A Whirlwind August: Patterned Worlds, New Directions, and a Provincetown Summer

August turned out to be one of those months when a lot of things I’ve been working toward seemed to come together at once.

A First Newspaper Profile

The month started with something I’d been looking forward to for quite a while. Just before my solo show opened, the Provincetown Independent featured me and my work—my first-ever newspaper profile.

What I hadn’t anticipated was the response.

People came into the gallery because they’d read the article. Some showed up at the reception. Others stopped me on the street to say they had seen it. There were even people who knew I was an artist but had no idea I was showing at Ali Gray Gallery.

It put my work on the radar in a way I hadn’t experienced before and was a wonderful way to head into the show.

Patterned Worlds at Ali Gray Gallery

After months of painting and preparation, my solo exhibition, Patterned Worlds, opened at Ali Gray Gallery in Provincetown on August 14.

The reception was packed. It was wonderful to look around the room and see so many friends, collectors, and new faces who came out to see the work.

The exhibition brought together much of what I’ve been exploring lately: pattern, repetition, color, geometry, and the marks I make in encaustic wax.

One piece I was particularly excited to show was Patterned Threads, which points toward some of the directions I’m now exploring in the studio.

I’ve been experimenting with new markings as well as different levels of opacity and transparency in the pigments. With more translucent colors, the underlying patterns and structures remain visible through the wax. In some pieces, those layers begin to create an almost mosaic-like effect.

It adds another variable to the process—and another opportunity for me to experiment.

Patterned Threads was especially well received during the exhibition, and I was delighted that it found a new home.

When Art Leaves the Wall

Apparently, simply looking at the art wasn’t enough.

My husband Scott and my friend Ricia both arrived at the reception wearing T-shirts featuring my designs, and the three of us were wearing sneakers covered with my artwork.

I’ve been putting my graphics on T-shirts and other objects for a while, but sneakers are a newer experiment. And I’ve discovered something: people really do look at your feet.

They became conversation starters throughout the evening.

There’s something fun about taking a design that began as a painting and letting it live somewhere completely different. The same patterns and colors can hang on a wall—or walk down Commercial Street.

Red Dots—and a Family Affair

Patterned Worlds ran through August 27, and I couldn’t have been happier with the response. Numerous pieces found new homes over the course of the two weeks.

One sale was particularly fun. Ali sent me a photo of the family who purchased the piece, and apparently the kids couldn’t wait to put the red dot on the wall.

I loved seeing that. Buying art doesn’t have to be a solemn experience. Sometimes it really is a family affair.

Another Provincetown Hat

August also had me wearing another one of my hats as Board President of the Provincetown Theater for our annual gala.

This time, my own family was part of the celebration. Scott, my sister Jill and brother-in-law David, and our two sons were all there with me.

It was a terrific night celebrating a theater that means a great deal to me and to this community—and we raised a record amount of money to support its work.

Looking back, August was a lot: my first newspaper profile, a solo exhibition, new directions in the studio, red dots, sneakers, a theater gala, and a whole lot of friends and family woven through all of it.

And somewhere in the middle of all that, I even managed to keep painting.