clare judith bowers

(space for) everything must go

i just got all my unsold pieces back from my last show, space for everything, and i am slowly putting them up for sale in my etsy shop.  i've already listed a few and i'll be posting more shortly.  please do take a look...

home again

my recent trip to seattle was very fun.  i admired the lush foliage, i ate a lot of food and i drank many, many soy cappuccinos.  i also saw several very fine beards.  in my humble opinion, seattle and portland really do have the finer beard market cornered.

you can see some pictures of my art show here.  the show will be up until december 31, so if you're within, say, 100 miles of seattle, get on over to wall of sound and have a looky-loo.  it's worth the trip.  it really will (probably kinda) change your life.  and everything is priced for the new economy (a.k.a. the greater depression).  that means affordable as all get out.  so get out.  seriously. 

did i mention that a crazy man threw garbage at my head tonight?  crazy, right?    furthermore, i'm pretty sure my upstairs neighbors are playing foursquare with bowling balls and silverware.

ok, have a good night!

to be clear...

i will be at the space for everything opening party this friday.  and i hardly ever go to seattle so you should definitely come by and bear witness.  furthermore, i will be wearing red tights.  red tights!

s p a c e for everything

I'm doing a show this month in seattle at wall of sound.  it's about love and crisis and nature and magic.  it is going to be fun.  serious.

s p a c e for everything
new paintings, collages and summer camp craft inspired by the magical weirdness of falling in love in desperate times.  friday, november 21 to wednesday, december 31.

opening party friday, november 21, 7-9pm.

wall of sound
315 e pine st
seattle, wa

sweet'n busy

i'll be participating in another group show this month.  this one is all about sweetness, synthetic and sincere.  i wish i could be in attendance, but i'll be at home in s.f. finishing up work for my next show.  busy busy busy.  but if you're anywhere near ottawa (have i mentioned how much i love canada?), you should totally stop by.

canteen
presents its november group show
~ SWEET N' LOW ~
featuring the fine works of:

Clare J. Bowers
Lindsay Campbell
Guen Douglas
Duane Hosein
Jennilee Murray
Hsinping Pan
Pierre Richardson
Mel Stringer

reception: friday, november 7th / 7:00 - 10:00pm, runs November 7-30.

canteen  - 238 dalhousie, ottawa, on, canada

The Hells Belles pinewood derby and silent art auction to benefit the Bay Area Women & Children's Center is coming up next Saturday, October 25th.  This is a really fun event for  great cause.  Admission is free and there's art and music and blocks of wood with wheels and stuff. Oh, and I donated a piece (pictured above) to the silent art auction.  It's shiny!

Hells Belles pinewood derby and silent art auction
Saturday, October 25th, 2008
Doors at 6 p.m., races begin at 8 p.m.

The Shooting Gallery
839 Larkin St., San Francisco, CA

petit grand

i'm going to be participating in this group show in ottawa (ottawa!  they speak french there!) next month:

the little big show
Thursday, October 16th, 2008

Canteen
238 Dalhousie
Ottawa

so many amazing artists will be contributing work AND it's a fundraiser for the boys and girls club (or club des garçons et filles!) of ottawa.   oh, canada, i am so into you! 

check out all the details here.   

these troubled times...

just got troubled-er.  i've slashed prices in my etsy shop.  if you see something you like, but can't quite afford it, send me a message.  i'm open to haggling.  help me get more art supplies, so i can make more art, to sell at ridiculously low prices, so i can get more art supplies, to make more art, to sell at ridiculously low prices...

www.clarebowers.etsy.com

new additions to the etsy shop

i just added some items to my etsy shop.  check 'em out.

now i don't mean to be too forward, but i strongly encourage you to consider buying one (or more) item(s) from my shop...because i am broke.  and i've discovered that it's pretty hard to do anything without money.  checking out books from the library and going to the park is nice and all...but my bike has a flat tire and i'm all out of tubes.  also, i wouldn't mind a tofu taco.  and a nice, cool, refreshing beverage.  plus, in these troubled times, one must consider the future...i'm just saying, art isn't a bad investment...

on a completely different subject, did you know that my name is not really clare cupcake?  my real name is clare j. bowers.  nice to meet you. 

some days...

some days i just. keep. painting. 

no point, no inspiration, nothing to talk about.  today i collaged, i painted ducks and tigers and outstretched hands awaiting high-fives. 

and looking at all my work right now...i'm pretty sure i'll paint over it tomorrow.  but some days i just push paint around. and wait for it.   

i just heard this zen story about a girl who goes two places at once.  she's in love with some guy (let's call him Reef Squander, ok?) but her father arranges for her to marry another guy.  so Reef is heartbroken (because he's in love with her too) and he decides to get out of town.  he is just too bummed to deal.  but the girl (let's call her Emily Pepper) finds Reef as he is leaving.  she tells him she loves him and they run away and make a home together. 

years later Reef comes home to find Emily all sad and weepy because she misses her family so much.  he misses their home town too, so they decide to return to her father's house.  but when they arrive, her father refuses to believe it's really Emily because, apparently, Emily has been sick in bed ever since the day Reef left town.  and it's true.  there is one Emily standing beside Reef and there is another Emily lying in bed all heartsick and sad.  when the two girls see eachother (or themselves or whatever) they come together and become one whole person. 

i think the story is partly about how we split off into manageable bits when the going gets rough.  we abandon our heartache or our guilt or whatever and we become hard little bits of ourselves.  but eventually, hopefully, if we pay attention, we can come back home and become whole again. 

i feel like a hard little bit today.