Trenton Artworks 10x10 Benefit Art Exhibit

Trenton Artworks

is having a fundraiser!

It's the 10x10 Red Dot Sale!

From the website:

"Red Dot + Artwork = Support. The Red Dot shows support of Community Arts in Trenton. Come to the Artworks Red Dot Fundraiser and put your red dot on the art that you love.
Over 100 Trenton area artists created artworks on 10″ x 10″ canvas. The work is dynamic, diverse and all created especially for Artworks. Professional, teacher and student artists created works in oil, acrylic, mixed media, photography, pastel, watercolor and more.
Each artwork sells for $100 with the funds raised going to support Artworks.
It is a chance for the novice to test the waters of the world of original art and an opportunity for the collector to build their art collection."

I am an excited to be a 

first time participant! 

 I won't be able

to attend the opening reception

because I'll be in Maryland

celebrating my 

Special Birthday

(OMG GULP)

but I will visit the 

show once I get home.

Who wants to go with me?

Here is the process behind

my piece. 

First, came the 

brainstorming drawing:

 

  I used

various stencils

on the canvas

while drinking wine and 

listening to jazz.

That is always 

a perfect recipe 

for creating!!

  

 Next the focal point,

a non gender head

full of healthy words,

ideas and self talk!!

 

 Fooling around with

tissue embellishments:

 

 

 

 Considering a torn tissue

heart and crayon higlights 

came next. 

I decided against

such a literal message.

The title of this collage is

"The Greatest of These is Love".

You know, out of all the 

positive attitudes and emotions

rolling around in our heads,

the greatest of these is, 

um, well, love.

Feel me?

I knew that you could.

I'm not feeling the 

traditional heart shape for this

and the anatomical was too harsh.

So I let that go.

I love words. I use words

in my art prolifically, so

I went with the word.      

 

Torn tissue added to background.

And a gratuitous close up,

cuz that's how I roll. 

teehee.

 

 I decided to add a piece

of vellum to

the bottom half of the figure

to give it some color.

I finished the piece with 

glossy gel medium, but

I covered the vellum piece

with matte gel. It gives the 

piece very nice contrast. 

IMHO.

  LOL   

 

 Letters on tissue 

over ekg paper.

  

 The eye and the 

background dots technique

get revealed on

my next post.

And Here it is Finished!

  

 Hope you enjoyed

seeing my process!

Please support

The Trenton Artworks!

Thanks for visiting!!

xoS

A Good Time Was Had By All

It's true!

The artist reception at 

Home Fine Art Gallery 

was a Good Time!

I'm so honored I was

asked to participate!

There was a great crowd!

The show was well supported

    by the gallery partners!  

These first two pics

are from hanging day.

     I learned a lot that day!    

I love the reds in 

Tracy's art! 

I used my grandmothers

picnic basket to display

prints of my ATC's.

Some got chuckles...

and some went over like 

a fart in church.

LOL

Art is in the eye of 

the beholder.

And sometimes that eye is 

open to twisted humor,

and sometimes it's only 

open to classical fine art.

And that's A OK.

I was asked questions about my art which was really fun.

I met some wonderful new people

and was grateful to be 

supported by my family

and local friends,

Denise, Donna, Ellen, 

Chris, Debbie and Bill,

and by my Art Sisters,

JoAnne, Jacquie, and Marge.

Your support made my night!!

    Thank you so much!    

 

  Below are two 

equally amazing pieces 

Above and below the mantel:

Tracy's Snake Charmer

and Kathy's mosaic altar.

My picture does not do

either justice! I am

looking forward to seeing 

pics taken by Tracy's sister.

  My cell phone pics are lame!!     

My lovely sparkly scarf,

an early Birthday present

from my sister, Linda!

 

More Gorgeous

Mosaic clayworks from

Kathy Casper.

I always get a pic

of the food table!!

This is a side room off the gallery, with more original art

and prints and cards

sold by the gallery partners.

 

These are my two walls

with titles and price tags.

Principle Architect sold!  

My two helpers

and biggest supporters!

Samantha and Jeremy!!

Thank you to 

Home Fine Art Gallery

and the gracious partners,

special thanks to

  Tracy Nuskey Dodson

for giving me this

incredible, 

dream come true experience!

Thank you to Kathy Casper

for your support 

 and for baking outrageous vegan

mexican chocolate cookies! 

  Thank you to my friends 

and family and the browsers

and buyers! 
For anyone who missed 
the reception,
the show will hang
until November 30.
Please visit and do some
holiday shopping!
    Buy Local!     

Buy Handmade!

Support the Arts!  

Thanks for visiting!

xoS  

Artist Bio

Here is the artist bio I've come up with the help of my bff Grace. I'll need to have these as hand outs for the show!

Susan Sager Brown began life as an Air Force “brat” and has lived across the United States, putting down roots in southern New Jersey as a teenager when The Colonel retired. A Licensed Optician by trade, Susan has long been involved in the arts, beginning with the traditional quilts sewn by her grandmother and mother. Although a passion for needle and thread did not carry down through the generations, the hoarding habit did. Unlike her mother and grandmother though, Susan hoards paper, not fabric.

A self-taught artist, Susan has been fortunate to have spent workshop time with Misty Mawn, Michelle Ward, Lynn Perrella, Albie Smith, Traci Bautista, Fred B. Mullett, Anne Grgich, Jodi Ohl and Seth Apter.  Her mediums range from wools and knitting needles to acrylic paint, gel mediums, and vintage as well as her own handmade papers.

The flattened thirds and swinging eights of the quintessential American art form, the Blues, play a significant influence on Susan’s work. Her art consists of multi-textural compositions that tell of love and pain, heartache and triumph, but always show you a good time. Susan hoards words and phrases as well as paper, and vintage text capturing an emotional moment in time can be seen often in her work. 

Susan is a resident of Mount Laurel along with her cat Buddy Guy and her daughter, a college freshman, who is on the way to finding her own passion to hoard. 

I'm so excited!

 thanks for sharing this
amazing experience with me!

 xoS

Home Fine Art Gallery Show

 How Exciting is this!!!

Please join me Saturday night 

November 3, 2012

from 6-8pm at:  

I'm so grateful for the opportunity

to be in this show. 

Take a look at the 

Incredible Talent of 

Tracy Nuskey Dodson  

who was kind enough to invite

me to have some space in her show!

 We are joined by 

Kathy Casper

and her delightful clayworks.

I am beyond excited.

The art will hang from 

November 1-30.

I hope to see you there

at the artist reception!

Thanks for visiting! 

xoS

I gotta new 'do.

And I've been having a good time

in the studio.

First I re-worked an older canvas.

 This is how far I got with this canvas originally. 
It hung on the wall

basically ignored for over a year.

I didn't consider it finished

but I wasn't inspired to 

pull it all together. 

Unil now! 

Here is the finished piece:

I added oil pastels,
more drips, stabilo pencil,
collage papers
and laid a thin glossy layer
of polymer medium on top. 
I'm calling it done! 






I was on a roll! 
On the easel is yet another
canvas,
 "Can a man love two women"  
that I'm reworking.
This one started out as a black and white collage. 

(let me just mention here that I am so over this subject. I am in a healthy place right now getting healthier all the time. I don't care if men can do that. 
I'm not interested.
oh and the answer to the question is no.
 A man with two women can only love 
one person-himself.)

 The technique I began here was
cover a canvas with collage,
paint over it,
become an archeologist and go
back into the layers to reveal the images using q-tips and alcohol.
I also sprayed alcohol on and 
scrubbed with a sponge.
I also ended up doing some sanding.
This painting sat for a long time
until inspiration hit.
I wanted to use the blocking 
method and create a bunch of 
little focal points inside
of the big canvas.
Here are a bunch of
 gratuitous close-ups:

 What I learned is when
you are doing a block
pattern, you need to use a 
damn ruler so the lines are straight.
Here is the final canvas,
 I still have to pour some polymer gloss on it:

What is that saying, 
"The whole is greater than
the sum of its parts"-
Aristotle.
Well, in this case,
I like the parts alot
 more than the whole!! 
So take my advice,
when doing a grid pattern,
use a damn ruler!!
Thanks for visiting!
xoS