Theme Division Accepted Artist Judy Knott

As we draw closer to the opening of the 16th Annual Spring Obsession Art Show March 2nd., the excitement is growing here at Ironstone as preparations are in full swing.  The Theme Division entries are in and accepted artists have been notified.  As their information comes in, I will share with you here the accepted work along with the artists bios.  

Ironstone's 16th Annual Spring Obsession - THEME DIVISION Artist - 
Judy Knott


Entry #T-006  "Ready for the Picking" 
Oil, 36x18  $900

Judy will be on site Plein-air painting on Saturday, March 2, from 11 - 4 .

Biographical Information
My home is in Elk Grove, California where I’ve lived since 1990 with my husband of 31 years. 

My studio is in my home and In addition to painting with oils, I also work with watercolors, design and make jewelry and have started a greeting card line.
I am the President of Elk Grove Artists for 2013 & 2014 and belong to Northern California Artists and the Sacramento Fine Arts Center in Carmichael. 
My career outside of art has revolved around computers predominantly in the medical field.  My last job before retiring in October 2011 was with Catholic Healthcare West Medical Foundation (Dignity Health) where I was a trainer, documentation specialist and finally an IDX computer analyst. 
I have a B.A. in Speech Communications, a certificate in Project Management and from 1996 to 2006 held an Adult Vocational Education Teaching Credential.

Artist Statement

I picked up a paint brush in 2008 and have not stopped painting since.  I was able to take some classes from Kate Anderson, a local artist, before she moved away and I am thrilled that she took me under her wing.  Although I enjoy water colors I decided to concentrate on oils. I started entering my art into competitions in 2012 and have gained some recognition including a prize in the student category of Artist’s Magazine in the January/February 2013 issue.  I paint in a somewhat impressionistic style but I am continuing to find my way and am enjoying the journey. My subject matter is varied and ranges from still lifes and interiors to odd items such as gas meters and drinking fountains. More recently I’ve become infatuated with fish and am excited to be commiserating with folks in the fishing community. Conservation is important to me and if art can bring further awareness of nature to the public, then I’m proud to play a part.
Most recently a few of my fish paintings have been accepted into the January Animal Attraction show at Temporary Contemporary art gallery in Sacramento.  

Did I say Popcorn?

No love for the "dreaded Styrofoam" when opening or trying to repack art work, try loose bubble wrap. However, I don't recommend going green as indicated below from the website "ehow".  

Don't get me wrong, I love popcorn! But, fresh, buttered and a light sprinkling of fresh grated parmi. Please don't use it for packing art!

How to Use Popcorn As Packing Material

By April Fox, eHow Contributor

 
 
 
• Print this article

The world is going green, and environmentally-conscious consumers have discovered a way to ship products without using the dreaded Styrofoam packing peanuts: popcorn! While it isn't a perfect solution--natural oils can damage or discolor paper products, and it's heavier than Styrofoam--popcorn is cheap, easy to use, and won't clutter up landfills like some other materials will. Perhaps the biggest benefit is that after you've finally put that package in the mail, you can reward yourself with a movie and your leftover packing materials.

Read more: How to Use Popcorn As Packing Material | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_5822011_use-popcorn-packing-material.html#ixzz2I09GVMRF

Shipping your Art...

As many of you start planning on how to get your accepted works to Ironstone, I thought I would pass along some of MY past favorite Art Containers.

The photo above illustrates a basic, reusable, easy to handle solution for shipping your work. This crate is the favorite here at Ironstone based on its ease to open, remove art, repack unsold works and return to sender.  There is no popcorn, which is a nightmare to deal with, nor tightly/massively taped bubble wrap, which has to be cut or almost destroyed to get the artworks safely out of the protective cocoon.

Several of you are already using this packaging, and if I were involved in the judging, you will have earned huge points right from the start. Hmmm, such an idea! 

The photo above is compliments of Fine Art Shipping. A company that has a great blog with wonderful ideas & service.  You can check out their site at the following link.
http://www.fineartship.com/crating/

More later ...

What are you Thinking?

OK, here is a look at the panels we will be using for the Main Building Spring Obsession Artists March 2 & 3.

There will be 4 panels joined. with one panel per artist.  There is space for a chair and easel or small card table. The panels themselves are 5 feet tall and 6 feet wide. They have grey fabric that would use something like a shower curtain hook for hanging art. We will figure that out between now and March 2.

We think this will satisfy the past artists requests that we move them into the main building.  With other activities going on in this room that Spring Obsession Event weekend, these panels look to be a great solution.

The Heritage Room, which we have utilized in the past will be reserved for presentations, classes or other projects the accepted Spring Obsession Artists come up with. Send me your ideas!  

OR, if you have art supplies you would like to sell or services for artists you would like to promote, contact me. We can work something out for that great Weekend Event.