Sitting down a Working Woman/Artist (literally)

Well, we started standing up, but the discussion during our Lunchtime Art Break this afternoon on Women Artists/Women Workers was so casual and intimate that we all sat down in the galleries to hear from our guest speaker Gwen Diehn. Gwen is an artist and a retired faculty member of the Warren Wilson art department and a wife and the mother of three kids. She gave us some insight into the life of an artist who also must juggle work, married life, kids, and just life in general. When and how do you make time for your art practice?










It was only fitting that we sat down in the Ruth Asawa gallery. Ruth had six children, a husband, and, eventually, a prolific arts advocacy career. Yet, she produced an array of art, which she made great strides with in the art world.

Here are some great insights from Gwen on being an artists and having a life:

1. It does not matter what you do after art school (if you go). Being an artist is finding time for your practice. Some people work at 3am before their crazy jobs start or their babies wake up. What is important is to find time for it and to do it regularly.

2. Being an artist does not necessarily mean that your end goal is to show in a big New York gallery. You might be on the other end of the spectrum, where you are not concerned at all about selling a piece. Think about where you fit on the spectrum and tailor your goals accordingly.

3. Finding space for art can be hard sometimes so it is good to keep tools and supplies available, out in the open, easily reachable, and available to all. Gwen had a printing press in the dining room, where it fit.

4. Involve those around you. When your kids are sick, you may have to draw them in bed. Your kids might want to help you crank the press in the dining room. They learn and you practice.

5. It is so helpful to have a partner who supports your daily juggle and pushes you to maintain your practice. Support can come in all forms- financial, emotional, etc.

6. Priorities are priorities but that does not always mean that your art practice is always at the top. Don't feel bad if you get consumed by the love for your new baby, etc.- pick up your artistic practice when you are ready- just don't forget about it entirely.

Thanks to Gwen for a unique look at Ruth Asawa. Check out our upcoming Art Breaks! We have lots of special guests coming in to give us fresh perspectives!

The Countdown Clock

Hello friends. This is your Asheville art Museum intern signing in. days seem to be flying by faster then I was expecting and keeping up with them has become a job in itself. I currently have 3 calendars strategically placed around the computer and that's not even counting the ones I have bookmarked online. Organization is the key this summer, but lately I have been lost in a sea of dates and events. Updating my updates and placing my event placements has become an obsession. Between the calendars on my desk and the ones in cyberspace space I have become a human countdown clock. So, in organizing the dates one more time, I have decided to give you all a peak inside my mind's datebook. I present to you:

THE COUNTDOWN CLOCK:

To begin, let's look at the events that are most important. The Celebrate 60! Raffle has begun. You have exactly 31 days until this raffle ends. That's a month's time or 744 hours or 44640 minutes to pick your favorite prizes and send in your choices. That also gives us exactly 31 days until the Celebrate 60! Family pARTy and The Big Crafty. Yes, both these event are occurring on the same day folks. From 12-6 the big crafty will take over Pack Place, during which time from 1-4 the Celebrate 60! Family pARTy will take place. That's a total of six hours (360 minutes) of crafts and three hours (180 minutes) of pARTying.

On the Celebrate 60! note, our party is coming up in 16 days or, 384 hours, or 23040 minutes. Doors open at 7:30 on Saturday June 27 at the Orange Peel. With Free Flow Band performing, live painters and street performers it is well worth counting down the days to.

The countdown for Summer Art Camp has also begun. This countdown, luckily, isn't too long. Art Camp begins next week on the 15th bright and early at 9:00AM. This gives kids 4 days to prepare. Each session lasts 5 days and each day has 2 sessions. That is each session is 3 and a half hours long or 210 minutes- plenty of time for some ewyyy-goooy fun.

We have a number of exhibition changes coming this summer as well. There is ten days (240 hours) left to view the Expectant Gaze Exhibition, 24 days (576 hours) for the George Masa: Mapping the Mountains Exhibition, and 73 days (1752 hours) left to see Tradition and Innovation. On the other side of these closings there are 22 days (528 hours) till the opening of the exhibition Looking Back, 60 years of collecting at the Asheville Art Museum, and 29 days (696 hours) till the Cherokee Carvers exhibition opening.

Finally it is important to countdown the hour long Art Breaks we have coming up:
1 day for Tradition and Innovation
15 days for Mapping the Mountains. the Photographs of George Masa
29 days for Looking Back, 60 years of Collecting at the Asheville Art Museum
64 days for Cherokee Carvers

Oh! and in case you were wondering the Asheville Art Museum is 60 years old or approximately:
720 months... 21900 Days... 525600 Hours... 31536000 Minutes... I always enjoyed math.

As you can see there is a lot going on at any given hour here. However if you are are little confused on exactly what is going on there is this: Asheville Art Museum Event Calendar.

Until next time, I'll see you at the museum!

Another week has passed

So another week has passed and summer seems to have finally arrived in AVL... and the museum. What have we all been up too?? What exciting things have been happening at your Art Museum??? Well, let me fill you in.

Our newest exhibition: Tradition and Innovation American Masterpieces of Southern Craft and Traditional Art had it's opening May 22. This was the first of many openings I will attend this summer. Having a chance to speak with the artists I got an insiders view into the art and the vision behind it. My favorite piece: the Mardi Gras Indian costume. Something definitely worth checking out for those who couldn't make it.

Last Thursday the Asheville Art Museum got their drink (and read) on. From 5-8 Battery Park Book Exchange was kind enough to host a Museum Night. 50% of the evening's proceeds went to benefit the Museum! People from all over showed up to support the museum. Home baked goodies were provided and overall everyone enjoyed themselves. A few even had a book to go home with.

Yoga at the Museum began this past Monday. As a newbie at yoga, I was a bit timid to go into this class. Though, I was assured it was a beginner level, not having the best of balance I was a bit uneasy about stretching so close to art. Luckily I made it through the class without breaking anything (myself included). Yoga classes will continue every Monday through the month of June.

And finally, we have received our raffle tickets and have begun the process of distributing them! For those who haven't seen the prizes offered you must check them out ASAP! (Though, I find that hard to believe as I have plastered the town with posters).

So, as you can see we are still hard at work at the museum. Feel like your missing out? This next week we have some more events coming up including an Art Break for Tradition and Innovation on June 12 from 12:00-1:00 PM. Luckily I have the Internet on lockdown, constantly updating you on events. So, if you have the following be sure to look for us: Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, and Flickr.

Until next week, this is your Asheville Art Museum Intern signing out.

Lunchtime Art Break

Today's Lunchtime Art Break featured Skip Rohde, one of Asheville's local artists. He gave us a personal look at Jerome Witkin's work in the Museum's newest exhibition Uncommon Expressions: The Drawings of Sigmund Abeles and Jerome Whitkin. Skip shared stories of his visit to Witkin's studio and his insights on Witkin's drawing approach and style, providing the group with an in-depth look at this fascinating artist. His talk illuminated the importance of finding personal strengths as an artist and staying loyal to those techniques.