The Muckin' O Geordie's Byre

Just in case you think that Old Scots is English... here's one of my favorite Andy Stewart tunes:

Noo whan Ah-want-ta lauchin Ah think of the scene
Whan aa'body roon cam ower tae clean,
An claarted themsel's richt up-ta the e'en
At the muckin o Geordie's byre.
Wi Robbie the Rochie an Willie the Doo,
The officer fell fur Jeannie McGrew;
And aa'body else that hud hud a capoo
At the muckin' o' Geordie's byre.
Och! siccan a sotter wis aa'body in,
Five mile awa ye cud hear the din;
Even the verra-coo hud to grin
At the muckin o Geordie's byre.

Noo the bobby cam roon tae quell the fowks doon
The cratur gat loast whaur the ricks hud thur foon
He fell in the midden, wis like tae droon
At the muckin o Geordie's byre.
The wecht o him syne sends the barrow in bits,
The wheel cairries oan an the officer hits;
Losh ye shud hiv seen hoo she did the splits
At the muckin o Geordie's byre.
Och! siccan a sotter wis aa'body in,
Five mile awa ye cud hear the din;
Even the verra-coo hud to grin
At the muckin o Geordie's byre.

Oh the whisky gaed roon, Tammy's fleein the doo
An aye as they drank, the mair they gat fou
The only yins sober, the calf an the coo
At the muckin o Geordie's byre.
Tammy roared oot, "Ring the bell fur mair"
Syne he tuggit the coo's tail, an pult oot a hair;
She kickit oot an gaes up in the air
At the muckin o Geordie's byre.
Och! siccan a sotter wis aa'body in,
Five mile awa ye cud hear the din;
Even the verra-coo hud to grin
At the muckin o Geordie's byre.

Artist Interview: Marianela de la Hoz

Mejor que la liposuccion (Better than Lipsuction), c.2008. Egg tempera on board. 4 x 2.3 inches
Born in Mexico and currently residing in San Diego Marianela de la Hoz is absolutely one of my favorite artists, period. I first came across her meticulous work at an exhibition of contemporary Mexican work at the Cultural Institute of Mexico years ago, and have been a fan ever since. We asked her our usual questions:

DC: Who or what has been your biggest influence as an artist?

Since I was a little girl my maternal grandfather introduce me to the arts, we used to enjoy many art books and I fell in love with Leonardo and the Flemish painters, then I discover Goya and there I found the most appealing images for my own aesthetics. His etchings, full of dark imaginary and dark humor have been my biggest influence.

DC: What are some of the challenges or mistakes that you have experienced as an artist and what did you learn from it?

One of the toughest challenges in life was deciding to leave my career as a Graphic designer and dedicate my life, body and soul to painting. I studied Graphic Design at the Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana in Mexico City and I work as a graphic designer for 14 years, I was successful, earn good money and yet something was missing; it was not until my second child was born, almost 18 years ago, that I had enough clarity to convince myself of something I had always known but was afraid to accept. I wanted to dedicate myself to art and in painting I found the deep meaning of my whole existence, that passion surrounded me completely.

DC: Do you use a method for pricing your artwork?

My artwork is not easy to price because of the very small formats.

The first time I had an exhibition in Mexico City , the gallery owner set the prices and I trusted his knowledge about the art market, the collectors and my pieces, when I arrived 8 years ago to San Diego something similar happened when David Zapf the owner of the gallery I began working with did the same.

After building my own market, I have been able to set prices calculating the hours I dedicate to each painting, egg tempera requires a lot of time to be finished, I could not fix prices taking the size as a variable because of my very small formats

DC: Have you done any of the art fairs? If so, does your work do better at the fairs or at the gallery shows?

I have done several, Scope, Bridge, Pulse, Artamericas, the NY Affordable Art Fair. I would say that though I have sold in some of the fairs, my principal sales have been in my hometown galleries, first Mexico City and second San Diego.

DC: What advise would you give to emerging artists?

To always be honest and true to their believes and voice, betraying this principles in the pursuit of fame and money would not be soul satisfying. To work hard, use discipline everyday, inspiration is fine but daily work is the one that moves a true artist to a solid body of work, Don't trust excessive EGOS , and last to have an iron stomach to stand destructive criticism or excessive praises

DC: Who is your favorite DC area artist?

I don't know if he is local, I know that Conner Gallery represents him, Erik Sandberg

DC: Anything coming up in the near future for you?

Last March 25th I had the opening for my solo show "Mise en scene" at the Noel-Baza Gallery, San Diego CA.

Marianela shows with some of the top galleries around the nation and would probably make a great fit in a DC area gallery. If you want to get in touch with her, drop me a note.

Seminar Pics

Yesterday's Bootcamp for Artists Seminar at the Gateway Arts Center was packed with a standing room crowd. About 60 people showed up (only 50 had RSVP'd). The seminar was free, courtesy of Gateway CDC in partnership with MNCPPC.

That's me discussing the ever popular subject of juried art competitions. Photo courtesy of Terry Ward.


And that's me and a partial shot of the crowd. The discussion now is the even more dicey subject of how to price your artwork. Photo courtesy of Terry Ward.


After the seminar there was a closing reception for the current show - which I had curated. Here are artists Rosetta de Berardinis, who is back in the DC area after a three year exile to Baltimore and Alexa Meade, whose amazing work is really lifting her young career to new heights.

And the kid with artist Terry Ward.

Great deal on Ebay

Check out one of my vintage mermaid drawings (done 11 years ago) currently on Ebay. Initial bid makes it a steal. See it here.

Wanna go to an opening this Friday?

Sold

The Mera Rubell effects tide continues; a major art collector just acquired both of these pieces, which I had done for the Rubell studio visit:

"Asere, Si o No?" 19"x48" Charcoal on Paper
About this piece: The appropriated image of Che Guevara from a photograph by a Commie photographer somewhere (ironic that Communists always nationalize and appropriate private stuff, so I have no issues appropriating their imagery) is to the left in a very Christ-like pose. Behind him, a slogan or graffiti on the imperfect wall asks the question in Cuban slang: "Asere, Si o No?" which means "Friend, Yes or No? in Cuban street dialect and is meaningless to all other Spanish speaking peoples. The capital letters answer the question by spelling out ASESINO or assassin.


Finalmente Denunciamos a el que traiciono al Che (Finally we denounce he who betrayed Che). 4 x 24 inches. Charcoal on paper
The Spanish words announce that "finally we denounce who betrayed Che." The capital letters answer the statement: FIDEL.

Thank you Mera.

Rule Number 8

My posting on the rules for the Post's Real Art D.C. has drawn out a large number of comments both here and in Facebook.