I’ll call this art group the “Relaxed and Joyful Art Group”…..I know this sounds like an anomaly.  This wonderful group was started by two retired Univ. of Ga, art professors for the love and pleasure of creating artwork.  We are over 35 strong  active members and the ages span from the late 30’s to some over 80.  We are a diverse group of retired professors, artists, scientists, businessmen and housewives.   We come from a variety of cultural backgrounds…… we are a mixed bag of society.

What is SPECIAL about this Art Group is that it is FUN!  We paint for  the sheer pleasure of exploring creativity.  No judging…..no criticism…only encouragement to continue on the road of an artist’s journey.  We are primarily a group of Plein Air painters, using a variety of media.  But if the weather is cold or rainy,  we move inside.  Our artwork  and  art background ranges from no art training to that of professional artists and every thing in-between.  We visit museums and are sometimes social and include lunch with our plein air painting.

Bill captivated by Claire's garden

What’s not to love about this type of Art Group!  It is fulfilling for the individual, encourages creativity, and feeds the soul.  Also this group is a benefit to the community,  as we foster more interest in the  arts by supporting local art community associations, taking art classes, and attending art events in the city and surrounding area.

My encouragement to you is to start such a group in your community. We need to bring back the FUN and SHEER PLEASURE of CREATING.

If you have an interest in this type of Art Group , please make a comment, or,  if you like, you can contact me through my email at;  laurelgenteman@yahoo.com

Also, check out my NEW  “Art from the Heart”  page,  located in the header bar on myHome page.  You can follow the “Painted Voice” on FaceBook and find out more about Relaxed Art.

Last weekend Chappelle Gallery had a wonderful “Summer Open House” in garden.  There were demonstrations of wheel throwing, raku firing, weaving, and I was painting.  In true “Southern Style” as with any outdoor event, we had great bar-b-que.  It was lot’s of fun.  Good friends were there and new friends were made….. and tons of beautiful art of every kind. It was a great way to spend a lazy summer weekend.

Since all my friends couldn’t be there, I thought you would like to see some pictures.

This is the Chappelle Gallery, a beautiful old house on the National Historical Registry. Art housing Art!

On the lawn there were numbers of white tents filled with all kinds of artwork.

Some of my artwork

Some of my artwork

There were some originals displayed, giclee prints, clay wall murals, and cards.

The Morning Glories in the lower right corner is one of my clay murals.

Kurt taking a break in the shade looking at Loretta Eby's glass before the Open House starts.

I have more of Loretta Eby glass on my FaceBook – Painted Voice Page

Raku firing

Children creating clay masterpieces

A Southern Tradition

In Bulldog Country you will find Bulldogs at Art Festivals as well!

While visiting England in the early nineties Judy Jeroy and Carol Dam saw many beautiful tapestries.  They were especially impressed by the work of the dedicated “stitchers” that depicted their homeland. Returning home to the United States, they were inspired to create a tapestry that would depict the beauty of their own countries “bounty” in embroidery.

Judy Jeroy designed five panels.  Each panel incorporates geographical features, animals, birds and plants found in the various States.  Phrases form the song “America the Beautiful” are placed in appropriate places on the five tapestries.

Judy painted the canvases using twenty different colors of acrylic paint. The tapestry was stitched on #18 count hand painted white mono canvas and incorporates an enormous variety of stitch techniques.  In addition to stitching directly on the canvas, embroidered “slips”, or separates pieces, were worked on painted or dyed linen twill and then applied to the panel.  This simple,  yet unusual design element gives the Tapestry an almost three-dimensional appearance, and guides the viewers eye from panel to panel presenting a dynamic whole.

The Tapestry took over five years to complete, and contains the work of over 1000 artists.  The permanent home for the National Tapestry is at EGA headquarters in Louisville, KY. and is available for travel beginning in January, 2009.  For more  information on Embroiderers’ Guild of America and the National Tapestry go to http://www.egausa.org

The pictures in this post are little ” thumbnails ” of some of the beautiful stitchery in the Tapestry.

The Dogwood Chapter of EGA in conjunction with their Art Embroidery Exhibit is hosting a special presentation of the beautiful National Tapestry.  This exhibit will be held at the Lyndon House Arts  Center, in Athens, Georgia on May 23 – July 18, 2009.  Exhibit hours are Noon – 9:00pm Tuesday and Thursday, and 9:00am – 5:00pm Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.