Still life in blue and orange

From a PAFA Class I took a couple of years ago. Really need to take a better photo, but this is the only one that came out so far.

Studio 6

My studio so far. At least one side, the other is mostly boxes and a few shelves. Started on a new piece this week and cooked up plans for another. Gets really nice afternoon light and over looks a creek. I need some more shelves and a cabinet of some sort. Have been checking freecycle, but nothing that will work yet. Will post more picks as progress continues.

From MKR and my former backyard

Here is an assemblage based primarily on my fondest affection for magnolia's as expressed through the writings of Marjorie Kenan Rawlings. She was most notably the author of The Yearling. This passage came from Cross Creek a collection of stories she wrote while living in North Florida near Micanopy. Her home, as well as part of her orange orchard is preserved as a state park. Loved going there when we lived in Florida.

Gusta's Magnolia

This is my painting, "Gusta's Magnolia," as it hangs at the Philadelphia Sketchclub exhibit, "Art of the Flower." Attended the reception on Sunday, diverse and interesting show overall. These are photos that I took with the camera in my phone, so pretty poor quality. Will stop back by in the next two weeks or so and take some with a real camera.

Mainline First Fridays at Viking Culinary Arts Center

Viking Culinary Arts Center 1 Town Place #100, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010 610.526.9020 www.vikinghomechef.com Sonia Sherrod, 'Fruitstand' assemblage sculpture	March 2nd, 5:00 to 9:00pm "My work is art from discarded objects, decorative papers accompanied with words, and then altered to become one of a kind 2d and 3d pieces."

Art of the Flower 2007

THE PHILADELPHIA SKETCH CLUB

PRESS RELEASE

Art of the Flower 2007 at the Philadelphia Sketch Club

The Philadelphia Sketch Club is pleased to announce its Second Annual Art of the Flower Exhibition. This juried exhibit will run from March 2 nd through the 24 th of 2007 as a compliment to the nationally famous Philadelphia Flower Show. This show will feature 2 and 3 dimensional works in various media on the theme of flowers. An Artists' Reception will be held on Sunday, March 4 th , from 2 to 5 PM with awards being presented at 4 PM. Admission is free. The Philadelphia Sketch Club is the oldest artists club in the United States and is located at 235 South Camac Street in Philadelphia . Gallery hours are M/W/F/Sa/Su from 1 to 5 PM.

A new collage painting I did of a Magnolia, "Gusta's Magnolia," made it into this show. Unfortunately, it as not been photographed. Will take some photos at the reception and post.

Moving out of the Diningroom

Backing up all the art and art supplies this week I move out of the diningroom and into my very own studio! So this is where I have been at it for the last couple of years, very tight and public space. New space is private, larger, more light, no distractions like laundry, phone, neighbors or needy dogs. Also other artists around to get feed back from.

Helen Kate Furness Fund Raiser

This mixed media collage painting is up for auction at the Helen Kate Furness Library cocktail party!

You're Invited!
Friday evening, February 9th
7:30 pm until 11:00 pm
at The Old Mill in Rose Valley

Helen Kate Furness Free Library's Fifth Annual Cocktail Party

Featuring live music by The Don Jones Band, delicious hors d'oeuvres, a full open bar and our famous silent auction.

As featured in the Philadelphia Inquirer, this year's auction features a copy of "To Kill a Mockingbird" signed by Harper Lee!

Don't miss it!

Presented by:
Comcast, Plush Mills: A Sage Senior Living Community, Radio Communications Service, Inc.
Sovereign Bank, and Wilson Heating Oil

Tickets are just $35.00 each.

The party is nearly sold out. For more information, please call the Library at (610) 566-9331

"Tarawa" in Richmond

12 12 Gallery
12 East 12th Street
Richmond, Virginia 23224
(804) 233-9957
Gallery Hours
Thursday and Friday 12 - 4 PM
Saturday 11 - 6 PM
Sunday 12 - 5 PM

This piece, "Tarawa" was been selected for the 1212 Gallery Manchester National Juried Fine Art Exhibit 2007. This year's Juror was Dr. Jefferson C. Harrison who selected 50 pieces from over 908 images sent by 200 artists from 36 States, DC, and Canada. The exhibition represents a broad range of media from across the US and Canada.
. The show opens February 23rd with a private awards ceremony and reception Sunday, February 25th. It runs until March 18th.
Not the best image I have of this piece, the better one is in slide form.

Happy Birthday to Moi!

Always liked sharing a birthday with these guys, their such a hoot at the party! The hottie at the top is Anton Chekhov, Russian writer of short stories and plays. Middle man is Muhammad Ali, aka Cassius Clay "float like a butterfly sting like a bee," some say the precursor for rap music, oh and world heavy weight boxer champion. Then the electrifying Ben Franklin, signer of DOI, inventor, statesman, lived on Milk Street in Philly.

Event at White Lotus Home, New Brunswick NJ

Seven assemblage pieces will be on display at White Lotus Home in New Brunswick New Jersey through March 21st. Here is the invite for the opening event.

COMMUNITY ART AND HOME DESIGN EVENT

On Jan 11, 2007, White Lotus Home will be sponsoring the first ever Community Art and Home Design Event. Local artists and interior designers will be showcased at 191 Hamilton Street. Please join us from 6:00 PM-9:00 PM for live music and light organic refreshments.

-This is a free event focused on artists and interior designers who want to display a green approach to design

- January 11^th, 2007 from 6 Pm until 9PM

- 191 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick NJ 08901

- RSVP is a must! Please email lindsey@whitelotus.net

- Sponsors welcome

- If inclement weather should occur, the event will be rescheduled to January 18 2007

Off to Kansas: Baker Arts Center

"Whiter than Rice" is off to Kansas! If any of you happen to be in that area stop by for a visit. I will be east coast bound for the duration of the visit. Here is the press release:

Baker Arts Center
10th National Juried Art Exhibit
January 13-February 24, 2007
Juror Stephen Wicks, an Independent Curator has sleected over 70 works of art created by 58 artists from 27 states and the District of Columbia to be exhibited in the Baker Arts Center's 10th National Juried Art Exhibition. This year's show will include artwork showing great diversity in materials, techniques, and styles among the two and three-dimensional and photographic categories. Exhibit sponsors are Bill and Virginia Colvin. The Center also receives operational support from the Kanasas Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts.
This exhibit opens with a private reception for the artists, their guests, and members on January 13th and will be open to the public on January 16th. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday 9:00-5:00, 2:00 to 5:00 on Saturdays and closed Mondays. The address is Baker Arts Center 624 N. Pershing, Liberal Kansas.

Tenant Cubanocast

My tenant this week features Cuban music and old videos...excellent stuff. Click and feel some babalu!

A Fruitful New Year!

Here's to a happy and fruitful New Year with hand extended for good cheer.

The "White House"

A new piece, I am almost finished with. Again all white, not sure that I like the fat beads. A bit distracting as fat beads often are. Will publish picture later...this is not working for some reason.

Artist Trading Cards

This are a great way to jump start some studio time. Just use 2.5 X3.5 cards, scraps etc and make these cards. They can become a catalyst for larger projects. Also are to be traded like traditional trading cards as well.

Illustrations for Children's Steeldrum songbook

Have been very busy....but here is some new stuff.

Betye Saar

On Wednesday I attended a lecture by philadelphia artist, Beverly Bullock at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine ARts. Bullocks work is mostly collage on paper with African themes, especially women. After the lecture I went upstairs to the eht Betye Saar exhibit "Extending the Frozen Moment" of her assemblage with photographs. Very moving and amazing images, my favorite was a large dress on paper with hues of yellow and gold called "High Yellow." An added treat was watching Beverly Bullock and some of her friends view the exhibit. The following is from the PAFA website:

Betye Saar: Extending the Frozen Moment

Through December 10, 2006

Known particularly for her use of mixed media, this exhibition will focus on Saar's persistent use of the photograph and the impact of the photographic realm in her art. From her earliest experimentations with assemblage in the late 1960s to her installations of the present, Saar has employed the photograph as a storytelling device, transferring personal memory into the realm of history.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

A portion of a doll painting that I did several years ago while taking a class in still life painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. This one was done as a homework assignment and took quite awhile. The underpainting was in purple with oh so many layers on top. The best detail, the foot is not included as my scanner was not tall enough for the whole thing. My mother was dying of breast cancer when this was painted and as usual my feelings of that sad realty are reflected in the painting.

Fortunate Cookie...

or what to do with a drawer full of old fortunes, some chinese brush practise drawings, and a ruined bamboo brush. The fortune of the mask says, You are original and creative.

Modern Humanist

I spent about an hour at this site, and highly recommend it. Am adding it as a link as well. Gives one so much to think about found so much that I agree with with regards to religion and philosophy.This is from the about page.

Welcome to Modern Humanist, an online journal of modern humanism and humanist thought. Here you will find news, ideas, information and insights on the world. It’s life through the eyes of modern humanist philosophy. Modern Humanist is not only for humanists and freethinkers but for anyone interested in reason, exploration and understanding. Think for yourself and enjoy your life.

As you can see this is a new site. It’s purpose is to offer a view of Modern Humanism and it’s place in the world and community. Not only is Modern Humanism a life philosophy, but it’s also a beacon for rational and thinking minds that believe that life can be lived not only well, but inspired. An inspired life without the need for, or desire for, supernatural forces, limiting beliefs and traditions. A life without hateful, divisive and violent practices that only serve the segregation, isolation and destruction of community rather than the harmony, equality and unity of it.

Modern Humanist will present understanding, perspective and practical wisdom on how to incorporate humanist principals into life and community and how to serve as an example to and for others.

Lastly, Modern Humanist seeks to provide viable answers and life perspectives to the community to illustrate that humanists are not only as moral, neighborly and dedicated to freedom as any church-going person, but also to help illustrate that the philosophical, moral and ethical questions of our time can be answered without the need to impinge on life, liberty or the pursuit of happiness for any citizen of the world or subvert their lives in favor of any other.

September 11, 2001

The sky was as clear and crisp and blue five years ago as it is today. A beautiful day, just like today. Just before getting out of my car I heard a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center....must be a small prop plane...it thought. Our group started with presentations, someone interrupted telling us another plane had crashed into the towers. We continued, then another person came in and said a plane had crashed into the Pentagon...someone in the group said, "We are at war"..we adjourned. The day was still crisp and clean and lovely, and smoke poured out of the towers and souls jumped to their deaths and others watched horrified and helpless from below. Then the towers came crashing down. I was in the studio trying to copy a rather benign pastel I had painted of a small portion of a Van Gogh. Mostly, I was inspired by the colors and the daisys. But what I came up with was no copy. This one is much more dramatic, as I watched the news coverage. In a symbolic way the two daisys represent the towers and shaken innocence that crashed and burned during that event. They seem to be falling. Have not looked at this piece in some time, but thought it appropriate given this fifth anniversary. Peace to any of you or your loved ones affected by this ongoing tragedy.

A song by Paul Hipp click on post title

Bonnie MacAllister

Save the date September 23rd!
Bonnie MacAllister is showing her work with other artists in the area at 4014 Walnut Street at 7pm. Bonnie is the operations administrator of October Gallery and an accomplished painter, filmmaker and spoken word performance artist, as well as a DGP(darn good person.)

"Painter, filmmaker, and spoken word performance artist, Bonnie MacAllister "reveals the structure of fragments, decoding illicit meaning in elicitly abstract poses." West Philadelphia resident MacAllister has been published on three continents and has performed at over sixty venues including the Wilma Theatre and the Adrienne Theatre.

An independent film maker and oil painter, she is the Publicity and Membership Chair of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Women's Caucus for Art. She has most recently exhibited at Café Soleil, Zonk Arts Gallery, and will show in March at the Highwire Gallery with the Women’s Caucus for Art. Films which she has worked on have been visible at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Musée de la Mode in Paris, France."

You can visit her website here: Bonnie MacAllister

Chick etc...

Jazz cruise with your best chick, Could this be Love? The assemblage and a detail. Comprised of a flattened penny, lock, wooden piece that looks like a saxaphonist, a tiny ink painting I did of a chick, music, a leaf on a piece of cork. Feels like autumn as well. Thanks to all you good folks who braced the torrential down pour and stopped by my booth at the October Gallery. Also thanks to Bonnie Mcallister for all her help and good conversation.

The Foo Logs

Stop by my tenant this week, The Foo Logs, a blog about life, technology, sports and movies. Interesting sites with good blogging info. I liked the list of current social bookmarking sites, and the growing older pics of Andre Agassi. Also found out about:

• A Blog in a Book: You can now publish and sell your blog/photoblog on actual printed books for cheap with a new service called Blurb.com. They officially opened to the public this week - check them out!

Anyway, a space worth your time, go there.

And if you happen to be in Philly this weekend stop by the October Gallery at 68 north 2nd street for First Friday, 5-9pm. I have a little booth there with some small things, will also be there 12-3pm on Saturday.

Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White

New Assemblage sculpture created with old sheet music as a theme. Mostly the colors and Jane Russell swimming under water with a knife were the inspirations. The curler, and pink wood, and shell I found combing the beach in Singer Island, FL.

When You are Old by William Butler Yeats

WHEN you are old and gray and full of sleep
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true;
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face.

And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead,
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

No, I did not read this poem in my brooding teenage years, or study it in college, was an english major after all. But mostly I was first turned on to it from the the Francis Ford Copella movie "Peggy Sue Got Married." Love this movie, and think all high school teenagers should watch it. Premise being, if you could go back to high school knowing what you know now, what would you do differently. Here is a great still of Peggy Sue with the Bohemian Michael Fitzsimmons, reciter of the Yeats poem.