Featured Artist Friday - Carole Donovan, Graham, NC

This week's Featured Artist is Carole Donovan of Graham, NC. Carole is a fellow Cosmic Cow Society member and a truly fascinating person to know. Originally from Australia, Carole moved to the US where she worked as a cartographer in California before retiring and moving to North Carolina in 2004. Always the adventurer, she enrolled at Alamance Community College to fulfill her dream of becoming an artist. In spite of her years of experience with drafting maps, she said the transition to fine art did not come easy to her at first, but she persevered, finding her passion for painting. For her painting is "one of the most distinctive, attractive, and gratifying forms of art."

Her pieces are diversified and the contrasts between the subject and the colors are sometimes subtle, sometimes bold and striking. She began with watercolor and went on to the other mediums to test the contrast of the layered colors and what she could get from them. Although oil takes a  long time to dry, she says it produces such fine blending that it is her preferred medium to work with. Sometimes she will work on 2 pieces at a time so one can dry a little before continuing on it.

 I particularly love her bold use of color and strong graphic style. She says, "I do enjoy using all the mediums and hope that my personality comes through in each piece I do."

Knowing her as I do, I'd say she succeeds at that quite well! She is lively and fearless and full of joy. You can't help but smile just being around her. Her paintings have that same affect on me....I think you will agree!

Carole is a member of the Burlington Artists League and Gallery  and the Artists of the Cosmic Cow Society of Greensboro.  She is also an instructor of watercolor painting at Twin Lakes Retirement Center. You can reach Carole at caroledonovan@bellsouth.net or by phone (336) 227-1338.

Featured Artist Friday - Kathy Brusnighan, Greensboro, NC

This week's featured artist is Kathy Brusnighan from Greensboro, NC. Kathy is a remarkable painter whose work evokes emotion and a sense of the Divine. Working in oils, acrylics and mixed media, Kathy creates pieces that blend light and imagery in a captivating way. She says, "I love color and emotion...I love trying to capture and convey an emotion in a painting...more than just a pretty scene." Currently she is working on new pieces that are abstracts and mixed media exploring mystery and spirituality. "I want to glorify God and my paintings encourage and bless the heart...bring peace, comfort, joy...all of the wonderful emotions we were given to explore", Kathy explained.

Widely exhibited with her works in private collections all over the world, in 2010 Kathy was asked to display her work at an area hospital during December. She was overwhelmed with the response from patients, staff, and visitors who were moved by her work. Seeing that art could be a factor in bringing comfort and healing, she founded Art with Purpose and gathered 16 artists to present a traveling group exhibit "Courage." Debuting last fall at Circa Gallery in Asheboro, NC  "Courage" will be seen in many hospitals and galleries across the Piedmont for 2011-12. Future exhibits are already being planned.

I am blessed to have Kathy as a friend and fellow Cosmic Cow Society member! I hope you enjoy her work...you can find more about Kathy and see more of her work on her website.

(photos provided by Kathy Brusnighan. All rights reserved)

Back to It...The Rush is ON!

I can't believe June is almost here! It's going to be a busy month...I hit the ground running June 1 with the installation of the Cosmic Cow Society group exhibit at the Yadkin Cultural Arts Center , opening reception June 3, 5-7:30 PM. Also opening June 3 is the faculty exhibit at Sawtooth from 5-7PM. Pass the clone please! :)

From there it's full steam ahead with shipping work to Sacred Threads and then making final preparations for teaching Summer Art Honors at Sawtooth and 3 kids/teen camps at Sew Original. I can't wait!! I love being around all those creative young minds! I may be the teacher, but I always learn from them as well. Be on the watch for lots of photo postings!

Throw in there some Elementary School graduation celebrations (how did my baby grow up so fast?!?), and other end-of-school-year festivities, and before I know it, it will be July!

Bring it!! It's going to be a fun summer!!

(image from http://www.freedigitalphotos.net )

Guess What!?!

I'm on page 26-27!!!!

http://62.128.151.219/Library/A1rgo4/AsheboroMagazineMarc/resources/index.htm?referrerUrl=


VVBG!  :)

Getting Behind Myself

Whee!!!!

I've spent the week as a "single mom", as DH has been in Minneapolis on business. It's been a real juggling act with overlapping sports events for the eldest, basketball practice for the youngest, and playing nurse to the eldest who succumbed to another sinus infection paired with some mutant virus (thankfully NOT flu!) and has been out of school for the last three days. Needless to say, not much else has been accomplished this week, but we have enjoyed some priceless quality time together. I'm looking forward to that incoming flight tonight and hearing all about the adventure out west, and hopefully returning to a somewhat normal routine next week.

Tomorrow and next Saturday I'll be teaching Surface Design at Sawtooth which will be loads of fun, and Sunday will be the monthly meeting of the Cosmic Cow Society. Tuesday I'll be heading to my Beecassos meeting to pick up the pieces for our upcoming exhibit Beecassos unzipped at Chelsee's which will be showing during the month of March, and I'll also be visiting the Clemmons Guild to talk about Creature Comforts. As soon as I catch up with myself I'll be posting an update on Creature Comforts with some pictures from our initial sew day meeting. I'm very excited with the response to that program I've been getting from my local quilting friends!

So....Stay tuned! Meanwhile, I'm going to go outside and soak up some of this 72* weather!

Let the Festivities Begin!

It's the most wonderful time of the year...and with it comes a blizzard of activity! Since my last post I have had LOTS going on...

First, an exhibit opening with the Cosmic Cow Society at the Gallery of the Arts Underground Theatre in downtown Winston-Salem. What a great evening it was! Not your typical art opening...we had a band - West Trinity - play music sets (not just background music), had a "Small Talks" session where each participating artist had 28 seconds to discuss projected images of each of their featured works, and we had door prizes too. It was a fun event! This exhibit runs through the end of December...stop by and enjoy some wine or coffee and of course, the ART!

Then came a rush to finish up and deliver items for Sawtooth's annual Deck the Halls gallery showcase. I had to laugh..the lady checking in my inventory asked me if my sewing machine ever catches on fire! I'm a little surprised it didn't....I had over seven pages of inventory! The sale runs through the end of December and there is something there for everyone....pottery, fiber, jewelry, paintings, ornaments, you name it. All made by local artists and very affordable!

Here are just a few of my things...



5 x 5 Minis

Wool geode, fabric and glass beads

 necklace

   

              16 x 20   "Rest" and "Relaxation"

                               

(details)

These pieces are painted and distressed Tyvek, paper clay faces, glass beads, and hand stitched silk mounted to painted canvases. The overall pictures are the best color...my camera evidently wasn't in the mood for detail color!

Then of course there was the yumminess of Thanksgiving to celebrate...I roasted a turkey, made sweet potato casserole and green bean casserole and my mom's famous rye biscuits, along with chocolate ribbon pie and pumpkin pie (OK, I bought that one ready made)...DH made his famous boiled custard, which for you non-Southerners is like eggnog without the spices and bourbon, very vanilla-y and sweet ...a family favorite. And, despite having set a beautiful fall table at my house, we hauled all of this yumminess to the in-laws to feast! They made all kinds of things to add to the bounty. It was a great celebration...one that earned me a trip to Quiltville to have a sew day with Bonnie and Lisa on Saturday! Woohoo! I got lots done and had a blast!

Then the kids got sick and so did I...ugh! But we won't dwell on that. Everyone is on the mend. :)

Meanwhile,  Lisa and I made it to Sawtooth's Deck the Halls preview night and it was AMAZING! I did take my camera, but was so busy drooling over all of the wonderful offerings and filling up my basket with Christmas presents that I never got it out! I will share one of my purchases though:

Gorgeous blue and white pottery...and I'm sorry, I don't know the artist. If someone will email me I'll add it to the post. These are for me...the rest of my purchases are gifts for other people, so no peeking!! :)

And so December begins...with lots more to do! There are halls here to be decked (almost done), cookies to bake, parties to attend, presents to finish (stay tuned for some future postings on this...once the recipients have unwrapped!), and the list goes on...

I love December!!

:)

Circa Gallery

Yesterday I drove to Asheboro, NC to pick up work from my Cosmic Cow Society group show at Circa Gallery. It's a really fun gallery with an eclectic mix of works from North Carolina artists and I'm happy to report that I am now one of the artists they represent! They have a good assortment of my small works...perfect gift items for the upcoming holidays. So if you are in that area, stop in and have a look. There is something for everyone there...you will love it (all of it, not just mine)!

 :)

My How Time Does Fly...

And BOY have I been BUSY!! OK, I know...what else is new? ;) Lots of irons in the fire over the last month and a half...a fun workshop with John Flynn, a visit from a dear friend and her daughter from Atlanta, I hosted my quit bee (my mostly traditional quilting buddies), attended a Beecassos meeting (my fiber art buddies), entered an art exhibit at First Christian Church (hanging thru April 16, Country Club Road in Winston-Salem) and two exhibits with the Cosmic Cow Society (read more about this at the end of the post!), went to a trunk show by Alex Anderson (her show Simply Quilts was a daily must have for me back in my beginning days of quilting...what a thrill to get to meet her in person!), have been prepping for my first go at a street festival...and it's baseball season for my boys!

Whew!

Oh yeah, and I've been finishing this:

Meet "Happy Scrappy Cat"...my piece for the Forsyth Humane Society's Art Unleashed 2010! She stands about 30" at her tail (including the base, which is on casters) and will be clear coated with an automotive grade finish, so she can be either an indoor kitty or an outdoor one. She is playful, and doesn't shed. And yes, she's covered in a gazillion tiny custom quilt 'stitches'. :)

The official event kick-off is May 15 at Tanglewood Park. After that the cats and dogs will be "fostered" at various businesses in downtown Winston-Salem and then be auctioned off at the end of the summer. For more details visit the FHS website (and yes, they will take proxy bids!)

She is being kept company for the moment by this guy:

This is a preliminary peek at "Hokie Pokie Dot II"...he stands about 5' tall and, well, he makes me feel skinny standing beside him! This is a private commission and is a variation of one I did for the Blacksburg Partnership for their "Gobble DeArt" event. They are coordinating this commission, so I haven't met the owner, but I hear it is a Virginia "official." (Cool!)

I've painted 3 coats of burgundy and 4 of the orange...now I have LOTS of dots to fill in. Thank goodness for blue painter's tape and my scrapbooking circle cutters! Oh, and of course I have to do the eyes too. He looks a little freaky at the moment. Scares us sometimes when we go out into the garage!

Back to the Cosmic Cow Society...we have an opening reception for our April/May exhibit this Sunday, April 11 from 2-5 at Bartlett and Mitchell on Friendly Avenue (down from Guilford College) in Greensboro. This exhibit is a benefit for the local Autism Society, with 20% of sales going to them AND Mitchell and Bartlett will match those funds. This is the piece I have submitted:

Titled "Rising", it is discharged, hand and machine quilted, hand beaded, and mounted on a copper metallic canvas. This picture is a bit wonky...I was running out the door with it when I remembered I hadn't photographed it...so it was shot in haste. What doesn't show is all of the black on black hand stitching on the mountains. I like the way it turned out...come see it in person!

So, that's what I've been up to, and why I've been absent in blogland. Thanks for stopping by and catching up!

That's what it's all about... :)

Cosmic Cow Society

Tomorrow evening, December 4, is the opening reception for the Cosmic Cow Society's first group art exhibit! Join us from 7 - 9 PM at the Maya Gallery, 340 Tate Street in Greensboro, NC, just a couple of doors down from Tate Street Coffee. There will be food (catered by Let's Dish) and music, and the reception is free and open to the public. This exhibit will hang until January 4, 2009.

Members of the Cosmic Cow Society are: Founder, Sharon Mitchell, Scott Plaster, Cheryl Plaster, Perry Boswell, Jude Lobe, Cass Catlett, Melanie Wilcox, Carole Donovan, Karen Shelton, Rose Wenkel, Brydie Palmore, and myself. Visit the Cosmic Cow Society web page for more information on this fun group of artists!