Today is the greatest. Day I've ever known.

cutting through the crap since 1975.
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step aside.
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moving on.
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words I live by.

(when I'm plowing through and gettin' it done, that is)

Today was magic. Third annual art chicas unidas. On site and outdoors and totally amazing. I am honored to get to do what I do. Nope, NCC (not curing cancer), but you know what? Doling out joy to high school girls is pure gold. Cultivating the professional artist community to generate new work? Worth it. Totally worth it. I'm bone tired and happy beyond all comprehension.

Art Con 5 Press Release!

From Art & Seek:

Art Conspiracy is a grassroots fund-raiser, art auction, concert and all-around heck of a party. The venue and the beneficiary change every year, and today details were announced for ArtCon 5.

Here's the skinny:

Date: 7 p.m., Dec. 12

Location: A warehouse at 511 West Commerce, Dallas. It will be transformed into a performance space and gallery for the evening.

The Art: 150 artists contribute their work, all created on Dec. 11, just for the event.

The bands: Telegraph Canyon, The Crash that Took Me, The Boom Boom Box and RTB2

Your host: The fabulous Paul Slavens, of 90.1 at Night, now on KERA radio, soon to be on KXT.

Admission: $10

The beneficiary: Resolana. The group provides rehabilitative arts programming to women in jail in Dallas.

If you are an artist, and want to participate, you need to take action at noon today.

You'll hear a lot more about Art Con here in the coming weeks, because Art&Seek is partnering with the group on this year's event. So stay tuned for more.

Press release after the jump

Art Conspiracy is Turning Five

December 12^th event is equal parts off-the-grid art show, concert and fundraiser

November 3, 2009 – DALLAS, TX – What started off as a “one time only” fundraiser has become one of the most anticipated annual art events in Dallas. On Saturday, December 12, starting at 7:00 p.m., Art Conspiracy will mark its fifth year of bringing artists and musicians together to “conspire” for good causes.

This year’s Art Conspiracy will be held at 511 West Commerce in Dallas. Once again the Art Conspiracy crew will transform an empty warehouse into a one-night-only art gallery and performance space. The event will feature music from Telegraph Canyon, The Crash That Took Me, The Boom Boom Box and RTB2, video installations from Edward Ruiz, art from 150 Dallas area artists and emcee, Paul Slavens, host of KERA-FM’s 90.1 at Night.

Art Conspiracy differs from other arts fundraisers because the artists do their work on site the day before the event. On the eve of Art Conspiracy, artists work in shifts to fill 150 18 x 18 plywood canvasses. During the actual event on Saturday, December 12, all pieces will be sold in rapid-fire live auctions. Starting bids for all pieces is $20.

This year Art Conspiracy has formed a partnership with KERA’s Art & Seek, an online community at artandseek.org where creative people can come together to find, discuss, create and react to art.

“We’ve worked to make Art Conspiracy unique, it’s an event built on creativity but the end game is doing good,” says Cari Weinberg, Executive Director, Art Conspiracy. “Art Conspiracy is fun, fast-paced and accessible to everyone. Over the last five years thousands of people have given us their time, talent and support. The result is a collaborative night showcasing the best of the creative community in Dallas while raising money.”

In 2009, Art Conspiracy will donate the proceeds of our event to Resolana, an organization that provides rehabilitative arts programming for women in the Dallas County Jail and Dawson State Jail in Dallas.

“In an uncertain economy, being the beneficiary of the Art Conspiracy is a tremendous gift . . . a real godsend,” says Bette Buschow, Executive Director, Resolana. “Resolana has recently been assigned its own classroom space in the new addition to Dallas County Jail and over the last six months, our programming has grown from six hours of classes per week to 16-20 hours per week. The funding from Art Conspiracy will make a HUGE difference in our ability to support and sustain this growth and in our ability to serve the women at Dallas County Jail.”

Since 2005, Art Conspiracy has raised over $50,000 for groups including

• Preservation LINK, an organization that teaches audio and visual media to students in South Dallas and Fair Park
• La Reunion TX, an arts residency in the making on a 35 acre urban forest engaged as outdoor studio space and gallery.
• St. Anthony Community Center, a center that offers visual art, music and dance to more than 800 children in South Dallas.

Art Conspiracy is street level philanthropy. Members of the creative community in North Texas pool their talents to create bi-annual fundraising events that support other nonprofit arts programs. Art Conspiracy events are designed to be affordable and offer everyone a chance to purchase original artwork at a reasonable level. Art Conspiracy is a 501c3 organization with IRS nonprofit status (so your donations are tax deductible!) More information is available at www.artconspiracy.org

Media Info:

Art Conspiracy organizers, musicians, and artists are available for interviews. For more

information and/or Art Conspiracy artwork, please contact Cari Weinberg at

cari@artconspiracy.org or call 214-794-3510.

Art Conspiracy Details:

Date: 7:00 p.m., Saturday, December 12

Location: 511 W. Commerce, Dallas, TX 75208

Participants: 150 Dallas Artists, 4 Bands

Admission: $10

Benefiting: Resolana

mmm, how fun. First Spark Club meeting a success!

About 40-60 (I'm a terrible judge of crowds) attended the first ever Spark Club! And it was fun!

a few of my favorite portraits from the last few years...

Cristina Henriquez



Kahki and Tarek



Roy and The Strange Boys



Therese



Trish and Tim

I can't get enough of this shot...

Home from West Texas. See ya in the Spring.

Call for Artists : Portfolio Review

CALL FOR ARTISTS :: PORTFOLIO REVIEW

What: Kettle Art Gallery announces a juried art show open to all emerging artists in the North Texas area. The purpose is to give constructive feedback on submitted portfolios and present to the community a body of work by various artists that's representative of the emerging Dallas art scene in 2009. The theme is open and all media will be considered.

How: Interested artists should submit a cd with up to 5 available images sized no longer than 1000 pixels in any direction. Artists should also submit a brief bio and artist statement about his/her work and fill out the attached application by Friday, October 16 at 5pm. An application fee of $10 to submit.

Application proceeds go towards the production of the reception. Artwork must be available for sale and there is a 50/50 split with Kettle on sold artwork. Mail or deliver to Kettle Art Gallery located at 2714 Elm St. Dallas TX. 75226 in Deep Ellum. Send a SASE if you want these materials returned.

When: Artists will be notified of their acceptance by Friday, October 23 and works must be delivered wired and ready for installation by Friday, October 30 at 5pm. A reception will be held on November 7.

Jury: The jury for this exhibit is
Anne Bothwell - Director, KERA's Art & Seek
Jason Janik - Photographer
Sarah Jane Semrad - Executive Director, La Reunion TX and President, Art Conspiracy
Lucia Simek - co-founder and critic with Dallas' arts and culture blog, Renegade Bus
Charles Dee Mitchell - Morning News Art Critic

Each artist should expect to receive a series of constructive comments from the jurors about their work. The jury will deem a set of artists as 'Best in Show' and those artists will be acknowledged at the reception on November 7.

Download your Application Here

Contact: Please contact Frank at Kettle if you have any questions. 214-573-7622 or e-mail info@kettleart.com

I'll be in West Texas but...

I'd suggest a look-see at Tyler's new body of work. He's one of the LRTX artists and is a brilliant photographer. I even bought one! Closing reception on the 17th. More info on his site: www.tylersharpphotography.com