MABBUTT has been making felt for 10 years specializing in sculptural wet felt techniques & creating fashion & home accessories & sculptural forms from undyed wools & natural fibers. Her aim is to raise awareness of the material & its natural properties, creating unique, contemporary & desirable objects. Mabbutt's work has been exhibited in many venues including the Mall Galleries, London & The National Centre for Craft & Design. Laura also takes satisfaction in teaching the craft of feltmaking to others & is available for demos & workshops.
ADAMS was born in the rural outskirts of Pittsburgh, PA, where she lived before settling in Charlotte, NC. Adams obtained a BA in Art & Education from Wingate University & a MFA in Painting at the University of SC. Her research on objects and the interior is drawn from the emotional memory of solitude and longing that the memory of place or thing holds for her. She is inspired by the desire to express, through ideas of shared experience, the emotional memory that these locations or 'special objects' hold.
My pantry is a library of food fads and favorites. You’ll find canned tomatoes from my mother (necessary to all of my favorite dishes) and high-fat coconut milk (necessary to all quiet indulgences). Then there is the the fruit cocktail, quince marmalade, pickled herring, kimchi, a jar of black lime & a few dried apricots left over from some food obsession or experiment that either went awry or with which I got bored. I can’t bring myself to get rid of the non-expired food no matter how random because they occasionally inspire genius. This next Call displays the beauty of collecting and sometimes inspires genius. This is a beautiful idea…
Check out this Call for Entries from The Brooklyn Art Library for The Sketchbook Project (SBP 2015). Send your work on tour of museums and galleries across North America for as little as $25! Since the last time I mention SBP, there is now a digitized option! Take a look…
*Editor’s Note: If you have read the personal portion of this post,CALL for ENTRIES: The Sketchbook Project, anywhere other than by email subscription or on ArtAndArtDeadlines.com, it has been published without permission and is considered theft.
MEDIA:Open to all media that an be contained within the confines of the 5″ x 7″ x 1″ sketchbook. It can open to any size, but it must fold down and not exceed 5” wide x 7” high x 1” thick. You are welcome to cut, rebind or alter the book in any other way – just please remember to keep it less than 1” thick. Please read the media tips and tricks.
THEMES: For a complete list of themes, click here.
DEADLINE: You must purchase your sketchbook by January 5, 2015, but the postmark deadline isn’t until March 31, 2015.
ENTRY FEE:$25 minimum fee for a standard 5″ x 7″ x 1″ sketchbook that, once completed, registered and returned will go permanently on view at Brooklyn Art Library & travel in their Mobile Library. OR
$60 digitzed fee for a standard 5″ x 7″ x 1″ sketchbook that, once completed, registered and returned will go permanently on view at Brooklyn Art Library & travel in their Mobile Library. In addition, it will be viewable in the Digital library, have a custom URL to share the digital link, can be added to curated Collections and can be added to a Queue.
The December mayhem has set in, and we’re only 3 days into the month. And my own art has taken a back seat to other commitments and tasks once again. It seems I can’t every find the time to plot and illustrate and plan and follow through on those plans. I vow this year will be different. I’m putting up a real tree (rare in my household), and this month’s artist has inspired me to string popcorn in addition to my well-planned and plotted decorative theme. And this year, art will happen IN ADDITION TO and inspite of all the holiday mayhem. AND without all the traditional plotting and planning. I am excited to see where it goes…
This month’s artist has spent years learning the art of letting go and production through play. Her work reflects a deep connection to the beauty of nature without hidden agendas–just connection and PLAY.
ArtAndArtDeadlines.com is proud to claim Emily Mitchell as this month’s Featured Artist. This work spotlights home and family and parenting and human connection–life, really. And, I really needed it. Please let it sink it and consider it a holiday gift.
For the past 20 years, Emily Mitchell has been working as an art educator, and holds a M.A. Ed. in Art Education. The joy of teaching artists has allowed her to thrive on inspiration from others including teaching High School Art, including AP Studio Art, at Champlain Valley Union High School in Hinesburgh, Vermont. Mitchell had the opportunity to work with John Crowe from Massachusetts College of Art, and with Peter London, Professor Emeritus of Art Education, UMass Dartmouth. “I am eternally grateful to them both for allowing me to simply play in my work.”
When not making art or managing family, Mitchell can often be found swimming with the BASS Masters Swim team, riding her bike with the kids, battling weeds in the garden, GF baking, obsessing about acappella music, reading, or exploring a small corner of Vermont.
How has the teaching art to others informed your own approach? Has years of teaching informed your sense of play? “Without question, I love making art with people, and I find that interacting with them, through is invaluable to my own art. My mind works in a very spiral manner – my train of thought will go from a process, to thinking and making connections through art history – helping others grow. Right now I teach adults and do the occasional workshop. But before this, I spent 16 years teaching K-5 in Massachusetts, and then 9-12 here in Vermont. Back in 2000, after reading “The Dot” by Peter Reynolds to my 4th graders, I saved their responses to the story, and often, when I am stuck, or frustrated, I will look at it. Its truly magic, free, full of joy, and THAT feeds me! Plus, kids are hilarious – and I learn so much from what they bring (mainly joy and abandon)to art making!”
Talk to me about your paint process. For example, which comes first, the title and concept or the work? “The process I currently use is an amalgamation of three amazing art course I have taken in my life – plus about 40 years of making art. The first was called “Vigorous Play for Artists/Teachers” and it was taught at UMASS by John Crowe. I took the course in the summer of 1998, and it changed my life–Crowe did not talk for the entire week! He pushed us through readings, critiques, and playful challenges, which for me, resulted in a wonderful body of artists books, and a show of my work and the work of my elementary students. The second was called “Drawing Closer to Nature” with Peter London – that one was hosted by Kirpalu.”
“The third class I took just last year in January of 2013. Flora Bowley’s e-course, Bloom True, reinvigorated all that I “knew” in terms of process, approach, but had neglected, forgotten and moved away from after 8 years of teaching more “formal” technical drawing. Most importantly, Flora’s class helped me let go of needing to know what my work was going to look like.
“Now, I literally feel my way through my work…”
“…working in layers, responding to colors, patterns, textures, feelings, a word in a song… the title could come from any of those things, or simply a feeling weeks later (or if I’m hanging a show and I’m like, “Crap! I need a title fast!”). I find that the final pieces really reflect a mood or idea in my own life, and the visual result is part of the process of understanding.”
You seem to have VISUAL connection to nature? Is there a deeper underlying meaning or connection for you? I spent 5 summers working at summer camp in Connecticut. I found that this place helped me find myself more than college or traveling ever did. It was a place of deep personal growth and connections–and it happens to be on its own private lake, surrounded by trees. The light & sounds there are unlike any other. I still hear them in dreams. Now, I am lucky enough to live in Vermont (where it gets damn cold!), but there is beauty everywhere here–in the food, in the woods.
While I love the culture of cities,
I need space, air and green to fully breathe and live!
Detail of Horizon 2 by Featured Artist Painter Emily Mitchell!
What are you trying to say with your work? How does it connect to your need to explore human connection? “Because I do not plan anything at all, I really feel like each piece is a response or story about the paint, my heart, and everyone’s desire to feel connected to others. While the characters in the work may be realistic (birds, trees) or abstract (bubbles or circles) the connection and harmony within the space is there and somewhat intentional. Ironically, I need to plan less in my daily life–but that’s hard to do with two busy kids!”
What style or school of art do you think work fits into? “My work is probably Realistic Expressionist, maybe? Color is certainly predominant in the art, but so is space and depth.”
What is your favorite food addiction? “Ok, this is going to sound really boring, but I actually LOVE salad with roasted veggies, my own greens, chicken and either goat or feta cheese. I essentially chop up whatever I have in my veggie drawer season with “slacker herbs” (aka Mrs. Dash) and a bit of oil. My husband also makes a mean maple balsamic dressing – I DO live in Vermont so any excuse to use Maple…We also have a pretty large localvore movement here in Vermont with about 10 CSAs(community-supported or shared agriculture) I can think of right around me! I have a garden, where I grow purple carrots, beans, lettuce, etc. and when possible, I do try to purchase as much meat and produce locally.” You are a woman after my heart. Veggies rock my world sometimes, and we certainly have goat cheese in common. But honestly, I’m going to pick chocolate every time.
What if your favorite snack food obsession? “Popcorn. I could easily eat about 12 cups of it. We make it old school with Oil in our “Whirly Pop”, and I use an herb salt on it, and when I’m feeling really VT hippy, I also toss a bit of nutritional yeast on it.” Okay, I edit responses to questions–usually only for length. So, most readers have NO IDEA how often I hear about nutritional yeast. Clearly, I am going to have to give in and try it.
On a more personal note , most of my readers know I don’t’ eat gluten due to the ugly presence of Celiac disease in my household–2 of the 3 of us. So, if you don’t mind my asking, how long have you been GF?*Editor’s Note: Published with full permission of the artist. “I have Thyroid Disease, and it was suggested I try being GF to help my thyroid function. It was also suggested to ditch dairy to be truly on the anti-inflammatory free diet…but man I LIVE IN VERMONT–there is NO WAY I am bailing on cheese! We have so much amazing cheese! So I limit cheese and diary but skip the wheat. Ironically, my asthma went away after eliminating wheat.” My son’s lactose intolerance completely disappeared, and he is happy to trade gluten for cheese any day.
What’s coming up next for you? “I have this idea for 20-30 small wood panel paintings to be displayed together – I may do this as part of an upcoming art-a-day event. I have also been pushing myself to do two portrait drawings per month to keep the ‘classical’ drawing skills fresh!”
Thank you, Emily,for reminding us that
play is productive.
I don’t share well. I never have. I like to believe it is an only-child-thing, but I’ll stab your hand with a fork if you get too close to my plate during some dishes–Eggs Benedict, for example. Just ask my kid; it doesn’t leave marks, but apparently it is memorable, ha. Regarding this next Call, I need you to be generous and share. I hope this Call is just the opportunity YOU want. But if it isn’t, please share it far and wide so that this dream doesn’t go unrealized for someone out there. Take a look…
Check out this Call for Applications from VisArts(Rockville, MD) for VisArts Emerging Curator Program 2015. For those of you with curatorial vision but needing additional experience, this is a rare chance to learn with a budget…
*Editor’s Note: If you have read the personal portion of this post,CALL for APPLICATIONS: Emerging Curator, anywhere other than by email subscription or on ArtAndArtDeadlines.com, it has been published without permission and is considered theft.
SELECTION PANEL: Includes the VisArts’ Curator, Artist Advisory Council, Gallery Committee and 2015 Mentoring Curator
AWARDS: VisArts will provide the Emerging Curator with an exhibition budget of $10,000. Additional funding and staff support for printing, promotions, and execution of exhibition programming is available.
*I understand that this Call is meant for a very limited audience. My best hope is that if this opportunity doesn’t speak to your career development that you will kindly share it.
‘Tis the season of the pumpkin. And because I live in the Great Smoky Mountains, it is also the season of the over-saturated photograph. So many people come to the region to see the over-the-top leaf colors, that local photographers want to give them a piece of that color to take home with them. For me, I’m okay the the decay of it all. Dropping leaves will give way to a brown and gray-dappled stick forest that will soon be frosted with snow and infused with crisp air. You can have the pumpkins & neon trees, thanks.
I am not alone though. The work of this month’s artist proves that someone sees growth in the very structure of it all, not just in the window-dressing of color. The work is black and white, but the presence of color is unmistakeably present.
ArtAndArtDeadlines.com is proud to claim Anna Agoston as this month’s Featured Artist. This work spotlights nature’s abundance and ceaseless growth. These images are representative on the surface, but leave the viewer with an abstract notion of structure. Just stunning…
Anna Agoston is resident of Brooklyn, New York, but she was born and raised in Paris, France. Always passionate about art, she qualified as an architect DPLG (government-certification) at the Ecole d’Architecture Paris Malaquais, and went on to earn the M.Arch.II degree in architecture at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design
While at Harvard, Agoston studied fine art photography under Professor Jim Dow of the Department of Visual and Environmental studies, and photographed her first series, “Dorm.”
In October 2013, Anna made her lifelong passion, fine art photography, her main professional occupation.
Are you self-taught or formally instructed as a photographer? I am a self-taught artist. I went to architecture school. I did take a couple of classes in photography, but I learned most of what I do at home and on my own.”
Will you talk about your process? Do you go out and look for material to photograph, or are you strictly an opportunist? “I am always on the lookout for my subjects. I walk around looking at plants and studying them. When I find a subject, I take pictures, and often go back the next day to take more. I often discover what it is that I love about my subject while taking the picture. Untitled #46 (pictured left) is an example of a subject of which I took hundreds of photographs before getting the right shot.”
Why does your work focus on nature? Why not faces, animals or even architectural elements. That’s a great question! In March 2013, I was laid off from a stressful and time-consuming job. Buds, stems and leafs were sprouting. And it was as though I had never seen spring before! I needed to somehow contain this new excitement in my art.
“As I took photographs I started to understand just what it was that I loved in my newly-identified subject. I loved the shapes, the textures, and the fact that natural elements evoked human behaviors.”
Most artists have something to say—something they are trying to get across to viewers. You have stated that you “want them to see and feel things independently”. Can you tell me why?
“I believe I have a lot to say.”
“But I choose to say it with the image and without the use of a title. I believe that words channel people’s perception, and I want people to see and feel things without being influenced.”
What style or school of art do you think work fits into? I think of my work as abstract, because there is a departure from reality. I take photographs of living elements found in nature, but I distill certain aspects of the element. The distilled or abstracted is what I show to the viewer.”
Is there any artist, living or dead, that has most influenced your work?Constantin Brâncuși’s work was about the idea, and the essence of things. He distilled the essence from the environment.”
What if your favorite food? After all, it IS a food-themed blog?I love a thin slice of toasted rye, with a little butter, a sliver of smoked salmon and lemon. Add champagne and it’s simply perfect!” Oh, this sounds delightful!
How about snack foods? “I don’t snack.” Um, okay. I never know what to say other than, “Really? Why? That makes me so sad.”
What’s coming up next for you? I have my twelfth juried group show this year coming up at the Vivid Solutions Gallery from November 7 to December 19, 2014. I am excited as the exhibition will take place during FotoWeek DC. The exhibition will feature two of my photographs as well as my self-published book ‘Untitled Vol.1’.”
June YOKELL is currently working on paintings of California landscapes creating particular moments in paint of beauty & loss.
"I feel a rootedness to everything about nature;-rushing rivers, tangled bushes and trees, blooming plants & flowers, songs of birds, snow falling in a silent and dark night, the warmth of a summer evening. Early experiences along with my response to nature, to personal relationships and to the world are the ingredients. The presence of memory is the ongoing spice."
Pungent seems to be the portfolio view of my kitchen. While taken individually you’ll find the full gamut of flavors from subtle pink salt to fresh pulled mozzarella, the overall impression most people would have after a quick kitchen tour would probably be more accurately represented by a jar of anise and potted mammoth basil plant. What does your portfolio say about you? The next Call asks this very question. Take a look…
Check out this Call for Entries from F-Stop Magazine for their Portfolio Issue #68. No Entry Fee. Opportunities to show a portfolio-sized example of your work are rare. Be sure to tell them you found F-Stop through artandartdeadlines.com. We know you will make us proud…
*Editor’s Note: If you have read the personal portion of this post,CALL for SUBMISSIONS: Portfolio, anywhere other than by email subscription or onArtAndArtDeadlines.com, it has been published without permission and is considered theft.
ABOUT F-Stop:F-STOP MAGAZINE is an online photography magazine featuring contemporary photography from established and emerging photographers from around the world. Each issue has a theme or an idea that the unites the photographs to create a dynamic dialogue among the artists. Founded in 2003 and published online, bi-monthly.
The simplest foods make me happy these days. And, as much as I am looking forward to Fall, I am sad to lose fresh tomatoes for caprese salad for pumpkin-flavored everything. This next Call is looking for your simplest work. Channel the tomato…
Check out this Call for Entries from Orange County Creatives(Laguna Beach, CA) for Simplicity, an exhibit of pared down, clean artwork in any 2-D media. Take a look…
*Editor’s Note: If you have read the personal portion of this post,CALL for ENTRIES: Stories, anywhere other than by email subscription or on ArtAndArtDeadlines.com, it has been published without permission and is considered theft.
Twinkies abound in the art world. You know, that work that grabs your attention with some knock-off aesthetic resembling a Pop Art master only to leave you with calorie-dense, nutrient empty content. I see a lot of it. Jurists and directors the world over see a lot of it. As a result, illustrators and graphic designers have frequently been left out of “all media” shows without so much as a thank-you-very-much-for-the-entry-fee.
Not today. The work of this month’s artist has more than just a cream center. I have a soft spot for the catch-more-flies-with-honey feel of this work. The delivery is almost Southern.
I am proud to welcome Joseph Cavalieri as AAAD’s latest Featured Artist. This work shines a spotlight on the baggage of life, both in celebration and lament, while wrapping it in the razzle dazzle of popular culture. It feels a little like I just heard a song on Top 40 radio that had lyrics of substance. Rare.
Joseph Cavalieri is a native New Yorker, based in the East Village, and one-hundred percent of his life is spent as an artist and educator. Since 1997 Joseph has been exhibiting painted, air brushed and silk-screened stained glass.
In 2013 Joseph had four one-man shows, and “Madonna & Prada” was acquired for the permanent collection of the Museum of Arts and Design. Cavalieri also has work in the permanent collection of the Leslie-Lohman Museum, in Manhattan. Joseph’s MTA Arts for Transit public art commission can be viewed at the Philipse Manor Train Station in Westchester, New York.
Cavalieri’s unique glass art techniques combine modern elements with time-honored processes used by Medieval stained glass artists.
Women figure prominently in your work. Friend or foe? “Being the youngest of seven children, five sisters and one brother, I was a bit confused when was exactly my mother. I was constantly passed around from sibling to sibling. I this is one reason why I work so well with women, and have featured many in my work… I really have always “got them” from an early age.”
Are you self-taught or formally instructed? “I come from a graphic design background, art directing at GQ, Good Housekeeping and People magazines. (Yes, I helped decide what was the best and worst dressed and the sexiest man.) During this time I took a variety of classes at UrbanGlass in Brooklyn and became hooked on using glass as my canvas. Now as a full time artist I teach these techniques, mixed with what I learned as an art director– around the world.”
Talk to me about your process.“I use different techniques in my work–airbrush, silk-screening, and painting. But, I still feel I am a graphic designer.
“I am an artist working on posters made of glass.”
“Glowing, back lit glass is very similar to a computer screen or iPad, and immediately seen from a distance. No wonder the church used it to tell the message of the Bible… a very early version of illuminated advertisement .”
I notice a huge portraiture influence even on the pieces that prominently feature a portrait. Confess… “I may be the first artist to place an image of an African American man in stained glass. I have done many portraits, ranging from Agnes Moorehead, Jackie O, The Lady Bunny and Isaac Hayes. Why? When I visit a gallery, portraits are what I am drawn to the most, and I find them to be the most challenging. Plus, we all know Agnes Moorehead IS a friggin’ goddess!”
Talk to me about your inspiration. “One of my more popular series was based on modern day addictions. It was shown in a church here in Manhattan. We are all surrounded by addiction, but we don’t all create work about it. The inspiration for these 10 pieces came for deep in my heart, with some humorous elements that are deep down there too. I did use one swear word in a panel, which a priest covered with black tape for the run of the show.” Electrical tape? Perfect. I’m sure THAT is archival. *snicker*
Talk to me about the two artists (one living, one dead) that have most influenced your work, and tell us why. “Dead, it would be Fortunato Depero, who created very graphic posters for Campari. Living, Matthew Dayler, also very graphic work with an edge.”
What if your favorite snack food obsession? “I recently taught a workshop in Zurich & brought a few silk-screens with me for the students to use. One was of a Twinkie®, which, since I was 12 years old has been one of my personal obsessions. I had used this image in work named “Gluttonize” which was a stained glass window based on food addictions. Surprisingly, the class had no idea what Twinkies were or are! After a long explanation they asked me to bring a case when I return to teach in 2015.”
What’s coming up next for you? “Opening June 20th is “NYC Makers” at the Museum of Arts & Design in NY. I have a large portrait of Jackie O in this Biennial, silk-screened on glass.”
Thank you, Joseph,for being more than the gooey middle.
In 2013 Joseph had four one-man shows, and “Madonna & Prada” was acquired for the permanent collection of the Museum of Arts and Design. Cavalieri also has work in the permanent collection of the Leslie-Lohman Museum, in Manhattan. Joseph’s MTA Arts for Transit public art commission can be viewed at the Philipse Manor Train Station in Westchester, New York.
Are you self-taught or formally instructed? “
I notice a huge portraiture influence even on the pieces that prominently feature a portrait. Confess… “
