Or email me at joangold@humboldt1.com

In addition to some paintings that I have just had framed, I have made some new prints. I also have some larger prints, meticulously made by Joseph Wilhelm of Meridian Fine Art. The image above, Toledo, originally painted in 2004, is one of these.

Here are two quotes from sculptor Anish Kapoor, a man after my own heart: 

“One does afford oneself the luxury to come into the studio and all day, every day, spend one's life making aesthetic propositions. What an immense luxury.” 

And:

“I used to empty the studio out and throw stuff away. I now don't. There will be a whole series of dead ends that a year or two down the line I'll come back to.” 

About this last comment: visitors will see the walls to my studio lined with dead ends from my past. I propose to make marvels of them before the year is out. Propose, I said.