Christmas Eve Art Tradition

Cameo feature on pedestrian entrance to a parking garage.

I love our new holiday tradition was going to an art gallery/art museum on Christmas Eve.  This year we took in the exhibitions at the Weston Art Gallery at the Aronoff Center for the Arts.  We were captivated by Elissa Morley's installation "Vision: Things That Fly."  And I was intrigued by the paintings of Todd Reynolds in his exhibition "Utopia."  We then popped in to the Contemporary Art Center to do a little last minute shopping.  Loved the Shepard Fairey pieces in the lobby!

Merry Christmas

These two little dogs are among the blessings I am counting this holiday season.  They continue to make my heart light go on.  Maddie is so loving and Bear, who is getting older and a little slower, also snores so sweetly. 

I am also blessed with a wonderful family who has learned to laugh together and love each other in good times and bad.  And friends who have come to define unconditional love.

I am grateful for my students, who have listened and questioned and tried and appreciated learning.  I have learned so much from them and feel lucky to have shared such excellent time in the studio.  

I also want to acknowledge my new friends who I have yet to meet.  Most are artists whose work I found on the internet, who I have reached out to and who have welcomed me into their worlds with open arms.  Printmakers are the best!

So Merry Christmas to all. 

CATCHING UP

Jo Andersen, Marika Szabo and Marlys

Joe Marshall touching up his relief plate

ALL WORK AND NO PLAY?
It has been too long since I have posted!
MK and I have been spending lots of time on the Southern Graphics Council conference project we are curating for the Arizona Print Group.  Dan Welden donated solarplates to our 26 members last year to do a group project.  We envisioned all now 30 members' prints collaged together in one long print joined by a common theme and a horizontal line running through each print (at varying orientations).  The theme we chose was Reality/Distortion to fit in with the conference theme of Equilibrium.  We submitted the proposal to SGC and were accepted as one of 11 exchanges which will be on view during the conference March 16-19 2011 in St Louis.  Since many of the print group members had little to no experience with solarplates we have been having some really fun studio sessions helping them achieve their visions.  We had two sessions in Tucson hosted by the generous and talented Jo Andersen and have had several sessions at our studio, Bilancia.  It has cemented the vision Marlys and I have of a working print studio with collaborations and teaching...sigh.  Happy sigh!

THANKSGIVING IN BISBEE

Copper Queen Hotel

Heather Green

We also got out of town for a quickie trip to Tucson and Bisbee for Thanksgiving, staying at La Paloma and the Copper Queen.  We had the wonderful CQ Thanksgiving dinner - what a treat!  Delicious and so reasonably priced.  The day after Thanksgiving, we stopped in on Heather Green in her new studio/gallery and hit many of the great little shops on Main Street.  I learned a lot about turquoise from the jewelers there and regret there isn't any being mined any longer.  I had never been to Bisbee before but hope to return for what might be a new Tradition every November. 

MESA CONTEMPORARY ARTS NEW 2011 CALENDAR AND CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
Two new exhibitions opened Friday night, coinciding with the unveiling of the new fundraising calendar.  Each calendar has 12 original prints and sells for $200.  29 artists participated, including me (see earlier post here.)  It's really easy way to start art collecting.  And the work is quite good. 

"Grand Tour" by Corinne Geertsen

MK and I really loved the new exhibitions - "Nice Words", with Utah artist Brian Kershisnik - great paintings that were easy to look at but then you discover little surprises and bits of humor...and an exhibition of digitally manipulated photos by Arizona artist, Corinne Geertsen.  Some of her photographs made me laugh out loud; some were just beautiful.  Great transfixing of old family photos in wondrous new settings.