What seems like hard work to an artist may seem like play to someone who isn’t. I suspect that most non-artists think that artists do nothing but play. Oh if only that were true! How is it any different for an artist to struggle and labor over mixing the perfect color or fixing that screw-up that she worked so hard to avoid from the office worker who pours over documents looking for a particular detail or the construction worker who sweats in the afternoon sun? It’s not. The environment, tools, or level of exertion may differ, but it’s still hard work.

I have recently become familiar with the kind of hard work that relates to home maintenance and improvement. I hurt in places that I didn’t know existed, and I ache in muscles that haven’t been used in eons. Yes, now that spring is here and summer is coming I feel the pressure to ‘do stuff’ around my house. Last weekend my husband and I layed a hardwood floor in our bedroom. It was hard work but the results were worth it. This is usually the case with hard work: the end results are often worth the effort that we put forth to accomplish our task. This is no different in art, of course. It can be a challenge to balance the hard work of our daily lives with the hard work of our art lives, but I have found that the two go together in a way that I hadn’t noticed (or perhaps chose to ignore) before. The harmony I am gaining from having my home in order is spilling over into my art life, making it easier to focus on the creative process.

Six years ago, after years of listening to people’s hearts, both literally and metaphorically, the time came to relinquish my stethoscope and heed my own. This propelled me into a challenging transition from the life of a physician to that of an artist. In so doing, I surrendered the universal language of objective precision and strove to create one that is uniquely personal.

Due in part to my passion for living things from microbe to man, my work, even in the abstract, often reflects nature executed with a quality I term "organicity." Exploration is my driving force, with my work ranging from quirky to cerebral. The phrase "what if" lingers within and challenges me to pursue new media and discover methods of incorporating diverse media into a single piece. My base generally consists of acrylic paint, pastes, gels and pours (though I occasionally work with encaustic). This substrate may then be developed with collaged natural elements, exotic papers, watercolor, pen and ink, charcoal, pencil, and pastel. I also float images I have created on silk tissue into my work. Layering thus formed provides texture and a sense of depth. This, in some instances, gives the acrylic base the appearance of encaustic. Oddly enough, in the midst of this seeming complexity, I often relish the execution of a few wonderfully drawn lines.

Because of my love of texture and touch, I create in part with the simplicity of implement-free hands. I likewise invite the viewer to let his or her hands participate in of the process of engaging with my art. It is my hope that each participant appreciates the depth of my work and connects with the mystery beneath. It is this mystery that inspires me to create, and in so doing brings me profound joy.

     Tonnie also brought along fliers for Sandy Leper's upcoming workshop covering her approach to developing personally as an artist, and clearing aside the myths we create which hold us back from creation. Contact her with questions regarding enrollment/dates/etc.

      Samantha Saether next gave a quick overview of progress on the Salmon Run. She has 7 fish remaining to be picked up by their artists -13 had been taken as of the meeting. Fliers announcing the show and the Salmon Run locations have been placed in locations around downtown Edmonds. She and Dave Shaw have extra fliers and lucite stands available if you have a space to distribute them - contact Dave Shaw for these. He also has posters for the upcoming ArtSplash show ready to be posted around the Sound - contact him for copies to distribute to your favorite arts patrons hangouts.

      Lynn Scott and Kathy Rinaldi are co-chairing the Refreshment committee for ArtSplash. Please contact them with the potluck item you will be able to bring for either/both the Friday July 20th opening party and Thursday July 19th ArtWalk evening. Also, if you can bring along light refreshments (cookies, crackers, candy, or nuts) for the remainder of the show, that would be appreciated. The wine for our opening will be provided once again by EAFF. Finally, if you have any attractive fish-themed display items to help decorate our refreshment tables in keeping with the ArtSplash/Salmon Run/sidewalk chalk fish theme - please bring these along to help jazz up the evening.

      Amy Peacock has unfortunately still not received her replacement printer part to produce the hard-copy version of our March newsletter. Hopefully her printer will be operating again soon. Call or email her with your show/general arts announcements to be posted on the AC website and in the upcoming newsletter.

     She has been working hard to put together a new website for both ArtistsConnect and ArtSplash. Please email her with a jpeg image of your work to be included on the AC page - she has put our representative images into a slideshow rotation, which gives visitors a feel for our wide range of talent. New member nametags will be produced for the next meeting - Amy hopes to include our media on these and our website listing, please call or email to let her know your preference.

     Regarding the ArtSplash miniature art auction benefit - Amy would like to do a publicity shot in early June if we could gather enough completed work. Please attempt to keep your entire work (including framing) within the 6x6x6" format.

      Heather McGilvray noted that our September meeting would fall on the same weekend as the Edmonds Studio Tour, if held on the usual weekend. She proposed changing the date to either the 3rd or 5th Saturday of that month instead - Kathleen Johnson will look into available space at ArtWorks.

     Heather also asked for volunteers to step forward for a rotation of duties such as taking minutes/moderating the business meeting/refreshments. These positions should be held for 3-6 months. Paula Parks volunteered to take over minutes beginning with the May meeting. Heather will be asking for a replacement for the moderation position in May.

      Kathy Rinaldi gave a quick update on the Sidewalk Chalk event, and the entangled web of city policy which surrounds it. They are asking for liability coverage, which EAFF does not provide - and she is going to apply for a waiver from the city. Currently the event is still going forward, and should provide a fun weekend afternoon while building excitement for our upcoming ArtSplash show. Please remember to bring in your unwanted sidewalk chalk to donate for this project - Kathy has provided collection boxes at Art Works.

Creative Program - Notes on Drawing the Figure presented by Ken Smith

      Ken Smith teaches figure drawing and hosts open life drawing sessions both at his Lynnwood home and Art Works. The Art Works sessions are held every 1st Wednesday of the month from 6:30-8:30 p.m. and cost $10. Bring your favorite working media and hone your observation and drawing skills with professional models. Ken's home studio sessions are held most Saturday mornings of the year from 9:30-12:30 and cost $10 as well. He has room for about 8-9 people to work comfortably, so please call ahead to reserve space - (425) 478-3628. Ken will also be conducting a series of classes this fall at ArtWorks if you require more guidance or are completely new to the discipline of figure drawing. These classes will be offered in 4 blocks of 3 week sessions.

         Ken began his presentation by addressing why artists keep returning to the basic discipline of figure drawing. There are several benefits to this practice. Drawing the figure is both easy and challenging at the same time. We all intuitively know what we look like, however, depicting the human form convincingly is challenging. The figure brings narrative into your artwork. Regularly drawing from a live model is akin to playing musical scales - it develops your skills of hand-eye coordination and helps you gain confidence as an artist. Learning about the anatomy of the human body  gives us greater control of our artistic expression. We understand why the body moves in the way it does, and what is possible and "believable."

     Ken encourages all of his students to take the time to focus with their eyes closed on isolating all the various bones of their own body and exploring their function and range of motion. Individual proportions vary from person to person, but Ken's approximate divisions apply well to most figures and creat a sense of "correctness". For example, people tend to be hesistent to draw heads. However, most of us are quite familiar with basic head proportions. The bottom of the ear, and the lower edge of the nose, for example, are in line with the base of each other and the skull. The "corner" where the mandible drops from the base of the skull, aligns with the center of the mouth.

     People often ask "Where do I start" in a figure drawing. Ken usually focuses on the single line (generally following the path of the spinal column) which captures the "energy" of a particular pose. Then he will look for the angle of the shoulders hips and head. Look for where the body is bearing weight. He sometimes draws a radial circle which encompases the range of motion - for example of the upper arm to show the limits of it's extension.

The Studio of Tracy Kay Fraker will be open the weekend of June 16th and 17th, just up the hill from the Edmonds Art Festival. 11:00 - 4:00 pm Saturday and Sunday. Stop by to see the work of three Artist Connect artists and a enjoy a spectacular view of the Puget Sound. It is a fun stop on the way down to the Festival.  We are also having an open house kick-off party here on Friday evening, June 15th starting at 7:00 pm. Lynette Hensley and her husband Larry providing the music, I will provide the wine and dessert. All AC members invited. Tracy’s studio is at 9221 Sierra Street, Edmonds. For directions call 425/673-0906 or frakerart@verizon.net 

Sue Smith has a piece in the Edmonds Arts Festival.

A few news items from Kelly Tissot:

1. Artists Connect has finally been approved as a fundraising partner with CM Travel and ArtistsConnect members are now starting to earn money for the group! Edmonds Arts Foundation has offered to receive checks into our ArtSplash account, which ArtistsConnect can then use however we want to.

2. I sold a painting for $850 at the 10th Annual International Society of Acrylic Painters show in California this month.

3. I will be exhibiting about 15 very large pieces from August 5th to September 6th in the sanctuary at the University Unitarian Church in Seattle. The reception for myself and one other artist is Sunday, August 5th, 11:30 to 1:30. I will send an invite to all AC members sometime in July.

From new AC member Julie Stonefelt: June 21st, 5pm-8pm: Edmonds Third Thursday Art Walk.  Solo show @ Zu Kafe
My piece Late Afternoon with Glaucous-winged Gull was accepted into the juried show at Edmonds Arts Festival.

From Mike O’Day: Currently at the Frances Anderson gallery through the month of May there is show titled "Birds of a Feather" featuring AC members Barbara Wyatt, Mike O'Day and members of the Sculptor's Workshop.

Colleen Ozora will be teaching the following classes at Artworks in June:  "Trees and the Landscape workshop" - Fri June 22nd 9:30 am - 3:30pm (1 session) - $70 and "Special projects" watercolor class on Tues June 26th 10am - 12:30 pm (1 session) - $20.  For more information, check the Artworks website at artworks-edmonds.org or call Colleen at (425) 640-5647.

From Julie Scandora: I will have a show at the University Inn in Seattle during the month of June. And on my road trip to the Midwest, from which I just returned, I got an upscale gallery (DeLinn Gallery) to accept one of my watercolors.

From the Denise Cole Gallery: We currently have three terific feature artists:  Kathy Collins - watercolors, Mark Boyleoils and Jeff White - oils.   They are all three national award winning artists and have wonderful sweeping sea, land and skyscapes.

We have some great workshops coming up:  
May26 & 27 Jennifer Diehl , from Portland is doing a two day oil painting class.   She will be teaching the techniques of the Russian Impressionist.  It is a wonderfully free and fun way to paint. $160
June 2, Dianna Shyne is doing a full day workshop focusing on painting the figure in acrylic. $85
June 9, Janis Graves is teaching a fun and fast approach to pastel painting.  $75
To sign up, contact Denise Cole at: ColeGallery@gmail.com or at 425 697-ARTS

(kathleen@twocrows-studio.com)

Image Guidelines:

- Remember the images of your art must be high quality for print purposes. (300 DPI, Jpeg, preferred).

- It should be art you plan to have available for the July show (includes miniatures).

- Since this is a summer show, if your art evokes a summery feeling it is more likely to be selected.

- Consider that your art image will be only be about 2-3” big on the poster or post card and needs to ‘read’ well at that size.

- Remember the images will be part of the overall design and need to work well together.

- Feel free to submit more than one. (more chances!)

- Due date: ASAP but no later than April 22.

Please remember to bring your books tothe April meeting for exchange or drop off at Autumn’s frame shop. Please not to whom the book is meant for when dropping off your books.