Elise Cheval in her performance, A Sea Odyssey:2012, on YOU TUBE

For 5 years, I have been working on creating an improv piece about the oceans!  Finally, it is here!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-LJUjKQsjw&list=UUjeqXrALHs59AsMERRPU9mQ&index=1&feature=plcp

All of the artwork, I am wearing, and in the background was created to raise awareness about the impact of plastic pollution on human health and the environment.  Please pass it on to all of your friends, and help me reach my goal of 1 million viewers in 6 weeks!

"A Woman For All Seasons" a Huge Success at O'Hanlon Center For the Arts

Check out the video my husband Georg made before Guests arrive to my Opening Reception.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNNvvdEXECw&list=UUjeqXrALHs59AsMERRPU9mQ&index=1&feature=plcp

Many THANKS to Karin Mortensen for helping me through the duration of this show and sticking it out until the end, to Georg Roth for his devotion to "kitchen" duty and footing the bill for the food and accoutrements, to Louise Maloof for the beautiful bouquet of pink Stargazer Lilies that finished the food table perfectly, to Suzanne Rogers for taking photos of setting up the show and during my performance, "A Sea Odyssey:2012", to all of my colleagues from Plexus who came to support me, to my neighbors Jim, Jeanie, and Mary Ann who watched the heap of plastic grow in the garage until there was no more room for my car, to the new folks who came and I look forward to connecting with in the future, especially to Christin Anderson, who I will be collaborating with on our new recycle runway project with youth of Marin County, to my friend Gretchen Kucerka, who supported me with her undying ear of support, and to the O'Hanlon Center For the Arts Membership for their attendance and to Robin Elliott and her crew, Rick and Jennifer, for her ethereal Bleffert instrumental music, which lent the perfect contrast to the material world of plastic and its impact on our health and environment.

The Marin IJ article is a HIT in Marin County!

On February 2, I woke up to a slew of emails commenting on the article written by Vicki Larson, in the Marin IJ, about my work and upcoming show at the OHanlon Center For The Arts. Alan Dep, my photographer, took great pictures for the story, "Dressed to Kill", where Vicki informed Marin County about my intention for making plastic dresses in order to make a statement when I walk into a room in the obnoxious, noisy crunching of my classic suit, Wake Up Call, made out of Whole Foods Market vinyl banners. I wanted to have enough copies for family and friends, so I drove all over San Anselmo, Mill Valley and Novato looking for the paper. They were already sold out! I managed to get 10 copies, so that should be enough to share my fame. I went to work, filling in for Megan at O'Hanlon, while she's on vacation, and enjoyed seeing folks at the Gallery coming to drop off their works for the Red Show. They had looks of recognition and were full of acknowledgement, saying, "I read the article in the paper!" After that, I enjoyed walking into Benvenuto to have my hair done for the big night on Tuesday, and Robert, the Receptionist and the Owner, congratulated me on my achievements! So much fun getting your name in thhe paper. Today, I rounded out the week, dropping off my piece, "Some Like It Hot", for the Red Show and attending Cayan's Personal Creativity Workshop. Today, I learned about Matisse and how he said that "color trumps form", and finally I understood his flattened jewel tone images! Plus, I am almost finished with my sea dragon painting, using the tissue paper to fill in as "kelp", with the wonderful overlapping looking like the ribs and veins. I love the transparency against the acrylic background. I will post photos tomorrow, when I return to Cayan's Monoprinting class, and finish with some more fun on plastic! http://www.marinij.com/lifestyles

Aim High in Momentum Exhibitions Catalogue and Video on You Tube

Just in - Our President Janice Nesser for Women's Caucus For Arts posted our new video for the Momentum - 40th Anniversary Conference in LA, coming February 23-26. Check it out on You Tube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgKJbPo1tNU&feature=youtube_gdata_player - Aim High is a testament to how far women have come in 40 years!

The aloes are blooming in my garden!

I am having so much fun with all of the metaphors related to heat.  I couldn't resist having my picture taken today in front of these impressive "torches" blooming in my garden.  I love the patterns on my friend Karin's scarf and how beautifully they go with my new hat.  Speaking of my hat, on Monday, I walked down to Safeway to get a salad and met a young woman who was making a video for a contest at the Academy Awards.  She invited me for an interview, asking me to pretend that I had won the Academy Awards for "Best Hat".  When the news reporter asked me to help her with her Project, I asked her if she would like to have a Singer.  I sang a few bars, filling Jackson Street near the Embarcadero, and I could be heard in the Safeway Store!  I won "Best Song", and sang for the camera!  Who knows, maybe the video will win the contest and I'll have my picture broadcast on TV.  You never know...  in LIFE, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!!!

NEW Art Studio in Marin MOCA!

Elise in front of her new studio at Marin MOCA

East facing window!

My storage area... new shelves coming!

I love red!  I rescued this canvas
from the trash and added the white horses!

Armed with a slew of canvases, my backpack chockful of oils and my paintbrush  -- I'm launching my career as a Painter and saying, "Au revoir" to incandescent pthalogreen oil paint on my carpet at home.  With an East facing window, I look forward to early morning light before I head over to Indian Valley Campus to paint with my Mentor Chester Arnold.  This semester, Chester is generously teaching us how to make ink out of the numerous oak galls laying on the grounds with an old rusty horseshoe.  Stay tuned for my newest direction in wearable arts with my hand-painted canvases turned into beautiful jackets and hats.   My newest Project is taking shape -- I'm going into my SELP course at Landmark Education, where I will learn how to enroll folks in my new Community Project.  Plus, I will be using the website,  www.kickstarter.com to create my own fundraiser program to generate the funds for my new career as a Motivational Singer, donning my own wearable art creations.  Look for my video, which I predict will go viral, after my Solo Show, "A Woman For All Seasons", at O'Hanlon Center For the Arts, on February 7, from 6-8 pm.   

Art Tag with NCWCA at ARC Studios & Gallery

I met with my NCWCA friends today at ARC Studios & Gallery, for the Art Tag, round-robin game based on the theme: Patterns, which was interpreted in numerous ways. As it turned out, my partner started the process with her three pieces, and then I took my turn. I showed my first piece called Convergence, a print I made using white ground on a zinc plate in my printmaking class at COM. 

Elise showing her print, Convergence, 2011

Next, I shared my first animated video, Elise in Quiltland, 2012, http://youtu.be/eA-oWD0p6cU which was influenced by the collaged paper piece of multiple colored squares I received from Miriam, my ArtTag partner and created on my iPad, using the app ArtStudio.  For this piece, I made several reiterations of the squares, similar to how I constructed my Animoto video, Into the Oblivion, 2010.  Both are viewable on YOU Tube, on my Channel, elisechevalgoesvideo, but were not so easily seen on my small laptop computer. 

Elise showing her video, Elise in Quiltland, 2011

For my final piece, I was inspired by the 2nd collaged paper piece, Healing the Bones, from my partner, which reminded me of a stage with a curtain and I considered it an invitation to do a performance piece called Carpe Diem.   To be in keeping with my improv work, I only opened the package this morning, then upon opening it, I saw a picture of an x-ray of a hand, with the words, "Carpus".  I related to the piece in numerous ways, including healing from my own repetitive strain injury, and my work as a Feldenkrais teacher.  When I researched "carpus" on Wikipedia, I came across the words Carpe Diem and learned that the poet, Horace, who penned the aphorism was born on December 8, 65 BC!  Given that my birthday, and my Mom's birthday is December 8, I though about how I could integrate all of this information into my performance.  I wanted to take my own quilt for ArtTag, but when I couldn't remember where I put it, Spirit guided me to take the quilt my Mom made for me before she died in 2008.

Elise showing the quilt, Fur Elise, made by her Mom, 2006

My Mom's machine-pieced kaleidoscope quilt, Fur Elise, she titled after my favorite song by Beethoven that she played on the piano when I was a kid, was the perfect expression of the theme called patterns.  To see more pictures from the girls participating in ArtTag, go to www.ncwca.org.