Camille Patha

Today I saw Camille Patha speak at the Tacoma Art Museum. If you ever have a chance to see her I encourage you to go, she was absolutely effervescent. She has an incredible energy and went around the room hugging everyone and kissing people on the cheek, it was infectious. Hearing her speak of her career spanning several decades, her experience in grad school, her ideas of being a feminist and a woman, and seeing her be successful across multiple genres and mediums was a great inspiration as I begin my career as an artist. Thanks to Camille for taking the time today to speak to us, and to the staff at TAM for providing the venue.

Behind the Scenes: Pile of Elephants

A slide show of the making of Jeffry Mitchell's Elephants, courtesy TAM and Ann Darling.

Force of line

This weekend I took a workshop with Michael Dickter called Force of Line. We explored what line is and what it can be, from a basic to a sophisticated mark, from a mechanical to gestural line. We explored line using a variety of drawing tools and non-traditional materials such twigs, working with the same image in a variety of methods to discover how line is integral to image-making. Drawing with a stick was by far my favorite. The pitcher's negative space slowly revealed itself to me as a bird and the heavy outline of the object was transformed into whimsical doodles of peacocks reminiscent of those my mother made.

Presentations a Success

Thanks to everyone who came out Friday, it was wonderful to see so many new faces.

My friends and family have all been great as I've transitioned from the corporate world to my real life. I'm grateful for the opportunity to share my work with everyone and hopefully give a glimpse into what drives me. I noticed a few of you taking the opportunity to feel the work, that makes a successful piece for me.

Hope to see you all again June 17th for the reception of our group show at the Edmonds Conference Center. Save the date!

Artist Presentation

Tonight is an exciting evening of Artists' presentations sponsored by ArtsNow in Edmonds. Please join me and eight wonderful artists at the Edmonds Conference Center for a look inside the artist's mind. Selections of our work will be on display.

Hope to see you there,
Ren

Edmonds Conference Center, 201 4th Avenue North in Edmonds, at the corner of 4th and Bell in the Rhododendron Room on the first floor. Libations and deserts will be served.

Jazz is my cup of joe.

Monday was my night in the spotlight! I've spent the last few weeks in a vocal jazz workshop with local artist Katie King. At the end of our studies a dozen of us performed at Tula's in Belltown, with a professional trio - no pressure there. My selections were Java Jive and, Quizas, Quizas, Quizas (in English, not Portugese) Katie's help in honing our songs and an incredible and supportive band made for a great evening, many thanks to them. I'd also like to thank my fans who took the time to come out on a Monday night, it made for a great event. A video clip should be available in the next week or so, be sure to check back then.

Best,
Ren

Seen in Tacoma.

Tacoma has these kiosks throughout downtown for people to post "Happenings." I was particularly struck by these messages. Seemingly simple concepts, simple even in presentation, but when you truly consider them complexity is revealed. I'd been walking past the phrases for days and they began playing constantly in my mind. When I snapped these images it was particularly windy; the papers bent and spun on the pushpins like they were trying to fly off and infect everyone with pleases and thank yous, with love, love, love.

Fusing metal

I tried my hand at fusing metal on Friday night. The experiment turned out pretty well.