Another Fork In The Road

Posted on by Ntang

I have loved the last 10 years being an artist in co-ops. The time I’ve spent with other talented people working on the same goal has been enjoyable and fulfilling, and sometimes frustrating. But everything has its season and it’s time for me to move on to something else. I’m not gonna stop creating glass work, but I am going to stop production work… Which is basically creating the things that sell the best over and over again. I will create what I want to create when I want to. I will be working on my GlassOrchids.Art website to add my products for sale since they won’t be available in the co-ops next year.

What I plan on doing with this newfound time is semi retiring, at least, as much as a Type A personality can retire… I plan to focus most of my time on painting. I’m working on creating a new space for my painting studio. In addition, I’ll be spending time doing some things that I love like gardening, making cheese and wine, baking bread, preserving food, and in general, organizing my house, and going through my belongings, in a sort of a Swedish death cleaning mode.  Basically getting rid of all the things we’ve collected over the years so that my child will not have to do so once I am no longer here. We own too many things and it’s heavy.

Not that I’m planning on going anywhere anytime soon but tomorrow is not guaranteed. This lack of a guarantee is why I’m retiring now and focusing on the things that bring me joy. Life is too short to put all things off till tomorrow…. If I don’t do them now than when will I?

Here are some pictures of my new painting studio as it’s progressing. It’s in the old milking shed attached to our barn, and attached to my glass studio, which is in the barn. It was a gallery for my work for a few years and then it was a storage space all of my display stuff for the cooperatives, so it’s been sitting there, full of crap being unused for the most part for a number of years. It’s a big job getting it ready and cleaning it out.  I think it’s almost ready. Now I just have to move all the things from my painting area upstairs in the house outside across the yard and into the News painting studio. That’s a big job onto itself, and when I hope to get done within the next month or so. Keep following my page to see is a progress along my journey.

 

Garden of Dreams – Acrylic painting by Nancy Tang

Posted on by Ntang

Garden of Dreams is one of my newest pieces. If you’ve seen some of my glass paintings, I was attempting to emulate that process, but with paint. I think it was fairly successful. I strive to make every small square of space ‘work’ by itself, while also having the entire piece ‘work’ as one whole. I like colors to really sing next to each other.  I’ve used a gallery wrapped canvas and painted the edges as well,I’m really liking gallery wraps.

I build up layer after layer until I think the piece is done, so the final product might not look anything like when I started. It’s always an journey of discovery. This piece is currently hanging in 11 Central, a lovely restaurant in Bangor, ME.

 

Garden of Dreams, 2023

 

Been a long time….

Been a long time….

Posted on by Ntang

Apparently it’s been way too long since I posted here. I have not been painting very much of late, but I did get a new sparkly iPad and I’ve been playing with some digital art. It amazes me how much it’s like painting with paint. I really love it. Here are a few of the pieces I’ve created:

Green Flats
Landscape in blues and pinks. Painted from imagination.
Landscape
No Justice No Peace - sign of the times.
No Justice, No Peace

Requiem

Requiem

Posted on by Ntang

My mother passed several years ago, although it seems like yesterday….. I made this piece in memory of her. It’s a faux encaustic, mixed media piece.  It’s a little dark, but then so was my life when it was created.

The process was very interesting as I added elements and built up layers upon layers, like year upon year, memory upon memory.

It, of course, is not for sale, but I wanted to share it with you nonetheless.

~Nan

Shopping Cart Blues

Posted on by Ntang

Well there is something wrong with my shopping cart connection, sooooooooo if you place an order and it fails, don’t worry, I still get the order, but then I have to send a Square invoice to complete it. This will just be until I can figure out what the disconnect is…. might be with  my SQL on my site… but I need time to research and figure it out. Life was simple once, wasn’t it?

~N

Verona Rising – Acrylic painting on canvas – Maine

Verona Rising – Acrylic painting on canvas – Maine

Posted on by Ntang

The painting is acrylic on canvas and was painted in Maine.  A few weeks ago I went out fishing with my husband out of Bucksport, Maine. We went very early and the sunrise was beautiful. I took some photos, and am using one of these to create this painting entitled “Verona Rising”. We were off Verona Island, Maine,  at the time. It’s not quite finished but this is the process and progress so far.

 

 

 

 

Habitat for Humanity Door Auction

Habitat for Humanity Door Auction

Posted on by Ntang

This spring I participated in a fundraiser for our local Habitat for Humanity through the Bangor Restore. In this fundraiser, local artists select a door from the Restore and turn it into a piece of art. These doors are then raffled off to raise  money for the organization.

In painting this door I became obsessed with painting Koi ponds and have created a number of pieces in glass with this same theme.

My door is ready and installed at Mason’s brewery in Brewer,  Maine. For just $5 you can buy a raffle ticket, support this great organization, and possibly win this great piece!

Dave Shove and Tina Fife sponsored this door, transformed by artist Nancy Tang. It’s on display for you to see at Mason’s Brewing Company until July 11. Buy chances to win it for $5 each and see all the doors at www.habitatdoors.org.

koi pond door
Habitat for Humanity painted door

What a whirlwind!

What a whirlwind!

Posted on by Ntang

Tis the season in Maine where artists and craftspersons are run ragged. Time to set up all the artisan cooperatives, set up shows at galleries and begin doing outdoor shows. All that work to create and send out into the world in hopes of it finding new homes and bringing in income that we have not had over the winter months. For me, personally, the last few months have been crazy!! I’ve joined a number of new arts organizations, each of which has shows I needed to create work for and deliver. Then I’ve been central to setting up a new artisan cooperative in Belfast, Maine and that takes a lot of work.. finding artists to commit to participate, getting the space ready, having artists bring in stock, setting up the gallery, sending out press releases.. you name it! We had our grand opening last Friday and it was great!  I’ve had to set up my  own work in 7 galleries!

In addition, I’ve painted door for a Habitat for Humanity auction, created a new line of enamel & glass paintings and tried to do some glass casting with limited success.. ok total failure….

Now all the galleries are up and running, stocked and open! It’s time to work in most of them… this week I’ll work 2 days in Belfast, do a farmers market on Thursday, go to an opening in Rockland on Friday… I can’t look past that! And in all this I’m trying to get my garden/farm planted, weeded and ready to go for the season!! Oh, and make more stock for all those places!!! I figure I can rest… in November…..

Whew!!