Welcome to Artomatic 2008!

It's my birthday and we're celebrating at Artomatic! Happy Birthday to ME!

You can feel the excitement and anticipation in the air. It feels like opening night of a show at the theater. And really, in it's own way, it is. Artomatic is more than art. It's an EVENT! Performances going on on stages, workshops to participate in, lots of artists to talk to about their work. This is the place to be tonight.

I especially want to thank those who helped make this possible: Shira came and helped me hang the show. At first there was a lot of math involved, and then it was great to be with someone who understood that once we had the basic formula we could throw it out the window and hang the show intuitively. What a blessing to have that kind of support. Nita and I had a cup of coffee together and she offered to go with me to hang my lights. Who knew that seven hours and one trip to Home Depot later (I am now the proud owner of my very own cordless power drill) we would still be at it. A true friendship was forged that day. And it is Nita who named the show for me. After spending hours climbing up and down the ladder finagling with drills, screws, and lights, I mentioned that I still didn't have a name for this instillation. "You've got to be kidding," she said, "It's obvious -- "Climbing the Tree". And then there is Brett (Sarah, my cornermate's friend) who actually got my lights hung. Sometimes it just helps to have a man around! Neither Nita nor I had the brute force strength and height required to drill holes high enough above my artwork, and into cement, or hang the shelf that the lights are perched on, or to hang the lights themselves. And thanks to Jerry who showed up tonight and expertly coiled the cords and positioned the lights to best show off my work, as only a true stage manager of many theatrical productions could do. And thanks to my dear friend Barb who made 72 (yes 72) cupcakes to add to my birthday celebration. Even though she's not here in person, she sure is here in spirit!


And then there are all of you who have dialogued with me about kabbalistic concepts, movement, light, the artistic process. Without all this support and encouragement and inspiration this show would not have happened.






Well, let's get to the party! Come on by and say hi. Have a cupcake. Sing "Happy Birthday" to me. Tell me what you think of my new art!

We're located on the 6th Floor, SW-B5, in the indented corner.