Look who's on the Americans for the Arts web site!

I met Tiffany and Renee when I was at the VCCA...

Trappings: Stories of Women, Power and Clothing Artists Tiffany Ludwig and Renee Piechocki talked with more than 500 women and girls, ages four through 92. This beautiful book features 108 color and 40 black-and-white photographs. Americans for the Arts Member price: $25.50 Nonmember: $30.00 Product number: 541846

www.artsusa.org

From the BBC

'Virtual theft' leads to arrest

Habbo Hotel users create a character and can buy furniture
A Dutch teenager has been arrested for allegedly stealing virtual furniture from "rooms" in Habbo Hotel, a 3D social networking website.
The 17-year-old is accused of stealing 4,000 euros (£2,840) worth of virtual furniture, bought with real money.
Five 15-year-olds have also been questioned by police, who were contacted by the website's owners.
The six teenagers are suspected of moving the stolen furniture into their own Habbo rooms.
A spokesman for Sulake, the company that operates Habbo Hotel, said: "The accused lured victims into handing over their Habbo passwords by creating fake Habbo websites.

"In Habbo, as in many other virtual worlds, scamming for other people's personal information such as user names has been problematic for quite a while.
It is a theft because the furniture is paid for with real money Sulake spokesman
"We have had much of this scamming going on in many countries but this is the first case where the police have taken legal action."

Habbo users can create their own characters, decorate their own rooms and play a number of games, paying with Habbo Credits, which they have to buy with real cash.

"It is a theft because the furniture is paid for with real money. But the only way to be a thief in Habbo is to get people's usernames and passwords and then log in and take the furniture.
"We got involved because of an increasing number of sites which are pretending to be Habbo. People might then try and log in and get their details stolen."
Six million people in more than 30 countries play Habbo Hotel each month.

had a great meeting at SF with Novie and Elizabeth who will be exhibiting with us sometime in the spring. This is the raw space for our new gallery. such exciting times these...

Suzanne Fierston

Sue is a charming artist who will be exhibiting with us at NIH next spring.

Her Artist Statement:

As a painter, I am constantly drawn to experiment with unusual surfaces and unusual methods of painting. In my most recent series, August Flowers, I developed a complex procedure of layering white latex paintover a transparent acrylic wash—I wanted to emphasize the shape of negative space by giving it brushy, translucent texture. At the sametime, I wanted the characteristic shape of each flower type to be recognizable. I struggled through many prototypes, some unworkable with too many tiny leaf shapes, others with a background painted too opaquely. Ultimately, I began by covering each background with a three-color acrylic wash. Next, I drew the flowers, from life, directly onto the colored surface. I created each white background by painting with latex paint around the flower and leaf shapes. Finally, I went back with acrylics to bring out highlights and define shapes.In developing this complex method I found that thinking through the steps was not enough: I had to paint intensively, day after day, beforeI understood the technique and could make it do what I had imagined.Very much in my mind during this series was the work of Edo period Japanese artist Sakai Hoitsu who painted botanical subjects on two-foldscreens and the expressive, translucent brushwork of Richard Diebenkorn. These are the August flowers of Marblehead, Massachusetts, a seacoast town where gardens edge the narrow streets and fill the tiny spaces between the clapboard houses.

great to have all the kids home. we went to gabe's alumni hockey game which they won - first time in 7 years and gabe scored a goal.

one would have thought thanksgiving might be a little less rowdy without seven year old twins, but no it wasn't.

Go see this beautiful show at the USBG - Barbara Southworth & Roger Foley, it truly is Glorious Winter

Roger Foley
In the words of Ernst Haas, as a photographer “you become things, you become an atmosphere, and if you become it, which means you incorporate it within you, you can also give it back. You can put this feeling into a picture. A painter can do it. And a musician can do it and I think a photographer can do that too, and that I would call dreaming with open eyes.”

Happy Thanksgiving!

its not often you have a chance to watch project runway w/someone so in the know. Keriann (who goes to FIT ) and I watched the second episode together - great fun. The venue (boys room) left a little to be desired, but we were outnumbered 3 - 2 so the boys got the living room to watch some gruesome fight show. I'm in the middle of my pie baking marathon then its off to Gretchen's at 1.

today its to the USBG to install Glorious Winter then to NIH. Lots of little art emergencies hand in hand with lovely calls from patients and visitors one finished her call with Bravo! art heals.

"We All Live in Bordertowns"
a photography invitational

Enjoy work by 13 artists at the show through Dec 20.

This beautiful image "The Patient Gardner" by Maggie Taylor is just astonishing, also an amazing image of radishes by John Grant is worth the trip to Charlottesville.

Migration: A Gallery
119 5th St., SE
Charlottesville, Virginia 22902
web site here
434-293-2200

Maggie Taylor's fascinating web site here

John Grant's site here

Bert Shankman - Open House

On Dec. 1 & 2 I will be offering a 20% discount and 30% if you bring a friend (spouses and SOs are also considered friends for the duration of the sale). :-) The summer Open Studio was such a success I am continuing with the same format. My new Emancipation series was extremely well received so I will be showing them along with the introduction of new images in the series and other new images. Members of my Support Team will continue to get a 10% extra discount. Ask about how you can join.

3609 Patrick Henry Drive

Olney, MD 20832

301-774-0655

Bert's web site www.cameraflora.com

Had a nice visit with Mom and then a lovely drive to cville. The colors this time of year are so rich. My room was ready at the omni by the time I got here. Talked to KT. The only bummer - no bravo, so I missed the first episode of project runway. This morning it is cold and rainy, Susan has stuff to do so I'm in my fluffy white bed with 7 pillows and my complimentary pot of coffee. Life is sweet!

today Crystal and I have our monthly meeting at the Inn and then a special art committee meeting to review big projects. Tomorrow I take Mom to the Dr. and then head to Cville until Friday.

Novie Trump

If you have a chance go by Glenview Mansion to see Novie's work - it closes on the 27th. I've known Novie years - since the SAH conference was in Alexandria and we were on the planning committee together. I've exhibited her work at NIH and Smith Farm, last year she gave me a lovely show at the Lee Center. She is also doing a commission for us at the Inn. All that history and friendship revealed, the truth is, her work astonishes me.

I had never seen so much of her art in one place (23 I think she said). Each one more revealing that the last. They remind me of some ancient thing unearthed rather than an object consciously created. I do wish the exhibit had given them space, they have such quiet dignity I didn't under stand the aesthetic of paring them with the painter that is also on exhibit. Anyway, these photos totally don't do them justice so go see them in person if you can.
Novie's web site here

Always great fun to go to Red Dirt's open house. This year I met Shanti and pc there and we did all the studios. Tho we were disappointed Washington Glass school looked like they were having a class and the doors were closed. Ellyn Weiss (who had some paintings in Novie's studio Flux) and I reminisced about taking Sheep Jones' encaustic class at WGS years ago. What a great experience that was...

Who could resist this?? And you can support a worthy cause at the same time...

Art Enables (www.art-enables.org ) is a studio based arts program for disabled adult artists with mental and/or developmental disabilities. Currently we have 27 artists and we are trying to help helping these artists find a meaningful role in society and become economically independent.

We have just launched an online gift shop, just in time for your 2008 calendar, your Holiday, New Years and Kwanzaa cards and assorted other gift items to streamline your shopping. Pay particular attention to the cards. They'll convey your best wishes AND your exceptionally keen sense of style. Here's the link: http://www.art-enables.org/gift_shop.html

Nature boy in his element

oh happy day! they called and my laptop is ready two weeks ahead of schedule! It was actually a lucky turn of fate to have it in the shop and be forced to work on this old compaq - it had all of the info for the hotel job we did 5 years ago, which really helped me pull together the proposal for the new hotel job. So just goes to show, there are no coincidences.

I've been doing some research for a new hotel job in Alexandria and found this great image from the Library of Congress web site of students on a field trip at the NGA. Saw my dear dear friend wez on Friday, picked Sandra up at National on Sunday and had a wonderful lunch at the Shoreham, then saw Gay and pc on Monday.

Flashpoint Gallery

Last week on one of our many gallery stops Shanti and I saw Georgia Deal: Evade, Elude, Escape at Flashpoint. It was delightful to see her work again. We exhibited her as part of a Pyramid Atlantic group show at NIH many many years ago. I totally love what she's doing -imagery, presentation, scale - all of it. The blue images to the left in the photo are on vellum and pinned to the wall. (it was interesting how many galleries were exhibiting works on paper unframed - Curator's office, Touchstone, Transformer, G Street)
Georgia's show is up through the 17th.

image copyright the artist

lovely opening at Smith Farm Center on Friday. Robyn spoke eloquently - describing her embroideries as love letters and thank you notes to those many people who donate blood so she can survive. The show is beautiful, I'm very proud of it, and as always Scott did a masterful job pulling it all together. go see it if you can.

Smith Farm Center Gallery

Yesterday I went to SFC to work on the Jan/Feb card with Greg and then out to the galleries with Shanti. What a wonderful day. I'll blog it this weekend.

While I was at SFC, I looked through our show that opens Friday. The show is everything I would have hoped for. I loved the new work Robyn has done and Jennifer's dollhouse looks great in the space. And Pat Hartnett's work, well I can't hardly express how much I love what she's done. Exquisite images embedded in lovely little hymnals. They are the perfect - beautiful to the touch, jewel-like.