Category Archives: Blog

Starry Night and Art Laguna Prize

If you haven’t been on social media, you haven’t heard my good news!!

P5110155edit

On Tuesday I was notified that my artwork was accepted into a residency and an exposure program sponsored by Starry Night Retreat – a retreat center in Truth or Consequences, NM! The exposure program  allows you to exhibit during Frieze Art week in New York City in May!! romeno

Then I was notified that my artwork – Bluebells, was accepted into an international exhibition via Art Laguna Prize at the Romanian Institute of Culture and Humanistic Research of Venice! I am currently looking to attending the openings of this competition in Venice. I ran across a great deal online for a two night stay + flight.

 

An open reflection on mistakes

You have learned well, my friend. To value personal relationships over money is something that we should all learn. I am very pleased with how you handled things this past week. Yes, loosing money is bad… but money is tangible… it can be regained. And I know I have a lot of work to do… but meaningful relationships cannot be regained – sometimes.

I lost a meaningful relationship once. And working with you is healing that… I have been carrying regret and a lot of baggage because I feel like I fucked up that meaningful relationship and because of it I lost it. It was a mistake to express myself to them – because by doing so it caused me a lot of heartbreak. This is a strange time for me… I know mistakes aren’t always forgiven, but when it does happen… I find it healing. 

I hope you realize this? The mistakes I’m making aren’t necessarily because I’m not looking/seeing things… but I feel like they come from my subconscious because I am consciously thinking about how I fucked up my relationship. It’s a karma thing see.

Karma is not how most people see it. It comes in cycles, and is depicted in a big wheel in the sky and when you are in one, you have 12 months of positive events and 12 months of negative events alternating in a six month interval. I see it turn in the cards, and know when certain events happen based on solely that knowledge. I am in a karmic cycle and it started when my relationship ended.

Everyone who you meet in a Karmic cycle is going through one as well and is either going through the same lesson you are or ones you’ve already been through so you can teach them. We all meet each other when we’re supposed to, to galvanize lessons and to teach each other certain things.

I wish I can tell you what I am seeing… because based on recent events I can almost guarantee that things are going to get better. That wheel turns in March, around the Spring solstice, and these past six months have been rather trying. The good news about the wheel turning is that things will become more positive for the next six months in all areas of life. And because we seemed to have both learned our lessons, it will be really good for all of us.

 

 

 

Exhibition News

13814-BLackboardgalleryweb

My work, Treeflowers, was accepted into an exhibition titled, Less is More! at the Blackboard Gallery in Camarillo, CA! The exhibition will run from March 1st – March 22nd. Super excited for this exhibition as it is my first one on the West Coast! Now my artwork is Bi-Coastal!

Res7

I am SUPER excited for this exhibition! This past week, my artwork, Parsley, was accepted into a Spring juried exhibition, Massachusetts!, at a local gallery in Cambridge, MA. I feel like this is my first “real” gallery exhibition. I don’t know why. The exhibition will run from March 20th – April 12th, 2014.

Work-place tarot reading

Sometimes my co-designer Krista and I hang out at the shop after work and I do readings. The last time it happened was this time last month during the week of the full moon. I bought a tarot deck of celtic orgin as this area reminded me of the Druids and Celts because of the woods. Last month I read about a new salesperson my boss was looking to hire. I saw some pretty sleazy stuff happening with the new salesperson and that this person was a karmic test for my boss. If he hired the new salesperson a storm would take place and things will eventually be forgiven.

However, my boss didn’t end up hiring the new salesperson (which meant that I was still the new kid) and the events are still taking place and I’m taking the hit since I’m the weakest link (though I’m not doing anything sleazy – same events, same affects, different causes). Because it’s Karmic the events still happen no matter what. Things at work have been obviously rough these past couple days and I’m starting to rethink things. Venus retrograde just became direct, so I feel like my relationship to my boss will be better at the end of the month (in two weeks).

Ironically, that’s the amount of time my boss told me that I had to clean up my act or it will be the end of me working there… However, Mercury is retrograde and I began working at MMPNE during a mercury retrograde – just a month after my Karmic wheel turned which was last September. My Karmic wheel turns again next month and Mercury becomes direct at the end of this month but calms down for the first two weeks in March. I am home today due to the snow storm we’re having and took the time to start applying to other positions. I found an ad on craigslist for a position out in Ellington, CT where it will be the reverse of what I’m doing now. More focus on design creation and less on the pre-production and post-production. And Ellington, CT isn’t that far away from me from Longmeadow, MA.

In minutes I got a response and the interviewer was ironically doing phone interviews today – the interview went really well. I just need to play my cards right and pay attention to the subtle energies at play here. I am given two weeks at MMPNE and within those two weeks at home I have to juggle landing a position and then announce my leave at MMPNE at the right time. SO MUCH DELICACY. DAMN YOU UNIVERSE!

I am so heartbroken that things aren’t going well at MMPNE. I love the people I work with, I love what I do as my job, but it is too much juggling for me to handle on top of healing, on top of loosing my bosss’ patience… on top of moving my studio to Western Ma… I am seeking stability damnit!

The Empty Spaces Project

1599781_736229466389292_219763217_oBack in December I exhibited at a local gallery called The Boxcar Gallery. There I met a few more local artists and a gallery owner who owns a gallery in Putnam, CT. I learned that I was their first artist to be invited to their Tragic Love exhibit. Tonight I went out there to check out the space and have a few drinks. They were drawn to my ‘Smithsonian’ status (as it’s been lovingly called…) and it was the one of the many factors that went into inviting me to their show. A lot of work seems to have gone into the space and I guess this upcoming exhibition is like their “reopening”?! I don’t know!! But it has given me some thought as to how, where and the direction of my creative space will go. I’m intrigued by the idea of taking over empty store fronts for gallery and artist spaces (The Empty Spaces Project). There are some things that need to come to pass but for now I have to move out of my studio in Beverly and transition completely to Longmeadow.

Changing the Course of the Future

I did something really hard this past week and I’m quite satisfied with myself that I was able to pull through.

Things at work have been really crazy and my work dynamic with my boss has been intense and from my perspective it was really dragging me into the ground – mentally, emotionally and physically speaking.

I saw for a moment in time two directions my life at work could go in. One in a really positive, happy direction and the other where I was always miserable and feeling quite helpless – and I freaked out. If I continued on this path, the mistakes I had been making I would keep making and things would just become extremely tense. If I made an intervention and apologized things would go in a happier, carefree, positive direction…

I did not have the strength to do what I had to do when I had to do it. But it needed to be done, otherwise things would’ve gone horribly wrong.

I told my boss what I’ve been dealing with roughly for the past 9-18 months. I wrote him a letter and apologized for the shit that went down at work.

Strangely, I have found a sense of healing from doing so. I’m not sure if its’ because I could finally tell someone what I’ve been going through that I trusted or if it was just supposed help me gain some closure or what. But I feel like a load has been lifted from me.

The tension at work has calmed down and things are back to normal. It is very rare for me to see directions of where my life could go so clearly like that. Moments like this are when I’m very glad I am psychic and could see and pick up things like that.

Tragic Love Exhibition – The Empty Spaces Project

1010623_410327722445856_747167910_n 1505548_10202340666976252_773041060_n

So funny thing about this exhibition.

Back in December I exhibited my artwork in a new gallery called The Boxcar Gallery in Greenfield, MA. I drove up there one night to attend the reception. I began talking to a gallery owner in Putnam, CT. Which is about an hour from where I am stationed in Western, MA. The gallery owner wanted to fit me in their Tragic Love exhibition. The last I heard was they were going to put me into their November exhibition (perhaps they meant February)? Anyway, I saw these images on facebook this week and was like WHA! How am I in an exhibition I did not know that I was aware of that I am in!

The funny thing is… it is Venus retrograde now. It typically is a time when all kinds of relationships that are important to you and that are real go haywire (it’s like mercury retrograde but instead of communications and technology its love, friendships, relationships and romance). Venus retrograde ends this friday! (but takes a few weeks to settle down).

Monday night I’ll be driving out there to drop off my artwork that I’m going to be bringing back here to Western MA after the weekend.

 

 

I’m alive

Hi!

Sorry I’ve been quiet around here. Not much has been going on. I’ve been asked to stay at Minuteman Press, and will be making some plans to move forward and move to Western MA completely.

I’ve submitted my work to a bunch of places:

Gallery 263, 263 Pearl Street, Cambridge, MA 02139
The Gallery at Mayfair, 2141 Downyflake Lane, 2nd Floor, Allentown PA 18103
The Center for Photography at Woodstock, 59 Tinker St., Woodstock, NY 12498
Kathryn Schultz Gallery, 25 Lowell St. Cambridge MA 02138
Nave Gallery, Somerville, Ma
The Center for FIne Art Photography, Fort Collins, Co
Ceres Gallery, New York, NY
Studio Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA

That I should be hearing back from soon. Most of these places their deadlines are the 31st. So the first week of February I should be hearing hopefully some good news. I’ll also be hearing from the last competition I’m still in. I unfortunately didn’t make the cut for the others that I submitted my artwork too. Oh well. The wheel turns again in March, so I’ll try to submit some of my work to more competitions around that time.

I’ve had about 7 people sign up for my Cambridge Science festival workshop at the New England School of Photography for this coming April. I’m excited to be teaching and showing my artwork in a different kind of setting and audience. I’m equally as excited that people are already signing up!!

I am typing this blog on my lunch break at work right now. Which by the way has been really crazy and it must be the combinations of the astrological chaos going on right now and stuff that I’ve been going through and such.

It was my birthday this past weekend and my mom and I went thrifting! I bought a cool sweater with pink, grey and purple tones as well as a dress to wear to work when the weather is warmer. I also finally got Adobe Indesign for my imac for my birthday. So excited to be able to lay out text in a document now instead of using photoshop!

That’s about it for now.

Studio Wrap Up #1

My first studio wrap up!! I’m sitting here in my studio after having coffee with a former high school teacher. We ended up talking for 2 hrs and I didn’t get to Beverly until 2 pm. I’m having lunch from Green Papaya, a Vietnamese food restaurant that’s downstairs and trying to figure out the best use of my time. I COULD set up the darkroom and spend a couple hours making negatives only to put everything away… OR I COULD sit at my computer and work on my schedule for next year.  HMM. What to do? I do have tomorrow, so I am definitely planning on coming here early tomorrow to make negatives. I think I may just end up working on my calendar for next year.

03a80ef843e811e39dbc22000a1f9e59_8

My first project in the studio was a sculpture project for my art residency proposal which ended up being a TOTAL FAIL. I ended up submitting something, but it was only after much headache to finally toss this idea out. Kind of sad that my first project in my studio was a fail. But the first time you do anything you don’t normally get it done right.

 

 

 

10369b464fbc11e38d3812fdbeaf1ce5_8

To the right is a photo of the epic failness. The sculpture block did not solidify the way I expected it to and thus could not carve it the way I expected to. I think I didn’t buy the right type of plaster even though Dick’s said that it was a good plaster for carving. Phooey.

 

 

 

 

KristiNB_residencysketch

To the left is what I ended up submitting long with an explanation. It’s not that clear as a photo alone, but my project is to take an existing photograph and to translate it into a 3-dimensional sculpture of that photograph.

 

 

 

 

 

 

d7a36bd64c2a11e3883d12b02091f087_8

Studio 19 had it’s first opening reception! Which went very well and a lot of the people who showed up were interested in purchasing the artwork. I also established a partnership wit The Healing Center in Beverly. They want to use my process and I want to use their outreach and clientele for my personal projects on spirituality.

 

 

 

 

a4b23fe25ac411e3bded0ade96cef4ff_8

AND most importantly, the first ever paper negatives were made in my studio. The process isn’t perfect, but I now feel like I’m going somewhere with this space. Everything is coming together and I’m producing things!

 

 

 

 

 

 

dd9def1e604511e3a82a1254f80f8824_8

Next, I made my In/Finite Earth experience memo board. I’m hoping to, as I gain more experiences in the art field, to make more of these. I used encaustic board so the paper is a bit thicker and I can nail it to the wall if I wanted to as a base. Then covered it with print outs of the postcard that had everyone’s art on and printed out pictures and bought scrapbook materials that reflected the trip. I really enjoyed this project!

 

 

 

 

1486878_730740406939265_1414799262_n

And last but not least, Cabot Street Studios has its’ first Holiday Open Studios!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What’s coming up:

Exploration in Papermaking

– Using the dried flowers from my kirlian photography and the recycled paper from work to create a work of art.

– Oceanic Kirlian Photographic Prints. Using organic materials from the ocean to produce kirlian photographs

– developing a portable darkroom…

– and much more to come! 🙂

Digital Art

1403565_2286699927256_1563985712_o

saturnmanip

 

Two of my artist friends inspired me to make more photo manips after I changed my cover photo to the first one I listed here. I forgot how fun this project was. Creating scenes using images of earth to create another world entirely. I need to do more!