Category Archives: Valley Moments

Art, Blog, Excursions, Exhibitions, Travel, ◆◆◆

Appearances ’14 – EcoFestival Recap

April 30, 2014 Kristi Leave a comment

This past weekend I participated in the Appearances ’14 EcoFestival in Provincetown, MA. I probably should’ve gone to the first weekend of the festival as it rained during the entire time I was there and the weather last weekend was perfect. Oh well, last weekend I had to do the Cambridge Science Festival. I had wanted to do a Nature Divination workshop but was directed to the wrong location… so I missed it. Anyway, I still got to see my artwork at the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies and participate in the Art + Meditation workshop at Gallery Ehva.

Anyway, I enjoyed the Art + Meditation workshop at Gallery Ehva. The meditation was the growth of trees and we had to do a drawing of what first came to mind during each stage of the growth of a tree (i.e: roots, trunk, leaves, crown, environment, etc). I ended up talking a lot about how I’ve been wanting to live freely and live my life on my own but I keep facing setbacks and associated my growth as an artist to the growth of a tree…

Anyway, I’m glad I went as it was fun to see my artwork in Provincetown, I was also invited to show at Gallery Ehva in their June exhibition but I haven’t heard anything yet, they have my contact info, so we’ll see if that comes through, but I’m excited at the prospect of it. I did some shopping, I didn’t buy a whole lot, just incense and a quartz point.

Art, Blog, Events, Excursions, Massachusetts, New England, Receptions, Snapshots, Travel, ◆◆◆

Gallery 263: Massachusetts!

March 29, 2014 Kristi Leave a comment

On Friday I left work early to go into Cambridge, MA for two receptions. The first one, at this year’s VSA competition (the one that accepted my works into the Smithsonian) from the Massachusetts chapter. I ran across the blog and am going to submit my story to it (when I have a chance to write it). I met the one of the members who connected me to this reception who happened to grow up in Longmeadow! Crazy. The reception was nice and the gallery was nice but small. Afterwords, I sent the executive director an email seeing if they’d let me do a solo show at the Open Doors Gallery (where it was held).

Then I went to the other side of the river for the reception at Gallery 263: Massachusetts! A former high school teacher of mine came to the reception as well as my uncle and my brother. As you can probably tell from my photos, it was PACKED. It was probably the most crowded reception I have been in! (This is the reception where I was mentioned in the press release). Overall fun night, despite battling Boston rush hour traffic. Ugh!

PS: If you click the photo about it’ll take you to the facebook photo gallery.

Art, Massachusetts, New England, News

Gallery 263 – Massachusetts!

March 20, 2014 Kristi Leave a comment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 03.4.2014

Massachusetts

On view: March 20 – April 12, 2014
Gallery Hours: W-Sa/12-7pm; Su/event dependent Artists’ Reception: Friday March 28, 7-9pm

Cambridge, MA – Gallery 263 is pleased to present Massachusetts, a juried exhibition selected by Dina Deitsch (Curator of Contemporary Art, deCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, Lincoln, MA).

Massachusetts is the second part of a two-part juried exhibition series celebrating five years of art, music and people at Gallery 263. Turning our attention towards artists living and working in the Bay State, Massachusetts features 38 local artists and 41 contemporary artworks.

This diverse group of Massachusetts artwork is pertinent to contemporary American cultural topics and technical choices. Massachusetts artists McCool, Pattison and Thorne comment on the digitization and packaging of our experiences, while the work of Leone, Martini, Kim and Yeol relates to health, mutation and scientific experimentation. MA residents will surely resonate with representations of strong local individuals present and past, from McMahon’s personal story of recovery from the indelible Boston tragedy last April, to Cann’s depiction of Emily Dickenson and her parting words. A more macrocosmic look at American consciousness is made by Marcoux’s picture of pride in Provincetown, as well as by Crowell’s found object assemblage that investigates a “new American ethnic identity”. In terms of technique, the use of gold as a surface material is employed in several works, by Photopoulos, Brister and Layzer. Other unusual technical approaches include Beisecker’s electrically exposed parsley on photo paper, and Gregg’s fiber and acrylic piece, illustrating an entire text listing for a “Call for Art”. Massachusetts truly celebrates contemporary MA artists, who Gallery 263 is proud to represent. Thank you for taking a stake in our success, Massachusetts!

Guest juror, Dina Deitsch, pioneered the deCordova’s Biennial programming in 2010, and has organized numerous solo and large-scale group exhibitions since. Prior to working at the deCordova, Deitsch held curatorial positions at the Williams College Museum of Art, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. In addition to working as an independent curator locally and regionally, Deitsch served as the guest juror for the 2012 Northeast Issue of New American Painting. Gallery 263 appreciates Deitsch’s support in selecting the artwork for Massachusetts.

Works by the following artists are included in the show:
Freedom Baird / Jim Banks / Kristi Beisecker / Lauren Bennett / Kaca Bradonjic / Erik Brisson / Kathriel Brister / Connie Cann / Cyrille Conan / Charlie Crowell / Steven Duede / Claire Elliott / Arlene Fins / Tatiana Flis / Sharon Freed / Sandy Gregg / Lydia Harris / Helena Hsieh / Yeol Jung / Natanya Khashan / Sawool Kim / Molly Lamb / Jennifer Layzer / Lauren Leone / Brittany Marcoux / Julie Martini / Timothy McCool / Ryan McMahon / Noritaka Minami / Laura Miner / Yola Monakhov / Jeanette O’Connor / Todd Pattison / Alexandra Photopoulos / Alex Sewell / Kyle Thorne / Timothy Wilson / Mong-jane Wu

Gallery 263 is a nonprofit arts organization in Cambridge, MA. Our mission is to provide a place for local and regional artists of all media to exhibit work and engage the community. Gallery 263 exhibits are free and open to the public.

263 Pearl Street Cambridge, MA 02139 www.gallery263.com contact@gallery263.com

Art, Blog, Excursions, Travel, ◆◆◆

Groundings, LLC

March 9, 2014 Kristi Leave a comment

A couple of weekends ago I took a drive up to Noho and met with Lauren, a new age gift shop owner in Florence, MA. On the way I noticed signs for an Orchid show sponsored by the Amherst Orchid Society. So grateful I brought my camera with me that day! I met Lauren to discuss a solo show that won’t be happening until July. I’m super excited about this! I need to figure out ideas for promotion, etc. and what to do in general. I’m excited to be possibly showing new work too. They do weekly meditations and I plan on being at the Sound Healing meditation this coming Friday. Can’t wait to check it out.

On the way back I stopped at the Orchid Show and glad I did. Got some really awesome abstract photos of Orchids. One of which I plan on putting in my bedroom here in Longmeadow. The red in one of the orchids (shown in above photo) goes really well with my walls in my bedroom.

Art, Blog, Exhibitions, Massachusetts, New England, News

Exhibition News

February 22, 2014 Kristi Leave a comment

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!

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.

Art, Blog, Connecticut, Excursions, Exhibitions, New England, Travel, ◆◆◆

The Empty Spaces Project

February 7, 2014 Kristi Leave a comment

Back 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.

Art, Blog, Connecticut, New England, News, Travel, ◆◆◆

Tragic Love Exhibition – The Empty Spaces Project

January 29, 2014 Kristi Leave a comment

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.

Art, Connecticut, Exhibitions, Massachusetts, New England, Receptions, Travel, ◆◆◆

The Boxcar Gallery Reception

December 7, 2013 Kristi Leave a comment

Friday I drove back to Western Ma to attend The Boxcar Gallery’s Opening Reception. This gallery is literally in an old boxcar. The gallery is located in downtown Greenfield, Ma. It is also part of The Empty Space’s Project. Kim, the owner of The Boxcar Gallery, had the opportunity to also exhibit some of Joseph Mallord William Turner, a painter from the 1800s. It was really nice to meet some of the artists in Western Massachusetts and Connecticut. I also met the owners of a gallery in Putnam, Connecticut and they were interested in showing my work as well. First venture out in Western Mass, a success I’d say.

Art, Blog, Excursions, Massachusetts, Mystical Life, New England, Reflections, Travel, ◆◆◆

Haymarket

December 3, 2013 Kristi Leave a comment

Tonight I drove out to Northampton, Ma and met Kim the owner of The Boxcar Gallery – (yes this gallery is really in an old boxcar) at the Haymarket Cafe! I had their hot chocolate and their Fried Egg and Mozzarella sandwich. The sandwich was a little too much food than I expected but I enjoyed it overall. Kim asked me about my photographic process and I asked her about the arts in western Massachusetts. She had also asked me for a tarot reading and I gave her one at the end. Never been to Northampton (or “Noho”) before and it reminded me of Bethlehem – but holy shit did I feel at home in Northampton! It’s definitely a city I’d like to explore more. The funny thing with meeting Kim is that she had seen my artwork in Pomfret before I submitted my work to her as she grew up in Pomfret. It was a cool moment for me because I was all, “WOAH! MY ART IS GETTING RECOGNIZED!” I seriously hope this job in Enfield continues because I’m falling in love with this area.

Art, Blog, Excursions, Inspiration, Mystical Life, Projects, Spirituality, Travel, ◆◆◆

The Healing Center in Beverly

November 30, 2013 Kristi Leave a comment

Today I visited Joanna at the Healing Center in Beverly and we talked about a future partnership with my Kirlian Process and my studio space at Cabot Street Studios. We talked about potentially getting my research into workshop format and using the Healing Center space as well as Studio 19’s space for workshops and presentations.

We also talked about literally working with the life force energy as well, since Joanna is a Reiki Master and knows how to work with the energy we thought about trying to capture and visually express the differences of a charged object with Reiki energy and a regular object. I also talked about some of the things I had been struggling with and we decided that Reiki should be the next stage in my healing process as well.

Art, Blog, Excursions, Exhibitions, Reflections, Travel, ◆◆◆

Artiste Marketplace and a New Calling

November 17, 2013 Kristi Leave a comment

This weekend I participated in the Artiste Marketplace sponsored by Artiste Art and Craft Studio. I didn’t sell anything but I gave away a lot of marketing material which is always a good thing. As usual, people were generally interested in my artwork and spent time asking questions and looking through the portfolio. I’m glad I had that experience. I even met someone who wants to do a trade – teaching her photo processing and her teaching me Reiki. In the past week that was the second time my artwork has attracted Reiki practitioners. I met the Owner of ‘The Healing Center’ in Beverly at my reception last Tuesday who is also a Reiki practitioner. It makes sense that I’m attracting these type of people because Reiki is all about using the life force energy to heal people. The owner of ‘The Healing Center’ wants to do a collaboration with me and my process which I mentioned in my post about the Studio19 reception. I went on their website and I found a class about plants – too perfect for my usage! I’ve been wanting to use the medicinal properties of plants in my artwork some how. And I love that it’s only one Thursday a month. I signed up for the December class since next week is a little to soon for me. I’ll have to leave work early, but that shouldn’t be a problem. I’m excited to see where my artwork is taking my professionally and spiritually. 🙂

Art, Events, Excursions, Exhibitions, Receptions, Studio19, Travel, ◆◆◆

Studio19 – Opening Reception Recap

November 15, 2013 Kristi Leave a comment

On Tuesday evening I drove over 70 miles to attend my reception on the Northshore coming from Enfield, Ct. During work that day I learned that both my photographer and production crew (Estrada Productions) that I had booked for the reception fell through! My parents ended up taking pictures. But the fact that I have never put on an event like this before I thought the reception went very well. Several new people showed up and showed interest in buying my artwork! Some of the artists from Cabot Street showed up as well which I was very thankful for. It started slow, but ended well. There was definitely more people than I expected, which is always nice. I was even publicized in the Wicked Local: Wellesley. And Beverly Main Streets did a social media blast and my landlord posted the reception on the Cabot Street website. I put posters up around town which seemed to be the most effective. I even got interest from a Healing Center located down the street to do a partnership with my process and capturing people’s energy with it because they do Reiki. I’m pretty excited about that. I have to do some more research on that, but that won’t happen until I finish my proposal for my artist residency. I think in the end I’d definitely do it all over again, but I may focus on promotion next time. But it was difficult to work on getting the studio setup and do self promotion and starting a new job all at once. Now I just have to make a whole new body of work and have another one!