BLOG ON and Saving the Earth

Well, finally the Blogger.com site is back up and running. And not a minute too soon. I have been wanting to blog on the Rod and Martha’s Art Blog for two days now.  Some fun and some serious updates. Yesterday was a day of meetings, meetings, meetings. And, all or most about art.

First thing in the morning was a meeting about how to effectively use the internet for promoting our First Friday events. I learned some new stuff about using facebook effectively… thanks Dominick. Later it was meetings about setting up some new  web presence for a friend and working on that in the afternoon. Then, it was  consulting with the director of the Cashmere Arts and Activities Center Gallery about the upcoming show to open tomorrow night featuring some really good work by the Cashmere High senior art students and the 3^rd graders as well.  Then last night an interminably long board meeting for Two Rivers Gallery. It was productive and it was good to see some board members there that haven’t been there for awhile, but geez three plus hours c’mon, that’s really cutting into my Discovery Channel watching time and wine tasting. Just kidding.

Today it was great to find as I read yesterdays paper (didn’t have time to read it last night with that bored meeting) that there was a nearly half page picture of Martha laughing out loud inside her Giant Puppet as she danced her way down the street in the grand Parade last Saturday. If I’m not mistaken the photo is one that I took myself and forwarded on to the photo dept of the Wenatchee world.  Kudos for me again.

Then this morning finally with some time and inspiration, I got around to working on some of my own art projects. One is a piece I have had in the back of my mind for awhile, and then it finally came together as a developed concept for this summer’s Icicle Prize art contest. All the entries are to made from recycled materials. I got my design and materials together and just need to make the final attachments and it’s good to go.

I also cut some plexi - glass for a custom frame project I am working on for one of my abstract photos. Same too for a custom matt for a musical themed photo I am hoping to sell to the owner of one of the music stores here locally. Now it’s to the hardware store to get some materials to secure the metal portions of recycling art project to the wood portion of the project. I think it’s a great use of these old materials… square chrome frames that used to be pull down glass holders for recessed lights in our den arranged strategically on the features of an old mural that Martha and the foster kids had painted years ago on the cheap plywood doors I had made for the selves in the only unfinished store room in our house.

So, it is recycled all the way. I will even leave the old hinges on the door panel for effect. The great thing is that I was able to find one of these panels that had a face of the earth feature in it…great. So, using the chrome frames to frame that face and make a chrome body on the earth showing that to save the earth we have to make better use of our old things rather than just throwing them away. That’s the idea anyway. Let’s hope it comes out as good as I am envisioning and does well in the competition.

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Check out my new photo. http://ping.fm/Xy6ph


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SELENA ROSE and Martha Flores at the PAC for First Friday

Well, everybody I know you all wanted to know yesterday how the art show at the Performing Arts Center went on Friday night. I can tell you that everyone who came by the PAC loved Martha’s art and most stayed for awhile to listen to the truly lovely voice of the young, and I mean young (16yrs old) singer songwriter who provided the musical entertainment there. This young artist Selena Rose Martinez, who was named for the more famous Selena, will no doubt make a name for herself as a musician and singer. What an enjoyable evening it was.

I wish I could say that throngs of people came to the event. But with the Classy Chassis Parade in east Wenatchee, and tons of people at the memorial Park the night before the Apple Blossom Parade, and, the fact that many of the vary folks that would normally come to art events are the same folks who like to stay out of the downtown area during Apple Blossom’s traffic and crowds etc… we were probably lucky to get the few dozen folks we did.

But, those that came really loved Martha’s art, asked her questions and some sales make get finalized from the event HEHA! People also, loved the performer and took video and pics of her… I’m thinking she’ll get some future gigs from the exposure as well. I’m truly glad for her on that, and in fact I think she could do well to pair up with the somewhat more mature (age 30 or so) singer songwriter who was performing at the Two Rivers Gallery that same night.  I did see when I went to two Rivers Gallery that the same folks that had stopped by at the PAC were there, so; the Art Walk thing is in fact working… people are moving from one First Friday venue to another.

After we got home from First Friday, I would normally have written this blog then but we needed to be up early to go to the staging area for the grand Parade and our part in it with the Giant Puppets…. Now to begin making the video of that fantastic event. For which we won First Place in the Creative Alternative  Division or something like that. Anyway we got first place and a plaque. More of that later. For now it’s to making a movie and putting it on Youtube. Catch ya later.

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Got'r Done...Martha's Show at the PAC

Well, we did it. We got Martha’s art installed at the Performing Arts Center. Also, got pictures of the process and pictures of the art at Lemolos, Café Mela and McDees Art Center… eye yi yi… what a busy day and still we had to make cards for pieces at the PAC and pick-up balloons for First Friday and help with the installation at Two Rivers… Oye!  Now to rest and get ready for tonight. Hope you enjoy the pics of the art posted here, but really hope you can make it to the show.

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My Wenatchee World Blog " on the Cover of the Rollin Stone"

Well, Kudos for me. Tonight after a very full and busy day of blogging in the wee hours of the morning, hanging Martha’s art at the Performing Arts Center later in the morning, testing out the live feed capabilities of the wireless network at Two Rivers Gallery at noon, shipping a book TRG sold on Amazon at PAK-IT Rite after that and even doing a little politicking in the community and finally ughh… putting in floor tiles at one of our rentals, I came home and went straight out to get the evening paper and mail.

And, what did I find when I looked at the front page of the Wenatchee World??? A small print of the yellow truck photo I had featurted in my Arts In The Valey and Beyond Blog the other day. And there next to the photo was the headline “The full picture Youth artists of Cashmere and May gallery art changes”. And below that: “wenatcheeworld.com/weblogs.”  

Apparently they thought my blog that day was newsworthy enough to put the photo on the front page of the paper and to direct readers of the paper to my blog. It doesn’t mention my name. That would amount to a by line and I suppose I’d have to be paid or something… the real point was to direct people to read a worthwhile blog entry. I can’t recall ever seeing this done before… I hope a lot a people go to read the blog that haven’t read it before. Too bad I don’t get stats on the Wenatchee World Blog. I would really like to see how many people read it. I’m stoked. I feel like singing "I want my piture on the cover of the Rollin Stone"

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Musical Art, Sholarship and Martha at the Performing Art Center

Well, the day is fast approaching for Martha’s ‘Big Shoe’ … any one reading this old enough to know from where comes “The Big Shoe”…  Tomorrow at ten in the morning I’ll be taking three of Martha’s large paintings over to the Performing Arts Center for a month long exhibit there. The of course on Friday I’ll be taking even more of Martha’s paintings over there for First Friday and… what great timing for Martha to be at the PAC, for the entire Apple Blossom Weekend. YEAH!  What great exposure that will be for her work.  I hope lots of people come to see the art. We’ll see how many chose to come in from the out of doors during the Apple Blossom weekend.  I’m very excited to able to show her work there… everybody come and see the show. Ok as to the “Big Shoe” for those who couldn’t google it, didn’t know it or couldn’t recall it… it was how a certain long running variety show’s MC used to announce the beginning of the show… now does anyone get that.  

And we are also, soooo excited that the Grand Parade is finally upon us. This Saturday will be the unveiling of the Giant Puppets that I have written about so much. And, there will be, finally for everyone to see, the surprise puppet character that I have been sworn to secrecy about.  If I tell the special opps guys are to come and get me so, no disclosure here about that.

On another note, the prints from nations Photo Lab that I have been waiting for arrived yesterday, so as soon as I have a minute… OK, an hour or two, I will need to get those matted and framed. One of the photos is one that I have already spoken with the owner of one of the local music stores about buying. So, I need to do a perfect job of framing that up, take it over there and if I’m lucky make a sale. Wish me luck. I also, need to follow up with the owner and his wife of one of the local wine cellars about buying my framed photo ‘En Vino Veritas’.  Of course, the wife needs to approve as she is the one in charge of décor. Currently that piece is at the Cashmere Arts and Activities Center having just been moved there Sunday.

On another note still, I am hoping to introduce a young artist that I met at the Cascade Artist Luncheon yesterday to Terry Johnson of Terry signs and Ceramics for a possible intern placement in his studio.  Oh… and that reminds me, I need to get Terry’s post cards labeled and posted. The cards look great and all the errors have been corrected… hopefully they bring in some art buyers for Terry.

I just had a call from Artie Bowman with further updates on the luncheon yesterday…  after I left the luncheon yesterday the young man I just wrote of was awarded a scholarship from the Cascade Artists and more that I will write about tomorrow as I need to do some other work starting now.

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Grand Art Bike Tour of Wenatchee

Well, after the busy weekend with art and art projects, and with the Apple Blossom Grand Parade coming upon us this weekend, which means no more working weekends and some evenings on Giant Puppets YAHOO!!! ….  I can just hear a sigh of relief coming for Bill Rietvelt at the Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center, I find myself wanting to go outside and get some sun. We had sun over the weekend, but now again it is cloudy… drat!  But, thinking spring and the arts I found myself looking at the poster for the Art on The Avenue  with map, I have had buried under a pile of papers on my desk… OK I admit it… the dining room table.  Martha is really going to be after me to get this stuff cleaned up, but that’s another story.

My thought was that now that it is supposedly getting warmer and sunnier, what a fun idea it would be to do a bike tour of all the sites around town where the Art on the Avenue Sculptures are located. Of course, it has been a long time since all the sculptures were just located on the Avenue…Wenatchee Avenue for those of you who are out of town or from out of town… here’s a shout out to my Canadian Blog readers. So, I am posting here some of the Art On The Avenue Poster… it’s really too big to get it all on the scanner. Anyone interested in doing the Grand Art Bike Tour of Wenatchee… hey, I just made up a new event heha!, send me an email, or contact by Facebook, telephone or any other way you know how to get a hold of me… Hey Jan, I mean Jan Lutz, this would be a great idea for the ‘Recess’ Bike group this season, don’t you think… Jan, George, Sue anybody out there interested.

But, for today, unfortunately, it looks to gloomy out….another day, and I think a little relaxation would be in mind after all the hard work I did installing art work yesterday. There is some great new art to see at the Cashmere Arts and Activity Center in Cashmere, I hope lots of you are able to come… hey you Canadians come on down for some warm (r) weather and some great art too.

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