Spotlight Awards!

The 15th Annual Spotlight on the Arts Awards was held last night at the Music Hall! I would like to congratulate my friend and artist Shiao-Ping Wang for winning the award for Best Painter!

I have had the honor of working with Shiao-Ping for over four years in the gallery. Her paintings are beautiful - the perfect balance of control and expression. (In addition she is a wonderful person - wise and radiating with a possitive energy, and she has opened my mind and belly to the most delicious Tiramisu!)

Congratulations also to my friend Michael Winters (Best Photographer) and all of the other winners and nominees. We are so lucky to live in a place where the arts truly thrive, and it is so nice for the community to take the opportunity to acknowledge this creative spirit each and every year!

Between the Lines

Three Graces is currently featuring "Between the Lines", an exhibition of recent paintings by Marilene Sawaf and stained-glass panels by Monica Wing!


Lines of Paint ... Marilene Sawaf was born in Egypt. She studied fine arts at the ABC School of Fine Arts in Paris and is a graduate of Interior Design & Architecture at the University of Saint Esprit in Lebanon. She has exhibited her work extensively throughout New England and abroad.


"My first series of women goes back to 1981, after my recent move to New England. My inspiration was a luminous stained glass window that used to cover an entire wall of my grandmother's home in Egypt. I try to create an illusion and mystery that makes you wonder - who are these women and what are they doing? Products of my past culture, of my present taste for rich colors and enigmatic effects, my paintings of women are a mysterious reflection of my most subconscious dreams."


Lines of Lead (and Copper Foil) ... Monica Wing is exhibiting four stained glass panels. Each panel features sections of highly detailed paintings (church-window technique) alongside brilliant patterns and bold textures.

Humor + Whimsy - Shown above is "Her Feet Are Too Big" and below - "Losbster Dance" featuring the said red crustacean taking a pink seahorse by its "human" hand.

Please stop in if you are in our lovely Seacoast, and for those of you who are not - all of the works from this show are available to view + purchase in our online shop...here...and here.

Animation by Greg Stones

I just came across this new animated short by Teeny Tiny Art Show participant Greg Stones...he cracks me up!



and there's two more...

Elsa Mora: Why Should People Buy Handmade

I came across Elsa Mora's answer to this question a few months ago and I would like to share it with you as I think her words are so warm and genuine...

Why should people buy handmade?

I think that buying handmade is a way of expression and communication. You express yourself through the objects that you choose to live with and with the objects that you give to other people. Handmade objects have a different meaning compared to industrial objects because they carry a human energy. The thing that most impacts people is other people. That’s why we experience something nice when we get anything handmade. When you buy handmade you are not only buying an object but you’re also buying a concept, an idea that has to do with the appreciation of what’s human. By buying handmade you are saying in a subtle way that you care about other people and that you are open for them to bring something into your life, it is an exchange, it is human connection.

~Elsita Mora

Elsa's papercuts are currently in our Teeny Tiny IV, view all of them here.

Why Buy handmade?

I am an active member of the Buy Local program in Portsmouth and last night we just had our first meeting for a new sub-group focusing on the Arts - educating people on the importance of supporting local artists and local art galleries.

Especially in this challenging economy, it is important to make smart decisions as a consumer, and in doing so you can feel good about protecting the diversity, freedom, and economic solvency of where you live and love.

One of our greatest challenges is education. I focus on the strong connection between buying local art and the "Buy Handmade" movement. Here a few great reasons: (courtesy of www.buyhandmade.org)

Buying Handmade makes for better gift-giving.

The giver of a handmade gift has avoided the parking lots and long lines of the big chain stores in favor of something more meaningful. If the giver has purchased the gift, s/he feels the satisfaction of supporting an artist or crafter directly. The recipient of the handmade gift receives something that is one-of-a-kind, and made with care and attention that canbe seen and touched. It is the result of skill and craftsmanship that is absent in the world of large-scale manufacturing.

Buying handmade is better for people.

The ascendancy of chain store culture and global manufacturing has left us dressing, furnishing, and decorating alike. We are encouraged to be consumers, not producers, of our own culture. Our ties to the local and human sources of our goods have been lost. Buying handmade helps us reconnect.

Buying handmade is better for the environment.

The accumulating environmental effects of mass production are a major cause of global warming and the poisoning of our air, water and soil. Every item you make or purchase from a small-scale independent artist or crafter strikes a small blow to the forces of mass production.

You can take the pledge to buy handmade here!

Tiny Tokens of Love

Love is in the air...or maybe not, in any case Velentine's Day is days away and many of the artists in the Teeny Tiny Art show had romance on the mind. For those of you still looking for the perfect gift, here are a few things to consider:

Tell her how you feel, "Pink About You" by Linda Cordner ($350. - this and other paintings from Linda's Blush and Bloom series ($100 - $250) available here.)



For those of you lucky enough to be falling in love...in Chinese culture two butterflies flying together are a symbol of love (tiny 3-d butterfly paintings by Tiffany Torre $34. each, available here.)


Or perhaps you are in need of giving someone a cautionary warning, Erin Moran's heart rattles advise "Fragile, Handle with Care", "Dangerous Curves Ahead", "Stop When Flashing" to name a few. ($34. each available here.)

Over 400 pieces...finally hung!

Well, actually, the last piece was hung by the opening last Friday. It has taken me until now to take photographs of the installation - which I thought I would share a few with you...

You can see how all of the works in the show were hung here.

Opening Reception tomorrow night!

...still working on hanging the last few works for the Teeny Tiny Art Show #4, opening tomorrow night with a reception from 5-8pm.

H(EAT) Restaurant Night - Tonight!

Dinner Plans?

For one night - tonight, Thursday, February 5th - several Seacoast Local restaurants will donate 10% of sales toward (H)EAT to raise money for 10,000 meals and 10,000 gallons of heating oil for Seacoast residents in need of assistance.

Please come out and do your part while enjoying dinner and community at some of the area's premier local, independent restaurants: Victory, Jumpin' Jays, Black Trumpet and Anneke Jans.

tiny preview: Kim Ferreira

The installation of the Teeny Tiny Art Show has finally begun, but I thougth I would take a small break and share with you my new series of paintings done for this show...

I am currently re-reading "The Once and Future King" by T.H. White - the novel chronicles the raising and education of King Arthur, his rule as a king, and the romance between his best knight Sir Lancelot and his Queen Guinevere.

My paintings are loosely based on the fist part in which Merlyn, knowing the boy's destiny, teaches Arthur what it means to be a good king by turning him into various kinds of animals: fish, hawk, ant, owl, goose, and badger. Each of the transformations is meant to teach him a lesson, which will prepare him for his future life.

In my paintings, I have referenced vintage Alice in Wonderland illustrations in place of young Arthur, in an effort to place my younger self in the paintings...

okay, enough self-indulgence, back to the hammer and nails...remember, the Teeny Tiny Art Show opens this Friday, with an opening reception from 5-8pm. All of the work from the show will soon be available to view + purchase online in our online shop...'til then.

truly tiny - portraits by Craig Hood

I was thrilled when I heard that my former professor Craig Hood was willing and able to participate in TT4! Craig's work is amazing - examining the role of the human figure as a narrative image in landscapes. "His graphite drawings are a blur from a distance, like a foggy dream or the memory of a black and white photograph."

Craig dropped off some truly tiny portraits - they are the tiniest of the teeny tiny - some measuring 1"x1" square!




Craig Hood lives and works in Portsmouth, NH. He has taught painting and drawing at The University of New Hampshire since 1981. He has a national exhibition record and has won a Ford Foundation Grant, been a finalist for the Rome Prize in Painting (1987), and was nominated for a Louis Comfort-Tiffany Award (1999). His landscape paintings have been exhibited in many venues from Portland, ME to New York City and Naples, FL. In recent years he has focused more exclusively on the figure-in-landscape images he has made since the early 1990s. In Sept.-Oct. of 2006 one of his works in this genre was included in an important exhibition at the Ogunquit Museum of American Art, The Figure in American Painting and Drawing, 1985-2005.

You can preview these and other works from the show here.

Web site review!

I was delighted to open this week's Spotlight to read: "Web site review: John Shore gives his first perfect score"! Thanks so much John!! (I'm not worthy)

The review is especially satisfying because I've been working very hard to teach myself web skills, endless tutorials and exhaustive google searches - I actually began designing my website three years ago in Microsoft Word, cutting and pasting (it looked awful!) ... so this review is a HUGE compliment. Read the review here.

a bit of a stretch...

The Teeny Tiny Art Show #4 is less than a week away! Small packages containing tiny art are coming in from all over the country - I just received some new work from Bailey Saliwanchik, her recent portraits are a refreshing departure from her "playful portrayals of traditional female archtypes reflecting on themes of spirituality, sexuality, beauty and a gentle relationship with nature".

Here is a tiny preview of her "Distortraits"...

"Bailey Saliwanchik hails from the deep woods, swampy fields and blue skies of Maine, emerging with a belief in plant magic and the enchanted female. Her subjects are borne from a process of intuitive visual construction and combined interests in contemporary illustration, fashion illustration, classic figurative painting, ancient ideologies, goddess worship and fantastical female characters : gypsies, princesses, witches, mermaids, cowgirls, nuns, dancers queens and mediums. She loves big hair, books by Tom Robbins, ambiguous symbolism, gin, curls, and pumpkin muffins. She is currently based in Brooklyn, NY."

teeny tiny preview: Nicole Maloof

Coming soon to a Teeny Tiny Art Show near you:

Ravenous beets ...

Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your ... noodles!?


... a tale of knightly virtues, honor and courtly love.

You can see the other drawings from this series by Nicole Maloof, along with other works from the upcoming Teeny Tiny Art Show #4 here!

Nicole Maloof was born in 1983 in Seoul, South Korea. She received her BFA with a concentration in Painting and her BA with a concentration in Chemistry from Boston University in 2006. She currently resides in Boston, MA.

*Nicole has participated in all four tiny art shows and she has a solo show at Three Graces scheduled for June 2009.

Hail to the New Chief!

Happy Inauguration Day! The entire world has the highest hopes for Obama right now. Public expectations for his performance in office far exceed those for any president in a generation. I am going to watch his highly anticipated speech at the Music Hall in just a bit...

...before I go, I thought it would be appropriate to share another teeny tiny preview: Jodie Baehre (who exhibited a fabulous series of "saints" in the TT3 in September) has been working on a series of portraits of figures from pop-culture!


Above is of course, our President Elect Obama and below - Bono!



"As a rock star, I have two instincts, I want to have fun, and I want to change the world. I have a chance to do both." ~ Bono

The series is based on influential people of this century. Some of the other portraits include: michael phelps, tina fey, sarah palin, robert downey junior, hillary clinton, the hudson hero, bush, dalai lama, brangelina, heath ledger, oprah, nelson mandela, jesus...

tiny paintings by Kelly Vivanco

It's that time again! I just got an email from Kelly Vivanco with images of the paintings she will be sending for The Teeny Tiny Art Show! (This will be Kelly's third Teeny Tiny showing) Here's a sneak peak...

“Old photos, vintage things, quirkiness, decay, animals, colors and moods inspire me. I try to get a certain feeling going in the look and atmosphere of a painting so I naturally gravitate towards art that echoes likewise, even if it has an entirely different effect. I am seeing gobs of exciting work being produced by people today and I am always inspired by past masters like Hans Holbein and NC Wyeth, pre-raphaelites, Van Gogh and so on.” ~Kelly

Kelly received her BFA in Fine arts from the Laguna College of Art and Design. In addition to painting, printmaking and sculpture, Kelly has created a comic called “Patches”. She currently works and lives in Escondido, California.

You can preview Kelly's other works in this tiny series along with other works from the show here.

wee wax works by Robin Beaty

Another teeny tiny teaser - here are two images of new works for the Teeny Tiny Art Show #4 by Robin Beaty.

They are "Ode to my winter socks" ...

...and "Waiting Patiently"...


Robin concentrates primarily on the ancient wax base medium of encaustic paint, a molten beeswax mixed with resin and dry pigments, which she incorporates mixed media, vintage materials, textiles, metals and found objects. Her work has been described as a "compelling intersection between painting, sculpture and installation" and "deliciously collectable".

Teeny Tiny Sculpture!

It's time for another teeny tiny preview of what's to come in the fast approaching Teeny Tiny Art Show #4!

I have admired the work of Cassandra + Ernie Velasco, aka Doubleparlour, for awhile now...so I was overjoyed when they both agreed to participate in TT4.



Above is "Mattie", one of six polymer clay sculptures that they will be sending. She is truly tiny - measuring 2.5 x 4 inches!

Doubleparlour, born in 2007, is a creative collaboration between Ernesto and Cassandra Velasco. Both are artists who like to explore a variety of subject matters with different mediums. Some works are done as a joint effort and others are solo works. They like to mix it up in a variety of mediums to create sculptures, paintings, drawings and prints.

Three Graces will also have a bunch of their prints available during the Teeny Tiny Art Show in February. *All works from the show will be available in the gallery and in our online shop!

Hop to it

As I was leaving the gym last night I picked up a copy of this week's Wire. I was delighted to read the review of Fleur's show written by Chloe Johnson. read all about it. Thanks Chloe!


...And while you're on the site check out the upcoming RPM challenge to music makers! You can also go directly to the RPM website. "This is the challenge: record an album in 28 days, just because you can."

"Rabbit World dreamy and absorbing..."

I was so pleased to pick up this week's Spotlight and see a review of "Fleur Palau:Rabbit World" by Ann Bryant!

"This "Rabbit World" is not just a collection of rabbits, but rather a place made more real by echoed landscapes. The window in "The Investigation" looks out on the same field and mountains where "The Secret" is told. A consistency of colors shows that even when landscapes are simplified, that we are looking at the same flora and fauna."

You can read the review in its entirety here. Thanks Ann!