HORROR! Or: Why I love October

The weather has taken a turn for the wonderful, almost tempting me to sleep out on the deck tonight.  However, after seeing some of our resident spiders this weekend, I think I'll pass.

"Spider Silk" will be at the Art of Horror show in October
©Sweet Enemy Art

Still, occasional wood-smoke on the wind, the trees turning to gold, and oh yes,
the spooky sundries of Halloween.  We don't have any trick-or-treaters up this way, which is sad, but I still get to pull out some of our fun creepy stuff for the heck of it.  In the week leading up to Halloween, Arkonbey often has a lit jack-o-lantern ready to greet me when I arrive home late & tired.  Add to this fresh local cider & cider donuts, and life is generally better.

Now I have another reason to be excited for October:  The Art Of HORROR exhibit is about to start, and this year, three of my pieces have been juried in!  There may be one or two more, depending on what I can accomplish in the next 36 hours (besides sleep & a day job.)

The Art of Horror opens on Friday October 7th at my favorite haunt: The S.P.A.C.E. Gallery; as part of the Burlington First Friday Artwalk.  Opening reception is from 5 to 9 p.m. and includes ghost stories and a chance to have your fortune told.
I'll be there until about 8 p.m. (having a brother's birthday bonfire to attend the same night, at least my double-bookings are interesting!)

The exhibit will display through the following dates, and open hours: October 7th – October 29th, open Thursday – Saturday from 11-4pm

Do you Facebook?  Here's the event page for The Art of Horror.

Also!  This Saturday at 9 a.m. Arkonbey and I launch into our FIFTH year of 24 Hour Comics Day.  Aside from reading lots of webcomics, I've been musing about which medium to use this year.  Other than that, trying to keep my mind open so that I can start with a clean slate.  And a little less caffeine than my first year :)

Poster designed by my own Arkonbey, in-house designer extraordinaire

Super August

So many things going on in the next few weeks!
Let me catch you up:

      The August Art Auction (2011 edition) at The S.P.A.C.E.  Gallery in Burlington has already begun, and runs through August 26th.  This gallery gets a lot of mentions from me here, in part because I think they've done a lot towards making the Burlington art scene more interesting.  I'm also glad to say that it's given me a wonderful platform from which to show my art.  

Click here to see the painting that I've donated towards the cause!

       There are many great pieces in this auction, and these artists who have donated their creations are really good folk.  Did you know you can vote for the "People's Choice" artist when you visit the auction site?  I have made so many great connections, a real network of supportive friends through S.P.A.C.E., and I don't want it to end.  Help keep it going strong.   

Phoenix: our favorite indie bookshop!

       In other news, the final silkscreening class is this week, and I've been having a fine ol' time learning the basic ins and outs.  Some of the fruits of my labor will be available at the upcoming ART HOP weekend September 9th & 10th.  

       Phoenix Books will be showing a few pieces by me, my friend Karen, and a photographer (whom I haven't met yet) starting at the end of this week.  More info on that as we decide on the reception date and so forth.    

Wheeled Rabbit, 8" round ©Sweet Enemy Art

       One of my paintings on Etsy was featured in a treasury list last week!  A fun one if you like bunnies, and how could you not?

       

Art openings this weekend

This Sunday is going to be jam-packed!
First, a quick drop-in with the Maternal family for a lake-side reunion (apparently the beaches have re-appeared, thank goodness.)  A quick family photo shall occur, (with promises that Arkonbey will photoshop himself in afterwards) some lemonade and hearty food shall be consumed, and maybe I'll dip my feet in the water.

Then it's off to Hinesburg!
There, I'll be attending the art opening at NRG Systems.  An awesome company, which has wisely hired the fantastic Sarah Lee  to both create really awesome art installations, and to expand the art collection both of the company and one of the founders.  Artists' Mediums has framed a vast majority of the work in this collection, and Sarah Lee also purchased two of my paintings last year, Front Wheel Fish and a Dragonfly piece, which are either in the co-founders' collection or the company collection (I will probably find out.)  
One of the artists in the collection, Larry Bissonette, is from the movie "Wretches and Jabberers" and he will be giving a presentation, which is probably going to make me cry.  In a good way.

Then, off to Jericho!

Michelle Saffran  

Searchers

a photographic journey

@ the Emil A. Gruppe Gallery 

Jericho, VT

Michelle is a member of my critique group, and a not-too-distant neighbor too!  I've been privileged to see some of her work from the Searchers series as it was developing.  These Doll Collection photos look very intriguing too.  So I'll be swinging by on Sunday to say hello at her opening.  Last time I went to one of her shows she also had a fabulous 50's style outfit, and we are talking cocktail formal.  I loved it!

Doll Collection 2 by Michelle Saffran

Welcome to the Salon...

Hi there!  

Q:  What's the last thing that goes through a bug's mind 

when it hits the windshield?

A:  The butt.

Nothing like a little third-grade humor to get the post off to a good start.

I thought I'd share a few of the many pieces that I'll have on display at SPACE 

for the new show:  Christy's:  Salon Art Event

I'm one of eleven local artists to be displayed, and it's going to be a wonderful mix.  

"As curator to The SPACE, Christy Mitchell has come to know and love the work of many of the artists who have shown in the gallery since opening it’s doors in August of 2009.  You’ll see vignettes featuring new and older work by:

Beth Robinson, Christy Mitchell, Jme Wheeler, John Brickels, Jonathan Ward, Justin Atherton, Kristen L’Esperance, Kristin Richland, Sage Tucker-Ketcham, Wendy James, & Wylie Sofia Garcia"

I hope you can make it!  

If you aren't able to see it in person, Arkonbey has promised to take pictures while we're at the opening.

If you can't make it to the opening but want to see the show, the exhibit will run through the month of March, open every Thursday-Saturday from 11-4 p.m.  

www.spacegalleryvt.com

Until next time...  

Black and Green go well together

Okay, I've been remiss in posting all my pictures, partly because I've been busy with paintstiks and the next show at S.P.A.C.E., but here's a sweet little taste from the Seven Days website:
Body by Jme Wheeler, Black Gear by Justin Atherton, and the Green bits are by yours truly!
(click the link to read the nice little write-up)

And what's next at S.P.A.C.E. you ask?  Why, this!

Christy's: Salon Art Event March 4th - 26th Opening Reception: First Friday Art Walk, March 4th 5-9pm Take a stroll through The S.P.A.C.E. Gallery's Great Room this March, as Christy  Mitchell showcases the work of Burlington's finest.  Curator and Creative Facilitator of The S.P.A.C.E.,  Christy has come to know and love a talented group of local artisans  since opening the gallery doors in August, 2009.  Christy invites you to enjoy selections from each artist's body of work, presenting you with the opportunity to expand your own personal collections. You'll see work by: Beth Robinson Christy Mitchell John Brickels Jonathan Ward Jme Wheeler Justin Atherton Kristen L'Esperance Kristin Richland Sage Tucker-Ketcham Wendy James Wylie Sofia Garcia

See you there!

Winter catch-up!

So the past few weeks have gone by in a bit of an art-making blur, though I don't have the usual type of finished product to show for it.

First came the a day of three art demos for the Vermont Maturity magazine's 50+ Expo:  Relief printing, Walnut ink, and Oil Paintstiks.  I spent the majority of the prep time working with paintstiks, as those were entirely new to me.  Here's the photoset.  I'm doing another demo (of paintstiks) on the 26th of February at Artists' Mediums.



In the middle of the January I went to my third "Cross Pollinators" crit group.  There I shared a project I'd worked on at the beginning of the month:  living dress drawings done super-small, in just graphite, trying to mimic old photographs.  I've started creating a loose story line around them (very loose!) and am setting them in a vintage-style black photo album/ scrapbook.  
But THEN!  Just as I'm working super small, and everyone at the group was interested in seeing the dresses far bigger, I got an email from S.P.A.C.E. facilitator Christy Mitchell.  The call to action was for an interactive, almost life-sized paper doll show for February.  I came up with two outfit designs and got them fully painted in the nick of time to be scanned by the originator of the  idea, Jme Wheeler.  The night before the opening, scissors flew as pieces came out of the printer.  



The opening itself had a nice turnout, and several of us are hoping we could take the idea a bit further.  Once we find out how much the printing actually cost, perhaps we will! 



Artists involved in the Dress Me Up Show:  Jme Wheeler, Christy Mitchell, Wylie Sofia Garcia, Beth Robinson, Justin Atherton, and me!


I'll edit this post later to add the images of my two outfits.  
Ciao!  
Off to make valentines and eat good food.