"HIPnotize" opening reception

Last night was the opening reception for the HIPnotize show, and I'm very pleased to report it went exceedingly well. There was a plethora of food (and wine!), fantastic art, and amazing dancing performances. Everyone had a wonderful time.


The very talented Nicole Edge and Christa Rosenkranz from Cairo on the Coast. We had originally planned to have the dance performances outside, but the Savannah weather decided it didn't want to cooperate (it was a bit chilly and rainy), so we moved the dancers into the gallery. It was a bit cramped, but I am glad we had them inside as the work provided a great backdrop and really brought everything together.

Razi from the troupe Mei'attah Raqs.

Alexandra Clotfelter, who contributed some beautiful posters to the show as well as dancing.

Carrie Padgett's beautiful painting.

Christa's posters, which are available for sale for $15 each.

Mary Larsen's watercolor dancers with Carrie's wonderful abstract dancer paintings.

Details of Mary's paintings. The dancers on either end are my favorites, but I love them all!

Details of Carrie's abstract paintings.

Christa's large dancer paintings.

Alexandra's posters.

Very happy artists...

...and equally happy dancers.

I want to say thank you to everyone that made it out to the show, and extend an extra special thank you to my fellow HIPnotize artists. I couldn't ask for a better group of artists to exhibit with, or a better group of friends.

Also, if you missed the opening you can view some videos of the dancer performances here. The work will be up until Wednesday, October 23rd, and the gallery is open from 2-5pm. All the work is available for purchase. If you can't make it to the gallery but are interested in purchasing one of the pieces (or a print of one of the pieces), just send me an email and I can put you in touch with the artist.

And the award goes to...

...wait, what?

Like most people I was incredibly surprised when it was announced that President Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. And like most people I think it's very premature. BUT (and a mighty big "but" it is, as my dad would say) I don't think that means that the honor should be discounted entirely. It's a symbol of the 180° turn the US has made in the eyes of the international community, and considering how the world viewed the last administration, it's incredibly refreshing. Has Obama fully earned the award yet? I don't think so, and neither does he from listening to his acceptance conference from yesterday. He has, however, set things in motion for working to create a better country, and a better world. And I think everyone can agree that that means something.

Help, I'm a rock!

Wow, man, it's a drag being a rock. I wish I was anything but a rock. Heck, I'd even like to be a policeman...


Er, sorry...momentary freak out. This is my other contribution to the HIPnotize show. I wanted to focus on the geological history of the region where belly dancing originated---the Middle East. The dancer's belt features a pattern of oil drills while her skirt design turns into layers of rock...complete with Babylonian artifacts and fossils from the early Oligocene and late Cretaceous.

We're gonna need a bigger veil...

One of my pieces for the show I mentioned in my last post. And also my submission for Illustration Friday!

The show is entitled HIPnotize and will be featuring work inspired by belly dancing, as well as live belly dance performances. The opening reception will be held on Friday, October 16th from 6 to 9pm at the Truspace Gallery in Desotorow, 2427 De Soto Ave. If you're in Savannah, please come by! There will be artwork by the talented Mary Larsen, and Christa Rosenkranz (who will be dancing, as well).

Mural Painting, a Call for Entries, and other news

I know it has been far too long since my last post, and I apologize. I've been very busy. I designed and sent out a new, more focused set of promotional mailers, and have also been working on new illustrations as well as getting a show together with some friends (details to come). But it hasn't been all work and no play--I've also been excitedly planning my graduation trip (compliments of my mother and a great family friend) to the UK! I promise pictures and travel sketches.

This week has been particularly engaging as I helped paint a large mural in Savannah's Jepson Center for the Arts in preparation for their upcoming Dutch Utopia exhibition. It's looking to be a really fantastic show and everyone at the museum is very excited about it. We used paintings featured in the exhibition as inspiration for the mural. The painting is on the top floor of the Jepson Center and can be seen from the bottom of the stairs, as well as from Telfair Square. The work was fun, but exhausting. I've spent 31 hours working on it since last Friday and am very glad to have it finished!








Also, Creative Quarterly is holding another call for entries for their next CQ issue. Details can be found on their site.

Psychedelia, Typography, and Human Rights (oh my?)

It's been a while since I've posted---I've been a bit preoccupied with the post-grad job search, as well as trying to have a bit of fun. I recently got a chance to visit the Denver Art Museum and see their temporary Psychedelic Experience exhibition. It. Was. Amaaaaazing. I've been to some pretty nice exhibits before, but never one that nearly melted my face off with its awesomeness (those are very technical art terms, if you couldn't tell). Between the typography, colors, and actual drawings/graphics, I went into sensory overload. Especially taking into account that all of the posters were created before the advent of Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and daFont.com. Back in the day, illustrators had to do all of that stuff freehand (while walking 12 miles to school in the snow, and it was up hill both ways!). I think the great use of typography in the exhibition lent itself a bit in my newest piece...


All hand-lettered text in acrylic, with the orange background added in Photoshop. I think the message speaks for itself.

I dreamed there was no war...

This was an idea I had for my promotional mailer, but I ended up not using it. Partly because one of my professors felt that nuclear weapons "weren't a big news story anymore". I completely disagree, but the image isn't really about nuclear weapons, anyway. It's more about how while it takes the effort of so many in order to maintain peace, it only take one person to start a war.