Victorian Stroll Tomorrow!

I know it's short notice, but if you're looking for something to do at any point tomorrow, come out to Troy for the Victorian Stroll. It's a really fun event, and there's an Artisan Craft Fair from 10am-5pm in the Troy Atrium (3rd St. btw Fulton & B'way). Check it out: http://www.victorianstroll.com/. As usual, I'll be selling my original collages, greeting card prints of collages, collaged ornaments, collaged jewelry, and collaged bags. Come on out for some local handmade holiday gifts (and get some nice things for yourself as well)! I'd love to see you there.

Art Reception Tonight - Moon & River Cafe

Tonight is Art Night in Schenectady, so every participating cafe and gallery is having a reception. I'll be at Moon & River Cafe promoting my current show there, so come on out! Should be fun -- live music by Mike Poulopoulos, refreshments and awesome art... and, of course, it's free. Reception starts at 6pm, music 8-11pm.

Holiday Bazaar - This Weekend!

I'll be participating again this year in the Holiday Bazaar at the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany. It is this weekend: Saturday 11/13, 9am-4pm and Sunday 11/14, 11am-3pm. It's a great place to get Holiday gifts, and not only can you find something for everyone, but you'll see cool art and there's a cafe, too, with... yes... quiche!


I've been doing something new this year, something a little more crafty... I've been collaging with jewelry. It is really cool and looks awesome! Take a look at the pics. Not only can you wear handmade jewelry, but you'll be wearing an original piece of art as well. Of course, I'll also be selling greeting card prints of original collages, collaged fabric bags, and framed original collage art as well.


So please come out. If you have to work, come before or after, or on your lunch break (remember the quiche)! FUUSA is at 405 Washington Ave., just across from the SUNY Downtown Campus.

Current Show - Moon & River Cafe

I hung a show yesterday. I've got 11 original pieces up at the Moon & River Cafe in Schenectady (115 Ferry St.). Go check it out!

The exhibit will run throughout the month of November, and a reception will be held Friday, Nov. 19th at 6pm, with live music by Mike Popoulopoulous. Should be fun!

Art Show - "Faith, Hope, Spirit"

Please come check out an art show I'm in, entitled "Faith, Hope, Spirit." The exhibit is at 4 Central Ave., Albany NY (Gallery Space, 4th Floor) this Friday and Saturday, Oct. 1-2.





It features local and regional artists, and is presented in conjunction with the Susan G. Komen run for Women's Cancer. Four of my pieces (two shown here) are available for viewing and purchase. Come on out!

New Piece

I completed a new piece in the last week --
it is my first political piece, entitled Oil Spill. The Pelican represents unselfishness and the ability to rise above whatever life throws at you, while the crab represents self-protection and sensitivity, emotion and nurturing of the home space. With these two animals covered in oil, the piece points out what is really at stake in this disaster.

On another note (because life can't all be so gruesome)... I wonder how I ever get any work done with these little ones on my lap!

Farms and Kittens

I've been doing a lot of gardening,
harvesting, etc. in between working on my art. A few weeks ago we put up about 50 quarts of tomatoes harvested from a friend's friend's farm nearby. There were so many different types of tomatoes!



The farm also had an emu, which I'd never seen. There's a story about how the emu got out one day and crashed a children's outdoor classroom. Of course, the kids loved it...







There were also the cutest kittens in the barn! We took home two, and have now weaned them and are starting them on dry food. Pics of Mabel and Snowball to come...

New Pieces

I finished the communication healing/cosmic memory/foresight/reflection piece... here it is:

This piece is a little different than my others because the animals are slightly hidden in the surrounding colors; usually I work with animals which are more commonly encountered -- rabbits, birds, etc.-- and I tend to highlight them by making them stand out against the background. This time I didn't want to do that -- the whale and the giraffe would be over-exoticized by doing this, when they are already uncommonly seen animals. Each animal I use has a particular meaning, and putting them amidst the four elements shows us that we are all connected in this universe, so to sort of obscure the whale and the giraffe within the image makes them more commonplace and part of the surrounding elements, rather than things to be placed apart from those elements.


I also finished this collaged bag -- I got a little ambitious, and as the bags are all hand-stitched, this one took a while. It is done, though, and contains at least two of the elements! Soon I will incorporate all four into my bags, too, as I do in my paper collages.

September in the City Art Fair - Tricentennial Park

There are only two Wednesdays left for the September in the City Art Fair in Albany's Tricentennial Park (downtown, Broadway & Columbia streets), so I hope you will come out and support me -- you can also buy my art cards, bags, and original collages there! Wednesdays 11:30am-2pm.


I've been working hard to get and keep everything together, and the Wednesdays have been successful thus far. Now I'm looking ahead toward upcoming fairs and exhibitions...

So right now I'm working on a new piece -- one about intuition, healing through communication, and cosmic memory, combined with foresight and reflection on what is heard and said.







It's a little slow going, though, because of all the gardening I've been doing! Take a look at what we harvested just today...


And as it turns out, I will be exhibiting in a multi-artist show in November! Will tell more about that as the time draws nearer, as well.

TightKnit Summer Market

This past Saturday I worked the TightKnit Troy Summer Craft Market. The weather was great, but foot traffic was really slow... summer Saturdays are pretty hit or miss. I got a lot of interest in my work, particularly my paper originals, as well as a new concept -- collaged recycled bags. I'm taking old canvas bags and collaging recycled fabric on them in a similar way to my paper collages. I haven't yet started using animals in them, as fabric is a less familiar medium for me in this design (hand-stitching is also very time consuming), but I am still keeping with the four natural elements. The bags have come out looking great and they keep improving with each new design.

I am looking forward to a new paper collage piece, perhaps a bit bigger than my usual size (no bigger than (4"x6"), which I'll be starting in the coming week. Maybe it'll elicit another Romare Bearden comparison, which, I have to say, would be (and was) pretty awesome.

I may do another Saturday in Troy before the summer is over, but I will definitely be doing the September in the City Art Fair in Tricentennial Park, Albany. It runs each Wednesday in September from 11:30am-2pm. More info on that as the time draws nearer...

So I've got my Etsy shop up and running (http://www.etsy.com/shop/niccallaway), and will be doing a TightKnit Saturday market this August in Troy, NY. I'm pretty excited about it and am working to have some new cards printed, so there will be new work as well as older work there.

I'm still working with totem animals, as well as the four natural elements. It's good to give myself these restrictions because it requires that I be more creative in my thinking, which thus yields a more interesting piece (ex., finding many different ways of portraying earth, air, fire and water in a piece so I'm not doing the same thing over and over again). I've also been thinking more closely about the significations of the totem animals and pairing one animal with another which has a complimentary signification, or one that is seemingly contradictory; for example, my most recent piece depicts a heron and an ant--the heron signifies aggressive self-determination and self-reliance, and the ant signifies community, among other things.

Another recent piece is this one of a duck family and a garden spider. The duck represents feminine energy, protection, and emotional intelligence and comfort. The spider also represents feminine energy, creativity, strength as well as gentleness, and balance between physical and spiritual, male and female, past and present.