Deadlines – May 9 – Application for LAC’s Art in the Park, Arnolds Park, Aug 2
May 16 – Iowa Watercolor Society Annual Exhibition, Ames June 15 – Octagon Art Festival, Sept 28Event – Artburst Tulip Festival - Orange City – Saturday, May 17
MacNider Arts Festival-Outdoor Market - Mason City, Sunday, June 8 Art Splash – Sioux City, Aug 29-31
Workshop – June 9-13, 2008, Arts on Grand will host a watercolor workshop with
I am looking forward to taking her workshop. Check out her website & view herwork. How exciting to have her come to Spencer. Call Arts on Grand TODAYand visit with Rita for more details and to pre-register. The deadline is around the corner!!!!Plan Ahead – Art in the Park, Saturday, August 2nd – Arnolds Park.
The Pearson Lakes Art Center has scheduled this event to coincide with the Blues Festival!! Not only will there be music to enjoy during the outdoor event, but there will be more traffic as the ‘lakes’ people are still here during this part of the summer. Yeh!!!!!Christine Richards has invited me to exhibit my work in her gallery, CR Gallery and the new Northwest Iowa Center for Photography, right on Hwy 71 in Milford, for the month of July. This commitment has given me a much-needed shot of energy to get crack’in in making art. Christine loves art, loves to go to work everyday and is a person every artist should know, as she is supportive and encouraging in the arts. Dan Ruf may be there as well. If you have not visited the newly refurbished gallery, please stop and introduce yourselves. They make you feel like family. I encourage you to visit http://danielruf.typepad.com for Dan’s latest offering. A great read!
For the last two months, the door to my creative place has been closed, simply to keep the cats from drinking from my Rinse Well and/or walking across works in progress. A couple of times I found myself walking into the room, looking around and longing to be creating....... painting....... drawing... any kind of creative process. It seems like I have been running a race since New Year’s. How can life become so complicated and demanding that we are rushing around crazed to get ‘things’ done? Again, I ask myself “Are those ‘things’ that important?” These last couple of months has been one of those chapters in my life that has required almost all of my time and commitment. The long Easter break from school offered some hope of time in the studio. However, the days seemed to be filled with the “have to’s”. One of the last of the vacation days, a couple of my appointments was postponed. Voila!!!!! free time to paint. I stayed in the studio all day. I surrounded myself with my favorites...........a warm heater, music, a scented candle, the sound of bubbling water, a flavored coffee and painted, breaking now and then to play with my cats (of course, they were all in the studio with me) and to get a bit farther in a video game. It was a great afternoon!!!
I LOVE SPRING!!!!!!!! Fresh air, everything coming to life, baby calves, colts, lambs, birds and kitties, Birds chirping as the sun rises, beautiful flowers, windows opened, clothes on the line, warm sunshine, prelude to summertime Kayaking. Love it!! OOOOPs! ......................... Spoke too soon!
I recently received this info about BANANAS from a co-worker at school. Very interesting.
Bananas contain three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy.
Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes.
But energy isn't the only way a banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.
Depression: According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.
PMS: Forget the pills - eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.
Anemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.
Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.
Brain Power: 200 students at a Twickenham school were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brainpower. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.
Constipation: High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.
Hangovers: One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.
Heartburn: Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body; so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.
Morning Sickness: Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.
Mosquito bites: Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.
Nerves: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.
Overweight and at work? Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and crisps. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady.
Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.
Temperature control: Many other cultures see bananas as a 'cooling' fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand, for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan.
Smoking &Tobacco Use: Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.
Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.
Strokes: According to research in The New England Journal of Medicine, eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!
Warts: Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of
banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape!
So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around. Maybe its time to change that well-known phrase so that we say, 'A banana a day keeps the doctor away'.
I personally believe we would not be left on this earth without everything we need to sustain life!! Why are we so amazed as to the healthful benefits of natural foods like bananas?
For a couple of years I was able to attend workshops at Grand Marais Art Colony, Grand Marais, Minnesota.
I recently received their brochure for upcoming classes this summer. If you want to dive into your work or try something new within a peaceful quiet village amongst the trees and along the shore of beautiful Lake Superior,
I recommend and encourage you to visit www.grandmaraisartcolony.org and browse the many offerings.
My arts adventure for 2007 took me up to Dillman’s (Dillman’s Bay Resort and Creative Arts Foundation) in northern Wisconsin, the first week in October, to take a workshop with Nita Engle. I had investigated the possibility of taking a workshop with Ms. Engle for several years. Most of them were scheduled in the spring or fall, when I am back in school. It is not easy to leave my classes for a week but this year I decided to take the workshop knowing something could happen and I would regret putting it off. Nita did announce this workshop would be her last one. She is 82 years old and had health concerns. I am sooooo glad to have had the opportunity to take from her. However, Dillman’s did communicate just recently Nita’s health situation has improved and she is scheduled and plans to continue to teach workshops. If you have wanted to study with Nita, checkout Dillman's schedule of upcoming classes and workshops.
In the last 6 months I have been asked to judge 3 art shows/exhibits. I do look forward to any opportunity to get together with other artists and discuss ART. However, when asked to ‘judge’ work, I do balk just a bit before my reply, my reason being I have been on the other side, listening to a judge's decision myself many, many, many times. I remember myself disagreeing with the judge. I remember not knowing ‘what the heck they were talking about!!!!! Where they are coming from!!!! I have evolved, grown in art. The more I paint, I learn. The more I gather with other artists, I learn. The more I read, I learn.
I do take ‘judging’ artwork very seriously. First and foremost, creating art is a personal endeavor. As the viewer of your art, I, in no way, can know, understand or have the same emotions about the work you have. Only the creator can have that intimate relationship with the piece. However, when the artist enters a competition, you open yourself up to the subjectivity of the juror, judge and audience. What one judge loves, another may hate.
I recently entered a national watercolor exhibition and was rejected, entered the same pieces in another show, was accepted and placed with an award.
My process: First, I take time to look at the work. I describe it in detail using facts, not opinions. In this step I play "detective", gathering visual evidence or clues. I use these clues to interpret the artwork. I avoid using words as pretty, gross, weird, sloppy and so on. What is this piece about? What is the artist trying to say? Is there a center of interest/focal point? Too many shapes, lines, or colors can distract or confuse the viewer. If you want the viewer to notice or return consistently to one part of the painting, simplify the rest of it. Has the artist been successful in convincing me of the subject matter? Does the water look wet? Do the clouds look fluffy, soft?
I have become automatic in reviewing work regarding the ‘elements of art’ and the ‘principles of design’- lines, shapes, color, value, textures, space……….has the artist been successful in arranging these elements (design)? Does the design guide the viewer through the art? How well has the artist used the medium…………the tools………the materials?
Mastering the use of oils or watercolors or pastels cannot make up for bad perspective or incorrect proportions. Good art should appeal to you and be skillfully made. The best art has meaning beyond just an image; perhaps it puts a smile on your face or brings you to tears or reminds you of some place or time. It stands out in a crowd and dares to be different.
Please visit the rest of my website for prints, giclees and framed originals.
E-mail me or call me at 712-853-6343
or stop by these businesses carrying my work:
Heartland Americana – Estherville
Art on 16 – Spirit Lake
Sidestreet Gallery & Frame – Arnolds Park
CR Gallery – Milford
Arts on Grand – Spencer
McGee Framing and Art – Peterson
Wild Faces Gallery & Frame – Rolfe
Riecke’s Bayside Gallery – Big Fork, Montana
