Please visit this link to view our first ever Virtual Trees Exhibit by the Artists’ Association of Elk Grove Village in partnership with Elk Grove Park District. All work is for sale except our Judge’s Piece, Backlit Aspens by Robert Pennor. If you are interested in purchasing any pieces, please contact aaegvexhibits@gmail.com for more information. Our Judge will post his favorites on Wednesday. I would love to see which paintings are your favorites so please comment below and let me know!
Thanks for supporting the arts! Stay tuned for the judge’s results for our winners on Wednesday! I will post them here and on the park district website.
With all of the unrest in our society lately, first with the COVID-19 and then with the racial injustice, everyone feels like their world is upside down right now. The only way I know how to deal with this turmoil is by creating art.
As I’ve mentioned I am involved with the Artists’ Association of Elk Grove Village and in order to spread positivity and have a platform to showcase our art, we are holding our first ever Virtual Trees Exhibit in partnership with the Elk Grove Park District.
It will open this Saturday, June 6th and run for a month. I will post a link here so everyone can visit a virtual art exhibit. All work will be for sale and the exhibit will be judged so stay tuned to see the winners and judge’s comments.
I never could have imagined that when my parents had to move in with my family right after my Dad’s stroke, that this pandemic would have changed everything! I hope you are all doing well and staying safe.
My parents have just moved out and into an independent living community. Yes, they were allowed to move in during the COVID 19 stay at home orders. The community is not even a year old, at 40% capacity, with no virus anywhere. My parents need to be self-quarantined for 14 days, getting their temperature taken daily to ensure they aren’t carriers of the virus.
I haven’t touched any art supplies for a month and half! I knew I had to step in slowly!
I have been reading up on Eco Printing and I knew this would be a perfect first project! Here are my photos:
Starting the Eco Printing process
First up, I went on a nature scavenger hunt. This was the exact thing I needed to clear my head. My dog, Mocha, and I went on a walk and found interesting plants, leaves, and even a seed pod.
I dipped my watercolor paper in water and arranged each piece of nature on a sheet, separated with a deli sheet. Once they were all sandwiched together, I added a ceramic tile to the top and bottom and closed it shut with large binder clips. I had 4 binder clips but my seed pod was a little too thick for one side!
I then added the mordant to the bottom of an electric skillet and simmered away for 20 minutes. After letting it cool, I carefully unveiled my eco prints!
Eco Prints
Now you might be wondering what I am going to do with these prints that really don’t look like anything! I’m going to cover them with Encaustic besswax, of course! These will definitely look different by the time I am done, but this was a perfect project to get me back into the creative zone.
What do you do when you need to get back to your creative zone?
This past Saturday, I enjoyed Inspiration Corporation’s fundraising Gala so much! I am honored to have found this event and have been able to be a part of it for 2 years now!
“In an atmosphere of dignity and respect, Inspiration Corporation helps people who are affected by homelessness and poverty to improve their lives and increase self-sufficiency through the provision of social services, employment training and placement, and housing.” inspirationcorp.org
Here’s a photograph of me with my piece of art at the Gala, One Inspired Evening. The chefs and servers for the evening are people who have gone through the Inspiration Corporation and have turned their lives around. It is fascinating to meet and greet the people who are benefiting directly from your contributions. The ones I spoke to were so appreciative that we were there supporting them and helping them get back on the right track.
A silent auction is held for the artwork that is donated and quite a few other corporate sponsors, like White Sox, Cubs, or Bulls tickets. Instead of doing it the old fashioned way where you write your name on a piece of paper, you use an app on your phone to do the bidding.
There were five artists from the Artists’ Association of Elk Grove Village displaying a piece at this event. If anyone is interested in attending this event next year, let me know and I can forward you the information when tickets go on sale.
I do have a few personal family situations that will take away some of my time and attention away from my art, but hopefully I will be able to get back to my normal routine in a month! Stay creative!
Welcome to 2020! A new year with new possibilities! For the last few years, I have chosen a word of the year and I’m continuing that tradition today! (with a spin)
This year I have created a handmade journal out of watercolor paper that is going to give me 12 pages or spreads. The idea is that I want to work on one each month and use it as a tool to remember something that happened each month.
My husband and I usually go through each month and talk about the highlights on New Years and this year, we couldn’t think of anything interesting that happened in February! Now I’m sure something interesting did happen, but we did not document it anywhere. May was also uneventful but Mother’s Day is in May so I’m sure we did something spectacular!
My plan is that this art journal will not let that happen this year! And to keep me accountable, I’m going to post each page that I complete here on my blog.
If you would like to make your own journal, let me know and I can post a video showing how I made mine.
Here’s a couple photos of how it looks when its done.
Front of art journal
Blank art journal showing the binding.
First layers of art journal
Embrace 2020 Art Journal
As you can see, I have written my word of the year on the front page of my art journal with the year. Embrace is a word that came to me after writing about the changes that I wanted to make in 2020.
I also found a bible verse to help guide me throughout the year. Just to put it in context, the word “She” is referring to wisdom. Proverbs 3:18 She is a tree of life for those who embrace her, and whoever clutches her tightly will be joyful.
I hope you plan on choosing a word of the year and let me know in the comments what it is!
Looking for unique gifts this Christmas for those hard to buy people of your list? Look no further! Stop in at the Brushwood Center at Ryerson in Riverwoods, IL this weekend!
I was accepted as a contributing artist this year! I will be selling notecards of my work. After this weekend, I will be posting more notecards for sale on my website. Here are a couple of examples:
They are perfect for any occasion and they are blank inside ready and waiting for your personalization!
If you’re in the Riverwoods area this weekend, December 7th & 8th, stop in to see all the goodies!
NATURE-INSPIRED HOLIDAY ART MARKET December 7th & 8th Shop local for all your holiday gifts this year at our third Annual Nature-Inspired Holiday Art Market! Enjoy some hot cocoa and listen to carols in the welcoming historic Brushwood home while you shop for unique art, handmade gifts, cards and prints from over 50 local artists and makers. Come support local artists this holiday shopping season, and be sure to check out the full schedule of events below:
This year marks the 36th Annual Juried Art Show for the Artists’ Association of Elk Grove Village. I am so honored to be the Exhibit Chairman of this event! The show began at the beginning of October where 91 pieces of art were displayed in the Elk Grove Public Library and a professional watercolor artists was brought in to do the judging.
We also had 5 businesses that Promised to Purchase a Painting. They come in during that first weekend of the show and choose the paintings they would like to purchase in their price range.
All together, there is over $3,000 going out in prize money and sales!
This show is open to non-members as well for an additional fee, so if you would like to participate next year, send me a message and I’ll add you to the list!
The winning paintings are on display at the library for the remainder of the month of October. If you would like to take a look at some fabulous art, stop by during regular library hours, and if the large meeting room is open, go on in! It’s fun to see what the judge chose and compare it to what you would have chose!
I had a painting in the show that won an Award of Excellence ribbon and that same painting was sold to Dr. McShane from Medical Dental Associates in Elk Grove. Here’s a photo of the painting with me and my mother-in-law!
I really enjoy putting this show together and so excited to receive an award on top of it! It is wonderful having so much support from my family and the other artists in our guild!
Your last chance to see the artwork is Sunday, October 26th. The show comes down around 3pm. In the meantime, be creative!
We had a successful baby shower for my son and daughter-in-law! Instead of traditional baby shower games, I wanted something crafty! My niece designed graphics and cut them out on a vinyl iron-on fabric. I had all different sizes of onesies and some bibs. The guests went into the Onesie Creation Station where they chose their design and ironed it on the chosen onesie. I then hung a clothesline so each guest could hang their creation. It was so much fun as you can see from the clothesline pictured below!!
I also finished the piece of art that I needed for my dining room. It turned into an abstract landscape and then I mounted a peacock feather to each side of the center canvas on a painted background. Here’s the completed wall:
In case you couldn’t tell, I really enjoy decorating my home with my art and I enjoy having party guests create something beautiful too!
You can never have too much creativity surrounding you! Get creative today!
I am having a baby shower at my house on Sunday for my son and daughter-in-law so I am swamped cleaning and organizing the house. I was wondering if this ever happens to you? I am going room by room and all of a sudden, my husband chimes in. He says we need a new piece of art on this wall. I no longer can stand even looking at the art that I have on that wall even though I have loved that piece since it came into our home!
In order to start a piece of art for my walls, here is my art process: I find a canvas that will fit the space. The canvas that I found is a recycled piece that my son found someone discarding at his condo. I primed it white and went at it! It was busy — too busy! I left it on the wall for a week before I decided the size was wrong.
Now I find a couple long, skinny canvases that would look good on either side of this large canvas. I decide I want something more simple. I paint them and they turn into pastel wooden planks. Not bad! I have some feathers in my focal piece so I decide I want to add a large feather to each of these. Then, guess what? I remember that I have 2 peacock feathers in a vase in our entryway that no one probably has ever seen. I’m going to add these to these side panels. See below:
This is a work in progress, remember! So the peacock feather is not even adhered down yet! I like the look of it but it doesn’t go AT ALL with the busy focal canvas. That needs to be redone! I add white gesso to the entire canvas and start over. I know some people have a hard time doing that but for some reason I think I kind of like it. I like starting over with a fresh white base that I can add anything I want to it to get the look that is floating in my head!
So now I am taking the same colors from the background of the peacock canvas and applying them to the large center canvas. Do you know what appears? A landscape! I wasn’t even thinking landscape! At this point I feel like I need to go with it (the party is Sunday).
Here is a photo of my unfinished landscape piece that will hang between 2 peacock feather canvases:
You can really see the texture in this piece now! Hmm, that makes me want to highlight it!
I can’t say that this piece is complete but I promise to take a photo of the wall when it is all finished!
How do you go about getting statement pieces of art on your walls? Do you paint something yourself or head out to a retail store where you get a piece that is just like everyone elses? My recommendation is to find an emerging artist whose work you enjoy and ask for a commission piece for your wall. It will be unique, one-of-a-kind art at a reasonable price!
Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods is holding a pollinator exhibit which I am so excited to be an exhibiting artist! The Artist reception is this Sunday, June 16th from 1-3pm if you would like to meet some of the artists.
The address is 21850 N. Riverwoods Rd. in Riverwoods, IL
Keeping the Bees: The Importance of Pollinators
June 16 – August 25, 2019
Did you know that over 75% of the flowering plants on earth rely on animals and insects for pollination, including nearly 75% of our food crops? Without these creatures such as hummingbirds, bats, bees, beetles, butterflies, and flies, these plants would not be able to produce fruits and seeds, which would be devastating to people and the planet. Join Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods in bringing attention to the importance and plight of the pollinator in this group art exhibition.
Participating Artists:
Stephanie Bird · Jessica Brackett · Ben Calvert · Carrie Carlson · Christine Cheney Anna Chicoine · Lan Dang · Joan Game · Evelyn Gardiner · Autumn Rosario Hall Nancy Halliday · Tammy Haman · Karen A. Johnson · Rebecca Ferguson Keays Julia Kemerer · Heeyoung Kim · Kathleen King · Christina Lovering · Janet McDonnell Lyndsay Murphree · Katelyn Patton · Alicja Pulit · Ramiro Prudencio Ananya Ramji · The Reed Turner Botanical Artists · Christian Rentas · Tom Rybarczyk William Soderberg · Cheryl Steiger · Vicky Tesmer · Kay Thomas · Kate Tully Kathleen Warren · Suzanne Wegener · Judy Woznyj
