Betsy Youngquist

For lovers of beautiful quirky objects, look no further than artist Betsy Youngquist. Her intricate sculptures make me smile and laugh while starring in awe at her elaborate patterns. Just Splendid!

Visit her website at:

http://www.byart.com/

Art Melt Honor- New Work at Community Gallery

Over the weekend, I was given the pleasant news that I was honored with the Forum 35 award at ArtMelt this year. Being the starry-eyed artist I am, I was oblivious to this fact (the results were announced three weeks ago). Thank you for the honor. My work will be displayed through August 28th at the Louisiana State Museum of Art.

A reminder that the closing reception for my two person show with Tom Lorio at Community Gallery will take place this Friday from 6 - 8pm at 427 Laurel St. Come take a look at my new work.

Aschenputtel Mixed Media on Board

Natural Fashion

I came across the Omo Valley people a few months ago while researching nomadic tribes. German photographer Hans Silvester spent six years documenting the sophisticated patterns, color palettes, and natural embellishments of the Surma and Mursi tribes. They are permanently on display - walking canvases. These beautiful people will certainly be an inspiration for future paintings.

"In this region of East Africa, the rivers that run through the dry savannas are home to abundant flowers, papyrus, and wild fruit trees, and this luxuriance becomes an invitation to creativity and spectacle. Within hand's reach, a multitude of plants inspire fanciful and ephemeral self-decoration, and the Omo react spontaneously: a leaf, root, seed pod, or flower is quickly transformed into an accessory. As in the West one might don a hat, people create caps from tufts of grass. As one would knot a tie or scarf, they ornament themselves with banana leaves or a stem laden with flowers. These decorations are embellished with butterfly wings, buffalo horns, boar's teeth, colorful feathers, and the like, and are further enhanced by body painting with pigments made from powdered stone, plants, berries, and river mud." - book description from Amazon, "Natural Fashion: Tribal Decoration From Africa."

A photo series can be found on youtube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGLR8wEvRfQ