SECOND
HELPING
of ART
for FOOD

Thank you for the great response to the new project that I’ve been playing around with &  the post of  Two Eggs & Pancakes!  You were even kind enough to make a few visits to my husband Jon’s site too!

In other news, I have been accepted as the newest member of The Haggus Society.  You’ve gotta check these Hags and B*tch Fest out on facebook.

As your reward for showing me & my work so much blog love, I offer you…

Here is another one of the new batch of
cell phone xerography pieces: EAT.  Enjoy!

What do you think?  Leave a comment or email me!

The name of the game is:

Trust your gut

Don’t be overwhelmed by flattery…no matter how badly you need to hear it…

and BE CAREFUL.

Here’s a great article about How to Spot a Bad Art Gallery or Dealer from ArtBusiness.com . Thanks to my friend Michaela Pilar Brown for pointing it out to me!

As I get older, I seem to be going further out on the fringe. 

I’m not reusing plastic wrap yet, but I’m cheap nonetheless.  I have dreams of moving off the grid and living with solar panels and wind power…growing my own vegetables and making my own goat cheese. 

I not a child of the 60s.  I love 4″ heels and modern architecture.  But more and more, I am conscious of the cumulative effect of my environment on the quality of my life. 

Over the past 14 months, I have removed most processed food from my diet as a function of shedding an excess 65 pounds.  And, I have kept the weight off for half a year now by committing to whole foods.

So, where is this all going?  My point is this…I seem to be motivated to do things healthy and green for all the wrong reasons…but I at least I am doing them.  I have been motivated, once again, to take action.  I am going green…well, maybe just celadon, to reduce my electric bill.

I am going to reduce my family’s energy consumption at home by 30% by October 31st of 2010 (approximately 6 months).  I lived in Winnsboro, SC for around 3 years where I received a single utility bill for electric, gas, water and sewer because the city owned the utilities. 

My utility bill was consistently $300 – $400 per month or more despite efforts to make my historic home more energy efficient.  At the time, I was grateful for the bill because it was reduced from the bills I paid in Columbia, SC.

When I moved to Gatlinburg, I was shocked when my first electric bill in May of 2007 was less than $100.  I moved into a smaller house with more energy efficient appliances, but the real difference was attributed to the Tennessee Valley Authority by all of my neighbors.

My electric bill has gone up over the past 3 years, but it usually falls between $100 and $160.  Extreme weather occasionally adds $20 to this number.  I pay approximately $65 per month for water and $0 for sewer because  I have a septic system.

I have taken measures over the years to keep my bills low by removing the energy-sucking outdoor hot tub as well as the water-sucking indoor jacuzzi.  Many of the bulbs in my house are compact flourescents, and we only run the dishwasher and washing machine when they are full (due to laziness–not energy conservation).

Well, it is time to take better measures to reduce my utility expenditure.  Here are the steps my family has agreed to take over the next 6 months:

1. Turn down the temperature on my hot water heater.  FREE. I don’t know where it is set, but I regularly scald my hands–that can’t be good.

2. Insulate my hot water heater.  APPROX. $40.  It is easy to tell that I am losing heat due to the excessively high temperature in the closet where it resides.

3. Replace my thermostat.  APPROX. $30.  My thermostat is around 20 years old.  It is time.

4. Insulate the back of my thermostat.  APPROX. $10. The wall that comprises closet that houses my hotwater heater also houses the my heat pump thermostat.  It is not a brilliant design, and I can’t fix that as a non-owner; however, I can build an insulated box to prevent the excess heat given off by my soon to be insulated hot water heater from making it run unnecessarily.

5. Replace west-facing window coverings with thermal curtains.  APPROX. $200. My house faces west, and the back wall is all windows.  I suspect that adding insulated curtains to the 48 square feet of window in the apex of my partial A-frame chalet will go a long way to reducing my AC energy expenditure.  In addition, I have two sets of sliding glass windows and two additional windows in my art studio.

6. Finish replacing all bulbs with compact flourscent bulbs. APPROX. $50.

7. Only use lamps and light fixtures when NEEDED. FREE.

8. Quit leaving the TV on as background noise for people OR pets.  FREE.

9. Reduce use of the diswasher.  APPROX. $2.  This one is hard, folks.  Because we cook almost every meal at home, we produce lots of dirty dishes.  We run the diswasher at least 7 times per week…sometimes 9.  Ouch.  I am going to try to reduce the use of my diswasher to 3 times per week.  First, I have to buy a stopper for my kitchen sink so I can revisit hand-washing, ugh.  In addition, I must only run the dishwasher when I am home so that I can open the door instead of running the dry cycle.

10. Reduce use of the washing machine & dryer.  FREE.  We do about 5 loads of laundry per week.  I could rewear more clothing…or quit being too lazy to hang it up, and probably reduce my loads to 4 per week.  The biggest drain is the dryer, though.  By removing clothing when it is done and not rerunning it 3 times to remove wrinkles, I imagine I can conserve a considerable amount of energy.

11. Seal doors and windows.  APPROX. $20.  I can see outside under my front door and the draft around my sliding glass doors and windows is shocking.  Weatherstripping and an addition to the bottom of my front door should do the trick.

12. Shorten showers.  APPROX. $10.  We take approximately 21 showers per week at my house–3 people x 7 days, and that isn’t going to change (although my 11 year old would love to give that a try).  We are going to buy a water-proof clock with timer for the shower to find out how long our showers are now, and reduce that number by at least 25%.

Okay folks, that it the list for now.  I know this blog is supposed to be about my art, but I’ll keep you updated on Project Celadon and the result.  Wish me luck!

My move toward being more energy conscious has been motivated by my stinginess…but not my stinginess alone…

…Thanks to Toni’s Treehouse for Green Living Tips of the Week
and a HUGE COMMITMENT to being kinder
to her family by being kinder to the environment.

–Thanks, R.L.

I get a lot of email, queries and facebook comments as to the legitimacy of the calls I post. And, while I understand that one rotten apple can spoil the barrel. Rest assured, I make every effort to sniff out the bad apples. To my knowledge, I have never post a fraudulent or scam call. Let me know if I ever do.

On that note, I am always hesitant to post calls for online exhibitions because they tend to strike my readers as a way to lose their cash for little benefit in return. However I must say, I am a big fan of art organizations that lay it all out there. Take today’s call for example.

The Austin Museum of Digital Art says, “Since AMODA currently has no permanent exhibition space, there are some types of visual art that are more practical for us to present than others. In particular, we are seeking artwork to display in our Digital Showcase Series. The Digital Showcase is a one night only event featuring live electronic music and visual art in a social setting, such as a bar or nightclub.” I get it, and I appreciate the fact that the call isn’t hidden in some vague archaic language.

Austin is known for its innovative art vision, and I love the idea of bringing art to the public instead of coercing the public to come see art. Here’s the call:

VISUAL ART

The Austin Museum of Digital Art is open to receiving a wide range of visual art submissions, including anything that they would define as digital art. Please see their About Digital Art page for more information.

“However, since AMODA currently has no permanent exhibition space, there are some types of visual art that are more practical for us to present than others. In particular, we are seeking artwork to display in our Digital Showcase Series. The Digital Showcase is a one night only event featuring live electronic music and visual art in a social setting, such as a bar or nightclub.”

The forms of art that work well in these events are video art, computer animation, digital prints, performance pieces, live video, multimedia installations, and interactive pieces. To submit visual art for their Digital Showcases Series, please send an email to visual.art@amoda.org. (See the submission guidelines below for more info on what to include in your email.)

FLYER ILLUSTRATION

Each Digital Showcase features a different flyer illustrator. If you would like your work to be considered, please contact their Creative Team Director at design@amoda.org. (See the submission guidelines below for more info on what to include in your email.)

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Examples of your work:

• when you send a submission, please include examples of your art, music, etc.
• they strongly prefer a link to a website where we can view or listen to examples of your work
• if this is not possible, you may also attach images, audio files, or short video files to your email

Short bio and work description:

• it would be helpful to include a short bio and description of your work
• this may include your history as an artist, where your work has previously been shown, where you have previously performed, etc.
• it may also include details on the concept/subject of your work, and any special display considerations
• they prefer a link to a website where they can read this information, but you may also include it in the body of your email, or as an attachment

Submission replies:

• they make every effort to read and catalog all submissions, and consider them for future events
• however, AMODA is an all-volunteer organization and cannot guarantee a reply to every submission
• even if you do not receive a reply, please feel free to send additional submissions in the future, as you create new work (this is an exception to most gallery rules)

For more information, please visit the AMODA Call for Submissions.

ArtAndArtDeadlines.com is a free service–forever and always. But clicking on a sponsor’s ad can help you find additional Art Deadlines and help this service remain free. I’ve filtered the ads so they are mostly about art. I hope you find something intriguing! Thanks for your support!

I met Toni Turbeville approximately 15 years ago in a class at the University of South Carolina. We weren’t incredibly fond of each other at first but had many of the same friends and ended up together on a regular basis.

I thought she was a big mouth; she thought I was a, well, a bitch. Eventually, all of our friends had other classes, and it was just the two of us–alone together.

The friendship stuck in a manner I never thought imaginable. We have been on hideous road trips to Union, SC (don’t ask), been through both divorces and re-marriages (and the bridesmaid dresses that go with them), co-owned a business (with a partners desk) and co-managed multiple rock bands.

We have survived the bitter ugliness of truths that cannot be unsaid. We have shared art, too much wine and enough nicotine to kill a horse. We have fought the bulge– both winning and losing depending on the year.

She is the god-mother of my child.

She is talented and funny and way off center in a delightful way. Why should you care? In addition to being a great artist, designer, and public relations maven, she has a talent for the written word. And finally, after years of stops and starts, she has published Toni’s Treehouse–a blog capturing the whimsy of childhood, the necessity of laundry, and all the vittles you can whip up in a hurry while life passes you in a blur.

Art & Art Deadlines.com is proud to be the Featured Sponsor of Toni’s Treehouse for the month of February. It is about babies and motherhood and television and cooking and everything and nothing. It brightens my day and inspires me to get off the couch…if only to put on clean pajamas. The Everyone has Garbage post almost made me wet my pants. Visit and Enjoy!

It has to be said…I love Shakespearean literature. I confess to being a Romantic.  I confess to loving Hamlet.  I confess to having committed to memory endless passages of hackneyed lines so as to have them on the tip of my tongue at just the right moment.  I confess that I derive inspiration from the cadence of every line.  I confess.  I confess.  I confess.

In 2004, I lived in a tiny town in South Carolina with a lovely community theatre called the Pine Tree Playhouse.  Its players are still among my dearest friends.  In the summer of 2004, we decided to do Shakespeare in the Park in hopes that a handful of the 3500 residents would come and watch.

About 100 people saw the show over 2 weekends, but we were not discouraged.  Shakefest was born–a day long Shakespearean festival to be held outdoors…a festival dedicated to fresh, and often odd adaptations of Shakespearean literature–from a mobster version of Julius Caesar to a black and white TV sitcom version of The Three Witches scene (see pictured left).

I saw the festival through its first two years before I moved, and I still can’t stay away.  I’m not on stage anymore, but I attend every year.  Well, the time for Shakefest 2009 has come–Saturday and Sunday, October 17th and 18th.  I’ll be there for my dose of inspiration.  Join me.  It is only $5 for adults and $3 for children for the full day. You can enjoy the performances as well as a turkey leg, a few baked goods and lots of costumed performers.

Come in costume… the Queen is waiting!

I’ll see you there!     R.L. Gibson

Okay, I added a blog category today–Links I Love. I trip across them and have them sent to me all the time.  Here’s one that made me smile–the Alphabet Soup Work Generator.  Thanks to Toni Turbeville for this one.

Send me the links that YOU love!

–R.L. Gibson