Did you miss these?

Thanks to everyone who came out to open studio Friday night! Our first gorgeous weather to take a break out in Artist Alley, eat hot pizza and talk about art!  Here is some work you might have missed if you couldn't make it!

Ready for Mother's Day?

I must say, I do love Mothers’ Day!  I love being a mom, even when that means wiping a nose, stopping the older one from strangling the younger one, teaching them math, driving to soccer/baseball/dance/girl scouts/skiing…because it also means lots of hugs, lots of “I love you”, and lots of joy.  Let’s hear it for all the moms out there!!

And since Mother's Day is just around the corner on May 9th, I am offering THIS WEEKEND ONLY $75 gift cards for only $50 for studio portrait sessions at Karen Minzner Photography studio.  One card will cover the sitting fee and can be used toward a print!!  That's 33% off!!!! What mom would not love photos of her children or grandchildren?  The best part…you can simply give them the gift card and let them decide exactly who and what they want photographed.  

This offer is ONLY available at April’s Final Friday.  You need to come see me in studio 313 on April 24^th (or, ok, you can call me on Second Look Saturday too) to purchase the gift cards.  Posted by Karen Minzner  

Mother Nature

The world has turned to wonderful shades of greens, and the spring flowers are partaking in this wonderful time called spring. It has been breath taking this spring, wandering around, as I do with my camera, taking in all the colors that Mother Nature has to offer. From the magnolia trees, to the red buds, it was a welcomed change from this long gray winter.

As I hold the camera up to look through the lens, the world changes for me. I suddenly start to see the things I miss in my everyday life. The beauty of a curve of a petal, the wanderings of a ladybug, or the flight of an osprey. All these small things slow my mind down long enough to appreciate what our magnificent environment has to offer us. It helps me realize that I am but a speck on this rock we call the earth, and to act as one of it's many stewards.

So on this up coming Mother's Day, I would like to thank the Mother of all Mother's, Mother Nature for the gifts she leaves us everyday. Small gifts or large, the beauty we encounter and those overwhelming moments of pure gratitude for what is put before me. It is my joy to be able to try to capture those moments.  Posted by Elizabeth Murray

Mother's Day

When I was a (younger) kid, I used to pick flowers for my Mom for Mother's Day, her birthday and other occasions that seemed appropriate. I would often pick the wild violets and dandelions that grow everywhere at this time of year. Just as often, I would find wonderful tulips, daffodils, roses and other flowers, Unfortunately these were often the flowers adorning someone's yard but perhaps just outside the fence or around back of their house. Mom never chided me, but did admonish me not to pick other people's flowers.

 

A few years ago, I decided to undertake a long term project of picking, photographically, all the flowers I could find and giving them to Mom for various occasions. Her walls are now full of these newly picked flowers. About three years ago we had a particularly early and beautiful growth of tulips as well as verdant hosta. I decided to "create" a bouquet and placed two flowers in a beautiful plum colored vase and set this in the midst of the hosta. I photographed the bouquet and gave it to Mom for Mother's Day that year. This is the image on our ecard this month celebrating the bonds we share with our mother's. Posted by Tim Freeman  

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Such A Mystery!

With this painting I was experimenting with texture. The Grapefruit was painted using the tip of a palette knife. Learning to control the paint and edges of the forms with a knife is a fun challenge. I added more creative colors to spice it up a bit.

Painting what I don't see is what makes the painting really work for me. It can mean emotional/spiritual or, in this case, simply the use of color. The act of creating is for me always somewhat based on what we don't see but what we chose to communicate. With the Grapefruit painting I am just slightly exaggerating what I see. 

 
A painter once said to me that the best thing we can do when making art is..."at some point putting down or turning away from the material we are looking at to make the art. When we turn away from our perceived reality we allow something new and different to occur." 

Isn't painting wonderful...its SUCH a mystery!  Posted by Cindy Olmes.