A New Opportunity

Christmas is right around the corner, things are very quiet and today I got an email listing an opportunity to be considered to show in Cary. Never shown in Cary before..but my interest is
now peaked so I am going to apply for 2013. How would ever have thought that we would be scheduling shows in advance! How life changes!
I am so proud of all of the work that is now hanging at Randolph! We have had such a response from patients and staff. We are touching hearts and making a difference one person at a time and I am very thankful for each of you!
The show will come down in just a few weeks and we will be on our way to Winston Salem. We have already heard from Forsyth and they are really looking forward to the exhibit.
Of course, I am thinking about the dates to take the show down and deliver it to Forsyth already..
and sending out the next email to encourage the next wave of paintings that will be needed for the 2 exhibits in April, May and June. I hope you are all thinking about your next statement of color!
while I am thinking of extending the show if we can....another hospital, hopefully another group of people that can be encouraged right where they stand.

New Location

Hi Everyone,
It seems that we are finally heading to a good schedule for the exhibits and locations. Having to start out with so many switched dates and locations, it looks like the coming year is set and we can plan our take downs and relocations for 2012.

A portion of the exhibit is at Randolph Hospital through the end of December. I have heard from the wonderful people there that they are really pleased with the exhibit. The response has been the best of any exhibit they have had and I hope that really pleases and encourages all of the artists that are involved this time. The patients and the staff have been very touched by the exhibit and that is the purpose, so thank you to everyone!

In a few weeks the show will be moving to Forsyth Cancer Center in Winston Salem.
The entire exhibit will be there for 3 months.

OOPS! lets try again.....

Such a beautiful magazine and I posted it sideways! Sorry!
Have a great day and thank you again!

Holidays are here!

Today started out with a surprise in the mailbox...a beautiful holiday issue of Evergreene Magazine with one of my paintings on the cover! What a wonderful surprise...I quickly opened it and read the article that Marian Cowhig Owen had written. What a beautiful article about my art and the Art with Purpose show! I really am still a child at heart and I enjoyed every squeal of delight that I offered up with the turn of each page.....the magazine has so many wonderful articles and I have learned much about Junior League of Greensboro, as I curled up with the magazine and some pumpkin spice bread and just took it all in! Thank you ladies for all that you do for this community! It has been a pleasure working with you!
The show that was put together by Art with Purpose, "How do you paint Courage?" has just been moved to the next location, Randolph Hospital....I have not been able to see the show yet, but will do my best to drive to Asheboro and take some photos and get them to you! The paintings will be on display at Randolph through the end of the year. Then we will move to Winston Salem. We do now have the addition of Tom Edgerton's painting and we are really excited about this piece being on display for the holidays.
I am looking forward to the next phase of the show which will be the addition of 20 more pieces that will be divided and on display by April. But for now, I think everyone is thinking about family, big meals and the rush of the season....which is as it should be.
Now that Winterlight Gallery has closed and that was my homebase, I am taking some time to step back and look at my priorities for the coming year....this I know....art has to be about more than just painting something for pleasure, or to sell......for me, art has to stir the soul, heal the heart, and bring the Kingdom of God which is Love, Joy and Peace....

We are Back!!!

Oh my, the troubles we have when we don't write down the password or the email address! But thank you Karen we are in!!!
There is so much to catch up on so let's get started.....
September and October were amazing months for the show!
We installed the exhibit on September 15th at Circa Gallery in Asheboro.. Mandy Sloan, owner of Circa had invited the press and a wonderful group that set up a healing drum circle. We so enjoyed being included in the circle!
The gallery was beautiful and the show was well received! We had 3 articles written in the local paper and many people came by to see the show.
We were honored to also have several of the paintings on display for the 5K Women's Only Run on Oct. 5th. We added a few more pieces and brought several of the paintings that were directed at Courage in Women. On display was, Cathy's Story by Jean Smith, Moving Forward by Jean Smith, Into the Light by Tom Edgerton, Warrior by Vicki Johnson, I will Dream by Vicki Johnson, Out of the Depths by Kathy Brusnighan, Angels of Hope by Connie Logan, Learning to Fly by Alice Bachman, The Runner by Carol Moates, I will Run by Jean Smith and The First Step by Kathy Brusnighan.
This was one of the first challanges to show in two places at once!
It did work out and we were able to move a portion of the paintings to the Cone Hospital for the months of October and November....

Additions

Mandy Sloan of Circa Gallery just posted the invitation to the opening, and she added to my basic layout of the card! Looks great!

I think that all of us that have taken this journey can say a huge thank you to

Mandy! From the beginning, she has given me her time and her suggestions to make this show a success. I have to say that as a gallery owner, she is so willing to get involved with the artists that are represented in the gallery and support in every way that she can!

If you have never been to Circa Gallery in Asheboro, you are in for a treat when you step through the door! Not only does she have beautiful art on the walls, pottery on the tables, and unique handmade objects, but as you walk through the gallery, you are drawn into the busy back half of the area. There you will find classes, a frame shop and friends that are ready to chat and spend some time with you. I think Mandy has found a great way to make Circa work on a daily basis, with several price points to draw you in. This seems to keep the traffic coming in while building relationships. And isn't that what it is all

about? I have read that most people love to know something about the artist, about the piece they are considering and that happens at Circa..plus the fear of walking into a gallery is wisked away by the small town atmosphere that reminds me of my childhood. So, if you are in the area, please go by and meet Mandy and the girls. They are worth the trip!

Circa Gallery

150 Sunset Dr.

Asheboro, NC

The Small Stuff

So glad that yesterday came and is now behind us! The crew showed up and began to make lists, revise statements, cut mat board, photograph art, and in general, bring order to the many facets of the last 6 months of phone calls, emails and decisions. Wow, what an amazing team thatpulled the world of one exhibit together!

Jean Smith spent hours, setting up templates and putting the artist's statements together. We were both thankful that some of the work was already done and the finishing touches were left for this day of last drafts!

Thank goodness for one in the bunch that knows how to manipulate the programs on the computer! I think we might all need some lessons after this is all over!

Phyllis Sharpe spent the day preparing all of the statements and cutting the final copies, preparing them to be mounted on the matt board. Of course, she wasn't alone, as little Fanci was sitting right behind her keeping an eye on the progress. My little Molly slept through the whole thing and was not much company to Fanci...in fact, I don't think they even

crossed paths the entire day!

Vicki Johnson was here in charge of all of the measuring and cutting of those tiny little mat boards to mount the statements on. She did a stellar job and they are all perfect. Not bad, now that I know she needed more tools than she had, but she made it work and I am so grateful!

Thank you Ladies, for pouring yourselves into this project! I know it is going to be a success!

Schedules and paperwork.....

With only a few days to go, I am surprised at how calm I am....I am not sure if I am in total denial or really resting in the goodness of the Father and trusting that He has this all in His Hands...I would hope it would be the latter of the two....All of the pieces are not here yet, and the statements that are to be typed and ready to go with each piece are still on my computer, waiting for me to figure this program out...Thank goodness for friends that have been downloading their understanding of the amazing computer into my understanding! I am so very spoiled to have an amazing husband that I can depend on to bail me out if I "lose" something or hit the wrong button!
Jean Smith has spent an entire afternoon proving to me that photoshop is more than cropping and enhancing...Karen Fridy has taken a morning to lay this blog out and get me settled enough to at least post! Ha! I have a new respect for all of the beautiful blogs that seems to flow with color, interest and so many columns! Bravo to each of you that spend endless hours learning how to tame the world of networking! I just want to paint! but I am learning that this seems to be inevitable whether I like it or not.

I am working on creating a postcard for the show with this wonderful program that I did not even know I had! It is called "Pages" and the templates are wonderful and seem to make this almost painless.......

So Many Details!

Today was a day to work on paperwork and help one of the artists that will be participating in the show with experimenting. Experimenting is always fun and we come away better and wiser. Such is life....One of the artists in the show, Phyllis Sharpe, is trying a new technique that has been fascinating....she has painted two paintings that are called saturated watercolors. She is now mounting the watercolor papers on canvas, and going to seal the works with varnish and cold wax. She will not have to cover the watercolors with glass, but will be able to hang them as an acrylic or oil painting. She has worked so very hard and has been so willing to risk in order to grow in her skill level. I am so proud of her! I have included a photo of one of her pieces. It is called "Stillness". The photo does not really show the subtle changes and motion that you can see in her painting....It make me feel as though I am under water and swimming to the top, about to break through the surface....what do you see?



We are still looking for a venue for April and July and I am sure we will have them in place soon!
I am so excited about where we are heading! I know it is going to be so worth all of the effort.
I now have about half of the pieces here, waiting to be sealed up and ready to travel...we will get the paper work in place first of the week.....what a wonderful team I have...isn't it great that we
get to walk through this life with friends!?

We are on our way!

Today is the deadline for the creations for the Courage show to pour into my house. It has been a bit like Christmas, unwrapping the art and discovering what each artist has brought to this concept. We are about half way there and for today, I think I am ready for a break! The stimulation of learning so much in one day, setting up the blog, signing papers, photos of each new piece.....I am so glad all of the work did not show up today!

Standing here in my studio, my heart is so hopeful that many people, maybe more than I have even
hoped for, will be touched and encouraged by these beautiful statements of color..

In the Beginning

One decision can change your direction.

Last December, I was asked to hang my artwork at Moses Cone Hospital in Greensboro, NC. I had turned the offer down twice before, but felt that I should take some of my abstracts and display them during the holidays. My heart was so impressed with the fact that many would be facing fear and loss during Christmas and perhaps my paintings in the hall by X-ray and Procedure would bring some comfort and color.

I was not prepared for the phone calls that I received from patients and staff over the next 6 weeks. Those phone calls brought me to the realization that I did not want to just be a good artist, but I wanted to be an artist with purpose that could benefit my community and the people around me.

So how do I do that with art?

The church I attend has been teaching about giving honor to those around you and I felt that I wanted to honor the community, especially those that are facing difficult situations where words seem to not be enough. Since I had received so many calls from people at the hospital, I felt this would be the place to start. After talking with a gallery owner, I knew that what I wanted to do was this:

Invite a group of artists into this question: If someone were to stand in front of your artwork...someone needing courage, hope and peace.....what would you create that would inspire them and encourage them?

The response has been amazing and at this point I have 16 artists that are participating in this challenge.

The pieces will be ready by the end of August and the exhibit will open in September. The exhibit will then travel to inspire many people in hospitals, art centers, and more.
This will be the first year to encourage many and my goal is to continue to build and serve our community through Art With Purpose.

I am looking for venues to host this exhibit in 2012. If you are interested please post a comment here. Works will be for sale, and each artist will have the opportunity to choose a percentage to give back to a healing charity of their choice. All works must stay with the exhibit until it closes in month/year at which time artists will deliver any sold works to their owners.

I hope you will consider being a host venue for this meaningful exhibit. I look forward to hearing from you!

Blessings,

Kathy Brusnighan

Founder, Art With Purpose