Spring for Art gala this Friday night

Two of my paintings, Teacup and Two Balls, and will be available for purchase at "Spring for Art," the annual fundraiser for Associated Artists of Winston-Salem (AAWS). The event takes place this Friday night, May 29th, at the AAWS downtown gallery at 7-9 p.m. Contact AAWS at 722-0340 for more information or to purchase tickets. I will be attending the gala and hope to see you there!

Show opening at Vincenzo's this Friday

Beginning this Friday evening, May 29th, ten of my block paintings will be featured in a new group show at Vincenzo's in Winston-Salem, NC. All of the paintings have been featured in previous Stacked Life blog posts and represent a variety of sizes and prices. The show will hang until the end of July. Please drop by and check it out!

Measure I

Measure I, oil/canvas, 48" x 24", is one of the last paintings in my series devoted to the study of building blocks and their role in early childhood play. This one features my favorite shape - the arch - as well as toy cups, saucers, and a small ball. I enjoyed the challenge of building this still life in pieces to create a giant fantastical stack of objects. I also loved working with more complicated color relationships.

Over the last couple of months my art has started to move away from the portrayal of these iconic childhood shapes and towards a broader exploration of play and learning. As Stella's curiosity grows exponentially and she becomes increasingly confident about interacting with the world, I am intrigued and delighted by the objects she chooses for play. And as the days grow longer and warmer she wants to spend every possible second outdoors! During the coming weeks and months I look forward to sharing with you new paintings that focus on a broader definition of play and emphasize the serendipity of life transformed into playthings.

BlockFest

This month I had the pleasure of collaborating with Imprints For Families on their new and exciting event for children called "BlockFest." The painting above is called Short Stack, 16" x 12", oil/canvas and is available at the event.

Imprints is a non-profit organization serving families and children in Winston-Salem whose mission is to "strengthen families through services and partnerships to prepare children for life." BlockFest takes place this Friday, May 15th at Gateway YWCA 9-5 p.m. and Saturday, May 16th at the Lewisville Library 10-5 p.m. It is free for children 8 months - 8 years, but reservations are required. Call 722-6296 x205 to reserve your spot. For more information, please visit the Imprints website.

Theatre Art Galleries Gala

Two of my paintings will be available in the Theatre Art Galleries (TAG) annual gala fundraiser called "Tagged" to be held at the Loft at Union Square in downtown High Point, NC this Friday, May 8th, at 6:00 p.m. This year's gala is shaping up to be a modern and exciting event with the addition of the new warehouse location. Tango with Teacup and Portrait in Blue will be featured in the silent auction. Also, I will be attending the gala and look forward to seeing new and familiar faces there! For more information please check out the TAG website or call the TAG office at (336) 887-2137.

Inspired by Tower Arch

I love hearing other people's thoughts about my art and find it fascinating to discover the aspects of my paintings that resonate most with different people. Sometimes the themes of children, play, and learning are most interesting, while other times it's the techniques I employ or the palette I use. However, last month it came to my attention that my art has a potential therapeutic value. I am greatly humbled by this discovery and hope that others will have the opportunity to connect deeply with my art. To this end, I would like to share with you some writing by one of my friends and fellow bloggers, Carla Cummins. She lives and teaches in Chania, Crete and muses on life, love, and inspiration in her entertaining and deeply spiritual blog, My Pursuit of Happiness. Carla wrote a wonderfully eloquent entry about my painting, Tower Arch, that compares her struggle with managing anger to the building and rebuilding of block towers. In her uniquely quirky and passionate way she celebrates process over result and discovers that "the ultimate joy derived from this activity is the activity itself." Please check out her entry called Me, Anger and a "Stacked" Life.