Saturday, May 31, 2014

big raffle, tiny painting!

Well, yesterday was the big raffle drawing for my tiny painting, "Lilac Bud," at Curtis Memorial Library! The time leading up to the raffle was very exciting. Besides featuring the raffle page prominently on the library's website, Facebook page, and Twitter page, Mike Gorzka (Curtis Memorial Library's webmaster and the gentleman behind "Curtis Creative Spaces") printed up a beautiful flyer with a photo of "Lilac Bud" on it and hung it all over town! Here are some of the places where I spotted it:

This one was at Wild Oats Bakery & Cafe...

...this one was at Gulf of Maine Books...

...this one was at Flipside Pizza...

...and this one was at Hannaford!

The raffle drawing was scheduled for 5 pm yesterday, and Mike asked me if I would like to pull the winning ticket out of the basket of entries. This sounded like fun, so of course, I said, "Yes!" Terry joined me, and the two of us walked over to the library (after a brief stop at Cote's Ice Cream...yum!). We chatted with Mike for a little bit before the drawing, and he said there were over 100 unique visits to the raffle page, with the average amount of time spent being roughly four and a half minutes. Not bad! Mike also shared with me many of the comments people left on the website, and thankfully people were very kind! Here are some of my favorites: 
  
"Exciting use of color."

"Immediately I like it. You know it when it strikes. It makes me smile. An emotional sight like aromatherapy."

"Love it- colorful and creative in a small package!"

"I like the way my eyes follow the movement of the leaves."

"Love the colors.....they say HAPPY!!!"

"It is a very vibrant, colorful, fun piece!"

"Beautiful and colorful!  Thank you for having this raffle!"

"It was beautifully done by a very talented lady that put her entire heart into it. I would proudly show it off if I owned it........may the forces be with me!!!!!!! xoxoxoxo"

"Colorful and very sweet!"

"Vibrant, cheery painting!  Love it!"

"It's beautiful - reminds me of the warm summer weather I'm waiting for!!"

"Vibrant, beautiful painting. A perfect colorful addition to any space."


I was feeling pretty good after hearing all the positive feedback "Lilac Bud" received, not only from people who entered, but from the library staff as well. The time finally came for a winner to be drawn, so I put my hand over the basket and said, "I hope whoever wins really, really wants it and will appreciate it! May I choose the right person!"

...and the winner is...


#18! 

Yes, that's right: there were no names on the slips of paper, just numbers Mike had assigned to each entry! I had no idea who the winner was when I left, and I didn't know until quite some time later Friday evening. Unfortunately, I can't let the cat out of the bag right now, because I don't think the winner knows they've won just yet! I don't want to spoil the surprise here, but I promise, I will certainly pass the information along when I can! 

Anyway, I'd like to give a very sincere and heartfelt "thank you" to everyone who entered this raffle, as well as to Mike Gorzka and the staff at Curtis Memorial Library. I've said it before, but it's worth repeating: it can be tough for artists to get their work "out there," and sometimes it feels like no one cares, but that was the complete opposite of what happened here. Thank you to everyone for making this such a positive experience! It is truly appreciated. 


   

Friday, May 23, 2014

feeling lucky? try your hand...

Would you like to own one of my original paintings? Are you feeling lucky? Well, perhaps today is your day! As you may or may not know, Curtis Memorial Library has a new online gallery called "Curtis Creative Spaces," and I am one of their inaugural artists. I created a tiny painting, entitled "Lilac Bud," and donated it to the library for a raffle, which is going on right now!

Me with "Lilac Bud", fresh off the easel!


The raffle begins today and runs through Friday, May 30th! If you'd like to enter to win "Lilac Bud," here's the link: http://curtiscreativespaces.com/enter-to-win-lilac-bud/ 

...if you'd like to follow Curtis Memorial Library on Twitter, here's the link: https://twitter.com/curtislibrary

...and finally, if you'd like to follow Curtis Memorial Library on Facebook, here's that link: https://www.facebook.com/curtislibrary

When I was at the library dropping off "Lilac Bud," something off to the side from where I was standing caught my eye...and I said, "Hey! That's my hand!"

My hand (and my handiwork)!

Yes, right there on the cover of the People Plus newspaper was my hand, painting a spider on a very cute little girl's face during the "Scoop-A-Thon" at Gelato Fiasco! How fun is that? I'm happy to know that they were pleased enough with my handiwork to put it on the cover of their newspaper! 

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

kickoff!

I've been meaning to blog for a few days now...what else is new? Better late than never, right? I feel like I write those words a lot...oh well!

The May edition of Brunswick's Second Friday Art Walk is now officially in the books! This was the first art walk of the season, it was the first time in a new pop-up location (St. Paul's on Pleasant Street), and it was a rainy evening, but the turnout was quite good, and I had a lot of fun! I had some anxiety about setting up in a new location ("How much space will I have? How much work will I need?"), but things came together pretty smoothly. St. Paul's is a first-floor location with a parking lot, so that made lugging my work and my racks to and from my car a lot easier than in the past. St. Paul's also provides folding tables for participating artists, and that was a big help, too.

I really liked the spot I had for several reasons: one, I was close to the entrance; two, I was next to windows that overlook a garden; and three, I was right next to the musicians! We kicked off the Second Friday Art Walk season with a performance by Pretty Girls Sing Soprano, and they were fantastic! They had me dancing and smiling all night long, and I wasn't the only one. If you aren't familiar with Pretty Girls Sing Soprano, do yourself a favor and check them out...you'll be glad you did!
A Pretty view!

I'm happy to say that a lot of friendly faces stopped by my booth that night, including some of my very fabulous collectors: Keith Spiro and his lovely wife, Adrienne, hung out and chatted for a bit, as did Susan Mills and Rick Bonnett. It is always so nice to see them! I talked with a bunch of other people as well, and by the end of the night, I sold 11 magnets, one of which was to a woman who saw my "Old Fat Boy Sign" painting online and was specifically looking for that piece! Not a bad way to kick off the season...

I had to buy a bigger cookie sheet!

Since I can't be in two places at once, I wasn't able to attend the grand opening reception up the street at The Gallery At 11 Pleasant, but Terry was able to pop over for a bit and check things out for me. He said the space looked great and they had a nice turnout as well...plus, while he was there, he was able to treat himself to a yummy little chocolate confection! 

By the end of the night, I was spent, and I didn't have much of a voice left: I'd battled a sore throat earlier in the week (which is very unusual for me), and three hours of nearly non-stop talking really took its toll. Curling up on the couch with take-out, my pjs, and Terry was the perfect end to a hectic (but fun) day. Would you like to attend an upcoming Second Friday Art Walk? Here's a link to the brochure! http://5raa.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/5RiversArtWalk-guide-2014-6-FINAL.pdf

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

nice surprises

Look what I saw while I was returning my overdue library book the other day:

Perhaps if I'd returned my book on time, I wouldn't have seen this!

What a nice surprise! Thank you, Mike Gorzka, and the staff of Curtis Memorial Library for making my day with this cheerful, prominently-placed sign! Another nice surprise was that I didn't get fined for my overdue book. Woo hoo! 

Speaking of nice surprises (or should I say, "pleasant surprises"?), Janet Glatz posted this picture of me hanging my work at The Gallery At 11 Pleasant on her Facebook page the other day. I didn't even realize Janet had taken this picture, but I'm glad she did. I think it's always interesting to see photos of people absorbed in what they're doing, and I love seeing a show come together! 

"If I stretch back as far as possible, maybe that will help…"







Sunday, May 4, 2014

giving feels good

Well, the "Chair-ity Auction" was last night, and it was a HUGE success: The UU Church of Brunswick raised around $5,000 for the Oasis Clinic and MidCoast Hunger Prevention! The auction was a fun event, and I was knocked out by all the different and beautiful chairs (and tables, and lamps!) that were painted and donated. I'm happy to say that my chair sold for $80! I hope it went to a good home.

In other news, between proceeds from sales at the Gelato Fiasco, proceeds from sales at the Big Top Deli, and donations from patrons at both shops, the "Scoop-A-Thon" a couple of weeks ago raised a record total of $5,504 for the Teen Center at People Plus! I hope my little two-hour face-painting stint contributed in some small way to the overall success of this event.