ACC/Charlotte

It was delightful meeting so many new people this past weekend at the ACC/Charlotte show! It was the first time that I've shown in Charlotte and it was a beautiful and succesful show - and fun to know that many of you will visit our studio/gallery just 40 miles up the road in Salisbury. To those of you who recognized my work from other NC shows in Asheville, Blowing Rock, Piedmont and Cabbarus County, thanks for the compliment! Achieving that "voice" in one's work is something we all strive for. Three days is a long show and I'm glad to be drinking my coffee this morning in my own home. On Wednesday, after the election, I'll be back at work preparing for the Piedmont Craftsmen and Carolina Designer Craftsmen shows. Hope to see you there.

New Work

Pushing the medium again, moving more into the sculpture realm - but never leaving the color behind. Looking forward to showing the new work at the Celebration of Fine Art, Scottsdale, this year. http://www.celebrateart.com/

October Flies By

Last night we had the first Pecha Kucha Night in Salisbury (and the 2nd in NC - our friends at Point8 in Charlotte beat us to the punch). Over 100 people watched 10 presenters on topics ranging from "Wayfarin' Stranger" to "Adventures in SurRealism". That's me doing my presentation, "Color in Translation". Take a look on http://www.eastsquareartworks.com/ or http://www.pechakucha.com/ for a full explanation of this combination powerpoint/slide show/poetry slam event that is now held world wide. Going to Singapore, or Berlin, or Tokyo or San Francisco, or Salisbury, NC........check and see when their next PKN is scheduled....it's a great way to meet new people involved in a wealth of creative endeavors.

Time Flies

Hard to believe that it's Sept already! NC heat is abating somewhat and soon I'll be able to open the big garage door on my studio. Can't imagine what it was like working in this climate pre-air conditioning days!

The Loveland Invitational Sculpture Show was a great success for my first year and I was very glad I made that long drive. We actually packed all the sculpture and ourselves into our Toyota Scion (!) and got 35 mpg. I had been hoping, as we drove, for respite from the heat but we got to CO in time for a heat wave and the humidity was only slightly less extreme than NC. Wonderful to see the mountains though and the wide open spaces.

And it was also good to hear a broader range of political views. It's an important election. Please take the time to track down facts, investigate stories, demand that your questions be answered by both sides, and ask yourself, in this shrinking world, if your personal issue is really the most important one to make voting decisions on. Or, could it be that foreign policy might be more pertinent this time around?

Gourd Workshops & Classes

At last! The Gourd Workshops have begun! Click on Workshops & Classes to see what's coming in September. We'll have a great time and you will love Salisbury in the Fall!

"Seven Poppies"

Here is one view of the finished Poppy piece. It's debut will be at the Loveland Invitational Sculpture Show & Sale, Aug.8-10, Loveland, CO. I hope you'll get a chance to see this breakthrough work. This is, of course, a one of a kind piece. There is no mold of it and it will not be cast in anything. The beauty of working with gourds as material is that they give inspiration by the very nature of what they are. I choose to honor that by valuing each piece for its individuality.

Working on new Poppy Sculpture

Here's a sculpture in progress - poppies. This is very much a additive/subtractive way of working, both with the sculpture medium and the paint process. Messy - and I HATE having messy hands - but it works for me and allows me to create the piece as I go, changing details as well as mass. I'll have it finished for the Loveland Sculpture Invitational Aug. 8-10, so I'd better get back to work. Weather's still great here in NC - heat coming soon, I'm sure.

Best Laid Plans and all that....

So much for the best laid plans! Saturday we got only as far as Charlotte on our way to Malaysia, and today we're back in Salisbury, without having passed Go or Malaysia or Dubai! (No collecting $200 either.) Air traffic control problems in D.C. caused us to miss our international connection. No seats available till 6/8 (which is the day we were leaving Malaysia for Dubai). Couldn't readjust our summer schedule. Trip cancelled. Bummer.

We were so bummed that we went to three (yes, THREE) movies on Sunday and ate out at a Malaysian restaurant in Charlotte. Our favorite Charlotte movie theater, the Manner, was showing Son of Rambow (yes, that's the correct spelling), and The Visitor. Rambow was a charming young-boy-finding-his-creative-self film that touched on bullying, religious narrowness, sibling relationships, isolation and ultimately the meaning of friendship. The Visitor is a moving film about surviving grief, the many sides of immigration and compassion. The acting is superb, the topics handled with balance and attention to avoiding stereotyping. Not to be missed. Third was The Fall, a sumptuously filmed thousand-and-one-nights funny, touching story telling with an absolutely runaway performance by the little girl. Acting all round was excellent but she ran away with the film. I would see it again and again.

Having, by now, recovered from our anticipation of the jet lag not experienced, we are back at work in the studio. We'll be here. Where are you?