Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Allow Miracles to Happen

A BIG hug and tremendous THANK YOU to everyone who came out to the opening reception last Friday night for "Choice Points" - my new series of paintings on display at Sync Gallery in Denver. It was a magical night connecting with friends, fellow artists, and patrons of the gallery.

To think, it all began with a simple intention I set four months ago: to create a new series of paintings and to show them, somewhere in Denver, in February.

In this week's video I discuss the power of setting an intention, the importance of taking inspired action, and perhaps the most important step, simply allowing ourselves to be guided to allow miracles to happen.


No dream is too big. We need only to believe in our dreams, and ourselves, enough to take the first step. That small action is often all that is required to put manifesting our dreams into motion.

Did you miss the opening reception? No worries! There is still time to see the show. "Choice Points" will be on display at Sync Gallery through Saturday, March 15. Here are the event details:
 
"Choice Points"
February 20 - March 15, 2014
  
Closing Reception: Friday, March 7, 6 - 9 pm (1st Friday Art Walk)
 
Gallery Hours:
 
Thursday's 1 - 4 pm
1st Friday 6 - 9 pm
Other Friday's 1 - 4 pm
Saturday's 12 - 4 pm
By appointment: 303-319-2771

Live Creatively,
Marcella

P.S. Below are a few snapshots taken during the opening reception.
 
Opening reception for "Choice Points" at Sync Gallery


Discussing my art
Photo credit: Louie Trujillo


I don't think I'm capable of talking without my hands


With my biggest fan - my husband Sean Richardson
Photo credit: Laura Ripley


Next to "Reality Dreamed" - my new personal favorite
Photo credits: Sean Richardson, unless otherwise noted

"We are all artists - the artists of our lives. What are you creating today?"
~Marcella Nordbeck-Richardson

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Choice Points and Perseverance

Words can not begin to describe how excited I am! THIS Friday, February 21, I will unveil 12 new paintings at the opening reception of my new art show - Choice Points - at Sync Gallery in Denver. I just finished hanging the show (see below), so I am like a proud mama that has birthed 12 new babies into the world!

Hanging my show at Sync Gallery
Choice Points is a series of acrylic abstract paintings that I have been creating since leaving my day job four months ago to pursue my art career full-time. The paintings play with bold color, new compositions, and the tension between focal points and negative spaces.

A peek at some of my new paintings
While creating the new series, I was inspired by my own choice points in life - those times when we are at a cross roads in decision making or are conflicted between opposing opportunities. A recent choice point for me was deciding to leave a non-profit job I liked for an art career I love. It took perseverance to work full-time for someone else, while doing whatever it took to pursue my dream of becoming a full-time working artist.

In this week's video I talk about perseverance and the importance of staying committed to our dreams. I also share a question that was posed some years ago by my favorite author. That question, and the answer that followed, is what inspired me to rekindle my dream of being an artist and gave me the strength to persevere on the days when life, art making, and making a life through art, felt hard, if not down right impossible.


I am sharing the gallery space at Sync with the talented photographer, Britt Ripley. Britt's show is titled Western Metamorphosis. It is the name he has given to his style of photography - a genre that allows him to intimately explore, as well as juxtapose, the animate and inanimate subjects related to his ranching family background. Printing his own images is an integral part of Britt's artistic process.

A peek at Britt Ripley's photography show, also at Sync Gallery
So if you live in Colorado, I hope you will join Britt and me this Friday, February 21 at Sync Gallery during 3rd Friday Art Walk in the Santa Fe Art District to celebrate the unveiling of our latest creative expressions. Gallery hours this Friday are 6 - 9 pm. Below are the other dates and times you can see our shows:
 
February 20 - March 15, 2014
 
Opening Reception: Friday, February 21, 6 -9 pm (3rd Friday Art Walk)
 
Closing Reception: Friday, March 7, 6 - 9 pm (1st Friday Art Walk)
 
Gallery Hours:
Thursday's 1 - 4 pm
3rd and 1st Friday's 6 - 9 pm
Other Friday's 1 - 4 pm
Saturday's 12 - 4 pm
By appointment: 303-319-2771

Live Creatively,
Marcella

"We are all artists - the artists of our lives. What are you creating today?"
~Marcella Nordbeck-Richardson

Monday, February 3, 2014

10 MORE Tips for a Successful Art Booth

Guest blogger post for Gallery24seven.com:

You’ve rented the space and staged your booth. Now, how do you leverage your experience at an art boutique, craft fair, or flea market to make the event as successful and profitable for your art business as possible?

1. The appearance of limited supply creates demand. Don’t put all your merchandise out at once. I sold dozens of calendars at a show by only putting a few out at a time. Customers repeatedly told me they wanted to buy one, if not two, before they sold out.


Examples of my marketing materials
2. Market yourself. When creating art and merchandise for my booths, I put my name and website address on everything! Business cards are adhered to the inside of my painted wood boxes or inserted into the back of canvas paintings. I design my greeting cards to include my web address on the back. Greeting card packages get an artist bio insert. Calendars are made sturdier by inserting them into re-sealable bags with chipboard and an artist bio insert. And my handle shopping bags are customized with a large sticker that includes my name and web address...

Read 8 more tips at the Gallery24seven.com blog: http://blog.gallery24seven.com/10-more-tips-for-a-successful-art-booth/