Volume
44 Issue
5
|
Next Meeting – May 14 At our Gallery - social hour |
On the Agenda
Spring Art Show Scholarship report Nominating Committee report |
Marketing Your Art Program
Art-marketing consultant Alyson B. Stanfield
of http://www.artbizcoach.com/ will
be coming down from Golden to give a brief presentation and to sign books.
Alyson's book is “I'd Rather Be in the Studio! The Artist's No-Excuse Guide to
Self-Promotion”, which matches Internet marketing strategies with sincere
personal skills to help artists take charge of their careers.
¯¯¯¯¯¯
Get Your Entries In!
Suzanne
Jenne, Show Chairman: Our 2008 Spring Fine Art Show
is coming soon: June 3-27 at
Based on a discussion at the last
PLAG meeting, there will be a Silent Auction table. We currently have some unique services that
will interest many of our artists! We
are still looking for other non-art donated items (we don’t want to compete
with our artwork for sale at the show!).
Services such as “dinner with the artist”, art lessons, haircuts, facials,
dental exams, restaurant gift certificates are all welcome. Please contact Margarete
Seagraves (co-Chair) at seagml@msn.com to approve your
donated item. Please help us make a good
showing of donated items so that we can add interest to the evening and
generate revenue for PLAG.
We will meet at the next PLAG
meeting on May 14 to discuss items related to volunteer activities and to
finalize details. Please remember that
postcards should go out after May 15.
Our
judge will be Victoria Kwasinski.
You
may view some of
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|
J Happy Birthday! ¯¯ Sue Jenkins, May 1 Carolyn Stolz, May 2 Pam Blaydes, May 6 David diLorenzo, May 17 Ardis Poole, May 21 (If your birthday isn’t mentioned, please let Mary Krucoff
know and it will be added it to the list.) |
Please welcome new member: Nancy Reed |
Member
News
Judi
Wood has paintings at Mountain
Living Studio,
Judi
also reports she was accepted into
the Oil Painters of America as an Associate member on March 8.
Judi
says: “I know boasting is not good –
but if this can encourage others to see avenues to present their art then it
may help someone else.” (Judi is
much too modest! ed.)
John
DeFrancesco
reports that his workshop, “Dancing Lights”, to be held May 17 at TLCA is
currently full, but he will take your name if you wish to be considered if
there is a cancellation. Contact TLCA at (719) 481-0475 for information.
Jim
Sawatzki
reports: I have recently been awarded some patronage for my next film,
“Historic Artists of the Pikes Peak Region”. The Pikes Peak Arts Council, Eve
Tilley, Director, has taken my project to be my umbrella, non-profit fiscal
agent (so all fundraising efforts will apply to their non-profit status). The Smokebrush Foundation, through Kat Tutor, has
pledged funding for 2008 & ’09. She has given me the start-up money to
proceed.
More Golden
Workshops
|
Textures, Marks and
Seductive Surfaces |
Fabrics, Fibers and Acrylics |
|
Contemporary Acrylic
Techniques Workshop is offered again on June
27th. See http://www.goldenpaints.com/
for all events |
|
²²²
HOW TO BOOST YOUR
CREATIVITY
By John DeFrancesco
Do you ever feel as though your creative juices have dried up; that fresh ideas are elusive; that you have “artist’s block?” Don’t feel alone. Most artists occasionally encounter a wall that keeps them from reaching the creativity that exists on the other side.
The
worst thing you can do at those times is to fret, panic or try too hard for
solutions. Instead, learn to let
go. That doesn’t mean stop working. In fact, working faithfully, without
abandoning your craft, can help get you over the hump.
Where
do ideas come from? They’re all around
us. The mind is like a radio tuner; it
can only handle one frequency at a time.
So, if your present mental state is one in which too many thoughts or
ideas are bouncing around like ping pong balls, it’s time to re-tune. Here are some ways:
n
Write
down the problem, challenge or need for an idea in the center of a blank page
and circle it. Just that simple process
helps to focus your conscious, and sub-conscious, mind on what you need to
solve.
n
Begin
to brainstorm. From the words circled on
your page, begin to draw lines in spoke fashion. On each line, list a question or subject that
pertains to the challenge. Then,
radiating from each line draw perpendicular lines and write on each any
relevant thought or idea that comes to mind.
n
Don’t
try to resolve everything in one sitting.
Add to the page as thoughts occur.
That may happen after talking to a friend, watching a movie, reading a
book, visiting a museum or taking a drive.
n
Always
carry a small notebook and pen or pencil with you. Even keep one in your nightstand in case a
brilliant thought comes in the middle of the night.
n
On that
note, don’t ignore your dreams. Often
there are images in dreams that can provide a creative solution.
n
Do
mind-expanding exercises. For example,
take any object, such as a paper clip, and write down as many uses for the clip
or the wire that you can think of.
n
Change
what’s familiar. Occasionally change the
music you listen to. Walk a different
route to avoid the familiar; focus on the shapes and forms you see while
walking (trees, architecture, landscaping, effects of light and shadow,
movement of leaves). Take pictures. Make notes.
n
Forget
television. Studies have shown that watching TV causes the mind to dumb-down,
drying up the creative process. Instead,
read as much as possible on different subjects.
Books exercise the brain and provide inspiration. Study the works of great artists. Take a class or workshop. Teach a workshop. Associate with other creative people. Start a journal (include sketches of images
that you see or that occur to you mentally).
n
Do
nothing. Take a few hours off and
daydream. Simply lie back, close your eyes and let your mind be receptive to
random and creative thoughts. Reminisce
about favorite things, places, people, events, movies, books, images,
wishes. Write down what comes to mind.
n
Pray
for divine intervention. After all, the Creator of the heavens and earth is the
best artist of us all.
²²²
Some Notes on Music and Modern Art
From an article by Betsy Dillard Stroud in Watercolor
Magic, August 2003 issue:
When Herb Alpert (Tijuana Brass) who
is also an accomplished painter “... began visiting major museums...I
gravitated toward contemporary pieces because they reminded me of a Charlie
Parker solo. That kind of liberation and improvisation gives me the freedom and
the ability to go wherever I wish. You have to be receptive and open to an
artist at a particular time, as sometimes you aren’t ready or able to get that
particular message. ...Just because I ain’t receivin’ don’t mean you ain’t sendin’.” As Duke Ellington put it: “It don’t mean a
thing, if it ain’t got that swing!” ...Alpert
relates...” ‘When I paint or sculpt, I’m not sure how conscious I am of what
I’m doing when I’m doing it. I never know what will happen, but once I start,
it’s as if something else takes over and I’m improvising with color and shape
as I do with music. I would tell you to put your life energy onto the canvas or
paper, and look for the same thing in your painting that you would look for in
music—harmony and transpositions.’ Transpositions in music refer to changing
into another key. In painting, transposing would refer to using different color
harmonies or a different format with the same subject in order to create a
different, but related, visual sequence.”
Miscellaneous Notes
Plein Air Painting
Group
If you were not at the April meeting and wish to
participate in an informal plein air painting group
that will gather periodically this summer, send your e-mail address to jdefrancesco522@comcast.net.
Fifteen members have signed up. There is no cost; you don't need to attend
every session; you can paint in the medium of your choice. You will be notified
by e-mail (only) of the date, time and location of each session.
From Pam Blaydes:
According to the hostess
(Julia) at Chili's there are to be a couple more restaurants in the plaza
at
PLAG’s website: www.palmerlakeartgroup.com. Add the address to your business card, tell
your friends to look us up, help us advertise our group.
Please Note: If you would
like to have an official PLAG member name tag, please contact Bruni Berkowitz, (719) 488-2158, and she will
order one for you.
Reminder: contributions to
the Newsletter are greatly appreciated. Also, please let me know about
exhibits, sales, etc. Call or email: Mary Krucoff,
(719) 488-8101 or emkaymonument@q.com. Deadline is the 25th
of the month. Also Please Note: if you haven’t received your
newsletter by the 5th of the month, please let me know. If
you currently receive your newsletter via postal delivery and would be willing
to switch to email delivery it would save us the cost of postage.