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

New Work

My new work will be on display at the Baton Rouge Community Gallery at 427 Laurel St. from July 9 - August 20.

The closing reception will take place on August 13 from 6 -9pm. Invitations to follow.

work to left: detail from "Totem 1"

36" x 60"

oil and acrylic

on canvas

Athfest Rocks My World.

How wonderful it is to return to Athens!

Athens, Georgia is just one of those towns that everyone finds enchanting. Old quirky buildings, a gorgeous campus, blooming magnolias, a well- rounded arts and music scene and an excellent selection of food are just a few of my favorite things about the town. It also helps that I grew up just a few minutes down the road, and graduated from UGA. So I returned home for the 2010 Athfest to exhibit my pieces and listen to 184 local bands!

I was honored with second in show, and met several amazing artists during the three days. I liked one artist's work so much that I bought my first piece of art - starting my own collection. I also met another charming artist who is about to venture to Germany for love. Such a small world.

Art Melt 2010

I was invited to participate in the 2010 Art Melt Exhibit at the Louisiana State Museum in Baton Rouge. Art Melt is the largest multi-media juried exhibit in Louisiana which showcases artists from around the state. The opening preview party will take place on July 15 from 6:30 - 10pm. The works selected will hang in the Louisiana State Museum for 6 weeks.

More information about ArtMelt can be found here:

http://www.artmelt.org/

Can you say Moo?

I am in love with the marketing materials from moo.com. A year ago I came across their mini - cards at an art festival in Athens, GA. The cards, half the width of normal cards, fit nicely into a card holder from your key chain and stand out for their unique size. The quality of moo's products and professionalism of the UK based company keeps me coming back for their products again and again.

Visit their website at:

www.moo.com