Leap of Faith

So my brother-in-law had his art studio/gallery opening a couple of weeks ago and it was a huge success. He sold some of his paintings and received some new commissions as well.

From the outside looking in, it could have appeared to be a risky venture...moving his studio from his rent free basement. But he said he just had a gut feeling that it was the right thing to do. Yesterday, Oprah had on celebrities who talked about their first jobs. Paula Dean was on, and while I know she's not necessarily the type of person you'd get life decision advice from, she did say something that was somewhat profound. You can't feel bad about failing, but you can feel bad about never trying at all. I guess my brother-in-law is a good example of that.

While we were at his opening we had time to visit with a couple whom I had not seen for a while. He's got a successful ad agency and she is an extremely gifted artist. Over the eleven years that I've known them, they've bought, renovated, and sold several residential and commercial properties, one more jaw dropping than the next.

It was no surprise when he told me his new venture was a company designing interiors. I couldn't wait to get home and check out his new website. It was nothing less than I expected and is a great example of their talents. It leaves me feeling something between inspiration and envy and you must check out Joe Locher Interiors for yourself.

I guess what I'm getting at is that I love these stories of people finding something they're good at and being able to make a living doing it.

Gallery Night

I always marvel at couples who have the same taste in artwork. Every once in a while my husband and I will agree on something, but for the most part, our aesthetics are very different. The thing about art is that you can't disagree with whether or not it's good because it's such a personal thing. It's about the way it makes you feel and what it is that draws you to it. I'm lucky that this has never been a point of contention in my marriage. My husband likes art, likes to buy art, and likes to be surrounded by it. That is why the walls in his office are white and filled with all the art he likes.

Case in point...this weekend the "girls" in the family went to Art in Bloom at the Milwaukee Art Museum. It was really fun to wander around with my daughter and my niece and see the museum through their eyes and which pieces they liked. One area that I really enjoyed which I don't remember seeing before was the German Expressionist exhibit and particularly Gabriele Münter. The bold colors and the simplicity are what I really liked.

Gabriele Münter

A couple of days later, my husband forwarded an e-mail to me about Katie Musolff, an artist he likes who will be showing her work at gallery night in Milwaukee this weekend. Here is one of her landscapes for comparison...

I actually do like this one as well, but she has another series which are mostly fish and it's not really my cup of tea. It's not that I'm not into wildlife art. I am. I prefer the rooster painting by Picasso that I saw at MAM on Sunday...

Katie Musolff


Pablo Picasso

One local artist that my husband and I do agree on is Bridget Griffith Evans. I had her do a portrait of our kids one year as a Christmas gift for my husband to match another painting of hers that he has in his office.

Bridget Griffith Evans

Whatever your tastes are, there will be a lot to sample this weekend at gallery night. Of course, the artist we're most excited to see is our brother-in-law, Tim Meyerring. Friday will be the grand opening of his new gallery and studio. One of Tim's tulip paintings is featured in my "Yellow Tulips" blog from March of this year. His work can also be seen and purchased through Crate and Barrel.

Hope to see you out and about at one of the following:

Tim Meyerring: Timo Gallery • 207 E. Buffalo Street • Suite 110
Bridget Evans: 207 E. Buffalo Street • Basement
Katie Musolff: The Pfister

Sad Panda

We spent Easter weekend in New York and had a great time. Like every trip, some ideas are more successful than others. This is the second time one of our less successful outings included a ferry...this time it was to Ellis Island. It was interesting, but not so much to a couple of kids. We ended up rushing through it and headed back for Manhattan.

Once docked and walking to lunch, we passed the financial district and spotted what we termed the "Waving Panda." He was across the street and we were in a hurry, so we did not cross the road to have our picture taken with him.

Later, my sister-in-law sent me this video link "Wall Street's Sad Panda Revealed." It tells the story of the man inside the panda costume. A man New Yorker's refer to as "Sad Panda."

While we were relieved he was not some crazy deranged man, we felt bad that we didn't take a minute to cross the street, have our picture taken, and put some money in his bucket.