Toronto Art Festivals

I have now applied, and been accepted into, three festivals in Toronto in September. The Artisans at the Distillery Art Show, The Junction Art Fair and Queen Street West Art Crawl. This should keep me busy for the first month or so. Toronto is such a vibrant city with lots going on and I am excited about the art possibilities there. It always takes about a year to begin to make new friends and find out what is available in a new place but at least with this move it will be more permanent and I won't be leaving just as it all starts to come together.

Small Musical Paintings and Abstracts

I have been working on some small musical paintings, 6 x 6 and 8 x 10, which is a real challenge for me. I like really big you see. Anyway it has been a good exercise to do and I now have a few pieces that I quite like. I also did some abstract works a month or so ago and I find that the way I painted those has filtered through into the latest of these small works. One is posted here.

I have been busy getting ready for our move to Toronto. We should be on our way in mid July. I have applied to three art festivals there that will be held in September. I have been accepted into one, Art at the Distillery, and I am waiting to hear about the other two. After finding out about which ones are good or not in the Atlanta area I now have to sort out the better shows in Ontario.

What a Difference a few Weeks Make

Life becomes pretty hectic at times. I have been busy with several at fairs over the past few weeks and the weekend of May 16 and 17 I will be showing at the North Atlanta Art Fair on Peachtree at the Forum and then Memorial weekend I will be at the Atlanta Jazz Festival. On top of all this we have now decided to move back to Canada so there is lots to do to prepare for that. It's exciting though and it will be great to be back with our family. There won't be a lot of time for art making over the next month or so but once in Toronto I will be eager to get into the local art scene knowing that for a change, we will be living there for a long time.

Wooden Bones

So I'm a proud mother! I wasn't going to mention it on here but I can't help myself. My middle son Todd is the singer songwriter in a Canadian band called Pilot Speed. On April 28th they release their new CD, "Wooden Bones," in both Canada and the US. It has been a long time in the making and it's fantastic. Well naturally I would think so being his mother wouldn't I. We are very proud of him and all the work that he has put into this creative effort. The whole process of creating is the same for all of us. We just have to trust the process and then put it out there. How it is recieved is another thing but I do hope the world embraces his wonderful music. The first single from the CD is now out with a rather artsy video. See the video of "Please Put the Phone Down" on youtube. It's pretty crazy and during part of the making they had Todd attached to a rope flying around in the air which made him feel quite ill.

Alpharetta Art Festival

Last weekend I did the Alpharetta Arts Festival. I can't say it was a successful show for me however I did manage to cover my costs and have enough over to buy us both dinner and a few wines. I'm not complaining though. It was actually really fun and we met some wonderful fellow exhibitors. We also learnt a lot more about the whole Art Festival Process which was very helpful. One of the most interesting things though, was seeing what work was selling well at the other booths in the show. My husband was almost incredulous at the success of some of the work but it just goes to show that taste differs and that's a good thing. As for me, I was really inspired by the amazing work created by many of the people.

To put a nice end to the story, I just heard that two of my collagraphs sold at Rev Coffee.

Toilet Art

My art is in the toilet! This is not a depressing thing. Actually I feel quite happy about it as where else do people have a few moments alone and time to actually look at art without any distractions. The painting I am talking about is Golden Sax, a very vibrant work in reds and golds and on the deep red wall in the toilet, it looks fantastic! The painting is in a show at Rev Coffee in Smyrna, just out of Atlanta. This is a fun coffee shop with an eclectic feel. They have lots of art on the wall and at night there is live music. The show opening last night had a really good feel and the coffee they make there is some of the best I have had.

Exhibition Update

The next few weeks will be pretty busy for me. I have the opening of the Dogwood Show at the AAC tomorrow, April 11th 1pm, and I also have some work in a show at Rev Coffee in Smyrna. This is a fun coffee shop with an eclectic feel. They have lots of art on the wall and at night there is live music. The art opening for this is at 8pm Saturday 11th. Next comes the Alpharetta Streetfest, 18th and 19th April, and then the Wesleyan School's "Joie de Vivre"on April 30th and May 1 and 2.

I am now working on some very small musical pieces. They are 6 inches square and at that size the smallest work I have ever done. I am having fun with these though and really enjoying the challenge. Once I have a few finished I will post them here. I hope to keep the cost at under $100.00. Sunlit Sails above, is one of my newer works. After a lot af red paintings it is refreshing to do something in summer colors.