The Holidays are here!

Holy cow. I can’t believe how quickly November flew by. I guess it’s because this is my busiest month ever! Art of the Carolinas, Dougy’s birthday, Zach’ birthday, Thanksgiving, and getting ready for the holidays! November started out sad. Kitty died on Nov. 1. I was happy though, that Zach got to see him resting peacefully the night before. We all reminisced about the many years together we had as a family. He was a big part of our lives. He’s even in our family portrait that Woody drew for us back in 2001. RIP Kitty!

AOC 2011 was a smashing success! We all had lots of fun painting, bargains galore, creativity flying all over the place, friends and family. A girl really couldn’t ask for much more. There are so many thank you’s to share. I’m almost afraid to start, in case I miss someone. First of all, thank you to Jerry for starting this company. None of this would be without that first step back in 1968. Next, thank you to my bosses, David and Ira Goldstein. Thank you for convincing me back in 2001 that this was a possibility and that I could pull a show like this off. Who would have known? Thank you to my new partner in creativity: Katie. Thank you for jumping right in and doing what you do. Thank you to the CMMAG girls for offering your blood, sweat and tears day in and day out for the love of art. You girls rock! Thank you to the store managers that fly in and work like crazy to get the show set up and organized and priced and ready by the wee hours of Friday morning and then only with a few hours of sleep share their knowledge and expertise with the droves of folks that come to the show on day one. Then get up and do it all again for the next couple of days, then fly back to their stores and open up on Monday morning! Thank you! Thank you to all the folks that show up year after year to help out in making this show a great success. And thank you to the instructors and vendors that fly in to share their knowledge with all of us. Most importantly, thank you to the folks that fly in, drive in and spend their vacation time with us here in Raleigh. This is truly a wonderful time for everyone involved to come and share our love of art together. This year’s slogan on the staff tees, wine bags and aprons is very appropriate I think: “My Life is Art. Art is my Life.” Simple as that! Thank you all for making this show so fun!

Thanksgiving was a great time! I cooked up a storm at the house and had family here to celebrate. It’s always such a great time of the year. I am truly thankful for such a loving family and the cozy aroma of a big turkey in the oven. Yum!

Joe and Zach

Mike and Marge

My sister Cindy is moving her shop in Key West across the street to a larger facility. She’s been in that building for about 20 years, so you can imagine the stuff she has accumulated! By the way, she is the upholsterer of Key West. Her place is called the Seam Shoppe. Anyway, I decided to fly down there to relax after Art of the Carolinas and help paint the new place. Oh wow, I knew it was going to be hard work, but I am a bit older that I thought I was…painting for eight hours a day and climbing up and down ladders and doing squats. Ouchy. By day three I could hardly move! Seriously. Back to paint more and more. Just trying to keep up with all the pieces Nick was creating was quite a challenge! Anyway, here are a few shots of the work in progress.

Back to reality now…I’ve only stolen a few choice sessions in the studio lately. One is to get my sketchbook project going and finished up. This has been a challenge – a good one at that. It has offered me a different way to think about creating and also working in a book format. Quite fun. Here are a couple of images.

I have also been working on a couple of linoleum carving prints with a tropical flair. Here are some shots from that project.

Then we have all the Christmas shopping and wrapping and food planning and holiday frenzie at the store. Interesting. I am so looking forward to spending time with my friends and family and getting some real studio time in, I can hardly breathe! I will be pulling out the encaustics before the end of the year. I have so much stored in my head that I really need to get it out on the board before too long!

Here’s wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas and a happy healthy New Year!

Cheers to you all and keep the paint flying.

Recent visit to Asheville

Joe and I recently took a weekend trip to Asheville, NC. The trees were just changing, so it was a beautiful ride there.

We stopped at The Westbend Vineyard on the way up, then spent a leisurely time roaming through some of the galleries of Asheville. We were driving across the bridge and stumbled upon a party in the River Arts District, so we thought we'd check it out. Turns out we found The Wedge, one of the (surprisingly) many breweries in North Carolina.

So we treated ourselves to a couple homemade brews and hung out with some of the locals. Went to a noodle shop for dinner, then called it a night. Saturday morning we hit the galleries once more. We were looking for a little inspiration, a little something new, fresh air, great surroundings, etc. Asheville is certainly the place for all of the above! We went to the Blue Spiral and other assorted galleries downtown. This is one of my favorite paintings there...

We ending up at Curve Studios, again in the River Arts District. We had visited a couple years ago, but wow! Everything in the city is actually kicked up a notch. We were very impressed with the amount of new galleries, the upgrades the older ones had made and just a new surge of energy overall. Nice! We bought a piece from Jenny Mastin. Both Joe and I agreed this is a fabulous sculpture! A nice addition to our collection.

Later that afternoon, we found ourselves somewhere between Black Mountain and Asheville looking through this HUGE warehouse of antiques. We spent a couple of hours digging through some fantastic furniture. Too cool but very exhausting!

Back to relax for a bit before dinner. We opted for this great little restaurant. I forget what the name of it was, but it was perfect. Great food, great atmosphere and just fabulous spending time together!

I also did a photo shoot with Kitty a couple days ago. Here is one of the shots:

He's not been feeling so great lately. I guess that's what happens when you're a cat and you're 20 something. Hang in there buddy!

On the Road Again...

Here we are again…Lots of updates to do, as once again this is the busiest time of year for me. Art of the Carolinas preparations are going strong. Don’t forget to make your plans and reservations and come and join us for a fantastic artist getaway. November 10th will be here before you know it!


Works of Heart auction has come and gone. The festivities were a little bleak this year, but Joe and I did our part in donations. Joe and Don Mertz did a collaborative piece as well. Here are a couple of photos from the event:

One of my favorite things to do is judge the K-12 entries in the NC State Fair. Jerry’s offers a series of Outstanding Student Awards to the best in K-2, 3-5, 6-8 and high school, plus individual awards in those same categories. I always love especially the youngest group of artistic flair. They are the most original and delightful presentations of all. Here are some of the finalists of the awards. You’ll have to go to the exhibition to see the actual winners. You won’t be disappointed!

If you're ready to celebrate Halloween, here is a spooky treat for you: Legacy Farms Haunted Halloween.
Venture through the haunted house and corn maze. Check out the link for details...if you dare!
Dougy found this spider out at the farm and I thought it was a pretty cool photo the way the sun was creating this wonderful shadow on the side of the house...Just in time for Halloween.

Cindy and Doug arrived on Saturday from Key West. After that long drive, we will be back in the car on the road to Michigan to attend Fr. Dave’s funeral. Fr. Dave was a huge part of everybody’s life that is an Adams. He was loved by so many. The greatest part of the memories we all have is that he was never a judgmental person. He always loved us in spite of ourselves and every time we got together, it was always a huge celebration. Fr. Dave had a knack for really loving life and the people around him and he knew how to bring out the best in us all. That always included Budweiser, good food, stupid jokes and tons of laughing. Not just laughing, but laughing so hard that your gut hurts and your neck feels strained in the morning from solving all the problems in the world and then laughing about it all. Jim, Carol, Mike, Emily, Cindy and I all attended the festivities. And boy what a celebration. There were probably close to 1000 people in attendance including about 100 priests and two bishops. It was truly an honor to have this down to earth loving guy right in our own family. It was also so fun to see all of our relatives. It’s been a while since our last family reunion. When the Adams’ get together, it is no small affair. I’m just so proud to be a part of this wonderful family. Seriously.

R.I.P. Fr. Dave! Keep the beer cold up there and save us a spot!

It's all about Layers

I love the excitement of this time of year. This is what I work so hard for. It seems like all the stokes I put in the fire earlier in the year or all the seeds I sow start sprouting all at once. I work like a crazy woman to make it all mesh together in a wonderful weaving. And I love every second of it! I got up early this morning so I could get a load of laundry going, then get out to the studio to straighten up. I counted five projects as I was cleaning up: CanvaSynergy with my girls from the Carolina Mixed Media Art Guild. The final project will be revealed at Art of the Carolinas 2011 at the Hilton North Raleigh. That's number 1. Still a work in progress, but here it is so far. Not due until next week!

 Project number 2 is the SketchbookProject. I'm just about finished with that one, but I keep adding just one more thing almost every time I step foot in the studio. Here are a couple of shots - again in progress:

Project number 3 is a piece for the White Show at VAE. The problem is, as I was leaving work last evening looking forward to getting back in the studio and working some more on this piece, I get an email from VAE and the subject reads, "White Show Results". Huh? Wait, did a week go by and I actually missed it? Well, so now, maybe I won't make this thing all white after all!

Project number 4 is some silk scarves. Thanks Roberta for this new addiction! I'm just saying, this is way too much fun. I have everything all staged and ready to go. I just need a bit of time and need to make sure that my boiling pot is actually aluminum...No photos of this yet, but I will post as I get going on #4.

And lastly, project number 5: I have this idea in my head and it concerns one of my obsessions: baby dolls. That's all I'm going to say right now. It's just an idea at this point, but I think it might turn out to be a fun one, so we shall see! Let's just say this is one of my inspirations:

Art of the Carolinas is going strong. I just keep plugging away on all the little projects. This year I will definitely NOT be hand dyeing 750 shirts like I did last year, but I do have some fun surprises in store for the workshoppers, staff and instructors! You'll just have to show up and add to all the fun we're going to have. Until next time...

This is the Busiest and Best Time of the Year!

All kinds of excitement in the air. Friends, cooler weather – (well sometimes), football, lots of art, and of course Art of the Carolinas! Preparations are well underway for another fantastic show. Classes are filling up and so is the hotel. So, if you have not made your plans yet, put that procrastinating off to the side and get with it. You don’t want to miss out on a fabulous four days of great fun, fantastic prices, friends from all over the world and a boat load of creativity! Visit the Web site if you want to take classes and sign up here. If you want to make hotel reservations, click here. ART is the group code!

I will keep you posted on the latest and greatest about Art of the Carolinas!

Joe and I donated some pieces of work to a Texas organization: ACT – Artists Changing Tomorrow, and here are images of them:

Here is Joe's donation

And here is mine...

Had a great time last weekend with my mixed media gals! About 30 members and friends showed up for a full day of activities and creating at DiGiulio Studios! Whoa – way too much fun. Thank you to Jeannie, Penny, Donna and Roberta for sharing your techniques with the masses. We all had a great time trying something new – a bit out of our own little comfort zones, and very fun. Here are a couple of photos...

Now on a bit of a persoanl note...
Last week, we had the pleasure of meeting little Mason. He is the baby of Courtney and Deshaun and he is adorable! The best part was seeing “D” interact with this beautiful baby boy. Such a loving parent! Here is the proud daddy with sweet little Mason:

One last thing: I did my one of two shows a year this past weekend – Art in the Gardens! Thank you to everyone that stopped by. The rain tried to throw a bit of a loop in the plan, but the gals coordinating had us set up in the parking deck and it actually turned out great. So thank you ladies for putting this all together and making another successful show!

Here is a shot of my booth:

And here is my donation:

Well, I think that’s about it for now. I will check back in soon.

Playing with Mud!

The past couple of days, Cindy and I have been experimenting with mud! Having way too much fun as usual. Here are a couple of photos...

Some of our work in progress

More details and final pieces to follow!

Encaustic Workshop

I'm back from a wonderful trip to R&F Encaustic Paints in Kingston, NY! What a cool place. I flew in to LGA, went to Grand Central and took a train north along the Hudson to Poughkeepsie. Wow, great scenery! I think it was just great to get away from everything, on my own. I don't get to do that very often, so it was nice. It was a nice long "me" weekend! I took two workshops at R&F. The first was with Laura and the second was with Cynthia. Both were fabulous! Thanks Darin for setting this all up! I had lots of time to create and practice some new techniques. Here are some photos of the pieces I completed in the workshops:

This is one is completed after learning some texture techniques from Laura...

And these are two that I completed after learning collage techniques in encaustic with Cynthia:

In addition to encaustic, I am still working in my other favorite medium: acrylic/collage. I just finished a large 24 x 36 collage that I donated to Works of Heart. The auction is October the 8th. You should check it out, if you never have. Lots of great pieces donated by some big hearted local artists!
Here is my donation:

Registration for Art of the Carolinas has been open for about a month now! Workshops are selling quickly, so make sure you get your name on the class list you want now. The hotel still has rooms left in our block, so again, be sure to mark your spot at the show! See you there in November!

If you're looking for a great bargain on art supplies before Art of the Carolinas in November, come on over to the Jerry's Artarama in Raleigh for our Back to School Sale! Bargains galore. Best prices guaranteed!