Gallery Night

Each week or so, I get an email from the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. This lovely museum hosts regular events, most notably the annual Art Fair on the Square. This past week, I stumbled upon their bi-annual Gallery Night. There were 65 sites throughout Madison that had art or events or both. I made a pass through the long list and started to plan my trip geographically. I even had Megs take a look at the list and short descriptions and tell me where to go. All of hers were on my list, but it still was too long by half to hit everything. I kept the list and will be back to visit many of those places during regular hours. It was probably pretty mean to get Megs involved, since she couldn't come with me.

My first stop was to my favorite place in Madison - Anthology on State Street. I was there on a mission - to get cute shower gifts. As is always the problem with gifts, I'm afraid the recipient is also a reader. So, y'all will just have to wait a little bit to see those pretties.

Next, I went to Carta StudioWorks with my friend. My friend is a friend of the artists - does that make me their friend once removed? You have to go check out their website. No really, two of my favorite of Dave's works are on the home page.

http://www.cartastudioworks.com/

I happen to know that Winter Sky (on right) is no longer available. But, I have the benefit of knowing who bought it. I've already tried to wrangle an invitation over to continue to stare at the painting. The one of the left, Heading into Clovis, is absolutely gorgeous in person. From across the studio, it looks like a sheet of copper with a carefully developed patina. Then, you see the sunrise over the horizon. Up really close, you can see at the edge of the horizon, the New Mexico (I assume) mountains. 

Early Spring Marsh (go to the website!) was the first one that drew me in. Like the two above, it's from Dave's landscapes collection. And, like Winter Sky, it uses the gray and red to convey that feeling of water in the early morning. You can read more about Dave's technique on the website, but he uses photographs, mainly of organic nature, to create the art in the computer by layering those photos with colors and texture. From there evolves the scene, rather than being limited by what the camera captured. The website does a better job than my description in describing the process. 

I love art, but rarely find myself staring at the paintings, photos, etc. or coming back to them again and again. Friday evening, I kept coming back over to these works, discovering something new, like the mountains of Clovis, each time I looked.

Art Fair on the Square, day 1 (cont.)

There were so many artists, that if I tried to comment on all the ones that I saw and liked, I'd have enough posts to last at least a month! I didn't even make it over to Art Fair off the Square, which features WI artists - a major oversite.

I've limited my posts to the folks that really stood out (that I got to see). So, this is my last post on Art Fair on the Square, but not the end of the talented artists. If you're in Madison next year next year the first weekend of July (at least I think that's the date), you should come and check out the wonderful artists.

Sarah Jane Hassler	The first artist that I got to assist. She hardly got to leave the booth for all of the folks stopping by. Her acrylic jewelry was amazing. I really liked a pair of little hoops that were riveted similar to the bracelet at the left, but I didn't make it back over there on Saturday before it ended or Sunday after working with the kids. I hope she's back next year!
Anthony Hansen	I think my childhood is the reason that I'm drawn to metal art. This artist used a lot of automotive scrap metal to make works like the heart you see at the left. These were really big pieces and yet the design seemed very effortless. Maybe next time I'm home the guys will teach me how to use the plasma cutter!
Flinn Designs	This artist uses the proceeds from her work to help save animals that wouldn't have a home. She has a lot with dogs and cats, but I love the shape of the birds. I had the chance to speak with her a little bit more last year. I don't remember a lot of what she said about her technique, but she and her husband are doing remarkable things with their art and through their art.
Laurie Pollpeter Eskenazi Ceramics	I looked really, really hard at these ceramic hearts. This was another artist that I got to spell and spend some quality time looking at everything. The designs are made by pressing antique lace and old embroidered fabrics into the wet clay. I ran into a friend from work buying one of her bowls, but once again I didn't make it back over there for a heart. Another artist that I hope is back again next year!

Art Fair on the Square, day 1 (cont.)

A week later, and I'm still continuing to talk about last Saturday. There was just so much to see! This weekend has also had some events that generated post-worth comments, but I've got more on Art Fair on the Square for you right now.

Mary Gaye Miller	This artist had both 2D (hang on the wall) and 3D (stands on its own) mixed media pieces. There was one that I kept looking at while I babysit her both. It had some metal, glass and mirrors and a big number two. It also had an essay/poem about art and creativity and a bridge. It was a really wonderful looking piece.
Pistol by Ali Dryer	I had a nice chat with Ali about shoes (we were both wearing Dansksos). But, even if she wouldn't have been so nice, I would've kept coming back to her booth to look at the purses. She had different styles of cloth purses with vintage (and vintage-y) fabric and buttons and wood handles. She made all of the wood handles herself. The clutch at the left was my favorite style. The button closes a flap that wraps around the body of the purse and through the handle.
Bill Sargent Photography	There was a lot of photography at the art fair, but this was one of my favorites. I realize more and more that I like photos with people or up close pictures of objects. I'm not a big landscape photographer myself, but I can appreciate the work of others. Still, I'm drawn to the environmental portrait at the left.
'Phill Singer	This work was on my almost bought list. I would've been on my bought list if I could've found a place in my kitchen to put it. The print was one in a series of other surrealist fruit. The artist also had different surreal wildlife works. Like the lemon at the left, the subject is so real looking that at first glance, you don't notice the surrealism. I know I've seen this artist at the Art Fair before, so I may spend some time looking for a place to put this print and just pray that he's back with a print of this work next year.

Art Fair on the Square, day 2

I got to be an artist as well at the Art Fair on the Square this year. For day two of Art Fair, I volunteered in the kids tent and staked out face painting as my area. Here are two of my customers showing off their artwork. It was so much fun to paint rainbows, balloons, baseballs, basketballs, fish, flowers, hearts, and dinosaurs. I also had two special requests, a track and a space monster. Above is the tractor. It is based off a John Deere, but I didn't have any green paint. Thanks to a certain little boy back in Texas, I got used to drawing tractors, specifically John Deere tractors with bailers. So, when this little boy's mom looked at me with a bit of worry when he asked for a tractor, I assured her that I could paint a tractor.

Working in the kids tent kept me from spending more time looking at the art, but there are some more posts of the pretties that I got to see on Saturday. Unfortunately, I packed my bags and headed out of town shortly after all the fun of Art Fair ended. I'm almost home and back to real life. Keep an eye out for the rest of those artists that I liked!

Art Fair on the Square, day 1

Every year in Madison, artists come from across the country to set up booths around the capitol square and sell their wares. The art ranges from silver and gold jewelry to surrealist paintings to hand-woven scarves to mixed-media pieces.

I've gone to Art Fair every year since I moved to Madison. A couple of years ago, I went with the owner of our company to help pick out art work to decorate our office buildings and schlep it back home. I still get a kick out of seeing the artwork I helped pick out or carry when I'm on my way from one meeting to another.

This year, I volunteered with the Art Fair through the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, which hosts the event. I spent all day yesterday, well from 11:30 - 6:30, supporting artists by watching their booths while they went and got Starbucks or water or went to the bathroom. Con: it was very hot yesterday and we had to wear these polyester-net overshirts, liked you wear in gym class. Pro: I had a lot of time to look at everything in the booths, especially on the street where I was stationed.

Here are some of my favorites.

Repeats from years past:

Keith Grace Designs	He uses magazine and other clippings, a favorite of mine, to create his work. Then, he paints over the design to add dimension. Yesterday, I saw the a print of the design at the left. We'll see if I make it back over there today to purchase it.
Amy Gillespie	Amy won the best 2D medium work award last year at the Art Fair. She creates wood and felt pieces. My favorite piece that I saw yesterday was a small square out of light wood with the felt in a circle around a bunch of small circles. The felt was light blue, which made the work look like a nest of robin's eggs.
Dolan Geiman	My first Art Fair piece came from Dolan Geiman. It is similar to what you see at the left, with one yellow wood bird cut in to the barnwood background. I love going by this booth each year. There is also a mixed media piece of the United States that I like, and I would love to own a print. Check out his website, because when I went to get the link, I saw that he is collaborating with Fossil. Exciting!

I've got to run now to go help out in the Kid Tent. I've got several more artists that I want to talk about, as well as my time making crafts with kids today. This should keep me in blog posts for the rest of the week! Check out the MMoCA website for more information, and stay tuned for more artists.

Work of Art

Have you seen Bravo's latest competition show? They can cook, they can sew, and now, they are making art. I love Top Chef and Project Runway, but I think my favorite is Work of Art. A bunch of artists are brought together to participate in challenges, like the aforementioned shows. The difference here, is that the set of skills is much more varied. There are so many different outlets for art that you could be good at one and fail the next challenge because of your style or skill set.

This was evident on the last episode - which I watched last night on DVR - when the guy who won the previous challenge got the boot during the shock challenge. Not sure how I feel about that, especially because I did what I normally do when I watch these shows and tried to imagine what I would make. I don't think I'm very shocking because I couldn't come up with any ideas. So, not much to say about that episode.

The previous episode - the book challenge - though, I have some comments and ideas. The book challenge was actually the first episode I saw. My friend told me about the show and wondered why I wasn't watching it. I was very happy when I saw covers for books that I loved hanging in the gallery. Unlike the contestants, I had read most of the books there. The only deficit in my knowledge was Jekyll and Hyde. My luck, that's the cover that I would have been assigned if I was on the show. Still, I think I would be more familiar with the story than some of the folks seemed to be.


To comment to the work, I agreed with the judges completely. But, like I said, I always sit there and try to figure out what I would've done. And, then I looked at the book I was (re)reading - The Scarlet Pimpernel. This is a favorite that I was introduced to in high school. I don't think I've had my copy quite that long, but the poor thing was in pretty bad condition.

With the critiques in mind - that the cover should be something that draws you in and catch your eye in a crowded bookstore but also illustrate the story, I got out some supplies and sat down. Unlike the artists, I didn't have an additional budget to get fancy supplies, so I used my Crayola watercolor pencils, construction paper, tissue paper and my computer to come up with this.

I had to break the word Pimpernel because I have unofficially referred to the book as The Scarlet Pimp since high school. There is the flower and my tissue paper attempt at the French tricolor ribbon that all the "citoyens" wore. Yes, I purposely had the watercolor run in an attempt to show the watercolor. And, having never seen a Scarlet Pimpernel, I'm not sure how close I got on the flower. It didn't look a whole lot like the one I printed off to reference.

I really like my cover. I can't wait until I decide to read the book again. I may not have won when compared to real artists, but then, at least I've read the book.

Go to the website for the show to see other covers and other episodes. Let me know what you think.

Wreck 'em, Tech

Okay, so I had to google that one - sorry Megs and Whit. And, for all the Bears out there, I'm not changing allegiance. Instead, I'm congratulating Whit on her upcoming attendance to Texas Tech. Thank goodness the Texas schools are still together in the Big 12. There are still more years in the family rivalries. This year, Bears face Raiders on October 9 at the Cotton Bowl during the State Fair.




I'm not sure that I'll be traveling down for this game. And, Whit, if your stuck up in Lubbock, then you'll still be surrounded by family. Above is the poster that I gave Whit for graduation. I hear her dorm will have a big bulletin board, so she'll have plenty of space to hang this.

Have a great time at Tech!

New Etsy favorite

Do you get the Etsy Finds daily email? (If not, sign up at Etsy) Each email is a gathering of Etsy wares based on some theme. This means that some days I love everything and some days nothing stands out.

On Sunday, something stood out. I visited DazeyChic's shop and came across this beauty, and it's on its way to brighten my home.

My Own Home Hack

One of my favorite blogs to read is Apartment Therapy.  I love seeing beautiful kitchens, unique decorating styles and MOST OF ALL, I love their Home Hacks.  When I stumbed across this awesome tree made out of yarn and push pins, I decided to put my own spin on it:

(source: Apartment Therapy Home Hacks)

So, I ventured out to my favorite two-story JoAnn's and picked up some yarn, ran into Wal-Mart for clear pushpins, and then rushed home to start playing.  I'm not really a tree person, so I decided to try something a little more abstract and random on the bare wall behind the desk in our home office.

Here's a closeup of the colors I chose.  I was thinking of going with grey and yellow, but when I saw this pretty bright apple green, I was sold. 

This project is great for apartment dwellers like me who can't paint walls and are scared of putting big holes in the walls.  The holes left by pushpins are small and the artwork has a huge impact.