art
Here are a couple of photos of my wonderful Middle school art students and the prints they created using Gelli Plates. We had such fun! Here is a link to the website where you can purchase a plate for yourself; http://www.gelliarts.com/
This past Sunday was the 10th Annual Doggie Art Festival. I had my art and booth there, as I normally do for almost all 10 years of events! I'm getting old and time flies by! Thanks to Brian and Jeff, owners of the Doggie Door in Winter Park, FL. this has turned into a must attend dog and art event attracting art and animals lovers from all over the state and beyond. Profits go to help the non-profit http://sebastianhaulfund.org/.
It is always such a fun festival to do and attend. There are so many different types of dogs. definitely like a dog party. My GSD Sasha was in attendance, enjoying a perfect weather day outside with her family and the squirrels.
I learned about a new breed of dog the "Tundra Shepherd." The biggest German Shepherd Dog I have ever seen casually walked into my booth standing as tall a Great Dane and with a slightly wild look of a wolf. I was so taken a back that I didn't get a photo of him. The owner said the Tundra Shepherd is a rare breed, first bred by the military in the 1960's. He was gorgeous and created a crowd of dog lovers around him. The owner called him his "Rock star". For more information and photos check out this rescue group in Arizona; http://2001.homestead.com/tundrashepherd.html
Clients, relatives and friends stopped by. Here are a few photos to share. Click on the image for a larger view and slideshow. Enjoy and make sure to catch you're next dog event in your town! Such fun!
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We just finished a 4 week assemblage project in my after school art class. The children did a fantastic job! I am just amazed with their creativity and imagination. We used mainly repurposed materials. Jewelry that I collected over the years, scrabble tiles and inspiration from the fantastic Lynn Whipple (my old studio pal from McRae Art Studios), corrugated cardboard from my husband's warehouse and more that I can't remember to list. Enjoy! Here is a definition of assemblage;
assemblage - a collection or gathering of things or people : a wondrous assemblage of noble knights, cruel temptresses,and impossible loves.• a machine or object made of pieces fitted together : some vast assemblage of gears and cogs.• a work of art made by grouping found or unrelated objects.• the action of gathering or fitting things together.
Picasso did quite a few assemblage pieces. Here is a link to an example of one using similar materials;
http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=34095
There are really no rules in assemblage, just the limits of your imagination! You should try one!
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To see more of Lynn's great work: http://www.lynnwhipple.com/
Website of a great co-op art studio in Winter Park, FL. http://www.mcraeartstudios.com/
I completed a couple of portraits lately and thought I'd share. I paint animals much easier than people but it is all about the process, applying the paint, choosing the right colors, letting the work grow and speak on its own.
The piece above was done for a girl turning 13, for her bat mitzvah. I've watched the girl grow up. Her mom is part of McRae Art Studios in Winter Park, FL. A co-op art studio that I belonged to for over 10 years. She has always been sweet, smart and goofy. Filled with grace, and sometimes aloof. A beauty and a tomboy.
The next piece was part of a donation the I agreed to do for my Montessori School PTA fundraiser. The winners of the donation were a very much-loved and hip teacher couple who work at the school. They are fans of the work of Sylvia Ji. They asked my to do a piece similar to her work. Enjoy!
This is a commission I just completed and that I think really turned out well!
Here is the process;
1. I receive photos from the client and we agree to a size and price.
2. I create one or two pencil sketches for approval.
3. I begin the painting which can take a couple of weeks or a couple of months, depending on how crazy my life is.
4. I ship or deliver it to the client and they add it to their decor and awesome art collection!
For interior design help in the Washington D.C. area check out; www.thurstonscottinteriors.com
[slideshow]
[slideshow] So every summer it gets very hot in Florida and I always try to book an art show out of state to escape the heat. This year I did the Bele Chere show in Asheville, NC.
Asheville is a very cool town with a wonderful art scene and beautiful mountain surroundings. I would move there in a heartbeat! I knew that they would have an event there called "Air Dogs" where dogs jump into a large pool of water chasing after a ball and compete to see which one can jump the farthest! It is very fun to watch and you can tell that the dogs love it so much! Anyway, I thought by being near this event I would catch a lot of dog lovers into my booth. Unfortunately, if they did come to my booth, they did not have any money to buy art.
Bele Chere is quite a spectacle, with music, art, special street performances, lots of resturants and galleries. There are even holy rollers that come out with signs and loud speakers, preaching what they believe to be the "correct" word of God. If you look at the video below and go to 2:31 you will see the guy that stood about 3 booths down from my booth preaching on Sat. for almost an hour. The man in red is Daniel, a preacher from Myrtle Beach, SC, who was so irrate about what the holy roller man was saying that he stayed and counter preached and prayed to him almost the whole time. I am now a fan of Daniel. If I were more religious and lived in Myrtle Beach, I would attend his church. This was the strangest part of the show. In addition to this we had winds and rain, college guys running/hopping down the street in blue dresses, a toppless woman, and a man in a gorilla suit. Whew!
Well, we took Monday and went into the mountains. Hopefully in the future we can return to view the spectacle wtihout being in the middle of it!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeApSW1skZ8]
[slideshow] Art & Clay Camp happened last week and the kids had so much fun! It was 5 days of just art and clay. All the adults that came by the room wanted to join in.
I helped the kids create the 2-d projects, including a montage of 4 Zetangles, a oil pastel/watercolor resist of Owen the Hippo and Mzee the Tortoise, A mixed media heart painting, and a crayon compostion of crayon rain that melted in the sun. I assisted Katherine Mathisen in her portion of the clay camp. She expertly showed the children how to make a bowl, cup or goblet, + several sculptures of animals. Katherine and I usually teach this camp just once during the summer and this is our 5th year of working together! It's both fun and exhausting. :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLMxoD5Ce14
This video explains Owen and Mzee's relationship. So sweet.
Katherine’s awesome website: http://www.katherinemathisen.com/
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H17edn_RZoY&feature=player_embedded] Many people have used this phrase over the years. Here's a video by Wendy Farncisco about their connection. I found it to be very sweet and true.
I've also started making these small paintings that work great as key, leash, jewelry holders. Here's a couple of them with the "DOG is God" phrase.
I teach art at my daughter's school and every year in May we have a school wide art show displaying the art created throughout the year by the children. Here are some picture's from this year's show. It's fun to see them grow and get creative! Their parents always look forward to it too and invite relatives and grandparents to come to the show.[slideshow] For those interested, I am holding a art and clay summer camp July 9th thru July 13th. I will be at Maitland Montessori School, 8:30 am to 2:30 pm. My friend and great clay artisan, Katherine Mathisen will be helping with the clay portion of the camp. We always plan some fun projects and split the time up nicely between 2d and 3d projects.
Contact me for further details; genasemenov@gmail.com
Katherine's awesome website: http://www.katherinemathisen.com/
