Closing Studio

5/23/12

I have reached a new chapter in my life.   Sometimes change is good but painful.  My main studio has been located in Sarasota for twenty years and I’ve been able to turn out a lot of work during that time for collectors and galleries.  Now, however, I want to finish my book and it is not possible to run a 4000 sq. ft. studio while thinking about my characters and the antics that make them interesting or even feasible.  There is a time of the day when the sun is going down and that is the golden time of day.  It’s when the sun settles down and takes a lovely form.  That is where I am in my creative life.  The sun has settled. I have found who I am…my creative mind is seeking new horizons I‘ve reached that golden time and something inside of me is saying do more.  I believe I can squeeze more out creatively if I have less overhead.  So, I’ve made the very difficult decision to let go of the “dream studio.” I plan to keep designing for public art projects as well as painting and drawing but the book is my priority at present. Art As A Novel  has been in the background of my thoughts for the past twelve years. It’s time to complete the process.  I believe I can.

I know there will come a day when I’ll be sitting quietly with my memories; there will be NO regrets. You can’t stop the rain when it begins to fall and I can’t stop my spiritual and creative maturation.

I’ll keep you posted….you keep wishing me well and watch for the book!

Artfully Yours,

Gale

Art As A Novel:Excerpt #4

ART AS A NOVEL

EXCERPT # 4

NEW YORK CITY, MAY 2000

Maggie’s Attorney, Robert G.  

Early the next morning I tried to contact her dealer. Maggie was always concerned about her work and money, but come on I kept saying where could she have gone and why? That Jeremy Irons looking clone she called her dealer had to have something to do with this.  Oh God! Why didn’t I see this coming…..he’s hurt her, I just know it! “Dammit, Maggie”, I roared, if “he’s hurt you in any way I’ll spend the rest of my life making that German fuck pay!” The Nazi never returned any of my calls. Five days later I walked into the gallery.  Maggie had been gone over 28 days and no one had seen or heard from her.  I was more than frantic.  I was convinced something bad had happened.  She would never have left me…not like that…not even if she was pissed. 

Another excerpt from my working novel!

To help support the funding of the novel check out

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/art-as-a-novel

ART AS A NOVEL
By
GALE FULTON ROSS

Taxis’ and cars honked in the language of Babel, the color of cab
yellow filled her peripheral vision, Paynes gray in light, medium
and dark showed ahead in the form of tall buildings against
a bluish- stone colored sky. Sidewalks blurred on the left and
right with colorful images of people as they pranced on the
treadmills of their own lives. Rolling down the window in the
cab gave breezy wings to the buzz she felt in her head. It was
an overcast Summer day in the City, balmy and alive with a
Broadway concerto of street sounds being conducted by the
rhythm of her rapid breath. Maggie wondered , are they happy,
are they content, have they found peace as she watched hordes
of people hurriedly cross in front of the cab making their way
to ‘somewhere.’

The cab soon pulled up to her studio on 17th Street between
8th and 9th Avenue. He had given her money for the driver and
herself. Walking slowly up the stairs to her third-floor
walkup she suddenly felt very tired and very drunk. “ I need to
lie down.” Opening the heavy, antiquated wooden
door was always a task, she immediately dropped her bag and
keys on the side table full of opened and unopened mail. Maggie
tripped across the dark- paint-spattered hardwood floor to her
Murphy bed thankful that it was in the down position and fell
backwards vertically crumpling the sheets around her. It was 3:30
in the afternoon. She awoke to the telephone at 9:15 in the
evening…it was him.

Another excerpt from working novel Art as a Novel...

            .....'my work IS reality. When I step out of that reality into the
                           mundane; I take on bewilderment and leave "fierce" behind'.
                                                                                                  Maggie Gray
                                                                                                  Art As A Novel                                                                                                                   by Gale Fulton Ross

If you would like to help support the completion of my novel please check out my Indiegogo campaign by following this link below. Thank you!
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/art-as-a-novel

Art as a Novel

Dear Friends,

My book is about ten years of Artist Maggie Gray’s life.

It begins in NYC in 2000 and will end in 2010.   I do not want to give away

too much information so I am taking my excerpts out of context….mixing things

up so to speak.  

NEW YORK CITY, 2000

Artist, Maggie Gray...I feel my weakest in the early morning.  My ability to cope with the details of life have dissolved into the muted muddy tones of a very bad watercolor. Once I enter my studio with hot-coffee in hand I am armed to meet the challenges of the moment, but not necessarily of life.

LONDON, 2003

French Collector, Jean Yves Canas, a wealthy and important industrialist living in homes and apartments all over the world decided to put a large amount of his world-class art up for auction at Sotheby’s in London.  The Canas collection included well known Masters of contemporary and impressionist art both living and dead.  Mostly dead. Several years earlier, however, Jean Yves purchased the entire art collection of an American well known in Hollywood for producing high-priced blockbuster films.   Seems the hot-shot infamous filmmaker found himself under water financially, the consequence of using brute force when romancing the current “it” girl, breaking her nose in several places.  He paid to have it fixed, of course, and didn’t even mind the additional few hundred thousand dollars she required to have several other parts tucked and nipped as well.  Unfortunately, she forgot that the whole fiasco was their little secret and somehow it was leaked to the press in a very off handed-comment Miss IT made to the wife of an inveterate Hollywood mogul.  “She said quietly when lunching on the patio at Chateau Marmount, ‘ it cost that prick a bundle to beat the shit out of me….I promise you I will not take another blow for less than five million". The press was having a field day!  And, Mr. “deep-pockets” was up that special creek without a paddle. 

Jean Yves Canas did not want to loan the- filmmaker- to- the stars any money so he had the creep undervalue his much publicized multi-million dollar collection of contemporary art and sell it to him for pennies on the dollar.  Three of my paintings went to auction.

If you would like to help fund the book you can! By just following the link below. If you cannot help me fund this project please tell your friends about it. Thank you for viewing we have 50 days to reach our goal!

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/art-as-a-novel 

 

Art as Novel

               For the past twelve years I have been writing a book.  ART AS A NOVEL is only

a working title. I’ve worked on the manuscript a little here and a little there whenever I had time.  My creative spirit does not stop at the edge of a canvas or when the clay is fired.  Sometimes I think imagination is more a life force than blood.  Thinking about alternative ways to express myself is constant. Text has always intrigued me both as a visual and as the written word.  Artists often include text in their art.  I have.  But, for these past few years I’ve tried stringing words together to create art as author as oppose to painter.  It all comes from the same place; the center of myself.

               I have been hearing about crowd-sourcing projects for the past year.  Programs like

Kickstarter and Indiegogo. You can fund projects you want to complete but do not have

the money but now friends, family and strangers that believe in your campaign can send you

anywhere from $10 to $10,000.00 over a period of 60 days.  Young people are getting films made this way and artists are preparing work for costly exhibitions as well.  A few weeks ago, I read where a writer was self-publishing his book via Kickstarter.  That is when it hit me that

              I might be able to finish my novel.  I chose to open a campaign on Indiegogo.com.

It just launched a few days ago.  I would love your help. 

I have formatted the book to include 350 pages consisting of approximately twenty-seven chapters.  My substantive characters are based on real people in the art world whom I have given a razor-sharp edge.

The main character is an ego-driven red-headed natural beauty named Maggie Gray.  Maggie as a young woman walks through life with loveless-eyes begging the question  ”why not me?”

Though tough and bitter she is also an extremely talented contemporary artist who has suddenly become  “important” in certain circles.  While still flying under the radar in terms of sales to world-class collectors, interest in her work is stirring up the competitive nature of several powerful dealers.

One, to whom she is totally enamored.

Here is an excerpt from the book.  Please hit me back and tell me what you think.

 =============================================================

From the moment I walked into that minimally lit room without shadows

I accepted the myth. The one that says art dealers are contemporary impresarios

blessed with the ability to recognize and defend unpopular art. He summoned me.

I’d known for a long time that if I ever had the chance to meet him I would stand

like a remorseful sinner before God. “Do you believe artists are born OR are they

created?” He spoke in a guttural German accent that caused me to take two

steps back towards the shining glass doors. I pondered the question and for the next two hours on that rainy afternoon in February I listened to his bravado, I basked in his passion and believed

he had the gift of a “good eye.” A good eye, he said, was a very mysterious thing,

no matter how educated you may be….no one can teach it to you. It is your center,

your spirit and like great artists, great dealers are born with this enviable ability

to see and comprehend what the masses cannot. He gripped me with his startling, clear

silver- blue eyes, his glare held me there in that space. “ I have singled YOU out, he said with great force. If you’re willing to do everything I ask I will make you the greatest

artist in all the world! YOU WILL BE MORE IMPORTANT THAN PICASSO!!! "

Then, suddenly, as if someone else in the room told him to lower his voice, he whispered in my ear, “ You will not lead, you will follow.”

Artist Gale Fulton Ross

From her book ART AS A NOVEL

April, 2013

STAY ON TASK

By

Gale Fulton Ross

October 10, 2013

I spent this past weekend with my brother, Lt. Colonel (Select) Charles Hawkins and his family in Shreveport, Louisiana.   Major Shauntele Guillory-Hawkins, his wife, retired after twenty years in the military.  She is not even 40 yet! Big Sis, was invited to the ceremony and until I experienced her military retirement celebration I’d no idea of the great sacrifice and level of commitment Shaunie and Charles had made on behalf of, not only the country, but for their family of six children as well.

The two older girls in there twenties are off living their lives working and going to school.  Currently in the house is the lovely Miss Chloe, age 12, the adorable Miss Carie, age six, the very mannish clone of his father, Mr. Colin, age five and the cutest teething toddler named Chyler, age nine months.

Mom and Dad manage to maintain their dignity and their sanity by focusing on discipline. Though firm, it is loving and discerning, giving each child their time and space as individuals. The family has traveled extensively having lived in Europe as well as on bases here in America. Shaunie spent time away from the family while doing a tour of duty in Honduras and Charles spent last year in Afghanistan.  Each parent at one time or another had to single-handedly manage the family while working on their military assignments and/ or trying to move the entire family from one base to another.  Church, school, day-care, doctors, dentists, play-dates, after school activities often become the task of one parent to handle; in this case it was mostly Shaunie because Charles has spent lots of time on military assignments away from home.   She truly has my respect!  Each child knows the rules of behavior and is expected to stay on task!

The ceremony at Barksdale AFB is where I really got to know my sister-in-law.  My brother, her husband, officiated and it was tricky for him because it’s rare for a spouse to be in that position.  However, due to lots of circumstances, it fell on him.  He had been given one directive from his wife before leaving the house and that was “stay on task.”

He began by listing the many accomplishments by Major Guillory-Hawkins but said in order not to get into any trouble with his wife he hoped that we would follow along in our programs so that if he missed something one of us could point it out because Shaunie had cornered him in the bathroom as he was getting dressed and asked him what he was going to say; and then asked, “is that how you’re going to say it?!” 

He admitted to being nervous and started talking more as a husband than an officiating officer, that is when one of the high-ranking General’s from the audience spoke up and reminded him to “Stay on Task!”  Needless-to-say during his time officiating we all at one time or another reminded him to be mindful of his wife’s directive.  It was, however, fun for me to watch Shaunie’s face every time he forgot, especially when he got teary over the time he left her pregnant, alone, and moving three children from Germany to Montana while he was on a tour of duty, but being military and all he quickly recovered and so did she.  It is my humble opinion that my brother did a great job of trying hard to “stay on task.”

The video of her childhood, marriage, family and military experiences were remarkable snippets into a life dedicated to education, and ‘giving back’ through teaching, mentoring and nurturing. It was very well-done and a wonderful reflection on how and why she entered the military. Soldiers are very special people!

The most emotional aspect of the celebration was the flag-folding- ceremony where the Flag was handed-off- to two or three other soldiers and then presented to Shaunie who handed it back to another Official.  Music filled the air as we watched “Our Flag” handled with deliberate and strategic moves; saluted; folded and unfolded until it neatly formed a three-sided rectangular representation of the Stars and Stripes.   I definitely wiped away a tear or two as I watched my sister-in-law, my brother, and their kids with eyes glued to the flag and imagined what it must mean to spend twenty years of your life dedicated to protecting “Old Glory!”  I am proud of this family of soldiers both big and small.

My brother Charles is just two months older than my son, Craig.  He, too, is like a son to me and having spent the Summer with Craig and his wife Caryn celebrating the birth of my first grandchild and now to have been invited to spend time in Louisiana experiencing the celebration of Major Shauntelle Guillory-Hawkin military as well as family accomplishments….I can say, I am truly blessed and grateful for all of the gifts the Universe has bestowed upon me.

I am in my studio today writing this blog so that I can proudly document how precious life is and how given all circumstances we must find time to delight in the people we love and whom love us back.  That is not to say we have not had our share of family disputes misunderstandings and hurt feelings.  We have, but in the end we come together because love prevails.   I remember as children when my brother, my sisters and I would argue or fight Mom would not allow us to go to bed angry at one another.  I think, maybe, that is the key to the love, admiration, and respect I feel for each and every one of my siblings and their families as well as for my son and his.  I have become the active matriarch to all of them, nieces and nephews included!   Our mother is well in her eighties and no longer can get around.  She runs our lives now from her kitchen table in Malden, Massachusetts.  So, I do all of her tours of duty…. I guess I’ll just have to “stay on task!”

Gale Fulton Ross