Monday, July 27, 2009

Artist Reception-You're Invited!


I've been honored with an invitation from our local Arts Council for a private exhibit of my work at the Historic Regan House until August 14th. Of course, I accepted.

For one thing, the Regan House is BEAUTIFUL! It's on the National Register of Historic Places, and I've long admired it. It currently is home to Ed Price Realty, and they are the gracious hosts for the Arts Council's meeting and exhibit space. (That's my painted rendition of it in the photo above. The larger version is on display in the exhibit.)

In addition to that, I've been working on a line of Fine Art prints for a while, and finally have several of them completed. This is the perfect way to debut them, and I'll keep my fingers crossed that they are well received. I have a number of other pieces in progress, plus more that are in my head just begging to get out and find their way to paper or canvas.

Besides all that, this is the first ever private exhibit the Northwestern Randolph County Arts Council has hosted. How cool is that!

You can stop by anytime M-F from 9:00 - 5:00 to enjoy the exhibit. Or....

This Sunday afternoon, (Aug. 2nd) 2:00 - 4:00, there will be a reception in my honor. Live music from Blood Kin Gospel, light refreshments, tours of the Regan House, the exhibit, prints available for purchase, and a chance to visit. Consider yourself invited, and bring a friend or two. Free admission.

See ya after church and lunch on Sunday!

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Art Gallery Was a Success



It was great to see some of you last weekend at the NWRC-Arts Council Annual Art Exhibit. I'm sure you were blown away, just as I was, at the diversity and caliber of work being exhibited. I must have gone through that exhibit 10 times over three days, and each time I found new pieces to enjoy. Looks to me like this little corner of the world has some serious talent.

There was an amazing range of mediums: oil paintings, wood carvings, pottery, porcelin, acrylics, drawings, photography, mixed media, watercolors, hand-made dulcimers, even a beautiful sculptural piece made primarily from weeds. And the list goes on.

I had the opportunity to meet Mark Brown of Theatre Art Galleries, and to benefit from his critique of my first pieces of Fine Art Photography. He was gracious, and had actually selected one of my pieces as one of his favorites, and told me that a couple of my prints initally fooled him into thinking they were paintings. He also gave me great insights into the world of art shows. Thanks Mark!

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Northwestern Randolph County Arts Council Annual Art Gallery Exhibition

If you're looking for something fun to do this weekend, come explore the Annual Art Gallery Exhibition in Archdale! Randolph County Community College's Creekside Campus will play host as we proudly display beautiful and varied works of art. Creekside is a beautiful place for a picnic and a walk, and it's right on Hwy 311, just about 1/2 mile south of I-85.

Last year was my first time at the show, both showing and looking, and it was a blast! There were so many beautiful things to see, and this year promises even more variety with new categories. You can expect to find pottery, woodworking, textile arts, paintings, drawings, photographic art, (my fave) and even kids art. Some will be available for purchase, so if you need something special as a gift or to treat yourself--this is the place!

I'm going to display something new at this show--part of a series of fine art photographic prints I've been working on for over a year now. The originals will be available for sale, and if you're there when I am (and I'm on the committee in charge of the exhibit, so I'm going to try to be there most of the time.) there just might be some small reproductions available for purchase as well. Just maybe....

Open to the public on Friday, July 17 from Noon – 8 p.m. and Saturday, July 18 from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Hope to see you there!

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Photographs Help Detect Childhood Cancer

OK, I know that's a scary title. And I normally like to be upbeat and positive and keep things on the lighter side. But sometimes you gotta mix a little salt with your sugar I guess, and sometimes it's important to pass along information.

I was re-reading a copy of Professional Photographer magazine today, and found an article I had completely forgotten. It was from January of 2006, and back then I wasn't blogging or didn't have an email newsletter, so I didn't share this information with the masses. As soon as I read it today, I knew this information needed to be shared.

According to the article, photographs can reveal the presence of a form of childhood eye cancer called retinoblastoma. When the flash unit on a camera is too close to the lens, red eye often results. "But with a relatively small group of children, the flash sets off a white-eye reflex, and the pupil of one or both of the subject's eyes appear to bw white in the photograph. The effect may appear over the entire pupil, or show up as white specks."

"White-eye reflex is the primary indicator of retinoblastoma tumors in children. About 350 new cases a year are discovered in the United States, almost all of them in children under age 5."

"If you do detect a white-eye reflex in a photograph of a child, it's imperative to tell the parents something might be amiss, and advise them to see an ophthalmologist-not an optometrist-as soon as possible, with copies of your photographs in hand."

Early detection translates into saved vision and lives. Tell your friends. And pay attention to your snapshots.