Claiborne Colombo is an artist, Creative and Design Director based on Lopez Island, WA.NOTES
Making art and designing things where the land meets the sea. A digital journal and visual record of Claiborne’s art, life, design, and inspiration among all other things…
Reflect, a year in review
Black Tupelo, 2018
I’ve liked the yearly word mantra approach instead of resolutions, for 2018 mine was SETTLE. After three years of moving four times, five different jobs and shifting our lives I was ready to sink my feet in and be in one place physically and beyond. The word settle became my grounding rhythm.
In 2018 I claimed the title of “artist.” My art studio was entirely built out, and I covered the floors in paint. It was my first full year of flipping between freelance and my art practice. I found my flow in the studio but with life as well. I no longer used google maps to find my way around town, I learned the names of my yoga teachers, and our house felt like home. With these grounding elements, I was able to stretch my art practice and focus on accomplishing some goals. I had my first big solo show in Portland and various group showings as well. My artwork got published in Maker's Magazine, and I had two artist features that allowed me to open up and talk about my practice. I met and began to build an artist community for myself. These steps, little and big have created a solid foundation for me and my work. I produced over 40 pieces of art. Stretched and started a lot more.
Light, dark. Good, bad. Nothing is black or white. We exist in the greyscale. 2018 also brought a lot of lows. I was rejected (well, waitlisted on one) from every residency I applied to and several shows as well. My mental and emotional health crashed in the spring. All the significant shifts finally caught up to me, and my depression was in full force. I was sorting out health issues alongside this (man, it's all connected) but rounded a corner by May.
All the way through, I've felt good about my work and my practice. I've seen it evolve and improve and I am looking forward to building upon this momentum. I enter 2019 feeling mentally and physically sound. I've started to write various proposals and let's just say the ideas are brewing. I am excited for this year and what changes it may bring.
This year I will lean on the word ACCEPTANCE. I appreciate the nuance of the dictionary meaning and psychological meanings (self-acceptance especially). I hope that becoming more in tune with this word I can set more boundaries for myself and put my energy into things I can control and not ones I cannot. There will be a lot of letting go and coming to terms.
2019, here we go.
THE BIG DARK
Kristan Kennedy at Fourteen30
“The Big Dark is a cloud … you appreciate it for reminding you that there is an above and a below. You could think of it like you think of a condition — something ominous or something pestering but also something you get used to, that you can’t do without.”
- The Big Dark at Fourteen30 Contemporary
Solo Show, Luke's Frame Shop Gallery - Portland, OR
Marquam, 2018
A collection of larger works will be on view in Luke’s Frame Shop Gallery in the Albina location for the month of February.
OPENING RECEPTION
Saturday, February 2, 2019 from 6-8 PM
4703 North Albina Avenue
Portland, Oregon
If you are unable to attend, you can request an online preview.
All art is for sale.
33 Rules for Being an Artist
Have really enjoyed reading through Saltz notes and thoughts around how to be an artist. Refreshing and also some fun exercises.
Bedizen Holiday Pop Up
Excited to be selling freshly finished planters from APOTSPOT x CLAIBORNE collab. Limited quantities (27 in total) in all shapes and sizes. Come swing by the shop and say hi.
BEDIZEN
Saturday, December 15 from 2-7 PM
1015 E. Burnside Street
Portland, Oregon
Art & About PDX: Interview
How did art making first find its way into your life?
Ever since I could hold a pencil. I've been scribbling, scrawling, and making marks my entire life. I used to lock myself in my parents' room and watch drawing shows on PBS – shout out to Mark Kistler's Imagination Station.
I wasn't a strong student in the traditional sense. I was in the slow reading groups and was awful at standardized test. But I got a lot of positive feedback from art teachers. My second-grade teacher pulled my parents aside and told them not to ignore my art. Ever since then they've always supported my gravitation towards the art room.
Piper Dalton Designs: Shop Opening
So excited that Piper included me on her store roster. Such an amazing space - thrilled to see where she takes it. The store will be open on the weekends and she just posted her online store as well. Check out all the goods here:
Fall Forward
Inner Weather, Gallery 1122
Man, time flies. It's been a month since Inner Weather was uninstalled and I'm still dreaming of those warm days transforming a garage. Jen + Lauren at Gallery 1122 were so amazing and great collaborators. Here are some install shots from the show.
As late fall and winter approaches, I am gearing up for my solo shows in January and February. For the January show, I am looking to have large pieces alongside some pots for sale. Taking next week off to enjoy some time on the San Juans and then Seattle with the family and then back in the studio to get after it.
Root'd Artist Feature
Photo by: Annika Bussman
Root’d: What medium/materials do you work with?
Claiborne: I work with acrylic, graphite, and pastels on raw cotton canvas or watercolor paper.
R: How long have you been “making”?
C: Ever since I could hold a pencil. I’ve been scribbling, scrawling, and making marks my entire life.
R: Where do you draw your greatest inspiration?
C: From nature. Being outside and active has always recharged my energies. It makes me feel connected to something bigger and gives me perspective. I love to observe nature through an artistic eye and imagine how I would paint and interpret different landscapes.
R: Who was your biggest supporter in starting out?
C: When I was young, my second-grade teacher told my parents not to ignore my creativity. Apparently, I was really good at drawing trees. Since then, my parents have wholeheartedly supported me and never questioned my artistic path. In my adult life, my partner has always made a point to prioritize my career in arts. He’s my No. 1 Fanboy, and it’s honestly amazing to have that shared goal as we continue to build our lives together.
R: What would be your suggestion for someone stuck in a creative rut?
C: Go outside, take a walk around the block and change your perspective. Then get back in the studio, chair, whatever and make something. Even if it’s terrible, make it and move on.
R: What’s your favorite part about doing what you do?
C: I’m always learning something new or improving a skill. I feel like a detective honing in on a craft. I also get to spend a lot of time with myself. I love being independent and self-sufficient. It requires a lot of self-awareness – it’s as much a challenge as it is a reward, but it’s worth it.
R: How do you best stay focused on goals for your company?
C: I’ve started setting short and long-term goals and check in with myself often. Writing it down makes it real and something concrete to plan towards. I love checking off boxes or scratching through something when I am finished. It’s silly, but it gives a sense of accomplishment and motivates me to do more and more.
R: Do you have a favorite piece? If so, share a photo with us!
C: Right now I really like this 30” x 30” piece I named Black Tupelo. The black has a lot of depth, and I love how it is offset with the burnt umber color. Even though there is strong darkness, it still feels joyful. I really like the interplay between opposites and how they complement one another.
Astral Wash in California
Astral Wash in Group Show
I don’t think I’ll ever get over the excitement of seeing work installed in a show. Loving this ethereal setup of Drink Me a group show at H Gallery in Ventura, California.
For the love of plants
When you work with a wet medium, you have a lot of dry time (aka down time). I literally can't just sit there and watch paint dry. Having a side project has been an engaging way to expand my art practice. It gives me a space to experiment and play.
I initially met Claire (Apotspot) via another rad creative Elsa (aka Flora Noble) who organized a group show based around adding art on top of Claire's concrete planters. I put off the project for a while. I had the planters on my working table staring at me and reminding me that I didn't know what to do. After some solid thumb-twiddling, I found my flow once I got some acrylic pens.
Flora Exotica
With my art practice, I am interested in translating the landscape around me. The concrete pot's that Claire makes have such a fantastic texture that they become a map of their own. Adding my layer on top built an additional map overlay of sorts. A lot of the obsessions I have around repetition, contrast, and value appear naturally within the concrete. Our styles amplify the other. Plus, houseplants are my jam. I'm actively trying to convert my home into a jungle.
a p o t s p o t x c l a i b o r n e
We decided to collaborate for reelz and will be selling the planters at the Portland store Bedizen. Here is a preview. Get in touch if you're interested in buying one. It is a limited quantity run, but maybe we'll do more if this batch goes well.
Beyond Canvas
Photo by Annika Bussmann
Last Friday I had the crew from 1122 Gallery (Jen & Lauren) as well as fellow artist Abbie Miller over to the studio to chat work and brainstorm for my show in September. It was so refreshing to talk around concepts of surface, flattening and translating space and wayfinding.
1122 Gallery is an immersive and experimental art space. I am excited to have my work go beyond the canvas and reimagine and translate the gallery as a whole.
SHOW OPENING PARTY
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14 6-10PM
“We both believe that art should be part of the lived experience—that it doesn’t have to be contained within a frame, or in a book, or at designated art spaces—it should happen everywhere. We wanted to provide a space that gives sight to wonder, where people can come together and explore making things, and share in the intimacy of this, which connects us to what is most human about us—we are makers that sometimes lose sight of making.”
Light and shadows
I am obsessed with light. How it changes our lens on the world. How golden hour becomes magic hour. Light creates shadows. The lightness and darkness flicker, flash, and flow through our purview. Always in motion subtly and sometimes drastically changing what and how we see.
Solo Show, 1122 Gallery - Portland, OR
Not your white cube show. Going beyond the canvas to re-imagine the gallery space.
Inner Weather
September 14 - October 8
1122 SE 88th Ave
1122 is a community art gallery located in a garage in the Montavilla neighborhood.
“The main inspiration is the belief that art is an indispensable part of responding to the world. We wanted to create a space that could be generative and immersive and would allow artists to reimagine boundaries.”
Thrive Mastermind
Thrive Art Studio, Vancouver BC
Let's keep the ball rolling. In September I am starting my journey with THRIVE Art Studio through their Mastermind program. I am beyond stoked on their empowerment for femme artist that hustle and are boss-ass ladies.
THRIVE Mastermind is a community of visual artists who meet monthly and provide each other with support, accountability, and motivation.
Applications are still open check it out.
POP Showcase, Root'd - Park City, UT
Backslope, 2017
Park City, take me home. Going to my old stomping grounds for a weekend of fun at my favorite store Root'd on Main. Lots of little + medium and some big works for sale.
Mark your calendars Beehive State
Saturday, August 18 - Sunday, August 19
Drink Me, H Gallery - Ventura, CA
Astral Wash will be featured in the Group Show Drink Me at H Gallery in Ventura California from August 4 - September 22, 2018.
Press Release
Opening Reception | Saturday, August 4, 2018 | 6-8p | RSVP
Dab Art is pleased to present DRINK ME at H Gallery in midtown Ventura.
DRINK ME is a clear departure from the painterly experience of archetypal art exhibits. This collection of artworks challenges the primary concept of representational realism.
Is the world we see around us the real world itself or merely an internal perceptual copy of that world? This conceptual exhibit uses 2D, 3D, stationary and interactive art to explore this question.
In 1929, Belgian surrealist painter René Magritte famously demonstrated the philosophical position that our conscious experience is not of the real world itself, but simply an internal representation. His work, THIS IS NOT A PIPE was a clever way to protest the conventional art ideals at the time.
The painting is a pipe and below it, Magritte painted, "Ceci n'est pas une pipe.", French for "This is not a pipe." Highly criticized by the oppressive rationalists of the time Magritte memorably wrote about his piece;
The famous pipe. How people reproached me for it! And yet, could you stuff my pipe? No, it's just a representation, is it not? So if I had written on my picture 'This is a pipe', I'd have been lying!
-René Magritte
Similar to René Magritte, the artists featured in DRINK ME explore the notion of indirect or representational realism through their selected mediums. Their tangible interpretations of sensory input are fulfilled in works of installation, ceramic, photography, assemblage, oil paintings and mixed media.
ideals or art at the time.

Containing playful or darkly humorous overtones these works provoke conversation and reflection from the audience. By inviting viewer participation and interaction DRINK ME changes the overall viewer experience.
Artists on Exhibit:
Hilary Maslon | Laila Weeks | David Bender | Kim Anderson | Maryann Steinert-Foley | Derek Cracco | Susan Melly | Jordan Thornton | Claiborne Colombo | So Yoon Kim | Madeline Walker | Zara Monet Feeney | Meganne Rosen | Matt Hall | Kenneth Arguinzoni | Kayo Albert | Mitch Greer | Sayak Mitra | Annette Huelly
Curated by Yessíca Torres
Makers Movement: Issue 6 – Movement
Krk-rk from my paper series from Banff along with some prose is featured in Issue 6: M O V E M E N T. Magazines hit the shelves July 5, 2018.
