New Release! East West Bridge-Okoboji Available soon, a giclee’ of a plein aire watercolor I did last summer of the new bridge between East and West Lake, Okoboji. I sat on a lower platform/deck of the trestle bridge on 3 separate occasions to paint this work. Let me know if you would like me to save one for you.
Feb. 23, Mar. 2 & 9. 2006, 4-6:30 p.m. – Arts on Grand in Spencer is hosting Open Studio on Thursday nights throughout February and March, 3:30-7 p.m. I plan to attend these 3 particular nights. I look forward to working with other artists in attendance and to offer help, guidance and encouragement with their project. There is something special about artists getting together, working together. Call Arts on Grand at 712-262-4307 for more information.
March 6 – May 6, 2006 - I will have my work on display at the Buena Vista Regional Medical Center, 1525 W 5th St, Storm Lake, Iowa.
July 31-Aug. 4, 2006 – I will be conducting a 5-day Watercolor Workshop, focus is primarily ‘landscape’ painting, at the studio of Dixie Swisher in Des Moines. For more information or to pre-register contact Dixie at 515-288-4390 or dixteaches@mchsi.com
Sept. 30 & Oct. 1, 2006 – Art Iowa Colored Pencil Weekend, Amana Arts Guild, Amana. If you have never visited the Amana Colonies in the Fall, consider a trip this year. The area is beautiful, peaceful, simple. This is my 4th invite to be part of the Art Iowa Workshop offering at the Amanas and I look forward each time to my visit.
Some were confused as to how I sent the last newsletter. I entered all the recipient’s e-mail addresses into the Bcc: (blind carbon copy) field, which suppresses the long list of addresses and I entered mine in the To: field. By doing this, recipients will not see who else I sent the message to, making everyone’s online experience safer and more private.
My session with Jesse Bogenrief for the glass blowing class was amazing!! First of all, Jesse was a great instructor. He was very patient, letting me do most of the work, relating necessary information I needed to know for safety and success. As I tell my students, with knowledge and a bit of experience comes appreciation. I now look at glass work in a whole new way....... questioning...... analyzing. The learning continues!!!!
I received lots of ideas for my old art magazines and I had no problem getting rid of them. Thanks for everyone’s input.
The following information was taken from the website www.americansforthearts.org. “On November 18, the Senate approved a measure that would allow artists to take a tax deduction for the fair market value of works donated to charitable organizations. Under current law, artists may take a tax deduction only for the cost of materials, such as paint and canvas. It is important to note that under the new provision, only gifts that are retained by the recipient for mission-related use would generate a full deduction. Gifts that are sold or auctioned, even in order to raise funds that are put to charitable use, would not qualify.” I encourage working artists to read, become informed regarding this important legislation. I so appreciate this simple concise paragraph within the bill:
"Whereas, works of art are valuable to the United States and its citizens;
Whereas, museums and other institutions that promote art are worthy of support;
Whereas, the most direct support that an artist can give a museum is a donation of artwork;
Whereas, the value of art far exceeds the costs of the input materials;
We the undersigned support the provision for allowing donated artwork to be deducted at full value for tax purposes."
I received this from another artist in an e-mail a while back and laughed out loud. Very clever. I do not know who wrote this. I would certainly give credit to that person if I did know. Enjoy. Laugh.
Van Gogh's Family Tree
His dizzy aunt ------------------------------------------Verti Gogh
The brother who ate prunes ---------------------------Gotta Gogh
The brother who worked at a convenience store ------Stop n Gogh
The grandfather from Yugoslavia --------------------------U Gogh
The cousin from Illinois ------------------------------- Chica Gogh
His magician uncle -----------------------------Where-diddy Gogh
His Mexican cousin ---------------------------------- A mee Gogh
The Mexican cousin's American half-brother ---------- Gring Gogh
The nephew who drove a stage coach--------------Wells-far Gogh
The constipated uncle --------------------------------- Cant Gogh
The ballroom dancing aunt ----------------------------- Tang Gogh
The bird lover uncle ----------------------------------Flamin Gogh
His nephew psychoanalyst -------------------------------- E Gogh
The fruit loving cousin ----------------------------------Man Gogh
An aunt who taught positive thinking ---------------- Way-to Gogh
The little bouncy nephew ------------------------------- Poe Gogh
A sister who loved disco -------------------------------- Go Gogh
And his niece who travels the country in a van ---Winnie Bay Gogh
And there ya Gogh!
BusinessWeek recognizes PhotoStamps as a "Best Product of 2005," distinguishing PhotoStamps as one of the year's most innovative and exciting new products. Anyone can create real postage stamps with your own image, photo on it!!! How cool is that! Upload your photo, customize your PhotoStamps and place your order. It's that simple!
Artists.........you can put a new painting on a postage stamp! So many possibilities. Check it out at www.stamps.com
As many of you know, I plan an ‘arts adventure’ each summer. I just made plans to attend a 4-day workshop with master artist John Salminen at Dillman’s Resort in Wisconsin. For many years I have considered their offerings, but when I saw a workshop being offered with John, the decision was easy. I have so admired his work. What fun! to be in a cabin on the lake creating ART.
A big thank you to Kay Sauck, editor in Chief, Womeninc magazine for a featured spot in the new ‘Women Artists’ page. Womeninc has started a page dedicated to products made by women, women authors, and women artists. In fact, the positive response of this addition to the magazine has led to the start of Womeninc Gifts,(opening soon) a place where anyone can shop for products, books and art created by women throughout south central Minnesota and north central Iowa. (APPLAUSE, APPLAUSE!!!) Kay invites,
‘If you have a product, book or artwork you would like sold through Womeninc Gifts, please contact her office at 507-235-8119 to schedule an appointment.’
A ‘must see’ exhibit is Illuminating the Word: The Saint John’s Bible at the Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, Nebraska, through April 16, 2006. Since March 2000, scribes and artists in Wales have been meticulously crafting The Saint John's Bible, the first handwritten, illuminated Bible made since the advent of the printing press more than 500 years ago. The Saint John's Bible is commissioned by Saint John's Abbey and University (Collegeville, MN) and executed by world-renowned calligrapher and illuminator Donald Jackson, Senior Scribe to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth's Crown Office, and a collaborative team of scribes and artists. While the nearly 1,100-page manuscript is still in progress, this exhibition celebrates book, art, and scripture and features a selection of more than 60 items, including several as-yet-unbound pages (each measuring more than one foot wide and two feet tall) from the first three finished volumes (Gospels and Acts, Pentateuch, and Psalms) of this seven-volume undertaking, scheduled for completion in 2007. This information and much more can be found at this website. http://www.joslyn.org/specex I just learned Arts on Grand is hosting a day-trip to see this fabulous exhibit. Call them at 712-262-4307 for the details.
