Welcome to BERMUDA

Funny cars and narrow streets. Welcome to Bermuda

The view from my host's balcony where we ate take out Indian food

I have arrived in Bermuda and got the WiFi working! Our first stop was at a bar right near the airport for a traditional Bermudian rum drink called a "Swizzle" This is a sweet drink that is really yummy in the heat. THAT prepared me for the prices at the grocery store, OMG

Check out the digital price tags on this very strange yogurt!

After the Swizzle we headed to Lindo's Grocery to purchase lunch and breakfast food and wine. OMG my english muffins from home were almost $8 per package. No, that's not a typo.

Mmmmmmm Indian sauces in the local grocery

The island is a mass of very narrow roads full of scooters and cars trying to make their way. Tomorrow morning I need to run and hope to beat the commuter traffic. Class starts on Saturday, so Friday we are exploring the island and art galleries.

Stay tuned. :)

Installing Art Prize!

a beautiful day for a road trip!

Kimberly Kelly Santini (friend and fellow artist extraordinaire) and I hit the road (only pit stopping for coffee) yesterday morning for MVP Metro Club with a van full of panels, artwork, and power tools! Grand Rapids proved to be a very nice city offering wonderful old architecture and clean sidewalks!

the exterior of our ArtPrize venue, MVP Metro Club on Fountain St.

one of the many main buildings in town dedicated to the event

ArtPrize is a HUGE event, it has pretty much taken over the city, with 163 venues displaying the work of over 1700 artists! Every where we turned there were banners and graphics with the logo and that wonderful vibrating line pattern, the city is buzzing with anticipation of the opening on the 19th. 

the lobby of MVP Metro Club, unpacking and hanging

Unpacking and setting up art on the panels that Kim and her husband made to hang collages in front of the glass block wall that MVP Metro Club has in their main lobby. They came up with a pretty amazing solution which ultimately looked really good! We spent the day going up and down the ladder with power tools and wire cutters. 

hanging with art cards

I used my mad graphic design skills to make us individual artwork tags and bios to hang on the wall with the work. Thanks to Katie, my monitor from the Traverse City workshop, we had them professionally printed and mounted to foam core. We are BIG TIME now!

how professional do we look?

We spent a long time installing the artwork, getting our pieces to flow and look exactly as we wanted them to. Our wall of combined work offers a bunny and some koi fish that we each did our own take on, style and media. 

our wall of collaboration

Check out the ArtPrize website to learn more about voting, and the event itself. If you are anywhere near Grand Rapids, MI you might just want to make the trip.

Check out the Paper Paintings Facebook page for an album of more images from the day!

iPhone 5 NEW CASES!

Case-Mate announced their new custom made iPhone 5 cases this week and I'm happy to follow suit. I've put together some of my best selling designs and added some new ones for the new case.

CASES ARE NON RETURNABLE, they are custom made to order

the VIBE Case
This two-piece case redirects your speaker for an increased sound protection, making its presence known loud and clear.

Case-Mate VIBE case description

VIBE Case Designs

Orange Poppies Monarch Fine Feathers Sleep Poppies

the BARELY THERE Case
This is the classic slim case from Case-Mate has an extremely slim profile that showcases more of your iPhone. The form fit covers back and corners, and offers an impact resistant, flexible plastic shell with access to all ports and functions.

Case-Mate Barely There case description

Barely There Case Designs

Orange Poppies Monarch Fine Feathers Sleep Poppies

Orange Poppies

Monarch

Fine Feathers

Sleep Poppies

Art Prize

Koi / 20x24 / collage of hand painted paper on birch panel

I am getting ready to ship a sampling of my Noah's Ark Series to Art Prize in Grand Rapids, MI where I will be displaying in the same venue with Kimberly Kelly Santini. Santini and I have created a couple of pieces with the same subject matter to demonstrate how artists have their own style and interpretation of things, even when working from the same subject. Kim's Koi Pond inspired me to move further back from the subject and get more abstract in my execution.

Flopsy / 24x20 / collage of hand painted papers on birch panel

Santini and I both painted Koi and Flopsy. I just Love Kim's version of the rabbit that I enjoyed painting as well. We worked from different reference photos provided by the owner (thank you Heather!)

my voting number and title card for the exhibition

I will post information on voting as it becomes available but you can get started by setting up online now. With an ArtPrize.org account you can easily search, save and share your favorites. To get started click the "Collections" tab once you've logged in. You may find my work on the ArtPrize website here.

Anyone over the age of 16 can register to vote. Votes are cast on ArtPrize.org, via text message and mobile application. Learn more about the public vote and juried awards. 

Looking forward to my upcoming trip to Michigan to install the work at MVP Metro Club downtown Grand Rapids and to sipping more wine with Santini!