The Migration

The migration is beginning. Tires on trailers are being checked, paintings are being finished, tools are being gathered, lists are being made. Artists from around the country are getting ready for their journey to Scottsdale Arizona for the 21st annual Celebration of Fine Art. Many have made this journey for years and others will do it for the first time.

They will pack up their easels, sculpture stands, pottery wheels, torches, tools of their trade, art work and in some cases families and children to make this journey. They will spend 10 weeks together creating and exhibiting some of the most beautiful art in the country. When they arrive they will begin building their own personal studio inside the big white tents. A place that they feel will display their art to the best advantage for collectors and visitors to the Celebration to buy. They will paint walls, lay carpet and hook up lighting. By the time they are finished and the art is hung no one will notice they are inside a tent. People are awe struck being in such a magnificent gallery with over 100 individual and unique studios where you can talk to the artists and see them at work creating.


The minute you walk in the door you can feel the high energy. The place sizzles with joy, enthusiasm and creativity. This isn't some quiet stuck up cold gallery experience. Brace yourself to have the time of your life with some of the greatest people and art you will ever meet.

Celebrate with them starting January 15th in Scottsdale.

Grab your fire extinguisher!

After all the coverage of the Quran burning this week and all the recent election diatribe I just have to say it is time for everyone to grab a fire extinguisher! The hate rhetoric needs to stop. There seems to be a new culture, enhanced by the 24/7 media, that supports more and more inflammatory talk. It's time to dial it back.

The gift we have of free speech in this country will go away if we can't have reasoned debate with strong opinions expressed on all sides with out personal attacks, threats and calls to destroy or kill or burn. Whipping mobs into a hate filled frenzy seems easier and easier. The various political opponents and religious zelots have gotten into a "can you top this" frenzie to attract the media which covers the event with delight at having something filled with action video to fill their 24/7 vacuum.

It is up to each of us to get out our fire extinguishers and say STOP! Don't support individuals who try these mob tactics to get support. Express your own opinions with reasoned and information filled discussion. Don't just parrot someone else. Do some basic research and find out the facts before you join the crowd. Be respectful of others opinions. You have the right to disagree with people but not the right to incite riots and continue the pattern of violent rhetoric.

Take a breath, figure out what to say calmly and with passion but without harming others. Keep your fire extinguisher handy.

Make up your mind!

I had an experience yesterday that illustrates so much in life. I had lunch at a restaurant called the Firkin and Crown, the English Pub name and decor were front and center but then things turned.

The place was filled with TV screens like a big sports bar, there was loud hard rock playing from the speakers and then the menu came. It had everything from pot pies and bangers and mash to quesadillas, hummus, hamburgers and stir fry! This was a place that really couldn't make up its mind what it was, who it's customer was or what to do with its self.

I have had this same experience with artists. They present to a gallery or jury for a show and present everything they have done in every medium and every style. This is a sure way to not achieve success. You have to pick something and stick with it, to do otherwise is just confusing your audience. You need consistency.

Let me be clear that artists should always experiment and reach for new ideas, use new mediums and try new things. But the path to success (selling your art) is to present consistency
in your art. Do research before you present to the gallery, show or exhibit, know what they expect. If a gallery sells only watercolors they aren't interested in your oil paintings. If they sell only contemporary work your landscapes and still life subjects probably aren't going to be a good fit. You have to make up your mind! Stick with it, find your niche and work it!

In life your path may have many choices and you can try to juggle all those choices hoping to be a great success but never have time, energy or focus to achieve a successful goal because you are split in too many directions. Make up your mind! Pick a path and follow it! Work it!

We won't be going back to the restaurant because we were just uncomfortable. Too much confusion and not a place we fit. We will stick to the English pub that serves pub food and plays Irish music, it a longer drive but we like it there.

Never give up your pencil

We are slaves to technology. But nature and mans errors will always bring us to heel and remind us that we may have to go backward to stay even.

The astronauts learned this when first in space. Pens wouldn't write in space, so the answer became the old fashioned pencil which worked just fine. When sent to repair faulty equipment on the moon, despite lots of practice and specially made tools, they ended up using their Swiss Army knives to get the job done.

When the volcano in Iceland and the tragedy of 9/11 stopped air travel we had to revert to trains and buses to get where we needed or wanted to go. We have discovered that human hair can help soak up the oil spills.

Now our television is going to be disrupted by satellites crashing into each other. What will we do without our television? Do you even own a radio? I only have one in my car. I wonder how we will deal without instant news, no 24/7/365 updates on our games, celebrities, finances and tragedies.

I am keeping my pencil handy, even though I will have my iphone on my belt.

Florida and a great Art Show

We recently visited Naples Fl. A lovely place full of "mature" tourists, many mid westerners, some great art and good galleries and some delicious seafood.

We rented a house for a couple of weeks so we could just relax and enjoy the area. We took lots of day trips and spent lots of time just exploring. Our two big nature adventures were to the Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary and the Everglades National Park.



At Corkscrew we walked a wooden raised trail and saw some great birds and got acquainted with the new and unique vegetation of the area. Banyan trees, air plants growing in the trees, ferns and other cool stuff. You could easily spot the wildlife by watching for the jam of people with big cameras and huge long lenses. While we were watching a lovely blue heron two of them got in to a loud argument about which lens to use and scared the bird away. Very funny.

I did some research about the best way to see Everglades by calling the National Park and asking questions about air boats and tours. Their answer is don't take an air boat, they scare the wild life and trample the vegetation. They are loud and except for the "thrill" of going fast through a swamp don't really let you see the Everglades. We opted instead for a boat tour that went out into the barrier islands. We got to see new islands in the making with Mangrove trees digging their roots into piles of shells and trapped sand. They grow slowly until the link with other islands getting bigger and bigger over time.



Then we drove to a pull out and walked a bit to get our gator photo. As we were driving along we actually saw several groups of gators and some cood birds but there was no way to pull off the narrow road and couldn't stop because of traffic.



The ranger station at Everglades is pretty sad. It was obviously damaged int he hurricanes of the last few years and is a simple 2 story building on stilts and wrapped in Tyvek.
The displays look mostly hand made with photos and posters in a room about 20 feet square. Some interesting information but obviously they are challenged for dollars to do better.

Most of the civilization and population in the very southern part of Florida has happened since the 1960's. Prior to that there were few roads, few people and tons of wildlife. We visited this cool old general store that was also the postoffice. In the old days (1950's) the owner would go get the mail by canoe and use a shell horn to announce the arrival of the days mail. They have turned the place into a museum, very cool, but they don't allow photos inside.



There are lots of good galleries in Naples. There is a wonderful Naples Art Museum that is combined with a philharmonic palace that will knock your socks off. They present all kinds of entertainment, all top notch. We also went to the Naples National Art Fair.

The Naples Art Fair is one of the best we have ever seen but WOW, 285 artists and thousand and thousands of people. You could hardly move and I can't imagine how the artists got much sold with so many people around.

Now to the food. You just can beat that part of the country for fresh seafood. Our favorite restaurant turned out to be right down the street from our rental house. Randy's Fishmarket Resturant. They have a long wait and don't take reservations but it is well worth the wait. We bought some, "OH MY GOD Shrimp" to grill and home too. YUM.

We plan to visit Naples again because there is always more to see and do.

Winter Adventures

It's winter in Georgia and all the leaves are gone. The trees are bare, storing up their energy for what should be a magnificent spring. It continues to rain and even snow. Unusual weather for the deep South.

To get some sun and visit family and friends we recently visited Scottsdale AZ and the Celebration of Fine Art. It's the 20th anniversary of this unique show. I am still awed by the talented artists who continue to grow and develop new and exciting work each year. Visitors say it is the best show yet and I have to agree. They have had some serious weather this year that took our our neighbors and friends tents at Russo and Steele. We have Jake Potje to thank for keeping our tents secure, grounded and dry! Here he is securing one of our many rain gutters.


We had a great time with my daughter and granddaughters. I just love teenagers. They are so full of introspection and energy and whirling around trying to find out what to do with it all. A time of great promise and opportunity. They are both great kids who are enjoying life. My daughter is keeping up amazingly well. I know I did that too but it seems like centuries ago. Aah, youth!

I am looking for opportunities to get involved here in Ga and have checked out many different places some in the arts some not. I think I may have hit on the opportunity for me. It is called The Hudgens Center for the Arts. I am meeting with their director this week to see if we are a match. The Hudgens just announced a competition for Georgia artists with a top prize of $50,000.00! They seem to have solid financial support and are doing some great things in education and exhibition both. Looks like a great organization.

My customer service rant and praise for the moment:
Praise for Amazon Kindle who responded to me within hours when I had a problem with a book.
Disgust for gallery minders who play computer games and surf the net while live warm bodies are in their galleries.
AAA disgust for home warrenty companies. I have yet to find one that will actually pay for stuff that breaks!

More adventures to come, a trip to Florida and the Everglades coming up.