Vanishing Landscapes

Above is the view from Charleston's Waterfront Gallery taken on the opening day of the annual Spoleto and Piccolo Spoleto festival here in South Carolina. This year the juried art show had an eco-friendly theme and title: Vanishing Landscapes. I submitted three pieces and one was selected. If interested, here's an on-line article about the exhibit.

Above is the view of the reception in the lower gallery. Below is the photo of my piece, Earth Moods, an altered book. I created a video of it which is here. I did not create this piece specifically for this exhibition. It just fit beautifully and was on a nice white pedestal right in the middle of the lower gallery....in fact, right below the walkway on which I was standing when I took the photo above!

Below is another photo of this beautiful, well lit art venue.



Above is the photo of my piece....which is pictured in the very, very slick color catalog for this exhibition. I liked many pieces, including Margaret Petterson's monotype, Tuscan Palette and Anne Sbrocchi's Log Bridge Creek (no on-line reference). I also admired McLean Sheperd's Lake Jocassee. Both Sbrocchi and Sheperd used metallic materials to great effect. Foils and glitter can be so tacky and amateurish, but these two works used the reflective quality and shine to great advantage....in ways no other product could duplicate. Sheperd's piece won one of the awards.

One of the most compelling works, however, was by Paul Hitopoulos. I adored the "price" listed on the label, the lighting, the idea, and the feeling of a sacred circle.




So, what else have I been doing.....CYBER FYBER trading, of course. Yet, artistically I've been very, very busy. I know I should have blogged about this "in progress" but I'm about to finish a major piece. Blues Bible will be bound this weekend. I'm working on a stand for it....and a kneeler. I think the trips to England have influenced my vision of kneelers (which was already very traditional to begin with) to the point that I now see ALL kneelers as traditional needlepoint. Though I've sworn never to cross stitches again...I'm counting....even doing cross stitch in wool...a historic pattern from one of my books about Austrian embroidery. It's killing me....but I want this kneeler! I'm excited about the new altered/altared Blues Bible too!