Wednesday, October 26, 2016

home and away

My 11th Brushstrokes With Impact (tm) "Paint-a-Thon" (entitled "Make Yourself At Home") took place on Friday, October 14th in Claremont, New Hampshire. This was my first out-of-state event of this nature, and it was such a blast, I hope to be able to do it again soon! Here's how it went!

Before hitting the road, I was fortunate enough to get a fantastic massage from Trent Griffin at Monarch Massage! Thanks to Trent, my previously stiff and achy right shoulder was loose and ready for eight straight hours of painting. WHEW! A sidebar: if you're interested in a great massage at a bargain price, today's your lucky day...

You're welcome.


Anyway, back to the trip! The car had to be packed just so for the 3+ hour drive: we needed to fit four display racks (each one being 6 feet tall and 2 feet wide), art supplies (an easel, paint, a palette, etc.), a whole bunch of artwork (paintings, prints, and magnets), plus two adult human beings (us!) and our suitcases. Did I mention I have a sedan? Once again, my husband Terry packed the car like a pro: everything fit and we didn't feel cramped. Yay!

We arrived in Claremont late Thursday afternoon. My mother-in-law, Ellen, greeted us at 84 Pleasant Street with tables, a boom box, and a list of people who bought raffle tickets through her! Terry and I unpacked the car and immediately began setting things up so I could just walk in and start painting the next morning.

GO time!

Friday flew by (as it usually does)! I had visits from family members, friends (thanks, Alex!), folks from the Pleasant Street Restaurant, curious passers-by, and even members of the local press (thanks, Cameron and Bill)! I sold two prints, a handful of magnets, and even more raffle tickets (both online and in person).

signing "Autumn Leaf"! 


6 o'clock was fast approaching, so I asked Terry to get an impartial person from the Pleasant Street Restaurant to draw the winning raffle ticket. The dinner crowd made it impossible for anyone on staff to leave their post, so instead, Terry brought the tub of tickets to the hostess station.


the winning ticket!


As you can see, Christine Guilmette is the winner of "Autumn Leaf"! I don't believe I've ever met Christine, but we went to the same high school! Christine was in my sister's class, and she is now living in North Hollywood, California. Thank you, Christine, for giving my work a good home! 


"Autumn Leaf"

On Monday, I was greeted with articles from the Eagle Times and the E-Ticker News! Here's the link to the Eagle Times article: 



a screenshot of the Eagle Times article


...and here's the link to the E-Ticker News article (go to section B, page 23):
http://www.etickernewsofclaremont.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/10-17-2016-Section-B-i.pdf


a screenshot of the E-Ticker News article


I'd like to give a BIG "thank you" to everyone who supported "Make Yourself at Home," my 11th Brushstrokes With Impact (tm) "Paint-a-Thon"! Together, we were able to raise $227.50 for Realtors Against Homelessness! I'm filled with gratitude for your help, your generosity, and your kindness. I couldn't do it without you! 


thanks to Elizabeth at the Greater Claremont Board of Realtors for making this display!


Here's some more cool news: I recently hosted a four-week series at Curtis Memorial Library called "Playing With Paint"! Curious? Here's a link to the blog post I wrote about it for Curtis Creative Spaceshttp://curtiscreativespaces.com/playing-with-paint/. Do you live locally? If so, you can check out the awesome work that was created during "Playing With Paint" in person: it will be hanging in the library's front lobby until November 10th! I stopped in to Curtis Memorial Library on Tuesday to see how everything looked...here's a video of my visit! Thanks to Michael Gorzka for shooting this footage, and thanks to Melissa Hall for doing such a great job hanging this show! 




yay art!




Wednesday, October 5, 2016

time for a road trip!

Woo hoo! I'm happy to announce my 11th Brushstrokes With Impact (tm) "Paint-a-Thon" will be on Friday, October 14th- and it's my FIRST out-of-state event of this nature! Thanks to the Greater Claremont Board of Realtors (R), Ellen Satzow Usery (my step-mother-in-law!) and The Pleasant Street Restaurant, I will be in Claremont, New Hampshire! I will be setting up my easel (and a "pop-up" show of my art) in the vacant space right next to The Pleasant Street Restaurant (84 Pleasant Street); 50% the raffle ticket proceeds will be donated to Realtors Against Homelessness (as will 10% of all art sold, excluding magnets). Time for a road trip! 

I would love to see you on Friday, October 14th, but as you know, you don't have to be there in order to show your support- or win the 8" x 8" painting I will be creating that day! Thanks to the miracle of the internet, past winners have included friends and family members who live in New York, Massachusetts, South Carolina, and Texas! Perhaps YOU will be next...anyway, here are some links! 

Here's the Facebook event page (it's public, so feel free to share it):
https://www.facebook.com/events/1077881242267121/

...and here's the Carii fundraising page (so you can buy raffle tickets):
https://www.carii.com/fundraising/Paint-a-ThonMakeYourselfAtHome

...and here's my press release in the E-Ticker News of Claremont: 
http://www.etickernewsofclaremont.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/10-03-2016-Section-A-i.pdf

...and here's a photo of the flyer you might see hanging somewhere in Claremont!



In case you were wondering, the total we were able to raise together for Curtis Memorial Library was $161.50! Thank you to everyone! Speaking of Curtis Memorial Library, I write a bi-weekly art blog for Curtis Creative Spaces...if you'd like to read my most recent post, here's the link to that:
http://curtiscreativespaces.com/pda-public-displays-of-art/!