marginalia

Start the New Year with a Gallery Crawl!

2012-01-06T09:35:00.001-08:00

I have 5 pieces in the current Charlotte Art League Show:

Members Only Salon
on Exhibit Jan 6-27, 2012
Opening Reception:
Friday, January 6, 2012 from 6-9 p.m.
free and open to the public

www.charlotteartleague.org

Hope to see you there!

Power On is now at Siemens

2011-11-12T12:19:00.000-08:00

My artwork Power On, along with the other Siemens purchase awards, is now at its permanent home at the Siemens facility. Since it can't be viewed at the gallery, you can still see it online:
http://www.mcadams-studio.com/Siemens_winner.html
Many thanks to Siemens and the Charlotte Art League for making this possible.

Power On - Wins Siemens Purchase Award

2011-11-06T08:13:00.000-08:00

My work Power On won one of Siemens four purchase awards!
It is currently on display at The Power of Innovation: Art Inside the New Energy Age exhibit until November 24, 2011 at the Charlotte Art League gallery. Them, it will be permanently displayed at Siemens' Charlotte location.

Charlotte Art League is located at 1517 Camden Road, Charlotte, NC 28203
Charlotte Art League website:
http://www.charlotteartleague.org/wp/ Come out and see the show!

New Exhibit - Opening Reception this Friday - Nov. 4, 2011

2011-11-02T12:53:00.000-07:00

I currently have work in the juried exhibit The Power of Innovation: Art Inside the New Energy Age sponsored by Siemens Energy, Inc. and the Charlotte Art League

Opening Reception is Friday, November 4, 2011
6:00 - 9:00 pm at First Friday Gallery Crawl
Awards are at 7:00 pm.

Charlotte Art League is located at 1517 Camden Road, Charlotte, NC 28203
Charlotte Art League website:
http://www.charlotteartleague.org/wp/

This exhibit runs November 4 - 25, 2011

Come out and joy the show!

Upcoming Exhibit this Thursday - A Visual Harvest 2011

2011-10-24T08:20:00.000-07:00

I have three pieces in the Gaston County Art Guild juried art exhibition A Visual Harvest at the Jeanne Rauch Gallery.

Opening Reception is this Thursday, October 27, 2011 from 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm.
Location: Gaston College, Jeanne Rauch Gallery, Rauch Sciene and Fine Arts Building, 201 Highway 321 South, Dallas, NC 28034.
Directions can be found here: http://www.gaston.edu/aboutus/maps.php#dallas

Regular Gallery Hours:
Monday - Thursday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Friday 9:00 - 2:00 pm

Hope to see you there!

Mini Movie of This Year's Art - Enjoy!

2011-10-10T11:39:00.000-07:00

Good-bye, Steve

2011-10-06T09:20:00.000-07:00

I was saddened to hear of Steve Jobs' passing. I use a Mac, which is the computer of choice for most artists.

He had such an impact on many people's lives, as evidenced by the fact that the Apple home page had this single image (above). No products - not the new iPhone - just a memorial tribute to someone that will be missed. This underscores that success is not just about profits.

I honor Mr. Jobs' memory by posting his quote:

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."

Steve Jobs
US computer engineer & industrialist (1955 - 2011)

Second Place Winner in Gateways to the South Competition

2011-10-02T13:15:00.000-07:00

"Bookstore on Courthouse Square, Lincolnton" won second place in this year's Gateways to the South art competition.
This is a scratchboard drawing of one of my favorite places in North Carolina. I also have 2 other pieces exhibited in this show.
Come and enjoy over 90 works of local art! Exhibit runs from Oct. 2 through Nov. 11, 2011.

Show Location:
Southern Arts Society, Inc. (SASI) (at the depot), 301 N. Piedmont Ave. (NC 226), Kings Mountain, NC.

Current Exhibit: Gateways to the South 2011

2011-09-27T14:29:00.000-07:00

I have 3 pieces in the Southern Arts Society 2011 Gateways to the South Show:
Exhibit runs Oct. 2 - Nov. 11
Opening Reception is Oct. 2 from 1-4 pm

Southern Arts Society, Inc. (SASI) is located at:
301 North Piedmont Avenue
Kings Mountain, NC 28086
(704) 739-5585

Their website:
www.southernartssociety.org

Caravan Jam Tonight at 7:30 pm

2011-09-07T08:03:00.000-07:00

Wednesdays at 7:30 pm local musicians have a jam session at the The Caravan, a coffee shop in downtown Belmont, NC.
The musicians play outside if the weather is nice. If it rains (see sketch) they jam inside.
Good coffee; good music.

And the winner is . . .

2011-08-26T10:19:00.000-07:00

The Carolina Artists Expo was great! I met several of the area's artists and enjoyed works created in a wide variety of media.
Downtown Coffeeshop won first place in the watercolor category and the graphite Figure Drawing won an honorable mention in the pencil category.
See you next year!

Current Show - August 25-26 2011

2011-08-25T09:30:00.000-07:00

I have 3 pieces of artwork currently showing at The Carolina Artists 2011 Expo
The Reception is today: 6:00-8:00 pm
Hours:
Thursday, August 25: 10 am – 8 pm
Friday, August 26: 10 am – 8 pm 
Location:
Salisbury Civic Center, 315 Martin Luther King Avenue, Salisbury NC 28144

Recent Gallery Work

2011-08-09T14:30:00.000-07:00

Freedom Park (scratchboard, 2011) - was in the Charlotte Art League's July exhibit featuring Charlotte landmarks. I chose Freedom Park as my focus.

Coffee Grounds

2010-09-03T11:52:00.001-07:00

The Charlotte Art League Is Hot - Literally!

2010-07-24T10:46:00.000-07:00

The building temperature at the Charlotte Art League reached 89 degrees this morning! Yet the group drew on. The model did a great job, especially considering that he was posing under hot lights, in addition to the hot air temperature.

How do I know it reached 89 degrees? A woman who was this Saturday's host said that when it's 90 degrees inside, they close.

I admire both this woman's and our model's dedication to art in the Charlotte summer heat.

Greek Potato Salad

2009-08-15T09:30:00.000-07:00

Here is the recipe for the potato salad that my friends and relatives request at every warm-weather gathering. It has a short, tasty story as well.

Potato salad is a staple at summer picnics and cookouts. However, eating traditional Southern-style potato salad (which uses mayonnaise), then playing in the summer heat can lead to an upset stomach. I was inspired to find a recipe that didn’t use any milk product after I experienced this at a blistering Fourth of July picnic.

I began reviewing and experimenting with various recipes while Kali danced. Except for this year, every time I was preparing this dish, I would turn on the television to wait while the potatoes boiled. Each time, the 1974 movie The Golden Voyage of Sinbad was playing. I would usually tune around the time the magician, played by Ton Baker of Doctor Who fame, animated a statue of Kali, making her dance. (I’ve since learned that this is actually Shiva, but I still love Ray Harryhausen.) I’ve missed the dance this year – I may buy the DVD to view while cooking.

Here is the final recipe, which is ideal for serving on summer days:

Greek Potato Salad

2 lbs red potatoes – keep the skins on, boiled, cut into quarters
(Since bags come in 3 lbs, I often just make 3 lbs. of potatoes and increase the other ingredients to taste.)
½ red onion – sliced or chopped
4 – 6 green onions – cut thinly
Fresh dill – to taste between I tbs – 1/8 cup chopped
Fresh oregano – to taste between 1 tbs – 1/8 cup chopped
2 ounces olive oil
1 ounce red wine vinegar
1 lemon – juiced
Kosher salt
Black pepper – ground fresh
** Kalamata Olives ** - I don’t add these, but most people do to make it traditionally Greek-styled potato salad.

Mix all of the liquid ingredients together. Pour over the solid ingredients in a large bowl. Refrigerate before serving.

The '70s Are Back!

2009-08-11T12:55:00.000-07:00

I went to the Mall Saturday for the back-to-school tax-free week-end, and it was back-to-the-70s for me.

A lot of the colors and styles have looked to that decade for inspiration. Many clothing items were beautiful. All were expensive. Since I couldn't afford all of them, I drew them.

The peasant blouse is quintessential 70s, as is the embroidery on the blouses. Isn't the yellow ochre lovely?

The Skylight Exchange

2009-07-08T12:38:00.000-07:00

The Skylight Exchange is one of my favorite bookstores because of its unique hidden nature. The only reason I even found it was because of the wooden sign sitting on the Rosemary Street sidewalk. The worn placard had a piece of paper with “sale” drawn in red ballpoint. At the entrance of an alleyway was a metal sign promising “Books - CDs - Tapes” to anyone who would be willing to enter the door at the end of the alley. I can never turn down the adventure of a used bookstore.

Once inside, I found a large room lit by several skylights, containing a lunch counter and a makeshift stage.

It’s such an interesting place, I had to paint the entrance. In the future, I will add a piece to the series showing the interior.

For those who are interested in going: the Skylight Exchange is located at 405 ½ Rosemary St., Chapel Hill, NC 27516

CSI: Belmont, Part 2

2009-07-04T13:57:00.000-07:00

Even though the sketch-creation stage of this book cover included a trip to the emergency room for David (my model), I was still able to get the sketch submitted on time.

The art director requested revisions to the hero's appearance. She felt he "looked old and dumpy," literally adding insult to David's injury.

CSI: Belmont

2009-06-30T11:38:00.001-07:00

Hello and welcome to my first blog entry!

I thought I'd start out with the story of how my husband faced more danger as an artist's model than all the years he spent working on a loading dock.

I was working on an illustration assignment: a sword and sorcery fantasy book cover. As usual, my husband David was my model. Dressed in a hooded cape, he posed as all the evil wizards, taking various poses. To model the hero, he dressed in a medieval-style tunic, with a replica sword and scabbard across his back. We had borrowed this beautiful, replica sword from his brother,who collects such historical replicas. They are kept in pristine condition: they are oiled, they are sharpened.

Yes, we now realize how stupid this was.

When David finished posing, he leaned over to pick something up, and the sword slipped out over his back, moving in front of him. Instinctively, he reached out to catch the sword. He missed the hilt and grabbed the blade. He immediately ran down the hall to clean his "minor cut." There was a large trail of spattered blood along the hall to the bathroom. It was "CSI: Belmont." Having seen the blood, I gathered up my purse and his insurance information, and drove him to the county hospitals' emergency room.

At the hospital, several clerks, nurses, and doctors came to hear him describe what had happened. All of them were amazed except for one doctor from Brooklyn, who had tended to several sword injuries in that borough. Apparently, sword fighting occasionally erupts in Brooklyn ever since Highlander screened in the '80s.

David told all his coworkers that he cut his in a bizarre cooking accident. "I was grilling," he said, "and this big knife fell off the grill towards my wife, and I rescued her."

I've posted a picture of the book cover. The medical bills exceeded the payment from the publisher by a few hundred dollars. What we learned, however, is priceless: I now insist on plastic props for any modeling.

My husband's hand is now fully healed. Poor David still carries the brunt of our great moment of stupidity. Whenever he's preparing food or doing simple yard work, friends and family always tell him to take care with the knife.