Art Prize Competition in Grand Rapids

this is a completely 2 Dimensional work

Ecstasy of the Scarlett Empress by Jason Hackenwerth

Matchbox cars...can you see the woman?

These photos were taken on October 3, 2009 in Grand Rapids, Michigan at the Art Prize event. The public will determine by the most votes, which artist will will the grand prize of $250,000.00...stay tuned. Please visit their site at www.artprize.org for more details.

Galleries Representing Sue Pugliese and Acorn Moon Designs

My jewelry can be found at these fine art galleries:All designs are protected under U.S copyright laws.
www.coyotewomangallery.com
www.artshopgallery.org
www.orchardlakeframing.com

Made in Michigan

acorn moon designs: Double Exposure with Gerry and Lori Pas

acorn moon designs: Double Exposure with Gerry and Lori Pas

Double Exposure with Gerry and Lori Pas

The Huron Valley Council for the Arts featured the Fine Art Photography and Poetry of Gerry and Lori Pas this month. Held in Steeple Hall Gallery at 405 W. Livingston Road in Highland, Michigan. Guests and attendees were in for an energized gathering of spontaneous and sensitive emotions captured by the artists skillfull eyes. Several prints were manipulated in a digital format using color for comment,while the focal points lay on the surface with keen and deliberate expression. Pansies and Pearls. The clowns twisting balloons at the "YooperBar" caught the energy so perfectly.

I created the "Goddess Shield" as it has become known, for Lori to wear on the Opening Night Gala Reception for "Double Exposure." What a joy it was to create a "poetry piece for a poet"... I hammered the poetry of Mirza Ghalib, a Persian poet from 1797-1869 onto the copper disk. The words so fitting for Lori to wear and lift her into the night."These divine verses, as I write are hallowed revelations descending from on high. The sound of the scribe's pen in the stillness of the night is indeed the heavenly muse uttering her immortal words"...

Lori later writes she felt like a f'n rock star! Allnight long, "my art-wear" caught rave reviews. 120 hugs later,it gained patina and remained intact...the sign of a great goddess shield. Noble, sturdy, gorgeous like it's creator." I love her quote. " Soley attend to beauty!" She IS a treasure chest...full of pearls of wisdom, glistening words with color and character and full of passion. thank you.

See the show, check out their book,"The Artist's Project" and find a place on your walls to hang one of their photographic art pieces. their website is http://www.theartistsproject.com/ .

Lucky am I to know her!

Summer in New England. A Collection of the Sights and Sounds of Casco Bay,Maine

Summer in Paris.A Collection of Color and Characters

Summer Collection at Orchard Lake Frame and Gallery

The Paris Opera House,June 2009

Paris has a lot going for it, but it's the art and history which comes alive as you walk the streets.
A perfect day is trying to see great collections without standing in line too long.
Two hours under an umbrella with 400 international artlovers waiting to see the Impressionists inside the Musee D'Orsay wasn't so bad. Getting a photograph of your favorite Van Gogh with you in the picture up close and personal... a master card moment!
The Louvre inside and out is so big, you need days to see everything. The Marmottan is so delightfully small and choice that it has become one of our favorite museums in the world. The Orangerie where the Monet "Nympheas" are exhibited, along with other great Impressionists like Renoir, Derain, Morisot and Cezanne is another ergonomic piece of architectural bliss.
The Paris Opera House "rocked"...what a dreamlike experience.The walls and halls were meant to exude oppulent extravagance, and they delivered a spirit for the ages; past, present and future.
Notre Dame houses fine early Christian relics, along with etherial colors in the stained glass rosettes.The bas relief at the entrance is full of detail and shows the value of artistic excellence throughout the past 500 years. Even the arches above the nave defy logic.
The cobblestone streets winding in serpentine fashion lead to other roads famous for high couture. Like The Rue de Montaignes or Rue St. Honore, where Hermes and Givenchy, Pierre Balmain,and Chanel exhibit the cloaks of poetry.Even the window displays are an elevated artform! While the 5 inch peek-a-boo toe stillettos would make me look taller, I'm pretty certain I'd be flat on my back with blown-out ankles if I attempt to walk on all the cobblestone sidewalks!
Sensible. Just like King Louis who built the Palace of Versailles.Holy cow, did he think large! And just where were those bathrooms and kitchens?Hummm.

Paris in June

Sunset at the Eifel Tower, around 10:15 p.m June 11.

"Copper Canyon Trail", detail of necklace

Spring Collection 2009 Sneak Preview

Reunion With Ceramic Artist, Joyce Nelson

About 17 years ago while I was representing fine artists in the Southwest, I met Joyce Nelson and her husband Mike. They owned an Art Gallery, and she represented some of todays best known and admired artists in the Prescott area.
If you've never been to Prescott,Arizona it's about 2 hours north of Phoenix in a high desert chaparell. Surrounded by pinetrees, scrubby oaks and red earth it's about a mile high. The air is fresh, and the streets are filled with tourists looking for an authentic old west town experience. Simultaneously, it just happens to be a hip, funky and serious art town. With Sedona and Jerome not far away, Prescott is the town where the artists LIVE.
Joyce is well-known to local, regional and national collectors by her raku horse-hair bowls and pots. She works in slab construction fusing gold, silver or copper leaf as embellishment to the clay, while the horsehair is burned and fuses into the clay resulting in a highly prized and desirable work of art. By following in a time-honored tradition much like the Navajo potters in the mid 20th century, she is capturing the spirit of the Horse. Her work is represented by Ratliff Gallery in Sedona along Oak Creek Canyon.
The style she has perfected has allowed Joyce to offer collectors, a contemporary elegance used artistically and decoratively. Her large bowls are about 28-32 inches and have the "WOW" factor all over them!
We had a great time in her studio perched above the famous Granite Dells designing some shapes for my own necklaces, fusing lavender pigments and the horse hair. I knew I would create a series of copper links and semi-precious stones like amethyst and citrine with wrapped charms and talismans. We have collaborated on a couple things over the years, so I know what to expect...and it's always perfect!

We had lunch on Whiskey Row and then started visiting with all of her friends and gallery pals. We stopped into the beautiful Van Gogh's Ear Gallery where you can find her work locally. And no sooner did Joyce introduce me to Tammy, the Gallery Director, a visitor from Indiana asked if she would tell her about who Joyce Nelson is!!! Just like that! Not missing a beat, Tammy turned to Joyce and said, please let me introduce you to the artist! In less than 5 minutes,she purchased a gorgeous bowl to have shipped home.
Shopping in Prescott is such a pleasure because it's relaxed, the quality of art is high, and the galleries make the experience easy, especially if you're traveling.
Driving back to the Nelson's 360 degree mountain and valley view, we shared our friendship over a brilliant Arizona sunset, thankful for the kindred spirits we are, and looking forward to the next time we'll see one another.

Arcosanti

After leaving my sisters home in Phoenix following an Oscar Party the night before, I drove up to visit my friends in the Prescott and Cottonwood areas. The temps were in the 90's and I had a wet bandana wrapped around my neck. Man, was it hot! And this is February 23rd...
The bells of Arcosanti were calling me, so I drove down the dirt road and spent a few hours walking around enjoying the concept Paolo Soleri created way back in the 1960's. His idea seems simple, but in its simplicity comes challenge. Our earthly elements such as water and sun are harnessed using efficient collection designs,thus allowing gardens to grow and energy to be stored. There are tours of the bronze casting studio and campus site, and the gift shop has at least a thousand bells hanging from the rafters. Either cast in bronze or sculpted of stoneware with organic patterns,it's hard to choose just one! The views are great,too!

In the Air to Arizona with Francois Robert

It was great to be back home with my family and friends! My flight out from Chicago to the Old Pueblo was enhanced by the chance seating arrangement next to the world famous photographer, Francois Robert and his wife Jane Gittings. We spoke for three hours on topics ranging from the art markets pulse, his career, the clients he's worked with( IBM, Crate and Barrel,Sigfried and Roy to name a few)and his journey into art book publishing. He asked me if I could make a "up-in-the-air-with-the-junior-birdman gesture,which I did, making him smile!
You can find his books at all major bookstores worldwide. They are, "Faces", and "Crosses", with another just published showing collections of the contents of womens purses. He showed me on his i-phone, photographs of a few of the photos in the book. His artwork allows the viewer to be a voyeur,of sorts. The purse contents were laid out much like an installation, showing unique value to oftentimes mundane objects, and shown collectively, reach into the soul of the carrier.
They were on their way to Tucson for a Gallery Opening and Reception at the Art's Eye Gallery on Grant Road. He's presenting his latest collection of work which he shot at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. He went on to describe some of the processes of preparing the shoot, and with many of the subjects being nocturnal, made for a unique studio environment.
They invited me to the reception,which I did attend, and I enjoyed seeing how shows are conducted in Tucson. The Gallery Director designed the show with visual accuity, and I especially enjoyed the vignettes they created. Lighting is an important element to seeing Francois's work, and because he prints on Fuji Crystal Archival paper, the luminosity is unreal! I purchased three images in shadowboxes, and am really looking forward to the day I receive them.
Upon leaving the Gallery, Francois thanked me for coming, and asked for my address to keep in touch. He said we would get together on the coast of Lake Michigan and he'd teach me how to photograph my jewelry. From his lips to God's ears, I'd be so honored!
You just never know who you're gonna meet...

Huron Valley Council for the Arts Artist Reception for Beverly Larsen

I've been lucky enough to preview Bev Larsen's "Capture Light" show and reception. It's open to the public from 7-9 Friday evening on March 6th thru March 28th.

Bev's work reflects a beauty we all find on a summer walk thru the Michigan fields,tranquil lakes and pastoral spots. Her delicate and painterly style captures not only light remarkably well, but offers us a retreat into the quiet and fragile places we yearn for in these wicked winter months. Her balloon flower has such great depth, while the rich summer colors of the echinacea and field lily are exquisite.She works with acrylic paints, but she makes them look like they're oils... which is fine by me!

It should be a great show for Bev,the guests and the Huron Valley Council for the Arts. Located at 405 West Livingston Rd. in Highland,Michigan.See you there!