For the past several years I have been painting images that either appear in
dreams or are the result of a  meditative sketching process.  Most always these images are abstract in nature and represent a societal or interpersonal
phenomenon. 


Every so often, however, an image appears on my sketching  page that results in a painting like the one I'm currently working on.

Could this be because I'm about to begin the third phase of the 17-Day
Diet? ... am I being influenced by the current  barage of Valentines Day 
promotions, or am I contemplating  Forest Gump's mother's philosophy? 

Whatever the subliminal influence ... I'm enjoying this sweet departure and as I work I can almost taste each individual piece.

I am fortunate to be able to return to the Tannery Row Artist Colony periodically and rent temporary working space while in the Atlanta area visiting family and friends.  I was formerly a resident artist at this unique historical facilitly when I lived in Georgia. 

TRAC is a "gem" of a place which houses 18 working artsits (all with an open door policy)and a gallery where there is always something special on view.

Being a fan of the color red, the hue inevitably shows up frequently in my work ...  so when I heard about the Ruby, Ruby ... All Things Red show at Valley Art Center in Chagrin Falls,  I decided to search through my available pieces for something appropriately red. 

     




I have four pieces in the show.  Two  of them are pictured here.


My Friend, Chris, who also had work juried into the show was kind enough to snap some photos  at the  Opening. Reception. I, unfortunately,  was unable to attend the Opening but look forward to catching the show later . 

The show runs through March 8, 2012.  Valley Art Center is located  at 155 Bell St., Chagrin Falls, OH .  Phone: 440 247-7507 www.valleyartcenter.org

Visiting an Art Museum is always  uplifting and energizing for me.    I come away renewed, reflective, and inspired to push a few of my creative boundaries. 


 









The High Museum in Atlanta is a gem in my book as is its current show, "Picasso to Warhol", featuring 14 notorius boundary pushers.   

This Weekend's Holiday Art Walk will be oh so festive at the Summit Art Space building!  There are new shows in both the Box Gallery on the third floor and the SAS Gallery on the first floor;  a sculpture show on the third floor by Akron U senior, Andrew Louder; plus  we five "Penthouse Artists" will be there with bells on in our 3rd floor studios with credit card capabilities.  The Art Walk will run from 12:00 p.m. to 9:00 pm on Saturday then 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday.  Summit ArtSpace is located at 140 E. Market St., Akron, OH next to the Akron Art Museum.

I'll be offering free holday gift wrapping this weekend and will be getting a new shipment of my 2012 calendars in tomorrow ... so happy that they've been selling so well.  Come on down and get kissed under my freshly painted, "Mistletoe"!

I've been buying these flip stlye desk calendars from an artist friend the past  couple of years and love the way they set firmly on my desk providing an attractive ever-ready visual reference as I plan my work and leisure activities.  Friends and  family members have suggsted that I make a calendar of  my own  ... so this year I decided to create a 2012 calendar containing 13 of my floral painting images.  The calendars arrived today and I'm very happy with the color and quality of the printing. 

 
For the first time, more drawings of possible sculptures have been showing up in my sketch book than ideas for paintings.  I've got some fun paintings going in my studio but have been waking up most mornings with three-dimensional ideas. 

Currently I'm working on four different metal pieces with two more on the drawing board. The four are in various stages of completion ... each piece awaiting it's own list of aesthetic and structural decisions.  Some of these pieces are intended for upcoming  2012 shows.

The weather is getting cold here which inevitably directs my inner compass toward the south and I start looking forward to reunions my southern friends and family members.

During the coldest portion of the Ohio winters, I unashamedly hightail it to Georgia.  I regularly rent a temporary working space at the Tannery Row Artist Colony where I used to have a studio. This past winter I was approached by a fellow resident of the colony, Sabrina, about painting a large mural  on the outside wall of a warehouse in Chinandega, Nicaragua.  Sabrina and her husband head up an organization which does a variety of wonderful things to Nicaraguan people.

Armed with a variety of innoculations we headed to Nicaragua for our ten day adventure.  My four artist companions, Judy, Sabrina, Judy, Soonie (all Tannery Row Artists) and I planned and pounded out a mural  approximately 60' x 13').  Our subject matter reflected the good works being done by our commissioning organization to make life safer, healthier and happier for Nicaraguan people displaced by natural disasters.  

We drank gallons of water (it was VERY hot and humid) and lunched on peanut butter sandwiches.  Breakfasts and dinners always included tasty beans and rice and wonderully sweet fruits.  We commiserated about our increasing physical ailments, stiff necks, bug bites, sun burns, joint problems, dizziness, bad knees, etc. and we laughed, sang songs, climbed up and down ladders and scaffolding, danced, and painted on and on when we felt like we couldn’t lift another brush.  

Our experience was unforgettable and life changing. We pushed ourselves to our limits; we tearfully observed people surviving in unimaginable circumstances; we laughed and communicated with local folks using our limited language skills; we got lost in our work, and we formed a poignant professional and personal bond with one another. 

Opening Reception for the bi-annual "Out of the Box" Show and Auction is tonight from 5-7:00 at the Summit Art Space gallery.  It's always great fun to see the various artists' interpretations.

My steel piece is (very creatively) entitled "Out of the Box".  There will be 50 "box" pieces on display tonight through Nov. 6, 2011.

Pieces will then be moved to EJ. Thomas Hall at the University of Akron  for final bidding at the Arts Alive formal event on Nov. 20.