Artful Adventures

Press Release, an introduction, and asking for help--

---but not necessarily in that order:)  This past spring I had the pleasure of meeting Roy Bedward, an artist from Madison who happens to be autistic.  I've been given permission to post a copy of a presentation that he gave at a recent conference for autism, you can find a link on the left sidebar, or just click here.  Now that may not sound very impressive in itself, but you have to understand that Roy can't talk, he's non verbal.   So go back & read, It's long, but well worth it to get a better understanding of Roy and his everyday challenges.  If you google his name, you'll find some of his art to see, like here for instance.

Now that you've had the introduction, here's where the call for help comes in.  Roy is limited as to what he can earn on his own and is always in need of money (I know, we all are) to buy art supplies.  If you've read his story, you'll know how important it is that he's able to create his art.  When asked what he could use, this is what I was told:  "I think we can utilize many materials.  What Roy uses the most currently is acrylic paint, heavy water color paper, canvas, brushes, glass jars for paint, and wood.  It would be great to use other material so what ever you may have to give, we will find use for it."  Jeremy helps with his care, but Alli is the supervisor & in charge of it all, so if you have any specific questions, or need an address to ship any extra supplies that you may be willing to part with, here's all the contact information:

Allison Kretschmer

Quality Assurance Coordinator

REM Wisconsin Inc.

1317 Applegate Road

Madison, WI 53713

Phone: 608-276-0102 #248

Fax: 608-276-0110

Allison.Kretschmer@thementornetwork.com

Now for the fun part, Roy is having his own show at The Flying Pig Gallery & Greenspace.  It's part of the Back Gallery Series offered, so he'll have his art on display and for sale there from June 28 through July 27, 2008.  Here's a copy of the press release that just went out that explains it all much better than I can:)  Thanks in advance for anyone who can help, please feel free to direct folks to this post, or put it on your blog, anything to get the word out to be able to help him.  This is exactly why I like to blog, there's such a sense of community and it's amazing how I've seen bloggers pull together, here's another chance to do just that!

For Immediate Release:

 

2008 Back Gallery Series Continues with the artwork of Roy Bedward.

 

In a life filled with shadows, he sees colors and is awakened by their beauty.   He communicates by typing on a simple paper keyboard, his helpers quickly deciphering the letters that soon become his words.  He may not be able to talk, but he most definitely understands – meet Roy Bedward, a Madison, WI, based artist whose work will be the on exhibit as part of The Back Gallery Series 2008 at The Flying Pig Gallery and Greenspace from June 28 through July 27. 

 

Although diagnosed with autism, Roy has captured the sense of magic and color that autism gives the real world – an endless supply of sensations with which to work.  For over ten years, he has been painting in self-made studios at his home in an assisted living residence in Madison.  Presented with a limited palate of colors and  materials to paint upon, Roy creates stunning abstract combinations of color and texture.

 

In addition to painting, Roy loves drawing, woodworking, and working with clay.  While in his studio, he has a support member assist him with his body if he becomes “stuck.”  Despite needing this support member, all of his creations are completely independent and original.

 

“When I'm painting I feel more normal and happy than any other time in my life.  I love color.  It can make me so much more alive when I have it in my life,” types Bedward.  “Just imagine how it would feel to not be able to talk.  If you can really imagine that, then you can begin to understand what my art means to me.” 

 

Bedward is the second of four artists to be featured at The Flying Pig Gallery and Greenspace this summer.  The remaining artists to be featured in the Back Gallery Series will be Melissa Jones of Birmingham, AL (August 2 – September 1) and Kim Wozniak of Pulaski, WI (September 6 – October 5).

 

The Flying Pig Gallery and Greenspace is located at N6975 Hwy 42, 2 miles south of Algoma. The gallery is open daily 9am-6pm. For gallery and event information, please call (920) 487-9902 or visit www.theflyingpig.biz.

 

2 days in a row, do you believe it?

As most of you know, every month
Michelle Ward has a crusade, with last month being Crusade #18-carving stamps.  Something I've never tried before & need to work on, my attempt was pretty dismal.  But Gary decided to try it & promptly sat down and carved 3 stamps, he did the one inked in green, the red one, and a key which is on the backside of one of them.  Mine is there, too-the blah looking one-lol!  If I can't get the hang of it, maybe I can just get him to do it for me!

With the camera being "down" I didn't get it posted in time, but we're getting a jump start on the next challenge for April so shouldn't have that problem again.                                                                                       

Crusade #19 for April is to cut your own stencils, and MIchelle has a really great tutorial posted on it.  As luck would have it, we stopped at Michael's the other night and they had spray paint on sale for $1.99/can!  Perfect time to stock up & get ready for spray painting season (it's getting there!) and use the new stencils we'll make.                            

As mentioned yesterday, getting back into the studio was a priority.  As always, to accomplish anything, it always seems like there's prep work to do.  If I put it off, nothing gets made-does an excuse come any more lame than that one?  So, besides making art I drilled pearls, and can now proudly say that I can use any color or kind of pearl now that I own:)  It was one of those things that felt good to get done, busywork, keeping my hands busy & my wheels turning, good stuff can come from that:)  

It's that time of year-things are growing in WI!  It's like they know their time is limited and can't get out of the ground quick enough.  Seems early for some of the little guys that are appearing, but I quess it really isn't.  Brace yourselves, as anything pops up in the yard, it'll be popping up on here, too:)  Oh, I almost forgot to tell you--- Jeanette Janson is having a moving sale over at her Etsy Shop , with 25% off everything she has listed.  Now's your chance if you've been drooling over anything in her shop! 

Ok, it's been too long again!

Is that cool or what, the way the camera caught the water falling over the edge?  It's just a little place near here, called Wequiock Falls, small but always awesome looking.  And why did we get such a good picture?  New camera!  Our old faithful is sick, poor thing, so we bought a new one (same as the old one, just the newer version) and will send the old one in for repair.  Since Gary's so good at snapping those pictures, he needed a better camera anyway, and he really needs a hobby:)

It's been a busy couple of weeks here, seems like we're either running around for something, and if not, I've actually been in the studio.  My copy of this book arrived last week, written by Alyson Stanfield.  There's something magical about it, seems to work by osmosis!  Seriously, just having it in the house, makes me feel accountable for some strange reason.  I won't lie & tell you that I've read it all the way through, because I haven't.  But what I have done, is to keep it handy, pick it up a dozen times a day, page through, read a little here & there, and trot (ok, hobble) back into the studio.  But----I'm being productive, I'm enjoying what I'm doing, I feel like there's a purpose and a need to do what I do.  Some new habits are being established, like making sure that I'm showered & dressed & ready to rock 'n roll by a certain time each morning, making sure that I'm doing something everyday, no matter how small.  The book is about marketing, but in my case I had to get into the studio first to be able to market, and I'm doing it!  So click on over & order this book-you won't regret it!           

I've been all over the place with my art lately, jewelry, painting, collage, bookmaking, and I've got the messes all over the house to prove it:)  When I do this, it seems like nothing gets done because so much is "in progress", and them all of a sudden there's a bunch done, love it when that happens!  The labradorite necklace was my first commissioned piece of jewelry, after all my fretting & worrying about it, she loved it-whew.  Photos are just never the same as seeing the real thing, so until someone actually has the art in their hands, I hold my breath a little.  There was no need to worry (see, there's that why waste a worry thing again!) so I just have to learn to trust in myself. 

And here's another one with stick pearls, citrine,  ivory coin pearls and some white pearls-another one possibly for the gallery.  Tomorrow I start making resin filled bezels and see if any of them will work with a new bunch of necklaces I'm starting-another mess, I'm running out of horizontal surfaces!

This may not look very imressive, but that little white ridge you see in the background, is the ice breaking up on the bay and starting to pile up on itself.  When that happens it can make these huge piles of ice that can come ashore, they're really much larger than you'd think.   The good thing is, it's a sure sign of spring!  Last week end, we hit over 50 degrees, according to the news, it was the first 50 degree day since sometime in November, 130 some days ago, which came out to something like 39% of the year.  Those are some facts I could have lived without ever knowing, talk about a long winter! 

Still love those sunsets!  This was taken across the road from our house, watching the sun set over the bay, it's always so beautiful to watch, something I never get tired of seeing.  Before I go, I have to share this photo of more socks:)  Just happened that Robyn & Susan and I were together at the same time, all wearing mismatched socks, and all with different pairs on.  So here ya' go-more socks!  

I'm a girly girl!!!

Now is this not the coolest thing you've ever seen?  When a box arrived in my mailbox this past week and I ripped it open to find this, I was grinning from ear to ear!  First of all, it was so artfully packaged that I hated to open it, but it didn't take me long to come to my senses:)  It's a cuff, made by the talented

Annie

, who made my day with this, I actually feel like a girly girl when I wear it, and that's not easy!  I wore it out to an

ArtBeet meeting on Monday night to show it off. 

Susan took one look at it, asked if I had ever met Annie in person, because the cuff was so "me", an absolute perfect choice for me.  Yes, Annie & I did meet once, at

Valley Ridge Art Studio where we both attended a class taught by

Nina.  Seriously, magical things can happen at Valley Ridge, and especially when you throw Nina in the mix!  Turns out that Annie & I share a birthday, as well as many of the traits of the Scorpio that we are.  We hit it off like 2 little peas in a pod, she pulled a prctical joke on me (watch your back, I still didn't get even!), and the rest is history.  During that class in particular, 4 of us met for the first time, and the 4 of us have been friends ever since.  Like I said, magic can happen if you let it!   It's actually been a productive week for me, I have 1 necklace completed and 3 more in the works-all close to being done.  So I have wore to twist & liver of sulphur to play in, then I can post what I made later on today, hopefully.  Enjoy the day, my friends!!!!   

New Jewels

Just in case you all thought I gave up posting art as a resolution for 2008, I didn't:)  I was determined to make a necklace to wear to Gary's retirement party, ended up making 2 of them and then couldn't decide which one to wear.  So I put them both on together, and they fit together perfectly-now had I tried doing that intentionally, it never would've worked out.  Still have some issues photographing this stuff, time to find a tutorial and work on it.  Anyhow, the longer necklace started out as a "lets try out a bunch of techniques and see what happens" necklace.  Most of these techniques came from Sharilyn Miller's book (a must own, in my opinion) Bead On A Wire, as well as her Tribal Treasure's DVD.  Both the book & dvd are a most wonderful source of information, and invaluable if you have a memory like mine that keeps thinking, "now how did that go again"?   Someone  had given me the advice to try everything out in copper first, which turned out to be great advice, and I have a pile of twisted copper to prove it!  Also incorporated into this necklace are techniques learned from the oh so lovely and patient Nina, if it hadn't been for her, I seriously never would have been able to do any of this.  The necklace on the inside was more my comfort level, even though I do hate wiring flat objects, such as the buttons.  Love the way flat objects look in a necklace, it's just not my favorite thing to do!  Yesterday we went up to Sturgeon Bay to The Artists Guild, a wonderful art supply store that has just about everything.  When we walked in, the gal working there commented right away on the necklaces (yep, wore them both again) asking who made them.  It was a wonderful compliment when she asked if & where I was selling them, a validation of sorts that she felt they were worthy of being sold as soon as she saw them, and better yet that she felt that having my work for sale at The Flying Pig was a good move, like I said, it was a wonderful compliment.   

While driving over the bridge and past the shipyard in Sturgeon Bay, I spotted this boat with "Susan L" written on the bow & along the top of the boat, Since Lee is my middle name, we had to get a picture of it!  Yes, I know, I'm easily amused:)  And the big news of the day is that I finally got a stencil burner thingy (technical terms-lol) and some blank stencil sheets.  Something that I've been wanting to do for a long time is to incorporate either some of my own drawings or some photographs into my work, and figured making a stencil out of these would not only be great fun, but would "make it my own", a phrase that keeps ringing in my head that was said by Michelle Ward.  As artists, it's tough to not be influenced by other's work or the abundance of eye candy that we can see on a constant basis, but I do believe that we need to make a conscious effort to develop our own style, put a new spin a technique, whatever it takes so that ultimately when someone sees our work, they know that it belongs to you, not someone you admire or whose work you lust after, but little 'ol YOU!  I quess that'll be my first goal for 2008-to make that happen on a consistent basis, trust myself enough to let it happen, and work hard enough to make it happen.   

   

A Christmas Story of my own

This year, I participated in a Secret Santa swap amongst members of MMCA.  My secret santa was the oh so talented, Caren from New Zealand, and these are the packages that I ripped (seriously, I literally tore right into it!) from the envelope that arrived here on Christmas Eve. 

Inside one of the packages was this wonderful tote that she made for me.  By now we all know I have a "thing" for handmade purses, so when not in use, it'll go up on my purse wall to admire.  As if that weren't enough, she also made a smaller, like a little larger than a coin purse size, piece to match that had a darling piece of artwork inside of it, a bunch of wonderful papers, everything from handmade to vintage text all wrapped up in ribbons & lace.  Also a handcarved wooden letter opener and a very cool silver pendant with a tiger eye stone in the center were included-she spoiled me rotten!

As it turned out, I had Caren's name for me to play Secret Santa to her:)  I was thrilled, we've been online friends for years, so I was looking forward to doing this.  Then-------I freaked!  All of a sudden it hit me, with all of the fabulous art that Caren creates, what on earth could I possibly make for her??  The old inner critic jumped on this opportunity, kicked my muse to the curb, and took up residence once again.  After starting & not liking, more projects than I care to admit, it dawned on me that I was missing the whole point of the exchange.  It was about giving, not a contest, not about stressing out, and certainly not about opening the door & inviting in that inner critic.  Once I worked through this and got a bit of confidence back, I easily put together a package for her, including this necklace that I made just for her.

I've learned a good lesson from this.  Always feeling presumptious about sending my art to other artists, feeling like mine is no better than theirs so why bother.  I'm finally understanding that it's all about sharing of ourselves and our own unique talents.  It's like what we put ourselves through every year with Christmas shopping for anyone, stressing over getting the "perfect" whatever, rather than just enjoying the holiday and giving of ourselves, but most importantly to give ourselves a little break and trust our instincts.  2008 will be different for me now, there will be more chillin' out, less worrying, and a lot more stress free art to be made and sent out into the world.   

Gifts and green and sales-oh my!

The other day I got an oh so sweet package from my friend, Tracie.  I've heard it said that presentation is everything, and Tracie is one of the best at it!  The little book of her poetry and art, arrived all wrapped up in my favorite slime green (and yes, I said "slime" not lime) tissue paper, adorned with silk flowers, ribbon, tulle, and a little metal tag that reads "for Sue".  And I even managed to slide the book out, without disturbing the packaging:)  Tracie is so talented, as a teacher, an artist, and a poet-amazing!  She's got a party going on right now to celebrate her Etsy Grand Holiday Open House  , so click on over & see what goodies she has, and maybe you'll win something!  Thanks again, Tracie, for thinking of me! 

A week ago today was Thanksgiving, when we woke up to a dusting snow, and the weird sight of this last rose, stubbornly hanging on, despite a little coating of the white stuff.  We had the traditional turkey and all the fixings, and were joined by Jessie & Michelle, and our old friends Cindy & Alice.  It was perfect, friends, family, lots of good food & conversation, and topped off with the Packers winning the early game.

The next day kicked off the annual Holiday Sale at Kele Alpacas .  It all happens in an old restored log building, decorated and filled to the rafters with the offerings of many local artists, complete with coffee or hot cider and some treats to munch on while browsing, and the barn & fields full of alpacas roaming around. 

  It's always a warm and welcoming place to be, hosted by Amanda & Leanna.  Besides having an artists reception before it started, this year there was a time set aside for the participating artists to come together & barter their wares with each other, and this Sunday there will a celebration to honor the 10th anniversary of this sale.  It's going to be fun!

Bear, one of Leanna's dogs, is the official greeter at the sale.  Must have been hard work for him that week end, he made himself a little bed in the middle of everything, taking a break for a quick snooze:) 

No way could I pass up this purse at the sale- it's slime green!  It's gorgeous, reversible, made out of raw silk, and will be a new addition on the wall of purses in my studio.  It started out as sort of a joke to hang all hand made purses on a wall, but I have to tell you, it's pretty cool, and makes everyone who sees it smile, that's worth it, right there!

Mother Bead is a shop in Green Bay, that's having a sale right now, 40% off most of their gemstones & all of their pearls.  I've already been there twice and now have to stay out of there for awhile, even though the prices with this sale are just too good to ignore!  But I told myself that I have to get this jewelry stuff organized, before I bring anything else into this house, starting with reaming out all the pearls that are already here (from another sale) so that I even know what I have, what I need, and to be able to just sit down and make something.  Yeah, I know, I'm dreaming:)  It took a couple of days, but things are getting in order, pearls are almost all reamed, so now I can sit down & make something.  I have a plan (there's always a plan with the best of intentions, isn't there?) that I can work on collages in the studio, and while paint & glue are drying, move on into the kitchen & work on jewelry.  I'll let you know how this works out:)