Ashleigh Norman Art

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness, no laziness, no procrastination: never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.
--Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield

Okay, well, I've never been one to follow advice. And that guy Philip was a freaking Earl so he had people doing his laundry for him. But today, I'm going to try to Earl Philip that shit and do it all--laundry AND seizing the day. The laundry is still in a pile but I'm writing this blog post so I call it a win.

I--like too many other artists, get stuck in the daily grind of, well, making stuff. We don't do enough PR work. We don't apply to shows or galleries as much as we should. Here's a link I recently found and skim read enough to deem useful enough to email it to myself several times:

http://mashable.com/2012/11/10/social-media-marketing-tips-artists-galleries/

I'm working on all that stuff, particularly #2 which is why I'm writing this instead of watching OITNB.

As for applying to shows and all that jazz, I'm taking a page here from a former boss/gallerist and posting some links from her blog so we can all maybe start trying to apply to more stuff. Here's her list of places to look for opportunities for artists:

Super overwhelming. Don't feel like you have to go through all of them today, although she used to say it was like painting the Golden Gate Bridge--start at one end and by the time you're done, you have to start over again. Try one link and see how it feels. If you find a good opportunity you think we'd (read: I'd) like, post it in the comments (please, it will save me so much time if you find it for me *wink, wink*).

No, but all kidding aside, as artists, we have to be business people as well and promote ourselves. It's never comfortable, it's never fun, and very rarely do we get into shows because of this lack of business-ey-ness (coining a new term here). But like my old boss used to say, it's getting your name out there that matters and that makes it worth all the pain and suffering of filling out endless title/date/medium forms. Someone will remember you someday. And then you'll be Picasso. End of story. Good luck, my friends.

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Domus Show at Minan Gallery

http://minangallery.com/exhibitions/

Opening Reception: Saturday, January 11th, 5-7pm

Come one, come all to the grand opening of Minan Gallery and our first group exhibition! Glad to be part of Minan Gallery and among some super talented people: Matt Hosey, Michele Chapin, Sal Muñoz, Amy Smith, Michael Herres, Michael Schmitt, Alejandro Casazi, and Linda Ekstrom. An excellent way to start the new year!

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

More editorials

Eventually I'll write a story to go around these. Or use this as inspiration to start my own fashion editorial photo shoots with friends. Sounds like fun, no? Dressing up, taking pictures, and all in the name of art.

The Icebreaker.

Perfect name for a boat where you meet new people and wear tutus. On Sunday, roomie Siobhan and I went to a literature-themed brunch on a boat in the Port of San Francisco. Guests were instructed to bring either a brunch item or libation inspired by a character from a book or an author.

The day started off with mimosas and a tour of the three-story ex-cargo ship from Iceland.

One genius brought locusts and honey (for St. John the Baptist, from the Bible). And yes, I ate one. Two, actually. They were crunchy. Not much else to be said about them.

View from the kitchen. Don't get tipsy wihle making your spaghetti here...you may just fall overboard.

The top level of the boat. A sundeck with a hot tub and fake grass. The Golden Gate Bridge is over that guy's left shoulder in the far distance. You won't be able to see it unless you're a hawk.

Looking down to level 2 from the deck. Again, don't fall. Thinking about it, this boat may not have been the best place to have a bunch of tipsy people. Booze + wake + lots of holes to fall through is like Jack Kerouac running through Alice in Wonderland.

One guy was dressed as a Captain and the hostess brought tutus for everyone to wear, so I decided to drag everyone up top for an impromptu photo shoot.

Having been watching The Tudors obsessively, I naturally had to turn my tutu into an English ruff.

A seagull on the uppermost deck had just hatched a baby seagull (possibly the cutest baby animal ever--fluffy white with black polka dots and big big flapping feet). Of course, me being me, I didn't take a picture of the cute thing, I took a picture of the gross thing. The hatched egg.

Captain Crush (as he is now nicknamed by me after our fashion editorial) and the girls waving to people in boats, who stare at us either in envy or fright. Afterall, Captain Crush can be seen for miles away with his gold lamé hoodie and the rest of us are wearing tutus, mine still around my neck. And no, I wasn't even drunk. The benefit of being an artist is that you can act weird all the time and people justify it with, "Oh, she's an artist." Free license.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Best. Idea. Ever.

The Science Academy in San Francisco has what is called "Nightlife" on Thursday nights. It's 21+ so that means no screaming children, no strollers to run into your heels, and they serve booze. You get to drink while exploring animals and bugs and cool shit. AND it's a third of the price of a regular admission ticket. Seriously, this is my dream come true.
The evening started at Off The Grid, which is a local gathering of food trucks a few blocks from my house. It ended up being a total pig-fest...we literally ate pork in every part of the meal (yes, even dessert).

Spicy pork belly fries. Could have been spicier. But damn good.

...I'm speechless. This was heaven in a bun. I almost proposed to the sweaty chef, but he was too busy slinging steamed buns of pork belly, turmeric pickled daikon and sriracha goodness at the hordes of people around the truck to hear my assertion of undying love and affection.

There were about 10 or 12 trucks in all. As much as I wanted to try all of them, I had to temper myself, lest I wind up with a charcoal digestif at the ER. Dessert included chocolate and toffee covered bacon plus a few nibbles of Josephine's nutella and strawberry creme brulee.

At the Science Center, standing inside an aquarium tunnel. I look like a homie because I'm trying to take a photo and not spill my sangria.

Starfish. I got to pet a starfish while drinking. I can't get over what a good invention this is.

This little dude had eyes like Yoda.

And at the end of it all...baby ostriches. I want one to keep my goat company someday.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Another day, another dollar spent on food.

My new boss is a foodie. Which is great because I can get all sorts of good recommendations from him. It's terrible because then I want to try all of them. Luckily, he told me to go buy some croissants from Thoroughbread Bakery in the Castro yesterday and as a pat on the back for good work, he paid for them. For me and my roomies. Yeehaw!! I'm liking the perks of this job...

First day of real sunshine since we got up here. Jane is loving it even though our lawn leaves something to be desired.

Thoroughbread Bakery in the Castro

It's a good thing boss man told me what to get otherwise I would have stood in front of the bakery case for 30 minutes drooling like an idiot before blowing the rest of my food budget for the month on sweets.

$1.25 coconut macaroon. I savored this tasty little treat out on Thoroughbread's patio at an old desk.

Being my father's daughter, I couldn't help but snoop inside the drawer (he's notorious for doing this same thing at doctor's offices)

This is the note inside, congratulating me on having found the treasure drawer. As you can see from the above photo, the treasures included one square chocolate of indeterminate age, a dying flower, cigarette butt, and dead spider. Thanks. Still, the coconut macaroon was worth every bite even knowing that I ate it on top of a cabinet that holds dead things.

Cool statue and some dude who I swear was just messin' with me. I was holding my phone up to take a quick picture and he would stand directly in front of me, no matter which angle I tried to shoot it at. He was like those awful carnival ducks you have to try and shoot but they're too fast. But opposite. Since I was trying desperately NOT to shoot him.

Ahh, finally annoying duck man crossed the street, apparently confused over his fowl lineage, and I got a good shot.

There's a quote I really love in Spanish (I can't write in Spanish--or really read it or speak it for that matter) that translates to "God will find a mouth to tell you what you need to hear." I was lost in the Castro trying to find my way back to the N Line when I passed a seafood joint that had $1 oysters on Tuesdays. And it was a Tuesday. That's as much of a sign as I need, God, thanks for the tip.

This morning I ate my incredible almond croissant from Thoroughbread with some donut peach and Vietnamese coffee. Way to start the day off right.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Jean Paul Gaulthier

I wasn't supposed to take video apparently, but didn't know that when I shot this. Amazing exhibit, albeit a bit creepy. The mannequins had faces projected onto them. They were still for a while, then would talk, sigh, roll their eyes, or creepiest of all, would all start to sing in unison.

This is made entirely of ribbons. RIBBONS. For anyone who has ever attempted sewing...imagine sewing a million ribbons together to make this. Unbelievable.

This was from the Frida Kahlo collection by JPG. Love it.