Good Times upstairs at the Rhode Island Flower and Garden Show

Lots of goodies on display from OHF

Last week I posted about the beautiful gardens and artwork I saw during the RI Flower and Garden Show. But most of my time at the convention center was spent upstairs working with volunteers for Olivia's Heart Fund as we shared news about the charity and the Art Hearts project.

OHF Founder Julie Ostiguy 

Most of the time when I have a camera in hand, people tend to vanish on me. I got lucky and cornered Julie Ostiguy (founder of Olivia's Heart Fund) at the OHF table. See how lovely that photo came out? I don't know what the rest of you are afraid of! Anywhoo - we worked the tables together on Thursday, and things went swimmingly - especially once the Art Heart cards showed up. I think it was easier for our visitors to approach us when they could see the cards and have something to take home that was utilitarian.

coloring pages based on the Art Hearts

Also a popular item were the coloring pages. I traced four of the Art Hearts and made a fifth open heart for the kids to color in. Voila art gallery in North Kingstown donated art supplies and lessons as a prize for the coloring contest. The weekend was especially good for passing out the coloring pages, and we got so many submissions! Julie had a great idea, to eventually have a coloring book of all the Art Hearts when the project is complete.

video display and information about the project

Some of the late-night prep before the show was for the video display. We put together a brief slideshow about the Art Hearts project and included images of the hearts and families that we have photos of so far. This will continue to grow as the project continues. The Art Heart you can see in the monitor is Katelyn and Julia's. I was fortunate to meet Julia and her parents during the Flower Show when they came to see their heart in the American Heart Association garden downstairs. I've read their story and communicated with them, but it's not the same as meeting them in person. It was very emotional and moving to get a big hug from Melissa, and I got to talk to Julia (and got a high five) as well. They are a great family, and were very kind with their words about the project.

The beginnings of another Art Heart

While I was working at the OHF tables upstairs, I started researching some symbolism and imagery on my laptop to begin another Art Heart. Once I had a concept in mind, I blocked out some sketches at home. Saturday I brought my watercolors with me and set up by the OHF tables to get the underpainting done. Lately, I have been adding more detail into the centers of the Art Hearts, and using less pastel over them in the final painting. It depends on what creates the right mood for each piece. As you can see in the photo above, the irises are already getting pretty detailed.

Cardi's guys are getting their Zumba on

The weekend brought lots of activity to the 5th floor where we were located. Across from us the Zumba instructors from the Fitness Group got some music and dancing going. The Cardi's mascots came by the children's activity area and decided to give it a go as well. I would have captured a video of this, but they drew a crowd before I could get myself over there. Believe me,it was all kinds of entertaining!

me, painting away! Image by the Providence Journal/Connie Grosch

By Sunday, I had transferred watercolors to pastels on the Art Heart. A photographer from the Providence Journal came by and snapped this pic while I was working on the outer edges. You can see this and more images from the Flower Show here, on Projo. We made it to the top photography section for the day! I have since completed the latest heart, and will post more detail about the story and the process this week. Working like this at the event was really fun - people get involved and like to ask about the process. Some people just want to stand back and watch and not be obtrusive, but I really like to discuss the work, and hope that they come up and talk to me if they'd like to. A few times I met a child who was especially interested in what I was painting. I try to explain the way I paint and hope that they are encouraged to be artistic themselves.

All in all, it was a busy week, and a good one. Lots of creative work, and more people got to know a little about the efforts of Olivia's Heart Fund and it's mission. We sold a lot of the Art Heart cards, and got a feel for which pieces resonate with the public. I got to meet a heart family, and speak to people about why this project is important, and that made it a great event.

Beautiful Gardens at the RI Flower and Garden Show 2011!

The AHA garden at the RI Flower and Garden Show

So last weekend I was jazzed to be working the RI Flower and Garden Show with other volunteers for Olivia's Heart Fund. The show's theme this year was "Gardening with Heart" and it was partnered with the American Heart Association, and the AHA welcomed Olivia's Heart Fund to it's past of the show with a spot in the garden  as well as a table area upstairs to display info about the Art Hearts project.

Art Hearts on easels in the AHA garden

Olivia's Heart Fund helpers set up my artwork on easels in the garden areas on Wednesday, the day before the show. I got in for a sneak peek at how it all came together. You can see Anna's Art Heart above in the AHA garden, created by the RI Horticultural Society. The romance of the theme is evident with the heart-shaped dance floor, and the formal wear displayed there. The dress you see here was actually designed for the Go Red Styleweek Challenge for Art Heart recipient Laurie Stephenson, by RI designer Jonathan Joseph Peters of Project Runway fame (!). I'm also a huge fan of Project Runway and LOVE  to see a local artist succeed, so YAY! and now I am another degree closer to awesomeness. Laurie's Art Heart is displayed to the right of her dress, and Katelyn and Julia's Art Heart is in the left side of the garden.

four more Art Hearts

Four more of the Art Hearts were displayed by the main entrance to the show, with information to find the OHF tables upstairs. Despite the large foot traffic of all the attendees during the four-day event, we had no problems with the artwork being there. People were very respectful, and several people came upstairs mentioning they had seen the works down in the garden area.

Now, I haven't seen a flower show for a long time - the last one I attended would be the Boston show, back when I was in college. If you didn't know, I happen to be an avid gardener, and enjoy doing some hardscaping with stone, making koi ponds and waterfalls and the like at my home in MA. So this was a great experience in that the garden areas were lush with plantings, but also very creative with stone steps, arches, water fixtures, live animals and patios.

AHA sand sculptures

This sand garden was a live scultpure by Sandtasia, being worked on diligently throughout the flower show. It was a kick to see how it progressed over the course of the four days. Fantastic job.

lovely display with a romantic feel

I loved this garden as well - the moss-covered umbrella and patio had an intimate, romantic feel. Created by Alan McLaughlin Garden Design.

I love me some koi ponds!

Another garden I particularly liked was a walk-through exhibit loaded with water features. They had several fountains, waterfalls, basins, and this koi pond. They built all this in just a few days! Created by Domina's Agway.

me trying to contain my jealousy when viewing Mike's work

In addition to the gorgeous floral works, I found two familiar artists in the gardens. Mike Bryce had a garden installation where he painted live within a charming display. I was taken in by the read doors at first, and then noticed the "pavers" for the pathway to the center door were, in fact an array of his small paintings and underpaintings. Brilliant! Then the large sunflower paintings he was working on caught my eye, and I had to remind myself that jealousy is not becoming. What fantastic artwork! I know it wasn't just me - a stranger to my left struck up a conversation about how perfect that painting would look in her living room, right about the time another woman to my right asked if the work was for sale. I think they may have given each other daggers at that point. Luckily there was no brawl over the paintings, but that's saying something about Mike's work.

some of Richard Harrington's monoprint work

I was also pleased as punch to see several works by artist Richard Harrington at the main entrance and also in the Federation of Garden Clubs exhibits. I met Richard at one of the Creative Impact series of events at the Providence Art Club, where he is a member. His work is beautiful - I love the natural landscapes and wide open skies in his monoprints, some of which he enhances with pastel. Again, I see work like this and I ache for that level of skill. But I also found him to be a kind and open person himself, being willing to spend time discussing the RI art world with a newbie like me.

I'll post more on the goings-on upstairs during the show next week. It was a whirlwind of activity, but so worth it! Enjoy!

-Lisa

So much to post!

After all the craziness with the Rhode Island Flower and Garden Show, I have been getting some rest and cleaning up the studio. Right now it looks like a bomb went off in there! As soon as I get everything back on track, I'll be posting about the latest Art Heart, which I was working on during the Flower Show.

Be back soon! -Lisa

Lauren's Art Heart



Lauren  10"x10" mixed-media


So the past few weeks have been busy with Olivia's Heart Fund! We are all preparing the preview of the Art Hearts for the Rhode Island Flower Show this Thursday. While a lot of those plans were going on, I had this latest Art Heart in limbo, as I kept debating which ideas to use in the design. First let me tell you a little about Lauren's story.

Lauren's parents were happy to welcome their second daughter into the world, and were not expecting any complications. The first sign they had that there was a problem was eight hours later, when she was taken to the NICU as a precaution, because she hadn't been eating. It was at this point that the doctors discovered Lauren had a congenital heart defect, which was a shock to her parents. In fact her condition, Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, is very difficult to detect during pregnancy.

With few options, Lauren was brought to Boston for her first surgery at only three days old. She would eventually need two additional surgeries and several cautheterizations for her condition. Though she has faced some difficulties during those procedures, she has since recovered and is doing well.

In my emails with Lauren's father, he helped me to learn more about his daughter. She is a dancer and singer, and loves the beach and nature. I did some research, looking for the right imagery for Lauren's heart. Initially, what resonated with me was the starfish - I thought with Lauren's love of performance arts, perhaps the star would best represent her. After further study, I found out that the starfish is the fisherman's symbol for protection from the Virgin Mary (Stalla Maris = star of the sea). It represents salvation during trying times, a celestial symbol of infinite love, as well as guidance, healing and regeneration. Perfect!

using the heart template to mask the spatter area

So Lauren's heart was different than the previous ones in that I wanted to add some texture for the sand and the star. After starting with a sketch, I dropped in some background color, and then using my heart template as a mask, I spattered it with several hues of watercolor.

the background color wash

Once the sand was done, I added three stones on the beach - one for each of Lauren's surgeries. I filled in the surrounding heart area with a wash of watercolor in orange (Lauren's favorite color).

lots of texture on the starfish

Next, I layered more color and texture over the starfish to give it more dimension. I added some shading around the star as if it cast a shadow on the sand.

the whitest whites for the seafoam

After the watercolor was complete, I needed to brighten and add detail to the seafoam. This I painted with acrylic, drawing in all the bubbles and froth, adding a few spots of bubbles over the sand.

last step - blending the pastel edge

The last step was to add pastel all around the heart, blending some yellow to add radiance. I luckily was able to finish this Art Heart just in time to be included with the others that will be on display at the RI Flower show (more details about that here) February 24th-27th 2011. I like that Lauren's Art Heart is a big different with a warm color palette and the details in the dancing seafoam. She is unique!



the completed Art Heart

This is the eighth piece in my series of Art Hearts for Olivia's Heart Fund. If you'd like to read more about the project please check out the Art Hearts page on my blog. If you feel inspired to make a donation to the charity please click here or on the button below to visit the charity's site. If you'd like to see this piece, or the other seven Art Hearts so far, please consider visiting the RI Flower Show this week. I'll be looking forward to it!

Art Hearts preview at the Rhode Island Flower Show!

So the past couple of weeks have been very busy, preparing for the Rhode Island Flower Show . My Art Hearts for Olivia's Heart Fund will be displayed in the flower area, as the theme is "Gardening with Heart", and the American Heart Association, as well as other heart charities will be represented. So yay! For OHF and also for me, because I am super excited to have the art out where so many people can see it. Thanks to the awesome volunteers at OHF, we now have framing for the first eight paintings. Kim was able to locate Crestar Framing in east greenwich who very kindly donated their services.

We also have been getting promotional material together for the event. Erin has created postcards for the project, and I designed the banner you see pictured above, as well as a dvd slideshow for the booth that OHF will have on the fifth floor of the convention center. Since the fifth floor has a childrens area, jessica had a great idea-to create coloring pages with hearts for the kids to work with. I made an outline version of several of the Art Hearts. Things are shaping up for next week!

If you are coming to the Flower Show, here are the dates and times:

Show Dates

• Thursday, February 24, 2011, from 10:00AM to 8:00PM
• Friday, February 25, 2011, from 10:00AM to 9:00PM
• Saturday, February 26, 2011, from 10:00AM to 9:00PM
• Sunday, February 27, 2011, from 10:00AM to 6:00P

You can also RSVP on Facebook if you so desire.

These are the Art Hearts that will be showing there, in the garden area:


I will be at the Flower Show each day at some point, and would love to chat with anyone interested in the Art Hearts or Olivia's Heart Fund. I hope you can make it!

-Lisa

Fun-a-Day Providence show!

So tonight is the night! All of the work that the artists have put into their projects will be shown at the WBMA in Providence tonight and tomorrow night. If you are in the neighborhood, please stop by and check out the work and chat with the artists. I'll be in attendance tomorrow for the closing night, partying with my creative peeps! I took some photos last night when I went down to hang my work. The crew was working hard to get everything ready.

More information about the show is on the Fun-a-Day Providence blog, and here's a Facebook invite for those of you who'd like to RSVP.

Fun-a-Day paintings wrap-up

Well, the Fun-a-Day Providence project is complete! I haven't had much time to post much lately, as the entire beginning of February we were buried in snow up here in Douglas. I've been shoveling my brains out for the last week. But more on that later.

Days 29, 30 and 31 are complete!

The last three paintings for the project were small numerals, and relatively simple paintings. At this point, I've been comparing the new numbers to the rest of the grid as I pick out their color, so that I can relate squares to each other in a harmonious pattern.

The wood panel is prepped and ready for the paintings.

This week, I started to wrap up the project, preparing a panel to mount all of the small paintings. I cut some scrap wood to size (14" square), and sanded the edges.

All the paintings line up on the grid correctly!

Once the panel was prepped, I used acrylic medium to seal the wood and bind the paintings to the surface. Some of the paintings have pastel on the surface, so I had to be careful to not smudge them. It was also important to keep the acrylic medium from bleeding around the edges of the numbers so that the encaustic medium would fuse to the surface later.

The completed artwork - Thirty-one Days, 14"x14" mixed media

To seal the surface I added a mixture of melted beeswax and resin (the encaustic medium) which I melted and applied with a brush. I dabbed the wax on so as not to smudge the pastels, and then heated the surface with a heat lamp to smooth the surface and bind it to the paper underneath. This darkens the underlying artwork, but also makes the colors look rich and saturated. I like the fact that now you can touch the surface of the final piece instead of mounting it behind glass.

I'll be hanging the artwork on Thursday for the Fun-a-Day Providence show this weekend. I'm looking forward to all the creative work that will be on display! If you are interested in checking out the show, it runs Friday, February 11th from 7-11pm and Saturday the 12th from 5-10pm at the West Broadway Neighborhood Association, 1560 Westminster Street Providence, RI.

Enjoy!
-Lisa