|
I have started a new blog
here that will be chocked full of news and photos plus you can leave comments!
July 25, 2007 It's
been too long since I have updated but much has happened in the little, becoming larger, world of Wandering Gypsy Soul Studio
& Gallery. I have been busy painting and working on my new show *Wanderlust* which will be opening September 6, 2007.
I am excited to announce that we will begin an exciting exhibition schedule of artists from across the country. Work will
include oils, acrylics, watercolor, sculpture and color & B&W photography. The website will be updated soon with information
on upcoming shows. We are also in the planning stages
of an art exhibition and benefit for Darfur. This will most likely open in February 2008. We are in the process of taking
art and music submissions. Our last festival for
now will be this weekend at the Division/Clinton Festival on Saturday..come on out! June 1, 2007 Recovering from
Last Thursday! A scorchingly hot day turned into a beautiful night on Alberta Street and Portland was out in droves! Now after
being cleaned out of watercolor and acrylic greeting cards, my attention is now full on the Delta Blues Photography show that
will be opening in a week for First Thursday in the gallery. I am VERY excited about this opening. These photographs are a
visual history of 2 years of my life while living in Memphis, TN. Old friends and favorite places to hear Delta Blues in tucked
away places in Mississippi. The documentary screening will be after the opening, stay tuned for further info about that... Until later! May 8,
2007 We will be setting up shop for the day at the
St. John's Bizarre on Saturday from 10am until 6pm! You can check the site, http://www.stjohnssentinel.com for more info.
The parade, live music stages, artisans and festival food will all be on N Lombard Street in the St. Johns area, come on out!
The weather is looking like it is going to cooperate and be wonderful! 
May 3, 2007 Maybe it is fate that my very first watercolor show is to be on a possibly rainy night in Portland. After all, it
may have been Portland's watery influence that lead me to pick up the medium! But
no matter, rain or shine, the lights will be on and the doors will be open at Wandering Gypsy Soul Studio & Gallery. We
have the whole first floor dedicated to the new watercolor show "Bright New World" and the second floor will be
packed with the remaining acrylics from "Unchain My Heart", it will definitely be a feast of color! We will be open from 5:30 pm until 11:00 pm...but we already had our first customer yesterday,
(Wednesday)! She was walking by as we were hanging the work in the window and just had to snag the first one! That really
gave me the energy to finish the last touch-ups and hangings... I can't wait to see you all out tonight! We have updated much on the website, as requested by many of our
visitors, we now have all the acrylic painting Greeting Cards available online! Just click the SHOP link on the main
navigation bar. The watercolor cards and other prints will be available after the show opens. As for the upcoming months, next month we are presenting "The American Delta" black & white photographs
of Mississippi and Memphis, TN Delta Blues Culture. You will see images of Juke Joints, Bluesmen and women, bayous, cotton
fields and the local heroes of our American Delta. These photographs have been on the covers of several Delta Blues CDs, a
documentary DVD on the life of St. Louis Bluesman Big George Brock and will be a feature story in Blues Matters, an international
blues magazine this coming summer. We will also be showing the Pacific Northwest
PREMIER of Richard Johnston: Hill Country Troubadour. This is an award winning documentary on blues great Richard Johnston.
He is a one-man howling band who honed his art at the feet and in the clubs of R.L. Burnside, the Kimbroughs and Jessie Mae
Hemphill. He is hands down and by far my favorite band (he is a band all by himself, trust me) I have ever seen live and his
recordings are stellarWe will be showing the documentary on Wednesday night
at 6:30. Admission is free however seating will be extremely limited. The first 20 people to contact the gallery (by e-mail,
or phone) will have a reserved seat. We will have standing room for about 5 (this may be on the staircase), so far the interest
has been high so reserve your seat now. Unclaimed seats will be given to folks at the door if reservations are not filled
by show time. This film has won best in show in many film festivals throughout the Delta and surrounding areas. It is not
available to purchase on DVD and I was LUCKY enough to snag a copy of it to show Portlanders. A BIG thank you to Max Shore,
the director! If you are interested in seats please e-mail (WanderingGypsySoul@Gmail.com) or call (503-295-4942) to reserve. You can check out Richard @ RichardJohnston.com and Max
Shores @ MaxShores.com.And of course, check us out tonight @Wandering Gypsy Soul Studio & Gallery625 NW Everett
St #109Portland, OR 97209Between Broadway
& NW 6th on NW Everett in Everett Station Lofts & Gallery 503.295.4942www,WanderingGypsySoul.com Man, I LOVE Portland, thank you everyone at Last Thursday in
Alberta for an awesome night... April 27, 2007
I set up a booth for the always lively Last Thursday to, in part, get the word out about my show opening
in a week, during First Thursday... As the night progressed I got to see fire dancers, unicycle jousting, a cuban band on
the corner next to me, a roving band of clowns walking on their hands down the street amoungst traffic (not so sure if that
one was a good idea) and a man who made music by singing with his throat vibrations only... That doens't include the 10
foot high bicycles and the small dog chasing a stuffed cat that was hung from a 15 ft pole held by a clown on a 5 foot high
unicycle... whew, did I mention I love Portland?
As for me, I gave out about
200 4x6 Opening Reception cards and about that many business cards to people passing by... we sold a bunch of prints and cards
but I was most happy about getting the word out about the show... and when I got home around midnight, I updated my website
for a while and then... well, wondering if anyone got home and had absolutely NOTHING to do and happened to check out my website,
I checked my statistics... 670 people, 670 people!! Between the hours of midnight and 2am 670 people logged onto my website.
Wow. Did I mention I love Portland, I mean REALLY love Portland? Well I Do.. and for so many more reasons than listed here...
this city has really opened up it's arms to me and everyone here is so warm... thank you! You are my favorite city that
I have lived in, and with me living as many places as I have, thats says a lot! :)
April 23, 2007 I woke up this morning to an article in Music-News.com
about the gallery! Noted photographer opens Blues space
added: 23 Apr 2007 // by: Andy
Snipper
Brandy Kayzakian-Rowe
is a photographer who has been working in and around the Roots-Blues scene in the US for some 5 years.
Her
work has featured on album covers and influential articles and in the last two years she has branched out into acrylics and
other media and into Soul and African influenced music.She has now opened
a gallery and exhibition space in Portland Oregon @: Wandering Gypsy Soul Studio & Gallery625 NW Everett Street #109Portland, OR 97209Grand opening was on 05/04/2007 and featured an exhibit of acrylic paintings entitled "Unchained My Heart",
inspired by her photography, the south, blues and soul music.Kayzakian-Rowe's
work can be seen by visiting either :www.BrandyKayzakianRowe.com or www.WanderingGypsySoul.com The link to the article is http://www.music-news.com/ShowNews.asp?nItemID=13790 Pretty cool! cheers, gotta get back to work
on those watercolors, hope to see you at the opening on May 3rd! Brandy April 7, 2007 Opening Night was crazy, my friends! Hundreds and hundreds of people crowded onto Everett
Street and through the galleries Thursday night. My little two story gallery was packed from about 5:30 until 11:00. Many
times there was a line of people on the stairs waiting to get to the second floor of the exhibition! Shy me had to push myself
and mingle as best as I could with about 2 hours sleep in about 2 weeks! It was one of the best nights of my life and my very
first exhibition of my acrylic work. It went even better than I would have hoped :)Since Thursday night we have been open about 9am to 6:30 or so on Friday and today. We plan to be open 7 days a week,
I was told by regulars and other curators that Thursday night was a good turn out but nothing compared to how it will be in
the upcoming spring and summer months! We had our first warm to hot day on Thursday and it was just a great night!I started off the night taking
photos but about 30 minutes after opening it became so busy and packed that I forgot all about taking photos! I will try and
remember next time! But for now here are some shots and a few of our first gallery go-ers.. March 29, 2007 Exactly ONE WEEK until the Grand Opening! Last night was another
example of me perpetual battle with math... I had been counting the days until the opening... 12, 11, and last night I thought
I was at 10... then Djerek brought it to my attention that it was 7, 7! So now I am in overdrive finishing up last minute
construction, getting posters and reception cards from the printers and trying to find places for the last few paintings.
I can't wait for the opening and to finally be able to keep the windows open all day as well as the doors to the gallery.
I got the finished greeting cards and magnets in today and they look so wonderful! I am really proud of everything so far.
I have been told to stay off my ankle completely but I just don't know how I can do that right now! I will find away to
get it all done, I am way too determined! :) See you all soon hopefully! Later on March
9, 2007 :) I just got a call from Rory Gannon saying
that he is definitely IN for the Grand Opening, yay! I have his info and links to his myspace site on the home page as well
as the exhibition calendar for April.. hot damn! Now ya gotta come to the opening! March 9, 2007 Construction on the new gallery and studio is almost done! Incase you aren't on my Myspace list
(and I do invite you to be) you might not know that I tore apart my ankle during one of the first days of construction...
I have a bunch of torn muscles, tissue and ligaments but I am healing slowly but surely.. construction and painting are going
a bit slower than planned but it WILL happen!! The Grand Opening is STILL going to be April 5th, no doubt! :) I really
hope each and all of my new and old friends will come by... I am looking forward to seeing you all! Bring friends and tell
anyone who might be interested! :) I will be opening around 5 pm for the Grand Opening... and plan to be open until about
11 pm... come and enjoy! There will be the original paintings, of course, plus some prints, magnets and a few other gift items
available, something for all budgets! Plus all the free art soaking in time! February 23, 2007 I just received the call from Everett
Station Lofts today saying I was approved for my gallery space! I am now BUSY at work preparing my very first opening, April
5th... for April's First Thursday Art Walk! More information is on the 2007 Exhibition
Calendar page. I cannot express how happy this makes me. I have always wanted my own place to show my art. The freedom
this creates is exhilarating! Please join me for the opening reception, I can't wait to see you there! We will have food,
freebies and, of course, ART! January 2007 I have just been interviewed for Blues Matters magazine! They
will be publishing a feature of my collection of black & white photographs from Memphis, TN and Northern Mississippi along
with selected paintings, this is so exciting! I have finished up the interview and submitted the images... I will let you
know what the scheduled publish date is when I find out! December 20, 2006
I hope you are all having the best
wintertime ever! This is my first winter in the Pacific Northwest and I am loving getting all bundled up and walking the glittering
streets while watching my breath make little white swirly pictures in front of me!
I have been commissioned by Elam McKnight and Desert Highway Records out of LA to paint his upcoming
CD cover, "Supa Good"; I am in the sketching stages and am about to put it on canvas. The sketch is at the bottom
of the page...
She is supposed to be a powerful,
soulful voodoo priestess that stands for everything good in music and art...hope I make the mark on that one! I will post
more as it comes, cheers! Brandy October 18, 2006 I have been invited to show during the West Linn Third Thursday art opening
alongside another painter, a sculptor and a Yiddish band! ha. It will be at the West Linn Starbucks from 5:00 to 8:00, Oct.
19th. Come get your caffeine on and see some art!
West Linn Starbucks
22000 Willamette Drive
West Linn, OR</font>
October 14, 2006
It looks like some
of my photographs will be in the upcoming issue of Blues Matters magazine.. I will update when I know for sure... but keep
yo eyes peeled, YO!
October 5, 2006
Another first!
I hung out my shingle for the first time in the Pearl District for First Thursday's Art Walk. It was a whole different
experience. Alberta is full of happy hippie, artsy, mohawked, dreadheaded awesome folks.. The Pearl is an older, richer, more
button-up crowd. They were very nice and I did enjoy my first night in the Pearl... I debuted my "Selah"
painting for the very first time! A girl bought a print because she said her alter ego is named Nefertiti and she looks just
like my Miss Selah in the painting! rock on Nefertiti!
September 7, 2006
I set up for the first time at the Alberta Art District's Art Walk (last Thursday of each
month) and had a terrific time! I got to meet many art lovers and ever saw several of my prints walk away in happy hands.
That was the first time I have ever seen someone in person take away my work, what a satisfying feeling! I just got my magnets
in today and also got a 1950's fridge door to display them on. I think they look so cool! only 5 bucks each! I will be
coming back for more Alberta next month, October 27th, in the same place (between 18th and 19th ave on Alberta between Mo
and Paul!)
June 2006 My work will be on the cover of the upcoming studio release cd by Big George Brock called
"Round Two". It should be in stores by late July! (I have posted the now released CD in the Media section!)
April 12, 2006 Since I have moved to the Pacific NW and lost my Delta Inspirations I have picked up
my paintbrush once again. I always seem to move or change art mediums every 6 months to a year and it seems the shift has
come again. I am having such fun mixing colors and going back to some of my earliest roots as an artist.... please keep checking
back for new work, I have a feeling I am going to be painting a lot!
January 14, 2006 A new year and great
news! I just received an e-mail yesterday from Roger Stolle, owner of Cat Head Delta Blues and Folk Art Store in Clarksdale
and the new music and film label of the same name. He had seen my George Brock images and wanted to use some in the booklet
for the upcoming documentary film, Hard Times: Big George Brock. He then sent me the covers of the film dvd and I was so supprised to see that my work was going
to be showcased on the front and back covers! I am so proud to have my work help represent the passionate work of others.
THANK YOU! I have posted the dvd covers on a special page on my website labeled "Media".
July 2005 I heard from Roger Stolle
at Cat Head and, as it turns out, my images, along with several other photographers, were held in Italian customs and sent
back to the states. This was the first Blues Festival that the folks in Parma have held and they have a few kinks to work
out. I was told all should be ironed out by next year!
June 2005 21 of my Delta Blues Musician prints will be showcased and for sale
during the Roots and Blues festival in Parma, Italy! A big thank you to Roger and Jennifer Stolle, owners of Cat Head in Clarksdale
for introducing me to the festival promoters!
 |
