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| Gigi in Her Studio oil on birch panel 12 x 16 inch |
Gigi Mills is an artist whose work touches my soul. I first saw her art in an artist magazine years ago, a very small image in the back of the magazine advertising an upcoming solo exhibition. I don't remember what the image was, but I do remember immediately searching for more images online. Locating her facebook, I was thrilled when she accepted my friend request so that I could further follow her work.
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Fast forward a few years to last year, I saw that Gigi had a solo show in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I missed the opening, but I was elated when I realized that Santa Fe was only 5 hours away from our new residence in Colorado. Santa Fe was a place I was wanting to visit and seeing Gigi's work in person was the motivation I needed to make that road trip happen sooner than later.
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I messaged Gigi via Facebook to ask her if the show would indeed still be up during the weekend I planned to arrive and to my surprise, she graciously invited me to stop by her studio if I ended up coming to Santa Fe. I was so excited and touched and of course took her up on the offer to meet her and see her studio.
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Her exhibit was called Bird, in honor of her beautiful dog that she lost in 2017. Her grief was so present in every painting and sculpture and it moved me to tears. It was truly a special thing for me to not only see Gigi's work in person, but to see this work that was so personal to the artist. After my stop at GF Contemporary Art Gallery I could not wait to meet Gigi.
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| Gigi Mills Bird exhibition at GF Contemporary 2018 Santa Fe, NM |
I made my way to her studio and what a delight it was to talk with her and see her studio. She was gracious and kind and open. She was interesting and interested about my own journey as an artist and encouraged me greatly. I came away from our visit feeling SO inspired. I did a little sketch of her with the intention of painting her one day and here it is one year later.
I wish I could write more elegantly about my experience that day, but all I can say is that after meeting Gigi, it was easy to see why I saw so much soul and depth in her work. She is a beautiful soul herself and I will treasure the day I met her forever.
Thank you dear Gigi for letting me paint my memory of you in your studio and for sharing your heart with us via your work. This world is a better place because of you and your art.
♥
What a wonderful painting of Gigi in her studio, Lisa, and i so enjoyed the whole post. I followed the link to see her work and can understand your
ReplyDeletepersonal connection. Always great to hear about an artist who treats an admirer of their work with respect and kindness.
Thank you Julie. It was such a good memory and seeing you that week was frosting on the cake. I always enjoy your company. Hugs!
DeleteYou are fortunate! I think you tapped into the best quality of using social media-that is, to actually connect meaningfully with others. Good for you and what a gift you gave yourself. Her work is pretty special:)
ReplyDeleteLibby
Thanks Libby! Yes, Gigi's work is pretty special. Thanks so much for commenting.
DeleteVery wonderful art work !!!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for you comment!
Deleteah, such a lovely story, meeting and encounter.
ReplyDeleteI have only been to SF once and I loved my time there. I had the best margarita of my life and the food!
Your painting is lovely and precious also because it holds memories.
Santa Fe was a neat place. I walked around for hours just taking it all in. Truly special. The food was good! I missed out on the margaritas though! Next time!
DeleteThank you for your lovely comment Tammie.