I just came back from the guild. For one thing, it is cold and the furnace seems to not be working again. The kiln front piece is back on, so it may be fixed. I did not plug it in to check until I hear from Jim. I did notice the trigger stays in place even without a cone. This won’t work, as nothing will cut the kiln off when it reaches temp. So do not use it yet, potters.

A fun bunch of artists met in Old Washington for a day of still life painting.  The theme was musical instruments.  We had a banjo, mandolin and guitar as models.

Betsy Adams working in pastel.

Philip Saunders sketching with pastel.

Mary-Louise Dean working in oil.

Ruvonna Bevard painting in acrylic.

Ken Swinson worked on a monotype of each instrument.  You can see a short video of his prints going through the press below:

if you don’t see the video above, follow this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbQVUSMFOwQ

I finally have my printing press up-and-running!  I am still learning how to use it, but would like to share the experience with my artist friends…so this Wednesday, (Jan 13) you are invited to join me for an afternoon of creating monotypes.  I’ll have everything you need to make a monotype, but you might want to bring your favorite brush and an idea or photo to work from…and don’t dress in your  Sunday best…it might be messy!

We’ll either meet at my downtown studio or the Art Guild’s Building  in Old Washington (depending on the number of participants)

Let me know if you are interested so I can plan accordingly.

I haven’t been able to hang out with my friends during the holidays, and this will be a fun way to catch up. 

Here’s a few pictures of my latest monotypes to give you an idea of the process.

Here’s a link to a great series of videos by the Smithsonian Institution demonstrating the process:

http://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/online/monotypes/video.html

We have had a great weekend at ORVAG with Frontier Christmas.  Artist’s showing their creative work,  the smells and sounds of the Holiday’s, good friends stopping by to shop, chat, enjoy the spirit of the season and well wishings to all.  If you left before the bagpiper arrived, he was great and you missed a treat.  The Guild will be open on the 9th and the 16th from 1:00-7:00 pm  for all of the community and members to get together and share in the “Holiday Spirit”.  Refreshments will be served. 

It was great news to hear that Betsy Baltzer won first place overall for Fine Art at last week’s show at the Morehead Art Guild’s annual art competition.  The painting – “It’s Good To Be Queen” won Baltzer the title.  Betsy is an artist living in Maysville, KY, and one of the founding members of the Ohio River Valley Artist Guild.

Congratulations Betsy!

I heard that a few other guild members took home awards.  I don’t know the details, but the comittee that sends the guild’s press releases to the paper should find out and let the whole community know.   We are very proud of them.

Maysville’s mayor, David Cartmell, with the city’s recently awarded Governor’s award for the arts, which honors significant support for the arts through government action

The award is a gourd sculpture by Kentucky artist, Jennifer Zingg.

First, thanks everyone who participated in the Big Read Art show. There was a good turnout, and everyone seemed impressed with all of the talent in our community.

I have to leave town Wednesday, and will not be able to moderate our monthly critique on our normal date and time, so let’s reschedule for Thursday, October 27 at 6pm.

This will also be a good opportunity to have the building open to the public so that anyone who missed the reception can still see the art show. Can someone let the teachers and students know that the building will be open until 7pmon thursday.

Betsy Baltzer has offered to be in the building for the Kentucky Arts Council Arts District Group’s visit and until critique. (1-6pm) If anyone else can be there, it would make it easier on her.

If you have not been to one of our critiques, Thursday will be a good time to start. Once a month, our local artists meet up to share and talk about their latest work. You don’t have to bring anything to enjoy the conversation. As an artist, I have found these meet ups a good opportunity to get advice on new work.

Please use the blog to leave a comment or ask a question about Thursday.

As you know, all the entries are at the guild for our Edgar Allan Poe exhibit. Monday from 6-9, many people are going to visit our building for the first time. We need to make the best impression possible. It will be a good opportunity to show the community what kind of space they can expect to see when we move downtown to the Cox building.

If you have any work that you would like to display, please bring it Friday afternoon. Our art building should be filled with our artwork.

Later the next week, members of the Kentucky Arts Council, city of Maysville, Berea, and Horse Cave are going to visit our building. The KAC is one of our largest sources of funding. We need to look as good as possible and there are many ways you can help. BRING SOME ARTWORK TO DISPLAY, help with the lighting, straightening up/decorating, etc.

Sorry for the short notice. I will be at the guild tomorrow (Friday) somewhere between 1:30 and 2. If you can help, it will be appreciated. If you want to meet for lunch before , I will be at Margie’s Southern Café on Market street Friday at noon.