Best of Show

My local art group, Carlsbad Area Art Association,  has a membership show every year at the Carlsbad Museum and Art Center. This year the show was judged by Noel Marquez, a well-known muralist in our area. He chose my collage “PATH” for the Best of Show award! You can see “PATH” on the collage page of this site. My other two entries also won awards: “FRAME OF MIND” (on the Paintings page) and “ENVELOPE SHRINE” (on the Assemblages page).

Sketchbooks in Austin

I was in Austin over the weekend to see the Sketchbooks! I was DISAPPOINTED in the management of the show! BUT DEFINITELY NOT IN THE SKETCHBOOKS! The sketchbooks were exquisite, quirky, creative, beautiful, varied, colorful, stunning, amazing! Some (including mine) had pop-ups, fold outs, dimensional elements,  or carefully engineered embellishments. They were a thrill to see once I got to see some of them.

fabulous fold-out page
Fabulous Fold-out Page

The show did not open on time, it was delayed by 2 hours. We had traveled a long distance, and arrived early, so the wait was a bummer. The room was too small to accommodate the crowd that came to see the show; there were no tables or chairs. We stood shoulder to shoulder, crammed into a small space and tried to look at the books and enjoy them. Books had to be checked out by author or category. The stacks could not be perused. So it was not possible to get a book that looked interesting unless you knew its category or its author. Most people had no idea of the categories and there were no posters or information leaflets to explain. It was easy to return books to the drop box but then it was necessary to wait in line again to check out a few more.

Waiting for the books
Waiting For The Books

The staff was gracious and remained friendly throughout the short duration of the show but they were too few to serve the attendees.

crowd left, staff right
Checking out books (staff on the right)

My daughter arrived late and wanted to see my book. Although it had been returned to the drop box for returned books an hour or so earlier, it had not been logged back in and returned to the shelves so she was not able to see it.

We learned from one of the staff members that Austin had more sketchbooks than any other city except for NYC, so it is an enigma as to why the staff did not prepare for the crowd.  They knew last year how many books had been purchased and they have  known since January that they have 10,000 (?) books. They also knew how many books were from Austinites. I hope that as the tour continues, adjustments and refinements will be made to make it possible for the sketchbooks to be seen and enjoyed.

The Sketchbook Project

Late last year I decided to participate in an international sketchbook project; so did 28,838 other people! The project is sponsored by Art House Co-op. Each participant paid a fee, received a small sketchbook, and selected a topic from those offered by Art House. Medium and method were left entirely to participants. In order to participate in exhibits and tour with the other sketchbooks, they needed to be filled and returned by early January 2011.
Art House Co-op Sketchbook Tour opened on February 19 at the Brooklyn Art Library. We have not yet heard exactly how many sketchbooks were returned; no doubt it was a huge number.  You can read about this fun project at the Art House Co-Op website, see names of artists participating, the places and dates for the touring exhibit, and many many many photos of pages from sketchbooks which artists have uploaded. I followed ALL the guidelines for the Sketchbook Project. That means you can see my picture, read my profile and see a selection of my pages on the Art House Co-Op site.
If the Sketchbook 2011 Tour comes to your city, or near you, please check out my sketchbook and enjoy it. It’s cover is bright green; it’s topic is IT MUST BE……….ENVELOPES. Inside my sketchbook you will find many colorful collages of envelopes, including several pop-ups. I’m wondering if it will survive the tour, since it is an interactive sketchbook. It has envelopes which can be opened, messages inside them which can be unfolded and read, and other items which invite the viewers’ participation. I’m not really concerned about its survival; I want it to be enjoyed.Sketchbook front

I’ll add a couple of pictures here which aren’t on the Art House Co-op website. In a later post I will add some information aboutSketchbook title page
my long term involvement
with envelopes and what they
mean to me.

The title page, left, has a cut through window with an envelope which is bound with strings and embellishments.

Spiral page

The spiral page, right, has an envelope with a message inside.

I hope to see the Sketchbooks when they are in Austin, TX March 12 at the Austin Museum of Fine Art.

New Mexico Magazine

In the March 2011 issue of New Mexico Magazine, I was featured in the article “Art Is Life” by Wolf Schneider. The article looks at a number of New Mexico artists who have used art as part of a physical recovery process from serious illness.

The assemblage triptych “Postcards From My Heart” was reproduced with the article. You can see that image on my “assemblages” page.

A small detail of the painting “Taking Flight” was reproduced on the Table of Contents page in the magazine. This is the full image:

Taking Flight

“Taking Flight” watermedia painting on paper, 22×15 inches