William S. Paley Collection at Crystal Bridges

In a post from a few days ago (found here), I talked about my visit to Crystal Bridges. I took some photos of the amazing grounds and architecture. I love taking photos there because they look different each time I go. Different light, different seasons, and different art displays.

In this post, I would like to show some photos of the some art that was on display in a special exhibition(the show ended July , the William S. Paley Collection.  Some of my favorite works shown in this show. I took several, but I seem to have been drawn to the Picasso paintings and the other cubism style paintings. Many people do not understand cubism. I used to be one of those, until I taught my high school students about cubism and made several cubist style examples. I think it is more about the design and the composition, which is a challenge.  Creating cubism art is not a simple as it looks, which makes these paintings by Picasso so interesting to me.  Although my art is not so abstract, I do like to incorporate some cubist elements into some of my art.

I look forward to sharing more, in the future, about more trips to Crystal Bridges.

Here is a link to my trip when the Norman Rockwell exhibit was there. Although no photos of the traveling exhibit was allowed, I did get some photos of some of the permanent exhibit.

Beth♥

Wordless Wednesday

Beth♥

Trip to Crystal Bridges

Now that I am in Northwest Arkansas, I am within a 20 minute drive of the new Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas. Before moving here, I had visited the museum twice before.  But since moving here 3 months ago, I had not been there. Thursday I finally took the afternoon to go for a visit.  I met up with some hometown classmates to have lunch there, so that was the perfect time to take in the current exhibit.

I love the scenery around the museum as much as I enjoy seeing the exhibits. Here are a few of the scenes from my walk around the museum.

From the Silver Tree outside the museum to the gold heart hanging over the restaurant in the museum.


I did take some photos of the art on exhibit, but I will leave that for another post. It was a beautiful day for a stroll through the exhibit and the grounds.

For more information on this destination, click on here:
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

Edit: For more photos of the actual exhibit click here:
William S. Paley Collection at Crystal Bridges

Beth♥

Writing and Art

I consider myself more of a visual artist rather than a writer, but I do enjoy writing and photography.

I've always tried to keep a diary or journal, although sporadic at times. When I was very young, I had a diary, once. It was the 'thing' to do back then. I have no idea what I wrote in there, as it is long gone. I am quite sure that it was so important and secret that I had to hide the key, so no one would try to sneak in and read my important memoirs!  Makes me laugh now. But I do wish I had that old diary.

When my kids were young, I wrote in notebooks about their milestones, accomplishments, and even my frustrations with being a mother. I also have calendars where I kept notes about important dates and events.  I have managed to keep those because I'm sure that one day someone I, will want to read them again! They help me to remember things that I have forgotten about. That is my reasoning, anyway.

Later I began to keep a journal about my art. Then I discovered blogs..on the internet.  I was amazed that there were so many people out there that were willing to share their thoughts, feelings, and even their secrets...to the world! I'm not comfortable writing about my secrets, but the idea of writing about my art on the internet was something I had to try!  I could post photos and write about my art! At first I was not even going to make it public. Only I could read it. But I decided I would publish it because I was sure that no one would read it, so I was safe. That was back in 2007!   Some people did actually find my blog and read it! Some people actually posted comments along the way too. I've enjoyed meeting other artists and other bloggers along the way.  I just missed my 7 year anniversary of the beginning of my blog. I hope to continue for many more.

Some of my old journals

My first blog post:  
May 2007 : 
Starting a new Path

A lot has changed in my life since then. I really do enjoy going back and reading my old posts and seeing how far I have come. If someone else happens to come across my blog and enjoys reading a post or two, then that makes me happy. I am not a great writer. I am just an artist who wants to write. I want to share my thoughts and art with anyone who is interested. If you are still reading this...thank you for your time. I appreciate it!


Beth♥

Sneak Peak on the Drawing Board...Don't Look Ethel!

No, this is not for Ethel, but for some reason just thinking about the phrase "Don't Look" reminded me of the song by Ray Stevens, "The Streak" . A video that I watched at my parents house, many many times.  My son, who was very young at the time, really liked to watch it...over and over and over.  Actually we ALL enjoyed watching it! We went to see Ray Stevens perform in Branson a few times too. If you haven't seen this video, you should click on the link above (The Streak) and watch it. This has nothing to do with my drawing though. Excuse my wandering mind!

I've been back to the drawing board this week and part of last week. I have had some commissions to work on since before the move, so I've been trying to catch up. I've also been trying to balance my time between drawing and working with clay.  When I draw, I tend to focus just on that until the drawing is finished.  This one is getting close. It should be done today...so I will go back to the workbench and work with clay for a few days.
Variety is the spice of life...right?


Beth♥

Planning for a busy Summer

Since moving to Northwest Arkansas in March, we have been looking for some Art Festivals/Shows, that are close by, to participate in. Last week I found out that I was accepted into an Arkansas Art Festival called The War Eagle Fair Art Festival for October. I've heard good things about this show, so I am hoping that my artwork will sell well at this type of show.
So...
STEP #1...Get busy and create A LOT of artwork to sell!  Yes, October seems like a long time away from June, but I know that October will be here fast! And the show will be a 4 day long show, so I MUST create enough product to have plenty to sell during that 4 days. So after a little bit of excitement from being accepted into this big show, panic started to take over a little. I know that I have to start now, creating lots of new little goodies. It takes time to create my little clay pieces, so obviously, I have to start making them now. I'm also going to create some whimsical and colorful paintings. (I want to make sure I have plenty of choices for my customers.) I also plan to apply to another local art show, or two, that will be in November or December, so that means even more product to create. But that is what I love to do, so I look forward to the challenge and having fun with it.

Last week was filled with playing with the clay, sketching ideas for paintings, shopping for paints and other additions to my booth.  So, it was a busy week, as will every week from now until October. Here is a sampling of what I've been working on in the studio. I'll be posting updates here as I go. I hope you will check back in with me and leave a comment every now and then. I love to hear from other artists and friends who read this.  If you have had a booth at War Eagle Fair before, I would love to hear from you about your experiences.

Beth♥

Rain, Rain, go Away

It has been raining every day here for over a week. As I sat here last night and listened to the downpour of more rain coming down, I couldn't help but wish that we could reserve some of this rain for next month. July is always hot and dry! Right?

Rainy days always make me want to take afternoon naps. Sunday, I was already tired from having a very busy week/weekend, so after trying to get some drawing done, I just had to take a nap.  I have to say, I always enjoy a good nap, but seldom take the time. I think I need to more of them. They are good to rest the mind and body.

After the rain stopped this morning, the sun came out for a little while. This rose survived the downpour, so my hubby brought it in and put it in a vase by the window. It was nice to see the sun shining on it. I'm looking forward to seeing more sunshine and more roses.


Beth♥