BILANCIA Reception

We celebrated our new studio venture with old and new friends last night.  Some guests have seen each other so often at Marlys' parties over the years, that they feel like friends outside of the party circuit.  I love it. 
 The conversion of Ed Knochel's house (Marlys' Dad) to this studio space took a long time.  After Ed's passing, Marlys worked hard to find homes for the family treasures, to salvage the useable stuff and find worthy recipients and to let go of the rest.  It was an emotional journey for her and for those who knew him; it was amazing to see the transformation of his home into a working and thriving art studio.  You will often hear us saying "Thank you, Ed/Dad" at any given moment.  He would be so happy to see his house being used and loved.

We actually have been working in the space for a couple months.  It feels good.  Lots of room, lots of light.  Lots of storage.  It is great to print alone and it is great to print together.  We collaborate well, discussing our ideas and processes.  We learn from each other, we admire each other's strengths and we realize how much we balance each other out.  That's why we decided to name our new collaboration Bilancia, which is vulgar Latin for balance.
We intend to have art soirees during the year, showcasing our new work and the prints from one of the print exchanges in which we participated.  This time we are showing "Passport Required" the print exchange of Arizona Print Group members.
Thanks to everyone who came by to share our excitement and the beginning of the Bilancia journey.  Thanks too, to Diana Hartley for hanging most of the art you see on the walls and to Fay Willis for her food and beverage assistance.  Photos from the party can be seen here on my flickr site.