Brown Bagging it- (June's First Friday)

Went to two new art openings this first Friday. It had bee awhile since I had been over to Four Walls and to talk to to Shawn Dunwoody. This gallery its style and atmosphere are right up my alley. The food is usaully dry cereal fruit and the music is always funky.Pretty often a live band is booked to play for later on. I always seem to get there before the band goes on.This time was no different.The space is comfortable and fun to be in. The new addtion of the small walls gallery makes art accessible to a young audience and keeps, bright, funky and friendly.

The publicity fliers for this show were well thought out. The show was a mixed media show was works all including collage or mixed media sculpture.They were brown paper lunch bags with the info printed on them. They were labeled "Grab Bags" and stated that the bag is a place to keep "all your bits and Pieces." The title for the show was fitting it was all mixed media works that combined small pieces of mixed media. The front room had works by Kathy Farrell I recognized them immediately she had shown similar works during the "Get a Grip" show there last year. Kathy definitely has a style and after seeing several other of her works sometimes you recognize it. Others times she takes you by surprise.Tiny screws rough surface with drips of paint they clearly defined area generally using objects that create straight lines to clearly display an object.The titles often take serious issues and give the ma comical edge.

A series of light boxes by Elizabeth McDade show photos of rooms were historic figures were born. These looked familiar to me. Perhaps I have seen this artists work before? The light boxes were all covered with small toys and objects. The were all recognizable but painted mono chromatically to look like antique frames.Objects and toy such as squirt guns, kazoos,shells, figurines etc.

College works by Artist Nancy Topolski showed intricate cutting that looks like it most likely used an X-acto and was layered with stencil.


Large cast and found object combination that large on the wall were shown by artist Elizabeth Lyons. These human one piece called calipers combines large textured rope and coming off the end are two large apparently female, human limbs.

Shawn Dunwoody was also and exhibiting artist in this display and created light up objects that were displayed along with the light up photo boxes.Tree trucks wire and other objects all painted red hang from a gas can which has been turned into a light fixture. "Good use of gas can"Was all I could think."My boy friend spoke to me about how hard that would be to cut and pointed out the holes on the bottom that make that so that it could no longer be used for it's original use.

We bee lined over to the ROCO 6x6 show and then were handed another paper bag.This one was different it had the directions on how to purchase works from the show. It also had blank lines on the bottom to write down the number that identified your favorite works.

I have never seen such a large display of artwork.Except maybe at Artisan works. Every wall space of the gallery is push pinned with works even the sides.Cast Glass works, stained galss, cardboard, pen and ink, photography, felted and textile work you name is and most likely that media is somewhere there. So of the works were be artists I know I recognized or have seen their work before.The style was so characteristics of their work. Think I recognized some John Kasteners, Eddie Davis the 3rd,Dennis Furisuo and some others artist I have taken classes with at the MAG.

We found where ourswere and where my students works were and wrote down the numbers. We have not yet decided to buy yet. But I have some works in mind.

Currents

So I recently attended the first Friday art gallery events and went to three galleries. I attended the ROCO 6x6 preview party. The Four walls gallery and More Fire Garden show.

I had submitted a piece to the 6x6 show so I got to play the guess which one is mine game with them. I pointed out the wall which had mine told them it used watercolor and then pointed out that mine had some materials that others one their did not have. They guessed it. "Yours is probably mixed media." "Yours has crayon".

I was really impressed by the number of pieces variety of media creative ways people had solved the6x6 problem. Some had done 3d works using 6x6x6 for their dimensions. There were also several works by local school children. Several art teachers I had talked to had their students submit work for the show. I think it is a great thing that so many people participated.
I wondered about several of the abstract paintings. As a group they were powerful. If you purchased just one though it seemed like it would get lost.

My friend worked with a guy that had artwork in the "Get A Grip" show at Four Walls Gallery on Elton street so we went over and checked it out. I really liked the gallery shape. The atmospere was comfortable. It took us a while to find but we went through the side entrance orginally.
I saw the show cards and was pleasently surprised. My old college professor Kathy Farrell was having an art show there too.http://www.monroecc.edu/wusers/kfarrell/. She had a show of assemblage boxes most of which used balls. She also had a game to play where you had to match the boxes to the famous couple associated with each box. We tried it, a few I got and felt comfortable about others I had no idea who the couples were so I had to guess. There was also a green stepstool on the ground which I assumed was for you to step on. I step up and say to my friends "It's a stepstool right? I should be sble to step on it." There comes Kathy out of the crowd ."Yeah you can step on it. Look inside the boxes lift the lids." These two boxes with glasses and noses and fake mustaches. You lift the lids and look inside to see they are jammed packed full of balls.

There are certain things that I have always appreciated about her work. One part has always been that some part of it incorpates the viewer to interact withy the art in a way different then just looking.The work is like her, very whimsical. She uses lots of discarded toys and bright colors. The pencils she posted for the game were of course brightly colored and sparkly.... I told my friends "These boxes,picture entire bookshelves and a small room full of stuff like this and that's what her office looks like."

I wondered if she started making the boxes first and then came up with the theme or if had the theme of couples first and then made the boxes?

I really appreciated the Get A Grip show too. It used Skateboard grip tape as the source for images. The proceeeds from work sold in the show will go into creating a skatebaord park from local a abandoned area under a bridge. That really seems like a great idea to me.

The cool thing was two days later I am at one of the schools I sub at and this kid has brought in his skateboard to paint. I tell him about the show and he said he had already seen it.

I am not sure how many of the artwork could actually be applied to a board. I really enjoyed the variety of materials used such as pastels(those really worked great ion that surface), airbrush, collage, mixed media drawing, paints etc.
For more info on skate parks and related issues go to http://www.rochestercitynewspaper.com/news/articles/2007/10/RECREATION-No-place-to-go/print/
or krudco.com