October Adventures

Halloween is almost upon us! This year, I’ll be spending it in Chicago with Allison and co. I figured, since its probably wayy cheaper to drive my artwork there then it is to mail it, I will take it myself! Among visiting AO for a few days in Chicago, I think Mount Rushmore, the Black Hills and a few other stops are on the agenda!

But since Halloween and the deco involved is one of my favorite holidays, I decided that I couldn’t live through the end of the month without carving a pumpkin. So I brewed up some chili and a batch of cornbread and Peggy brought some margaritas and Megan brought some caramel chocolate apples and we spent the evening designing, carving, roasting seeds and chatting. Peggy and I stuck with the doggy theme…I tried to do a portrait of the Mango Dog.

Other news here is that it has been a crazy mix of snowy and beautiful, sunny, mild fall days. A little confusing, but I think I kind of enjoy it! Plus, any snow accumulating up there on the mountain is a great thing! Mango and the cats have been getting along, and Evin has decided that the dog might even be a good source of food scraps and hes taken to watching the dog bowl and the dog at all times and rushing in when he sees a window of tasty opportunity. Jax is still hanging out up high on the top of the cabinets, but he has ventured in a few times to give the dog a sniff.  

Thats about it! I am looking forward to Chicago adventures and hopefully some skiing in the next few weeks!

Labor Day Weekend and the Family Visit!

Sorry it has been a minute! As usual, the moment I thought things would settle down, they just got busier! A few weeks ago, Mom, Dad, Alden and Scott came up for a visit. Their trip coincided with the opening of my art show, which was pretty cool! We had a great time, hiking, exploring town, eating at great places and just hanging out. We got a hike in at Fishcreek Falls on Friday as well as a good hike up to Thunderhead on Saturday morning. Alden, Scott and I managed to get downtown for some Sunpie’s drinks by the river and a soak in the Old Town Hot Springs. We also got out for an excellent dinner at The Ore House, which is my all time favorite place my family goes when they visit. Here are some pictures of the greatness!
    After everyone left, the Mango dog had an explosion on his shoulder which turned out to be an abscess created, we think, from his vaccines in July. Having fought the infection for a good month or so (and what a trooper!), it finally got too bad for his body to handle, so a tennis ball sized lump formed on his right shoulder, right where the vaccine was injected. Six hours and one surgery later, the drugged up puppy was sent home to recover, and recover he has! Stand by for my post on our adventures up north, but for now, check out the good post-surgery “bed rest” Mango Dog photos. I think Abercrombie might hire him soon as a t-shirt model…

Paper Cutting From the Mind

Paper cutting and stream of consciousness writing.

A glorious discovery blending my words with my art. And a whole new body of work in the makings. Everything I ever wanted, for now. Stand by!

Hot Air Balloon Rodeo 2013!

This weekend in Steamboat, we celebrated hot air balloons in the valley!

The Hot Air Balloon Rodeo is a weekend long event that draws hundreds of people here to The Boat! Saturday and Sunday morning, the balloons inflated around 7AM and hung above the valley for a few hours. It was pretty cool to see 20+ balloons floating around…kind of like being in an aquarium. Saturday night was the balloon glow, which only had about seven balloons, but was pretty cool anyways! My friend Jess and I took Mango on a hike up the mountain and then met up with some friends at the base to watch the balloons light up! It was especially great to see the balloons this year as they were banned last year due to fire hazard. Check out some photos of the fun below.

Art Updates!

I am finally getting a collection of new work as a result of my studio in the Red Gallery! I love it there. Below are a few drawings that are ready to go up on the walls and there are a few more at the frame shop! The three below are ink, water color, and colored pencil on paper and wood panel. The opening for my show at the Red is Friday, August 30th! It will run through September.

I also have a few pieces in The Story of the Creative in Long Island, NY which is opening Thursday  July 25th!

Stay tuned for more updates!

And you can always see more work at: johannahkhall.com.

New House, New Art, New Adventures

We are officially residents of 345 8th St. AKA, The Church! It has been a busy few weeks, but summer is here and the moving is done. Summer work starts this week as well! So I will be working three days a week with the Steamboat Parks and Rec as a group leader for the kids’ summer camp. Much like last year’s summer camp job, only different people and different place…coincidentally a three minute walk from my house! I am also continuing to  help Peggy out at the RK Pet Ranch…basically the best job ever. So I’ll be there two or three days a week depending on her busy-ness there. Its going to be an amazing summer.

Living downtown has proved to be incredible. Walking or biking everywhere and being just houses away from great friends is pretty cool! Sunny and I quickly got to work planting a garden and getting the front yard in order. So now, along with our zucchini, yellow squash, three different varieties of tomatoes, rosemary, basil, mint and parsley, we have a place to sit! A little adventure to the Milner Landfill (or..Milner Mall as it may be) landed us with an old cable spool and four chairs for $15, which we set up in the front yard and have made use of almost every day since. Outside morning coffee and a book? Yes, please!

This is the front yard form my bedroom window..

The boys fell in love with all of our windows immediately. And the baby birds!

Evin is beside himself about the baby birds.

A few days ago, I got all my supplies in order in my new studio at the Red Contemporary Gallery here in Steamboat. I will be there Saturday afternoons and whenever else I want…which will be all.the.time. Its great to have a space to hang my work up and gather ideas and thoughts together. Plus, I get to leave messes out and just create!

The last and maybe the greatest new update is that next week the boys and I will be adding another excellent guy to our family. Mango! He will be traveling all the way from Abaco Island in the Bahamas. Fortunately, Mom and Dad were able to pick him up on their most recent visit and I will be flying down to Atlanta next Monday for a quick overnight puppy collection. He is adorable. I have promising hopes that Evinrude won’t even know he is a dog. We will see about that.

So in the next few weeks; stand by for art updates, puppy updates and if you’re interested, some recent foody adventures in the new kitchen including roasted veggies, and some rhubarb experiments!

Drawing Days

Working on some new drawings while my psoas heal! Productivity abounds! Except when we spend the afternoon in the hottub…

The boys have even embraced a new level of laziness.

Happy Halloween!

Brooklyn, BMore and DC: The Ultimate East Coast

It has been a few days since I returned from the Epic East Coast Adventure, but with Halloween and the start of my new job (updates on this later!) I’ve had negative time.

So it happens. A few Fridays ago, I found myself transported from the quiet mud season of Steamboat (with rumblings in the air of near by ski mountains opening and snow on the horizon) into New York’s LaGuardia Airport. Holy cow there are a lot of people there. And there are so many people you can’t even decide who to ask for directions to the M60 bus stop…so, like I did what all visitors to the wonderful North East United States do. Like a deer in the headlights. I asked..a hologram. Yes, they have holograms that give you directions there. It was insane.

But my time there was amazing. Not only did I get to see Andrea for three whole days while I stayed with her in Brooklyn, but I also got to see Jeanne, as our visits ended up coordinating perfectly, so we stayed together for the weekend. Reunion! Friday night, we had some amazing Jamaican curries at a restaurant the size of a shoe box and then we went out to explore Andrea’s neighborhood for a little while.

Saturday, we went on a run and ended up at an amazing Dim Sum restaurant. We basically ate one of everything off of every cart and it was delicious. Not to mention, we were stuffed and the whole thing cost us each $10.

From there, we took the subway back to Andrea’s neighborhood and wandered around a bit before heading home to get ready for the evening. And the evening was awesome. Nicole and her boyfriend, Jason, came by (bearing a massive bag of Asian groceries for me) and we all headed up to Williamsburg area for some yummy food and fun times. Such a great night.Sunday, Jeanne and I found some incredible bagels and spent almost the entire day back up in Williamsburg. Such a fun neighborhood! Cool shops, thrifting, bars, restaurants, and art galleries.

Monday I headed to BMore on the Bolt bus and got there just in time for the BOMF Happy Hour at the Leinenkugels Beer Garden. It was soooooo great to see all of my BOMF family and spend the evening catching up! From there, Kim, Mike and I went to Little Havana for some dinner and then back to their boat (where I stayed for the few days I was there).

Tuesday I spent the day with Rami doing BMore things…Hampden thrift stores, yummy beers in Mt Vernon and touring MICA a bit. I also made a quest critic appearance in Brockett’s Graphic Design 1 class. Pretty cool! We ended the night with Mike and Kim at Salt, and amazing gastro pub in the Patterson Park neighborhood.

Wednesday I ran with BOMF in the morning (so great). Then, Rami and I went to brunch at On the Hill up in Bolton Hill and then to the American Visionary Museum. Basically my favorite museum in BMore. Then I grabbed the MARC train to DC!

DC was excellent. I spent a few good days with Gramma and Grampa chatting about life and everything else. On Thursday, we went into DC to see my show at the Jane Haslem Gallery. Pretty exciting to see! And then out to dinner at Chef Goeff’s in Rockville.

Friday it was back to Steamboat…and 14″ of SNOW!

Such a great whirlwind of trip.

First Friday at the Macon Arts Gallery

I spent the last three nights dreaming about hanging scarves and sculptures. Thousands of them..all different colors, sizes and lengths. This is most likely because I actually spent the last three days hanging scarves and sculptures in the Macon Arts Gallery in preparation for the October First Friday opening.

This month, the show is called Entwined and features a collection of pretty amazing fiber art. This is the first fiber show the gallery has ever hosted since Heatherly (the director) has been there, so it was neat to have the chance to put some of my own ideas to the test a far as hanging the pieces. It ended up looking amazing. Super colorful. And my favorite part: the silk scarves on the wall are free to blow around as people move about the room.

The opening was a great success. We had a spread of snacks and drinks and a pretty large crowd of people. One of the artists set up a silk-painting screen outside and invited everyone to add some color to it. The finished product is an amazing collaboration which I am hoping she sets and brings back to the gallery for us to see. Mom and Carlene showed up towards the beginning and I had a great time showing them around the gallery. After they left, I wandered among the people getting to know many of the Arts Alliance board members, regular visitors and local artists. I met each of the artists in the show and enjoyed discussing their techniques, art in general and art in our lives. As the evening progressed, conversation soon transcended into various accounts of travels, a book discussion on the Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, a small contest between BudLight and Yeungling, and a brief lesson on needle-point-felting.

All in all a successful evening! (Once again I must say: best.internship.ever.)

A few photos that I got off the Macon Art Gallery’s facebook page (I am pretty sure these are the ones I shot). The colors are amazinggg.