See wire work at the Oakland Museum's 555 Gallery...

...by watching this slideshow or, better yet, going in person!



Today I visited the space with Sabine and Donna Seager and it was very foggy and grey out. But as time passed, the sun peaked out from the thick layer of clouds and, in a flash, the sculptures were illuminated and awake! The shadows, like drawn lines, introduce temporary marks onto the varied surfaces and architecture of the space and, with the addition of the direct light from the sun, the sculptures come to life as they shine and shimmer.

The curator of the show, Carin Adams, describes the show this way:
"Artist Emily Payne creates site-specific installations, sculpture, and works on paper based on delicate wire forms and the shadows they cast. She transforms materials by deconstructing them from multiple angles beyond their utilitarian function.The repetition of circular shapes clustered together, hovering in the air, and resting on the ground create shadows that expand their physical boundaries. In this way, the ephemeral qualities of the forms occupying space are as important as the forms themselves."

May 19, 2011 - August 5, 2011
This exhibition is located at 555 12th Street in Oakland. Curated by the Oakland Museum of California's Professional Services Division.

Show at Oakland Museum's Gallery 555

Dear Friends,

Gallery 555, the Oakland Museum's off-site exhibition space in the lobby of 555 City Center, is a light-filled and inspiring space. I have created a series of wire installations for the East and West bays where the sun shines in throughout the day.



The opening is on Thursday, May 19 from 5-7 and I am hoping the afternoon sun cooperates with us that day! 

The scale of this building, which is unlike any space I have worked in, has inspired new images that combine wire, pins, paper and shadows.



Please come join me at the reception!

Love, Emily

Oakland Museum of California at City Center
Gallery 555, 555 12th Street, Oakland, CA 04607

The Art of the Book at Donna Seager Gallery

Sixth Annual Exhibition of Handmade Books, Altered Books and Book Related Works

March 18 - April 30
Reception for the Artists:
Saturday, March 26th, 6 to 8pm

Donna Seager Gallery
851 Fourth Street
San Rafael, CA

Dear Friends,

I'll be at the opening and I hope to see you there! If you can't make it that night, I highly recommend that you go see this show! Consider it a visit to a quirky library where the books come in all shapes and sizes (including one that is round and 10' in diameter!!!???)...
All my best and happy spring!

Emily

Unsung Heros

LINE UP: 18 Out of the BOX Self-Portraits by 18 Artists

The Bohemian, 11/10/2010: "What is the Self" review
Petaluma Post, 11/10/2010 review

Cecile Moochnek Gallery: The Gift of Art Holiday Show 2010

November 17, 2010 - January 16, 2011
Opening reception: Friday, November 19 , 6 - 8 pm

Annual group show featuring small works by gallery artists.
Visit www.cecilemoochnek.com.

Opening TONIGHT Friday 11/5 ARTSPACE 404: Line-Up

Artspace 404, Santa Rosa: Line-Up
November 6 - December 11, 2010
Opening reception: November 5, 5 - 7 pm TONIGHT!

Featuring self-portraits by 18 artists curated by Catherine Devriese.
Visit www.artscouncilsc.com.

Unbound - last chance to see before closing

Only a few more days - go see it - show closes this Sunday September 19th.

This wonderful show at the Bedford Gallery in Walnut Creek turns out to have been an incredible success.

Featuring the work of 43 artists (even including Andy Warhol) it should not be missed by anyone passionate about the medium.

Here is what they say

Mercury News
SF Gate
Chronicle Books Blog
Paper Musings Blog

I am so flattered to be part of this show!

New wire work: getting ready for their close-up

Recipe for low-tech lighting used in Emily Payne's studio:

Set-up

1 tripod = stool + 12 used books
1 ambient lighting = disassembled living room lamp
1 spotlight = Wall-E look-a-like table lamp

Take picture!

Enjoy !

Flip through the pages

Here is a fun way to view my portfolio and you can even forward it to friends, your grandma, your grandpa, your niece, your nephew ... enjoy!

Unbound A National Exhibition of Book Art July 11 - September 19, 2010

Come and see this fabulous show at the Bedford Gallery in the Lesher Center in Walnut Creek. This show features the work of 65 (!) book artists including a few of my pieces. It's a beautiful show - so stop by if you can!!

cooking up color

I'm back at it again, making big color field sculptures out of used book covers and spines. My studio is filled with all these gorgeous colors now and I feel like a kid in a candy shop! I just finished "Ground To Stand On" (pictured here) and it is going into a show in July at the Bedford Gallery in Walnut Creek, along with several other sculptures I have made out of books. I am working on a second larger piece (you can see pieces of it where I assemble it on the floor) that is filled with blues, oranges, beige and reds. This one is taking longer to come together - like a conversation that isn't exactly to the point and takes a little more patience - but I'm enjoying the process. Early morning sessions are necessary now - sometimes I just sit with my cup of tea and stare at the piece until I figure out what to do next.

Groundswell at the Kala Gallery on June 4th

Opening Reception on June 4, 6-8pm

Kala Gallery, 2990 San Pablo, Berkeley, CA 94702

read more here

New work in the JOURNEYS show at the Cheese Factory

I couldn't resist applying for another group show out at Art at the Cheese Factory, a gallery and outdoor sculpture space located on the Petaluma-Pt. Reyes Road in the greenest green hills of Marin County. I proposed doing an indoor piece called "239" that is comprised of, you guessed it, two hundred and thirty nine cast heels and two wall drawings inspired by old shoe parts. I installed the pieces last weekend and documented every step of the installation process (thank you Sabine!). We are turning these images into a little party favor that you can come and pick up if you can make it to the OPENING RECEPTION on SUNDAY, MARCH 14, 2-4 PM.

work (cleaning) in progress

... getting ready for the Holiday show at the SFMOMA Artists Gallery...

I just finished installing "Hover" at the SFMOMA Artists Gallery and its all a bit exciting! This Friday is the opening, from 5:30-7:30.

The latest news is that the gallery has decided to also have a CLOSING RECEPTION on Saturday, October 3, 3:30-5:30. As many of you know, the Bay Bridge will be closed over the Labor Day weekend so it will be a little harder to get into the city this Friday. If you can't make it, come celebrate with me at the closing reception.

But, for those of you intrepid travelers who want to come to the opening on Friday, here are links to BART and to the Alameda-Oakland Ferry (which lets you off at Pier 41). Don't forget to check return times as well!

I hope to see you at one, or both (??) of the receptions!


All my best,

Emily

Guess what Emily is thinking about now?

... her upcoming solo exhibition at the SFMOMA ARTISTS GALLERY, of course!

SAVE THE DATE and come to the OPENING RECEPTION on Thursday, September 3, from 5:30 - 7:30. If you can not make it to the reception the show will be up until October 9.

A new installation at the Cheese Factory...

There have been high winds out at the Marin Cheese Factory, so I went to go check on Haven, my clay ball installation. All appeared unscathed but, upon closer inspection, one side of the tree (that USED to be in the water) had been hit hard by the wind and the clay balls were twisted up and tied around each other. With the help of my brother, Eric, we took down the tangled mess.






















I took those same bundles and did a new installation up high in the same tree.



















I lashed them together in a beautiful spot where two branches cross and sort of melt into each other. It seemed like the perfect place to build a nest or make whatever it is I made there!

From one cozy spot to the next...

I just had to post these two shots of "hover," the small version, before the sculptures left my studio (with the dustpans!) and finally installed at the Erica Tanov store (above the bed). My friend Isabel, who is thirteen, said these were her favorite pieces in the show. She said they seemed like they were waiting for the opening to be done so that they could finally just go to sleep on the bed. My sentiments exactly! Hanging there, they do look like dreams about to happen, memories of what has happened or ideas of what is to come...

Robert Redford must LOVE wire...

If you get the Sundance catalog, look at the fine spread on page 65! And if you want to see more of my wire sculpture work and shadow paintings in other cozy spots, make sure to come see the "Hover" installation at the Erica Tanov store in Berkeley (the opening reception is Friday, April 17, 6 -9).

Onto the next project...

Now that "Haven" is up and swaying in the breezes at the Marin Cheese Factory, I can now fully turn my attention to the upcoming Berkeley shows at the Erica Tanov store and the Cecile Moochnek Gallery. I am so honored and pleased to have my work up at Erica Tanov's store as I am a huge fan of her clothing and her design aesthetic. Her store is a beautiful space filled with so many inspiring patterns, shapes, colors and textures. Now I get to add my wire sculptures and paintings to the mix and I am thrilled.

And, just down the street, I'll be showing all the yellow "Basin" paintings as well as two larger paintings (6 1/2 feet long and about two feet high) from this series that are about the biggest work on paper I have done thus far. I will be showing this work alongside Seiko Tachibana (another one of my artist heroes) who will be showing a series of prints that also have a water theme.

Okay, back to work...

Day Four: my last day installing the clay balls

This is my favorite shot from the day.

Tomorrow is the opening. I'm hoping it is sunny like it was all week during the installation. I finally came up with a name for it which is "Haven." I like it because the clay balls all are hung in the nooks of tree branches and in somewhat sheltered areas where one would seek refuge, if one were a clay ball.... Also, if you were to add an "e," it would say "heaven," and that's where I felt I was all week long. Hanging out in trees, feeling the sun on my back, listening to the birds and the wind, making art - now that's my idea of heaven.

Thank you Sabine and John, for helping me hang the balls in the trees. Thank you Kalen for all your helping firing the clay. And thank you to the ball makers extraordinaire who helped me make over 1,500 clay balls in total: Kristin and Athos Argue, Sabine Elser, Audrey, Geoff and John Heller, Ann Holsberry, Breandain Langlois, Kalen Meyer, Dov Osheroff, Erika and Sabrina Siskind, Larry Raines, Michelle, Luisa and Maya Tellez, Jonathan and Hazel Waters.

I can't wait for the next project that we do together!

First day of installation: DONE!

The drive out to the Marin Cheese Factory reminded me why I live in California: the hills, the views, the springtime, all are breathtakingly beautiful.



















Redwing blackbirds and starlings were my companions as I worked. They like the willow tree as much as I do.























The beginnings (after I raked algae from the edges of the tree)... can't wait to get out there tomorrow morning with Sabine, bright and early, and keep going...

Getting fired!

The clay balls are in the kiln at Berkwood Hedge School (thanks to my inside source, the fabulous Kalen Meyer) cooling off after 24 hours of "candling" and a 12 hour slow fire. I'll go pick them up today! Our test run went really well and the bisqued balls are a beautiful sort of butterscotch color. Now all I need is a title for the installation... any ideas? Dare I ask...

Terroir: A Sense of Place at ACF

Terroir: A Sense of Place

March 20 – June 21, 2009

At the Marin French Cheese Company (Pt. Reyes-Petaluma Road near end of Novato Blvd.)

Open to the public + FREE

Exhibition hours: 12 to 5 Daily Outdoors and Friday, Saturday, Sunday Indoors

Terroir: A Sense of Place is the inaugural exhibition for an exciting new venue in Marin County at the Marin French Cheese Company. Included are twenty-eight artists from around the Bay Area whose work presents a unique perspective of our relationship with the land. Most people have heard the word Terroir used in reference to describing distinct wine appellations. Originally a French term, it expresses the special characteristics that a specific landscape contributes to growing foods; like the soil, the weather conditions and the farming techniques. For this exhibition, the definition has been co-opted to express the Sense of Place that these artists experience in nature. Their work reveals elemental, cultural, ecological, and social layers that expand on the agricultural characteristics of Terroir.

Both indoor and outdoor works include temporary and permanent installations and interactive events, and photography, painting, sculpture and sound work indoors. Artists include: Adriane Colburn, Ann Weber, Benicia Gantner, Caitlin McCaffrey, Claudia Tennyson, Edwin Hamilton, Emily Payne, James Gouldthorpe, Jessica Resmond, Jorge Bachman, Josh Keyes, Judith Selby Lang, Lawrence LaBianca, Lea Redmond, Lewis de Soto, Mari Andrews, Mark Brest van Kempen, Meadowsweet Dairy, Michael Mellon, Philip Krohn, Sarah Klein, Sarah Pedlow, Sharon Siskin, Sonja Hinrichsen, Susan Leibovitz Steinman, Suzanne Biaggi, Walter Orion, Wowhaus.

SCHEDULE

March 20 – Exhibition open to the public

March 22 – Reception includes:

12-3pm - MIX: Wowhaus Bicycle Composter and potluck (Lakeside)

12-5pm - The Bread Project with Sarah Klein (Cheese Factory)

3-5pm - Wine and Cheese Reception (Gallery)

May 2 –

2pm - Curator’s tour with Patricia Watts (Gallery)
3pm - The Apothecary with Claudia Tennyson (Gallery)

June 21 – Last day of exhibition


About Art at the Cheese Factory (ACF)
ACF is a start-up project headed by Claudia Chapline (Stinson Beach) to create a unique art venue in collaboration with the Marin French Cheese Company located at 7500 “Red Hill Road” or Pt. Reyes-Petaluma Road near the end of Novato Blvd, Petaluma. ACF’s mission is to enhance the art experience in Marin County by providing an indoor/ outdoor exhibition space that combines work by contemporary artists of national and international reputation with work by regional artists. www.artatthecheesefactory.org

The Marin French Cheese Company, a 700-acre ranch and historic factory (operating continuously for 144 years), has over 150,000 visitors each year. Owners Jim Boyce and Kristin Otis, who transformed a historic barn on the property in 2005 into a gallery for an exhibition of works by the late painter Jesse Reicheck, are enthusiastic supporters of the arts and are thrilled to be doing contemporary art programming on the property. www.marinfrenchcheese.com

About the Guest Curator/Juror
Patricia Watts was invited by ACF to facilitate a juried selection process with Sam Bower of Greenmuseum.org, and to curate additional artists for Terroir. Formerly Chief Curator at the Sonoma County Museum in Santa Rosa, Watts specializes in artists who address environmental issues. She is founder of ecoartspace, a nonprofit organization providing curatorial support for those seeking to address the human/nature interface through the visual arts. www.ecoartspace.org

FUNDING
Funding for this exhibition was made possible with a grant from the Marin Arts Council Community Arts Partnership Grant, private donations, and volunteers. Sponsored by Gallery Route One.

For more information and directions go to:
http://artatthecheesefactory.blogspot.com

We made it to 1,000 and more!

Thank you so much Rika, Sabrina, Kristin, Athos, Ann, Larry and Breandain for your help on Wednesday and for kicking this whole thing home. We made over a thousand balls and they seem like they are multiplying by the day (I wonder if there is some hanky panky going on between them... that one in the middle looks like the ringleader, don't you think?!)

Anyways, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU AGAIN to all you amazing ball rollers who came and helped me over the past three weeks!

love Emily

163 left to go!

Miraculously, we have made 837 clay balls over the past few weeks! Thank you to all the handy helpers who have come and made this such a fun project to do!

There are 163 left to make. No sweat. That means there is one more Wednesday evening session left to make it to 1,000! I'll be here in the studio tomorrow, March 4, from 7:00 to 10:00.

I've got the clay.
I've got the Lillet.
I've got the snacks.
I've got the music.
All I need is YOU!

xx Emily

P.S. Next Wednesday will be a surprise activity that even I am not privy to yet!

Dear friends,

We made 207 last week. Woohoooo!

I'll be in the studio again tomorrow (Wednesday) evening, 7:00-10:00.

Treats and libations provided.
Giggles and good conversation a guarantee.
Music provided by John Heller (guitar) and Chris Knepper (fiddle), who
will be rehearsing next door.

Come join me and we'll roll out another bunch together!

xx Emily

an invitation to play with clay

I am getting ready to do an outdoor installation for a show in March at the Marin Cheese Factory in Petaluma. I have an inordinate number of clay balls to make (oh, that's what those are...) and I can see that the only way that I can do this, and have fun (instead of stressing out!) in the process, is to invite you to join me in making them.

I will be working away in my studio every Wednesday evening for the next several weeks and would love for you to come and make some clay balls with me. We can yackity yack, drink some tea and/or wine, listen to good music and basically enjoy the relaxing activity of working with clay. And no, you do not have to be an expert clay ball maker but I guarantee you will become one by the time we're through!

I will be here in the studio 7:00 to 10:00 for the next four Wednesdays (unless I get done sooner):
- Feb. 18
- Feb. 25
- Mar. 4
- Mar. 11

Stop by for an hour, take a break from worrying about the economy, relax at the end of your work day and enjoy the stress-reducing benefits of working with clay and helping me (!!!) in a lovely setting with good company and cheer. Let me know if you are coming or just show up. And if you can't make it, don't worry, I'll invite you to the opening and you can see what all this fuss is about!

Cheers,
Emily