Chilean Dreamer: Guest Artist Liz Larson

Chileandreamer Jewelry and Design: Creativity Inspirations
Text and Photos by Liz Larson

My name is Liz, and I design and create artisan wire-wrapped jewelry. I know it sounds a little like an addiction meeting, and it should!  Since I opened Chileandreamer Jewelry & Design (http://www.chileandreamer.etsy.com/) on Etsy over a year ago, it’s taken all my free time. It’s lucky I love what I do! However, I have to admit there are periods where I have creativity in abundance, and periods where I feel creatively stymied. I go for a lot of walks during these periods, since inspiration is found in the strangest places! I often find inspiration outside, looking at the structure of buildings, frost patterns, waves, or the way a vine curls.

A little about me: I am truly a crafter at heart, and have so much respect for people who craft with their hands! I love to sew, both by hand and with the horribly seductive convenience of my sewing machine. Music is another passion of mine; I am a vocalist and have played piano and cello since an early age. I have a fantastic husband who is wonderfully supportive of my jewelry work, and who makes me laugh everyday!

A lot of my inspiration comes from the stone I’m working with. I am always intrigued by unique new stones with new colors and textures and patterns - I’ll see a stone and my brain instantly starts designing! Sometimes there are parts of the stone I want to feature, such as stripes I can accentuate with wire lines. 

Most of the stones I work with inadvertently fall into one of two categories. There are stones that look best wrapped very simply to feature the stone, and there are also stones where I can let my creativity flow further and create intricate wire designs that are reminiscent of nature or emotion.

 

Sometimes the wrap design reflects my state of mind, or a state of mind I want to evoke in others. I am a great fan of jewelry that speaks secretly to you; wearing a necklace that puts you in a specific state of mind, or that means something just to you.

Often I’ll idly sketch a design that seems unfeasible, and then I’ll select the right stone and see how close I can get. Sometimes I’ll be halfway through creating a design, and I’ll see other places the design could go, so I end up with inspiration for a second piece. For example, I was creating the Lorelei necklace when I saw the design for the Intertwined necklace.

Often the clients I work with have also been instrumental in my creative process. I’ve been approached several times to design for wedding or bridesmaid jewelry, and it’s a fun balance between my artistic ideas and the clients’.  I happily do custom orders, as working with someone else helps me think outside the box!

Advice for new artists? Always be stretching your creative bounds. The more you try to work around problems and create things you’ve never done before, the more possibilities you’ll see.

Happy creating! Thanks to the wonderful Toni for an amazing blog, and for hosting my guest post!

~Liz
http://www.chileandreamer.etsy.com/

THANK YOU, LIZ!!

Structural Engineering is Art - Guest Artist "M.H."

Orthodox Church, Arizona

Structural Engineer: The underwriter

Building Area: 14,056 square feet.

Unit structural building cost: $43.47/sq ft.

Close communication between the Architect, the Structural Engineer and the Builder allowed for a structural design that provided for the distinctive architecture, economically and such that the structural solution could be built within the time constraints of the Building Committee.

The 156 feet long by 82 feet wide building was designed such that the gravitational loads as well as the lateral loads from wind and earthquake were transmitted from the roof diaphragm to the post-tensioned foundation through light gauge steel trusses supported by steel beams and steel columns, as well as light gauge steel stud walls clad with steel siding and masonry walls. Additional shear walls were required at some key locations in order to assure the redundant behavior of the structural system handling the lateral loads. Columns and Shear Walls were placed around the building perimeter as the Owner and Architect could not tolerate any sightline obstructions within the Church Sanctuary.

The 35-foot diameter, 10-foot tall dome was designed of light gauge steel trusses converging towards the central ring located some 45 feet above the finished floor. The dome is supported by a series of long span, steel beams such that no columns fell within the sanctuary as reported above. The mezzanine deck, at the perimeter of the building, functions as an auditorium, building storage and bookstore, and was designed of light gauge steel trusses supported by steel beams and steel columns; again, with a minimum of columns. The steel beam structural system is simple, yet effectively chosen to withstand the gravitational loads from the dome, roof and suspended floor.

The elevator between the ground and upper floor was accommodated into the design, such that the integration of the elevator element, as a shear core, contributes substantially to the lateral load resisting elements of the structure.

As a typical Orthodox Church signature, the bell tower rises up to 47 feet above finished floor. The bell tower was designed of masonry walls with a light gauge steel domed roof. The lower 21 feet of the tower consists of arched entryways to accommodate entry, walk-through and stairwells and is supported on four “L-shaped” masonry legs.

The foundation of the building was not only designed to safely carry the load from the structural elements to the ground, but also to accommodate the impact of the highly expansive soil. Since the Building Committee desired installation of granite over the finished floor, a post-tension slab design was the solution to respond to floor loads, point loads, crack control, and serviceability issues. The post-tension slab enables and facilitates the granite application over the large main floor surface area as construction joints and slab control joints could be eliminated. The main floor slab is thus placed in compression in both north/south and east/west directions and with the elimination of the construction and control joints and the inclusion of a fracture membrane between the slab and the granite floor tiles, the risk of tile cracking due to slab movement and concrete shrinkage was substantially mitigated.

The slab design result was a state of the art post-tension slab, 156 feet long by 82 feet wide by 11 inches thick. A total of 134, ½ inch diameter tendons up to 156 feet long spaced at 12 inches to 16 inches in the long direction and 17 inches to 25 inches in the short direction were used for the post-tensioning phase of the foundation.

The Structural Engineer is proud to have been associated with this project and was doubly pleased that the project was completed on time, within the very tight budget of the congregation, and provided a structural solution to achieve the distinctive and classic appearance developed by the Architect.

Respectfully submitted,
"M.H."
The Structural Engineer

* * * * * * * * * *

Thank you, "M.H.",

for finding a way to

create this post

without compromising the client.

Friday Reflections: Guest Artist Susan Taylor Brown

Opening Closed Doors
by Susan Taylor Brown

Whenever people ask about the whys and the hows of what I do in my poetry workshops with incarcerated youth, I often struggle for a starting point.

How do I tell you about the sight of a boy pouring his heart out on the page with no one standing over him telling him he is dumb for doing it? How do I tell you about the pride of a young man standing up to read his poem to the class, a poem that exposes the deepest hurting part of himself? How do I tell you that the simple act of me showing up every session, no matter what they said or did or tried to do to push me away, that my showing up showed them that someone cared which meant that they were worth caring about, worth saving? How do I show you the very heart of these boys, these boys who had never written poetry before, who tried so hard at something so new, and who succeeded beyond my expectations?

STUDENT POEM

Taking a Chance On
My life
This program
Change
Reinventing my behavior
For my family
For myself
To do right
To succeed in life
Dealing with my issues
Myself to become a better person

Maybe I start by telling you not about these boys but about someone else in my life that I love very much, someone who struggles with demons that threaten to overwhelm them, someone who feels worthless and unloved and as a result makes bad choices that result in negative consequences that cause that person to continue to spiral downward.

Someone I can’t save no matter how many times I’ve tried.

I’m a children’s writer and poet by trade and I tell stories to try and fix things in my life that I can’t ever seem to really fix for real. I’m a fatherless daughter that writes stories about positive relationships between fathers and daughters. I’m a divorced mom who writes stories about kids trying to make sense of broken families. I’ve been poor and abused and I write stories to try and understand why those things happened to me and how to keep them from happening again.

The local arts council in my town has a wonderful program that matches up visual artists, musicians, dancers and writers with teenaged students in the at-risk population. The idea is that art empowers these teens to make a difference in their lives. Kids who don’t or won’t talk to teachers or counselors can often find a way to work out through art. I’m lucky enough to have received grants the past few years which have allowed me to go into alternative schools; usually with students who are incarcerated, and try to teach them what I know how to do best . . . spill your guts on paper.

Try is the operative word here because it doesn’t always work. These kids are locked up both literally and metaphorically. They have been in and of gangs, jail, and foster homes. They have learning problems, language problems, and a giant dose of attitude - But they all have something to say.

One of the most difficult students I’ve ever had was Edgar. He was big, built like a battering ram. He had escaped a detention facility and had been on the run for two years. At sixteen he was back in the classroom and wearing an electronic surveillance ankle bracelet. He wrote about gang life, getting drunk, and hurting people. He was the only student who ever made me feel afraid and I never really felt like I connected with him until the day I asked the class, "If you could go back and change something in your life, what would change and why?"

Some kids went right to work writing. But not Edgar. He just leaned over the desk and held his head in his hands. When I asked him what was wrong he told me he didn't have enough paper. I thought he meant to write on so I put a stack of paper on his desk.

Then he told me no, he meant, there wasn't enough paper in the world for him to write about it all. He said he'd change everything. Then he said that it didn't matter. That he had screwed up, he was going to court the next week, and he knew he was going to be locked up again.

I didn't ask any questions. I just told him to write.

All the other students finished and left but Edgar kept on writing.

When he finally got ready to go he told me that writing was hard but that it made him think. And sometimes it even made him feel sorry for the things he had done.

STUDENT POEM
I am locked up in the hall.
I wonder how long I have to be under the system’s armpits.
I hear the white walls talk.
I see compadres coming in and out of this place.
I want all this to come to a stop.
I am locked up in the hall.
I pretend to understand myself.
I feel under a spell.
I touch my face wondering how I look after all the years of being gone from home.
I worry I won’t make it in the real world.
I cry inside my head cuz I gotta stay strong.
I am locked up in the hall.
I understand my mistakes.
I say enough with all this.
I dream to be out one day.
I try to escape my vida loca.
I hope these demons inside of me will leave me alone.
I am locked up in the hall.

People ask me what I do exactly, how I prepare for the sessions and the truth is that it’s hard to prepare for this sort of thing. I try but it’s mostly different every time. A few things stay the same. I read them some poems at the beginning of each session. Their reactions to those poems, and the discussions that come as a result, help me decide what to bring in the next time. I usually start of with acrostic poems because most of them are familiar with the format and by doing a name poem it helps me get to know who they are. I talk about using all five senses early on because they it becomes a warm-up to do a group poem using all the senses before we get down to the writing of the day. I like to do a family poem because these kids, especially the ones who have been locked up for a while, family is everything. I have to prepare a new lesson plan each night because so much of it depends on how things went in the previous session. And I always bring a couple of extra lesson ideas because sometimes what seems like a good idea falls completely flat.

There are so many things to be aware when I go into these classrooms. I need to not wear blue or red because those are the colors of the rival gangs of my area. In some places I need to pin my long hair up so they can’t grab it and not wear long dangling earrings. I need to not let them write about gangs and drugs and much of the only life they know. When we do art I need to make sure they don’t sneak some gang symbols onto the page. And they always try. The class never stays the same. Some kids are removed. Some new kids join. Some work willingly and some, even with the threat of losing privileges would prefer to challenge me every step of the way.

But the hardest part of it all is something I can’t prepare for – their reaction to me. Some of them are outright hostile. Some just silent. Some want to be the class clown and some want to disappear. I never know how I am going to deal with each of these situations until I’m right smack in the middle of it. Sometimes what I do works and sometimes it doesn’t and I have to try again.

But when it works, it works in amazing ways.

The lonely boy whose dad only cared about getting drunk and smacking him around wrote love poems for his girlfriend.

The boy who was an overachiever at everything, including being a gang member, wrote long poems about his family and how much they meant to him.

The class clown wrote about having no friends.

The boy who knew he might never get out of jail again wrote poems of apology to his mother.

Powerful stuff.

Becoming involved in poetry helped open the prison doors of their souls. They became vulnerable and real. The simple act of me showing up every session, no matter how hard they pushed me away, showed them someone cared. It gave them hope. And the way I look at it, if we can give them hope, we can help them make a change in their life.

Here is a group poem the kids wrote in one of my sessions.

Poetry
has a beautiful life to it.
You sound like happiness, sadness, love
taste like fresh strawberries
and feel like soft skin, sandpaper, a brick wall.
Poetry is all the colors of the rainbow
and smells like freedom, incarceration, a sexy girl.
Oh poetry, you drive me crazy.
You make me want to scream, to feel, to heal.
You look like sunshine and moonlight in the city.
Poetry is feelings on paper.

This isn’t easy work and I’m not the brave, strong person some people think I am. But I love words. I believe they have enormous power. Power to do good, power to heal, power to bring hope.

I believe we need to dare these kids to look at their lives differently. We need to give them new tools for expressing themselves.

And then we need to listen to what they have to say.

* * * * * * * * * *
Susan Taylor Brown is the author of many books for children including the award winning verse novel, Hugging the Rock and the forthcoming picture book, Enrique Esparza and the Battle at the Alamo.

Visit her website at http://susantaylorbrown.com/ or her blog http://susanwrites.livejournal.com/

Susan blogs in-depth about each of her poetry sessions with incarcerated students. To go directly to those posts, click here: http://susanwrites.livejournal.com/tag/incarcerated%20poetry


* * * * * * * * * *

SUSAN,

THANK YOU FROM MY GUTS

FOR THIS POST!

Tuesday Technique'N: Collage Sheet Art with Guest Artist Mary Mata

Collage Sheet Card & ATC Creations
Text & Photos - Mary Mata

The idea for making my collage sheets evolved naturally from my own card making.  At the time I was making cards from my photographs.  I soon wanted somthing a little different.  Collage was a great way to put a lot of 'pretty' in one space.  I was also teaching myself Photoshop so the ideas just came together easier after that.  After making collage style cards for resell, I thought, "Hmmm.  Why not create art for others to make their own cards?"  The rest is history.

Much of the inspiration for my art and collage sheets comes from my own photography and vintage photographs.  I love color, so everything gets a healthy dose of it!

The first project I wanted to share with you is a card made from my 'Raven Hair Beauty Card Collage Sheet'.

Materials used are:
Blank card (cut an 8-1/2 x 11 in two, then fold)
Glue - I like quick dry tacky glue or photo safe glue
Ink pads in colors to match - pigment inks work best
Glimmer Mist - love this stuff
Scissors
Metallic Gel Pens for embellishing
Collage  Sheet(s) of course!
Ephemera if desired

Once you have cut all the images from the collage sheet, start layering them to find a composition you like.  

When you find a look you like, lightly mist the background with silver Glimmer Mist. Let it dry.

Choose your ink pad in the color you like and ink the edges of all your pieces.  Let those dry.  Ink the edge of your card background.   Now you are ready to glue!

Glue background with all your pretty pieces.  Let the glue dry.  And now, if  you'd like, you can embellish with your metallic gel pens.

Completed Card.

* * * * * * * * * * *

The second project I want to share with you is an ATC made from my Seaside Card Collage Sheet. 

Materials use are the same as those above, with the exception of a blank ATC background, and a gold star I glued under the butterfly.

The technique for the ATC is the same as for the card ...  

that's because I have a very short attention span and need instant gratification! 

I do like to glue my ATC to a sturdier background, though, such as watercolor paper or card stock, cut to size.

 

Completed ATC

I also like to use shipping tags to make tags or bookmarks.   Some like to decorate their scrapbook pages.   

 

And transparencies add a further layer of dimension and allure to your project. 

THE SKY IS THE LIMIT!

About me:

I grew up out in the country in sunny California. We always had a garden, so I developed a love for the earth and all its beauty. I got my love for photography from my dad, but I was always drawing pictures as a kid. I am self taught, with the exception of a few classes I took in high school.  Everything I know about art and photography comes from reading a book, experience, and studying others peoples art. I tend to like the Art Nouveau and Art Deco look, so I do lean in that direction.

I worked as a wedding photographer for over 15 years, so I did teach myself photoshop. But because I was an artist before I was a photographer, I would constantly look for ways to make my photographs look more like art. That's where collage came in. It was a natural progression inside my 'let's go in twenty different directions' brain.

When I started the collage sheets, I was already making my own cards. There were collage sheets already on the market, but most featured clips of ephemera, not something you could create a card from with one sheet. My sheets also tell a story via my use of coordinated images versus just a group of unrelated pictures.

You can find my collage sheets, along with other fun stuff to create with at mataart42.etsy.com
If you have any questions or comments, please email me at studiomem@yahoo.com

* * * * * * * * * *

Mary Mata's collage sheet images have been gracing the pages of my written journal, my visual journal, my hand-crafted cards, and my mixed media canvases for the last three years.  She, along with one other artist, is my favorite source for collage sheets -- they express my internal horizons and visions; they are what I would create if I could!  I couldn't believe it when I discovered them, as if Mary had taken the extended world tour of my mind and imagination!  I visit her ETSY shop just to soak in the loveliness, and for a perfect mental escape!

Mary, my excitement level at

having you here for a

Guest Artist technique post

can't be articulated. 

THANK YOU!!!

Friday Reflections: Guest Artist Joe Ray

Creativity and the Witching Hour

Text and Photos  -- Joe Ray

My witching hour is between 3 and 4 a.m. on weekends. It’s when some invisible hand has nudged me and whispered in my ear, “Get up, there’s something to be done in an uninterrupted manner. I’ll show you. Get up.”  I usually protest a little, but on the early side, I’m up at 3 or 3:15. On the later side -- 4 – 4:30. It’s dark outside as well as quiet. Sometimes the moon shines brightly as it smiles from above and at other times it gives me that slivery smile and a wink with minimal light. I’m always a little skeptical; you can’t always believe what the moon tells you.

I enjoy getting up at this time and with coffee in hand, music turned on, I begin to lay colors onto my palette or open a container I’ve already mixed paint in. Part of what was calling out to me are usually one or two of the works in progress on my desk on the easel. They’ve been waiting patiently for me to show up. We begin a little dance, a courtship of sorts where I whip a dry brush around as a warm up, sort of like a bird prancing and shaking its feathers before its mate. I smile and begin. This is the part of the day that sets up a great beginning for me. It puts me in a good mood. By 10 a.m. I’ve gotten a lot done.  I’ve had a parade of possible scenarios prance through my head, all in time to the music playing.  In between songs I can hear quail and other birds coming to life outside of my window. Maybe I woke them up.  I’ll step outside for a few minutes before I get into the zone and ponder the sky -- that’s how I know what mood the moon’s in. I proceed accordingly. The fresh air in the morning is invigorating, rich with the smell of the desert and creosote accented with the silhouetted butte across the street at Papago.

Typically, I work on 4 or 5 pieces at one time. This time of day allows me to see each clearly and imagine somehow the final outcome and have a small conversation with each piece. There is no jealousy here; it’s a communal give and take thing. We’re all happy.

The beauty of working at this time of day is that it’s the best way I can think of to unleash creativity. The only thing I’ve been through at this point has been sleeping, dreaming and the occasional astro-projection activities. I always make it a point to write something in my journal during the morning as I paint (I’m actually a pretty good multi-tasker on my terms, and these are my terms). Sometimes my journal entries are sketches, sometimes arrows punctuated with fragmented words that mean nothing to anyone but me. That’s okay, it’s my world, my universe at this hour.

It’s important to journal. I don’t think you can look at pictures without knowing the words, saying them, hearing them, writing them and reading them. Words have helped me see pictures more clearly, they’ve defined colors for me. Most of these words don’t appear in a cohesive manner or in anything resembling a completed paragraph. 2 or 3 words can mean a page full of paragraphs to me when applied on a sheet of paper. I’ve been journaling off and on since I was a teenager. In college I embraced classes where we were to journal events; it was something I thrived on.

I used to throw away my completed and filled journals until some time in the mid to late 90s when someone asked why I tossed them and didn’t keep them. I didn’t have an answer - it had never occurred to me to keep them until that moment. Since then, I’ve acquired a bunch of bound books filled with thoughts, nonsense, dreams and arrows in them. They seem to have multiplied at the rate of 2, sometimes 3 per year.  Sometimes I find inspiration in sketches that I’ve made through the years in these books. Sometimes the writings in them bring lost joy, sadness and feelings of “man, am I glad to be done with that phase”. These words often find themselves onto canvas or on paper that I happen to be working on. Words on (or about) color are under appreciated beauty, especially when both English and Spanish are combined, fused together for a greater good that somehow makes more sense.

 

What we write, what we create and dream are a large part of what defines us. It prepares me to go out into the world and interact, which I absolutely love doing. If I happen to have a journal with me at a bar (usually when traveling) or at a party, I’ll ask whomever is with me to write something in the book for me, or to draw me a picture. This takes people by surprise but I find it no different than asking someone to pose with you for a photo, or even ask to take their picture. I feel that this is where the most personal and deep crevices of our creative juices mix with that which others have. A creative and creationist oriented cocktail of sorts. Served straight up.

Yeah, that’s it.

* * * * * * * * * *

Joe is an hispanic painter and printmaker living in Scottsdale, Arizona - a place with quite a bit of dust, rocks and great sunsets.

Most of Joe’s work is reflective of a bi-cultural perspective formed by the Arizona and Mexico region(s),

the people living in that region as well as a contemporary Chicano perspective. The work speaks to the Mexicano, the Chicano, the Hispanic and the Gavacho.

Joe is also Creative Director and Principal of Estudio Ray, a strategic design and branding firm in Phoenix.

The Joe Ray creative & creationist-oriented cocktail bar, serving up his original art, can be found here! 

* * * * * * * * * * 

Gracias, Señor El Artist!

"Entre el Cielo y la Tierra" - Guest Artist Gennaro García

"Entre el Cielo y la Tierra"

"Between heaven and earth"

"Painting is addictive and therapeutic. 

It is the best way to communicate everything --

the way I feel, the way I think, and what I love.

Oils, acrylics, monoprints, hand carved wood,

plaster techniques learned in Italy, and

a color palette created from a childhood in Mexico.

These are some of the tools that bring to life

a fascination with

old world and religious iconic images."

Gennaro García

This exhibit title expresses

Gennaro's desire to take

two disparate sensations, expectations,

and join them: 

heaven, earth, & the space between.

Unexpected differences;

unexpected similarities.

Loneliness.

The space behind, & to the side of,

the Archangel

(a frequent subject of Gennaro's painting)

illustrates both the specific sense of loneliness,

and

also the idea of A Single Emotion.

Over a decade ago,

Gennaro's mother 'stole'

one of his original paintings,

a Madonna,

which she recently gave back to him.

He's returned to the material source

where he began,

iconic religious themes.

He gathers inspiration wherever he travels,

and he's traveled extensively:

Spain, South America, Africa, Italy,

to name a few of his destinations.

It was a Beautiful Woman who led

Gennaro to paint abstracts. 

She loved them, & 

he wanted to win her heart.

Traveling with His Beauty to New York in 2004,

& after carrying around

an engagement ring

in his pocket for five days,

they visited the Basilica ...

he knew this was the day!

But to Gennaro's astonishment,

a song from his childhood

lifted within the cathedral arches,

a song sung in Spanish --

& he felt such familiarity with the

art inside the church,

the architecture itself,

this music from his youth!

For him, 

everything focused and disappeared

concurrently.

He knew what he now wanted to paint.

Research began immediately.

[I remain uncertain if the proposal

actually did take place that day,

but his Beauty IS now Gennaro's wife!]

The arrival of their daughter

also deeply influences his painting.

The tree of life,

above,

is a celebration of her birth.

The myriad birds

symbolize

the male presence,

Gennaro.

Lush & brilliantly colored

lotus flowers

represent the female presence,

Gennaro's Beauty.

And the sheer abundance of flowers

indicates the birth of a girl,

Frida Sophia.

And yes,

Gennaro confirmed that,

 at 12 weeks,

she is already

in possession of an easel!

Three weeks ago,

when I first personally met Gennaro at the

Phoenix Art Museum Open Paint,

he had just started this canvas.

I noticed then a photograph taped to the easel,

above the canvas.

This is how he always works,

and he has difficulty choosing from among

his hundreds of photographs.

The plastering/texture technique so beautifully

rendered here is the one he

learned in Italy.

 

The subject is a young lady Gennaro

considers as a daughter.

Again,

notice his technique of

leaving her surrounded

by space.

My comment to him was 

that I felt myself drawn in,

pulled nearer,

and ultimately completely

engaged by her eyes. 

Speaking of Eyes:

here is my favorite from the Exhibit.

Gennaro met this woman in

North Africa,

and she spoke perfect Spanish.

Again,

he experienced a paradox --

what is 'expected' in/from Africa

versus what it's possible to discover.

In rendering portraits,

his main concern is the quality of the eyes.

Hers halted me.

Found me.

Held me.

And followed me,

wherever I moved.

But I didn't want to move

from her gaze.

And I kept returning.

Because he began in a place

where it was necessary to use

everything

until it couldn't be used anymore,

Gennaro still uses his paintbrushes

until they're nubs.

He considers this to be his only

'ritual',

except ...

He HAS to listen to music!!!

I asked;

I told him it was

the ONLY question 

I wanted to ask for myself.

He said yes;

 I grinned & grinned;

then we traded recommendations.

His: Chambao

Mine:  Jesse Cook

Both:  Sade's new one, Soldier of Love

 

We also bonded

over our mutual admiration of 

Anthony Bourdain.

Gennaro is a Foodie to the Max --

ultimate dream?

A restaurant gallery!

I volunteered to chop onion.

Finally,

I asked Gennaro if

he has any advice for

beginning artists,

shy artists,

artists who think they make bad art.

"I grew up under the shadow

of my older brother,

who is an incredible artist,

and I felt it all, 

that I'd never be 'that good',

hearing that voice in my head saying

'You'll never be able to paint.'

But I painted anyway,

and the voice disappeared.

Art has to be expressed,

and the expression dissolves the doubt,

silences the voice.

And, also,

I've come to love 

'the perfection in the imperfection.' "

The Artist,

with my favorite of his paintings.

I have no sufficient words to thank Gennaro,

for his generosity of time & attention,

for being so engaging,

sharing his stories both

personal & creative,

&

for inviting me to this meeting

in the first place.

Gracias por todo, Gennaro!

  

Calvin Charles Gallery

4201 North Marshall Way, Scottsdale, AZ

Exhibit runs through March 8, 2010

Partial Proceeds to benefit Xico, Inc.

Gennaro García

Official Website:  ArteGennaro

Blog:  Arte+Gennaro

Facebook:  ARTEGENNARO