The Frankenart Mart gallery show is still up and an informal opening was held last Sunday complete with free hot dogs. How can you beat that? The show will remain up until April 12th so please check it out if you are in the area. Leslie, the proprietor is quite a champion of the arts as are the two cats in residence.

Below is a photo of my installation. My "Slugs of Serenity" prayer cards and a new site-specific installation called "Prayer Catch and Release Program".



The Slugs of Serenity - original prayer cards
By Julienne Givot
I grew up Catholic. Prayer for me then was all about Saints and the Virgin Mary. While praying directly to ‘the Big Guy’ was of course encouraged, I was taught that you could go through a Saint to send your prayer along. The idea being that the Saint had God’s ear and would intercede on your behalf. I read stories of Saints all the time and collected Saint prayer cards like other kids collected baseball cards. Some saints were specialists, like St. Jude the patron Saint of the impossible.

Even though I left the Catholic Church years ago, I have to admit that it's left its mark. I still find the mythology is incredibly rich, spooky and downright interesting when viewed through a mystic/anthropological/artistic lens. I painted this series of cards as an homage to the Saint cards I used to collect as a child. They represent qualities and ideas I feel that I need a reminder of now and again. The series also reflects my own non-denominational feelings about the need for prayer.

Prayer Catch and Release Program - site specific installation
by Julienne Givot

Write down your prayer and deposit in the box. Once you are done, surrender your need to worry about whatever it was your prayer was about and let (enter your term for a Higher Power / Divine here) take care of it.

Consider it out of your hands to worry so much about it. You have a Partner in all of this so have faith and let go and Let God (or whatever equivalent you might believe in even if just a teeny bit).

Really it's incredibly embarrassing how remiss I am in keeping this updated. Blame the distraction caused by life and those pesky networking sites like MySpace and Facebook which I do manage to keep somewhat updated. Be that as it may... here is an update for 2009.

I will finally get to show my "Slugs of Serenity" prayer cards at an upcoming show at Frankenart Mart this month. The theme of the show is prayer in all it's general and specific forms. It's odd that the theme has had a bit of controversial effect. Odd for many reasons but for me mainly because with all that's going on you'd think prayer would be making a serious comeback.

Anywho... here is an example of one of my quirky paintings / cards;
There are a set of six faux saints and accompanying prayers (of sorts). They are an homage to the Catholic Saint cards that I collected the way most kids collected baseball cards. They mainly act as reminders or prayer for reminders that I find important in day to day life. The rest can be seen on Flickr.

I'm also creating an additional piece for the show which explores prayer and the need for surrender. A photo of that soon I hope.

The "Prayer" show at Frankenart Mart will be open January 18th - April 12 so stop on by to check it out if you are in San Francisco. 515 Balboa St. @ 6th Ave. SF

The William Collection opening reception went swimmingly with a nice sized turn out of old and new friends and art mavens. Wine was slurped, mini cupcakes gobbled and photo ops were had.

A few are posted below but if you want the full treatment check out the photos on FlickR William Show Reception Photos You can download the full size versions there if you want.

Jennifer and William in full flirt - Jennifer is the owner and designer of William's custom lingerie!


Robt, Colin, Me, William, Daryn and Dave


William and the full size version of the special edition lingerie. Oh la la! get them while they are Hot!

Hello patient friends and interested parties-

That's right I'm off my artistic butt and hanging my first show of the year! So much time painting and working it took a little distraction to get back out there and show something. It's time and there are more shows in the works. But for now...

What's on: "William" pseudo documentary photos of my lil plastic muse William
Where: Porcelynne Boutique & Gallery 487 14th St. @ Guerrero SF,CA
When: May 2nd - May 31st
Opening reception Friday May 11th 6pm - 10pm

The show will be up all month long but if you are in the SF Area please come by the opening on Friday the 11th. The gallery owner is doing all kinds of crazy promotions for the show - including a "Win a Date with William" drawing, photo booth with William as well as special limited edition lingerie, which he'll be wearing for the show. Yes indeed he's becoming a lil plastic star. This would be the third time he's had couture made just for him. I've even added a new photo to the series for the occasion (the first in several years). The show is also an official part of SF Art Fest - woo hoo!

See: http://www.juliennegivot.com/william/index.htm
Make friends: http://www.myspace.com/ohmywilliam

I hope this finds you all well.

After an almost 8 month hiatus the PurseCam section of my website has been updated. Only a handful of new images are there but that's a start (or restart rather). I began the whole thing to keep myself shooting every day -guess I slacked a bit. My new-ish cell phone camera is slightly better than the old one but I still like the crappy quality. I tend to carry my other camera with me too so the page contains images of both good and poor resolution.

The Masomo Project book has kept me busy so there is not much new happening in the world of painting. I am aching to get at least 3 more paintings done to complete the new series. It's been quite a move to the more narrative/illustration style for me. Representational work is still a challenge for me technically but I've always been the type that learns by doing. Feel free to use this link to see the 3 completed paintings.

I'm also preparing for a solo show at the Procelynne Gallery in May. I'll be showing the William series with a few new images of ole Will in some custom made lingerie. Oh la la!

I just completed this painting - number three in a new series.
15 x 30 oil on canvas - the working title is
"moon tower" but I am open to suggestions.

I have a few upcoming show announcements:

May 07 - William (solo exhibit) - Porcelynne Gallery - SF

June 07 - Group Exhibit - Mina Dresden Gallery - SF

What's happening?
Still not in the 9-5 groove (avoiding it actually) and workin the creative angles with my time plus various contract and photo gigs. Been painting quite a lot as well. The 3 images below are 'work in progress'. A friend has graciously volunteered to help me learn some real technique. I've been happily flailing about with what little I remember from my 2 semesters of painting in high school. Guess it's time to take a crack at representational art but I can tell you already that I really prefer to paint from my head. I'm stubborn I guess.

Oil on Canvas:
Sock Puppet! work in progress


The first of what I think will be a narrative series:
Progression of the Moon -work in progress


Sometimes I Live on the Sun -work in progress

I quit the day job and am taking some time for creative projects. Yay! Part of December was dedicated to holiday stuff and clearing off a big ole 'to-do' list that I'd accumulated over the past year. Now I'm settling down to the projects at hand. Namely:

• Curating, editing and putting together a photographic pictorial book of Africa. The sales proceeds will go directly to the Masomo Project which is dedicated to providing education for underprivileged children in Africa. So far 23 photographers have enlisted to lend their beautiful images of Africa and I'm in the middle of the daunting task of selecting and editing them into the book. Projected publication date is May 2007.
  
• Website re-vamp. My site is long overdue for an overhaul. New images need to be added and old stuff removed. I plan on adding my painting work in addition to an updated look and feel. Completing a short montage of my time in Africa is part of this project as well.
  
• Writing! This one might be long term but I'm doing some work on a screenplay. Nobody gets details on that for a while. ;)
  

That's all for now. Feel free to view my profile on MySpace It's more personal than art related but I blog there as well and update it much more often than this one.

Be well and Happy New Year!!
love, Julienne

Africa was AMAZING and I miss it already. Everything went so smoothly and I had what I consider the best kind of vacation where there is both lots of adventure and some relaxation.

Below: Taken from the plane on the way to Zanzibar


We spent 5 days in Zanzibar - which was awesome but a little strange because it was Ramadan and folks were a little low on energy. Zanzibar is 90% Islamic and to pay respect we didn't eat or drink anything in public. Luckily the local posh hotel was a haven where we could hang out and relax with a beer without offending anyone.

Below: Sunset from the Serena Hotel in Stone Town, Zanzibar


Stone Town although heavy on the touristy stuff was also intense and beautiful - the main center is all tiny crowded alley ways. The area is known for it's ornate spiked doors. Photos below:


We had dinner in an open air market and feasted on some of the best 'street food' that I've ever had.

Below: Fharo Dani Market


Pictures indeed tell the best story and I've posted some at the link below.
Africa Photos

Sunrise over the Indian Ocean:


Thandie and I at the Hakuna Majiwe Resort in Paje,Zanzibar:


Thanks for all of your well wishes and notes while I've been away. Apologies to those I didn't get to respond to directly. Getting reliable access to my email was difficult but I hope to see / talk to you all soon.

Till then 'kwa heri' and 'hakuna matata'!
Julienne

Off the continent now!
September 5th I'll be leaving for a 6 week adventure; a month in London for work then 2 weeks in Tanzania visiting friends. I'll be back home on the 15th of October. Exciting! I'll post photos and such here but for more personal / detailed information please check out my profile on MySpace.
I'm taking 2 cameras and some watercolor materials for the more tactile art making. If you or anyone you know will be in London during September, please let me know. Feel free to email my traveling address dtjulienne-at-yahoo-dot-com.