After careful consideration, Genuine Imitation has decided to close it’s doors for good. We would like to thanks everyone who supported us during the past years and especially to those of you whom we’ve just met who have shown their support for this gallery.We want you all to know how important is for people to take chances and to support the arts community and although the gallery didn’t last, we ultimately feel like we were successful in presenting our unique vision to the world.

Thanks again to all of you artists and art lovers who are keeping art in our hearts and homes.

Go here to see some highlights from the past five years.

last night was the first portland biz lady meet up hosted by Grace Bonney of Design*Sponge, one of the best design blogs ever! the event took place at dwr and consisted of four speakers, including Grace and local artist Amy Ruppel, talking about being a woman in business for herself. Grace posted her notes here, so even if you weren’t able to attend last night you can still benefit! she spoke specifically about how to contact publications about getting your product featured, so if that sounds good to you, check it out!

Grace dispensing her publishing wisdom… and i must say that being surrounded by all of that amazing furniture didn’t hurt either. chairs… drool…

Amy telling us about her path from 9-5 worker to self-supporting artist.

i was just reading D*S and learned that last night’s meet up had to most attendance of all across the country! go portland!

no, it’s not as dirty as it sounds… fecal face is one of the best art blogs around. they cover the art scene in san francisco, nyc and la. tonight is the grand opening of their gallery, Fecal Face Dot Gallery in sf. the show is titled Welcome Home and features work from Kill Pixie, Jay Howell, Kyle Ranson, Jeremy Fish, Kelsey Brookes, Andrew Schoultz, Hilary Pecis, Tara Foley and Maya Hayuk.

work by maya hayuk

hopefully someday they’ll have a portland section on their blog. in the meantime we’ll keep reading about the great things happening in sf, nyc, and la. and if you’re in sf tonight go check out their show! details are here.

i was just reading one of my favorite blogs, Black Eiffel, and came across an entry about Silhouette Masterpiece Theater

i really love the whimsy in this piece and i had to share it!

even though valentine’s day was officially yesterday, i think it is always appropriate to celebrate love. here’s an interpretation of love from local artist jun seo hahm:

i thought i’d say happy valentine’s day with a print titled love birds tree from not too pink.

not too pink is another artist that we currently have in the gallery. she likes things pink, but not too pink…

the opening of lost + found last saturday was a huge success! we had a great turn out and got to show some really wonderful art.

we made some improvements to the space since the last show and i think it really feels finished now. i even have a beautiful custom made desk by DJL studio to sit at!

here a few photos. we’re still sorting through them, so i’m sure we’ll post more as the week goes on…

before the doors opened:

and a few shots during the evening:

vincent looking satisfied at the end of a great night.

hi, cassie here. today perfect bound included me in their Registry Bliss series! go here to read it. i’m flattered…

thanks so much perfect bound!

hey bloggers – Vincent again with another night out on the art scene in old town for a First Thursday art walk. but wait – no camera – what to do… so Cassie and I stop by the Gilt Club one of our favorite hangouts, for a little pre-scene libations and snack-a-thon. and maybe, just maybe the owner Jamie will let us borrow his camera – BINGO! of course, we are really going for the food and to see our favorite bartender Jason – one of the best in portland some might say.

I gotta say, we really do like eating here – the food is just great and the people even better. here’s a shot of our first course – butterleaf salad with meyer lemons and avocado dressing, and fritters… although the fritters got eaten before the camera came out…. yummers!

anyway, after those and other tasty delights we decided to head on over to Compound Gallery to check out Kendra Binney’s new opening – we had no idea she was having a solo show this month AND contributing to our little group show in St Johns (insert plug here). she has definitely progressed since the first time we showed her work back in Feb of 06 – seems like she’s really honing in on her craft – and we couldn’t be happier for her! so we roll in and who do we see? none other than mr. martin ontiveros and his son felix – man this guy’s everywhere! so of course we have to throw down some satan hands and snap off a couple pics for the blog…

but i digress.. finally we get to see Kendra and having not seen her for two years, i think there was this moment of “is that Kendra?” and her being ” who is this strange couple talking to me as if they know me?” but that all got resolved once we started talking about the show in st. johns (oh snap, another shameless plug). anyway, she was beaming from her show and we thought that was well suited for her cause the work looked great. and that made us even more excited about what she’ll be showing with us!

after that, we headed down the block to Upper Playground . the place was packed – as always. but that didn’t stop us from getting to check out the show. i gotta say, i love this place and what they bring to the table. they really raise the bar with the shows they bring to town and i have nothing but respect for them. i personally wasn’t super into the work, but i did kinda like the portraits with the creepy parts painted on them – hey kinda reminds me of the art ghost stuff from last week… except this stuff was less cute and a little more disturbing.

nonetheless, we enjoyed our visit there for sure – even getting a a chance to talk with Malia – one of the owners who also works with Taow productions , a local marketing agency and one of my design clients. Malia has always been a big supporter of what i’ve been up too design-wise as well as the gallery… awe shucks.

next on our list – the Everett Station. ahh, so many memories… it still feels strange to be on the other side of the walk after hosting events there for 5 years and never missing a month. anyway, we head on over to Tilt Gallery for a little installation work by Lauren Clay entitled “Decked Out in Delight”. hey, what’s that she’s holding.. why it’s a show card for our event – what a cowinkydink!

I personally think that Tilt is still the best gallery on the block – happy to see that they are still around. and although i don’t always “get it” (like last night) i always appreciate how professional and together they present themselves. keep up the good work!

ok, out the door and what do we see – a 15 foot U-haul truck parked on the street outside with the words “art & cheese” on the outside.. of course we looked in – who wouldn’t! and what do you know – it was my old neighbor from Sky & Boat and she’s holding the cheese… say cheese!

around the corner past the Gilt Club (resist the urge to drink more) we stop in and chat with Val & Jeremy over at Ogle. they are such nice people. Val is always challenging us with new and innovative showings – plus they have that awesome space to show some really big pieces which is great since there just aren’t many people out there willing to do that. plus, they have some of the best eye glass frames out on the market. in fact i bought my last pair from them. and when they weren’t going to be ready for my wedding last June, they gave me a loaner pair – and they even matched my tie… sounds like fate to me.. woo-hoo!

we then headed out the door, only to run into Kaebel Hashitani, owner of Sequential Art Gallery. the man, my lovely readers, knows how to dress.

is that? could it be? yes it is – it’s a tiny toons vest and matching tie! which is even more cool cause our two crazy cats are named Pinky & the Brain. i think we’ll be seeing more of Kaebel and his antics in the future – perhaps a showing here at Genuine imitation?? hmmm?? could be? anyway, we didn’t make it in – there was an intimidating guy dressed in a dinosaur costume that was sort of blocking the way – ok, he wasn’t blocking the way, but he definitely made me think twice about going inside. he kind of reminded me of what a 4th grader might look like if he had made the costume himself – and i actually mean that in a good way!

anyway, we rounded the corner and got distracted by all the hipsters at Rake watching some sort of alien language-fest set to musical instruments and eventually were just to damn cold and called it a night! and that was it… back home with a freshly made oatmeal cookie and a little Colbert Report and ready for bed shortly thereafter.

so, that’s all for now – we’ll be back with some post-opening pics and stories to tell next week and remember, if you’re in the area Saturday the 9th from 5-9 stop on by and say hello – or just say “Authentic!”

a happy gathering

creative thursday paints sweet pictures full of cute animals.

about creative thursday:

What started out as one day a week, Thursdays, set aside to be a bit more creative while working a 9 to 5 job….Creative Thursday, has become a full time business featuring the art of Marisa Haedike, or as I like to call it a dream come true.

Passionate about following your heart and your dreams, while living creatively – my hope is that even a little bit of this passion comes through in my art and encourages you to go and live your dreams.

come check out her work in person tomorrow night!