CMMAG at Art of the Carolinas 2009

Last month, thirty members of CMMAG assisted the Jerry's Artarama staff in presenting the 9th annual Art of the Carolinas.  For the second year in a row, we had a fun, exhausting, exhilarating, creative, friend-filled and hectic weekend!  Here are excerpts from our President Penny's wrap up post describing it, plus fabulous photos taken by our Official Guild Photographer, Lucy:
"...Thursday morning, bright and early, (whew! 7:30) we hit the floor!  Two classrooms had been added this year, and we had an hour and half to prep 15 classrooms for jam-packed workshops beginning at 9:00!

Without worry, we deftly completed this first 'challenge' with roughly 10 minutes to spare *we ROCK!*  The game was afoot... We then turned our collective attention to our other duties:  setting up the
Make & Take area (which allowed us to seat up to 16 guests at a time!) and the World of Art Challenge Gallery.  BOTH areas were hot attractions throughout the show!

The Make & Take area was enjoyed by all ages and several couples!  At one point, Saturday afternoon, all seats were filled and we had a LINE waiting to come in and give it a try!  Our member artists presented 10 demonstrations in 3 days --each well-populated by interested folks -- many taking notes, and asking great questions.  A veritable boatload of information was freely exchanged; and scads of folks who had never even heard of ATC were thrilled to enjoy our offerings!  Thank you:  Jodi, Amy, Lynn, Debbie, Lucy, Laurel, Ashant'i, Mayshanna and Dawn for sharing your time, energy and incredible ideas with our guests. Everyone raved about the demos that were presented throughout the weekend.  Several folks lamented having to go home, and miss the next day's offerings.

The World of Art Challenge display was another marvel to behold!  The final count was 23; and the diversity in creative vision was incredible!  Late Thursday afternoon, the 'celebrity judges' were brought in to make their deliberations.  Bob Burridge and  David and Ira Goldstein (Jerry's sons) viewed and discussed the entries behind closed doors in the beautifully renovated Boardroom.  Hale and hearty congratulations to the Jerry's World of Art Challenge Winners!
  
 
     1st Place:  Carolyn Coyle
     2nd Place:  Jodi Ohl
     3rd Place:  Dawn Meisch
     Judges Award:  Jeanne Rhea

     CMMAG Leadership Award:  Vivianne Voyles

Friday morning, voting opened for Viewer's Choice; and the ooh-ing and ahh-ing was a melodious sound as visitors made the rounds and marveled over the creativity and vast differences in the lovely array of work on display.  At the end of voting on Saturday night, the winner was determined -- additional congratulations to Vivianne Voyles on the decision of the people!

The Guild information booth was once again a stand-out -- thanks, Vivianne, for the great idea about the digital photo frame!  We had plenty of information, TWO photo frames in operation illustrating Member work, Guild activities, and previous events along with ATC samples!  We had loads of visitors very interested in our group and all that we have done as well as the exciting events coming up in the new year!

Saturday, the creative talents of five Guild members were on display from 11 to 5 on the Trade Show floor.  Don Bradley of Strathmore provided the opportunity to highlight some of our number by hosting Artist Demonstrations in his booth at the show.  Melissa Walker, Dawn Meisch, Jodi Ohl, Ophelia Staton, and Mayshanna Pandora wowed the crowds (AND their host) with their fabulous creations and knowledge of their topics.  Join Strathmore's Face Book fan page for photos of
each of these Member Artists and their creations from the show!'

To say that our return to Art of the Carolinas was a success would be a gross understatement.  We are particularly thankful for the ongoing, incredibly generous support of our local Jerry's Artarama!  Our efforts were further aided by the gracious donations of Strathmore Artists Papers, Ampersand, Golden, Liquitex, Winsor & Newton, and Chroma. 


Here are the 2nd annual CMMAG Art of the Carolinas NUMBERS:
15 classrooms (22 MORE classes than last year in the 4 days of Workshops)
   (2 of these were on the Trade Show side - talk about running the gauntlet!)
115 classes at the North Raleigh Hilton
7 (?) boxes of rolled plastic for table coverings
    (cut to size and placed in plastic bags for ease of work on Thursday afternoon)
24-36 rolls of masking tape (to secure table coverings)
+/- 118 buckets of clean H2O (+/- 590 gallons of water)
+/- 118 buckets of murky water, during/after classes (+/- 590 gallons of water)
4 - new buckets obtained by 'dumpster diving' during a dump and fill mission
   (no, i didn't get IN the dumpster - i used a shovel, thank you very much

TOTAL Water hauled in four days:  1180 gallons (minimum)

My only regret is in not wearing my pedometer during the course of this event -
ha! *that would be a nice number to have*...  I also wish there were a means by

which to tally the laughter heard, the friendships made, the deep and fond
respect that was fostered by wonderful people having the opportunity to work together for the benefit of a mutual love...  But alas, there is not.  I am fortunate to have the precious memories of yet another fabulous success brought about by the willingness of each of you to share what you love about the special gift that is being an artist!"

November Member Interview: Roberta Morgan

Roberta Morgan

Email:  RLM@nc.rr.com

1.  What inspires you to create?
I have recently been inspired by trips to the Goodwill. I can find things: shoes, small tables, purses and clothing that call out to me to do something more to them. I take them home and paint them or cut them up and make new clothing.

2. When did you decide to pursue art or did art pursue you?

I guess this comes from my childhood when we weren't rich enough to buy new and had to make do with hand-me- downs. My real passion is wearable art. I can spend a lot of time creating garments, entering contests, and then putting them away and moving on to the next creation. I hardly wear the stuff I make, to me the fun is in the creating. I cannot remember a time when I didn't draw or doodle. I started making my clothes in high school so that I'd have enough to wear. It started out of necessity and it's now an addiction.  I even dream of my next entry. I also like painting in a "folk arty" way on shoes, train cases, purses and jewelry. I am especially fond of woman's faces.

I started quilting in the 70's and quickly got bored with the traditional methods and patterns, but art quilts with lots of embellishments appeal to me. I can't picture life without some creative outlet.

3. At the art supply store, which section do you gravitate to first? 

In an art store I'll go to the paint section and try to find a new color or process. I do shop in fabric stores, but I'd rather get what I can from thrift stores. It is exciting to be able to recycle some cast off into "art".

And, it's exciting to see what she'll create next!  Congratulations on your many first and second place ribbons at this year's North Carolina State Fair, and thanks for the interview, Roberta. 

Art of the Carolinas 2009

The Carolina Mixed Media Art Guild will be out in full force at Jerry's Artarama's Art of the Carolinas (AoC).  Scheduled to take place in Raleigh between Friday, November 13 and Sunday, November 15, it promises to be a fantastic event!  Here's a preview:

• Guild members will assist with classroom preparation, maintenance and breakdown, supporting the outstanding staff at Jerry's (including Guild members Christina and Sharon shown here)

• Our members will host a "Make and Take" event, encouraging everyone attending AoC to create Artist Trading Cards (ATC) to keep or trade.  Kudos and tremendous thanks go to Strathmore, Ampersand, Winsor & Newton, and Jerry's, for donating supplies for our Make and Take activities, including papers of various kinds; stampboards and clayboards; paints; pastels and glues.  Some of the ATC created during AoC 2008 are shown below. 
• Members' work in the World of Art Challenge will be exhibited in a boardroom in the workshop area. We encourage you to visit to see where it all began, with a canvas showing all the components of the kit, then to explore the vision of 25 artists confronted with the challenge of design with those components.  You'll be amazed at the innovation, diversity and creativity! 
• Guild members will also be demonstrating various art techniques throughout the weekend.  Check the schedule when you arrive to see who will be doing which demos including painting, stamping, clay and much more.
• And of course, there's the trade show area on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, where we'll shop till we drop! 

So, plan to join us for all the fun, art-filled activities...it'll be a great time!  For more information, visit the AoC site here.  See you there!