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.

 

Take a tour you won't forget

By now you all know how much we adore The Flying Pig and the owners, Robyn & Susan.  To get a better understanding of just how special they are, get a glimpse of the beyond fantastic art filled home that they live in, and understand a little of their philosophy of how they live, check this out.  They were recently interviewed by the Milwaukee Sentinel, which resulted in a piece aptly called Piecing life, art together. which talks about both the gallery & greenspace across the street, & their recycled (or altered!) home.  Enjoy!  And if you still don't get why we love it over there so much after reading that article, you'll just have to come visit & experience it for yourself:)

Getting ready for some summer fun!

Check this out!  This box of innocent looking jars are going to give me hours of fun dying paper, fabric & ribbon this summer-I feel like the mad scientist about to embark on a new experiment.  Actually, that pretty much describes it:)  Awhile back, I talked about Mixed Media Nature Journals written by L.K. Ludwig, rather than repeat myself too much, you can go back & read it here.  For once in my life, I wanted to be prepared, so I made sure that I had plenty of Fabriano watercolor paper on hand (love that stuff!) and then went on over to Dharma Trading Co to order dye.  Sounds simple enough, until I got over there and saw all the possibilities, amazing!  Look here and here and then just keep digging through the site, there are enough ideas to keep anyone busy for a very long time!  This morning we ran into Kewaunee for an estate sale, it's that time of year for all kinds of sales, so off we went.  Not quite sure just yet how or when I'll use this stuff, but it was too cool to leave behind.  See that's the problem at these sales, no time to think, because if you don't grab whatever it is that you're looking at right away, it's gone right before your eyes.  But I'm either going have to do some assemblage pieces soon or I'm going to run out of room in here!  The other thing that keeps me out of the studio for a bit this time of year, is playing in the dirt & potting up containers.  Here's part of one of a pair, to go on each side of the front door.  It's the north side, so not much sun, but by incorporating houseplants, I can still have color in the shade and even bring the container in for the winter and keep it for next year.  See, the old mind is always whirling:)  The violas will drop seeds on the ground beneath it for next year, and the dusty miller, strobilanthus, and streptacarpus all make good houseplants.  I've always said planning a garden (or container) is like collage-layering colors, texture, shape & form-maybe we could coin a new term & like "art gardening", well, ok we can probably do better than that, but it'll do for now.  In the meantime, our flower gardens have gotten out of control over the last few years, so I've got Gary digging up, splitting, & moving plants all over.  And then we keep finding new ones-can't win!  Like this beauty we found at The Flying Pig out in the greenspace.  Robyn does a great job on getting her hands on some different plants to keep our gardens interesting and fresh looking.  Now we need rain to keep the gardens looking good, so far we've had very little.  Hoping this isn't a repeat of last summer!  Ok, now go plant something, I'd love to see what you all come up with!

A "Must-Have" Book

A couple of weeks ago, armed with a couple of Amazon gift certificates and having made the decision to join Northlight Book Club (seems most of the books I want are published by them anyway) I painstakingly chose 8 books-4 from each place.  As I looked them through (or sometimes I just sort of skim through, looking at the pictures) I'll let you know how I like them.  But one that jumped out at me, that I did actually sit down and start reading, was The New Creative Artist written by Nita Leland .  Not only did I start to read it, I hauled out a notebook just to jot things down as I read.  She's teaching this summer at Peninsula Art School(scroll down on the page that this link takes you, to see the class description) which is about an hour drive from here, literally in my back yard.  I had pretty much made up my mind that I had signed up for enough classes this summer, but after getting this book, I may have to rethink that decision!  There are loads of things of try, ideas to keep you motivated, enough quotes & invaluable verbiage to convince all of us, even on our worst days when we question why we do what we do, that YES, we are creative, it's all worth it, and how to get over that hump.  But there was a statement in particular that hooked me, reeled me in and has made me a fan of hers forever, it's this sentence from her book "Your work should be your own.  When you copy, you deny your uniqueness.  Copying isn't creativity; it's just the business of making a picture."  Making it your own is a phrase that's been tossed around for awhile, but obviously everyone hasn't bought into it by everyone.  It's something that I firmly believe in, so was more than pleased to see it addressed in a book.  And that's one of the big reasons we all need this book, we need to make art & create, but we need to make it our own as we go along.  You won't regret buying this book, no matter what medium you work in!  And on that note, I leave you with a photo of a necklace I did a couple of weeks ago, like the rest, it too is for sale at The Flying Pig. 

What's Blooming Now--

Yesterday early morning, I stepped outside the back door and was greeted with the heavy, sweet scent of lilacs.  The breeze was soft & coming from just the right direction to blow right at me, and the scent was strong with them just begining to open.  Will have to cut some tomorrow & bring them in the house, they don't last long but they certainly are a treat.  It's still on the cool side here in WI, I think we've only had one day reach the 70 degree mark so far.  But that means the spring flowers are lasting longer so it's ok.  The downside is that being the impatient gardener that I am, we bought plants early (telling myself it was to make sure we got what we wanted, but we all know that wasn't the real reason!) we've been hauling them out during the day, and back into the garage at night becasue it's been too cold for some.  We left a few out last night though, and they were fine-whew!  The old apple tree is still blooming, another one that doesn't last long, but what a beautiful flower.  Half of that tree blew down during the first spring storm that came through the year we moved in, but it keeps hanging in there-tenacious old thing! 

The allium are about to pop, they crack me up, looking like some sort of alien creature standing tall & proud in the garden.  Note to self-remember to dig them up & move them this year to another spot, they take up too much prime space for a plant that goes dormant for most of the summer.  For the last 3 days I've been feeling sick again (what the hell, I never used to get sick so often!) but today we got out of the house anyway, not a very perky road trip, but a road trip nonetheless.  We went into Green Bay to Summerplace Gardens where I used to work & got some more annuals for containers.  Oh, check out the website, I'm doing it for her so be kind-lol!.  Just started it, and have a long way to go, but at least it's started.  Came home & had a quick lunch, then off to The Flying Pig for a cup of coffee and of course had to buy another plant while I was there, too.  Plants can be almost as addictive as art supplies:)  But there was a big beautiful Kent's Beauty (a flowering oregano) that I couldn't resist.  Will take photos of containers soon, as I plant them-maybe tomorrow:)

Celebration of Life on the Lake

 

Gary participated in a community based project recently, Celebration of Life on the Lake, and here's the clay tile that he made.  I'm so proud of him for trying something new and doing it so well-good job!  The reception was this past Saturday where everybody got to see them all together for the first time, I didn't know what to expect since I wsn't a part of this one, and was blown away with what I saw.  And to see all the kids with their parents, showing off their art work, well that was just precious!  The following text is from a press release (making sure I get the facts straight!), and photos from Gary.  This will be the 3rd attempt, for some reason Typepad keeps eating my posts tonight!

Through the months of April and May students from Kewaunee and Algoma schools, as well as home school children and adult community members, have gathered at Clay on Steele in Algoma to create works of art celebrating life here in Northeast Wisconsin on the Lake Michigan shore.  Nearly 150 participants designed, created and glazed clay tiles that depict scenes of local plant and wildlife, recreational activities, family farms, historical buildings and endangered and invasive species.  The project, designed and implemented by local artists Kirsten Christianson and Stephanie St. John, was partially funded with a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board.  The artists were able to receive this grant by partnering up with ArtBeet, Inc., a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote the arts in Kewaunee County.  Additional support was provided by local businesses, individuals and over a dozen volunteers from the community.

 This project was created to bring the community together and to help us appreciate the beauty, history and culture of Kewaunee County.  We are thrilled with the exciting response we have received from all the participants, volunteers and donors.  The quality of art work and the excitement generated from the project participants was astounding and far surpassed what we had anticipated.  All the artists and families should be extremely proud of this body of work.  Celebration of Life on the Lake has truly been a community project, we are thankful for all your support and hope to continue to organize future community art projects.  A selection of tiles will kept on display at The Flying Pig through Memorial Day weekend.

 

 

ArtFlow Project complete & on display!

Here it is, a photo taken by Robyn to be use for PR purposes, that shows all 20 panels-now picture them all lined up on a 40' easel-it's beyond cool! 

" The ArtFlow Project is the brainchild of Robyn Mulhaney, co-owner of  The Flying Pig .  She imagined a project that would bring together those involved in the arts at many different levels: those who appreciate, those who instruct, professional artists and children.

The ArtFlow Project was designed to exhibit the drift of creative energy that flows through small communities and to represent the impact of its talented tide."

If you missed how the panels looked at the beginning, I spoke about the project here , and here .  Although I did make a mistake in 1 of those  posts, I had said there would be 25 panels, and there are actually 20.  People have been so impressed with the whole concept, and the outcome, that they're already asking if it'll be done next year!  I'm so honored to have been able to be participate in this very special project. I did make a photo album, in the right hand column of this page, that contains closer views of all of the panels.  The diversity of the work, and how it all ties together with the mosaic running through it, is amazing.  It's on exhibit until Oct.1, so come on out & see-you won't regret it!