A look into the inspiration behind the work.

An evening with good friends, new beer to try, great food to eat and an exciting game to watch at Old Chicago Topeka is always something worth experiencing. Last Wednesday night (1/9/2013) Chuck and I were looking forward to joining members of our Kansas Trivia League rivalry “The Brew Crew” to enjoy an evening of “Kill the Keg Introduction Goose Island” which offers the chance to try a few new beers from a single Brewer.  Although we see these people nearly every week, we seldom get the opportunity to enjoy their company, because of course during the game we don’t spend time connecting because competition is stiff and quite serious.

The evening  started out with an enjoyable flight of three new tasty beers (Goose Island Brand: Sofie, Bourbon County Brand Stout and Matilda – all fantastic beers) and ended with the Jayhawks pulling a losing game against Temple University into a tie at one second to go and eventually securing the win in overtime. I was fascinated with the social phenomena of people talking at the screens and encouraging their team to make the tie happen. Then some had already given up hope, “Oh, man I wouldn’t want to be on that team the day after losing in ‘The Phog’. They will certainly know the true force of the warning ‘Beware all who enter”.  The mood was tense and during those last few moments everyone in the bar was riveted to the screens, then when the tie shot was made, the entire bar exploded with excitement. 

In this piece are my husband Chuck Leivan and one our trivia rivals, Sarah Carver, enjoying those last few moments at our table and in the background you can also see the Old Chicago manager, Todd, behind the bar drawn to watch the tense moments just before the tie happened.  A memorable evening with our own competition both drawn into a fever pitch intensely as highly competitive teams strive in the final moments a seemingly evenly matched game that harvests every eye in the establishment making every witness a fan.

P.S. Here is my critique of the three beers we tasted that evening:

Sofie is light and airy blonde but it is not an air headed blonde because it has a citrus body and goes down smooth like a good brew should.

Bourbon County Brand Stout OMG this is like eating the finest steak prepared perfectly! This brew has wonderful eyes and a whiskey mouth that will have you Begging for more!

Matilda which waltzes with your palette, teasing and pleasing with full flavor with subtle citrus overtones and a drinkability to satisfy.

Stop by Old Chicago soon to check out these great beers.

Filled with nostalgia of Christmases long ago, this new painting was inspired by the desire to rekindle in my memory those simple traditions that seemed to make Christmas a wonderfully magic time of the year. The anticipation of a holiday from school, the buildup of wintery arts and craft projects that always got hung on the children’s place of honor, the refrigerator (you always knew Mom loved your work when it got hung there for all to see.) Then finally the ceremonial hanging of the stocking in expectation that Santa couldn’t have possibly noticed the new crayon mural on your bedroom wall or if he did, it didn’t get you on his “naughty” list. The excitement was always palpable and even the household animals seemed to notice a difference with the cheer of the season.

Then as I grew up and became a parent, the enchantment of Christmas was renewed through my son’s eyes and then later my nieces and nephews. Now that my son is a young adult, still single and with no foreseeable grandchildren on the way, I have found myself quite nostalgic about the season, missing the simple things that made the holiday special.

I am embarrassed to admit that last year, we spent little time preparing for Christmas – it came and went, our one ornament being a “cartridge in a bare tree” won at a white elephant gift exchange for my husband’s co-workers. Many of our gifts were sent in the mail to relatives who have scattered across the country and with my son– still living with us, but busy with his own busy agenda.  We didn’t even fit in the traditional collection of seasonal DVD’s (A Christmas Story, Nat’l Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s a Wonderful Life, etc.) We simply let the magic fade and time just marched on filled with the everyday and ordinary.

To fill that void this year, I offer this new piece. Some of my family says it looks like one of my grand nieces, however, as I painted I could see reflections of myself in the chubby face staring back at me and I started to get melancholy. Then I began to think, maybe, just maybe, it could be that little girl I always wanted and will get in the future as a grandchild (I can wait 10 years for that) – and I can spoil her rotten  by sneaking around as Santa Clause and make sure her little stocking is bursting at the seams. The true reward will be, enjoying once again a child’s sense of joy and wonder about the holiday through the young and the young at heart.

I hope this will bring to your mind the nostalgia and it will help you to remember the simplicity of Christmas rather than the hustle bustle that can overwhelm the thrill we once experienced as children.

Please post your own nostalgic Christmas story in the comments. I would love to read them.

I found this pair of bindweed flowers along a roadside bound to a barbed wire fence.  At the time they reminded me of our relationships and how a single strong thread runs through our families and no matter what the circumstances we find ourselves at times opposed to mutual happiness and the pain that we overtly or inadvertently imposed on each other.  As I was painting, the current national atmosphere began to develop in my mind. Diametrically opposed opinions created by the daily onslaught from the diverse media sources. It tears at the fabric of our lives interweaving our thoughts and actions that we often do not recognize on the surface. Some of us are open with our opinions, wearing our emotions on our sleeves for everyone to see and others are closed and silent bearing our concerns in private, meanwhile the chaos is all around us threatening to destroy us on all levels. We must remember the single fiber that binds us as a culture is stronger and more resilient than we imagine. The fleeting moments of the day, the week and the decade will pass and once again we will remember what makes us strong and turn to those values that make our lives a wonder and worth living.  I hope with the painting to give visual voice to the consciousness that binds us all as human beings and citizens of the world. What does the painting say to you?

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"Artistry of the Kansas Prairie"

Artful Dining fundraising event for the Mulvane Art Museum hosted by Jeanie Schuler

Friday, November 16th from 6:30 - 8:30

This piece will make its exhibition debut at the "Artistry of the Kansas Prairie" Artful Dining fundraising event for the Mulvane Art Museum hosted by Jeanie Schuler: To learn more about it go to the Mulvane's website

http://www.washburn.edu/about/community/mulvane-art-museum/events/upcoming/KansasPrairie.html

or check out my Facebook event invitation http://www.facebook.com/events/386760818055974/ to see who all is going.

Celebrate the prairie inspired works of art by local artists Cally Krallman and Michelle Leivan while dining on delectable edibles and listening to music created by Cally Krallman with your host, Jeanie Schuler.

Artful Dining has been created as an annual series of gatherings to benefit the Mulvane Art Museum. Look over the menu of delectable events and decide which one or more pleases your palate. This is one of 8 exclusive Artful Dining events for the 2012 season.

http://www.washburn.edu/about/community/mulvane-art-museum/events/upcoming/KansasPrairie.html

There will be three locations to see my work during the September First Friday Art Walk in Topeka and another one day event in Kansas City!

Paint Topeka!

 The piece above "Coffee and Conversation at the Flying Monkey" and "Raks Sha'abi at the NOTO Saturday Market" are my pieces accepted as one of over 50 artists entered SouthWind Gallery's latest plein air art competition, Paint Topeka, and hit the streets on Saturday, April 28, 2012, to capture the allure and beauty of our city. We think you'll be "wowed" by the artistic talent and the diversity of the Topeka scenes the artists chose to paint along with the publication of SouthWind Gallery's newest book  that features the art and artists of Paint Topeka.

The exhibit and sale of the paintings will open during Frist Friday Art Walk Friday, September 7, 5 - 8:30 pm. An awards ceremony for the top three winning artists will be held that evening, with many of the  participating artists in attendance to talk about their inspiration and their artwork and available to sign the new art book. To buy the book online or to preview the show go to www.SouthWindArtGallery.com

Celestial Correspondence by Michelle Leivan
Brought to you by Sinnen & Associates and SouthWind Gallery
921 SW Topeka Blvd
Opening Sept. 7th, 5-8:30 pm  and throughout September 2012 during business hours 8 am - 5 pm M-F.

Swinnen & Associates Law Office Atrium Gallery, 921 SW Topeka Blvd. Open First Friday Art Walk (5-8:30 pm) and during business hours (8 am - 5 pm M-F) through September. The new location at 921 S.W. Topeka was constructed between 1860 and 1880, and the structure at 917 S.W. Topeka perhaps 20 years later, he said. Owner of the building, Benoit Swinnen has arranged for an atrium, with skylights, to be constructed between the buildings. Swinnen has partnered with SouthWind Gallery in Topeka to feature art from a different up-and-coming artist in the atrium during of Topeka’s monthly First Fridays Artwalks.

Works by local artist Michelle Leivan's series “Celestial Correspondence” will be on display in the atrium during September’s First Friday Art Walk.
Click Here to learn more about the series.

"The Figure" at Foole's Dream Studio

833 1/2 N. Kansas Ave.  Topeka, KS

Wed-Sat: 10 am - 5:30 pm and First Friday 5-8:30 pm.

Several figurative artists present their works at Foole's Dream Studio. For my work,  I have 4 figurative pieces on exhibit.  Each of these paintings is a study in the human form, color and composition created during a single two hour sitting in the Open Session Life Drawing Sessions that I coordinate at Washburn University. Each session consists of 2-five minute poses, 2-ten minute poses, 2- 15 minute poses and 3-20 minute poses, there is no specific direction given to the model except for the time constraints. Many of these works include something from each of the 9 poses presented by the model. The challenge is to compose on the fly to come up with a successful visually interesting piece. CLICK HERE to see more of my figurative work.

Then later in September - my figurative work will be featured at for one night only!

RAW Kansas City: ENSEMBLE

September 20, 2012 | 8 pm - Midnight

Uptown Theater | 3700 Broadway St.,  Kansas City, MO

21+ | Cocktail Attire | $10 in advance | $15 at the door

Late last July, Chuck and I attended an estate sale held in Hiawatha, KS at the Nat'l Guard Armory by Howard's Auction Service. These auctions happen often at the armory in which my husband works and this is the first time Chuck and I took the time to participate. I was hesitant to go, I knew my impulse to buy something would come up and I wasn't in the mood to purchase something just to get the thrill of winning.  It had been years since I had attended an auction and my mind struggled to remember the procedures and etiquette (I wouldn’t want to accidently bid on something…) and my ears struggled to follow where the bid was going. For the first hour, I shied away from bidding asked my husband several questions and had him interpret the patter of the auctioneer, then finally in exasperation, decided to simply step back and watch. “People watching” is always a fun adventure and a good way to turn my lemon experience into something more exciting. As I watched, I was struck by the singularly Americana atmosphere created at the auction. 

My attention was then captured by the shiny objects. I am always looking for a bargain and maybe I could get Chuck to do some bidding for me. As I began to browse the auction item my creative side emerged and I started noticing the subtle beauty of the items placed on tables. Items were scattered here and there with a halfhearted sense of order. I began to notice the beauty in the randomness of the layout, items placed here and there without conscious thought of composition beyond simply getting them out of boxes and displayed for potential bidders. My mind was churning with the idea of the found object and discovered art that we find when we pause to pay attention. With at idea in mind, I gave myself a mission – shoot a photo that I could use to create a painting to express the atmosphere and celebrate the discovery of that random, unintentional beauty that I found that day.

Then, as I painted the piece the inescapable thought was repeated in my head. “These were each items that someone treasured and decided at some point in their lives they were needful things and now they were presented for another being to discover their own necessity for them.” I guess I found my need in them simply by representing their potential.

BTW, I bid on that stack of colored Pyrex mixing bowls in the center of the table… shown in this painting. As it turns out someone else was willing to pay much more for my needful things. However, at the end of the day we found a few other needful things which included a fantastic cast iron waffle iron (makes the best waffles) and a chair, rocker, table and loveseat set along with a matching rug (by chance it matched because they had different consigners) to place in my husband’s study. All in all it was a wonderful day of discovery and excitement.

Have you ever found unexpected beauty in an everyday array of objects or discovered your own needful thing?

For availablity go to: http://michelleleivan.com/works/960679/auction-of-needful-things

It’s funny the things we can discover about beliefs and assumptions that we make about our world when we open our mind to new information. I’ve gone out to capture wildflowers for reference now for years. Each new plant I find to photograph seems to amaze me when I start my research. This painting is of the “Common Milkweed” which has been seen less in my outings than the Butterfly Milkweed that sports rich orange blooms. When I found the “common” variety, I thought I had found a treasure. The dusty purple/pink blossoms called to my color sensibilities as I was drawn to photograph it. Much of the time on my field trips I am accompanied by various insects and more often than not I encounter bees. Of course, I don’t have a fear of bees, they simply poke around the flowers and really mind their own beeswax as long as I too mind my own.

Best known for their attraction for monarch butterflies, the Common Milkweed also serves as an important food source for bees. It has been suggested that our food supply, without bees, would put one third of the world food supply in danger. In the news over the last decade there has been concern about the health and welfare of our bees caused by a mysterious phenomenon referred to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). Recently experts estimate losses projected in the billions if the honeybee population continues its decline at this rate.

“About 130 crops in the U.S.—worth some $15 billion a year—depend on honeybee pollination, and if bee populations really did collapse, it would mean an agricultural catastrophe,” Time Magazine wrote last April.

There is much conjecture about the cause of CCD including the use of insecticides on our food source fields. However each of us can help by putting the Common Milkweed into your backyard garden and creating a bee friendly garden.

There are many benefits beyond the health of the bees to add the Milkweed to your backyard. According to http://www.wildfoods.info milkweed is also a tasty and nutritious addition to soup, stir fry and even as a side veggie dish. “Because of the myths surrounding the plant, many people have kept their distance from the common milkweed. This is sad because it is one of our best tasting, easiest to harvest, and most abundant edible wild plants,” www.WildFoods.info wrote about the untapped potential of the plant.

Now, I haven’t personally tried milkweed as a side dish, but will gather some up the next time I go flower shooting just to give it a try.

No matter what this is a beautiful, fragrant plant the is invaluable to our ecosystem and deserves for each of us to consider it when we are out on a nature walk. - To check out the Availablity of the piece - Click Here

Sometimes great legends can be found among the unassuming wildflowers. The Black Eyed Susan along with the Southern European native plant Sweet William (which blooms at the same time and are wonderful companion flowers in a garden) tells a romantic love story that is replayed even today with the overseas wars and rumors of wars. The story of a farewell to a lover who is off to an uncertain fate has been experienced by myself twice as my husband, Chuck, left for the Iraqi war in 2004 and again in 2008. He came back not much worse for wear but not every soldier has been so lucky.

This timeless ballad takes us back to the years of our founding father's and their own struggles for Independence. Written in the 1700's by John Gay and at the time the lyrics were very popular in several ballad operas of it’s time. The words were set to various scores by different composers, including Carey, Leveridge, Haydon and Sandonis.

So I ask you as you prepare for this year's July 4th to take a moment and consider these lovers and the insecurity they feel about their future and think about our soldiers, many who have given all and never returned to their own Black Eyed Susan.

The Ballad of Black Eyed Susan by John Gay

All in the dawn the fleet was moor'd,
The streamers waving to the wind,
When Black-eyed Susan came on board,
Oh where shall I my true love find?
Tell me, ye jovial sailors, tell me true,
If my sweet William, if my sweet William
Sails among your crew?

Oh William, who high upon the yard,
Rocked with the billows to and fro,
Soon as her well-known voice he heard,
He sigh'd and cast his eyes below:
The cord slides swiftly thro' his glowing hands
And as quick as lightning, and as quick as lightning
On the deck he stands.

So sweet the lark, high poised in air,
Shuts close his pinions to his breast,
If, chance, his mate's shrill voice he hear,
And drops at once into her nest:
The noblest captain in the British fleet
Might envy William, might envy William's
Lip those kisses sweet.

'Oh Susan, Susan, lovely dear!
My vows shall ever true remain,
Let me kiss off that falling tear,
We only part to meet again:
Change as ye list, ye winds, my heart shall be
The faithful compass, the faithful compass
That still points to thee.

'Oh, believe not what the landsmen say
Who tempt with doubts thy constant mind,
They'll tell thee sailors when away,
In every port a mistress find:
Yes, yes, believe them when they tell thee so,
For thou art present, for thou art present
Wheresoe'er I go.

If to fair India's coast we sail,
Thy eyes are seen in diamonds bright:
Thy breath is Afric's spicy gale,
Thy skin as ivory so white:
Thus every beauteous object that I view
Wakes in my soul, wakes in my soul
Some charm of lovely Sue.'

Though battle call me from thy arms
Let not my pretty Susan mourn:
Though cannon roar, yet safe from harms
William shall to his dear return:
Love turns aside the balls that round me fly
Lest precious tears, lest precious tears
Should drop from Susan's eye.

The boatswain gave the dreadful word,
Her sails their swelling bosom spread:
No longer can she stay on board -
They kissed, she sighed, he hung his head:
Her lessening boat unwilling rows to land,
'Adieu,' she cries, 'Adieu,' she cries
And waved her lily hand.

To hear one of the most popular of those tunes to which this poem was set can be found at http://www.contemplator.com/england/susan.html

For Availablity of the Painting Click Here.

The Primrose Life is more than what it seems. In my painting there is one wonderful bloom shining bright in the sunlight and it is surrounded by a couple blooms that have seen better days and to the left one bloom that has promise but has not reached its full glory. When I was working on this painting I was thinking about how fortunate I am. I had taken off early from work and decided to paint. I’m my own boss, so I can do that on occasion. Of course, the first thing that came to my mind when I decided to paint this flower was “Primrose Path” which technically didn’t fit what I wanted to show in the painting. As I see it, the primrose has gotten a bad rap from the wordsmith himself, Shakespeare in Ophelia’s warning to her brother, Hamlet:

Ophelia: 
I shall the effect of this good lesson keep,
As watchman to my heart. But, good my brother,
Do not, as some ungracious pastors do,
Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven;
Whiles, like a puff'd and reckless libertine,
Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads,
And recks not his own rede.

Ophelia is warning her brother take his own advice and not reject the difficult and arduous path of righteousness that leads to Heaven in favor of the easy path of sin. Shakespeare later used 'the primrose way', which has the same meaning, in Macbeth.

Let’s explore that Primrose Path, which by definition is a life of ease and pleasure, which leads to a bad end. It also seems to be the “in” kind of lifestyle lauded by many Americans today, and they don't even realize what they are missing. Ok, I’m not going to be preachy but I want to explore what an easy life surrounded by pleasure is like and does it always have to a bad end? I think it depends on how you go about your pleasure and whether or not you are serving your bliss or simply falling in with the crowd.

When you find that one thing you love and you figure out how to get that to make a income by doing it, you end up living a life of success down the Primrose Path. Now, you must be careful not to be led down the Primrose Path to your own disaster by the hypocrites, but to find for yourself the path that leads to your own happiness and wellbeing.

Sometimes that road can sure feel like a wild goose chase, but if you choose a path that is true to yourself and fulfilling a need to others which is a true entrepreneur mindset and lifestyle. You will find that your Primrose Path even seen to others to surely lead to a bad end is indeed a path of ease and pleasure with huge payoffs at the end. Discovering this path is not a simple process but it is truly worth the pain to get there.

So now I’ve argued myself into a box. Maybe what we really need is a new Primrose idiom. How about simply the "Primrose Life: A life of ease and pleasure filled with service to others that also creates a good standard of living income." I’m getting a little philosophical here, but I think that turning the negative into a positive is always a great way to live – so I’m taking on Shakespeare. What do you think? Are living a Primrose Life or being led down the Primrose Path?

This is my first painting of this beautiful treasure with the odd name of "Spiderwort"; I have been fascinated by its simple beauty since the day I found them in a field near Clinton Lake. I found this particular one a few weeks ago, bouncing in the wind near a roadside ditch. It seems sometimes, when I am out specifically looking to wildflowers to capture, they draw me in with a nod with the wind or a glimmer of color. This one brought me in from my moving vehicle with both the nod and the glimmer. When this happens I stop the car, grab my camera and walk back to the place I thought I saw the color. I was not disappointed. Not only did I find this beautiful Spiderwort, I also found a Primrose which will be coming around soon.  

As one of the few flowers in the Tallgrass Prairie of Kansas with a blue bloom Spiderwort grace us with their pretty petals for one day and then fade away, however the plant itself continues to bloom with each pod taking its turn for glory throughout the month – so the mystique and madness of me finding this very flower and painting its portrait with adoration to lengthen that short lifetime, hence the title. 

Not only does the plant intrigue me, but even in my research, there is a lot of mystique that goes along with this plant, the oddest being that the stamens will turn pink in the presence of nuclear fallout.  I suppose that came in handy for the service men who manned the nuclear missile sites buried throughout the area.

Some of the more interesting tidbits about this plant is that there is a long standing herbalist tradition that the sap from the leaves (which comes out clear and stringy like spider webs or “Cow Slobber” another common name for this beautiful plant.) cures spider bites and an interesting disease called “The Dancing Madness” (symptoms included headaches, sweating, trembling and severe melancholia) which was believed to be caused by spider venom. Never the less the plant gets its name as many plants do through the Doctrine of Signatures which is an ancient herbalist theory that a plant can be used as a medicinal for human ailments based on some aspect of its form or color gives us a clue as to the plant’s beneficial nature to the human body. So, since spiderworts grass like leaves are suggestion of a crouching spider and the sap looks like spider webs, then the plant is a good remedy for spider bites. So there you have it the mystique and the madness surrounds this pretty little blue flower from all sides. – Enjoy!

To see more of this series go to http://michelleleivan.com/collections/21558

Today I would like to share that my  artworks "Coffee and Conversation at the Flying Monkey" and "Raks Sha'abi at the NOTO Saturday Market" have been selected for exhibition in the Paint Topeka Plein Air Exhibit! Paintings produced from this event also will be featured in the upcoming art book, Topeka: A Great Arts Town!, published by SouthWind Gallery.

Opening Reception Activities & Awards Ceremony

The Paint Topeka art exhibit will open September 7, 2012, during the First Friday Art Walk, from 6: 00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Activities will include an Artists' Reception, a special recognition ceremony for the winners of the Paint Topeka competition and a book signing. In addition, all artists' names and artwork will be posted on the SouthWind Gallery web site.

The Mission: To Paint Topeka. The Topeka Plein Aire Paint out presented by SouthWind Gallery.  Over 60 painters met on Saturday, April 28th at 6:00 a.m. at the Ramada Inn for breakfast and then they converged on Topeka and created paintings of our town. I was one of them and this little piece "Coffee and Conversation at the Flying Monkey" is my entry for the competition. All the artists wore a tangerine colored ball cap so they could be identified all over the city. All of the pieces will be juried and the accepted pieces will be published in a fine art book "Topeka: A Great Arts Town."

When thinking about Topeka, it seems to me the community is best reflected by the people who live, work and play throughout the city. I chose to paint the new coffee shop the Flying Monkey along with two college students who were out enjoying a bit of coffee on the early Saturday morning. "We just stopped in to talk before we went to work-out." one of the girls said. 

Unlike many of my paintings in this series, I did not know these two girls prior to asking if they could be my subjects, I also promised that they would not be readily identifiable - I'm just an artist stalker - randomly choosing people to paint. But my trusty tangerine colored ball cap with the SouthWind gallery logo helped to legitimize me. The two girls knew one of another artist participating! It was an interesting experiment on my part as well, not knowing the girls there was less pressure to make sure they reflected the personality I knew they had, instead I was free to impress my own imagination about who they were and so, like the viewer, I was forced to create my own story about them. 

They were as agreeable as anyone could expect and I am sure that my quick photograph has been long forgotten about on that sunny spring morning. However, there is no doubt in my mind that their memory will be sparked when they begin hearing about the new exhibition in September during the First Friday Art Walk.