Another Earth Day post? Madness!
I’d like to feature this piece from Houzz on the home and artwork of a fellow classmate/fellow creator/fellow Toledoan, Danielle Herrera. I’m happy to share this article not just out of hometown pride, but because her decor encompasses a personalized, thrifty, and one-of-a-kind style. Check out a sneak peek of it:
“Sign for the Times”
This painting was inspired by a previous piece, “The Only Way.” In both paintings, the mosaic style symbolizes many peoples joining together. I strongly believe that for peace to exist, we all must unite. Whether that peace is needed in a particular nation or not, we as humans must all band together for the same goal. Each of the mosaic tiles in the hand/arm of “The Only Way” and in the background of “Sign for the Times” were painted in various tones of complexion.
Phew! What a ride it’s been so far. I went through some last-minute stress in how to hang my paintings in my space, since what I thought was a typical wall was not. Thankfully, the solution was cheap: hard-wall hooks. (These are plastic hooks with 3 little prongs sticking out, that you hammer into the wall and that’s it.) Honestly, I didn’t think they would work; they seemed too good to be true. Even if they hadn’t worked, I was armed with a variety of methods. (Sidenote: I look forward to using my new discovery outside to decorate my balcony when it gets warmer.)
I also decided to change up the original layout of my paintings. I had originally planned on hanging my pieces inside this design I painted:
This shape is to resemble a vertical eye or third-eye, in my current favorite color.
I ended up revising my first plan to include an interactive feature. The idea came to me out of seemingly nowhere and is what I believe to be a product of synchronicity, which is when something occurs that appears to be coincidental but is not. I love it when the universe unfolds itself to me like this!
Friday began the process of prepping for Artomatic 2011 and I’m starting to get stoked! Artomatic is a large exhibition that the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo hosts, and this will be my second time participating as a featured artist. Two days ago we got to select our official space and I think I scored a great one.
The ACGT has been holding this exhibition every two years. This year it will be April 2nd, 9th and 16th. Unfortunately, we have a variety of vacant buildings and warehouses in downtown Toledo. The ACGT selects one (this year, two buildings were selected due to the need for more space), and allows any artist to showcase their work. At the last Artomatic, there was a great variety of artists: jewelers, painters, crafters, singers, poets, cartoonists, clothing designers, performance artists, photographers, etc. It’s such a great thing for Toledo and our artists…. and it’s free to the public!
This time around is a chance for me to apply the lessons I learned from 2009. I barely made it in to sign up for the event last time, so I didn’t get a great space. It was in the corner and the existing lighting wasn’t great. I still tried to make the best of it by adding lights and painting the walls:
BEFORE: Artomatic 2009
AFTER: Artomatic 2009
This year though, I made it in the top 20 artists who signed up so I got to select my space in the first hour. Awesomeness. I selected a space on the 2nd floor with huge windows, high ceilings and walls I may not even paint. One wall of windows faces east, the other faces west, so the natural light will be a great benefit for showcasing my watercolors:
It is a smaller amount of wall space, but I think hanging the paintings closer together will be more visually appealing than how I displayed them last time. I won’t have floor space for a table, but I will improvise by adding a shelf or something similar for my business cards and flyers… or use the windowsill. Exciting stuff!
For anyone desiring to make money off their creative talents, building your art as a business and a brand is key. Over the last few months, I’ve been attending a series of free workshops the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo has been hosting on this concept. Continue reading
