Reverb10: Party...."COZ Art Matters"

The prompt for Reverb10 yesterday was : Party. What social event for 2010 rocked your socks off ?
I immediately thought of the fundraiser I participated in for our local artist colony, ARTCOZ ( Artist Colony of Zanesville), "COZ ART MATTERS".
We worked on this starting back in February and it became a huge big deal. Each participating artist needed to sell 11 tickets each. We wanted an "elegant" evening of music, wine and desserts along with viewing the artworks of 10 artists and meeting said artists.
 This was something new for our small, but supportive town, and the response was amazing! We sold out of tickets and rocked the house!

Me standing in front of my artwork

ARTCOZ  President and artist, James Warren

 It was a great example of a small group coming together and realizing a dream, of sorts.
Thank you Zanesville!

Reverb 10: Wonder

Lake Ontario Sunset



Autumn Leaf




Queen Ann's Lace

  I am participating in an annual online initiative called "Reverb 10". The idea being, that for the 31 days of December I will write in response to a daily prompt. This will allow me ( in theory ), to slow down and take the time to reflect on my year, and manifest the next one. I am 3 days late, so I will just start here, with today's prompt : Wonder. How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year?

 Nature in all her complexity, and beauty, absolutely come to mind. From the colors and grandeur of a sunset, to the delicate lace-like appearance of a wild flower, nature does it for me. Being outside feeds my soul and fills me with wonder. It is just as simple as that.
  I make an effort to spend time outside everyday. The sunrise and sunsets are a particular draw to me. Besides bookending the day, there is something very alluring about that brief time surrounding both. It always feels as if I have stolen some sacred time, when the world is so quiet and peaceful, just waking for the day.....and their is a solemn reverence as the sun slips below the horizon. A moment to reflect on that day and how my time was spent, and to be ever grateful.
  If we take the time to stop and appreciate the simple beauty surrounding us, we are gifted with a sense of peace and calm. And we are reminded that we are but a very small part of this miraculous universe. We are filled with wonder and awe.
 
 What gave you a sense of wonder in this year just past?

The Sketchbook Project Tour 2011

 These are a few of the pages I have completed for the Sketchbook Project. What is this project, you ask? Well, it is a large endeavor put together by Art House Co-op. Anyone can participate. You only have to order a small sketchbook from them, with a theme...either chosen by you or assigned by them. I read about it in a magazine and decided to check it out. The plan is that all these participating sketchbooks will tour the country, and will ultimately reside in the Brooklyn Art Library, 201 Richards St #16, Brooklyn, NY.

 The theme for my sketchbook is " I'm a scavenger".  This suites me perfectly, as I am truly a scavenger. I collect "things" where ever I go. They may be man-made or of nature, but like a crow, I snatch them up and bring them with me to the studio. The only problem I have encountered is that right after I received my sketchbook in the mail, I promptly "lost" it. And, as the saying goes..."out of sight, out of mind."  That was way back in July. I managed to "uncover" it in September, and have been occasionally working on it since. I decided to use acrylic medium to "glue" pages together, so that I would have half as many to do, since time became a factor. I also tried some gesso on  a few pages, and that really has helped with any water media I have chosen. The paper in the book is rather thin.

 This has been a fun and learning experience for me. It was hard at first, to look at this BLANK book and not freeze-up, so I decided to just dive in there, right or wrong. A scary prospect.  It was also difficult knowing that I will not be the ultimate owner of this book. So, I decided to forget about that, knowing that I can take pictures, and document my work.

 Are any of you involved in this project? I would love to hear what you are doing with your little book. In the meantime, stay tuned for more updates. It needs to be postmarked by January 15th, so things will be happening quickly here in Studio 202.