You're Invited To . . .

Join me and attend the 

Brighton City Hall Grand Opening

Dedication & Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

Friday, Oct 14, 2011 at 2:00 p.m.

500 South 4th Ave, Brighton CO

Daydream, Acrylic on Canvas, 36"x36", $600 (framed)

While there, you'll have an opportunity to support your local artist and your community. I'm honored to be among 21 area artists who have been chosen to provide art for the Grand Opening event.

Peace, Limited Edition Linocut, 11"x9" 

$60 unframed, or $85 matted & framed

Artworks will be displayed through January 15, 2012, and most works will be for sale with 15% of the proceeds going to the Brighton Eye for Art Program.

Self Portrait in Cool & Warm, Oil on Canvas, 20"x16", $140 (framed)

The program supports local artists and public art:  The 15% goes back into the program and is used to purchase art for this beautifully renovated building. It's a win-win :)

A Fly on the Wall, Mixed Media on Canvas, 40"x31"

$650, gallery-wrapped canvas

Artists featured during this opening event include: Ron Ames, Kim Degnegaard, Diane DeVries, Edward Erhmann, Ginger Emery, Marina Galasso, Ron Gerbrandt, Dean Glorso, Walter Hawn, Alex Kleidon, Melissa Koons, Sherry Seltzer-Kreutzer, Kathy Lechman, Sandie Mackenzie, William Nicol, Michael Sanderson, Nina Nagel-Ramser, Delia Casas-Valdevida, Holly Weipz, David Wells, and Robin Jamison-Hernandez.

Love, Mixed Media on Canvas, 36"x24", $330 (framed)

Mediums include photography, works on canvas, and prints, and there is art to suit every taste.

Eye Portraits, Mixed Media on Canvas, 36"x36", NFS

This would be a fantastic opportunity to purchase gifts for the upcoming holidays, or to find just the right piece of art for your home or office.  And, while you're there, you'll get a chance to meet the artist :)

Mandala (Float), Acrylic on Canvas, 40"x31"

$550, gallery-wrapped canvas

Whenever I purchase art, I enjoy chatting with the artist, learning about their process, and asking questions about what inspired a particular work. It can be a great learning process.

Kahlo Tree, Linocut & Monoprint, 12"x12"

$60 unframed, or $85 matted & framed

To learn more about the City of Brighton's Eye for Art Program, contact the director, Laurie Maier.

Inspired Ceramics

Happy Summer, Everyone!

Many of you already know that much of my work was published in the Visual Arts textbook a while back. I was flattered and happy to share my work with students in Western Australia, where this textbook is in use during the school year.

Recently I received an email from Lynda Kuntyj (one of the authors) with a photo attached. The subject of the email was "Inspired Ceramics" and the photo shows a bowl full of pots that were inspired by my "mouth of the pot" series:

The quality of the photo isn't the greatest (no offense, Lynda!), but you get the idea. Seeing the variety of expressions on these little pots just makes me smile.

A few of the published works are featured here, so you can see what inspired the students. Above: Talking Pot. Below: Say "Ah" Pot.

Above: Whistle Pot. Below: Pomegranate Pot.

Chuck Pot (below) was so named because the nose resembled that of my friend, Theresa Knight McFadden's husband, Chuck :)

Inspiration for art is all around us--in language (as in the mouth of a pot), on the street, in the newspaper, everywhere! Be mindful when you're out and about. You may just get inspired to create something wonderful!

Congratulations to Mr. Hugo!

In case you missed it, our very own Mr. Hugo has been nominated for the 2011 Henry Award for his work, The Life and Times of Ol' Alfred. Congratulations, Hugo!

Many of you already know that "Mr. Hugo" (Hugo Jon Sayles) is a talented actor, director, and writer. He has quite a few literary projects in the works, and I'm thrilled and honored that he asked me to illustrate some of his childrens' books. That said, I'll be spending a large part of my summer vacation working on illustrations.  :)

Also from The Denver Post, Shadow Theatre's new venue :)

Art Show, Spring 2011

Here are a few highlights from the Spring Art Show and Open House. The classes represented here include ATCs and Art in Miniature, Jewelry Making, and Ceramics I, II, and III, and are only a tiny sample of what was actually displayed during our last day of school.

Train by Alesia C., mixed media miniature

Almost Done by Keith C., mixed media miniature

Untitled, scratch art ATC by Stefan M.

The Zombies Want Apples, mixed media miniature by Katie I.

Snoopy, mixed media miniature by Joel Z.

Students in Jewelry Making created their own pendants using glass beads and wire. Once done, the pendants were attached to glass bead necklaces. My photos don't do them justice! :)

A Sampling of 2nd Semester Ceramics classes:

Alex's Apple Canopic Jar, whistle, and spirit ball (above).

Tasha's slab, coil, and pinch work.

Keith C.'s Canopic Jar was all about Money!

Chloe (above), Joe, and Shaelyn (below) displayed some of their handbuilt works . . .

Valencia M.'s Goddess Canopic Jar, artist stamp, pinch, slab, and coil works (below) . . .

Brothers Joel and Dillon Z. proudly display their Canopic Jars and other handbuilt works in the Art Show . . .

Matthew I.'s advanced work in Ceramics II earned him the chance to do CIII projects!

It was a FANTASTIC year for HSC art classes! We all learned a lot (including the art teacher!) and I'm thoroughly looking forward to the lineup of classes we're offering next year. New to the roster for 2011-2012 are: 

Art Books

Jewelry Making II

Digital Photography (Miss Heather)

Also new for next year: WWA and HSC will be increasing their web presence to include a school-wide blog, which brings about another change. I'll be blogging at the new site and will retain this site for my non-HSC classes (private art classes) and a few other things to be revealed later. That's the "teaser" to keep you coming back! Hope you all have a fun summer! I'll see you in the fall!

Big Hugs,

Miss Robin

PS: Remember to keep doing your artwork over the summer, and please bring in your work during the 1st and 2nd weeks of school. I can't wait to see what you've been up to :)

Scratch Art and Shape ATCs, Canopic Jars, and Safety Pin Jewelry!

Because of the upcoming Registration Week work, I've been remiss in posting updates for the art classes. Here's a brief look at what we've been up to the past couple of weeks:

Scratch art ATCs are always a big hit! Check out some of the clever designs that the students came up with a couple of weeks ago in ATC class:

Students scratched away the black surface to reveal either gold, silver, sparkle blue, or multi-colored sparkle paper beneath. 

Then last week, in the same class, students created ATCs inspired by shape. Using tiny stencils, or drawing freehand, students set about making ATCs with multiple shapes inside.

Students had a choice to make their works representational or abstract. When the drawings were completed, some artists decided to add lightweight, foam shapes on top of their drawings--continuing the theme of shape-inspired work.

Afterward, "trading time" ensued, and some seriously good trades took place!

Ceramics III students are making wonderful progress on their canopic jars! The bodies of the jars are nearly complete, and work on the heads/lids will likely begin this coming week. Following are some "action shots" from class: 

Students began with a slab cylinder, and then added coils. With each new layer, the young artists must first score the surface (and the next coil), and then slip the scores to be sure the next coil will hold. Once the body of the pot reaches 8", it receives a final tweaking and shaping. Looking good! It looks like Alex's pot (below) is about to receive a head-shaped lid!

Jewelry Making students worked on safety pin jewelry, and created some cool designs! For instance . . .

. . . a sail boat and frog (above), and peace sign and flag (below) . . .

. . . and a star and heart (below). Per the students' requests, we'll continue with this same project next week before moving on to something new. 

Thanks so much to Miss Elona for supplying us with everything we need (including patterns!) for this project!

Reminder to all the students and parents: This coming week, March 1st and 2nd, is Registration week! Parents, please arrive to HSC by 1:50 p.m. to get a sneak peek of next year's class offerings, and pick up your registration packet. 

There are some REALLY COOL classes planned for next year! I only wish I was young enough to attend each one! :)

Animalitos, Masks, and Necklaces!

In Ceramics I this past week we worked on Animalitos! Following is a photo from Tuesday with some very cute little animalitos, star-itos, and even a cake-ito :)

In Ceramics II, work continued on masks. The photos featured here (above and below) are of unfired works, but since it takes a while for us to receive our fired goods back from WWA, I wanted to include something here to represent that great work that's happening in the Ceramics classes. Hopefully, soon, we'll have the artist stamps back so that I can show you what many of the students have been up to. 

Ceramics III students continue their work on Canopic Jars, and are making great progress! 

Jewelry students worked on necklaces this past week, and came up with some really pretty designs!

This is just a small sample of what happened in class. Rebecca's star necklace (above) is still a work-in-progress, but so pretty (as is!) that I couldn't resist taking a photo :)

Alecia used a very limited color palette--black, white, clear crystal, and apple green--in keeping with the colors of the charm on her necklace. What a fantastic design decision!

We had quite a few students out sick (or snowed in??) this past week. Be sure to show up this coming week, though, especially if you're in the ATC class! You'll find out why when I post photos next week!

See you in class! Stay warm & dry!