Dramatic Glass Work by Syed Ahmad

As we work our way across the country to Syed's next show in nashville, I watch him sketching ideas for new series based on weather and another on trees.  The drawings are very much in the vein of graphic design.  The color is in his head until he gathers multiple sheets to begin the cutting and layering process.  I try to cut curves and get shards.  He cuts curves and gets undulating forms, moving liquid, rippling light!  You can see him at www.SyedArtGlass.com.

"Weather" One section, approximately 20" x 11" - May be used singly or in series for larger installation.

"Schooling" 15" x 15" x 4" each piece Ten pieces in the series.  May be hung in horizontal line or randomly spaced as a larger installation. 

"Flame" 10" x 24", relieved from wall 3"

Husband/Wife Collaboration

After 23 years of marriage, Syed and I have finally collaborated on four artworks!  Amazing!  Not that we've actually been negotiating all these years...just that we finally got it together and figured out how to make two very divergent styles work.  And we did it without arguing...at least he did it without arguing... I, of course, had to argue a little.

So, this is how it went.  After a couple of years of trying to figure out how to actually mix our media (glass, metal, gourds, painting), we moved on.  Mixing all those things just seemed ridiculously forced and a little silly.  Next, we spoke about gathering mixed materials for the re-purpose style and mixing that with glass.  Appealing at a casual glance, but it just didn't come together.  Next we tried on the idea of me painting the glass.  Not.  How bout working bits of glass into paintings?  Really?  And we moved on.

This year, inspired by a young woman doing stencil work in Salisbury, we were able to see how my drawing and Syed's abstract glass and metal could come together.  This is just the tip of the iceberg.  We could easily see how to develop it after these first four were finished.  I won't talk about those developments, just to say that a door has opened and we can see the highway before us....it's going to be a great fun trip, and you will be seeing more of us in the future!  Till then, come in and see these pieces - jump off into an adventure with us - we've got some great ideas for larger pieces as installations.

     

Wildflower Series

Ranuncula Series

CreAtive Sparx in McCall, ID

Registration is now open for all the classes and workshops at this exciting ART week in McCall, ID - Syed will be teaching glass fusing and his newest multi-layered work will be on exhibit; Ken Newman has three full days of in-depth sculpting; Deb Newman will be offering a class in social media for artists; Deb Fachin is offering a special class for teachers - and there is so much more!  Time is short - check us out and please forward this to your friends - we don't want anyone to miss out!  See you in beautiful Idaho in July!

A Week of CreAtive Sparx in McCall, ID This Summer!

We are all so excited to be participating in the first summer of art events at the brand new McCall Art & Commerce Center in McCall, ID!  

Classes, events, exhibits and open studio time - something for everyone!

Don't miss the Art & Wine Pairing because it's a  delectable, delightful and delicious way to tickle your tongue and your eye!

The CreAtive Sparx 20/20 Vision will let you peek into the hearts, minds and souls of some artists in a stimulating and unusual way!

Visit the exhibit in the Gallery and see sculptures, paintings, glass, pottery, jewelry...and maybe even some surprises!

Join us for this inaugural event at MACC (and if you are a member, don't forget to ask for the discount on the class fees).

Here is the flyer for a week of great workshops and events we are offering in McCall, ID at the new and very beautiful McCall Art + Commerce Complex (MACC) this summer the week of July 18-25.  The idea for this began at the Celebration of Fine Art this past winter.  A group of us, the NW Salon, who have been working cooperatively for a few years to enhance our audience's art experience, generated CreAtive sparx when Donna and Dave Armstrong told us about MACC.  Since all of us either live in or have lived in the northwest, we loved the idea of spending a week bringing our ideas, our work, and our energy to beautiful ID.  We are equally excited to join with McCall artists in the development of what may become the Art Event of many summers to come.  So, join us!  Besides the classes/workshops here, there are other curiously delightful events for you to attend....I will post more about these soon, so keep in touch!

And check this link out for other classes held on the campus all summer long - www.mccallarts.org

As for our road trip on the way to McCall - it's going to be a busy summer.  We start out in Chicago where Syed has a show over the July 4th weekend.  I'm taking a few days to visit family in Iowa City and a trip to the University art galleries and the wonderful  Chait Galleries Downtown where Syed has his work.  Then it's back in the van to Vail for the Art On the Rockies show, July 9-10.  We haven't been to Vail in several years, so this trip to the Pacific NW provided a timely opportunity to spend a couple of days in the Rockies again.  Then we go all the way to Salem, OR for the Salem Art Festival, a show we did many years ago - I love this festival!  They have great music and it's the annual fund raiser for their Art Association - so if you're in the area (and who wouldn't want to be in Oregon in the summer?), join us.

And finally we get to McCall July 18 for a meet-up with a bunch of great, inventive artists for a week of fun - teaching, sharing, sipping, tasting!

Celebration of Fine Art - Winner - 2010 Sterling Awards - Micro Business

We are so proud to be a part of this wonderful group. Susan and Jake Potje work all year long to make this event world class and really unique in the world of art shows. If you're in the Scottsdale, AZ area this winter, come visit us - I guarantee you won't be disappointed!

Landscape In Glass: Syed Ahmad-Waterworks Museum, Salisbury, NC

Landscape In Glass: Syed Ahmad-Waterworks Museum, Salisbury, NC

Here are some pictures from Syed's exhibit at the Waterworks Museum.  He will be giving a talk on December 16, at Waterworks.  All of the pieces in this show are sized for the home and may be used individually or in groups, as indicated by the installation at the museum.  Though physically small, the work creates an expanded perception of sea and land when hung with space between.  The clear glass overhangs create wonderful shadows of apparently moving water or air, and the dichroic glass creates movement of its own as the viewer passes by.  This work is both subtle and dynamic.  The show closes on February 7.

Chef Syed

When he's not cookin' glass, he's cookin' up a Malaysian feast for friends and neighbors.

Lots of prep work for Malaysian cuisine and LOTS of garlic!

Syed likes to use the stone mortar and pestle we brought home from Malaysia many years ago.  Couldn't find one then - now they are easy to find in any large asian market.

The menu for this evening was Fruit Rojak, Stuffed Tofu, and Cucur Udang (shrimp fitters Malay style) for appetizers, followed by Beef Randang and Chicken Korma accompanied by Pineapple Acar, rice of course and a stir fried green been dish made with surprise spices and egg!  Desert was simple but mouth watering fresh mango.

http://bit.ly/aluIFm This link will get you to some more pics on our FB Page.  "Like" us when you get there, and Thanks!

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I just added this gadget to the right so you can follow my Blog.  I'd love to have you comment on these thoughts and ramblings, and to know I am reaching you out there in the ethers!  Thanks!

Syed's Casino Installation at last!

It's such a delightful metamorphosis of sorts, to watch delicately cut shards of glass in multiple layered stacks go into the kiln, come out 24 hours later having become a tile of dynamic color.  Then to see the panels grow, adding 4 tiles vertically, seams nearly invisible, into a single panel of glass is watching a veritable garden grow.  It's all beautiful, but when the work is finally installed in the setting of huge marble slabs, for which it was designed, and then finally, finally lit ... well, it's all very satisfying for the artist.

Syed, the most modest person I know, simply nods his head and shoots the photos.  Job well done.

So I will say it for him...REALLY great job, Syed.  REALLY great.

xoxo

The Set up...

Always on the lookout for good back exercises while watching the weather reports for thunderstorms and tornados, or listening for that funny noise under the hood of the van...oh! the life of the vagabond gypsy artists in the summer!  This is Syed unloading at Hilton Head a couple of weekends ago - gotta hurry, other artists waiting to pull in!  Makes setting up for the Celebration look pretty good!

This is a small piece (12"x12"), one of 5 that could be hung in a series or singly - Dunes.  Crossing the bridge to Hilton Head, the marsh grasses appear and disappear with the tides.  Morning and evening light paints them rosy or apricot, sometimes pale yellow.  White clouds billow in bright blue and lilac skies.  The views are soulful and full of resting places.  The traffic is hideous.  The good with the bad.  Balance, and all that.

Gardens of the mind

Sometimes it amazes me that I live in an old factory on the lot line and have NO dirt in which to make the world bloom!  I’m certain it is what compels me to paint meadows, gardens, grasses, anything alive and growing.  My memories of gardening in Bellingham and San Juan Island, WA are never far from my mind as the weather warms and I hear the birds outside my studio.  I often “see” the peek-a-boo view of water that I imagine my son sees from his idyllic land.  I can feel the soil crumble, smell the musky earth, the mix of blossoming flowers, berries, new greens…mmmmm…and so I create my own gardens, or just express the gardens within.  It is a joyous act, like a song….me and the birds tasting the berries……..

 

The mind/body connection feels more like the mind/body stream at times like this.  What could we be/do/feel/see if the connection was always the stream?

What would it be like if you opened your door one day and all the blooms in your garden lay dead on the ground?  Puzzled, anxious, perhaps you would turn in a breath and head for your computer for answers.  And then, exhausted after a day of searching the internet and the gardening stores with no luck, you climbed into your bed hoping for a better day tomorrow.  Tomorrow arrives.  You jump into your cothes and hurry, throwing open the door.  No!  All green and growing things have fallen.  Up and down the road tree trunks stand as naked skeletons, birds fly frantically trying to guard their chicks exposed in their nests.  No one has an answer.  Some drop to their knees in prayer and supplication.  Others clatter at their keyboards, some resort to pulling volumes from the shelves, searching, searching, searching.  Only some can see the pieces of their souls flaking away.  

I think people on the Gulf Coast stand in their doorways, facing their gardens. 

Syed and I will be on Hilton Head Island, SC this weekend – come see us at the Hilton Head Island Festival at Shelter Cove .

National Harbor - Wasington, DC

Thank you to everyone who made our weekend at the National Harbor show such a great experience!  The location couldn't have been more beautiful - on the walks surrounding the beach, looking out to the water and the bridge to Alexandria.  Weather was gorgeous, if a bit hot, but no rain and people were out in droves.  These are pics I took while we were setting up.  Love the public art!

I didn't have chance to walk the whole show because Syed and I were not next to each other (our oversight when applying) and that meant I didn't get to wander around much.  But I was blown away by one Woodrow Nash from Akron, Ohio (www.theragegallery.com).  His head and shoulders clay sculptures of African women are an expression of ancient dignity and beauty - a kind of connection to earth/humanity.

Exhibiting also was my friend and amazing artist sculptor Nnamdi Okonkwo whose work is simply elegant in it's essence of womanhood.  Nuanced and purely Nnamdi they shout of love and joy!

Syed's Autumn series was a great success as was the River Series, so he'll be busy tomorrow cutting glass and working on more pieces in those veins.  I am still wondering when I am going to get to keep a group for our own collection!

"All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware." Martin Buber

Can you begin your journey knowing that the destination has not been revealed to you?

Can you know that the destination will be revealed once you arrive?

Will you recognize the destination?

If you, the traveler, is unaware of a secret destination, who is the traveler?

If the destination is secret, can you be the traveler?

Can you travel without a destination?  Which way does the water flow, the sands shift, the light shine?

And what will you miss if you fear the secret, the destination, the journey?

Windows of Opportunity

Last 7 days of the Celebration of Fine Art 2010 here in Scottsdale!  Beautiful weather and still more beautiful artwork!

This year has been remarkable and we've had great sales, so some things that you may have looked at are gone, BUT we have some great work we'd love you to see - Syed has almost sold out of his little single window pieces, but has about 6 left.

I have 2 Japanese boxes left, and one large Japanese piece in soft, matte colors.  We'd love to see you so come in and say hello.

Stendhal Syndrome

"Stendhal syndrome, Stendhal's syndrome, Hyperkulturemia, or Florence syndrome, is a psychosomatic illness that causes rapid heartbeat, dizziness, fainting, confusion and even hallucinations when an individual is exposed to art, usually when the art is particularly beautiful or a large amount of art is in a single place. The term can also be used to describe a similar reaction to a surfeit of choice in other circumstances, e.g. when confronted with immense beauty in the natural world. " From Wikipedia


Clearly that which affects, infects (and may rarely be deflected by) the audience at the Celebration of Fine Art!!  And here is an example of beautiful new glass from Syed Ahmad in the NW Salon.

                     

Poet & Glass Guy at work

Syed is busy in the studio - these are new pieces just out of the kiln and waiting for the etched copper backgrounds.  He'll have them at the Celebration of Fine Art next week.

"Screaming yellow somber amber bereaved red dejected rejected you fall I weep." Syed Ahmad