My Foot is in the Door!

 

This morning I set off for the Minneapolis Institute of Arts to register/drop off my Red Poppies painting for the Foot in the Door Exhibit. The Institute is my favorite art museum in town. It is one of my favorite places to spend an afternoon. This special exhibit takes place every 10 years and is open to any Minnesota artist. The biggest restriction is that the piece must fit inside a 12x12 box. 

The last time this show took place some 1700 pieces of art were exhibited. I think it might be even larger this time--they are estimating upwards of 3000 works. I decided to paint a simple piece, but something bold in color. For all I know, my piece may be hung 6 feet over everyone's head! The canvas is 12x12--painted sides, no frame (so it would fit inside the box).

Hubby went with me to register the piece. We got there early, before the line got long. We had a lovely conversation with 2 other artists waiting in line. It all went very smoothly. I got a purple "artist" ribbon to wear at the opening reception to be held on February 18th. I can't wait!

The show runs till the middle of June. I think I will be stopping by the Institute alot in the coming months. I'll let you know how the big opening goes!  

(just found this pic from MIA on twitpic...of my painting being photographed! This is a behind-the-scene shot that I wasn't able to witness. How cool is that!)

Oh ya, I almost forgot...I will have my Jax Studio open Friday night from 6-9 p.m. for February's First Friday...information on the sidebar. Stop by and see what I've been working on!

Ten of my Favorite Things

 

A few days ago, Nicole of Paper Creations tagged me in her blog. The challenge: to list ten of my favorite things. I thought the timing was great on two levels: 1) It's a perfect way to introduce myself to some of my newer readers; and 2) It's a perfect time to remind myself what makes me happy! I'm struggling with the winter blues, but these things make me happy any time of the year! Here's my list (in no particular order):

1) Painting in my studio! The studio where I paint is located just a few blocks away at the Jax Building. It's an old building filled with studios for artists. I share the space with my hubby and I've been painting there for 3 years. The windows are old, but let in lots of light for painting (plus it faces the direction of the river). We were able to paint the studio when we moved in--and I picked deep pinks and blue/purple. It works and warms up the space--no matter what the weather is like outside!

 

  

2) Baseball. Especially Twins baseball. I love the game. When I walk into the stadium, a feeling of bliss comes over me. I don't necessarily stay in that state of bliss the whole game--I am a LOUD, enthusiastic fan! I share my love for baseball with my hubby...in fact, you could say we met because of baseball! We even got an engaged at a Twins game! You can read that story here!

 

  

3) Chocolate. Preferably Dark chocolate!

4) Baking. I love to bake (and often something with chocolate). Baking makes me happy...and I like making others happy by sharing my treats. It's not always good for the diet though!

5) Starbucks Coffee. If I make it at home, I enjoy the Caffe Verona brew--because it has chocolate undertones. When I stop at Starbucks, my favorite drink is a Skinny Vanilla Latte. Or in hotter weather, a mocha lite frappachino.

  

  

6) Our home at the Tilsner. The Tilsner is an artist cooperative located in lowertown St. Paul. We moved last spring. I love our brick wall, pine floors, and view of the river. It is a lovely place! (Click on the Tilsner link under the "Labels" sidebar for more pics!)

  

7) The Minnesota State Fair or "The Great Minnesota Get-Together). 10 days of fun that begins in late August and ends on Labor Day. We usually make 4-5 visits. Here is hubby and I getting our picture taken. There are lots of great photo opportunities!

8) The sun and warm weather. I've lived in Minnesota all my life, but I've started dreaming of living somewhere warmer someday. I would love to be in the southwest...somewhere like Sedona, Arizona. Love red rock country!

9) Criminal Minds--the television series. I became an addict over the holidays. Now I want to watch it every day!

 

10) Staying at my favorite bed & breakfast with my honey. Our favorite place is the Moondance Inn in Red Wing, MN. It's wonderful. Relaxing. Whirlpool in every room. Comforting. Great escape.

There you have it. What are ten of your favorite things? 

One World One Heart

WHAT IS ONE WORLD ONE HEART?

  This event was created by a fellow blogger in 2007. The original idea behind this giveaway event was to bring bloggers together from around the world who may never ordinarily meet. The premise was to close the gap of the blog community and enable us to interact, discover new and wonderful people, and in the process possibly win a prize or many prizes along the way. 2007 had roughly 85-90 participants and many connections were made because of it......friendships that are still going strong. In 2009 there were 911 participants!

This year I thought I'd give it a whirl! Who doesn't love the chance to win a giveaway and meet new friends from around the globe?

So here's the scoop:  In order to enter this giveaway, you simply need to enter a comment on this blog post! Please leave me your email address so I know how to reach you if you should win. If you are a fellow blogger, please leave a link to your blog. I'd like to come visit as well!  Only one entry per person and your entry must be completed no later than Valentine's Day, February 14th. The winner will be announced February 15th!

What will you win, you ask! I decided in the spirit of Valentine's, to give away this little 8x8 heart painting. (This is admittedly a lousy pic--I will take a new one in a day or two when I have some natural light to take a better pic) I will also send along a pack of my cards featuring some of my artwork.

I covered the heart with molding paste and then pressed bubble wrap into the paste to create the texture on the heart. It gives it a very interesting look and was fun to create!

 

So there you go! Please leave your comment and keep your fingers crossed. If you are interested in visiting the blogs of others that are participating, simply click on the pic at the top of the post or on the sidebar. There will you find a list of participants (along with information about how to participate!).

And welcome to all new visitors! I hope that you make a habit of stopping by.  

Red Poppies

After a busy day Friday running around, I have not gone anywhere in the car all weekend. Unusual for me. Usually I'm running errands or taking my kids somewhere, but this weekend I was grounded. That was o.k. by me.

I got to spend time in the studio Saturday and Sunday. Again, I switched gears and worked on some new paintings. This time I had a very good reason.

In two weeks, the Mpls Institute of Arts is accepting submissions for their once-every-decade "Foot In the Door" exhibit. Any Minnesota artist may submit a piece of art, as long as it fits in a 12x12 box and you bring it to the museum during the specified days. I have gone to this exhibit one time, but never submitted. I remember seeing the exhibit 20 years ago when my kids were young. It's a very interesting exhibit--work is hung from the floor to ceiling!

Well, this year I am planning to submit a painting. I have known about the exhibit for months...it's been in the back of my mind...you would think I'd have a painting done by now, but...like a lot of artists, I work better under pressure...right?

Part of it is that I don't frequently paint 12x12...but for this opportunity I will. I've thought alot about what it is want to paint for this show...it's hard, because you want something to grab people's attention. And I thought it best not to paint something with lots of detail, because this painting could literally be hanging 12 feet over people's heads!

So finally this weekend I started working on these red poppies. I may still do something else, but I liked how this went this weekend.

 

 

Actually, I worked on two 12x12's (pictured above), along with these smaller ones (8x8's, 6x8's).

 

I didn't finish these, but made good progress. I think the red/orange flowers (with a pink undertone) look very vibrant against the charcoal background. These are painted on gallery canvases--with sides that measure 1 3/8". I continued the charcoal gray on the sides--so there is no need to frame. Even if I don't pick one of these 12x12's for the Foot in the Door show, I'm excited to see what they will look like when done. 

Some days it's just good to paint something you love...and I loved painting these!

So Glad the Weekend is Here!

It's been a crazy, busy week--not in a bad way.  Still I'm glad that it's the weekend, things are slowing down and soon I will be heading to the studio for some painting time.

At work, at least part of the week, I stepped outside of my social worker role and performed the duties of the school cook. I love cooking. I cooked lunch one day for about 50 little kiddies (and well-deserving teachers) and then one night I cooked a meal for our evening program that families attend. My two meals were Mexican Casserole and Tator Tot HotDish. Both yummy. The hardest part of it all was standing on the concrete floor--killer on the back. But it was nice doing something outside of the norm.


Then I helped my soon-to-be 23-year-old son move to a new apartment. This wasn't a difficult move, since he was literally moving next door (bigger apartment with more windows)...but still there was stuff to move, running around to Target and Ikea for supplies and of course, lots of cleaning. But I am super proud that my son did so much of it on his own--including the cleaning! He is growing up! I am also grateful for a husband that was so willing to help out!
 

And I've been consumed with watching Lily the Black Bear in her den any possible moment. Lily is a 3-year-old Black Bear expecting her first litter of cubs. She has been part of a bear research group since her birth. Well, she delivered her cub (just one!) on Friday. I missed the live birth cause I had to move my son, but it's wonderful to watch her. You still can! Now you can hear her cub squealing! Check it out here--but I warn you it's totally addicting!


Oh ya, also throw in there a trip to Dick Blick to take advantage of their semi-annual canvas sale. I bought 20 new canvases. Most of them are small, but you get the lowest price when you buy 20 (any combination of styles, sizes).



So I'm heading off to the studio to start working on those canvases. Hope you are all enjoying a lovely weekend! (We are having an unusal rainstorm here in Minnesota...it's not supposed to rain in January in Minnesota...could be ugly when it freezes!)

Today at the Studio

  

I decided to start a new feature "Today at the Studio"--from time to time I will post pictures from my day at the studio. Well, I guess I do that already, but I'm going to do it in this way without so much commentary. Mostly pics, with a few comments. Or no comments.

Sometimes when I show pics of a work in progress, I can get caught up in wanting to explain my process--which isn't bad, but sometimes I just want to post the pics--to show progress, to not get "inside my head" so much, to just be able to step back myself and see what I think (and what you thing as well!)

So here we go, with the first installment of  "Today at the Studio"--

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thinking spring. Dancing to the Bee Gees. Life is good.

Holy Cow! It's 2010!!!

Sometimes when I'm in a funk, I like to listen to music, sit down with a bunch of old magazines, rip/cut out pics and create collages. No painting or anything--just simply creating collage with pictures and paper. It's a great way to clear my head and actually free up my creative juices. This week I combined a collage project for myself with a project for work.

Last week I was reading Kim Geiser's Persimmons Gal blog and had an "aha" moment. I was looking for a project for the women's group I was facilitating at work on Friday. After reading Kim's blog, I rushed out to the Dollar Store and bought up a stack of datebooks--the exact same kind that Kim had used. A great deal at only a $1 a piece! My new group plan: have everyone create their own collage of their vision for 2010--for their very own datebook.

First, I got to create my very own collaged datebook as a prototype for my group. I decided to create one that would be my datebook to keep track of art projects and competitions. Here's what I came up with:

the front cover

  

the back cover

I have to say the whole project was a hit with the moms in group. And it helped me work out of my winter funk. I enjoyed it so much that I decided to create another datebook collage to focus on my plan to get healthy in 2010. Here's the back cover:

 

Now that I have my datebooks ready, I'm ready to tackle 2010!