The Journey Should Be Fun, Too

The art of Jason deCaires Taylor is an ADVENTURE just getting to see it!
His works are beautiful, haunting, and life-affirming ALL AT ONCE.
They are also about 8 meters UNDER the ocean's surface.

Time is a key feature of his art: As marine life takes hold the work constantly evolves.
It will never stay the same, ever.  Each piece will become adorned by sea creatures until it is engulfed by them, nurturing nature itself, providing impetus for growth rather than destruction.

Forbes calls Taylor's Cancun, Mexico, installation:
"One of the world's most unique travel destinations."
I'll give Forbes a pass on the wordy use of "most," because I think it's an understatement.

Art you buy for yourself might not require a snorkel--though you gotta admit that's cool.
But you can have adventures buying art if you attend OPEN STUDIO events, also very cool.
You meet the artists, talk to them about their work, meet other interesting people, see some wild stuff. And maybe go home with a treasure (scuba gear optional).

In the Bay Area, coming up soon:
Lost & Foundry Art Studios, Open House March 15, 4-8pm, 305 Center Street, Oakland.
I hope to see you there!

click here to see more underwater sculpture of Jason deCaires Taylor
(Thank you Howie.)

The Silent Evolution

The Silent Evolution

The Dream Collector (over time)

Reclamation

Inertia

Un-Still Life (over time)

Consider RENTING Art

RENTING art has been a breakthrough strategy for more than one client. 

Recently a client couple rented a fantastic spectrum of art, from edgy to simply beautiful works--things they would never have "committed to" by buying, but they were very willing to "date" by renting.  They are having a blast on round two now, swapping out some of the first pieces for new ones, and extending time on some of round one pieces, to try them a bit longer.

Renting can be so LIBERATING.
And educational-- you will learn LOADS about what you like, what you want to live with, what you enjoy seeing every day.

At the end of the rental period, you might decide to purchase some of the art (usually a portion of the rental fee is applied to purchase) -- you might even SURPRISE YOURSELF by what you decide to keep!

Many galleries will lease art, even if they don't advertise this it never hurts to ask. 
In San Francisco we have the SFMOMA Artists Gallery at Fort Mason-- a HUGE array of California art, by both emerging and established artists, all available for purchase or for RENT.
Check it out:  click here for more about SFMOMA Artists Gallery

Here are a FEW of the Artists carried at the Artists Gallery:

Inez Storer

John King

Andrea Voinot

Alejandro Rubio

Mark Ashworth

John Yoyogi Fortes

Local Art is just more FUN

What an EXCELLENT day--I visited Jeremy Mayer and Howie Katz, two hugely talented Oakland-based artists, in their respective studios. Aside from enjoying some audaciously great artwork, the best part was spending TIME with these fascinating fellows. Jeremy I've known & admired for several years, I got to catch up on & revel in his latest developments. Howie is an exciting new artist to me, currently doing cool work in software multi-media, large scale installations.

You, too, can have this kind of fun, rummaging around small parts, asking blunt questions--"why did you do that?," debating the value of constraints, playing bocce ball inside a renovated warehouse... This is the BEAUTY of going LOCAL for your artwork. You can have a rich experience that DEEPENS your understanding and appreciation. What a blast!

Jeremy creates sculptures ENTIRELY out of typewriter parts. Every single piece is taken from his collection of decommissioned typewriters. His meticulous method and attention to detail are just mind blowing.

Ram's Head in progress

Jeremy discussing a piece of a rib cage in progress

Raw materials for Jeremy's work

Bust of Old Man

Howie's "Gas Mask" series. Howie's work runs a gamut from sculpture to interactive installations that involve software, projections, solar energy, glass... all exploring point of view. 

Howie at far left, describing "Cerberus," 3-headed dog climbing down the wall

"Cancer Floor," floor tiles created with actual films of cancer cells

"Political Reality" -- this one is just plain funny, a reminder to always keep a sense of humor

Jeremy and Howie work in the Norton Factory Studios, 3094 10th Street, Oakland, a beautifully refurbished bucket factory that is TEEMING with artists' studios.
They will be part of the East Bay Open Studio Tour June 7-8 and 15-16
click here for more info on East Bay Open Studios in June 2014.

Plan an outing, you'll have a ball!