Art Culture and Fabric Mat Tricks

Since my last post was mainly about domestic violence with that amazing video clip, I am going to focus on art this time. I discovered that there are some artists who visit my website and blog, so this post will be particularly interesting for them.

I went to the Dean's Forum this week, sponsored by ASU's Herberger College of the Arts and it was a great experience. Dean Kwan Wu-Kim spoke with a smorgasbord of ASU people, students, corporate and art members of the community. He talked about how Phoenix could become an art mecca. Instead of people looking outside Arizona for the quality and prestige of art, rather we should be looking within and recognize the diamonds in the rough, and then figure out a way to connect these diamonds into a beautiful necklace of creativity and commerce. There was more said that I won't go into here, but it was an interesting mixed response.

Personally, I agree with Dean Kim that art is involved in EVERYTHING whether we recognize it or not. Since I've taken some traditional art classes, I've learned that art is not exempt from the sciences. There is biology (art anatomy), mathematics/physics (perspective, geometry, golden section), psychology (color science, composition), textiles (art materials), and engineering (problem solving using any of the previous). It truly is the science of light and a form of universal language that should be more respected. There is no dichotomy between art and science. For instance, all the graphics we see everyday, the architecture we live and work in, the fashions that we wear, the live performances we visit, the cars we drive, movies we watch, the music we listen to--art is everywhere and yet... What happens in the real world once the classes are over? What are the opportunities and are they desirable? Boy did I want to chatter up a storm because since I've been working on Bravery, I've learned a ton of information.

I've learned more of the business side and how important marketing and networking is in order to become a successful artist. Furthermore, it's kind of fun sharing your art with people once you learn to handle rejections. Let's face it, not everyone will like the art that I produce, but amazingly enough, so far, everyone (yes everyone) has really like the concept behind Bravery, especially the positive perspective that gives the victims dignity. I couldn't agree more.


With that said, I learned a little trick on matting. I wanted one of my pastel pieces to have a purple suede mat, but they cost $70.00 for a whole board, $50.00 to have one cut and it's not even real suede! It's some kind of polyester material. Bah! Call me frugal, call me cheap, but you can't call me naive. I found that with either some beautiful purple material or (even easier) some pretty shiny purple ribbon, I could embellish matboard to create the fabric texture of my desire. What's really cool is you can take matboard scraps and piece them together and lay the material over it to cover. Fabric glue or double sided tape for the ribbon works great. Just make sure materials are all acid free.

Now one of my art teachers said not to give away secrets, but I have to tell you...I was so frustrated trying to find information about fabric mats on the Internet that I think someone needs to share so other artists won't take out a second mortgage to pay for framing materials!

In case you are interested, I included a couple of websites that offer free info on matting and framing.

Framing for Yourself
How to Mat a Picture
Framing Ideas

Think outside the green.

Resolutions Worth Repeating

I've been seeing a lot of articles popping up here and there about reviving or keeping New Year's Resolutions alive. Last December, I came across this video and put a link of it into my blog. I found a way to actually embed the video and decided to post again.

I feel that as adults we are always role models to young people no matter who or where we encounter them. They watch how we interact with other adults and how we handle our feelings. At the New Year there are resolutions to stop smoking, to say a kinder word, a vow to leave. The message in this video speaks to the habits we have as adults and how a resolution isn't just for the new year, but rather something we should work on everyday because there are always little eyes and ears watching us.

Some of the content in the video is somewhat disturbing, but it's a powerful message that bears repeating.

Pet Abuse: Henry and Rhonda's Story

In speaking with perfect strangers about the portrait project, it's really amazing what kind of connections are made. I was on the phone with a young lady in Utah while ordering checks for my new organization account at the credit union. She grew curious about the project and I shared the details only to find out that she used to be on the police force for 15 years in Salt Lake City. As an officer she had many stories about domestic violence calls. One of the cases we discussed was about a, Henry, special dog who has become the poster pet for change in Utah legislation.

This poor puppy was hurt severely by the abuser, Marc. He became jealous of the dog and unfortunately, used Henry has a pawn in the torment. After damaging the dog's eye with a leafblower (a vet had to remove it) and later placing the dog in a 200 degree oven for five minutes, Rhonda Kamper divorced her husband and filed a restraining order. Since then, she has been fighting with legislation to pass stronger animal cruelty laws in Utah. Inside the many articles written about this case are facts about the correlation of animal cruelty and domestic violence and murder. The number of animal abuse is astounding.

For this reason, I will include animals in the portrait series. It's an angle rarely discussed by the public. Adding pets to the Bravery project may help people consider animal abuse as precursor to human abuse. Perhaps when one reads an article about someone hurting or neglecting an animal, one may connect the dots because they are definitely there. According to Utah State University Professor, Frank Ascione, 71% of women in a Utah shelter have had a pet threatened or hurt by the abuser. That is in ONLY Utah. Imagine that number across the country.

With some networking and a little timing, this kind ex police officer I spoke with on the phone is forwarding information on the Bravery project to Rhonda. Hopefully, I will have the honor to do Henry's portrait and people who see it will realize another very serious symptom of domestic violence and take action.

I've included some links to more information on Henry and Rhonda's story. They include other similar cases. It truly is an outrage.

Support for Animal Cruelty Law Still Strong
Special Henry Session Sought
Animal Abuse Case Details: Dog beaten with leafblower, placed in oven

If any of you who read this post have an animal you would like to include, by all means, please let me know and I would be happy to add your pet to the project.

Bravery Project attempts to go nonprofit

With the help of some very generous professionals, I am working towards turning the portrait project into a nonprofit status organization as Bravery Project, Inc. (BP) There are many reasons for this. The project has blossomed, which is really great, but framing and art supplies can be very expensive, not to mention the printing papers, ink cartridges, and online services, etc. Fortunately for me, I've managed to keep costs to a minimum, but I am forced to seek outside monetary assistance through grant and donation requests. As a non-profit, anyone who chooses to donate to the project can receive tax receipts to write off on their taxes. Additionally, I plan to collect donations for the shelters in October (remember that 100% of October online/mailed donations go to the shelter groups). In order to maximize the success of the activities, non-profit status will provide the right structure to do this correctly, if the IRS grants permission. Who knows, the Bravery project could be quite successful and continue for a long time, but only with people working together to make the magic happen.

A bit of that magic is coming to fruition. If you check the calendar on my website, you will see that several events have been added. These are wonderful opportunities to share BP with other people. Some events will have a full gallery style display of whatever completed artwork is available along with a table filled with flyers, cards, etc to promote the project. February is especially exciting because of the new shelter opening out in the Peoria area. This will be the first and only safe-house for residents of that area. A much needed service.

I am also honored to be invited to the upcoming Vagina Monologue performances. What a fun way to spend the evening. If any of you can make it out to see the plays, please do so. Each performance is different, thought provoking, and very funny. You may never think of yourself the same way again.

If anyone would like to have BP at an event, please let me know. As always, I am still looking for volunteers for free portraits, so if you know of anyone who may be interested, please pass along the word.

Change begins with conversations at the dinner table.

A Workshop to Remember

I hope everyone is enjoying the first week of 2008 as much as I am. Thanks to the awesome people at Scottsdale Artists' School for giving me a scholarship, I just completed a wonderful three day workshop with William Whitaker, master figure painter extraordinaire. He was thrilled by the Bravery project which made me feel like a million bucks. Here was this amazing painter with 5 decades of experience, telling me he thought my project is wonderful. Not only did Mr. Whitaker field my gazillion questions, but he did it with good natured humor and an honesty that comes from being an experienced teacher who genuinely wants to help students. I have to admit that I do envy those chosen to be his apprentices. (He lives in Utah.) Nonetheless I am honored to have learned from a living master with his integrity and skill. My portraits will increasingly improve from what I learned. ( My hair, on the other hand, maybe not.)

One thing I did take away from my experience was that I am a much better pastelist than oil painter; thus, I am going to continue the portraits as drawings or pastels at this point. Oil's will come later. The main thing is to put out the best possible work, especially since Bravery is already going to be on display in February.

I am very excited to partner the Bravery project with the Phoenix Women's Forum and vdayphoenix.org. For one night, on February 23rd, the completed portraits will be on gallery style display at the Vagina Monologues event in Glendale. For those of you who can make it out to the beautiful Glendale Renaissance Hotel and Spa, this evening promises to be an amazing experience with celebrity performers. I will have a table with information about the Bravery project so people who are interested can learn how to participate. Tickets have been selling already for the past two weeks, so make sure to order yours soon.

I hope to see you there.