where i have been

I haven’t posted in a very long time.  I haven’t had any desire to.  And, I’ll tell you why.   I am pregnant.

Pregnancy changes the system.  Chemically.  Your scope of the world shifts.  The intensity remains as strong, you just begin to operate on short-wave rather than long distance.  I think this may be what some call nesting, but I feel it is more fundamental than that.  One’s desire to broadcast decreases, and one’s reactions to information taken in is dampened.  Simply shifting interests from shouting into the wind to impacting the immediate.  This is where I’ve been.  At home.  Limiting my range, although not the strength of my output.

Despite, the very real results of these internal changes they are only a shift of focus; they have shades of effect on tendencies.  I remain actively working and exhibiting.  And, am very appreciative of those who are interested.  With that in mind I’m about to dish out a bit of a round-up of what I’ve been up to.  Please, bear with me as I catch up all at once; as I say less than I am thinking.  Like I said, my broadcast mode has been installed with a governor for the time being.

There was this great post at Beautiful/Decay.  Thank you Amir.  (I’ve been watching this blog for some time, and Amir’s posts consistently catch my eye and often take my breath away–it was an honor to discover his post about my work.)

And, another by a fabulous collector/lady I like:  The highlight of my day.

There were two three-person shows that I was honored to be a part of.  These shows went up back to back, one in October the second in November, and were packed with stunning work.   Both groups were thoughtfully brought together.  It was a great pleasure for me, as they each drew out quite different aspects that are present in my work.

The first show was shared with Gala Bent and Sharon Arnold, (so) Much (too) little, was at Northwind Arts Center.

About a year ago NAC invited me to have a show with them.  They asked that it be a two or three person show and I immediately began thinking about who I would like to invite.  Gala and Sharon came to mind quickly and I can’t say how delighted I am that the both agreed.  Our work is not immediately visually similar, which is exactly what I wanted for this show.  The places where we  overlap lies below and is rich territory:  repetition, pattern, and a reach for balance of geometry and control with fluid natural phenomenon is present in all of our work.  This is spiced with a serious crush on science and the approach of asking or why/how/what do we do and where do with do it, plus a healthy dose of storytelling.

Foreground left, painting by Langley, foreground right, drawing with ribbons by Gala Bent; background left, two peeks of Langley paintings and background right four from Sharon Arnold’s 1:1 series

Three framed works by Gala Bent, with one feathered Langley

Sharon Arnold’s Gutted

Far back wall work by Gala Bent, with Langleys to either side.

Emerald discussing Sharon Arnold’s work 1:1
About which she says, “I like that so little material was just pretty much transformed into awesomeness.”

The other show is still happening at Artisans on Taylor; it will be up until the end of November.  This time, grouped with Ollie Glatzer and Shellee Miggins.  The title You, Me & Geometry let’s you know that the primary focus is our shared love of geometry, which is strongly present in all our work, but also allows for a nod to oddly human interactions with structures, forms and how we use them to build relationships.  There are a ton of installation views and shots from the opening here.

There was also the realization that the daily photo habit I have going over at A Year of Days, has truly become just that.  A habit.  I no longer experience days of ‘ack, I’ve gotta take a picture!’  It just seems to happen.  Here’s some recent favorites:

This shot of an orchard at Finnriver Farm ended up gracing their newsletter.

Oh, and one other thing:  We have had the absolute most stunningly beautiful fall.