While the Fox Eats his Dinner, the Siren Tempts the Kraken

Rosie and I are both taking classes at The Art League for the first time this semester (okay, the second time for me, but the first for both of us). My silkscreen instructor told us a few classes ago that there would be a student show open to all current Art League students; we could each enter one piece, no charge. Heck, I thought, why not enter? It would be a mild ego boost for me and a big feather in Rosie's cap. Decision made, I filled out the forms and we each picked one piece from our class portfolios.

Rosie chose an oil pastel drawing she made of a reclining fox, ready to eat his dinner. We have at least one family of wild foxes in our neighborhood and Fantastic Mr. Fox is a favorite movie, so she is familiar with her vulpine subject.

Mine was the second design I made for the term, a five-edition print of a kraken and a siren, completed in three passes with four ink colors. The design was transferred to the screen using a photo-emulsion technique that I'll need to experiment with more at home. The underwater scene is composed from antique renderings of a giant squid, Edmund Dulac's 1911 illustration of the mermaid from Hans Christian Anderson's A Little Mermaid (a favorite book illustration from my youth), and my own drawings of fish and coral/sea plants.

Monkeyrotica and I made plans to meet BFFs Kelly and Mike at the Art League gallery to see the student show along with all the kids after having a wonderful lunch at Atlantis. So consistently tasty, is Atlantis! After we arrived at the Torpedo Factory Art Center and while I was waiting on everyone to finish taking potty breaks, I got a call from the gallery (just one floor below us). My Kraken piece had sold!! I was elated! Luckily for us, the buyer had agreed to let the gallery keep the piece until the show closed and we could still visit it. Monkeyrotica wanted to take a photo of me with my artwork and the kids insisted that they be a part of this moment:

I had gifted an edition of The Kraken to Kelly, who told me later "You should have seen Thea's (pictured far right) face when she realized that the piece hanging in the gallery was also hanging in our house. So impressed in her own 7-year-old-way." 


This whole experience has left me wondering why I never followed this route professionally or even as a hobby. The last time I entered a gallery show was in my senior year of college, too many years ago to count. Okay, honestly, I've never thought I could make a living as a fine artist, and I'm still not sure I have the marketing stamina to make a go of not working for the man. Having artwork in a gallery—and selling it too—has been a great experience!

P.S. The "We will miss the bees" t-shirt I'm wearing was created by Tina Seamonster.