Sorry for the short notice, but Joseph Wood, Artcroft’s current resident is going to do a reading of his work at Ed’s Carlisle Cafe Wednesday at 6pm.  Artists and writers are invited to bring their work to share after Mr. Wood’s reading, and then stay for dinner.  Dinner will be made especially for this event, so please rsvp  Call Jim Lally for more informaiton 606.407.1457.

I think this is a special opportunity, so I am planning to skip critique this Wednesday, and I am going to attend after the art camp meeting.  Anyone interested is welcome to ride along with me.

I am willing to reschedule critique if there is need/interest.  Let me know,

Ken Swinson

A planning meeting for art camp will be held at the guild building this Wednesday, May 27 at 5pm. Children are our next generation of artists, and if you have the time to volunteer, this is a great opportunity for you to make a difference.

i recieved an email a few weeks ago from a woman claiming to want to purchase artwork from me. ( they must have found me throught the orvag site because these certain titles of the paintings only appear there).  here is the first email:

______

Good day to you.

I am so excited that I came across of your work on internet search,I am interested in purchasing these creative artworks from you…………………

Hunter6,Chaney,kkkkikikik and

Let me know their various prices.and how much discounts are you going to give?I will be happy to have these selected artworks hanged in our new home in South Africa. As well, I want you to take out the shipping cost.I have been in touch with a shipping firm that will be shipping other house decoratives.

We are traveling from our Dallas home to our new apartment as soon as possible.On Paying for the artworks,I will be glad to pay you with a Money Order or Cashier`s check in US funds that can be easily cashed at your local bank,please let me know on how to proceed for the payment of the creative artworks.

I will await your advise on how to proceed.Have a wonderful day.

Take care,
Nicole Danes

______

after that i recieved an email from her “shipping company”. which i could not locate on the internet. and they have not replied with any sort of contact info.

the last email i recieved was this one.

_____

I don’t know what we have decided to for the Simon Kenton Festival, but we have been offered a free space. I have a show on the 20th, but can sit with our tent for a ½ day on the 19th. I think this is a good opportunity for us to promote the guild and our artwork.

What do you think?

There is no hurry on the mirror, we can discuss it at the meeting Wednesday.
Ruvonna

this is my first attempt to blog so be patient. I just wanted to let everyone know that I was able to get the teaching mirror replaced without charge. The new mirror has arrived and is currently located at The Iron Fist Gym1010 Forest Avenue. We need to transport it to the Guild and unpack it. I have return shipping labels to send the defective mirror back. I have to pack the old one in the new one’s boxes for shipping. I hope this one is good. Ruvonna

I am not very sharp in the morning, but here is my recap of today’s meeting at the library:

Robert McBride gave a presentation about the transformation of Bellows Falls, VT. After the closing of its mills, the economically challenged New England town considered becoming a dump for nuclear waste. After moving to Bellows Falls, Mr. McBride (an artist) became an active member of his community, using art to make a difference in his neighborhood.

Robert described many of the things he and his community did to transform their neighborhood by bringing the arts into their district. You can read more about what they did at their website: http://www.ramp-vt.org

The basic message I took from his presentation was that creative thinkers make a difference in their community. Creative planners attract creativity…whiny planners attract whiners to their community.

After Robert’s presentation, we were introduced to Suzanne Gray, the executive staff advisor for the Kentucky Arts Council. Suzanne explained how we were chosen for the grant. After the meeting, a few of the artists had the opportunity to ask Suzanne if it would be feasible to use a portion of the grant to bring our local art guild downtown as part of a “study”. She said that it was possible. At this stage of the process, we are supposed to come up with a few ideas that would work as part of a long term and sustainable program.

I believe the “study” is in line with the vision of the Cultural Arts District, and I hope it “makes the cut” when the ideas are decided by the board. We are supposed to take our ideas to Claudia, who will represent us (the visual artists) at the board meetings. Mike Thomas, the council’s leader, will represent the decisions of the board. Mike Thomas said we are also welcome to approach him directly.

The turnout at the 8am presentation was outstanding! A very diverse group, representing different parts of our community was in attendance. I am proud to say the visual arts were well represented, with at least 10 of us at the meeting!

After the meeting, we were invited to join Mr. McBride and Mrs. Gray for a tour of the city’s cultural arts district. I have never seen the Russell Theatre or Cox building…both amazing structures with great potential. I would like to share a few ideas of how the visual artists can help and participate in the restoration of these great buildings…later (perhaps on our blog)

Like I said at the beginning of this post, I was not very alert during the meeting, so any additional comments+corrections would be a great help for those who missed the meeting.

On a similar note:

While touring the buildings, Doug Hendrickson approached me about offering the artists a window space to display artwork. During his presentation, Mr. McBride suggested that artwork in an unused window brings a creative energy to a neighborhood (and gets the attention of arts minded visitors). We should take advantage of this opportunity ASAP.

Mr. Hendrickson also mentioned that we (ORVAG) have been awarded $4000 from the Hayswood Foundation. To receive the money, we need to come up with the matching funds. I do not know much about this, but think we should discuss it at our next board meeting.

Finally,
The city is getting ready to print their calendar of events for July-December. If we want to take advantage of the free publicity, we need to provide them with dates for our upcoming events:
auction?, fall art walk?, winter art sale? I was given the impression that there is not much time to let them know.

A good friend recently brought to my attention how important it is to show my appreciation to those who help me. There is much for me to be thankful for. Looking back at the wonderful if not rainy night we had, there is much to be thankful for. 1. Ken for running with an idea no matter how challenging it may be. 2. Artist’s for participating. 3. The community for welcoming us into their business’s and for coming out to support the arts. Heck I am even thankful for the rain. The streets of Maysville shine like gold on an otherwise dreary evening. Thank you Maysville.

I got this email tonight from KET. I sure hope they follow through. This could be a great beginning for this whole idea of a cultural center here in Maysville.