NUART Dancing/Painting, Singing and Potting Videos, Joseph in Technicolor, and B.B. King

Well, it’s been a busy and fruitful week for Martha and I and our art projects this week. Since our last posting we attended the Second Saturday event at the Cashmere Arts and Activities Center which was well attended and had two musical treats. Kirk Lewellen played original music written by him on guitar and alternately the crowd was treated by Sharon Brodder singing show tunes most notably “Can’t Stop Lov’n Dat Man” from the musical Show Boat. A video of Sharon singing can be seen at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7FUJebI-8k&feature=channel_video_title

 And, as for videos, the same day I posted the video of Sharon I also posted a video I put together of Terry Johnson decorating one of his pots with sculpting on the side. The Terry Johnson video which is informative and a bit humorous as well as, Terry can be, can be viewed at:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnAL8hUb7MY&feature=relmfu  The video was taken on Saturday before the Cashmere event while we were continuing the 38^th anniversary art sale at Terry Signs and Studio. Sales were good and it was good to see more people coming in. Terry continues to give free pottery lessons to anyone who is interested… what a guy!

Meanwhile Martha has been diligently working on the sculptures for the library in Quincy and in fact some folks associated with the Library there came out one day this week to see how that project is coming. They enjoyed looking at all of Martha’s art and a few of my photos I am told.

Martha also, taught an art class at Catholic Family and Child Services for the Child Care Providers Class there. And, of course her weekly art class with the residents at the local Emergency Housing Facility where they are making Christmas Tree ornaments out of clay, which I will be firing in the kiln as soon as they are dry.

In preparation for the upcoming Dancing While Painting event at the NUART Gallery which Martha will be doing this Saturday Nov. 26^th in the East Wenatchee Mall, we picked up some new canvases from the Craft Warehouse as well as some acrylic paint. This so; Martha will have everything she’ll need at the ready for Super Saturday, which is what I have been told the day after Black Friday is now called. After buying the canvases we went to NUART and visited Gary Doan the owner and making final plans for the big day.

My own art work had to take a back seat this week after posting the videos as I had plenty to keep me busy upgrading one of our rentals and seeing clients. But, that was all worthwhile and very fulfilling. And, although this is the first chance I have had to write all week, I have been checking our blog stats and am pleased to see that new people are reading this blog from more countries all over the world… who would have thought. Also, the two videos described above and my other recent video titled “Tearing Down the House”      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95WzkG615x8 have had quite a few views.

Also, this week it was nice to get out and see B.B. King at the Town Toyota Center with a friend while Martha was at “Joseph and Technicolor Dream Coat”  with some folks who had a child in the performance at Wenatchee High School. I was able to take a few pics at the B.B. King show with my phones camera, but alas… not as good as would have been the case with my good camera.

Well, enough for now and back to work even though its Saturday… ahh, the life of a landlord… hahaha.

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Volunteering, Art Demonstrations, Dancers, Art Cards and Videos

Well, things are progressing in the various art and art related projects that Martha and I are involved in.

Friday night we attended the annual dinner for the Icicle Arts at the Barn Beach Reserve in Leavenworth. It was a very enjoyable evening. As we ate and enjoyed conversing with our table guests we were pleasantly surprised to see, on the screen which was showing various slides of events of the past year and some art photos as well, a photo of one of Martha’s signature works “Flowering Consciousness” appear. That was nice. Later there was some discussion of a possible Martha Flores Show. We will keep our fingers crossed on that. But, if it happens, it may be in the early part of 2012… yahoo! That would be just great. We’ll keep you posted on that.

Martha was a busy gal on Saturday volunteering at the Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center’s Multicultural Festival. There she represented Guatemala with some of her art depicting the people of Guatemala in traditional garb. While there she was also involved in helping kids to make paper flowers and painting maracas.

While Martha was busy with kids and adults for that matter upstairs I went around and gathered photos of some of the other exhibitors and wrote down some info about what they were presenting and quick ran downstairs in time to get some photos and videoof two of the dancing groups before I had to leave to attend a memorial. Later that evening I posted a couple of short clips of a Japanese fellow playing a traditional Japanese stringed instrument called a Sanshin Japanese exchange student playing a Sanshin instrument and of a troop of Middle Eastern Dancers Middle Eastern Dancers at Multicultural Fest  from the festival. That reminds me I need to send a link to that video to the dancing group.

Yesterday while Martha recouped from her long day at the Museum, I headed out to help with the sale and pottery demonstration at Terry Johnson’s studio at Terry Signs in Wenatchee.

I got some good photos and video of him demonstrating how he works with clay both in making non-traditional sorts of clay objects and in throwing a pot on a potter’s wheel. That was great.

Today, I was up at the crack of non-daylight savings time dawn, ordering new Martha Flores Studio business and pricing cards so we will have them in time for the Dancing Artist demonstration Martha will be doing at the NUART Gallery in East Wenatchee on Nov. 26^th… the day after ‘Black Friday’ on Thanksgiving weekend. That should be a lot of fun but I’m sure it will be quite tiring for Martha. She loves it though. This event should give people a good look at what goes into the painting of an oil, or most likely an acrylic, painting in a fun and entertaining way. I missed the event at the Marriott where Martha was first asked to paint while dancing, so I am really looking forward to being there and getting some good video of her in action.

After designing and ordering the card, I took a few picture of the custom order clay figure Martha has been working on. It’s been drying for a few days now and is getting close to being ready to bisque fire in the kiln. Today, I will put it in the kiln at very low temperature to finish drying it out before I do the actual firing. If all goes well this piece could end up in the new Quincy Library. The opening for that is coming up soon I understand, so I really need to get that going and done.

Having looked at the photos and video of Terry Johnson clay work demonstrations yesterday, it looks like I’ll have enough to make a good little video on clay work. It’s pretty cool of Terry to offer to demonstrate clay work as he does for anyone willing to take a chance and get their hands a bit messy. Oh, on that note… the decorative bowl I started working on after I completed my Japanese styled vase broke when I accidentally put a little too much pressure on it as I was sculpting some shapes on the side. So; back to the drawing board.  I’ll get another going in the next day o two.

I received an email from Dominick B. this morning asking if I would like to write a contributing piece for the Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center’s Blog.  There’s another interesting and challenging new task. We will see if I can come up with a good article for the WVMCC blog.

Now, it’s time to get work firing some student art projects from martha's class at the emergency housing facility, and then I need to get myself psyched up to build a web site for Martha. Everyone we talk to asks “what is your web site address”, “Can I see your work online”, “can I order prints of your work online” etc… So; it is back to that as well. There are a few preliminary steps I think that I need to complete first on that.

Till the next time.

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Horse Lake House, Nursery Themed Art with a Twist and Japanese Pottery

Well, it’s been another world wind couple of days and shaping up to be a busy weekend for art.

Tonight is of course First Friday in Wenatchee, but as Martha and I are to attend the Annual dinner for the Icicle Arts Gallery at the Sleeping Lady Resort, we won’t be able to walk the art walk in town. But, not wanting to miss out on the exhibits, I made a point of getting around to as many of the venues as I could to get pictures for a blog or two.

So, thinking ahead, yesterday I got out to Two Rivers Gallery and took photos of this month’s show and filled in as docent for a few hours… good thing I had the time to do so, as I made a sale of one of Milo Mirabeli’s wood sculptures and a small painting. The show looks good and I like the photos I got while I was there.

This morning I had an email from the Land Trust which stated: “ If you have visited Horse Lake Reserve, you have probably noticed the old house that sits among the aspens. Unfortunately, the dilapidated house has become a dangerous, attractive nuisance for vandals and trespassers. Due to liability and safety concerns, Pipkin Construction will take the house down next week. Thanks to Waste Management and Pipkin Construction for generous donations to help offset the cost of demolition.”   So, I figured I better get out there and take some photos before they tear the old place down. I had been out that way a few years ago and seen the old farmhouses, and barn as it was at that time. Unfortunately the time I went out there before I didn’t have a camera with me and so had no stock photos of the place.

It was a nice walk out there from the new parking lot to the old farm… a bit brisk in the morning even at 10:30, so I was glad I had another old shirt in the truck to layer on. I got some good usable photos and got to visit with Tina Duffy from the Land Trust while I was there. She confirmed for me which building was coming down and shared some info. With me about the plans to restore the big field in front of the old place to its natural state with native grasses and such.

The views from up there are great and that really makes one think of how nice it must have been to live there for the former owners back in its heyday.

A few more pics on the way down and then it was back to town for me to get photos of the venues I won’t be getting to tonight. First was a stop at the Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center.

There I visited with Bill Rietvelt and took pictures of the Menorahs and Dreidels collected by Alex and Amanda Taub. It was good visiting with Bill who did a fine job of setting up the display hearing from Brenda Abney about the upcoming show for December which will feature the 600 bronzes of the fifth graders that participated in the art day event last month with Kevin Patel. And, of course tomorrow they are hosting the Multicultural Festival from 11am to 3pm, so I’ll be back there again tomorrow.

After visiting with Bill and Brenda I was off to Amanda’s Book store but was disappointed to find she was closed… and I had a photo for her. Oh well, next time. Then I was off  to Lemolo’s, Café Mela and the Step above gallery. While at Step Above which is above the Columbia Furniture Store, I visited for quite a while with Renee’ Rogers and she gave me the tour of the art of Marcia Van Dorn who is the wife of Robert Graves for whom the Robert Graves Gallery at the Wenatchee Valley College was named for. Marcia wasn’t there, but if she had been I would have loved to have visited with her and would have relished the chance to hear her talk about her artistic take on the childhood nursery theme of some of her pieces which are clearly taking that theme into her own individual realm. Oh well, can’t be in two places at once.

After that I barely had time to stop in at Terry Johnson’s studio long enough to pick up my Japanese style vase which I had done to simulate the style of a piece of pottery I have at home that was a gift from a Japanese foreign exchange student I sponsored almost thirty years ago. The texture and glazing actually came pretty close to what I was after. And, while there Terry showed me what I was doing wrong in my effort to do a shrink wrap canvas. I did what he said and voila… Martha has a stretched canvas to paint on.

Then it was quick home to meet with the kitchen counter top guy and get my say in on choice of granite… whew!  All that and a bag of chips and just enough time to write this blog and get ready for tonight.

 I’ll have another blog to share tomorrow.

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Back From the Abyss

Well, back from the brink at the edge of the abyss, back from so far down I missed what promised to be an excellent farewell party for a wonderful Russian artist on one weekend, but, back barely in time for the scariest weekend of the year and yes back by popular demand, your artful blogger is back in the saddle again. It was rough not being able to write. But, alas I am one of those who suffering from the flu (you know that illness you’re not supposed to get right after getting a flu shot) cannot think let alone write.

But here I am and glad to be able to think and to write again. And there certainly were artful things going on while I was out of commission. Martha for one has been given a commission to sculpt a piece for a wonder lady from Quincy and just shipped off a poster sized print of one of her most popular paintings,

 “Flowering Consciousness” to the Allied Arts of Yakima where it will then be framed and eventually adorn a new Family Shelter  facility in Yakima. It is really nice to know that this new family shelter will house a number of pieces of art that are inspirational hopeful and even enlightening as well as simply decorative. Martha is not the only artist that will be contributing to this project and I’m sure it will give a boost to the spirits of all the women and families who happen to stay there for a time.

Meanwhile here in town, our good friend Terry Johnson is well into his second week of his 38^th anniversary  art sale.

The day he was just getting it set up I was not quite down for the count yet and helped to set it up. He is really looking now after 38years to really change the focus of his business to his real love which is the art studio that his sign shop has slowly evolved into and now a gallery open to the public.

His idea is to not only continue making and selling his own pottery glassware and paintings but to open it up to other local artist to have a community based studio they can use to work on their art and a place to sell as well. He has already had some success selling a large painting of a Native American in full headdress.

And, Terry has taken orders for clay Salmons made for wall hanging.

Martha’s art is well represented there already and I have been working on some of my art there for some time. And, in fact, while I was ill Terry did the bisque firing of a small piece of pottery I was working on just before I got that infamous flu shot. I can’t wait to get back to work on that piece and get it all glazed up. Let’s hope it comes out well.

I for one need to work on a submission for a gallery in Orange County California, Martha has her dancing/painting gig coming up at the end of the month and we both of us need to get ready for our big home art sale on December the 4^th. Lots to do and only so much time to do it.

This weekend also looks to be a very full one as well.  Friday night we will be attending the Icicle Arts Member Appreciation Dinner, which looks to be a really great event at the Barn Beach Reserve in Leavenworth.

I do so love the beautiful grounds there.

Then Saturday the 5^th Martha will be involved with the Multicultural Fest 2011 at the Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center. This is to be a celebration of our communities’ diverse cultures. It should be very entertaining with more than 20 local ethnic groups represented through music, dance, food and Martha will be doing crafts with the kids- making paper flowers and painting maracas.

Well, enough for now. Have a very artful day.

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J. Paul Getty, Kevin Patel, Art Day and a Day at the Museum

Well, it’s back in the saddle again, after a fine trip to So. Cal. Where I not only enjoyed the grand kids but got to go to the J. Paul Getty Museum in L.A. with my two sons. It was great; but there is far too much to see in a week let alone a day. So; we’re planning a return visit on my next trip down that way.

It was a gorgeous day. The air was as good as it gets in L.A. and some fine views were to be seen.  The Cuban historical photo exhibit was quite interesting with the photos from before during and after the revolution.

The 18^th century cabinetry and porcelain were exquisite. And, the water colors by some of the greatest water colorist of all time were amazing in the detail rivaling any of the best oil paintings. While I was there I picked up a large coffee table book of William Blake’s art for Martha. She loved it.

Since I have been back I have hardly had a moment to rest what with getting caught up on real work and art activities. Along that line, Wednesday I docented for Two Rivers Gallery where I got caught up on things with Jan Theriault and checked out the newest work there by John Barrett and others. In the afternoon some German Tourists came by looking for something they could put in their suitcase for the flight home. They really would have like a matted print of Jan Cook Mack’s but needed one just a bit smaller.

 Yesterday was quit a full. After, getting caught up on paper work, it was out to the gallery to open up and then meet up with the Fifth Graders who were participating in the Art Day activities at the park and at the museum.  This as I had been asked to come down and take some video.

The kids were with their teachers and a slew of adults to supervise, guide and assist with their art projects both at the park where they made sculptures from natural objects typically found by the river and at the museum, where they had instruction from none other than Kevin Patel in the use of wax to make small sculptures to be bronzed at his foundry. The teachers and the kids all had a great time.

No sooner was I home and ready to make a video when Zeb from Lemolo’s called to remind that I was supposed to install my photos at the café. So; pack up the car I did with plenty of photos and digital art and headed across the river to install the work.  By the end of this I could hardly move and will have to go back today to place price cards.

This morning bright and early I was up make that video… whew… got it done. I just need to get it over to the museum. And of course today is First Friday and I’ll need to get to as many venues as I can to photo, mingle and enjoy the work of the artist there.  It should be a great night to relax and enjoy good friends and great art all around.

See you there.

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Liberty Art Sale, Party and Concert in the Woods and Fans in Europe

Well everyone I am happy to report that the trip to Liberty over the weekend was a great success. I took several of Martha’s small to medium sized oils and some prints, post cards and photos of my own. Several people bought cards and prints of her work and mine about evenly.

The place was gorgeous where the art sale and party was held.

I helped the host put up the new sign by Terry Johnson for the band Rusted Soul. The band was a lot of fun to watch, listen to and for me to video as well. So far, I have posted four videos of them playing on stage. It was great that they gave me complete access to video them up close and personal. So; I got some really good shots of their guitar work, keyboard action and hands beating on drums and percussion furiously. I did a few editing things in the final published movies which can be seen on Youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJAdzEg2fYI&feature=relmfu. The videos have been getting viewed pretty well already. I even had a bit of a dialogue this morning online with someone in Holland who is watching the videos… cool!

This person in Holland is a fan of Tyler Farrar, the world class bike sprinter who won a stage of the Tour de France on the Fourth of July (the first American to do so), she saw and liked the photo I posted of

me standing in front of Tyler’s image on the new Fifth Street mural in Wenatchee. It’s seems that posing in front of the mural could become a thing for Tyler’s fans from around the world. She and her husband may now make a special side trip to Wenatchee on their next scheduled trip to the U.S., just to pose in front the mural…. What have I started???? She, also, liked my video of the bicycle First Friday Art Tour and really like my funny comments.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJAdzEg2fYI&feature=relmfu

At the party, I also, took some nice stills of the grounds and

 the great bar the owner had built himself. There was a semi-risqué sign behind the bar (not shown here) painted by none other than again, Mr. Terry Johnson. He liked the shot when I showed a print of it to him and he thinks he’d like to make T-shirts from it. Some of the other shots could make good post cards for the owner.  Another young artist accompanied me to the sale/party and sold one of her pieces as well. She may like to join the gallery and start showing her stuff a bit more.

Last night there was an incredible light show in the sky… one of Wenatchee’s double sunsets.

Being as far north as we are, at times there is what appears to be a double sunset… one to the west as expected and one to the east as sunlight passes overhead and hits the clouds further to the east of us. Last night was one of those nights and I was fortunate enough to get a few decent photos of the effect. I may print up one or more of these for framing.

Meanwhile, the two new masks of Martha’s that I fired for her came out just fine.

I am thinking of glazing them for her, perhaps over at Terry Johnson’s studio and re -firing them for her before she comes back from Texas.  I’ll check with her on that this morning.

Well, enough for now… it’s time to get ready for an early morning bike ride before it gets too hot.

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Bicycle Art Tour - Hot Foxes, Coyote Ugly and Sensuous Bronze

Well, it’s been an interesting couple of days for Rod and Martha’s art projects.  Martha has become a member of yet another gallery and has had meetings and luncheons with folks interested in her and her art over the past week.  As I write she has presented some more clay work from the local emergency housing program in town to be fired in the kiln. And, she has been working tirelessly on some new two dimensional and three dimensional work of her own. I can’t wait to see how they come out.

For me I have been all over the map… literally really. As for my ongoing projects … I attached some critical elements to my recycled materials art project. I’d say it’s almost done.  I’ve begun putting together the artwork for next year’s calendar featuring Martha’s art work. Some folks are already requesting orders.  This year’s calendar can be viewed online at: http://www.livestream.com/artnewsnetwork?t=199057  And, I am working on getting Martha’s art book together so, I can forward it to my son in California to help me publish it on amazon.com.  Some things, I just need help with when it come to all the new technology. It’s good to have kids young enough to know how to do stuff and old enough to have patience with their old dad and be able to help get things done.

Yesterday, after writing up a blog for the Wenatchee World online … Arts in the Valley and Beyond:    http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/weblogs/arts-in-the-valley-and-beyond/2011/jul/27/buggy-nights-saddle-rockn-art-and-art-knowledge/  

 I then headed out for my morning bike ride. But, I did something a little different. I took my camera with me and made a point of taking photos of a lot of the Art on the Avenue sculptures, that I hadn’t already photographed previously and some other public art as well.  It was a lot of fun. I got pictures of the Coyote Brings the Salmon sculpture by Richard Beyer which technically predates the Art on the Avenue project. I also, got a shot of myself in front of the new mural on fifth Street that features Tyler Farrar- local bicycling hero and first American to win a stage of the tour de France on the Fourth of July… go Tyler!

As I progressed to town I got shots of a lot of very interesting sculptures… some quirky, some sensuous, some sentimental and

some abstract. I went back and forth from the art along the Apple Capital Loop Trail (the loop) and the art up on and around Wenatchee Avenue (known locally as just “the Avenue”). There were plenty of great pieces around the Performing Arts Center and the sunken sculpture garden and waterfall area there as well as along the streets of Wenatchee. 

Riding around town, though, I discovered and in some cases rediscovered pieces around town that I haven’t, or at least not often, noticed.  Some pieces around the Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center were small and or

tucked away that by just driving by as I often do; I really hadn’t taken notice of them before. The same can be said for the work in front of City hall.  Some of the work that I didn’t photo yesterday, I skipped as I had featured them in recent blogs. Others I just missed and may have to go back and photo later.

I got a picture of these three hot foxes

 and, this ugly coyote.

After I returned home, I made a short movie of my bicycle art tour and posted it on Youtube. Readers can view the movie at  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSSn-RkIpjM&feature=channel_video_title  Bicycle Public Art Tour . Then it was off to

Amanda’s Book store to in Wenatchee, to pick up the large framed photo “String Theory”, that I have had on display there for a couple of months or more and hang-up another piece in its place.  Then it was off to Cashmere Arts and Activities Center in Cashmere of course to install the piece I “String Theory” and three other framed pieces.  Artie Bowman, was very pleased to see me and my work, as the

 Charles Collins work has not arrived yet from Taos, New Mexico and the wall were looking a little bare. Hopefully

the art will arrive in the next couple of days so we can get it installed. I Can’t wait for that myself.  

Well, it’s time to get that clay work in the kiln and get off to another bicycle adventure.

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