Joan Callaway Studio

12/06/2024

was certainly the place to be last night: mezcals, Ponche Navideño, music by Ivan Alamo, a performance of Litany: Asking for a Place to Stay, and a beautiful exhibition. I sold my NYC piece, Artists and Fleas, to a fabulous collector and was supported and entertained by the lovely . Thanks for showing up on multiple levels.

The exhibition can be viewed online or at the gallery until January 19, 2025! Thank you for a beautiful gallery and reception and all you do to support artists and the community.

12/03/2024

Come celebrate with us!

Just four more days until the opening reception of our fourth holiday show! Join us to celebrate Navidad (Christmas) with the flavors and music of the holidays at the opening reception of “Art as Power” from 5:30 to 8:00 PM on Thursday, December 5th.

“Art as Power” will showcase the artwork of twenty-two new artists, each bringing their unique perspectives and creativity to this festive event. We can’t wait to celebrate with you! The exhibition preview is available online, allowing you to select and reserve your pieces before the opening day.

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11/19/2024

When you create or make art, you see the world differently — making connections between what appear to be unrelated elements, finding beauty in ordinary objects, patterns, textures, differences. This small part of caught my eye and my imagination, and the name of the shop, both amused and inspired me.

This piece, Artists & Fleas, (acrylic on newsprint with photo, collage, and stitching) will be available at the exhibition from December 5 through January 19. The opening reception is on December 5, starting at 5:30, and I hope you can come join in the fun and inspiration of the .

11/15/2024

I enjoy looking at and exploring older buildings, imagining them in their heyday, and wondering what they might become in the future. I came across this building in the Kansas City Crossroads Arts District earlier this year, and loved the word, “studio,” so graphically placed vertically on the corner of it. The blue color gives it a sense of early evening, and the suggestion of lights from within the buildings feels safe, cozy, and welcoming to me and reminds me of walking home as a kid when it was turning dark and getting cold, but the lights in houses in the neighborhood felt familiar and comforting with light shining through the windows.

Lit From Within - acrylic on fabric with photo, hand-painted collage papers, and stitching. This mixed media piece will be available at the small works show at gallery in December and January, with an opening reception December 5 from 5:30 to 8:00. I can guarantee that the gallery will be lit from within. I hope you can come join in the fun.

11/12/2024

Last May I got to experience Alicia Eggert’s stunning and impactful immersive art at the . It hits even harder since last Tuesday.

11/11/2024

This piece will be part of the exhibition at gallery December 5 - January 19, with an opening reception on December 5 from 7 - 9. Please come join the fun and be inspired!

As Long As is a 5 x 7 mixed media piece (matted and framed to 8 x 10) with interesting substrates. The first is several layers of acrylic on newsprint (with paint removed to reveal earlier layers via ). The result is stronger, pliable, and somewhat fabric-like. I then added my black and white photo and a small piece of organza also printed with the photo and added stitching.

I love this photo taken in Washington DC when the National Museum of was closed for renovations. Artist Katharina Cibulka’s public art installation, Solange #27 (82 x 82 feet of mesh scaffolding net, tulle, and cable ties) was stunning and powerful and stopped me in my tracks when I turned a corner and saw it. techniques from .

11/09/2024

Hey, friends! I’m back! After losing months to my back injury, I promised myself I would play, experiment, and have fun in the studio, and that is what I have been doing. I’ll be rolling out some new work over the coming weeks, most of it integrating paint, fabric, stitch, and photography and experimenting with a variety of substrates. And I’m participating in a show in Portland next month, so watch here for more details.

Aspire to Inspire - 5 x 7 mixed media : acrylic paint on exam table paper over book pages with photo and additional paint and collage elements. I took the photo in the Los Angeles Arts District in 2018 outside the Arts District Co-op. This piece was made during a wonderful class by through , .

07/13/2024

Whether to escape the heat or some feelings of being overwhelmed — or both — I relocated to Seaside for a few days and learned to breathe again. I’ve been catching up on the last week or so (+ bonus materials) of . One of my favorite takeaways has been playing with ideas and materials directly in my bullet journal, and I continue to be amazed at the amount of acrylic paint and collage the paper will take. There is such freedom in exploring the “what ifs” without worrying about having a perfect, beautiful sketchbook. Instead, I’m finding so much beauty in the perfectly imperfect and learning so much because of it. This funny little journal spread has so many layers of paint, crayon, pencil, collage, and fine liner, that I’ve lost count. I just kept opening it back up and slapping down another idea or experiment. Now, after losing a lot of time to my back injury (one year ago this month), I’m enjoying this time in my happy place, thinking, reading, studying, and looking forward to a more productive year of playing with ideas and materials and re-engaging with what inspires me.

07/12/2024

I love the glass canopy over the Kogod Courtyard at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and I cut a template from photos I have taken there. Yesterday I had the chance to finish it and begin to play with it making monotypes on a gel plate. I’m looking forward to playing more with offsetting the design and other possibilities.

06/09/2024

Reception this Wednesday, with the exhibition running through August. Thank you, friends, for all of the positive feedback!

05/23/2024

Come see the beautiful gallery space and my mixed media paintings at The Springs at Tanasbourne now through August, and I’d love to see you at the artist reception on June 12 from 2 to 4. This has been an unexpected opportunity, and they have been wonderful to work with. I hope to see you there!