Monday, January 25, 2016

Good News!

Yesterday was the opening reception for the Carnegie Center for the Arts 2016 Regional Juried Arts Exhibit. I am happy to tell you that one of the three paintings I had in the show won an Honorable Mention Award.  This is the first show that I took part in since I moved to MI.  I didn't realize what a big show this was when I entered.  There were over 100 artists and about 230 pieces of art shown.  There were 11 awards given.  I was honored to have gotten one of those awards.  I was surprised to  receive a check for $100 for the honorable mention award.  In Tucson honorable mention gave you a ribbon but no $.

 The name of this painting is "With a Moroccan Flair".  Sometimes I come up with a title for a painting and then do the painting to match that title.  In this case I did the painting and could not make up my mind on what to name it so took the easy way and named it after a painting I did in the past and sold.  Here is a photo of the painting.
 I also had some other good news yesterday.  I meet with the jury committee of the Three Rivers Artist Guild and was invited to join the guild.  Becoming a member of the guild and having 3 paintings accepted in a large show and winning an award are the beginning of me becoming a part of the west Michigan art community.  I miss all my Tucson artist friends but now feel I will make a new circle of friends in Michigan.

Thursday, January 14, 2016

Carnegie Center for the Arts Exhibition

I'm happy to say I was notified that the three paintings I submitted to the Carnegie Center for the Arts juried compitition/exhibition were accepted.  This will be the first art show I will be doing in MI.  I hope it will be one of many.  Here are the three paintings that will be showing.



The opening reception is on January 24, 2016 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.  The awards presentation is at 3 p.m.  The exhibit closes February 20.  The location is 107 N. Main St.  Three Rivers, MI.

I am looking forward to attending the reception and meeting other artists from the area.

Friday, January 8, 2016

New Kitchen and Functional Items

I have been busy and haven't had time to post photos of my new kitchen.  I am finally making the time.  I am also going to post photos of some functional items that I painted a long time ago and will still be using in my new kitchen.
The first picture is what the kitchen looked when we bought the house.  Actually, it is one that was posted on Zillow by the previous owners.
This next picture shows what our remodel looks like.  We kept most of the cabinets.  We relocated the refrigerator and added the pantry and cabinet above the fridge.  We also had crown molding installed on all the cabinets.  The appliances are all new including an over the stove microwave.  We had the windows removed and a dish pantry put in their place with new smaller windows above.  We plan to do stained glass in those windows.  We also had a large island placed in the middle of the kitchen. All counter tops were changed to quartz.  That is the only thing I wished I would have done different.  Mainly it is the color that I am not happy with.  We chose what we wanted from a small 2" piece and the sample had a lot more brown and less white and grey in it, or so I thought. The finished counter looks grey with just a tiny bit of brown.  There is no going back on something that big  so I am stuck with it.  What I plan to do is when we install our ceramic tile floor (which will probably happen in the summer)  is go with a grey tile to tie it all together.  Roger changed all the light fixtures and installed the glass back splash.  He will build the stained glass windows and also install the floor tile.  It is great to have a handy husband!

Since this is an art blog I thought I better show some art work.  The next paintings are functional items that I painted years ago and have used in my Arizona and Ohio kitchens and will now use in my new Michigan kitchen.
This is a napkin holder that I really love and that has special meaning to me because my Dad built it.
Next is the apple on a stick that I always kept in my utensil container next to the stove.  It was also made by my Dad and I have had it longer than the napkin holder....I had it in my Ohio house so I'm guessing it is 35 years old.
This item is even older than the apple.  It is a ceramic fruit stack that I painted in 1974.  It also has special meaning.  My mother used to own a ceramic school and she poured this molded piece herself.  I cleaned it and painted it back in the day! This will be in my dining room.
Now that I think about it...my dad made this tray too.  It goes back maybe 13 years.  The next few items are things that I bought at yard sales and while they don't have special meaning to me they are things that I used a lot in our AZ years.