What Would You Do With 400 Wine Glasses?

On The Road With Vincent - Painted Wine Glasses

What would you do with four hundred wine glasses? Paint them, of course!

I live in Central Pennsylvania. The Art Center School and Galleries of Mechanicsburg and the Downtown Mechanicsburg Partnership are holding two fundraisers in April and May. The decorated wine glasses are a feature of the events.

I'm used to the head scratching feeling of "what will I do next" when confronted by a blank piece of paper or a computer screen. But a wine glass??? 

Visions of a "Mad Men" late night soiree got me thinking. I could imagine the drinks swirling around the glass with wild abandon! And that lead me to a book I am reading: "Johanna- A Novel of the van Gogh Family" by Claire Cooperstein. The novel is a "factional" account of Johanna's life after the death of Theo, Vincent's brother. I enjoy both...so why not combine the two?

Anyone interested in the event met at the Art Center. Enthusiastic painters filled tables that were set up with boxes of cleaned glasses and a plethora of paint and brushes. Although it was cold and dreary outside, the atmosphere was one of convivial collaboration. Colour was everywhere with each person decorating their glass in their unique style. The finished glasses quickly filled a table ready for the last phase of the process: baking. Standing before them reminded me of seeing light shining through rose windows at the Notre Dame in Paris. The glasses were just as vibrant and true to their makers.

The photos show my efforts. Inspired by Vincent van Gogh's use of colour I swirled my way through a set of six glasses. I want to thank Cindi and Mary Beth for providing the photos.

"Sunflowers"

"Starry Night"

Three hundred glasses are scheduled to go on sale at the Earth Day Festival in Mechanicsburg on April 18th. Your purchased glass allows wine sampling at over twenty-five selected business in the downtown Mechanicsburg area on May 9th's Art & Wine Walk. All of the money raised goes back into community events.

One hundred glasses are for sale on May 2nd for the Art Center's Spring Fundraiser Gala at the Hershey Vineyards. And you thought Hershey only produced chocolate! The money raised helps to fund the Art Center's vibrant diverse activities.

For detailed information, visit their websites at: The Art Center School and Galleries of Mechanicsburg and Downtown Mechanicsburg Partnership.

I think anyone drinking from the beautiful glasses will not only share in a great fundraiser, but will also be filled with the spirit of the artist who lovingly painted it.

The Infinite Passion of Life...

"There Is No End." ATC

The closing of Summer is bittersweet. Days infused with an unrelenting heat slowly melt into clear, crisp nights and frost covered mornings that welcome the start of Autumn.

It is on early Autumn nights that my eyes gaze skyward. I always find something magical about the night. There are so many curiosities to discover. Night sets the unconscious free. To quote Vincent van Gogh: "I often think that the night is more alive and more richly coloured than the day." 

The serenity allows my Muse to speak to me unencumbered. I find the inspiration I need, and very often over look during the busy hours of the day.

I recently took part in an Artist Trading Card swap. The theme was "Circles".  Staring at the sky brought back memories of one of my favourite paintings, Vincent van Gogh's The Starry Night. Seeing it for the first time at the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan took my breath away. But it wasn't until I made my pilgrimage to Saint-Rémy-de-Provence that I fully understood the inspiration that motivated Vincent.

The substrate is a standard manila ATC card. I found a print of The Starry Night to use as the base of the work. I am a great lover of Chinese food, and with Chinese food comes fortune cookies. The messages in the cookies are a treasure for collage artists. I pulled one from a bag of saved fortunes. It read:

"There is no end. There is no beginning. There is only the infinite passion of life."

Perfect. Was it a lucky pick or did my Muse guide me?

I followed Vincent's mystical arcs and rolling curves with the fortune. A print of the astrological view of the skies was a perfect fit. I added handmade paper and stencilled circles from a template using metallic acrylic paint.

The ATC challenge came at the perfect time. The circle moves on. Seasons...Change...but it's the passion we bring to the circle that truly imparts meaning to this thing we call "Life".

Sunflowers...Sunshine in an envelope

Seven Sunflowers

I love sunflowers. I love to plant the seeds and see them grow. I love to drive past fields filled with their golden yellow brilliance. I love the way their heads follow the sun. I love to collect pictures and photos of sunflowers. Vincent van Gogh's Sunflower series has always been an inspiration to me.

But most of all I love to draw sunflowers.

It's been a while since I've sat down to do any drawing. When I was a commercial screen printer, I drew every day. I drew anything from a customer's product to a cat for my mail order catalogue. It was production of the highest degree.

Of course, before those years there was Art School at the York Academy of Arts. Drawing was our foundation. Your work was only as good as the drawing beneath it...whether the finished piece be a painting, a sculpture, a print. This now applies to digital work. A lack of drawing skills is amplified a hundred fold in the digital realm.

And before that I drew because I loved it.

So in a sense, The Doodle Swap Project has brought me full circle.

The Project is similar to trading ATC's but the main focus is doodling/drawing/illustration. The size requirement is the same as an ATC. After registration and the cards are complete, you send them off to the list of names and addresses provided. Mine are ready to go to Alabama, Maryland, Utah, Massachusetts, Washington, and Pennsylvania.

The substrate is a standard ATC card. I used a Ranger's Inkssentials manila card. I drew in pencil. I then used chalk pastels to colour the drawing. The center of the sunflower is Tim Holtz Distress Ink stamped with a piece of fibrefill I found.

As I have had years of production work under my belt, I did each card at the same time...building up the drawings on each card, layer by layer.

I am looking forward to getting my Sunflowers in the mail. I am also looking forward to receiving art in the mail.

Thanks again, Doodle Swap Project. You reminded me how much I really love to draw.