In San Francisco this weekend? My “Phantom Troubadour” debuts in “Flow Show ” at ARC Studios and Gallery, 1206 Folsom Street. 
Category: Art show
Busy times: Vacation, Group Show and acceptance in a juried show in SFO in June!
First off, if you’ve been reading my updates you will notice they are now at WordPress, moved over from Blogger. Not sure how it’ll go but thinking it will make things run more smoothly. We’ll see.
In the meantime, last time I wrote, I was going to the ENT specialist for my “wonky eye syndrome.” The muscles in one eye would move independently, refuse to cooperate and never want to focus in the binocular manner eyes are supposed to. The ENT specialist ruled out any sinus implications and, perhaps because I’ve been swearing off using the IPhone at night to read tweats and stuff, the situation seems to have resolved itself for the most part. I have the name of a neuro-opthalmologist and will make an appointment if it flares up again but for now, things are going okay.
Next up, Vacation. We drove down for a week to lovely Gulf County Florida where dogs have equal rights, more or less, and can meander on the beaches any time as long as they’re leashed. It was wonderful there, we rented a great home for the week a block from the sand, and had our fill of fresh seafood. And never saw any evidence of the BP oil spill whatsoever while we were there, thankfully. Retiring there is a good possibility if we can hang on that long.
While on vacation, I got some wonderful news: I submitted two abstract paintings into the “FLOW: The Essence of Paint” show and one was accepted! Looking forward to the exhibit although I don’t think I’ll be able to make it to the opening as we’re supposed to head to the Northeast at that time. Still, quite an honor and it’s San Francisco location broadens my horizons.
After that great news, we returned home somewhat reluctantly. Even the dog was moping miserably, looking at us like “I want to go to the beach!” Still, I had a group show to prepare for with my fellow CANN artists so that kept me too busy to miss anything.   We delivered our paintings – I had 17 to hang – and tomorrow night is the reception at the Venue – a converted elementary school with a very long main hallway where the paintings are hanging, outside a community theater where Thursday through Sunday nights, plays are performed. Since I haven’t added many pics lately, I’m dropping a couple in here … enjoy!
Harpeth Hall’s Green Show Reception: Great event, great turnout, great Art!
From 3 to 5 p.m. yesterday Harpeth Hall, the elite all-girls prepatory school in Nashville that’s turned out famous alum Amy Grant, Reese Witherspoon and others, hosted an artist reception for its annual fundraising art show, this year designed around all things “Green.”
In previous posts, you can read about my experimentation in coming up with all-natural home-brewed paints which I used like watercolors in my submission “A Walk in the Park.” Artist Kelly Roe took the green theme completely to heart with her Best in Show works “React, Reuse, Renew” which were made from lint!
I was thrilled that several of my fellow painting friends came out and through my mentor and longtime Nashville artist / lifetime Tennessee Art League member Barbara Rembert, I met several other TAL members too, many who had works in the show.
Speaking of works in the show, here’re my fellow artists that exhibited. Congrats all and know I’m honored to be among your ranks!
Denise Hawkins, Pam Haile, Janet Kozachek, Judy Klich, Lilo Regen, Cynthia Crook, Susan Simons, Samuel Fee, Thalia Kahl, Noriko Register, John Nordell, Shirley Fachilla, Pat Snyder, Vicki Kessler and Donna Kjonnas, Beth Seiters, Gary Young, Beverly Ford Evans, Mike Martino, Anne Labovitz, Arunima Orr, Christine Eagon, Elizabeth Brandon, Nancy Bradford, Kathleen Sparkman, Brenda Morley and Rita Maggart.
Finally, I’m adding one whimsical image below with a brief explanation. Hubby’s from England and included with a Christmas parcel his kids sent us this year were these wind up “Racing Royals.” The pair have developed a loyal following on David’s facebook, so of course, they had to join us for the show. And since we got there early enough, noone was the wiser when we snapped this shot of them enjoying the Moesse work of art!
The eyes have it…
If you’ve been reading my blog at all, you’ll know that last year I developed an eye problem – Convergence insufficiency – that basically means the eye muscles are weak and the eyeball (in my case, the left one) doesn’t want to cooperate and move to focus where it’s supposed to it times. For me, it is distracting, frustrating, and disorienting at times. I have eye muscle exercises to do and I do them, most of the time, but still have the eye muscle problem.
I broke down and made an eye doctor appointment again. It’s not time for the annual exam but too bad. If the insurance company has a problem, they can talk to me!
On another subject, the Harpeth Hall Green Art Show reception is coming up this Sunday and I’m pretty psyched about it. And the group I paint with, Collaborative Artists Network, will be showing in April in Donelson at Fifty Forward, a community art center for Seniors.
Upcoming Harpeth Hall Green Art show includes one of my paintings
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Yay! It selected this one, which is done on Arches 140 # cold pressed paper. Inks/paints used are my homemade ones, including stains of blueberry, saffron, blackberry, chamomile and walnut. It’s made archival by a coat of mat medium on front and back. Now to mat, frame, present it and at the opening, enjoy it among the field of work by other artists from 11 states who submitted to this show.My husband thinks I’m a witch! LOL
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OK, to be fair, he’s not entirely off base.
I mean, on the front door, we have this smartass window sticker we bought when in Glastonbury (UK) this past fall that’s a spin on the Neighborhood Watch signs that every good whitebread neighborhood posts. Ours reads “Neighborhood Witch.”
Then, there’s the pot of pampas grass boiling in the big corn pot on the stove. You can’t smell it, but there’s a definite scent of Fels Naptha Brown Soap wafting in the air.
And finally, there’s these glass jars of liquid on the dining room table, shown above. To the uninitiated, they COULD resemble witches tinctures and such. If you look closer, though, and are familiar with the color chart below, you’ll figure out that they are artists paints. Mine though are non-toxic, environmentally pure as the driven snow, and all natural. Really.
You see, I’m entering a juried art show this coming weekend where the emphasis is on “green” – the movement not the color. So… I figured what better way to “represent” than to create works using all-green materials, right? And as you can see from the chart, I do have an array of colors to work with, though, ironically, there’s a dearth of green in these…
Oh, and the pampas grass boiling on the stove? It’s for the paper to paint on, silly!
2010 in 100 words, more or less
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I gotta say, this was an excellent year for me personally and professionally!
I dove headfirst into art this year, reorganized and formalized my studio, and by chance scored my first solo show at an upscale restaurant in Nashville for six weeks from late June to Father’s Day. Great timing except Nashville’s millenial flood took place the weekend of my scheduled reception. Most I knew were fortunate and suffered no or minimal losses but many areas were devastated. My reception ended up closing the show, more or less, but still a nice crowd and healthy sales meant I could claim professional artist status!  At year end, my art is
hanging in several venues in Middle Tennessee and a few more people are puzzled by the name “Moesse.”
A mid-year turning point meant transitioning from Hazel King’s tutelage to more independent study, and the formation of Collaborative Artists Network (Nashville) – http://www.thecann.org – with fellow painters and dear, dear friends. A more personal turning point came when I took a stand against a loved one, ending a pattern of enabling. By year end, I’m glad to say, it was proven to be a good decision for all involved and things are looking up on that front.
A wedding in October was special partly because I got to talk to Canadian superstar Bryan Adams and tell him David and I were married to one of his songs (which I’m sure he hears ALL the time). What made it stellarly special (my phrase in case ya couldn’t tell), was that my dear, great and wonderful brother Barry married the love of his lifetime(s), Gretchen. I used the plural because, yeah, their spirits have been dancing this love tune for centuries.
Another wedding in November, this time in England, meant a stellar trip across the pond, celebrating the union of two young people, spending great time with David’s family, touring the southwest region, and freezing our butts off. All before jetting back home just in time to beat the U.K. version of Snowpocalypse! While there, I discovered snoods, Primark’s cheap but cozy for a season offerings, and an Indian import store offering huge zippered bags on the cheap to lug home our dirty laundry.
December was a blur with unpacking, preparing and mailing out more than a dozen Christmas parcels to friends and family from afar, a few parties, and yes, prepping for and pulling off a New Year’s Day open house. I did little painting, but put at the top of the blog two abstracts that I did that I’m very pleased with.
In closing, know that I’m eagerly anticipating great things for 2011, for two reasons. First, I have this weird thing for prime numbers (I think because I was born on the 13th in 1959) and 2011 is about as prime as you can get, baby! Second, my dark-haired brother was the first newcomer to step foot through the door that day, followed by his male black lab, Nigel. I’m told Scottish tradition says that if a dark-haired male is the first to cross the threshold New Year’s Day, it bodes well for the year. I’ll take all this as a good, hopeful sign for more good things to come.
Here’s hoping you experience all good things for 2011.
MWS
"Nearly a month since my last confession"
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Or, if you are not Catholic, my last blog posting. Mea Culpa but you’ll understand when I tell you it’s been crazy busy. Here’s what’s been going on:
Hung the Paige Simmons Salon and Gallery show November 2. Here’s what it looks like in the gorgeous renovated former Tennessee Art League building. Can you say beautiful light?
Hung the Smyrna show with assistance from my brother on November 18 but was really rushed and too busy to take pictures of the paintings hanging so in today’s blog post are a few photos of the paintings hanging there.
The very next day, we boarded a 6 a.m. flight to the UK and made it safely to London at 10:45 p.m. local time. For the next 11 days, we drove, and shot photos, and visited family and friends, and ate, drank, danced and really enjoyed ourselves. 
We returned home safely two nights ago and now, bags unpacked, laundry washed, bills paid, I can put down a few words.
I can’t wait to paint that which I photographed. I did paint one day in the hotel room when David was spending quality time alone with his dad, but the lighting was poor, the room was cold, and it was just a study of something I’ll do in acrylics later on, I think.
We had a wonderful, if freezing time, and have mixed feelings about being back. I’m glad, for my studio, friends and family here, but am already profoundly missing all those friends and family we love across the pond.
Hanging art and poll watching
>Make for an exhausting day!
Happily, I breezed into Nashville with no traffic and got started hanging my art at Paige Simmon’s Salon in Nashville promptly at 9:30. With great optimism, I brought nearly all of my inventory, including the 48 x 72 triptych that I wasn’t sure we’d find a space for. Thankfully, seasoned artist and hanging veteran Lynne Pilkerton met me there and immediately restored order and sanity to my day by grouping paintings and finding just the right spot for nearly all of them. And I mean all!
In the end, we found a perfect spot for the triptych and hung it — which can be a real bitch — with very little difficulty, again, thanks to Lynne’s quick thinking. We also found room for my other largest paintings, and the smaller ones too. In the end, I left with fewer than five of the 46 paintings I’d started with! I’ve posted a few photos of the site and apologize for the poor quality images. My flash battery was dead and these are with the great local light only. It really is an exquisite space and hopefully, in some small way, my paintings are making it even more appealing.
We didn’t finish until 2 p.m. and though I’d not eaten anything all day, I had to report to a polling place at three to serve as a poll watcher. Grabbed a quick bite and reported to the election site just in time and made it through the next four hours, at first bored to tears, then grabbing a pen and paper and sketching all sorts of people that were in line, then handbags, shoes and what-have-you, and finally, after mind-numbingly watching the poll captain try to call the election headquarters and wait on hold for so many minutes, grabbed my Iphone, got the voter verification lookup website, and must’ve looked up 100 voters registration info by poll closing time. I felt good that I could help and the poll captain was amazed at the great new technology. It was probably against the rules and I suggested to him that we need to start a campaign now to get the Major Cell Phone companies to donate smartphones to all polling places across america for free for that day. Anyone with me?
Crazy Busy! Two installations tomorrow and more!
Out of the blue about six weeks ago, my sister-in-law (she of the golden voice, brilliant lyrics, and luscious music, grammy-nominated Gretchen Peters) mentioned me to her hair and makeup girl, Paige Simmons, who has her salon in the old Tennessee Art League building on Poston near Centennial Park in Nashville. Its a lovely old Craftsman style home that’s been converted. It has wonderful light, and great style since Paige and her mother did all the furniture, etc.
Anyhoo… Paige does hair and makeup for a lot of Nashville’s big names (well, for instance, Gretchen!) and she shows and sells art there too of several artists, including Kirk Seufert and others whose names I was too excited to capture because … I’ll be hanging my stuff there as well, come Tuesday. Was there Saturday scoping the place out and another major singer walked in to have her hair done. I was cool about it and the two fellow artists with me didn’t even recognize her at all! But Kirk’s work is just gorgeous and I’m honored to have mine showing along with his at the same space.
The other installation is another upscale hair salon in Smyrna where I live called the Hair Doctor. It was a spur of the moment thing months ago when I offered to hang some of my work in their lovely but bare-walled space. Well, it’s approaching Christmas time and I have a lot of paintings, so I know I can spruce up their walls, hopefully sell some as gifts, and earn some cash for our upcoming trip to the U.K.
Then there are a pair of group shows I’m participating in starting Friday. Centennial Arts Center Gallery is having its annual holiday show running from Friday through Dec. 14, with the opening Friday night. Hubby David’s even coming with me and a bunch of us are going out after for dinner at a great Italian place that is Lucilla approved (so it must be great)…
The last is at Springhouse Gallery in Smyrna. It’s a one night gala fundraiser show being held Nov. 19 but we submit Friday night or Saturday and I’m not sure I’ll have energy/work to submit… We’ll see.
For now, I’m just painting away! The three paintings posted here were started recently and aren’t finished, but close… the Nashville Skyline one is like the other Nashville Skyline I, did but the star of this show, no pun intended, is the night sky rather than the lights of the buildings…