This Friday night, come on down to the okcCoCo and see the group show Typo: Words and Pictures.

When: Friday 02.26.2010, 7-10 pm.
Where: Oklahoma City Coworking Collaborative, 723 N Hudson Ave (map link)
Who: Marilyn Artus, Sarah Atlee, Bryan Dahlvang, Kris Kanaly, Christopher Lee, romy owens, Josh Reynolds, and Cassie Stover.
&c: Light refreshments will be served. Family-friendly, free.

Erin K. is interviewing some of the artists in the show, and I thought I’d share some more detail by answering her questions here.

What is the purpose of this exhibit?

Typo is a group invitational exhibit exploring the collision of text and imagery in two-dimensional art. I put out a call to artists asking for work incorporating hand lettering, graffiti, advertising, typographic design, or any other combination of words and pictures. What we got is work in a variety of media, approaching this idea from many different angles. This show is at the Oklahoma City Coworking Collaborative, at 723 N Hudson in downtown OKC, through the end of February.

Why are you participating in this particular exhibit?

I wanted to put together a group show for the okcCoCo’s unique, vibrant space. This is a place where freelancers, entrepreneurs, and other creative professionals come to work and share ideas. Showing art here adds to the lively dialogue among creative thinkers in central Oklahoma.

Was your piece created specifically for the show or is this part of your creative style?

I have been interested in lettering as a visual tool for most of my life, so I often incorporate text into my paintings. The two works that I put into the show, Undies and Birdhouse, are from 2005 and 2007, respectively.

I love how when letters are added to a visual composition, they become a visual element in addition to conveying meaning through language. To emphasize this transition, I often paint text in a way that is intentionally unreadable. I hope viewers will appreciate the letterforms as much as the other shapes and textures in the work. Plus, if someone is trying to “read” my painting, then they’ll stand in front of it for just a little longer than usual.

Why do you think people should attend this exhibit?

People who come to this show will not only enjoy the work by some of my favorite local artists, but also learn about the okcCoCo and all the great things we have to offer here. (Folks can also learn more at www.okccoco.com)

2000 I have my first solo show, ____ day of my life, at the now-defunct ASA Gallery at UNM.
2001 My senior thesis show, Actual Size, sells out. I graduate from UNM with a BFA.
2002 Making art on my own in Indiana, I realize that I need more instruction to become a better painter. This becomes my goal in applying to graduate school.
2003 I begin graduate study at RIT.
2004 I learn a heck of a lot about the illustration business, and my personal style really begins to solidify. I start making paintings like this.
2005 I complete my graduate thesis show. One of these paintings is accepted to the Society of Illustrators Scholarship Competition.
2006 I move to Oklahoma, and am warmly welcomed into the artistic community here.
2007 I get a beautiful studio above Mainsite Gallery, and a slot in the Art 365 program.
2008 The Art 365 show debuts, including my series Normal, OK.
2009 I join the fabulous, inspiring, nerdcore community at the Oklahoma City Coworking Collaborative, or okcCoCo.

And from this past year, 2009:

January: I make two drawings for the Seeing Other People show curated by Jennifer Barron.
February: I take my family to Society of Illustrators in NYC to see my piece in the annual Book Illustration exhibition.
March: I quit my last day job to commit to art full-time. Haaaa-le-lu-jah
April: I attend OVAC’s Artists’ Retreat at Quartz Mountain, where I learn all about residencies.
May: I began the Occupied project, on my own, because a) I wanted to and b) I can.
June: My drawing of romy is accepted to the 24 Works On Paper travelling exhibition.
July: Back to Normal: Normal, OK Revisited opens at the Gaylord-Pickens Museum.
August: I join the okcCoCo and move my studio there.
November: I’m accepted into OVAC’s first Oklahoma Art Writing and Curatorial Fellowship.
December: Looking forward to 2010. There have been so many positive changes for me in recent years, I can’t wait to see what comes next.

Here’s a fun game to play in the car: When you pass a road sign that has two town names on it, pretend they are the first and last names of a person. Invent a personality to go with that name. Who is this person? Where did they come from? What do they do for a living? What are their hobbies? Sarah Atlee has played this game enough to populate an entire imaginary community.

“Normal, OK is a fictional construct, a place in my head, based on real places around me,” says Atlee. “In Normal, everyone has a second job, a quiet dream, a lost love, or a former life. Normal is a town of entrepreneurs, artists, upstanding citizens, troublemakers, friends, and a few enemies. I hope you enjoy your visit.”

Please join me at the Legacy Bank Holiday Open House on Wednesday, December 9th, from 11 am to 2 pm. I will be there sketching from 11:00 until closing time at 5:00.

Click here to learn more about Normal, OK.

Lots of good stuff happening on the Paseo tonight.

aka gallery is featuring Fear Not The Needle, hand-sewn photographs by romy owens. I have new work in aka’s back space, including the one pictured above.

Josh Heilaman’s lush, fantastical paintings are on display at Art of Yoga. Treat yourself.

JRB Art at the Elms is showing the work of Jim Keffer and John Wolfe, along with their annual Small Works exhibit. Each 8×8″ piece in this show is priced at a mere $180! Get ‘em while they’re hot. Here’s my piece, a little piece o’ me.

Don’t forget the Girlie Show! (As if you could.) Hit the Paseo at 6:00, see the Girlie Show after 8:00, or go back to either on Saturday afternoon. You can do it all!

* I first heard the terms honne and tatemae in this NPR story about translating the untranslatable. Author Christopher J. Moore, in his 2004 book In Other Words, describes these concepts this-a-way:

Tatemae: A term often translated as “form,” but it also has the specific cultural meaning of “the reality that everyone professes to be true, even though they may not privately believe it.” For privately held views, the Japanese have a different term, honne, meaning, “the reality that you hold inwardly to be true, even though you would never admit it publicly.” The British civil servant muttering the reproach “bad form, old boy” over a drink in the club, may be expressing something very close to the quality of tatamae.

See detail views of Margaret VIII here, here and here. See shots of the board in progress: stage one, two, three, four and five.

Join us the following Saturday, October 24 at 611 Creative for the Third Annual Ghouls Gone Wild Parade!

12×12 Art Show & Sale 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009, 7pm

Fred Jones Industries Building
900 W. Main, downtown OKC (map link)

Featuring 150 of Oklahoma’s finest artists, delectable food from 26 area restaurants, panoramic views of the OKC skyline, live music and cash bar.

The 12×12 Art Show & Sale is the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition’s only fundraiser, with proceeds benefiting the organization’s many programs to support visual artists in the state of Oklahoma.

Music from The Stringents, a rock string quartet, and the Millwood Drum Line.

A preview of artwork is online now and images will be added weekly. You can also view some of the artwork during a preview exhibition in the Lobby of Leadership Square, 211 N Robinson in OKC, September 1-20.

Click here to read more about this fabulous event and purchase tickets.

My friend and colleague romy owens will be bringing her Photobooth to this event. It’s not to be missed!

This is the last week to see my current solo show, Back to Normal: Normal, OK Revisited at the Gaylord-Pickens Museum in Oklahoma City (map link). The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday. Click here for hours and admission.

My sincere thanks to everyone who attended the reception last week! It was great to see my friends and meet new people.

Please join me for a reception at the Gaylord-Pickens Museum (here’s a map) in Oklahoma City to celebrate my solo show Back to Normal: Normal, OK Revisted. The reception is this Thursday evening from 5 to 7 pm. Wine and refreshments will be served. This event is free and open to the public.

Back to Normal will be on display at the Gaylord-Pickens Museum through September 21, 2009.

Click here to learn more about Normal, OK.

The OVAC blog is featuring an ongoing interiew series with the artist from the current 24 Works on Paper show. Click here to read my thoughts on the process of creating romy.

24 Works on Paper is on display at Northern Oklahoma College in Tonkawa through October 14. The show will travel to venues around Oklahoma through August 2010. Click here for a full exhibition schedule.

My dear friend Mely Mitchell is one of the artists in the upcoming exhibition Through The Lens, a photographic examination of historical and contemporary Navajo culture.

This show will be at the Navajo Nation Museum in Window Rock, Arizona from August 28 through March 27 2010.

Yay Mely!