Since moving to Bend full time, three years ago, I haven’t been actively looking for commission work. Neither public nor private— it’s difficult and competitive to obtain work in this arena. After building our new studio, it was my intention to focus on my own work, explore my own voice in my style of mixed media mosaic. But on the morning of February 28 this year, I received an email inquiry through my website that altered the course of that plan. A woman had run across a work of mine that was in a show 10 years ago. Her web search with a few keywords turned up a show in Ciel Gallery in South Carolina titled Simply Red. The mystery of the interwebs has allowed the photos from that show to still live, even though that gallery has closed! This one little piece (and others in that show) resonated with my client-to-be. Thankfully, my name was associated with the image of the piece, and on further research, she found my website. What encouraged her to reach out to me was that I’m in Oregon, and so is she!
Often, cold emails inquiring about art purchases or commissions turn out to be scams. The tone of her mail and the official nature of her signature block (a reputable company in Oregon I know) encouraged me to respond to her immediately.
Everything about our interaction was smooth and comfortable. The back and forth discussing the project she was looking for, materials, design, and even discussing the bid went well. I put on my professional artist hat, that had been sitting on the shelf for awhile, and got excited about the new opportunity. This is a large exterior installation, so immediately I contacted my colleague and friend in Bend, Rochelle Schueler. She and I had talked about the possibility of doing big projects together for several years. This fit the bill perfectly.
Fast forward to now, these few months have been filled with planning, designing and materials procurement for this project. We’ve met with the clients in person twice, and they signed off on the design and our vision for production, so the fabrication begins!
The exciting twist for this project: it’s not to be installed in Oregon, but at a new home the clients are building in a small town in Baja, Mexico! Throughout the summer we will be building a 44 sq. ft. wall mural that wraps over the entry wall into a courtyard pool! The work, in 25 sections, and all our installation tools and materials, will be trucked down there and Rochelle and I will fly down in November to install. This blog will follow the progress of the project.
During the course of this spring, I’ve been energized and excited by this new project, in a way I didn’t see coming. My motto for 2019, and going forward, is “Never Say Never”!
Click on images for slide show:
Fissures + Enclosures, 2007.
The little piece the client found online that resonated.
