a work in progress

After spending two days in the woods doing art with the creative and inspiring children of Clear Spring School, today is all about painting faces! I have finally wrapped up negotiations for three days of face painting at the Grand Opening of Pinnacle Hills Shopping Center and I am on my way to paint faces at a fun event at Arkansas Support Network in Bentonville, one of many agencies in the area who provide services to individuals with developmental disabilities. I encourage everyone to support these organizations who strive to make our communities inclusive to all individuals and are drastically underfunded by our government. Most everyone I know has someone in their lives who lives with a disability. I have a sister who has cerebral palsy and is unable to care for herself. While there are organizations, agencies, and legislation to support care options for differently abled citizens, there is a tremendous lack of funding to actually enable these organizations to provide the choice of services now mandated by law. Many agencies must rely on donors, volunteers, and special events to serve individuals. I encourage everyone to consider finding ways to reach out to agencies in their region who are working to make our communities friendly and accessible to all people. My bit is to make donations of art prints and origami mobileas and earrings to auctions and to offer my face painting services. I’d love to hear ways others offer their gifts to make a difference in their communities,so write me or leave a comment.

If you are a fan of my face painting and want to come out to some really fun events, look for me at ASN in Bentonville this afternoon or come out to enjoy all the grand opening festivities for the opening of Pinnacle Hills Promenade in Rogers. I will be at the new shopping center, which includes a Dillards, a J C Penney, and a 12 screen Malco theatre Wednesday, October 4th from 3pm-7pm, Friday the 6th from 2pm-6pm, and Saturday, the 7th from 11am-3pm. After that, I may need to dine at one of the five restaurants, check out the bookstore, and head over to the theatre and catch a show!

mail 12″ x 24″

Yesterday was my first day working at the artists collective in Fayetteville, the Heartwood Gallery. It’s on S. Government and 6th Street. It’s a funky little building loaded with character sitting in on a small street of skilled trades businesses. In fact, the owner of the building has a fantastic studio in the back where he creates custom furniture and cabinets. It was fun to do something different and it is great to be a part of the group now. Everyone’s work is so different, yet there is a cohesiveness. When you really look at and handle the work, you sense the quality of the craftsmanship and get the same feeling that there is a maker with a story behind each piece. That’s why a handmade object is so desirable. The care with which it was created is passed on through the object. Heartwood Gallery is at 428. S. Government and open 11am-6pm Thursday thru Sunday.
Another collective I participate in, if only marginally, is etsy. Etsy.com is a great marketplace for artists and has a great team of people running it. They are continually adding to the cool features on the site. I really like, the geolocator. It is neat to see where the etsy sellers are concentrated and I was pleased to find that now there is a little group of other people in my region who have discovered etsy. I had to get on and renew a few listings last night and browsing the forums came across this blog by Jackie Mitchard, who writes an entertaining piece about the etsy shopping experience and includes this fab endorsement which pretty much applies to what I have been thinking about our little local artist collective.

What I think is wonderful about etsy is not just the quality and not just the prices and not just the sort of niceness-of-people I don’t usually encounter in other places on other sites. (I had to call the site manager at home on a Sunday morning when I couldn’t pay for something; and it was only 8 a.m. and he didn’t even get a bit mad). It’s that it is a place for artists of all tastes and varieties to work together...Jackie Mitchard: Etsy, Etsy, Etsy, my love

I think her site must be getting a lot of hits today, since it took me a while to get back on it. I hope etsy will fare as well.
BTW, the painting above is one which I am offering through the Heartwood Gallery. Another great thing about Heartwood is that since we share the expenses of the building and the workingof the gallery, each artist keeps 100% of his/her proceeds. I also like having the freedom to sell my pieces through other venues, such as my website, while they are in my display at Heartwood.

I am excited that one day I will have a larger studio! I will be glad to be out of the house and away from the phone! I am going to convert the detached 12×20 garage which has almost been cleared out. Stuff is being stored under the house and a few items will need to be moved into the house. Once the garage is cleared out, I will do some cleaning in there, seal and caulk existing shell. Then on to the list, which at this point looks like this: 1.Remove existing garage doors.
2.Measure for sliding glass door.
3.Pour concrete foundation wall to extend it across front.
4.Pour self-levelling concrete to bring up floor.
5.Frame for sliding doors.
6.Repanel exterior front wall so it’s not all patched up, inserting gable vent.
7.Install sliding doors.
8.Cut 2 window openings and frame them. Install gable vent at rear.
9.Install windows.(Start running ac and bring in ceiling and drywall.)
10.Trim exterior door and windows.
11.Add furring strips to bring walls over front of foundation.
12.Install recessed light cans.
13.Drill for wiring.
14.Run wiring to lights, switches and outlets.
15.Add nailing plates. Install lock in door.
16.Cut hole for and install exterior light(s).
17.Dig trench for wiring.
18. Run wiring to panel.
19.Install ceiling.
20.Install drywall.Mud, mud, mud.
21.Paint crown moulding, baseboards and casings.
22.Paint walls.
23.Install flooring.
24.Install crown moulding, casings and baseboards.
25.Build an on the wall easel.
26. Add a large corkboard.
27.Move in art supplies and work surfaces.
28.Enjoy!
29. Work on back door to garage, add lock and step.
30. Build stone patio at front entrance, addressing drainage issues.