Invitational Exhibition.

What is an Invitational Exhibition?

We will start with that.  Basically, a gallery or museum contacts artists and asks them to participate in an exhibition. Typically there is a theme or purpose of some sort.  An artist is invited to show a piece or pieces of work, frequently given guide lines and restrictions.  The altar I created for Day of the Dead at the Palm Springs Art Museum was actually an invitational exhibition, because along with a few others I was asked to participate.

Day of the Dead Altar of Guadalupe Arenas, Snake Weaver.

A couple months ago I received another invitation, from the La Quinta Museum, to participate in an exhibition this winter called 'Tell Me A Story: Women In Art'. I accepted, and so while working on the altar, I was also working on various parts of what I will show in this upcoming exhibition.  

One hundred female artists have been invited to join a 4 month exhibition celebrating women in the arts.  Each of us will show a piece of art created specifically for this exhibition which runs from January 2017 - April 2017. A showcase for each artist and her story, this is also an observation of International Women's Day on March 8, and part of Women's History Month.

My work on portraits of basket weavers fits perfectly into the theme and female emphasis.  I would like to spend the next month of blog posts taking you through my creative process, the inspiration, what I have been doing and working on to fulfill the requirements for the exhibition.

Dat so la Lee with Five Digikup

48 x 36

Madame Butterfly

40 x 40

Dat so la Lee with Eight Digikup

24 x 24

It all started with a 300 word document.  Now that may sound like a lot of words, but when you have a lot to say it's easy to blast through 300 words.  I spent days writing, editing, asking for help from friends who write ( I am a visual artist, not a verbal artist), writing and rewriting and finally ended up with a statement that I find perfect.  It is creative, unique and explains why I am painting these women.  It begins....  This is a story about the responsibility to tell a story.  And it goes on from there.

Next blog post will contain the statement in its entirety.  I think you will find it intriguing.   I will also talk more about the struggle to write such a statement.  Until then....

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Dat so la Lee, Queen of the Washoe Basket Makers

24 x 24