Art in a Box

I created this set of collages, which fit into a box made from another of my collages, for a show at Art 6 gallery in Richmond, VA, usa. I've included a touch of my Robert Motherwell inspiration in each of the pieces. Once the collages are in the box, I'll seal it with an old postage stamp. The title of the piece is "Do Not Break Seal." Only the purchaser will be able to do that. I'm going to send along a plexi vitrine for the display. I won't be here to see the show or get the reaction from viewers, but that's okay. I had a great time creating these and making the box. Oh yes, size of collages: approximately 2.5" x 3.5" (6.5cm x 9cm) If you're in the area, check out the show, which opens the first Friday in December.

Fairy lights, twinkly yard

I had a kind of rough day emotionally, spending time dealing with a friend's needs. When I got home, I parked the car in the garage and came out the side door into the yard and there was such a nice surprise for me. The neighbors yard all lit up. It made me feel so happy. Like I'd walked into a fairyland. I went inside and started dinner and told hubby that we would be eating dinner outside so bundle up for the chilly night air. He turned on our lights, too. It was sooo pretty.

Farmers' Market

We're winding down at the Farmers' Market with only two more market days. However, you'd never know it by the quantity of produce that my farmer brings to market. It looked prettier than ever this past Thursday. I've posted a recipe using beets here.

My new collages

I was inspired by a collage by Robert Motherwell that I came across in a book. I put it up in my studio and kept looking at it and loving it. I just had to create some pieces with COLOR! After all, I do teach a color class, though rarely use much color in my work. In fact, I haven't used this much color since I gave up painting on canvas a looong time ago. I am so happy with the results of these pieces. They're small, roughly 4" X 4" (10cm x 10cm) and have been mounted and framed as a single piece. Chuck's idea and he did the framing for me. They'll be in the 1708 Gallery small works show to which I was invited. I'll be interested in the public reaction to them. Oh wait, I won't be there for the show. I'll be at the Cite again. So what do you think? Colorful, eh?

Art exhibits

A week ago Friday, we went to the exhibit of Change for a Ten, the Art180 fundraiser. There were hundreds, maybe thousands, of ten dollar bill sized pieces of work that had been donated along with a $10 bill. It was very exciting to see all of them displayed on panels. What a great idea and everyone attending seemed to be having a good time. This past Friday, we went up to DC to the fundraiser for the WPA (Washington Project for the Arts) where Mica had interned way back when she was a student. Chuck had been invited to put 4 of his framed glass pieces int he show. Here you see them on the wall of the office of one of the principles in the architecture firm, where the exhibit was located. It was a VERY lively evening, and though this image doesn't show it, the place was so crowded and noisy! There were 4 floors in the building, Art on every floor, along with fancy finger food and beverages. Two very different events, two very good causes, and I hope they both made their monetary goals. In this economic climate, art non-profits will really have to work harder. Ditto for everyone!

Blog Action Day

The day is here, the day I had to decide what I'd post on my blog related to this year's theme: poverty. As I mentioned earlier, I'd been pondering this. I use the word ponder, rather than the word think, to give you some idea about the seriousness I felt about this subject. Well, today's newspaper gave me my focus. In the world news section, here was one headline "Financial crisis likely to hit world's poor hardest," dateline Geneva. "The world's poorest people will be hungrier...." I sell produce for my organic farmer friends during the growing season and like to cook, as you've seen from my photos and recipes. I love taking photos of the vegetables I sell.
When I read that there are people who don't have and won't have food, it's very disturbing to say the least. Okay, so that was national, but here's what was on the front page of my newspaper, "Demand for food assistance up 325%." The local foodbank can't keep up with the rise in recipients. Here are some numbers of recipients that give you the picture very clearly: 2007 - 12,359 children were recipients, in 2008 - 35,677 and an even bigger jump is in the elderly population were in 2007 4,764 elderly received food and in 2008 - 28,440. This is terrible. In America, not a faraway third world country, in America, in my community. This is more than terrible, this is appalling. America, the land of plenty! What can we do to help? This might be easier than some of the other problems with poverty....check out your local community needs for food. You can donate non-perishables. If you have the money to buy groceries and can buy an extra can of beans or bag of rice, do it and donate it, or, you can donate some money, even a small amount can buy a lot since foodbanks can sometimes get a truckload of free food but need money for fuel to get the delivery, or you can volunteer to bag groceries or deliver meals to the elderly. We can make a difference with this. Check your local needs, act locally, that's what I'm going to do.
photos by Mim Golub

Richmond Folk Festival

This past weekend, Richmond had it's first time at running the Folk Festival after three years as the site of the National. It was great! We only got to attend one evening but the turn out was really good. We got to dance to Michael Doucette and Beausoleil, what fun! Here he is on the fiddle. We saw Taiko drummers and heard Howard Tate sing R & B. The weather was perfect. Brown's Island was all lit up and we had great views of downtown buildings and the lovely white building, which is some corporate headquarters. We missed the group from Mexico that did the Mayan ritual, "flying" down from a tall pole, which we heard was spectacular. A fun night in the city!