Flowertown Players and Artists wiith Conviction Coalition presents- The Science of Art

The Science of Art- "Einstein" by Robert Frank

 As a part of The Flowertown Players' "Science of Art" Gala Fundraiser, the new art group I started called 'The Artists with Conviction Coalition' got to put together a free outdoor art show. I was honored to have the opportunity to organize this show on Coaltion's behalf in tandem with our new allies at the Flowertown. They were so kind, accommodating and helpful- they gave us a chance and we tried our best to earn our keep! I was going to make a point not to let them down.

It wasn't hard to get a handful of extremely talented artists from the group together to participate in this event. We are lucky that the Coalition has a lot of talent on hand. I am proud to say that by the end of the art deadline we had over 60 pieces to show in all! I couldn't believe the quality of work that poured in for this exhibit.

Here's an over all view of the walls of artwork created by the Artists with Conviction Coalition.

Painted by Heather Pallay and Erika Filipiak.

You may have noticed that the screens are painted with a delightful meadow & forest design. Once again, I'd have to give credit to Flowertown Players for that addition. They helped us build screens to hang art by recycling old sets of performances past. The particular show they recycled these screens from was their uber successful rendition of Wizard of Oz. I was told that these slats of wood were "The Last of the Oz Set." I like the fact that we are using the last brackground from something so successful as the first background of something so brand new. I feel like that gives the Coalition extra positive energy to go forward with in the future.

Plus, the exhibit has such a fresh and happy look to it, dont you think?
It's the springtime for the Coaliton!

View of the Flowertown/Coalition Gala festivities from afar.

 I guess I should explain what this event was all about in the first place. It was a fundraiser for Flowertown Players Theater to help them produce future shows and promote their newest performance, Picasso at the Lapine Agile (OCT 18th -NOV 1st). It is a play written by Steve Martin that answers a question that nobody thought to ask- "What would happen if Einstein and Picasso met in a bar?" Intelligent highbrow hilarity ensues! Needless to say, our "artsyness" fit in perfectly with the theme of this Gala.

The center of the exhibit featuring the grand piece "Bob Marley" by Christopher LeBeau.

Anyways, a lot of good and creative things came out of the woodwork. I was particularly proud to show pieces by artist Chris LeBeau, who is totally blowing up right now! In addition to this show he is going to be featured in at least 2 more this month, and for one of which he is a headlining artist. For our exhibit, he also brought some very cool Star Wars pieces to the table which got lots of attention from the Sci Fi fans.

Also featured was Nino Tria, a very old friend of mine from High School who is incredibly talented as well. (Make sure to check out his Tumblr for a bunch of his work and other things.) He heard of the event "late in the game" but still managed to finish up a brand new piece just in time for the show. His submissions are the colorful portraits of his siblings, situated directly below Bob Marley. I just love how they bring a little bit of extra poppy-ness and color to the display.

The right wall of our Flowertown Gala "Science of Art" Coalition exhibit featuring work from Candice Bizzell, Alexandra Roberts, Trina Lyn,  Lora Marsh, Heather Pallay, and Angela Hiott Morgane.

I can't possibly describe how cool every artwork was, all I can say is that these artists brought it. Almost all of the photography contributions came from either Candice Bizzell or Yoshika Johnson. Candice runs the Visual Arts Association for Trident Tech, so I was thrilled to get the chance to combine forces with yet another artsy group. I think it's great that all these different alliances can work together without feeling like we all need to compete with each other. We are all chasing after the same goals, so we might as well team up when we can.

Speaking of groups, check our our awesome Artists with Conviction Coalition flyer. I think it gets the point across! (Thanks HPallay for bailing me out when I forgot to print these, btw :-* Life saver. )

Another shot of the Artists with Conviction Coalition exhibit with work from Crystal King, Alexandra Roberts, Robert Frank, Angela Morgane and Alizey Khan.

 As my first time actually curating an event, I tried my best to organize the artworks by themes or colors. For example, the middle panel is dedicated to enlightenment and growth. I tried to organize all the "plant material" together in one general area. There was also a loose "cosmos" theme going on thanks to beautiful work by Angela Hiott Morgane and others.

Work by Alizey Khan, Yoshika Johnson, Chris Lebeau, Alexandra Roberts, and Robert Frank.

Another awesome wall of artwork- this one featuring more work by Chris Lebeau as well as another superstar in our midst, Alizey Khan. We became acquainted after the Coalition heard about the now famous incident of her work being stolen from the Charleston Library. It was awesome that she trusted us enough to allow us to show a couple of her incredibly intricate resin cosmo pieces.

Work by Christopher Lebeau, Christa Elrod, Lora Marsh, Trina Lyn, Heather Pallay and Crystal King.

 For the farthest side of the set up, I enjoyed making this quaint little "macabre corner" of artwork.  Lora Marsh's "Another Supper" piece, featured lower middle, got lots of attention from patrons. I also really dig Crystal King's expressive portrait contributions featured lower right. For some reason I thought they flowed well with the other creepy creations on this wall. You may also notice my ol' faithful Sugar Skull- it is foreshadowing of the next show I'm going to be participating in, Phil Hyman's Day of the Dead.  But more on that later!

The live science exhibit at the Flowertown Science of Art gala
with our resident scientists Edward Barnes & Michael Truxel.

Me and Robert competing in the Abstract "Draw Off."
We both won, of course :P

I can't forget to mention all the other cool things that were going on at the Science of Art gala. There was a live demonstration of science experiments including an experiment with surface tension and Science Sweet Tea! Also a free "Draw Off" booth courtesy of Summerville's own Bottles and Brushes. You had to draw a friend's portrait and whoever did the better one wins candy! On a side note- I have always had an admiration for Bottles and Brushes. They make art fun for people who didn't think they could be creative! If you're in the area, it's definitely worth signing up for one of their classes.

Did I mention they had a very competitive silent auction? Items up for auction included awesome gift baskets full of decadent goodies as well as gift certificates to local parks. People were going crazy over that stuff!

We were also treated with a live preview of the Flowertown Players of Summerville's production of "Picasso at the Lapine Agile." This is right before Picasso and Einstein have a Draw Off of their own. I guess if you want to find out who wins, you'll have to see the performance yourself! This is going to be a great play!

Heather Pallay getting her portrait drawn by yours truly.

Trina Lyn- Live Portrait Artist for Hire!

Oh, and check it out- Flowertown hired me to draw portraits of the patrons! I was thrilled to have a chance to share my art with everyone in this way. If anything, being able to draw people from life is an awesome party trick. 
My medium for the portraits was soft pastel- I had to brush up on my pastel skills before the show to make sure I could do a good job! It was worth the extra time though, pastels turned out to be a great medium for portrait drawing.

The Junior Service League of Summerville

The Science of Art Planning Committee- Hey, there's me...

This is the part where I just have to gush about all the other amazing volunteers that came out and helped put the show together...

Heather Pallay's "Wave #4" - a series about self growth

Firstly, there was Heather Pallay, the Theatre Administrator of Flowertown Players, who approached me with the idea of having a Coalition exhibit at their event in the first place. Everything she did for us after that just blows my mind... getting us screens, promoting the art group, even having the crazy idea of bringing all of the exhibit under a tent so that it wouldn't possibly get rained on- and it eventually did rain that day. This girl even bought me a mocha frappe after one of our committee meetings. If there could possibly be an award for "most helpful person for no reason" it would go to Heather Pallay. She is also a very creative artist that was gracious enough to contribute a few pieces to our Coalition show as well.

Me hangin' out with Bob Frank after drawing
each other at the Bottles and Brushes station :P

  I also have to give my pal Robert Frank and fellow Coalition Moderator a lot of kudos for helping get the pieces put up before the show. He was a huge part of making sure everything got hung up on our recycled screens. Without him, the installation wouldn't have happened at all! He also was an incredible help when it came to getting the artists organized and delivering their artwork on time. (I don't know how he did that! witchcraft! ) Over all, I'm really glad that he decided to volunteer and help organize this event.

Crystal King working on some new artwork as she helps out at the
Artists with Conviction Coalition Volunteer booth.

Speaking of volunteers, another shining star at this event was artist Crystal King. Some may remember her from a blog post I wrote a while ago when I met and showed artwork with Crystal at Phil Hyman's "Outsiders" art show. I was so relieved when she decided to come help the group out on our big day! She is such a mature and kind young lady, great company for one's first art show.

Tim and Tori Walters of "Mystic Ghazala" also helped a bunch by coming out and taking free pictures of the event!

The Ice House in Summerville- Image by Post and Courier.

Of course last but not least on my list of people to thank would be those at The Ice House in Summerville who allowed everyone to set up at their beautiful restaurant in the first place. They have such a nice property which gave us lots of room to do our thang. Can you believe they also fed us delicious gourmet treats? I got to eat my first Cordon Bleu- and it was good. I also remember having this crazy fluffy good pastry puff. It was such a nice relief from all the hustling and bustling I had been doing that day. (They also gave me one complimentary "special punch" drink which made me fly around the room! LOL) I can't wait to come back to their place during regular business hours so I can sample some more of their awesome Summerville Cuisine.

An adorably atmospheric center piece to send you off.

Man, have things changed over such a short period of time. Just a few months ago I was scraping together art events through craigslist and other random outlets. Now I'm helping curate a show where other artists are approaching me! So fancy. This is just the start of something really great.

I am very grateful that I had the opportunity to try such a project like this. The amount of experience I gained and the doors that opened for everyone involved was completely priceless. I look forward to next year, which promises more art and even more opportunities!

Thanks again to everyone that helped make it happen!




Photography by Heather Pallay and Mystic Ghazala.

The Sea Shell Wind Chime

AKA "The Bone Chime"

I am excited to finally reveal a brand new wind chime! I created this one out of sea shells and drift wood that I found at a recent trip to Charleston's own Folly Beach this summer. I call it my "Bone Chime" because the sound of the shells kind of sounds like bones clanging up against each other... not like I would know what that sounds like or anything.

"The Bone Chime"

I was fascinated by the variety of sea shells available at Folly Beach this summer. There were so many of them to choose from, in all sorts of different shapes and sizes. At the time, I wasn't quite sure what project I was going to do with them, but I was particularly attracted to the shells with holes in them. It was like these shells were created especially for artists- all ready for neatly stringing through wire for jewelry making. Or perhaps, like in my case, even making a wind chime.

I wanted to find out how these "magical" holes turned up in those shells in the first place. I figured they were formed by being worn down by the ocean or as a natural process for their species. Boy, how naive I was.

Other shells had their inhabitants plucked out by birds-
these shells had jagged chunks missing instead
of the perfect and uniform bores of the moon snails.

After doing a little research, I find it kind of ironic that something beautiful can be made out of something so brutal.

Here's a brief explanation by M. Paul Monfils-

"Such holes are caused by predatory snails, usually in the family Naticidae (commonly called "moon snails")... They use their radula, a sort of tongue covered with tiny toothlike projections, to rasp a hole in the [shell,] allowing them to insert their proboscis and feed on the soft parts..."

I read on to discover that this process is also painfully slow-

"A shell two millimeters thick (approximately the distance across the top of the letter w) can take eight hours to penetrate..."

According to these facts, not only were the shells eaten alive, but they were practically tortured by the moon snails in the long, drawn out process of being devoured.

Knowing this morbid fact about the shells made me feel somewhat remorseful for using them in such a whimsical way. But at the same time, I felt it had given these poor creatures some sort of extra purpose besides being a small snack for a snail. 

In a way, this truly is a bone wind chime because it is made from the "bones" of the unfortunate mollusks that didn't get to continue living their little clammy lives.

Unconventional drift wood was used for the base of this wind chime.

On a more positive note, I also found this beautiful piece of "drift wood" at Folly as well. I guess technically it's drift wood- the beach didn't have much to offer when it came to traditional pieces of wood. This is actually a shard of palmetto leaf, which are plentiful around the Lowcountry.  When I found it, I thought it was a piece of a wooden dock that had some how washed up on the beach. The surface of the branch's pale white color looks like it has been hand painted. I find it kind of beautiful how nature finds ways to mimic the artistic process, even if it's sort of harsh about it some times.

The shell bone wind chime posing outdoors with an unfortunate duo... a pair of snails.

AWCC POST: First Coalition Meet Up - The Improvables at Flowertown

Awesome event poster hand painted by the Coalition's very own Robert Frank.

This is the page where you can buy your group ticket to sit with the rest of the Artists with Conviction Coalition on Saturday, August 24th for the show at Flowertown. We are not able to reserve seats or pick the section we will specifically sit in, so our only option for sitting together is to buy all the tickets we need at once.

Brian Carter, The Head Improvable, says that all this week they will be promoting the show and seats will be going Fast. For that reason, it is impertinent that all tickets have been purchased by the end of the week. I will be purchasing the tickets this Saturday the 17th, so please don't procrastinate in getting your seat. Ideally we will be sitting near the front of the stage, but as you know, those seats go fast. The quicker we can get everyone's ticket bought, the better seating we'll have!

I made this Pay Pal button so that I can buy all the tickets together at once. We will meet up outside the theatre before the show where I'll give you your ticket. When you purchase, please make sure you tell me your name so that I know exactly who to give the ticket to.

 P.S- the 66 cents extra comes from the fees charged by Pay Pal.
I calculated it by using this website.

Comment below if you have any questions at all!

This Coalition event has expired! See you guys at the next one.

The Artists With Conviction Coalition

I have some big news!
I am proud to announce that I've started a new local art group on Facebook called..

"THE ARTISTS WITH CONVICTION COALITION!"

Hehe, I like it because it kind of rhymes.

The Backstory

I noticed that there wasn't really a well organized community for the underground art scene here in Charleston yet. Everyone's kind of sporadic- good creative work is happening, but in isolated bubbles, and it's mostly a fend for yourself type attitude. As a fledgling artist trying to make a living from scratch, it's been nearly impossible to get my foot in the door around here... I just can't find enough opportunities in time to actually benefit from them. And if there are jobs or venues available, the same few people quickly snatch them up before the rest of us even have a chance. This isn't because those particular artists are greedy or better than anyone else, it's just a matter of having the connections you need to get good gigs. This shouldn't have to be so hard.

I have been lucky to meet a lot of frustrated "refugee artists" just like me through my sublime experience in working in the Phillip Hyman shows. These guys have the fire and talent it takes to be a working artist, but simply lack the connections to get their work out there more. There has always been a yearning for more venues, but never quite enough to go around despite everyone's enthusiasm. It was becoming glaringly clear that this was a problem that needed to be remedied.

By Heather Pallay

So I thought, what would happen if we banded all of this raw artistic energy together into one concise group?

Imagine if all the visual artists, musicians, actors, comedians, and all the other creatives in the area combined their forces into one. With all that talent in once place, we wouldn't have to scrape for opportunities anymore. We would be able to create our own.

Mission Statement

(Our group's description on Facebook)

The purpose of this group is to get artists organized.. it's for artists (and art admirers!) of any kind that want to be a part of a movement that's going to breathe art back into the Lowcountry's coast and beyond.

By Two Found Treasures

We intend to achieve this by-

• Openly sharing information on upcoming art shows,
• Fairly promoting local artists,
• Interacting with our peers and networking with others,
• Getting together to organize original events of our own. 

 The only way we can help ourselves is to help each other- and we are powerful in numbers. Join us today to get involved with this growing family of "Equal Opportunity Artists" that believes that their passion needs be openly celebrated with the masses. It's time that we say NO to exclusive cliques and YES to expanding our community. We are in it for the long haul... We are the Artists with Conviction Coalition!

The Coalition's Plan of Attack

 Phase 1-Recruitment

• The first thing that the coalition needs to do is get a good core of dedicated members. There are tons of "mover and shaker" types out there, we just have to find them. These are the people that are going to make the magic happen- the ones that are committed to being involved in this cause.

• Networking is crucial, especially in the art world. It's all about who you know. Combining all of our resources together will give us more options to choose from- a plethora of talented artists, increasingly better venues, and more creative ideas for us to explore.

• Variety is also important. This group should fairly represent all of the "creative tribes," not just visual arts. We all have our own strengths and weaknesses, but together we can cover all of the bases pretty equally. For example, Performers have access to venues where visual artists could possibly display their work. In return, the Visuals will bring more attention to the gig than would've come if they hadn't been showing their work. With more people attending the shows, everybody wins!

Chris Freeman's first curated show, featuring many artists!

I suspect that we will always be in a recruitment phase of some kind, because there are constantly new artists popping up that will want in on all the fun. And to them I say, "The More The Merrier."

That's the beauty of being equal opportunity- leaving your preconceived judgements at the door because you never know what someone's going to bring to the table. And knowing artists, they're probably bringing some really weirdly shaped sculpture... lol ;P




Phase 2-Taking Action

• Once the group has it's share of gung-ho members, it's time to talk turkey. This is where the networking will come into play as we try to find venues to share our work. At first, it will probably start off as a small operation... However, as the coalition's popularity grows, so will our turn-outs.

• If we have to approach businesses about being an "ally," artists will probably have to contribute to a sample portfolio so that we will have a variety of work to show them as examples. One artist by themselves is unlikely to convince an establishment that their work is worthy of being featured there. However, the more good work we provide, the more interest we could bring to their business, the more valuable we look. The goal is to make an irresistible offer to these places- Assure them that they would not regret allowing original artwork to pass through their doors.

By Alicia Sevilla

• I think it's important to note that not all of our gatherings will be about making profit. I hope that we will able to do a few "team building" activities as well. A lot of artists would appreciate hearing feedback about their work from peers, so we definitely will organize group critiques and work shops. For example, imagine a work shop that helps artists take better photographs of their work... all for free if they're in the coalition.

Phase 3- The Future


From just the few weeks this group has already been opened, I have already had tons of positive feed back from all sorts of creative types who are excited to finally have a group like this to be a part of. It's encouraging because we will only build more momentum over time, leading to more prosperity and good fortune for everyone involved.

I can't really say where this group is going to end up. I can only hope that there are people out there as passionate about their work as I am. I suspect that our future is bright- if we can bring even just a few artists together out of this heavily divided community, I'll take that as a victory. We really could learn a lot from each other if given the chance.

We are in charge of our own destiny, and it's time to act like it.

By Alizey Khan

In conclusion, I have to ask one simple question- what are you waiting for, Charleston? Join the Coalition today and get on this train before it roars on out of the station.

 I'm excited to see what we're going to be capable of!


Additional Artwork by the Coalition

(More work by Coalition artists coming soon... If you want to feature your artwork on this page, let me know!)

Getting Gigs from Craigslist- Maia Moms and Vanguard Cycle

I Heart Single Moms....

And All Men are Mothers...

What do single moms and wicked biker modders have in common? They both got to check out my arts and crafts this month! I found these great opportunities on Craiglist and they were both within a week of each other. The insane thing about it is that while they were both small venues open for crafters to set up for free, the demographics that their event brought couldn't have been any more of complete opposites.

It was such a great chance to test out my products with different types of crowds and do some really diverse networking. It was also quite the adventure- I didn't know what to expect, so I just had to jump right in!

The Maia Moms Mother's Day Celebration

That's right... Maia Mom's founder Allison Herrin has a spread in Woman's World magazine!

The Ladies of Maia were very charming and polite. They are a non profit organization that is dedicated to helping single moms get back on their feet. This event was aimed towards fund raising for their cause and to celebrate, of course, Mother's Day.

Fun Fact: "Maia" in greek means "Great Mother." That's how they got their organization's name!

These chicks really seem to be going places. Maia Mom's founder was even a feature Women's World magazine. We even got featured on the local news! I can't find the original broadcast but they wrote an article about it here.

 
The Maia Moms office (which is covered completely in PINK!)  is located in a historical section of Charleston that the city has been renovating for years now. The building has been around since the 40's, going through many transformations until the final form it is in today. I was very impressed with how it turned out, though! It makes me happy to know that a warehouse once used to hold supplies for war is now a host to a variety of artisans, businesses, and charities. Some harmony in this world has been restored.

A quaint tea party for the mothers, organized by Maia Moms. So Cute!

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This event included a number of attractions including a Tea Party area, "Play Dress Up" Photo booth by Shanacott Photography, and a table where kids could make Mother's Day cards. There was also a few other vendors and booths set up, too.

Here's some kids diligently working on their Mother's Day cards. I thought this was a sweet idea for the moms.

11 Countries in 11 months.. are you out of your mind?!?!

One of the vendors that attended the Mother's Day bash was a young woman named Anna Javaux. She was raising her own funds so that she can afford to take an 11 month missionary trip around the world. I think her goal is incredibly brave and ambitious, and I respect a great cause like that. I think the crowd agreed, because these bracelets she was selling were flying off the shelves!

Green Glass Recycled Art by Debbie and Dana Page... man, their set up is the bee's knees! Also, they win the award for most adorable artsy married couple.. teehee.

Gotta love this lime green display set that Green Glass had at the venue! It was very stylish and eye catching. Their products were great-  Debbie and Dana's expertise are in  manipulating recycled materials like old bottles and metals. Their facebook revealed a huge variety of work, but my favorite thing they had at Maia Mom's were all these super cute glass bottle wind chimes. Different styles included bottles with the bottoms cut out as well as slumped bottles and glass rings.

BEHOLD.. MY PILLOWS! Me posing with my creations. Dad was chilling, too. My lovely parents came and visited me at the bash... It was a nice way to spend Mother's Day with my mom and dad. We all got to goto the tea party!

Some new jewelry and my "oldie but goodie" felt keychains.

I was lucky because the Maia Moms had some extra tables for me to use. It gave me a lot more space to spread out my work! I brought along with me a bunch of different recycled t-shirt pillows as well as the rest of my keychains. I also have a few new jewelry projects (pictured right) that I haven't documented on this blog yet! Stay tuned, though. During this event I finally sold the last of my Mustache keychains. A little boy purchased the last one and promptly began walking around holding it up to his face like it was his real mustache. He then went to the bathroom, still decked out in his disguise, so that he could check out how his new 'Stache looked in the mirror... LOL. Seeing people enjoy my artwork brings me so much joy.

The Vanguard Compound Grand Opening

The Vanguard grand opening was definitely a very different event from the Maia Mom's mothers day tea party. I think they replaced all the tea with a bunch of bad ass motorcycles....

Hmm, I don't see any Tea Parties going on at the Vanguard Cycle compound for some reason!

Anyways, Vanguard Cycle, from what I can gather, does customizations for motorcycles. If I'm wrong you'll have to forgive me, I am not very well versed in the cycling world! That's why this free venue was the perfect opportunity for me to test out my products on a completely unknown demographic. Plus, we were all celebrating the opening of Vanguard Cycle's new compound, which apparently required much blood, sweat and tears to obtain. Congratulations on your success, guys. They had a huge area to work with that was right on the Lowcountry's coast- it was quite a beautiful view.

They had live concerts in the evening but during the day they had a bunch of really cool artists and craftsmen showing off their work! 

This guy made his own candles. I loved the variety of different shapes the candles came in- everything from Easter Island heads to piles of skulls. He also hand carved some of his candle molds, including the gargoyles displayed in this picture. What an interesting craft to get into!

The guys of Bad Monkey Motorworks were super friendly, despite their somewhat frightening but hilarious"mascot" which was an evil Tellitubbie... with a switch blade.

LOL.. this is awful. "We've had this guy for a few
years. We've put him through a lot." Jokingly says the
Bad Monkey guy.  No Kidding!

Free stickers! I love free stickers! This is going right in the collection... Thanks, Bad Monkey!

An awesomely bizarre piece by Ashley Burton.

Ashley Burton's art- it actually had real pills glued onto the surface.

A lot of daring contemporary artists showed up at the event, including mixed media artist Ashley Burton. She's very talented when it comes to making surrealistic works of art! I especially liked this painting that incorporated pills on the canvas. That must've taken forever to complete!

Close Up on another Ashley Burton piece with crazy eye ball flowers.

Ashley Burton and her partner in crime. Keep on creating, Ash!

I think my favorite work at this show came from surreal artist Cyndi Deery. She is an incredibly nice person with such a plethora of cool art! I wish I would've gotten more pictures of her work, but a lot of them came out blurry. Guess that means you'll just have to check out her Twitter page! ;)

Some hipsters hanging out and selling art. You can tell they're hipsters because of that Pabst Blue Ribbon box hiding under the table.... you're not fooling me with your elaborate disguises!

In addition, artist Ashley Hardwood was there selling these intriguing sea urchin ornaments. How incredibly delicate and beautiful these little things are!

 

Seth Van Guard and his team catered the event. They provided some really tasty BBQ platters and good ol' fashioned hamburgers and hotdogs. These guys were working really hard, and their tasty food was proof!

Finally, a picture of me and my set up! This time I didn't have any extra large tables, so my set up was a lot more smaller and compact. I only took out a select amount of pillows instead of the whole brood. My friends Racheal and Patrick (pictured left) helped me set up my tables!

Racheal is also a very talented artist. She did this drawing of a skeleton on canvas.. isn't it just wild? It got a lot of attention at the show. She also had some crafty ornaments made from recycled beer coasters! I'm glad that my friends came with me, they brought a lot of variety to the table.

Now it is time for me to ride off into the sunset.......

What I discovered at these two venues, that while the venues were both radically different, the people that attended were equally as nice.  All in all, it was a great learning experience that required relatively low risk to undertake. Maia Moms simply asked for a donation to their charity, which wasn't hard to do because the cause is good, and the Vanguard Compound asked for no commission whatsoever!

 These kind of events are happening all the time, but it is up to you to find them in your area. As I stated before, both Maia Moms and Vanguard were discovered simply by browsing a few local categories on Craigslist. There are also countless opportunities on other social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Just take a closer look at your favorite social sites. You will be surprised at how many opportunities are out there for a fledgling artist to cut their teeth on. And they're easy to get involved with- all it took was a few back and fourth e-mails and a decent portfolio (or an artsy blog like me ;P)

Go out there and show the world your art! It is such a rewarding experience.