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The Fabric That Connects Us All and the Stories We Share

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"Heliotrope 1"             This past week, I enjoyed an artist talk at FLCC's downtown Canandaigua gallery and studio, ArtSpace 36. The featured artist, Lydia Boddie-Rice, engaged the group in a compelling conversation amidst her exhibit, "Mixed Messages. Stories Told Through Fragments and Fabric". "Naomi's Match "Eyes Up Frances" This striking exhibit is made up of Boddie-Rice's dynamic, mixed media pieces. She uses fabric, different paints, beads, and other 3D elements to tell a story. In her words, many of these stories are of "healing and transformation."       "Thaddeus"    "Peace Among the Peonies"           The conversational tone of her artist talk reflected her mission as an artist to inspire connection.   She certainly connected with her audience that day.   Her warmth made everyone in the room feel like friends.             Boddie-Rice spoke of her past...
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The Art in Everyday Life

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              I recently had the opportunity to enjoy a late morning/early afternoon with a friend at a local treasure called "Crazy Daisies Flowers & Garden Cafe". Crazy Daisies is much more than what the name suggests!!! It also has an outdoor music venue. There are outdoor activities and places to run and play for kids as well as many spots to sit back and waste the day away for adults.      What brought my friend and I in that day was one of the many adult classes and activities that Crazy Daisies offers. We had committed ourselves to making an Easter centerpiece.  As soon as you enter the first greenhouse at Crazy Daisies, you know you have arrived at someplace special. They have crafted a beautiful flower display using nature's brightest palette visible soon after you walk in. After that, you are greeted by a cloud of iridescent bubbles floating through the air. While my friend and I were following the instructions to...
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A Detour to the Right Path…My Evolution as an Artist

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                    I have been an artist at heart for as long as I can remember. My earliest memories range from finger painting at my parent’s kitchen table and participating in childhood art contests, to soaking up every detail I could in my elementary school art classes.                   In high school, I had an amazing art teacher who really pushed us creatively while teaching the skills needed to execute diverse projects. At this time, I was much freer in my work. I used bold colors, surreal ideas, and a lot of representational shapes and patterns in my art. The pieces I was creating at that time were very stylized.                   Before I knew it, much of my time became devoted to working at and then running a small business with my husband and raising our family. My creativity took ...
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Putting the "Zen" Into Zentagles

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    Recently I've had the opportunity to take a college course that includes learning about and making Zentangles as part of the class content. For those of you who don’t know, Zentangles are small, quick doodles done by following specific criteria. They are meant to be relaxing to the artist when executing, while also giving a sense of accomplishment, as they don't take a lot of time to complete. The tangle describes the line or design part of the practice and the zen describes the meditative feeling they are said to evoke.                   This has not been my first experience “tangling”. I’ve been a part of an informal art quilting group in the past, and at one point we had decided to start utilizing this practice. It was an easy way to have something small and quick to complete while enhancing our design skills when it came to our textile creations.      ...
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