Piccolo Spoleto Outdoor Art Exhibition 2013 - Friday, May 24 - Day 1

Final Preparations &

The Show is On!

9:59 a.m.  Bob Graham - final pricing

It's always a bit frantic with final minute touches - making sure all paintings are titled and priced - and after 2 days of setting up, very little sleep, making sure the right titles are with the right paintings... The judging takes place the first day of the show - the judge should get a medal - 86 booths in the hot sun!

But the artists have moved in for the duration - this will be our home away from home for the next 16 days.  We're like a big family with a lot of comaderie and a genuine enjoyment of being around each other.

During the show, Marion Square will also be our studio away from the studio...

Rick Reinert - set up and already painting!

Rick Reinert paints every day - last year during his art demonstration it poured rain - he was there with signs out that the demo would go on - a real trooper!

Laurie Meyer is varnishing an artwork.

(Scott Penegar is doing his George of the Jungle thing again, i.e., see post from 5/21.)

Tonight we artists will start getting sleep again - tomorrow I'll start posting the award winners!

Piccolo Spoleto Outdoor Art Exhibition - May 23, 2013 "Set-Up Day 2"

Some Artists are Faster than Others

Ron Rocz was light years ahead of me when I arrived about 10:15 with my panels and most of my art.  I left at 1 pm to go get lunch and pick up four big paintings that wouldn't fit in my car earlier. Finished up between 3 and 4pm. Then home to dress for a reception from 5 - 8 pm.  I think most artists try to set up either early or later in the day to stay out of the heat and preserve artistic energy...I obviously have not mastered that yet.

Doing it all the Same Day

Kathy DuTremble, my neighbor on the right, and her son David came first with the tent and screens.  After they put that up, they made a run to Kathy's gallery for art.  This photo is right before they made another run for the second batch of art.  (They did all this in about the same time it took me to put up my screens and art!)

Well, tomorrow is Show Day # 1.  It's supposed to be a gorgeous, not too hot, weekend so come out to play with us!

Piccolo Spoleto Outdoor Art Exhibition - May 22, 2013 "Set-Up Day 1"

The Tent Skeleton

Don Ellis has put the skeleton together and is tall and strong enough to do it all by himself! 

You can see him "working" the top over the tent - next will be the sides, then tying everything down.

The Good Friend

Last year I put my tent together by myself.  Many hours later I realized that the only positive from this was that I knew I could do it.  It is a far, far better thing (and much faster) to have a good friend help you! And this is Jennifer Lowrance, who kindly took the time to come out to help me get my tent up today. Yes, the top looks a little lopsided, but that was then and now it's straight.  A good friend makes all the difference in the world - thanks, Jennifer!

Just Getting Started

Nance Lee Sneddon arrived as Jennifer and I were almost finished.  Those big white things are doors which she uses to display her artwork. Last year Nance "rented a husband" (her friend's husband) to help her put up her tent.  This year, my art show neighbor, Sherry Browne, volunteered her husband, Harvey, to put up both tents - hers and Nance's.  This makes Sherry a Good Friend.  And it makes Harvey a Good Husband!

Piccolo Spoleto Outdoor Art Show 2013! Tuesday, May 21, 2013 - "Prepping - The Team Behind the Scenes"

Marking 86 Spaces

- in the rain -

How many artists does it take to mark a 10x10" space???

 The Mark-up Team

Above are the heroic artists who showed up in the pouuuuuring rain at 9 a.m.  Thanks to Dwain Ray, Jan Genosi, Tate Nation, Elaine Berlin, Vicki Ellis, Don Ellis, Alan Genosi, Ron Rocz, Scott Penegar, Scott Henderson (not pictured) and the photographer/blogger, Amelia Whaley (me)! We split into 2 teams and went to work, marking each space by spray painting the corners of the space neon orange. Using paint and color helps the artist to relate to their particular space. It is difficult, if you have the honor of spraying the paint, not to get orange neon paint all over your clothes. How do I know this?

The Contraptions

The brainstorm of genius Don Ellis (husband to Co-cordinator, Vicki Ellis).

Made from the finest grade of PVC pipe. When the corners come apart,

 we re-adhere, using the finest duct tape to get us to the next space.

Marking the Space

As you can see below, this is an extremely difficult tool to master. Well, for Team 2, anyway...

Enthusiasm leads to Climbing a Tree. 

(This type of behavior sometimes occurs during the show)

Scott Penegar just couldn't hold back - We find that being in Marion Square, among the trees,  occasionally evokes suppressed memories of jungle life and manifests long forgotten primate tendencies. After years of participating in a 16-day outdoor art show, we artists are not surprised.

Merry Christmas 2012!

The Light Shines in the Darkness

11x14"

Mixed Media

Worship Painting, St. Andrews Mt. Pleasant, December 19, 2012

Three of our artists painted Wednesday night, December 19 during a wonderful Lessons and Carols service in the historic Church - the Church is small and lends itself to an intimate atmosphere.  I love being enveloped in that atmosphere of the Presence when I paint.  The painting is from a photograph I took in Bethlehem in the Church of the Nativity, which is built on top of the cave which is the traditional site of Jesus' birth.

This church is a hodgepodge of levels, nooks and crannies. The side door on the upper right as you face the altar was flooded with light the day I was there, and it struck me that the inside of the church had such low lighting - it was actually rather dark because of the sparse electrical light and dim candlelight - perhaps that's why the midday light flooding in from the outside was so dramatic.

And then again, perhaps it's not unusual when I realize that it's only the light of Christ that can illuminate our churches, our homes, our lives.

2012 Edisto Island Tour Artist Exhibition

Christ Church

Adams Run, SC

14x12" Framed

$300.00

Christ Church, Adams Run was organized in 1835, and I believe this is the first time it's been a part of the Edisto Island Historic Preservation Tour.  The exterior reminds me of Trinity at Edisto where I grew up; it will be interesting to see whether the interiors are similar.  During my childhood on Edisto, our minister, Waites Haynsworth and his wife, lived almost across the street from this church, and he held services on Sundays at three Episcopal Churches - Christ Church, Adams Run, St. Pauls, Meggett (which merged in 1962 to become Christ-St. Pauls, Hollywood) and Trinity on Edisto.  Our congregation was small, and I imagine the others were, too, but he still had to do a lot of driving on Sundays!

2012 Edisto Island Tour Artist Exhibition

Prospect Hill

Edisto Island, SC

16x20" Framed

$425.00

Image for the 2012 Tour Poster and Ticket Booklet

Edisto Island Historic Preservation Society

Last November I was invited to be the 2012 Tour Artist for EIHPS and excited to accept - after all, I grew up on Edisto, and my heritage goes directly back to Paul Grimball, the first white settler on Edisto Island in 1683. There are 10 properties on tour Saturday, October 13, 2012, and what a delight to visit and paint each one of them!

Prospect Hill was originally a Baynard and at one time a Whaley plantation so I felt right at home painting this property.  The present owners have really cared for and restored this home and it stands majestic on the land.

The Edisto Museum (visit online or in person to purchase a tour ticket) is open Tues-Sat 1pm - 4pm, and it really is a treasure tucked away on Edisto.  My  art exhibit featuring the 10 tour properties plus other original paintings began Tuesday, September 11th and ends December 19th.  All the paintings except for Prospect Hill (16x20") are framed to 8x10".  I will continue to highlight the artwork in subsequent posts.  I am pleased that a portion of all sales will go to the EIHPS for their continued fine efforts in preserving the history of Edisto.