#8 It's Durby Time

Blank canvases have always been intimidating to artists - but what about Blank Horses??? Strange right? Well its Kentucky Durby time and "Artworks! Partners for the Arts and Community" will be hosting their annual Kentucky Durby Fundraiser titled "Kentucky Lucky" 

It is not unusual for non-profit organizations to approach artists to donate work for live and silent auctions during their fundraising ventures, however this time Artworks has come up with a creative alternative. Instead of artists donating artwork that already existed in their inventory, they have approached them to create a work of art directly onto a wooden horse, provided to each artist.
The New Bedford Art Museum does something similar every year at their holiday fundraiser where they make wooden Holiday stars for artists to decorate. This for many organizations serves to be a fun and contemporary way for getting artists involved in their event as well as taking that particular fundraiser theme to the next level keeping it fresh and dynamic.

Artworks is one of my favorite non-profit art organizations and I have been working, volunteering and exhibiting with them for over six years. So when the director Noel Foye approached me to decorate a wooden horse I said Yes! in a heartbeat plus I love getting thrown out of my regular artistic comfort zone - it warms up my creative juices and allows a fun time in the studio without taking my craft and myself too seriously. 

So here I was with a wooden horse...What to do?
I suddenly started to panic and draw blanks but I realed myself back in and remembered " hey this is suppose to be fun don't take your self too seriously and go with the flow." After that little pep talk I was mixing lively energetic colors keeping it free and fluid and it was definitely a fun time in the studio. It was also the perfect break from four months of non-stop pressure and serious dialogue for both the Harbor show and The Wall @ Travessia show that I had been feverishly working on.

Well... without further ado, here is my wooden horse offering, ready to take off in The Artworks "Kentucky Lucky" fundraiser :-)

The Artworks! Kentucky Lucky event will be on Saturday May 4, 2013 at UMass Dartmouth University Club from 5:00-7:00pm tickets $40. Wear your fancy hats and join in the fun :-)