Kelcey Loomer

Lonely wind through my soul 12" x12" encaustic on panel

Kelcey Loomer is a mixed media artist who uses the techniques of encaustic, painting, drawing, and collage. By incorporating patterns and retro-imagery, a sense of nostalgia and familiarity is reflected in her work. Loomer's encaustic paintings have an expressive tone with their abstractions and the speedy mark-making that is required of that medium. The illustration/collages appear to have more intention and gravity.

Rest 8 6.5" x 6.5" paper mounted on board

About her newest series "Rest" Loomer states, These chairs have quickly become a symbol to me. They are a reminder to take a moment for yourself- to quiet your busy body and mind and be still. To create a space of rest... Life can be hectic and overwhelming at times, and these chairs bring comfort.

journal page January 2009

On a personal note: I chose this image for the blog because Kelcey mentions Delhi which is the town where I grew up. It is also where Kelcey's grandmother lives, who, it turns out, used to be the librarian at my highschool!!!!
Visit Kelcey Loomer's Flickr site or her blog for more images and insight into her work.
For purchasing, visit her etsy site

Lubelski Review!

Just a quick shout out to Nava Lubelski for getting her solo show reviewed in The New York Times today!!! Congratulations Nava!
Read the article here

Fleta Monaghan

Lately I've been drawn to the abstract color explorations I've been seeing by local painter Fleta Monaghan. She sells work out of The Woolworth Walk in downtown Asheville and currently has an exhibition at The Holy Ground on Orange Street. Monaghan also conducts painting workshops out of her studio in The Riverview Station.
Visit her website for more information.
www.fletamonaghan.com

Alli Good at Izzy's

If you're walking around Asheville, you might find the most interesting artwork on the walls of coffee shops, record stores, bars, salons, bookstores, and not for profit art spaces. For example, this month Alli Good exhibits her drawings and paintings at Izzy's Coffee Den on Lexington Avenue. Some of the drawings are developments from her blog, Goodies, where she describes her illustrations with haiku.
I love this one from the blog:

Kate's little sister
gave under shirt over bra
warm love on a bus

alligoodart.blogspot.com
www.alligoodart.net
Watch the Art Seen Asheville video about Alli Good here.

Better Ventures brings it on

This Thursday night local events organizing group, Better Ventures, is bringing on ELECTRO:ODYSSEY at the Emerald Lounge on Lexington Avenue in Downtown Asheville.
This is a touring three-day regional event of electronic music innovation. "From the dopest low-end bass dubstep to the glitchiest hip-hop tabla funk to the deepest house you've heard in years, this line-up will open new sonic dimensions in your mind."
Electro:Odyssey will also be happening on Friday in Charlotte NC, and Saturday in Charleston SC.
Better Ventures aims to promote artistic growth through the exchange of local and international talents.
Visit www.betterventures.net for more information.

Secretary of the Arts Petition

How cool is this guy?

I found out about this online petition, authored by Quincy Jones, and I'm encouraging you all to sign it. It is a request to our incoming president to create a new position for his cabinet - a Secretary of the Arts position. The US is so far behind other countries when it comes to arts funding, and I fear the pending recession will make it even more of a challenge for artists and cultural foundations to receive funding. A cabinet position would ensure that our needs are being heard and represented (Or at least give the illusion of this depending on how you look at it, but these days I'm trying to be optimistic, so what the heck, how could we lose, right?)
More information can be found at the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s Government and Policy Watch section of their webpage here
To read and sign the petiton just click here: Secretary of the Arts Petition

Nava Lubelski

Clumsy, 29" x 42" x 42", thread on stained tablecloth, 2007

This weekend multi media artist Nava Lubelski is celebrating two art openings in New York City. Her solo show, Recombination opens at LMAK Projects on Saturday Jan. 11, and she is part of a group show called Narrative Thread at Lyons Wier Ortt which opens tonight. In March, her piece Clumsy (pictured above) will be shown at ISE Cultural Foundation in a show called Global Fabrics - Common Threads

A Story About Frogs (detail), 2008, thread on stained muslin, 20" x 26"

Lubelski was born and raised in New York City and moved to Asheville three years ago. Her resume is peppered with impressive accomplishments, including a residency at the CUE Art Foundation and a grant from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation. She has exhibited work internationally and in such places as The Museum of Art and Design in NYC, and the Queens Museum of Art in Queens, NY. She is currently exhibiting one of her paper sculptures at The Weatherspoon Art Museum in Greensboro.

1997 Tax File (detail), 1/4" x 20" x 19", shredded paper and glue, 2007

Lubelski is author of the book, The Starving Artist's Way (which was recently reprinted in Korean!)
To learn more about her work, visit her website at www.navalubelski.com
or watch the Art Seen Asheville episode featuring Lubelski

Becca Johnson

"Heart Stain" oil on canvas 2008

"Barnyard Freakshow" graphite on paper 2008

A graduate from the BFA program at Western Carolina University, Becca Johnson is an oil painter, drawer, book binder, sculptor and installation artist. Memories, found objects, stories and gestures imbibe her energetic work which appear to be born of a deeply personal and honored place.

"Sleeperhold's Cleft Lip"

i think that the common thread in all of my work embodies this contradiction: the heavy sweetness of living. the inability to ever find something entirely wonderful, or entirely terrible. there is always weight, and there is always buoyancy.

Johnson occasionally curates artist shows in downtown Asheville. You can see more of her work at www.beccajohnsonart.com
Visit her Etsy shop to see samples of her hand bound books.
She will be exhibiting work at Bobo Gallery in the upcoming year.

concept and candy

Video by Koerner Union for Larytta. Both out of Switzerland.
Viewed without sound I found myself thinking about ideas like math and science, the natural world vs. the created world.....the pulse of chaos..overpopulation, and the so-called "natural state of things," Also wondering how they got all those animals in there, and the implications of the use of animals detached from their natural environment...And so on...
Viewed with music the meaning of the video transformed into a more audio-visual experience - almost feeling commercial. Reminding me to never underestimate the power of music and its absence.