Grand Rapids ArtPrize 2012 Part 1

I'm here in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA at ArtPrize 2012 - ArtPrize has become the world’s largest art competition by combining $560,000 in total prizes with an open call for artists, venues, and critics and there are 162 venues which will host 1517 artist entries. It's a huge event that lasts for 18 days with large sculptures and fine art....

Here are some of what we saw today...

My feet are so sore from all the walking but I hope to show you more photos tomorrow after I've looked at more art!!

I Love Canada

After the Squam Fall 2012 art workshop I headed up to Niagara Falls, which was a real eye opener.  It was like being in a theme park.  The Maid of Mist was hilarious, hundreds of people in blue ponchos getting soaking wet - I loved it but I was wearing one of my glass tile pendants which got wet and is now fading.

After the falls I went to the Butterfly Conservatory.

Then I headed to Toronto - I went to the Art Gallery of Ontario, the CN Tower and Gretzkys - which is a bar/restaurant owned by the ice hockey player Wayne Gretzky.

I finally saw some Canada Geese.

I had a good time in Canada and met some great people and am now in Michigan staying with a friend and it's great to be in a home and not an hotel/apartment and to have friends to spend the day with and chat with, and we will be heading to Grand Rapids to visit ArtPrize next week.

30x30x30 Challenge Update

Last weekend was the 30x30x30 Challenge Exhibition where 900 8inch square paintings were on sale.  It was a great success for the Treetops Montessori School, my friend June Stevens sold 22 (maybe more - I haven't had an update yet), Leanne Fry sold 26 and I sold 21 - an awesome result all round.

Here are my paintings:

Citrus Sunburst

Here are all 30 exhibited:

 

Many thanks to the organisers and to everyone who supported the event and bought a painting esp one of mine. Thank you.

Squam Fall 2012

I had an awesome time at Squam - an art workshop on Squam Lake in New Hampshire, USA.

I flew 25 hours + to feel the magic, to meet other creatives, to learn new techniques and to meet my amazing teachers - Kelly Barton and Sarah Ahearn, to be inspired, encouraged and to hike a mountain and swim in a lake.

And I bought some great weather with me too!!!

Thursday morning we woke up to a beautiful sunrise:

Kelly Barton's C'mon Let's Play class was a lot fun and it was great to create one of her girls instead of one of mine...

Friday we woke up to another beautiful sunrise (Saturday was too cloudy and Sunday  I decided to stay in bed...)

Sarah Ahearn's Paint and Pages class was great as I learnt a new technique on photo transfers that I can apply to the 1890 book I bought at the Strand Bookstore in New York City and keep it intact...

And my work - all in progress, still some to finish off when I get home...

 

The Rockywold Deephaven Camps on Squam Lake has great cabins and a beautiful environment...

A little on the history of the camp:

The Rockywold-Deephaven Camps are unique in that they have resisted change in the basic philosophies of their founders. To be sure, we are not the same as we were in 1897, when Miss Alice Mable Bacon founded Deephaven, nor as in 1901 when Mrs. Mary Alice Armstrong founded Rockywold. Both of these pioneering women adapted and changed as time went on but held strongly to their basic principles.

Two women in the late 1800's and early 1900's founded the campsite - this is totally awesome and part of the magic and why it is such a great place for women to create and the land is set aside for educational, recreational and inspirational purposes.

I did hang up my Inspirational Paper Bunting Flags that I made one weekend back in June when I had a cold...

I swam in the lake, hiked a mountain and made new friends...lots but these are all the pics I have...

Kristine, me and Finch, me and Ana...

I also met Emily Falconbridge, an Aussie living in the States, so I asked her where she was from and she said Perth so I said where in Perth and she named the suburb across the highway from mine - she's from my neighbourhood and she went to the same high school as my boys!!!

The food was great but I took no pics and my tummy was a little unhappy with the water...I also got bitten by something on Friday and have a nasty rash along my back camisole line and down my arm.

The Squam Art Fair on Saturday night was awesome too...I bought some of Sarah's prints and some of Paper Taxi's cards which are easy to travel home with...

It was awesome, I'm so grateful and feel so blessed that I had this opportunity to go to Squam.

I love New York

Shells in New York City - Imagine that?!!

I left Perth, Western Australia on Tuesday 4th September at 10:30pm and arrived totally exhausted in New York City, USA on Wednesday 5th September at 2:30pm and was at my hotel around 5:30pm.

On Thursday, 6th September I walked from my hotel on 57th St to the Empire State Building on 34th and 5th Ave.  Practically zero waiting time as I got there early enough to avoid it.  Great views of the city even on a smoggy day.

Then I walked to the Hudson River and Pier 84 on 44th St to take the Water Taxi to go passed the Statue of Liberty, it was great to see the city from a different point of view.

On Friday 7th September I walked around Central Park and went to Strawberry Fields where John Lennon's memorial is - see first pic.  I also went to the fountain and through the Mall.

On Saturday 8th September I met up with Lori Moon and Deborah Velasquez from the Flying Lessons course and had the most awesome day.

When Lori met me at the hotel it was pouring with rain and we headed to Grand Central Station to pick up Deb - I rode on the Subway for the first time - it was hot but the carriages were air conditioned and it was easy.  GCS has an Apple store so we browsed in there for a while too.

Here's a pic of Deb, Lori and I...

We went past the Flatiron Building....by now the rains had left us and it was warm and sunny....

To have lunch at Eataly (eat Italy) which is a great set shops and cafes based on italian food....

Then we popped into Marimekko an awesome store based on textiles with material, clothes and things for the home.  I loved the way the store was displayed, everything looked beautiful.  then the girls to me took Anthropologie and I took heaps of photos in that store - it was amazing.

Check out this birdcage in the middle of the store!!!

And you know how I've been doing some cardboard art lately - check out the frames on these paintings...

And then on to the Strand bookstore where I picked up a book from 1890 which I'm going to use for collaging....

After the Strand - which featured in the movie Julie/Julia - we went for coffee and noticed the dark clouds coming over so we made a dash for Barnes and Noble - it was 5pm and the shop was buzzing. In Perth at 5pm the stores are closing, we just don't have the population to cater for it.  It was great to feel the aliveness of the city.  I bought some magazines which you can't get in Perth and they are so heavy I may have to send them home through the post to avoid baggage costs....


On Sunday I headed for the Metropolitan Museum aka The Met....it is a huge place to visit and so much to see from famous art, to sculptures, to house interiors rebuilt from real houses - American and French, armour,  Asian art, Egyptian tombs... the place was just awesome.....


Monet...

 

Modigliani...

Loved the flowers on these vases...

On Monday 10th September I went to the Museum of Modern Art....a modern building for modern art...

Well I took heaps more photos than these and will upload some of them to Facebook later on.  I'm on the Amtrak train right now and internet is not strong...Now I'm heading to Boston and onto Squam in New Hampshire to the art workshop...