Ungrounded

 

The studios at the Underground are coming apart at the seams, the brushes, canvases and easels are being packed away. Tables moved and disassembled, the spaces we came to know as the studios of our peers are not the same. They are becoming the empty basement office spaces that they once were. The mark we left on One East Center is being erased as the artists pack up their studios just before the holidays.

I can say "when one door closes another one opens" and I can hope it is true. I can put a positive spin on it in the news and say we will be back in January in a new space, bringing you the same great art and artists that you have come expect from us for over the past two and a half years. But I honestly can't be sure. Where is the group of artists that became known as the Fayetteville Underground going? Where is the door that is about to open? I don't know. There are options, there are dreams, and there is reality.

Many of us worked very hard to bring the city something that the citizens and the artists seemed to want, need and appreciate and I am truly saddened that it was cut short by no fault of the artists or our landlord. It was an amazing run and I have never been more proud to be affiliated with an organization.

Who knows what will happen with the artists of the underground. Many will move back home to their abandoned extra bedrooms, attics and basement studios because it is easier than not knowing where they are going, and it is a way for them to control their own destiny. A few will stick together and continue trying to build the Fayetteville Art Alliance, trying to find studios together and manning a gallery, perhaps recruiting new artists into the fold and attempting new strategies. Some will just take a break and stop producing art for a while or perhaps look for gallery representation elsewhere. Perhaps there is space for some in the Old Post Office basement. As artists we may fragment and splinter yet there will be a tie that connects us, our time at the Fayetteville Underground.

The Fayetteville Underground taught me so much about people and it helped me become fully invested in my community. Working with many other organizations and groups was exciting and beneficial for all involved. Getting to know so many of the artists throughout the community was wonderful as well. I met people just like me who worked hard to create the work they needed to, in order to be true to themselves. Many amazing artists passed through the gallery doors of the Fayetteville Underground during these years. It was an honor to meet and get to know not only their work but them personally. We shared a lot of ups and downs together as a family, such as illnesses, separations, divorce, money troubles, depression, anxiety, artistic blows, blocks, and more than a few parking tickets! We also shared new love, special commissions, big sales, artistic triumphs, new visions and opportunities, inspiration and many bottles of beer, glasses of wine, and good meals in the restaurants and bars around the square.

I can't stand to see my artistic family fragmented. It is sad to see us come ungrounded and lose the vision that we as a team so brilliantly executed for so long. If I am willing to dream big, I hope we rise to this challenge and create something new, perhaps something never seen here before. Something perfect for this sweet town of art lovers and buyers. Studios on one side of town and a gallery on the other? Pop up shops in abandoned buildings? Take over a motel and turn it into a gallery for a week? Take the basement of the Old Post Office by storm creating a new hot spot? Retreating to the calm of Mt. Sequoyah and hoping that the patrons will follow?

I love these big plans and big dreams. One of my big dreams came true when I rented my studio at the Underground in April of 2009.

From my Journal:  

Monday 20 April 2009: Studio 19  
I have just returned from the leasing agent's office and I now have a key to my very own studio space downtown. I can't wait to move in and paint. This is so much more than just a key to me...
 
I guess it is time to wake up now. I have some boxes to pack and a studio door to close one last time and soon.

Are we having fun yet?

Winter Wonderland at Union Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland

December 8th-January 24th.

I love my job and I rarely complain about it as I feel I am truly privileged to do the work I am on the planet to do, the work I have trained for, and the work that I love to share with the world. However there are various negative stereotypes and ideas about artists that get in my way and clutter the path I walk. I have been thinking about these and thought it warranted a discussion.

1. Being an artist must be fun! It must be just great to lock yourself away from the world and play!

I hear this a lot from folks after I tell them what I do. Most of them mean well and most of them hope that my job is fun, because perhaps theirs is not. I understand. We all would like to be having fun more often than not. However, if I came up to you and said, "Wow! You are an account executive? That must be fun! A surgeon? Fun! A mail carrier? Even more fun!" You might get a little huffy... Not at the suggestion of fun per say but the idea that your job is easy, child like, simple, or less than.

You might think that I am taking people's comments too seriously or that I am being defensive. But imagine if you had studied for years, spending time and money to work up the ranks in your profession year after year and then over and over again you are dealt this patronizing comment. I'm not playing.

I think this comment comes from this dreamy and ignorant idea of the artist, the person who either has a trust fund enabling them to frivolously play at being an artist or the idea of the overly emotional sensitive soul that just can't quite make in the real world so they called themselves an artist and now they are safely ensconced in their attic studio with their only true friends, their paints and brushes.

Being an artist is working a job like anyone else. Being an artist is a legitimate career. As an artist you produce, promote and sell your work. Sure it can be fun at times, but it can be equally hard and unsatisfactory like any job.

2. Artists only use one part of their brain, you know that zany art part!

I hear this again and again in varying and worrisome terms, this idea is so wide spread that artists actually start to believe it themselves and perpetuate the myth. Making art is a huge part of my life, but being a successful artist means I also have to use a whole other set of skills. I am my own secretary, publicist, marketer, sales person, accountant, shipper, and the list goes on and on. I am an independent business owner as an artist and I have to use a business mind to make sure that I succeed. I have to keep an eye on the market, I have to network and stay connected to my patrons, just like any other small business owner.

I have had many intelligent conversations on the subject of the business of marketing ones art. People often act surprised that I can carry my weight on these subjects or that I even make it on time to the meeting (you know how flaky artists can be about time). Again, this is just another stereotype that needs to be put in its place.

I love my job and I hope you love yours too. Just try to remember I am showing up and working just like you and that I am using my whole brain while I do it. Artists are multidimensional people that work insanely hard at what they do, at least the successful ones.

If you want to compliment an artist, offer them your validation, tell them how hard you know it is and tell them not to give up. Tell them that you value their work and you appreciate what they offer to the community. You are likely to have a much richer conversation with that artist and you will have made their night.

To be seen for what we are and to be appreciated for what we make and bring to our communities and world through our art is what we are striving for.

************

As promised we have a winner! Randomly selected.... Sharon Simmons!!! Congratulations- You will receive this miniature paper painting from my etsy shop!

A change in the atmosphere

© 2011 Megan Chapman

When I look into the future (I see this)

 

Sure of It, mixed media, 30x30cm £270 © 2011 Megan Chapman 

Currently available through UNION gallery

Hello Blog Readers!

I was in Hot Springs last Friday (hence my post being late) for my opening for A Certain Trajectory at the Blue Moon Gallery. The turnout was lovely. I really enjoyed being back down at the gallery for the first time in several years. It was wonderful to see my friends and fellow artists down there as well as talk to all the art lovers out for gallery walk! My exhibition is up through the month so if you are passing though the Hot Springs area please don't miss it. There are several affordable pieces still available.

I am so thrilled to be a part of the Winter Wonderland exhibition at UNION gallery in Edinburgh, Scotland. Four of my recent paintings from my Sometimes I love you and other stories series will be included in this exhibition. The opening is tomorrow night, December 8th so if you are Edinburgh please go! Stewart Bremner has six pieces showing there as well. I can't wait to see a photographs of the exhibition! That will make it even more real for me. It truly is a highlight of my career as an artist.

From UNION gallery's website, "A wonderful, mixed exhibition of work from some of the gallery’s regular exhibitors, including new work from award-winning artists Colin Brown and Audrey Grant, Janet Melrose RSW and Trevor Jones. We are also delighted to be exhibiting work from the nomadic painter Tadeusz Deregowski along with Olivia Irvine, Stewart Bremner and, new to the gallery, American artist Megan Chapman." Winter Wonderland: 8 December 2011 - 24 January 2012

In other news, Stewart and I have another combined exhibition scheduled for which we will create all new paintings! We are very excited about this opportunity. There is so much to do before all that, but it is exciting to have it in the back of our minds, we look forward to the challenge!

I am still having my half off holiday sale of my older color works, please contact me if you would like more information on any of the pieces you see here. I also have some affordable small works on paper available in my Etsy shop ArtMaven.

I think that is about all I have to report. Thank you for reading my blog, checking in on facebook, twitter and for coming to my shows. You make my path so much brighter.

Holiday Giveaway Alert! Leave a comment on today's entry and be entered to win a small piece of my art! I will randomly draw a winner and announce it on Friday, December 9th!

Moving forward through art...

 

a perfect day, mixed media on paper,  5x7" © 2011 Megan Chapman

Happy Black Friday or Buy Nothing Day or just regular old Friday! Here I am with my weekly installment of what is going on in my art world. Let's see... 

Last week fellow artist Jennifer Libby Fay and I drove down to Hot Springs to deliver my exhibition, A Certain Trajectory to the Blue Moon Gallery. My exhibition will open on December 2nd on First Friday gallery walk from 5-9pm. I hope all my friends and supporters from Hot Springs and Little Rock will pop in and say hello. It has been a long time since I have been at the gallery for a First Friday and I am looking forward to it.

Here is the press blurb for my upcoming exhibition:

Megan Chapman will be returning after three years for a solo exhibition at the Blue Moon Gallery in December. A Certain Trajectory contains paintings from two of her most recent bodies of work. Previously, Chapman was known for her richly-colored mixed media paintings. However, in these pieces she began the transition into more minimalist work, featuring a near monochromatic palette comprised of various tones of dark charcoal, translucent shades of blue, yellow, rust, and the occasional flash of green. Several pieces in this exhibition contain the artist's own words typed on paper torn from old books and give the viewer the sense of reading pages out of a diary or letters to a distant lover. 

In other news, the day before my exhibition, on December 1st it will be our last First Thursday as the Fayetteville Underground and at the location that has been our home for over two and a half years. I am sure it will be a bittersweet evening; I don't think I have really made sense of it all yet. All I know is that the artists will be having lots of special deals and a great selection of works for every budget and taste. Many of our visiting artists will return to show their work one last time in the Revolver gallery and the Hive Annex (the studio behind the Hive gallery). This is a great time to take advantage of great deals and score the perfect piece. All of my remaining color works will be on half price sale as I try to liquidate my older inventory to make room for new ideas and to raise money for my future travels.  

  

For more information about our new organization please keep visiting www.morphtheorg.com and learn ways you can help, as we try to find a permanent home and come back better than ever in January as the Fayetteville Art Alliance.

I have been busy this last week as well, restocking my etsy shop with fresh new affordable works. It is always fun to restock the etsy shop and get to know the other talented etsy sellers. I have been very fortunate as my new works have been selected for many lovely treasuries and I have been asked to be a part of two impressive etsy teams. If you are looking for small, affordable, one of a kind works of art, then please visit my shop. These piece are fresh and elegant and will pop into any 5x7" frame making presentation a snap! I am currently offering free shipping and I will happily ship to anywhere in the world!

I think that is about all I have for you this week. I know that some bigger ideas are brewing, it is just a matter of time... Until then keep fighting!

Gratitude

 

A sneak peak of my upcoming exhibition,  A Certain Trajectory 

December 2011 Blue Moon Gallery Hot Springs Arkansas.

Dear Lovely Readers,

As some of you may have noticed, I skipped a week. I am not pleased about this but that is how it has to be sometimes. Life got in the way and I was happy to let it. I hope you all have been well in your art worlds and lives. Today, I just wanted to remind myself of some things and share some positive aspects of being an artist. I am grateful and here are some of the reasons why.

1. I have been showing my art in galleries since 1995. In those sixteen years I have been in over twenty featured and solo exhibitions and in over thirty group shows.

2. My work has been allowed to grow and change over these years because I have had good mentors in my life as well as friends, fellow artists and people around me who have supported, influenced and inspired me and encouraged my growth.

3. My art has put me in contact with lovely and diverse people all over the country and the world. My understanding of the world has been broadened because of art.

4. I am able to support myself doing what I know I am on the planet to do. I am able to express my inner most dreams, fears, secrets as well as passions and share them and give an image to feelings many viewers might not be able to express.

I am grateful for a lot more than this, but this seems like a good start.

In other news, I have been thinking about a new series of works. I am quite excited about the concepts, and truly I am just excited to be thinking of art again. I have been so caught up in the logistics of art and arts organizations that my work and that part of my brain have taken a back seat.

Soon the work will pour out of me again and I can't wait to share it with you. Thank you for being a part of it all.

Stay tuned....

Art update!

 

 he did the impossible 

© 2011 Megan Chapman 

sold

I have been hammered with work (not painting) as the Underground morphs into a new organization. We are a dedicated group of individuals who have worked too hard to make the Underground what it has become today to let it slide or fade away. We are all exhausted and yet at the same time deeply encouraged by the support of the community. I could write a lot about this experience and one day I am sure I will, but I thought I might return the focus to my art career for a split second.

So, here is my news. In December I will be having a solo exhibition at the Blue Moon Gallery in Hot Springs, Arkansas. It will be my first exhibition in three years at the gallery that has represented me since 2004. They have always shown my color work and have stood by me as my work has progressed and changed over the years, I am glad that I will be able to show some of my newer white series work in that part of the state. This exhibition will be a combination of my two most recent bodies of work, Falling into Sound and Sometimes I love you and other stories. I will be coming up with a title soon and picking just the right pieces to go together for this exhibition. I hope you will join me in Hot Spring for First Friday gallery walk December 2 from 5-9. It has been awhile since I have been down for a gallery walk so I am very excited. I hope I can get some of my fellow Underground studio mates to join me down there.

Also, in December I have been invited to show several works from my Sometimes I love you and other stories series in a gallery in Edinburgh, Scotland! I am very excited that some of these recent works will be shown at the Union Gallery in their annual Christmas show. I am sad I won't be traveling with them, but all in good time....

In other news, I just received word that two of my paintings. Home and He did the impossible, from my most recent series will be published in the winter edition of CALYX journal. CALYX is a journal that has been publishing fine art and literature by women since 1976. I am thrilled.

So, while I am currently not painting much my career as an artist keeps on moving forward. I know soon, I will have the time and the space to work again in the way I am accustomed, but first I must help as artists of the underground find a new home and get settled. Thanks for stopping by and for always reading, thinking, talking to me about my work. Your support is instrumental to my success. 

Have you helped morph the org yet? You can hear my fellow studio mate, Sabine Schmidt and me in a recent radio interview about the Underground artists and how we are morphing the org by clicking here. 

We are all in this together. Keep fighting, the world needs your art.

Viva!

The Fayetteville Underground is Morphing into Something New

Artists to Launch a New Nonprofit Community Arts Organization

The artists and the board of the Fayetteville Underground gathered last week in the Vault Gallery, for a meeting to discuss future plans of the organization.  It was at this meeting that the board revealed they would be dissolving The Fayetteville Underground at the end of the year.  They did not leave open the option for the artists to carry on with the current organization.  After the meeting the artists stayed to discuss the news and plan for the future.  A decision was made by the artists to create a new arts organization based on the current model.  

Studio Artist and current Co-Artisic Director of the Fayetteville Underground, Megan Chapman, commented, “A lot of time and energy goes into creating something as special as The Fayetteville Underground. Every studio artist, every craft artist and every visiting artist that has shown at The Underground has made it what it is today. The artists know that we can take what we have learned through our experience here, and go forward to create something new that is even more impressive and exciting for all the artists involved, as well as for the community at large.”  

The November and December First Thursdays at the Fayetteville Underground will continue as planned.  The artists have launched a website to help transition to a new organization, and individuals can find the website at:  morphtheorg.com.  The artists are also asking that community members help them select a new name, by voting online or in person at the November First Thursday.  Voting will end on November 7th, and the winning name will be released the following day.  As the Fayetteville Underground takes a new shape, the artists ask that the community continue their support and direct any ideas, proposals or donations to the website at: morphtheorg.com.

Please remember! The Fayetteville Underground will remain open through December. Please join us for our November and December opening receptions on the First Thursday of each month from 5-8pm. Our regular gallery hours are W-F 12-5 and Saturday 10-5 and we will maintain our hours and our galleries until the end of the year. Thank you for your support and please help us as we move forward.