Showing posts with label Marin Organic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marin Organic. Show all posts

The Many Channels of Me: How Twitter Has Helped me Grow, Learn and Support My Community

May 2015
As most of you know, I am a cycling advocate and love bicycles.  I am not fast nor do I race anymore, but I love everything about bicycles that allows us to be independent, healthy and see life a little slower.  Hearing a woodpecker as you ride through dense trees on Lucas Valley Road, or getting to soar along the road at China Camp while a bird soars right along with you... these are vivid moments of true bliss and being in tune with nature.  This past weekend, I rode in the Tour de Marin ride to support Marin County Bike Coalition. Prior to this, I volunteered at the Calpark Tunnel for Bike to Work Day. During both of these events, I photographed and shared my photos on Twitter from my accounts @sfbikegal and @cproppe .
Someone from the Bike Council asked me what it was I had... Do you have a blog?  "No", I said.  "It is just a Twitter account." Which brought me to realize that over the past year, I share more media on Twitter and Facebook than I really do by blog.  Why is this?  What is the difference?  What do we get from the immediacy of social media that we do not get from a blog, and what benefits do blogs have that we do not have from Tweeting?  To answer this, I have to explain the different channels I Tweet from and why.

These four different channels on Twitter work to make me happy and give back to my communities in different ways, but I am passionate about each of these topics.

@sfbikegal is a place where I share my love of bikes, cycling, and my art that features bikes

@cproppe is my personal Twitter account, where I share a mix of everything I see online and in life, much related to art, photography, education, my kids and my outings and Marin and Bay Area news

@greenpitcher is an account and blog called "The Green Pitcher" where I share what I read and learn about sustainability, green living, green art and sometimes cycling because it is a form of green transportation. Some of my organic posts from "Art on the Farm" also overlap into this category, as do posts about my art if if supports Marin Organic.
@artonthefarm is the account for a plein air and photography art group that I have participated with since 2005. They were started by a Marin Organic farmer in Bolinas, Alan Mart, who wanted to have a place where everyone could get out and be inspired on the land and create something while also giving back a percentage to Marin Organic. I started assisting with their blog in 2007. Currently only an active Twitter account, I post updates that support Marin Organic, organic farming and living. There is a hope that this group will start up again in the future, but we are taking a break at the moment.
 
Why do you need 4 different accounts?

Since we Tweet short bits frequently, it is much easier to only share about a single topic in a channel than to share everything, all the time.  It allows people who enjoy cycling to only follow me on the bike account and not have to hear about my entire life on another Twitter account.  It allows me to create lists of people that care about cycling and direct my messages only to that group.  I will be more likely to get responses from a group of 400 cycling advocates about a cycling question than I would on my own personal account.  The key is to follow all the cycling enthusiasts and groups on that one account and begin to engage and respond to them.  This is where you find you will learn more about cycling yourself, and find out what you need to know from other advocates.  It also allows me to share my bike related art with people who will more likely appreciate it. I learned about the group "Art Crank" and the Bike Art Poster Show they do each year.

Bike Poster History Minute from ARTCRANK on Vimeo.

You can also win contests online, just by tweeting a favorite photo on Instagram and Twitter. I won a bike from Clif Bar's contest by sharing a photo hiking with my son while we were eating Clif Mojo Bars. @ClifBar and @PublicBikes are great on Twitter and Instagram for cycling inspiration in the Bay Area and beyond.
The same is true for @greenpitcher and my other accounts.  By filtering what I share and who I follow, I can learn a lot about this topic from online media very quickly and with precision.

I can do a Twitter Search for "organic" and post things I find that day that are interesting on @artonthefarm.  I can follow organic companies and share their tweets of interest.  I can search for "bike art" and Retweet those findings to the bike channel.  The one thing I always do is research things and read them before I retweet them.  I won't retweet things I have not read myself.

 What is the downside to all this online tweeting and filtering and having different channels?

Well, to be honest, there is less writing going on.  I haven't spent time on my blogs as much because I am online all the time with Twitter accounts.  However, it has been a more connected time.  I have actually gotten to meet and interact with so many more people on Twitter than I ever did from my blogs.  There is a group of us in Marin that go to "tweetups", which are really just a night out for dinner or a Birthday celebration for one of our local friends.  We have really become friends online, from Twitter.  It's extremely gratifying.  This is not something I found from my blog writing.  The blog is more of a diary and tool for writing longer pieces about life.  Truly, a wonderful writer's tool.  I am here today, writing about Twitter and why I haven't blogged as much.  Obviously, this longer explanation on a blog is here because the format of a blog allows for a longer explanation and moment of deeper thought.

Are Blogger and Twitter both needed?

Absolutely.  I find all of these tools incredibly useful.  My art and life has been archived on a blog for almost a decade now.  If I ever want to write a book or turn this into a book for my kids, it will be doable.

What am I doing now?

My goals have changed in my life over the past two years, and I will say I learned a lot online to help me get here.  My career has moved back into digital design(which I have done since 1990) and Production Art for Organic Foods. I have studied packaging design at Academy of Art University, How University, Lynda.com and am updating my skills as needed with Typography on Skillshare.  The online tools out there for an artist or designer are truly incredible.
Life is possible online, but we still need to learn how to "be" in the real world. How to work with people and communicate with others. This is important too. On the fine art side, I have been working on a children's book about Mt. Tam and Coyotes, and it is still in progress, but I hope to finish it by the end of the year.
It's not the prime focus now, but I plan to complete it for my sons. I am enjoying co-parenting my sons with their father.  We have learned how to work together by being with our sons apart. Although we still reside in the same home, we split up and don't do things together as a family. Their father will take them one weekend, I will have them the next, and so on.  It works better this way, with very little drama, and we both feel good about who we share our time with, although these are very different groups of people.

In general, living my life online opened me up to many different people and places I could go outside of my relationship that had value, even when my own relationship did not. I believe the online path to real world change is significant, and truly a miracle for many of us who perhaps saw no other path out of our difficult lives. Being online actually does open up more paths than you can imagine.  Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn have saved me over these passed years, as has Blogger. Each avenue has allowed me to travel, learn, grow and meet just the right people I needed to.

What a difference a couple years can make.  Who knows what we will see in 2020?  I am keeping my mind wide open for the possibilities.
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The Art of Food: Delicious at STUDIO Gallery SF & CUESA's 12th Annual Sunday Supper

Sept 26, 2014

Chartreuse à la Royale, a fancy late Victorian entremet
invented by the food writer Agnes B. Marshall found here


Today's post is about FOOD, glorious FOOD!!!


 ...and ART, of course.

Recalling Wayne Thiebaud's marvelous paintings of gumball machines, pies and popsicles, the San Francisco "STUDIO Gallery", puts on an eclectic annual exhibit "DELICIOUS" that ranges in medium from sculptures of meat to painted landscapes with cows. If it has to do with food, you can probably find it here... Candy, cakes, restaurants, serving staff, cooks, farms and even abstract art made with plastic 6-pack holders. The exhibit opens in San Francisco this Sunday, Sept 28th from 1pm to 6pm.

I love this exhibit. In past years, I have purchased a banana painting and an orange slice, pottery necklace. I have browsed with friends and other artists and gone for dinner afterwards. It's a wonderful treat. Don't miss this exhibit.

"Au Pair's Night Out" 11" x 14" oil on canvas, C. Proppé 2014

My painting of the last week was headed in the direction of the food show, and then I just had fun and turned it into an "ad" for another upcoming event, "CUESA's 12 Annual Sunday Supper" an evening party on October 5, 2014.

http://www.cuesa.org/event/cuesas-12th-annual-sunday-supper
This event is a fundraiser for CUESA in San Francisco and includes food by 40 top chefs and a four-course dinner, all in the beautiful Ferry Plaza buildings on the Embarcadero in San Francisco. To purchase tickets for this, visit here...

If you want to purchase or see more about my 3 Pears by the Bay painting, visit here...

Thanks for visiting.

-Colleen
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In the Studio Today... Art on the Farm

Saturday, September 22, 2012

C.Proppé @Cow Track Ranch photo: ©Ann Brooks 2012
For five years, I have been volunteering for the Marin artists group, "Art on the Farm".  It was with great pleasure that I spent my award money, earned from the Wendy Gruber award in 2008, on my first, plein air backpacker's easel at Rileystreet in San Rafael, California. (This year marks the 5th anniversary of Rileystreet in San Rafael, by the way!)  Thank you to photographer, Ann Brooks, for taking this photo of me at Cow Track Ranch this summer.  Visit Ann Brook's website >

As I look back on the past five years with this group, I realize that it has provided a way for me to leave my busy family life and venture out into West Marin, and put brush to canvas, with no one but the cows and grasses to tell me what to do or how to live my life.  This group has provided me with solace and encouragement over the years.  Over the past 2 years, I have worked with the Marin Arts Council and Art Works Downtown; two non-profits in Marin County, California.  At Marin Arts, I was responsible for bringing the Art on the Farm group to the Marin County Civic Center for an exhibit, which sold ten paintings and raised funds for Marin Organic's Interest free loan fund for farmers.  This year, we will have an exhibit in the winter at Art Works Downtown, where I work as the Communications Coordinator for web, print and "pr"(social media, e-news, press releases, etc).

Bringing any exhibit to a non-profit is a lot of work.  Behind the scenes, I have had to write a proposal to AWD and submit 40 jpg images.  The proposal had to be approved by a show committee and considered amongst other requests to exhibit.  I have had to listen to the needs of the non-profit, and come to terms with losing a staff member, and gaining a pile of new work and new fundraising challenges.  I hear about "Art on the Farm" versus more contemporary art, and even erotic art shows, street art and more.  There are so many people that all have a different idea of what art means to them.  I have had less time to paint, and more politics and emotions to deal with.

To me, "Art on the Farm" is far more than just a place to create art.  It is about people who have a passion for Marin, it's lands, and the people that work here.  As artists who enjoy painting, or photo-journaling, we can visit and connect with producers that sell their goods to our local restaurants, stores and at the Farmer's Markets.  We are in touch with our food source, and we are giving back to the producers and Marin Organic with our own passion.  We can educate the community with our work.  We share our art with the public, from kids to adults.  To me, this group has been the perfect place for me to share my skills and passion for 5 years as a volunteer, and as an artist.  Although I don't only paint landscapes and farm animals, it is still a place to connect with my community and be something larger than just an artist, trying to make a few bucks or a name for myself.  It is the most real connection to my community that I have found for an artist.  When we give back, we are forever changed.  We are now a part of the whole puzzle.

Welcome me in promoting "Art on the Farm" at Art Works Downtown, this November 30 - January 17.  This exhibit will raise funds for Marin Organic's Farm Field Studies Program.  Art Works Downtown, a 40,000 square ft. art center in downtown San Rafael, seeks to create a fun and educational exhibit that will give back to the community.  It will allow for kids, families and schools to visit the Art Center, and for collectors to make a contribution to the fundraiser.  Many well known, Marin landscape artists will participate in the fundraiser.  Two receptions in December 2012 and January 2013 will coincide with 2nd Fridays Art Walk.  For more information, please visit the website for Art Works Downtown, or Art on the Farm.
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In the Studio Today... Draper's Greenhouse, Session 3 & 4

November 13-14, 2010
Draper's Greenhouse, Draper Family Farms, San Anselmo, CA 2010





 I've been super slow at getting back to my unfinished paintings, and even slower at starting new paintings lately.  Daylight savings is making me more tired than usual.  I forced myself to work on this tonight, and it's coming along.
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In the Studio Today... Draper's Greenhouse Day #1

Sunday, October 10, 2010 "101010"
I had knee surgery on Friday, went to see Pilobolus at Marin Center on Saturday night, watched the SF Giants beat the Braves today with my family, and finally made it to the easel on Sunday afternoon.  The need to paint is great right now, as we have an upcoming, "Art on the Farm" annual show, and I need distraction from my healing knee.  This is an image I have wanted to tackle for some time- Bo Draper's Greenhouse in San Anselmo, a third generation, Marin Organic, family farm that is run as a co-operative farm.  You can pick your own veggies here, once you become a member.  They also have bees and honey.  Just down the road from Sorich Park, this is a beautiful, hidden piece of Marin that is much loved by the residents of San Anselmo.  Elementary students have been taking field trips to Draper's for years.
 
This painting is just the start- flushing out the bones... the shapes and colors that will add dimension to the final image.
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In the Studio Today... "Art on the Farm" Exhibit;
October 24, Pt. Reyes Winery

September 5, 2010

Red Hill Farm, "Mother & Child"

I am working on some new paintings to show at the October 24th, 2010 annual exhibit of "Art on the Farm".  This is a great group of Marin, and mostly Bay Area-Sonoma painters that love Marin Organic farms, and travel to the farms to paint during the year.  I was away most of the summer and unable to attend many of the paint outs, so I am now working from photos I have had from previous years that I never got around to working with in the studio.  Today's image is from a shot taken at Red Hill Farms.
Colleen with the painting in the background... photo by Aidan Costello, Age 8.
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In the Studio Today... Art on the Farm 2010

June 17, 2010
Paintings by Laura Williams

I just updated the Art on the Farm Blog. This is a great group of artist from around Marin County and the Bay Area that visit Marin Organic farms and paint, photograph and exhibit as a group annually. I am posting a few photos from our group show at the Pt. Reyes Vineyard here. Enjoy! For more info, visit the blog I maintain at www.ArtontheFarmBlog.com We have started up the 2010 painting season, and the website has a schedule of farms we are visiting.

Three Cows, by Kanna Aoki

Paintings by Alfredo Tofanelli

Colleen Proppé and Artist/Animator, Christina Richard from BC Canada

Donna Solin and Catherine Moreno, two artists volunteering at the winery show
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In the Studio Today... Bolinas Gallery Show;
November 7-30th

Opening this Saturday, November 7th at the Bolinas Gallery, 52 Wharf Road. Please come for our reception, 2-5pm to meet the artists, and view new paintings, prints, cards, photography by 26 artists from our group! This is a show not to be missed! As well as my oil paintings, I will be selling prints of my photos taken on Marin Organic Farms for the first time ever, as well as notecards with photos. These photos are less expensive than paintings, and would make great holiday gifts. My painting(below), of the Bolinas Farmstand at Gospel Flat Farm.
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In the Studio Today...Bolinas Farm Bike; Day 2

Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Work in progress... Produce stand owned by Gospel Flat Farm, as you enter the town of Bolinas, CA. Details of Bike and close up of stand, image 1 and 2 above... image 3 is the full sized canvas, 18" x 24".
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In the Studio Today... Session #2; Greenhouse

Thursday, May 14, 2009
"Lizzie's Greenhouse", Cow Track Ranch, Nicasio, CA 14"x 18", oil on canvas.

Day two working on this painting I started en plein air in the Cow Track Ranch Greenhouse on Tuesday. For more info on that "Art on the Farm" visit, please see my previous post.
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In the Studio Today... This Sunday-April 19th;
"Art on the Farm" Reception at VMA, San Rafael

(click image below to enlarge)
Please come for a reception this Sunday, April 19th, hosted by the Friends of Marin Veterans' Auditorium and Marin Arts Council, 2-5pm. I have 2 paintings on display, among the 40+ artists that will be exhibited. Paintings are from plein air outings to Marin Organic Farms in 2008. Please RSVP to Friendsmc@co.marin.ca.us or phone 415.499.6014. For more info, please visit: Art on the Farm Blog

Directions to Marin Center:

FROM 101 NORTH (From San Francisco):
Take the North San Pedro exit, and go east.
Turn left at the first light, Civic Center Drive.
The Center is 1/2 mile down on the right, just past the lagoon.

FROM 101 SOUTH (From Santa Rosa):
Take the North San Pedro exit
At end of off ramp turn left onto Merrydale
At traffic light turn left onto North San Pedro Road, and go east under the freeway.
At the first light, turn left onto Civic Center Dr.
Follow Civic Center Drive approximately 1/2 mile.
The Center is on the right, just past the lagoon
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In the Studio Today...Claudia Chapline Gallery

Claudia Chapline Gallery, originally uploaded by arawak812.

I just mailed 60 postcards out for the upcoming March show at the Claudia Chapline Gallery and Sculpture Garden in Stinson Beach, California. What an exciting venue for "Art on the Farm". I am really looking forward to seeing a piece from each artist I have enjoyed painting alongside over the last year on Marin Organic Farms.
Click below event promo to read:

Please email me if you would like a postcard mailed to you, or if you would like information about the March 7th, catered, preview dinner and sale (the night before the artist's reception).

A separate event, the Artists' Reception, with over 40 artists, will be Sunday, March 8th, 3-5pm. You may find the information on the card above, or learn more about "Art on the Farm" at the blog, or website

Send to Twitter

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In the Studio Today... Local Flora Show & Pricelist

Monday, November 10, 2008


This is the pricelist for my current show at Local Flora Gallery in San Anselmo. Click on the above photo to enlarge. You may also download this same pricelist as a pdf file for my current show. For more information about the show, please visit www.marinflora.com
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At the Show Today.... Art on the Farm

October 19th, 2008
Some of my paintings at Art on the Farm today. The "Jurassic Truck" (below) sold to it's rightful owners, which makes me very happy. Please click here for more photos from the event at Point Reyes Vineyards.
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In the Studio Today... Mt. Barnabe Farm;
Session #2

Thursday, October 16, 2008
"Mt. Barnabe Farm", Lagunitas, CA 12" x 24" o/c. Another one for the Art on the Farm show this weekend. Click here to view the first plein air session of this painting.
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In the Studio Today... Environmental Art;
Beacons of Hope

2 Glass milk bottles from Strauss Family Creamery, California.
Two weeks ago, I began another small effort to remove waste from our landfills; giving up milk cartons. I decided that milk cartons are pretty big, we use a lot of them (by the time my sons turn 18, we would have potentially used over 2 thousand milk cartons), and because they are plastic-coated, they can't possibly be eco-friendly. I decided to start buying milk in glass bottles, and it has been fun, educational for my kids, and the bottles are so pretty. Perhaps I will paint a still-life soon, with these lovely bottles. Environmental Art is often beautiful and educational. Here is a link I found online enititled, "20 Unforgettable Works of Environmental Art". For a link to what artist's do with trash in San Francisco, have a look at the Artist in Residence program at the SF Dump.

One of my sons has increased his consumption of milk in the last 2 weeks because the milk just tastes better. I love it too. The milk is from an organic dairy farm in the Pt. Reyes National Seashore, about a 40 minute drive from our home. Happy cows, by the seashore, grass-fed and organic must be making the difference in taste. When I took the boys to the store to return the bottles and get our new milk, they were so excited. This is definitely a trend that should continue as people reach toward a greener future. Progress moves in waves. We were there already, now we have to step back a bit. Here is a post I found online about the return of the glass milk bottles in New York City.

For more information, please visit the following links:
• Information on Nurdles and the dangers of Plastic in our Environment
• Judith Selby Lang's "Nurdle Art"
• Flickr Photos of Glass Bottles around the World
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In the Studio Today... Inspiration at Draper Farm

I have been shopping for frames for my paintings this week, and gathering lots of amazing reference imagery and inspiration for my next "Art on the Farm" paintings. Our show is coming up on October 19th, and I am full of ideas of things to paint, but running out of time. This Saturday, I attended a wonderful event and talk about Bees at Draper Farm in San Anselmo, CA. Mia Draper gave an incredibly educational slide show talk to a group through Marin Organic. It was a fundraising event, including a honey tasting of more than 15 types of honey, and a tour of their CSA farm. I took a series of photos in their greenhouse of "Bo" Draper, the 1st generation farmer, caring for seedlings, and a young boy walking through the greenhouse. I am determined to paint this one. I really love it because it speaks to me about the value of sustainability, the dedication involved by farmers, and the education necessary to teach current generations.

To view more photos from this event, click here...
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In the Studio Today...Sunflowers at Ode to Marin


Hybrid Sunflowers, originally uploaded by cproppe.

I was able to take some photos this weekend at Marin Organic's "Ode to Marin" event at Stubbs Vineyard in Petaluma, CA. This vase of Hybrid Sunflowers was worthy of painting and photographing. The Art on the Farm group of painters visits Stubbs Vineyard this coming weekend, but I won't be able to attend. I was glad to be able to volunteer for Marin Organic and get to take some reference photos for future paintings. To view the photos from this trip, click on the sunflowers!

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In the Studio Today... Clark Summit Farm; Day #2

Saturday, September 6, 2008
"Truck Stop" 14" x 18" o/c. Started as a plein air painting at Clark Summit Farm in Tomales, CA a couple weeks ago, as part of Art on the Farm. This is the second session, in my home studio today. I wanted to give the feeling of the chickens dancing by me as I was painting, so I painted them loosely with varied brush strokes. It was a really unique scene, with the bright blue tub, and I like the way some of the chickens turned out. To see the start of this painting, click here to see the previous session.
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In the Studio Today... Poster for Art on the Farm

Thursday, September 4, 2008
This is a mock-up of a poster design for the Art on the Farm group show of paintings and photography, that will take place in a little over a month in West Marin, at the Pt. Reyes Winery. For more information, please visit the website. I maintain a blog for this group that talks about our trips to the different Marin Organic farms.
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