In Addition to Art

Spring is coming and that means Triathlon Season! I have started my training regimen (four months to prepare for May 8) and have committed to start the season off with the Danskin Women's Triathlon, which was my first triathlon ever. This will be my third time competing in this race which takes place at Disney World in Orlando, FL.

If you have ever thought about trying Triathlon, this race is amazing! First, it's all women (so I guess that means it's amazing for you if you are a female!) Second, it's all levels of fitness, from folks who don't even exercise, to elite pro athletes! Third, a portion of the proceeds go to breast cancer, cancer survivors participate in the race. How cool is that?

Look them up online, they are all over the country!

Pier One Imports

Love, Dream, Laugh, 12x20, collage of hand-painted papers

Pier One Imports has accepted these inspirational patterned pieces for their 2011 print collection. Be sure to let me know where you spot them! I'm super excited about this opportunity and hope to hear from you when you come across them in your neck of the woods!

After putting together the images for Pier One digitally, I cut the 12x24's in half to create brown barn-wood framed original 12x12's, currently featured in the Grand Bohemian Gallery in Asheville, NC and Orlando, FL.

Atlanta Collage Society Show

Ferst Center for the Arts at Georgia Tech

I am in good company in the Atlanta Collage Society Show at Ferst Center for the Arts in the heart of Atlanta, GA. I have been a member of the Atlanta Collage Society for over a year now and have to say that they show in some fantastic venues!

Last year the ACS afforded me the opportunity to show at the Quinlan Visuals Arts Center in Gainesville, GA where I am scheduled to present a workshop this year.

Undulation and Syncopation, 20x20, collage of hand-made papers

The ACS is a wonderful group of diverse collage artists from the Atlanta area, but their reach is broadening. There had been some talk of them becoming a South East Collage Society, I'm not sure if that will come through, but you do not have to reside in Atlanta, or GA to be a member of this group.

I am also a member of the National Collage Society which has members from around the world. This year I was accepted for the second time into their Annual Juried Exhibition, quite an accomplishment! This means that I am 2/3 of the way toward earning my "Signature Member Status." The NCS only accepts about 20% of submissions each year for this show. 

The Annual Postcard Exhibit showcases 4x6 pieces from EVERY member who submits, if you want an opportunity to hang your work with other collage artists! Both of these Collage Societies are worth looking into if you are interested in collage art.

Cherie's Progress

Cherie in her room at Shepherd Center in December

It's been a while since I noted Cherie's progress and I wanted to let you all know that her time at the Shepherd Center for Spinal Cord Rehabilitation in Atlanta has been extended! Her original discharge date was January 13, but they have given her another week, now she will discharge on January 19 and hopefully continue to receive outpatient services after that, until the end of the month.

Since Cherie has no health insurance and the rehab is being paid by Medicaid, we are all very happy and thankful for this extra time she has to perfect her skills with adaptive equipment. When I was there she told me that she was learning to operate the computer completely by voice, with Dragon software. She was also learning to control her electric wheelchair with "sip and puff" technology. Basically, since she is paralyzed from the shoulders down, all adaptive equipment utilizes "sip and puff" which is basically using a tube positioned near her mouth at all times, to blow or inhale, as a controller for highly specialized equipment.

Cherie maintains a positive attitude, she has made friends with another patient across the hall from her and now has someone to talk to and share down-time with. Her sister told me that they all enjoyed Christmas dinner in Cherie's room. It snowed in Atlanta this Christmas, I think it was the first time it did that in about 100 years! Maybe this is a sign of very special things to come for Cherie.

I wanted also to report that my fundraising book Art with Heart has raised over $500 to date for Cherie's family, which they are utilizing to convert her sister's home to accommodate Cherie, building ramps and widening doorways. The biggest expense they face is a customized van, the expense of this is overwhelming.

visit www.cheriestannard.com

Vadim Bora Legacy

Playful cat public sculpture, one of many by Bora in Asheville, NC

Vadim Bora, husband of my friend and Grand Bohemian Gallery director Constance Richards, passed away this week. My heart goes out to Constance, she did a wonderful job on Asheville TV, speaking of her husband's incredible artistic accomplishments.

read more about his work in my previous post

You can see Constance in the Asheville TV news story here:
WLOS ABC 13 News :: Top Stories - Vadim Bora Legacy

Workshops

I just added a new workshop at Village Gallery and Framing in Orange Park, FL. If you are interested in spending 2-3-4 days learning the art of collage, keep checking the right hand sidebar of this blog for an ongoing list of workshops near you!

Sweet Savannah

SCAD Graphic Design and Admissions Bldg. makes me want to go back to art school!

We left home on December 27 from just North of Orlando, FL. My husband and my two kids and I drove to up MA to visit my family for three days. After sledding and enjoying the snow (and food) in Western Massachusetts, we headed over to Northern New Jersey to visit my husband's family. After visiting NYC and getting over the novelty of snow and cold, we headed back home to the South.

Grand Bohemian Gallery at the Mansion on Forsyth Park, not to be missed on your trip to Savannah

Today we arrived in Savannah, GA. We wanted to stop here before our last four hours to Orlando so that we could stay at the NEW Kessler boutique hotel Bohemian Savannah Riverfront. Since Kessler hotel's Grand Bohemian Gallery represent my collage work, I wanted to visit the NEW Savannah property and go over to the Mansion on Forsyth Park to introduce myself to new Gallery director Sasha Nikulina. Sasha recognized me right away when we walked into the gallery, what a warm welcome!

Espresso Gallery, coffee, art, and very cool light fixtures

Walking around Savannah with the kids was a lot of fun. In a city that is host to such a school as Savannah College of Art and Design, you know I could replenish my collage glue! After having an AMAZING lunch at Kayak Kafe on Broughton Street, we ventured across the street to Primary Art Supply. Are you kidding? This is like a candy store for me and I wanted to just get glue but my husband was right, I HAD to look around.

TWO levels! All the SCAD students are shopping here with their class lists, reminds me of my freshman year at SU

Behold the paper selection!

Connor chooses a glittery version of printed floral, My husband Doug gets a kick out of his excitement.

Connor found the art papers selection and helped me pick out a few glittery sheets, he's always one for the BLING when it comes to paper. This place had a huge selection of art papers and I gathered a big pile of paper, in addition to my glue for the 4-hour road trip home tomorrow.

Savannah Candy Company, Connor and Emilie were in heaven!

After dragging the kids around the art supply, I had to take them to the Savannah Candy Kitchen to sample their famous pralines, buy some chocolate covered marshmallows and chocolate bark. Mmmmmmm, sugar.

View from our balcony, watching cargo ships head down the river from the port.

Back at the Bohemian Savannah Riverfront Hotel, we loved the lobby, the room, the rooftop bar and The Rocks On The River Restaurant for dinner. The restaurant offered amazing interior design, original artwork, excellent service, and a diverse menu. We thoroughly enjoyed our dinner.

I love Savannah and I'm super lucky to be represented by the Grand Bohemian Gallery here. It was great to meet Sasha in person and to share the experience with my family. Tomorrow we head out for Orlando. Since we only drove two hours today, I made minimal progress on my Yorkie collage. Tomorrow I might get close to finishing that piece now that I have more glue!

Yorkie, 12x16, cradled birch panel, in progress