The Hatchery

Day 1 at The Hatchery

thinking about designs-
here are some of the ideas.

instruction

sketching out the design

the materials- look familiar?

working hard...

Day 2 at The Hatchery

(from day 1)

the plan

taping






grout

MOSAICS!

The Workshop is in full swing. On-site pics from the River Arts District will be posted on Friday! Now I really want to mosaic my whole house...

More Mosaics..

Thanks to Nancy for her personal touch on our Week of Mosaics! (see the blog below) I just watched the film In A Dream yesterday at the Asheville Jewish Film Festival and it made me want to go home and mosaic my whole house- large scale. And then I got to work today and found out that the Mosaic workshop that starts today is going to be working on a large scale project in a building currently being renovated in the River Arts District. Jessica Levine will be teaching us what to do- and Asheville's infamous muralist Molly Must (of the Asheville Mural Project) is also helping! (I kind of invited myself to help out on Thursday, so stay tuned for lots and lots of pictures). Now, you only have to wait a few more days for a large scale mosaic in this town- brought to you by the fabulous programs of the Asheville Art Museum. So, go- watch the film so you know what I am talking about- (or just glance at this pic- it is amazing) and then start your own giant Mosaic project-anywhere. You will want to, trust me. I am going to...

my friend jessica levine, mosaic artist

I used to say that I've known Jessica Levine for 25 years because we met in our first year of art school. But the other day I did the math and realized much to my dismay that Jessie and I actually know each other for exactly 30 years. Yesterday I found a grey hair so I guess that all makes sense. I am personally pleased to report that Jessie has a few years on me, and a whole lot more grey hair.

Jessica Levine is a community-based artist, doing projects like mosaics all over the country and in the Caribbean too. She also does cool stuff like runs Dottywood, Inc. which in addition to art projects has a whole recycling center, all based in Lewisburg, WV. Dottywood - get it? That gives you a sense of how incredibly funny Jessica is. She always makes me laugh. And for a while, she wore polka dots every day. Not in a preppy, Cole Hendrix Assistant Curator at the Asheville Art Museum kind of way, but more like in a Yayoi Kusama, slightly crazy artist sort of way.

Somewhere along the line while we lived in Philly, Jessica started working on projects with Isaiah Zagar. I didn't really know him yet, but I had watched with awe the 70 foot or so long wall of the Painted Bride Art Center get completely tiled over by Isaiah and his crew, including Jessica. One day Jessie invited me out to dim sum with Isaiah and his wife Julia; I had a great time despite learning right then that well, I'm not a huge fan of dim sum. But it was cool to hang out with Isaiah and Julia.

Another night I was invited over to their house for dinner with Jessie, and while I'm sure Julia served us a lovely dinner I was completely consumed with the house. Julia owned a store around the corner on South Street that imported stuff from Mexico, so there were decorated Mexican figurines and mirrors and boxes and tzotchkes everywhere. And then the mosaics....

And then the mosaics....yes, I did just repeat that, for effect.

How trite to say, "Wow", but,,,,,,,"Wow."

The entire house, from baseboard to ceiling, to behind the toilet to inside the closets (well, i am now exaggerating; i don't really know about the closets) - mosaic tiles.

And it was cool too b/c I could see his process, which I'm not going to disclose to you now. You'll have to see the film, or sign up for the workshop to get that info!

Photo of Isaiah and Julia Zagar in front of one of Isaiah's Mural.

Jessica Levine is hosting a Mosaic Workshop at the Asheville Art Museum, Tuesday through Thursday, March 16 to the 18th.
This coincides with the screening of In A Dream, a film about Isaiah's glorious murals, as a part of the Asheville Jewish Film Festival
Monday, March 15^th at 1:00 p.m. and
Wednesday, March 17^th at 7:00 p.m.

Once Upon A Time...

....there was an artist who had an idea for a story- one that was colorful, that captured your attention, and that used lots of nouns and verbs- but not many adjectives! It was a book for children!

Children's Book Artists are unique in their approach to the book. Because they have a very distinct and critical target audience, children's books are vividly colorful, creatively simple, and morally applicable. They may look like an easy project, but a good children's book takes into account all of these things and still wins over two separate audiences- children and adults!

The Asheville Art Museum's new exhibition, Nouns: Children's Book Artists Look at People, Places and Things, takes a close look at the art produced through the history of the children's book. Each one of the artists in the show has a unique approach to their craft, and audience members get a rare opportunity to see some of the original pieces from popular books as well as a glimpse into the process of shape, color, and storyline.

Additionally, there is space to sit down with your children and read some of these books. Entertain both yourself and your children with this innovative and multi-faceted exhibition!




I sat down with a friend of mine and her three year old the other day and read Spiegelman's I'm A Dog, and I was pleasantly surprised by its appeal to both adults and children. Kids tap into its colors, fantasy aspects ,and creative use of texture and pop-ups. But adults can appreciate its interestingly bizarre storyline (I won't tell you any more). This book reminded me so much of the needs of children's films these days to cater to both adults and kids with separate sets of jokes, analogies, comments, and associations. Children's books must do so also, and if they are like Spiegelman's I'm A Dog, they can be just as successful!

Come to the Museum to see original art from Spiegelman's I'm A Dog and many others.

The Museum is holding Pre-school Storytime sessions to read in the galleries
February 24, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. and
March 2, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Or come in at any time to read children's books in the gallery! For a complete list of programming visit our website!

Want to see another work of art from this exhibition? Check out our Work of the Week from the week of February 15 - 21, 2010.

This exhibition was organized and curated by the Asheville Art Museum. This exhibition is sponsored by Battery Park Book Exchange & Champagne Bar, The Captain's Bookshelf, Mr. Lester Laminack and The Toy Box.

Image Credit: Art Spiegelman. Image from I’m a Dog. Joanna Cotler Books publisher, 1997.

Organizing and Celebrating Scholastics!

Not only do we have our first online gallery of the WNC Regional Scholastics Exhibition online through Facebook but we also present to you a taste of the exhibition currently up in the Pack Place Community Gallery. See some behind the scenes moments and meet some of the artists!

Want to see art by students in Western North Carolina? The exhibition is only on display until February 14th! And it is FREE.

Staying organized in the Studio: Students from 20 WNC Counties drop off their work at the Asheville Art Museum, the regional representative for the Scholastic Art Awards. An array of local artists are asked to judge the artwork.

Hanging the Show: The Pack Place Community Gallery is a Free gallery in the front of Pack Place, which hosts the winning pieces every year. The Museum regularly sends 20 to 25 gold award recipients’ work on to the National Scholastic Art Competition.

Celebrating with Award Winners and Guests: The regional award recipients will be honored at a ceremony on Sunday, February 7 at 2:00 p.m. in Diana Wortham Theatre. Visitors come to see the show, including students from Smoky Mountain High School who came to celebrate the show together with teacher Gayle Woody!

Images from top left: Emily Ashe, Cathedral, Silver Key Award, Category: Printmaking; Sofia Peretti, Oz, Silver Key Award, Category: Sculpture; Carolina Karasinski, The Love Vase, Honorable Mention, Category:Ceramics & Glass; Ricky Phuong, City Of Lights, Honorable Mention, Category: Painting; Alicia Fowler, Buddah Sculpture, Silver Key Award, Category: Painting

The Asheville Art Museum is proud of all of the participants, teachers and parents of the 2010 WNC Regional Scholastic Art Awards. Don't miss this show!