New small paintings

On the Right
The Space Between
Again, Again

each 12X12 inches
available for purchase here

Following Up

Long after the fact, I realized I should post something about our results. We raised over $2000 in funds for Manna. Their literature says that every dollar buys 3 meals, so we're very happy for that, and appreciate everyone's support. MANNA is also very happy with the publicity and outreach.

As for the artists, we got some sales, good new contacts, amazing publicity, and had a great time. The party was very well attended, with cars parked up and down Riverside Drive, more than I've ever seen here, even during studio strolls. People who attended had fun. It was loud and bustling, lots of laughter.

Fun, funds raised, and people fed.

As for me, an old friend I lost touch with 15 years ago in Atlanta saw me on the local Asheville news and dropped in during the event to say hello.

Nothing but win, win, win. I'm happy. Hope to do this again.

Genie

The reason for Art for Food

These pictures of our warehouse demonstrate how little food we have. According to Rudi Sommer, MANNA’s Director of Operations, this is the worst he’s seen it in 12 years. These pictures were taken on September 22, 2008.

Read more at MANNA's site about the organization, and learn how you can help.

Then come to the event, pick out some beautiful art, and help neighbors in need at the same time.









A Benefit for Manna Food Bank

weekend art market
50% of sales to benefit Manna


Buyers will write two separate checks, one for half the purchase price to the artist, and the second direct to Manna Food Bank in the form of a tax-deductible contribution.

Date: Reception - March 6, 6-9pm.
Artwork will also be available for viewing and purchase at the Cotton Mill building on March 7 and 8 from 11-4 pm.


Location: Studio G, Cotton Mill Building in Asheville's River Arts District

122 Riverside Drive, upstairs

Google Map Directions: maps.google.com/?q=122%20Riverside%20Drive,%20Asheville,%20NC%2028801

Participating artists are profiled below.

Mike O'Kane, participating artist

I studied fine art at the Sheffield College of Art and Design in England. These days I produce small landscapes, part imagined, part observed, working mostly on paper or Claybord. Painting is a form of meditation for me, a release from hypnotic thinking. I am interested in paths, that both inform and confine our journeys, whose borders express the intimacy of our relationship with the the natural world. And I love the "almost nothing" character of watercolor, that allows me to express my own sensibilities by responding to the slightest suggestions of form and place. For me, painting is more a process of discovery than creation.

The paintings shown below are available for pre-sale with the same 50/50 arrangement for Manna. Contact: mike@mikeokane.com

Mountain Lake 2005 7" x 5" Watercolor on Claybord $350

Stream Crossing (Boone Fork Trail) 2005 9" x 12" Watercolor on Claybord $850

NC Arboretum Trail 2006 9" x 12" Watercolor on Claybord $950

Waterfall along the Boone Fork Trail, near Julian Price Lake 2006 7" x 5" Watercolor on paper $350

Path along Bent Creek (NC Arboretum) 2007 5" x 7" Watercolor on Claybord $350

River and Hills 2007 7" x 5" Watercolor on Claybord $350

Genie Maples, participating artist

Genie Maples lives in East Asheville with her children, and paints in her studio in the River Arts District's Cotton Mill building. She has this to say about her work:

I paint contemporary abstract pieces in oils. The foundation of my work is transparency, though I do employ opaque colors to obscure. I’m driven by color and light, but have become more fascinated by balance and boundary in the last year or two, and have simplified my composition greatly in order to develop a deeper understanding of those concepts. My work is abstract, driven by process and internal exploration, but for the current body of work, I’ve narrowed my focus to explore the very primal visual cue of horizon. It provides a sense of groundedness, security, and expansiveness. I think as my work has evolved, it has become less about expression of my current state or position, and more an exploration of what I want to experience. If I can evoke it, perhaps I can embrace it.

These paintings are available for pre-sale with the same 50/50 arrangement for Manna. Contact Genie at genie@geniemaples.com (or at the contact link on this page) to purchase or arrange a preview at the studio.

Click on the image to see a larger view.

Passages 5 x 4 feet oil on canvas no framing required $7500

Boundary 36 X 48 inches oil on canvas no framing required $4500

Madonna of the Totems 40 x 10 inches oil on canvas no framing required $600

Laleah F. Adams, participating artist

I have always been intrigued by all types of shelters. The historical, architectural, aesthetic and symbolic aspects hold endless fascination. Building my structures has been the process by which I have ordered my thoughts about what I require/desire/appreciate for my own safe, peaceful, and beautiful shelter. Their cock-eyed “offness” I find amusing… it’s a good thing to be able to laugh some of the misalignments of our familial homes.
Some newer works utilize the house form simply as a design vehicle for color, texture, and shape. Other new pieces move away from the house form altogether toward a more rounded, comfortable, abstracted sense of contented wholeness. The written words inscribed on some pieces are a direct communication of what is on my mind at the time as well as simply design elements. All pieces are of low-fired clay fired multiple times with slips, oxides, underglazes, terra sigillatas, glazes, wax, and paint.

This is a pair "Celebratory Houses", hanging preferrably (but they can stand alone)Low fired clay, with oxides, glazes and encaustic.
13" tall
$85 each or $100 for the pair.

"egg"
low fire clay, with glaze, oxide, and encaustic

7"high

$140

Maria Andrade, participating artist

My work in ceramics is inspired by the human figure. As a result I'm fascinated by the interaction between pieces in sets. Oil and vinegar cruettes, salt and pepper shakers and tea sets interact like people in groups, and we in turn, interact with them.

All my pieces are functional. They are to be held in the hand and transmit a tactile quality I enjoy experimenting with. This tactile quality is emphasised though the use of various decorative techniques. I apply texture with a slip-trailer and also employ wax resist as well as brushwork and sgraffito. The combination of these gives my work depth and also allows me to utilize my background as a printmaker.

I choose to work with a white stoneware and fire to Cone 6 oxidation. This allows me to work in a consistent flow as well as to experiment with new forms and slips. Also, my ceramics are wheel-thrown and sometimes altered, which renders each pot unique and retains the gesture of the potter.



Black-eyed Pea Bowls
Large $63, 5"x14"x14"
Small $35, 3.5"x9"x9"



Onyx and Vanilla Vases
Small $32, 4.5"x4.25"x1.75"
Medium $45, 5.5"x5.75"x2
Large $58, 8.75"x5.5"x2.75"




Small Planters
Each $28, 4"x3.5"x3.5"




Black-eyed Pea Salt and Pepper Shakers (no tray)
Set $50, 3.5"x2.75"x2.75" (each)




Black-eyed Pea Sugar and Creamer
Set $60, 3.25"x3.75"x3.75" (each)




Black-eyed Pea Menora
$150, 2.75"x2"x2" (each)




Turquoise and Vanilla Mugs
Each $25, 4.5"x4.5"x3.25"

Barbara Fisher, participating artist

Barbara Fisher was born in New York City, was educated in Colorado and California, and lived for many years on the West coast before settling in Asheville, North Carolina in 1998. She has been awarded numerous residencies and grants, and her work has been exhibited throughout the country.

Fisher's mixed media paintings incorporate her personal vocabulary of iconic forms, glyphs and objects into mysterious landscape-like spaces. The relationships between these elements are mysterious and dynamic, and they result in a new and strangely harmonious reality.

Barbara's painting "A Pair of Pears" is available for pre-sale before the event with the same 50/50 terms for Manna. To purchase, Contact Barbara at:
barbarafisher.com

A Pair of Pears 12" x 24" $1,200 click on the image to see a larger photo.

#38
6" x 6"
$150

A Home Away from Home
24" x 36"
$2500

Attention
12" x 12"
$600

Cindy Walton, participating artist

My work comes from many aspects of my life. This newest work I call Internal Landscapes. I am not a field painter but painting in the Southwest gave me lots of ideas to combine with other experiences. I combine photography, plien air painting, sketches, and observation to develop these paintings.

Some of Cindy's offerings to Art for Food are below. All of these paintings are available for pre-sale before the event, with the same 50/50 terms for Manna. To purchase, Contact Cindy at:

Cindy Walton Fine Art
828-251-1499
cindywalton.com
blog: www.itsjustapainting@blogspot.com

Fields of Gold 1 30x30” oil, oil sticks, charcoal on canvas $1200

Fields of Gold 30x30” oil, oil sticks, charcoal on canvas $1200

Down by the River 1 17x17” oil on canvas $400

Take me to the River 12x12” oil on canvas $300

Morning Song 18x18” oil, oil sticks, on canvas $400

John Mac Kah, participating artist

I have built a visual language around the painters of the Nineteenth Century that reflects my engagement in similar concerns: they explored and raised questions about the relationship of man and Nature and those questions are still valid with increasing pressures from development and destruction of species and habitat.

These influences include the Barbizon School, Hudson River School, Dusseldorf School of German Naturalism, and especially the premier Russian landscape artist Ivan I. Shiskin, Charles R. Knight, George Inness, and the ideas of William Morris.

Susan Finer, participating artist

Susan Finer is an abstract painter who works in acrylic and mixed media. Her early work in textile art informs her highly textural paintings. Her work has been exhibited in galleries and museums throughout the country, including the Mills Gallery in Boston, Harvard University's Holyoke Gallery, New England Institute of Art, Tucson Museum of Art, Museum of Design Atlanta and Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville. Originally from New York, Finer has lived in Asheville, North Carolina since 2006.

She is represented by the Haen Gallery in Asheville.

The paintings below are available for presale, with the same 50/50 arrangement for Manna.
Contact Susan to purchase.

SUM OF ITS PARTS 40 x 40 inches mixed media $3100

AUTUMN'S END 20 X 16 $900

AUSPICIOUS BEGINNINGS 20 X 16 $900

Constance Humphries, participating artist

Constance Humphries grew up in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Inheriting creative tendencies from her guitar-picker, singer-song writer dad, Humphries began a life-long love of drawing as a child. She received a more formal education at UNC Asheville, where she completed a BFA in painting. After a 5 year hiatus in Chapel Hill, NC and NYC, Humphries returned to Asheville in 2000, where she maintains her studio and lives with her husband and two dogs. Humphries has exhibited throughout North Carolina and Georgia.

The paintings shown below are available for pre-sale with the same 50/50 arrangement for Manna. Contact: constance@constancehumphries.com

Maybe they won't notice
Oil on canvas, 2009
36" x 36"
$1200

I'm not Lisa
12" x 12"
$250

Guess the game
12" x 12"
$250

Do you think they know?
12" x 12"
$250

Attend to the folly
12" x 12"
$250

Who is them?
12" x 12"
$250

Where is the moon?
12" x 12"
$250

Say goodnight Sherry
12" x 12"
$250

Is this right?
12" x 12"
$250

Preview of participating artists

Click to see a larger image.

The Project

It's Not Just the Artists Who Are Starving
A benefit event for Manna Food Bank
Location: to be announced
Time: sometime within the next 60 days
Description: An art market open to the public, with 50% of proceeds going to Manna Food Bank, 50% to participating artists and craftspeople

The statistics from Manna Food Bank's website are two years old:

Hunger in Western North Carolina

Hunger is a condition of poverty. Hunger has a price. Medical problems, learning difficulties, headaches and fatigue are all the result of not having enough to eat.
Hunger Statistics

Out of total clients in households served by MANNA Food Bank and documented by Hunger in America 2006:

* 71% of households w/children are food insecure.
* 42% have at least one employed adult in the home.
* 53% chose between paying for food and paying for utilities or heating fuel. Nationally, this figure is 42%.
* 28% chose between paying for food and paying their rent or mortgage bill.
* 30% chose between paying for food and paying for medicine or medical care.
* 46% have one household member in poor health.
* 37% receive Food Stamp Program benefits, but it’s likely that many more are eligible.

With the downturn in the economy making it so much more difficult for all of us to be certain we can cover our family's basic needs, it is clear that the pain and fear of hunger are much more widespread today.

Artists are typically on the fringe of the economy in the best of times. I am a single mother of three, and an established artist with a studio in Asheville's River Arts District, and have managed to support my family by selling paintings for the past five years. I am fortunate.

These days, I am also sometimes one sale away from wondering whether I can buy groceries this week. As I said, I am fortunate, because so far, the sale has always come through. That is not the case for all of us.

Beginning today, I am organizing a fundraising event to support both Manna Food Bank and the artistic community here in Western North Carolina. My goal is to hold the event within 60 days, and to raise as much money as possible, and as much food as possible for Manna, while also helping artists support themselves and their families in these difficult economic times.

I'm currently recruiting volunteers, a potential venue in case the event grows larger than my 1000 square foot studio can accommodate, legal and organizational support, sponsorships, catering donations, participating artists and galleries, word of mouth and publicity support, and whatever other assistance is available.

Please comment here or email me at hunger at geniemaples dot com if you would like volunteer, support, participate, or attend.

Today I spoke with John Fritchio at Manna to be sure they were amenable to the project, and today I'll be speaking with artists and other potential supporters. My first goal is to organize key volunteers.