Life and Afterlife in a Cubicle

I had the pleasure of collaborating on a project with my husband, Daniel M. Strickland. His debut novel, Synergeist, has launched! My part in the collaboration process was the painting for the cover and having the privilege of being an early reader.

One challenge to painting a cover for the book was to try to capture the idea that energy is created when someone makes something. The art created continues to hold some energy after the artist has moved on.

As someone who has cried while standing in front of a five hundred year old painting, been moved to tears in a centuries old church, felt energized by words written by an author long dead and gotten shivers from music, this concept makes sense to me.

As is always the challenge, how does one capture the visceral with these meager visual tools? It sparked many interesting conversations around the dinner table about what something so etheral should look like.

Synergeist, 20x16, oil on panel, 2015 

Click below to see more painting details and info about the book.

Women Painting Women 2014 Art Show Catalogs

Learn more about the Women Painting Women blog, my posts about the Pay It Forward show brought to you by Women Painting Women, and WPW: 5th Annual and Juried International Show at Principle Gallery Charleston and Matter Deep Publishing.

Women Painting Women: 5th Anniversary & International Juried Show

By Matter Deep Publishing

82 pages, published 8/15/2014

Women Painting Women: 5th Anniversary & International Juried Show, Principle Gallery Charleston, Exhibit Catalog, 2014

Pay it Forward

By Matter Deep Publishing

48 pages, published 8/15/2014

Pay it Forward, Principle Gallery, Exhibit Catalog, 2014

Women Painting Women and Pay It Forward

Principle Gallery, Alexandria, VA presents Pay It Forward: 2014

Five years after the first Women Painting Women blog began, the WPW concept is alive and well.

Matter Deep Publishing Catalog: Preview or Buy.
Cover painting by Mia Bergeron

The scope of the movement is evolving with this year’s exhibits:

~Pay It Forward, Principle Gallery, Alexandria, VA, is an exhibition in which the group and gallery are further pushing the ideals of WPW. New artists have been nominated to exhibit, all painting genres highlighted, and 10% of sales will go to a charity of the collectors choice, thus engaging artist, gallery and collector in the act of paying it forward. You may see a preview of the show HERE.

Excerpt from Principle Gallery exhibit statement from the catalog:

In 2014 we will continue to celebrate the modern female artist, and this year we chose to highlight works touching on all genres: figurative and portraiture, still life, as well as landscape.  This incorporation of new subjects allows for us to fully display the mastery of talent that can be found in today’s female artists.  Using the title Pay it Forward, we want to highlight the new artists who have been invited to show with us for this iteration of WPW shows.  Some of the original artists and those from (R)evolution  have paid their “place” in the exhibition forward to a new name, which allows the group’s membership to grow and thus further promotes exposure and recognition of women as painters. 


Excerpt from the catalog, exhibition statement by Alia El-Bermani, Co-Founder of Women Painting Women:

We are hopeful that the cumulative effect of this Pay it Forward exhibition inspires others in the art world and beyond to build a better, stronger community of artists. As the saying goes, “a rising tide lifts all boats.” Increased awareness of and appreciation of our fellow artists – built by sharing opportunities – will help foster a generous, supportive, and collegial art world.  

I'm so pleased to have two pieces in this show.

Fire, Earth, Air, and Water, 16x16, oil on panel (More about this painting later.)

Women Painting Women: 2014

I'm so pleased to have a painting in the Women Painting Women: 5th Anniversary and International Juried Exhibit at Principle Gallery, Charleston, SC. Opening Sept 5, 2014, 5-8 pm.

Here's a preview of the show.

Matter Deep Publishing has produced a gorgeous catalog available through MagCloud.

Buy it: WPW: Principle Gallery Charleston, SC  2014 Catalog

Gnosis,  21x32, oil on canvas over panel

My model was fellow artist Cindy Procious. And here are a few details:

The Art Innovation of the Year Award!

Women Painting Women continues to be an inspirational movement!

The group received two awards from Katherine Tyrrell's Making a Mark Blog. If you don't know her massively popular blog check it out. It is listed as #14 in the top 75 art blogs. Katherine recognized the WPW and the innovation of print on demand publishing as being game changers for the art world.

The Art Innovation of the Year Award is for the group's production of the Women Painting Women: (R)evolution catalog produced by Matter Deep Publishing and designed by Carly Strickland for the WPW show at Principle Gallery in Alexandria, VA in Sept, 2013.

The Art Innovation of the Year Award is awarded to highlight those artist bloggers who experiment and/or create and/or share innovations which help the practice of other artists.

The sharing may be through:

• the invention of a new tool or art medium to aid artists

• testing and reviewing a new art medium or material

• experiments with existing or new art media, materials or equipment and the creation of                           a new way of doing things 

Making a Mark writes:

The Women Painting Women group... used HP's Magcloud to enable potential collectors to buy either print and online versions of their catalogue for the Women Painting Women (R)evolution exhibition. It's a novel way of enabling people to access a catelogue without having to spend a lot of money - because MagCloud works on the basis of a call off production.  They priced the digital catalogue at $5.99 - a figure which won't phase most collectors. 

Of course, we at Matter Deep Publishing are very excited to hear about the award!  Print on demand and digital publishing are great business tools and formats that we whole-heartily embrace.

Catalog available in digital or print.

The second award for the WPW is:

Making a Mark writes:

What the women had planned for 2013 fell only a little short of world domination! In the end, in 2013, the project organized and held SEVEN concurrent exhibitions and went international. Where do they go from here? Some National Portrait Gallery has got to pick them up at some point surely?

"This is an art blog project which started with an admirable set of values, achieved its goals and then changed up a gear and created a significant movement amongst painters. In all of this the art blog has proved a valuable tool for showcasing the work of various women artists and providing a place of reference and an accessible identity for their work.

Thank you Making a Mark again for recognizing the Women Painting Women and Print on Demand as being game changers for the art world!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

From Our Family to Yours

May your 2014 be filled with people to love, work to do and something to look forward to. And when something goes wrong in your life, try throwing your arms up in the air and yelling "PLOT TWIST" then move on! 

All in the Family-Shelby Living Magazine

Our little family enterprise, Matter Deep Publishing has a lovely article in the Shelby Living Magazine October 2013 issue. You may read about how we got our start, what it's like working with family members and find out about the different hats we all wear.

Thanks so much author Linda Long, photographer Jon Goering and all the nice folks at the magazine!

Daughter of Thought, Women Painting Women:(R)evolution

Here's my third painting in the show at Principle Gallery, opening Sept 20, 2013.

Daughter of Thought,  47x32, oil on canvas over panel.

My model was Philadelphian, and fellow Women Painting Women artist, Rachel Constantine. She is a stand-in for each of my Athena like WPW sisters.

Click Read More below to see more details and links to all the artists in the show.

Vive La (R)evolution!

Principle Gallery, Catalog, Women Painting Women blog, Matter Deep Publishing.

Women Painting Women: (R)evolution Catalog Available!

Enjoy!

Women Painting Women: (R)evolution

By Matter Deep Publishing

54 pages, published 8/12/2013

Women Painting Women: (R)evolution, Principle Gallery, Exhibit Catalog. Sept 20-Oct 18, 2013

Eleven Reasons Why YOU Should Publish an Art Book or Catalog

Surprise! I have a guest blogger today, Amy Leigh Strickland. You may have seen her posts in my blog roll. She writes about the craft and business of writing and about her books. Take it away Amy!

My name is Amy Leigh Strickland, and I am Terry’s daughter-in-law. Regulars to this blog know me from a series of paintings I’ve been in, including Athena, The Incognito Project, and If Music Be the Food of Love, Play On. I’m a novelist and a teacher and I’m here to talk to you about art books.

Ripe Was the Drowsy Hour, 18x24, oil on canvas over panel.
This is one of my paintings in which Amy plays model and muse in my gypsy series.
This painting will be in Alexandria, VA at Principle Gallery for the Face-Off, August 16, 2013.

Publishing an art book is easier now than it has ever been. You no longer have to wait for a big New York company to recognize you to get a book out there. Whether your work sells for thousands at galleries, or whether you’re making most of your income off of fan conventions and RedBubble shirts, there are TONS of reasons to publish an art book. In fact, I’m Kickstarting a project right now to teach anyone how to self-publish their book, and the design portion is being written by Carly Strickland, who designed The Incognito Project book.

So here is my list:

The Indie Guide to Indie Publishing

Matter Deep Publishing has a Kickstarter

running through August 13, 2013. 

They hope to raise $8000 to produce a step-by-step guide to indie publishing from people who have been there and done that.



Nine indie writers and artists will share their expertise in the book. The publishing world has changed forever and independent publishing has never been more accessible to artists and writers. While desktop publishing is within everyone's capability, there are some tricks of the trade. These authors are here to guide you through the do's and don'ts.

You may pledge to pre-order the book for $15, or get the digital download for only $5, as part of the backer rewards and they have a bunch of other  cool swag too!

The Topics Covered:

Harlem Shake Video or a Typical Matter Deep Publishing Board Meeting

Our little family business, Matter Deep Publishing, had some fun this week making our own version of the Harlem Shake video meme currently zipping through cyberspace. If you haven't seen the phenom you can check it out at KnowYour Meme.

The video includes my son Kyle, dancing solo at the beginning; my daughter Carly as Cookie Monster Girl; her fiancee, Will, in the lampshade; my husband in his Mr. Valentine costume; my daughter-in-law, Amy making an appearance with Linus, the beagle with a bowtie; our other granddog, Apollo, looking confused; and me with the Hulk hands. Even my mother got it on it. That's her in the background with a rain stick and crown, cause she is the Queen of the clan, you know?

It's a shame we never have any fun and that our kids are so inhibited. Hope you enjoy this we bit of madness!

Alabama Shakes, Lilly Ledbetter and The Incognito Project

The Incognito Project seems to have sparked people's imagination much as it has mine. I'm honored that this month it is written about in B Metro : The Magazine of Metro Birmingham Living.

The article, written by Phillip Ratliff, is about the painting project, the show and the book. It is in their January 2013 feature, The A-List.

From the magazine:
Our annual list of people who fascinate, inspire, and make this city a great place to live.

Each year we put together a list of people (and this year we added an event) that we think have had really exceptional years and are poised or equally great things in the year to come. This year our list includes a comedian, a potter, rock and roll stars, equal-pay advocate, two artists, a convention center executive, a marine general turned college president, and the Dia de los Muertos festival. It’s a compendium of achievement we are proud to have associated with our magazine and our city.

Other people on the list this year are the amazing musical group Alabama Shakes, (their debut album is my new favorite music), Roam Project visionary-Greg Wingo, and Equal Pay Advocate-Lilly Ledbetter.

I had a total fan girl moment and got a secret thrill to see Lilly and President Obama on the page before The Incognito Project since I'm such a huge fan of both!

The magazine is in bookstores and news stands locally till mid-February and you may read it online here.

Incognito Project Books Have Arrived!

They are finally in our hands and they are beautiful. Thank you Global, PSD for the wonderful work!

That's why we had to pay for a truck with lift gate and pallet jack. It's all becoming clear to me now. 

Ok, so it took Dan and Carly and the burly delivery guy to get the pallet up our driveway.

So pretty!

So exciting!

Converge, Where Classical and Contemporary Collide

There is a very exciting fine-art exhibition and sale happening this month in NYC at 25CPW Gallery, November 15-27, 2012. Our family business, Matter Deep Publishing had the privilege of publishing the catalog for the show, which is available at the gallery or online.

There is an Opening Reception on Thursday, November 15 from 6 pm to 9 pm that is open to the public, and many of the exhibiting artists will be in attendance. More info is available on the website for the show.


Through their unique skill and vision, these 30 exhibiting artists—and others like them—are breaking barriers between classical and contemporary art, redefining the rules of those respective worlds, and pointing the way toward the art of tomorrow.

~Allison Malafronte, curator

Allison is the former senior editor of American Artist magazine—is an arts writer, editor, columnist, and curator based in New York City and creator of the show.

You may see all the images on the Converge website but I wanted to share a few of my favorites here.

 I'm loving the fantastical quality of this Daniel Bilmes painting.

What's not to love about this Rachel Constantine self portrait. I've seen this painting in person and it is captivating.

 One of my favorite Alia El-Bermani paintings. I'm captured by the symbolic gesture of standing bare in a threshold

Beautiful and mysterious Diane Feissel. There is a soft and delicate quality to Diane's brushwork that makes me sigh.

Wonderful color and composition in this painting by Sandra Flood.

Super graphic quality to this Geoffrey Johnson piece.

Karen Kaapcke using a zinger spot of red in all these neutrals makes for a sparkling composition.

Michael Klein, wow.

Maria Kreyn's painting has it all, dynamic composition, juicy color, captured emotion.

When I found out Jeremy Mann used palette knives and brayers in his work, that explained much about the delectable paint surface. It looks good enough to eat

Adam Miller does the swirling drapery thing so well.

Oh so subtle palette from Gregory Mortensen.

Cool and warm color and pushed values make this piece from Tibor Nagy vibrant.

These shelves and Jordan Sokol are telling a story and I want to listen.

 You may find more about the show at Artists on Art.

Or in the November issue of American Artist Magazine.

Oh, how I wish I could be there in person, but alas, I will simply peruse my catalog, sip a glass of Pinot Grigio and imagine!

Whut? The Grapes of Wrath on the Banned Book List?

Matter Deep Publishing ran a few articles last week featuring stories about our crew's favorite banned books. I thought I would cross post mine here, since the book definitely influenced my work. 

“This is the beginning—from “I” to “we”. If you who own the things people must have could understand this, you might preserve yourself. If you could separate causes from results, if you could know that Paine, Marx, Jefferson, Lenin were results, not causes, you might survive. But that you cannot know. For the quality of owning freezes you forever into “I”, and cuts you off forever from the “we”.~Chapter 14, The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck.

The Grapes of Wrath is one of my favorite novels. I was surprised to see it on the banned books list. It has been challenged repeatedly over the years for containing vulgarity and for “inappropriate sexual references”, for example: a minister recounts how he took advantage of a young girl.

I read this book and several others, including The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck, that helped me understand a truth about the nature of the world. The concept is that change on any level is difficult, turbulent, painful, and sometimes oh-so-very necessary. It doesn’t matter if the change is on a personal level, a social level, or a clash in weather systems. Change will come and it’s going to cause drama. Yet, there is hope that we will come out the other side, changed for the better and stronger for having lived through a trying time.

As a artist, a figurative oil painter, the concept influenced an entire body of my work. At the time, I was experiencing changes of growth in my own life and watching my children grow into adulthood. These experiences, along with the gelling of the concepts that came out of reading The Grapes of Wrath became The Awakening Series. 

On the Wing, Awakening Series, oil on panel. 40”x61”, 2003

How sad if this book had indeed been banned and I would not have been inspired to create this series. The Grapes of Wrath is more relevant than ever as our country is coming out of the Great Recession. It’s a story that is as timeless and important as change itself.

You may sign up for my monthly newsletter, which includes painting tips and news about my work, teaching, and Matter Deep Publishing news. 

New from Matter Deep Publishing

There's so much going on today with our family publishing company!

The Expedition and Beyond Catalog is online and ready for purchase,

The Expedition and Beyond

By Matter Deep Publishing

58 pages, published 1 MAR 2012

The Expedition and Beyond- Work by 13 artists, introduced through the Women Painting Women phenomenon of 2010, who continue to be challenged and inspired by each other. They come together once again in a show at Principle Gallery, Alexandria, Va, April 2012.

and my daughter-in-law, Amy Strickland's novella Kissing Corpses is free for today, Happy Leap Year. This is Amy reading the first chunk of her book.


Never fear if you missed the freebie for Happy Leap Year Day, it's only .99 the rest of the time.

 

Here's more about The Expedition and Beyond. Here's Amy's website so you can see what all she's getting into. Here's my daughter, Carly Strickland's website, she's our designer.