Centre of it all

I can't quite believe it is already Friday. Thanks to everyone who read last week's studio blog and especially to those who clicked on all the artist links I shared. The joy of my week seemed to resonate and inspire others and that is always a delightful thing. 

This week was also a good one! On Saturday, I got word from Kate, the incredible gallerist at Solo Gallery in Innerleithen that a painting had sold! I was overjoyed at the news. Kate still has a selection of 5 of my paintings that are available to purchase. You can go see them in person at the gallery in the beautiful Scottish Borders or you can buy them online. Click HERE.

Where we say goodbye
mixed media on canvas
40x40cm
Sold

On Sunday, I visited my dear friend Karl Macrae - He’s Sew Happy at his stall at the Craft & Flea in the Assembly Rooms in the city centre. It was a lovely show for Karl in a beautiful venue. I also enjoyed seeing what all the other artists had on show and for sale. I treated myself to a wee vase by Claremont Ceramics and had a nice chat with Quay Tran about his collaborative pieces (like the one I bought) with a painter that goes by the last name of Champagne. 

This is what happens when someone supports my art. I am able to buy a ticket to go to an art event and then I am able to support another artist as well as support myself - the money stays in the community. Where does the money go when we support a big box store? 

Miniature Vase by Claremont & Champagne
pencil for scale

On Tuesday I had another lovely chat with my friend and fellow artist Jennifer Libby Fay and then later for the Tuesday Studio Video Visit, I made a little promo video for my work.

Also on Tuesday, I shared my February playlist with my ko-fi supporters from the past 30 days and created my wall of fame. I am so thankful to these folks who support me regularly. Consider joining them! 

Each month I make an unlisted playlist of 13 songs as a thank you
to anyone who supports me during the month.
I started making my supporter's playlists in October of 2021. Get yours today. 

These fine folks have either supported me regularly by making a one-off contribution or bought something from my shop during the month of January. Thank you!! 

On Wednesday, I enjoyed the third two-hour session of "Art, Work and Power," presented by the Scottish Artists Union. Another great course, leaving me with lots to think about and always more to learn. Again, I ask - have you joined your union? 

On Thursday, I went to go visit Karl - again!? He is visiting from the west just now so I am trying to make the most of his time here. It was great to talk about art and life over huge mugs of tea in Leith. Always does the soul good to talk it all out. Thursday night called for another thought-provoking union teaching, the fourth two-hour session of "Art, Work and Power," presented by the Scottish Artists Union. We have the final 2-hour session of the course on Saturday. It's been great to spend time learning and thinking again about the bigger picture with my peers in the union.

And here we are, It's Friday! The sun is out and I have daffodils blooming on my shelf. Spring is getting closer every day.

I want to say something about our first minister Nicola Sturgeon and her resignation this week. I cried. I just put my head down on a table and sobbed. Since I am originally from the states, Nicola has been my Madam President. I moved here six days after the referendum vote in September 2014. She became the first minister that November. She has been the leader I have followed and learned to trust and respect. When I was an immigrant without citizenship, she made me feel like I had a place here and that I could call Scotland home and mean it. I could even call myself a Scot. For the duration of the pandemic, I was grateful for her voice of reason and care. I looked to her for guidance, and if she told me to stay home, I did. She is barely 2 years older than me - the age of my peer group. This made her even more of a hero to me. I found her honest, relatable and sincere. She talked about menopause, called herself a feminist while speaking at the podium, and was assertive and sharp - she didn't suffer fools. She is an ally as she stands up for women and the marginalised. I have deep respect and admiration for Nicola Sturgeon and all she has achieved for Scotland. I will be sad to see her go. I am proud that I became a citizen and lived these last 8-plus years in a country guided under her leadership, and I am not even an SNP member. I can't wait to see what she does next and hope that Scotland can find a good enough leader to fill her shoes.

I took this photo of Nicola in 2019 at the Out of the Blue Drill Hall, where my studio is based. Here she is at the centre of it all, smiling. Thank you, Nicola. 

Until next week, take care and keep fighting. The world needs you, your voice, and your passion. Thank you. 

What I know is true...

 

There has been a lot of talk about the Fayetteville Underground lately. A lot of talk from artists, friends, patrons, supporters, media and board members: you name it, people are talking. It has been as interesting to be a part of, as it has been to overhear and watch. As Andy Warhol was quoted as saying, "Don't pay any attention to what they write about you. Just measure it in inches." With all of this buzz in the air, sometimes I just need to cut through the chatter and remember what I know is true of my experience at the Fayetteville Underground. There are many amazing things that I have been a part of at the Fayetteville Underground and some that I am directly responsible for. This is a list for me, so I can remember.
 
When I joined The Underground, I wanted a place to work away from my home studio. That was my only expectation. The first year I was there I didn't show my work in the galleries or sell my work from my studio as I was under contract with the lovely ddp gallery on Mountain St. Since the organization needed money and couldn't make any from me, I worked more volunteer hours than most to subsidize my rent and prove my worth. I wasn't counting the hours though, because I soon knew I was a part of something bigger than just a studio and that what you put into the Fayetteville Underground was what you got out of it. When the ddp gallery closed, I started showing and selling my work through The Underground as well and I was overwhelmed not only with sales but also all the opportunities that seemed to come my way. Suddenly it became apparent that we, the artists,  were building something Fayetteville had never seen before.
 
On Saturday April, 25th, 2009 soon after moving my studio to the Underground I created the Fayetteville Underground Blog, to help familiarize the public with what was happening in the basement of the empty "old bank building." At first this blog was more in depth, as I interviewed artists and compiled press information for them with pictures of our new location.
 
I still maintain the blog today, posting special events and press information for upcoming shows, as well as other notable mentions for the Underground community. It serves as a small record of what we have accomplished in a short period of time and of all the brilliant artists that have crossed our path.
 
Besides starting the Fayetteville Undground blog, I was directly responsible for bringing many exhibitions to the Fayetteville Underground, listed below. This was an enormous task. There were countless emails, chats, diagrams, photographs, writings, ideas and questions sent back and forth between myself and some of the artists. Sometimes I even funded these shows, printing them in house, as well as mounting them. I also installed many of the exhibitions as well, handled sales and shipped the works back. I learned so much and have such a different understanding and appreciation of gallery owners and artists because of this. Thanks to all the visiting artists who had a show at the Fayetteville Underground. It was a pleasure working with you and your brilliant art. Thanks to Henry Turner for printing and installation assistance on the Institute du loop and Christian Demare exhibitions.
 
Matters of Consequence: January 2010 : Revolver Gallery
Christopher Baber and Michael Shaefer from Hot Springs, Arkansas

Strangers and Not So Strange: Feburary 2010: Hive Gallery
Craig Earl Nelson from Fayetteville, Arkansas

A place to drown: July 2010: Hive Gallery 
Institute du loop from Taipei, Taiwan 

Ghosts in the Landscape #2: August 2010: Hive Gallery 
Christian Demare from Paris, France

North, West, East, South: September 2010: Hive Gallery
Thomas Petillo from Nashville,Tennessee 

Theft by finding: April 2011: Hive Gallery 
Steven Heaton, Rob Kedwards, John Spurgeon (aka Shakesmyteeth) all from U.K.

Iteration/Span: May 2011: Hive Gallery
Stewart Bremner from Edinburgh, Scotland and Craig Munro from Birmingham, England

Mise en Place: July 2011: Hive Gallery
Michele Maule from Portland, Oregon

The World Without Us: September 2011: Hive Gallery
Steven Heaton from Manchester, England

Animal Technology: October 2011: Hive Gallery 
Flannery Grace Horan from Little Rock, Arkansas and Becki Lamascus from Fayetteville, Arkansas
 
As well as the exhibitions, I also gave several talks about my art, the Fayetteville Underground, the shows I curated and marketing art in general. I gave a lecture to the Boston Mountain Potters Association, on ways to successfully market one's art. I also gave the talk Art Collecting 101: The Thrill of Original Art at the Revolver gallery and gave a two-hour lecture/tour for students of The Osher Institute, called Artful Spaces: A visit to the Fayetteville Underground.
 
In July 2010 I gave an art talk about English artist, Institute du Loop's exhibition and in August I spoke about the work of French photographer Christian Demare. In September I lead another lecture/tour for the students of the Osher Institute and in November I gave an informal lecture about my work to a group of university students studying with artist Cindy Wiseman. Speaking about art and engaging the community is something I really enjoy doing. It was such a thrill to create my own opportunities and give back to the community at the same time.
 
Besides those speaking engagements, I often speak monthly with our local National Public Radio affiliate, KUAF's correspondent Jacqueline Froelich on Ozarks at Large, about our upcoming exhibitions. If I am not speaking, I am helping to facilitate the other artist's interviews.
 
Besides these exciting and more obvious tasks there are many other organizational things I do behind the scenes of the organization along with Co-Artistic Director Jennifer Libby Fay. We have helped schedule the artist's gallery shifts so that The Underground maintains regular gallery hours. We have also created the bulk of the programming for the Fayetteville Underground. Many weekly meetings are spent reviewing artist's submissions for exhibitions and studios from near and far. We spend hours coordinating with visiting artists, studio artists, and craft artists to fill our four galleries each month with top notch shows. We have also encouraged our fellow Underground artists to curate additional shows creating a varied and inclusive exhibition schedule.
 
Jennifer and I also coordinate the publicity with studio artist Matthew Depper, to make sure all the artists showing at the Fayetteville Underground get the publicity they deserve, as well as supervising the snappy banners, posters and vinyl letters that Matthew designs and orders, to help make us the professional organization that we have become.
 
A lot of time and energy goes into creating something as special as The Underground. Every studio artist, every craft artist and every visiting artist that has shown at The Underground has made it what it is today. I am grateful for all the opportunities the Fayetteville Underground has given me and my fellow artists.

I could never have done any of this without Jennifer Libby Fay. We make a brilliant team and I thank The Fayetteville Underground for our friendship and for showing us just what we can accomplish, all the while working on our own art and watching our own careers flourish. It has been truly amazing.

Thanks to the building owners, Ted and Leslie Belden for letting a dream grow and flourish for as long as it did in that beautiful space. Thanks to the art lovers and patrons for their support and encouragement, smiles and purchases. 

What I know is that I am an independent business owner as an artist and I will continue to make my art and I will continue to share it and all the art I love with the community that surrounds me. 

Maps of the Night: Three Remain

the words in progress for the maps of the night series

The Maps of the Night went on sale online last Friday sight unseen. They were still drying on the floor of my studio but now only three remain. I am overwhelmed and thrilled with the response the maps of the night received.

The response was not something I was expecting, but it was something I was hoping for. I love these maps. What started as a way for me to break through a painting block, became something important and inspiring to me and to viewers and collectors as well. I am thankful for your support of my work, never underestimate your importance in my life. You encourage me with your comments and you help me stay on this path with your patronage. You put the tea in my cup in the morning, the music in my ears that fuels the paintings, you keep the heat on and allow me to keep working. Thank you.

I want to thank my friend, fellow artist and studio mate Jennifer Libby Fay for the paper that the maps were made on and I must thank my friend, fellow artist, and studio mate Don House for documenting the maps so expertly and quickly. Last by not least I want to thank my dear friend and fellow artist Stewart Bremner for talking with me about my ideas for this series of works, for listening to me, and for inspiring the series. Art is rarely made alone and I am very fortunate and grateful for all the support I have always had in my life for the art that I make.

There will be six more maps in the series, one is already in progress on my studio wall waiting for me. We have had a snow storm so the maps of the night are currently in a holding pattern but I can not wait to return to them. I will be shipping out all the current maps of the night next week to their new homes or making arrangements for their pickup at the Fayetteville Underground if you are local.

I will leave you with the three remaining, Maps of the Night. Please email me at megancha@gmail.com if you are interested in purchasing one of these available maps.

Click on the paintings to see them larger.

there is a line that runs between them under the ocean
mixed media on paper 24x 36"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
Sold

they jumped the gap and slept in the shadows
mixed media on paper 24x 36"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
Sold

it all points to an expertly crafted myth
mixed media on paper 24x 36"
© 2011 Megan Chapman
$100.00

If you want to see the first fourteen all together again go here.
Stay tuned for the next six.

Oh and this song is soon to be on repeat in my ears in the studio...