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A review of the Bookish show came out in the Seattle Times this weekend. Here’s an excerpt:

Es, a self-taught Los Angeles artist with a burgeoning career, is represented in this show by two of her handmade artist’s books, which display charming drawings and witty writing. Her appealing approach creates a disjuncture — while also allowing a deeper engagement — with her achingly brutal statements about her difficult childhood. 

Also, I am part of the Summer Salon group show at George Billis Gallery that has an opening reception tonight from 5-8 pm.

More blabbering

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Here is another new panel piece from the Black Hole series. I guess it’s a “series” now since I keep repeating myself. Perhaps all “series” is when an artist won’t shut up about something specific. I think that’s the technical definition anyway.

Speaking of defining things with stupid art language, this is a great little quiz on C-Monster. I finally got a few non-artist friends to see why I write in that stupid way that I do sometimes.

So I have no reason to be sad today. I am making some small sales from the Bookish show, and I just got word that Sweetnsour Pie was added to the Artists’ Book Collection at the Museum of Modern Art Library in New York. MOMA baby! Fucken-A! Woot-woot and a hoot ‘n a-hollar.

I had planned on making quite a few of these Black Hole panels, and I think I still will, but not on all these panels I recently purchased. I’m not going to name names, but the guy has usually made some very high quality things for me. This time I am pretty unhappy and can not bring myself to keep working as planned on the remainder of them. Unless I come into some money to replace them with my other guy’s panels, I’m going to have to go another way with these. It’s due to the birch finish I think, although, it could be the new sealer I used, or the thickness of the face of the panels — I’m not sure, but I just won’t try to make more of these. I do not like them Sam I am!

Now how do I put this on my resume?

Ayin EsLeave a comment

Here’s a link to a review about the Bookish show in Seattle with a title that says the show is a failure. But the parts in the article about me are pretty good actually. So what to do about that? Hmm. Well, regardless of what the writer said, I am proud to have shown with the other 2 artists, and consider it an honor. We all have our opinions though. here’s the link:

https://spectator.seattleu.edu/ae/story.aspx?ID=26925

In Search of 20 LA Artists

Ayin Es1 Comment

I am looking to survey 20 Los Angeles working artists at any stage of their career for an article I’m writing. The question is pretty straight forward:

What would you like to see happen to your art career within the next 5 years?

Limit this to one paragraph. Be realistic, and you don’t have to limit your answer to just goals. It can be a direction you want your art to go, it can be about process, projects you want to work on, gallery affiliations, residencies you’d like to take, people you want to emulate, strategies you might have, shows you are working towards, etc.

The first 20 Los Angeles artists to email me their answers will be mentioned in the article. I’ll let you know ahead of time if you are one of the 20.

Deadline: June 3rd.

carol (aaat) esart [dott] com

Seize the Day

Ayin Es1 Comment

I’m having sleeping problems again. Maybe it’s all the bad news from China, Myanmar, India, Iraq, you name it, I can only take so much. I am so sad about seeing the pictures from China. What a nightmare, but it’s no dream, it’s real. I was listening to NPR all day yesterday while trying to paint and many times I just stopped and wept.

I’ve been working on this bigger piece about Lapland. I’m no where near done, but here is a pic that Michael snapped without me knowing on Saturday.

Here’s what it looked like the day before:

Later in the evening I went to Kimberly Brooks‘ show at Taylor De Cordoba Gallery in Culver City. She created an exhibit of paintings that depicted what it was like to spend a summer of family vacations after realizing that her father was terminally ill. They are moving and organic, warm and colorful. The show is called “Technicolor Summer.” She wrote quite a nice article on the Huffington Post about the meaning behind the paintings and what it was like to work her way up to the show. I loved this piece in particular, called, “Yosemite Walk I.” Looky:


Kimberly Brooks, “Yosemite Walk I” 2008, Oil on Linen, 24″ x 18″


Kimberly Brooks, “Yosemite Walk I” (Detail), 2008.

I love the color and the loose brush strokes, all the while the people are more refined as if these family members are in ultra-focus against what a blur life has been when we forget how little time we have here on this beautiful Earth.

Technicolor Summer runs until June 14th.

I guess I had a busy week, even though my art progress has been so slow. I have also been writing for a grant, and those take forever when you’re trying to say just the right magic things that will ignite something perfect with the people who are reading it. Thursday night Baby Smith and I went to the Investing in Artists seminar at the Japanese American Cultural Center downtown to get a better perspective as to what CCI is going for. I’ve applied the last 2 rounds with no luck, but I feel I’m at least writing a better grant this time around. It is good practice to do these things. It’s a good way to define your goals, your needs and wants, and that is half the battle really. Today I feel lucky to be alive, in this country, and without catastrophe. Grant or no grant, life is beautiful. And life is sad. Seize the day, damn it.