It’s been a while since I won an award this piece recently won in a JAG show. It’s a funky piece that makes you go “Hmmm??”, I hope. It’s called “Which Way Is Up? I received a Juror’s Choice award (Honorable Mention).

I’ve always loved all sorts of textile art. Felting and weaving are some of my favorite’s. Art quilts are a long time passion given that my mother was a quilter. The first is by Candace McCaffery (in Melrose) the second is by Amy Dove, number three is by Stacy Streeter and the my most recent was purchased at the Cummer and is by Billy MacCray. Isn’t she lovely! Well they ALL are.

I’ve been working on this one for a few weeks and as soon as I finished it, I realized that there is no way it will be accepted. Sadly it wasn’t as cathartic as I’d hoped either. The venue is a business so they aren’t likely to want an overtly political piece being displayed in the office. Ah well, it was in my head and had to get out, I guess; even if it didn’t relieve my anxieties.

I’m fortunate that many of my artist friends are willing to not only trade with me for art, but also give me art. How did I get so lucky?! They’ve been particularly generous this year. The orange tabby was painted specifically for me by my friend Cynthia Csalovzski. The other paintings are by Arlene Tabor.

When I buy a friends art it gives me double the pleasure. Being a member of several local art groups means I have lots of artist friends: in order from left to right Bill Gura, Donald Penny, Gail Beveridge, Jacquelyn Pfaff Pratt, Kay Deuben, Lisa Lofton, Lori Ann Sweet (actually a trade for a frame), Michelle Karahalios, Peggy Harrell, Rhona Scovell. I am so lucky to be surrounded by so much talent!

Another event that I invariably find some fabulous pieces is the Jacksonville Artist Guilds “RAP Arthouse” event. This is a home tour of wondrous houses in Jacksonville. JAG gets to hang members art in one of the houses and they man the house for the event, telling visitors about it and the art. The other event in the spring was a at the zoo. I volunteered to help at both JAG’s booth and the Art Guild of Orange Parks booth. While wandering I found some pretty things (as well as some things at the JAG booth)

I am faster to purchase a piece if I know exactly where I’m going to hang the piece. If you saw my previous post, you know that I’m running out of room in some rooms. I have a “bird room” that is not yet full.

Here we have: Helen Moody, Ted Head, Michael Cenci, Lisa Lofton, and Cynthia Reynolds.

So excited to have won one of the two Jurors awards in JAG’s “Express Yourself” exhibition at FSCJ Kent Campus. It’s been a while since I’ve gotten an award. It has also been a while since I was at Kent Campus. It’s such a beautiful venue. Great lighting and nice white walls. My fellow winners were Luann Dunkinson (watercolor) and Best in Show was by someone new to me, Brenda Schwend (acrylic). I am definitely looking forward to seeing more of her work. I might have snapped one up if they weren’t NFS. As it is I picked up a Kat McCall. I’ve wanted one of her wonderful pieces for a while. I love her style. Dang, I wish I’d taken a picture of it. I’ll be making a post of it later then. Here’s my “Which Way is Up” piece that one the juror’s choice.

I have a passion for collecting art. In fact it’s part of my “purpose in life”: to help artists in any way that I can. I’m behind on sharing these wonderful artists with you all. Last fall I attended two Studio Tour events. One was a new event put on by The Art Guild of Orange Park and the other was the annual CoRK open house. The Guild had quite a few of their members volunteer to share their time with the public. I decided to be the public, instead of open my studio. CoRK is a warehouse full of multiple fabulous artists studios. I’ve rarely miss their open house. I almost always pick up a few pieces there. This year was no exception. These are:

Cole Collier (2), Kim Guzzone Collier, Lana Shuttleworth, Allison McCauley, Lana Koster, Mary Fowler, and Karen Kurycki (Unfortunately just a print. I prefer originals).

I am very far behind on sharing news about my art collection. I am an avid collector of others art. This photo of my home office says it all. (Though some of the art on these walls is mine.) More about my latest acquisitions in the next post.

And these are the many watercolors that I started and had to set aside for one reason or another. It is often very difficult to pick up a painting after too much time has lapsed. Sometimes a break from it helps enormously. There’s some of each in this pile. I’ll try to make sure I let you know what happens to them.