Dear Artist,

CALL FOR ART / $1,000 PURCHASE PRIZE / ART DUE WED. FEB. 17TH
2010 D.I.G. THROUGH ART SHOW – THEME: ANTI-DEPRESSANT
THE DOWNTOWN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH – 154 5th AVE. SOUTH


“D.I.G.” means Dialogue: an Interaction for Growth.
Dear Artist,
The Downtown Presbyterian Church (DPC) of Nashville, Tennessee is
pleased to announce this
year’s winter/early spring art show, The D.I.G. Through Art Show. This
year’s theme:
Anti-depressant. DPC’s annual D.I.G. show, now in its 11th year, is
meant to provide the
community with a chance to come together and “D.I.G. through art.”
Artists are welcome to submit work in any medium. Entry requires a
$15.00 per piece fee (two
pieces maximum). Paintings and other 2-D work cannot exceed 6 x 10
feet. 2-D works must be
dry, framed, and ready to hang with wire. Sculpture must be easily
moveable. Installations must
be approved for space reasons. Work must be delivered to the church on
Wednesday, February
17th at 3.00 p.m. Artists will be accepted into the show on a first-to-
respond basis. Works will be
judged and a winner selected by a local jury comprised of art
instructors, gallery curators, and/or
clergy. DPC will be pleased to present the winning artist with a
purchase prize check of $1,000.


There are no restrictions on the artwork except that the content be
suitable to all ages, since it will
be on display to the entire church body and the downtown community –
young and old. DPC
reserves the right to not show any work.
The grand opening reception and presentation of the purchase award
will be on Saturday, March
6th beginning at 6:00 p.m. This event coincides with the regular first
Saturday downtown
community Art Crawl and the church’s monthly Art-Luck potluck dinner
and art reception.



The D.I.G. show began at DPC in 1998 as an extension of the church’s
artists-in-residency program.
These shows have explored different themes each year. Previous themes
have included last year’s
“Embodiment,” and also “Icons and Idols,”“Incarnation and Risk,” and
“Human Sacrifice.”
Lent is the church season of 40 days (not including feast days) before
Easter. This year, Lent begins
on Ash Wednesday, February 17th and continues through Holy Week,
ending before Easter
Sunday, April 4th. The season is symbolic of both the 40 years of
Israel’s wandering in the desert
and the 40 days of Christ’s fasting and temptation in the wild. DPC
feels this is an appropriate
season to invite artists to join the church in wrestling with
challenges and complexities of faith.
Alongside the themed art show, the church will again host a film
series in DPC’s downstairs chapel
on Thursday nights during the weeks of Lent. A light meal (held at
6.00 p.m.) will be provided
weekly in DPC’s Fellowship Hall before each film (starting at 7.00
p.m.). After each film, guests are
encouraged to stay for a short discussion, sharing impressions and
ideas from the picture.


Important Facts:
• Limit: 2 pieces maximum per artist
• Entry Fee: $15.00 per piece per artist (Checks payable to: Downtown
Presbyterian Church)
• This is a first come first serve show. Your entry fee reserves your
space in the show.
Please send the check in right away to reserve your space using the
form below. Space in
the show cannot be guaranteed without an artist supplying their entry
fee (see following
page).
Important Dates:
• Art Drop Off Date: Wednesday, February 17th (3 PM to 5 PM)
• Grand Opening Reception: Saturday, March 6th from 6 PM to 9 PM with
winner
announced at 7.00 p.m.
• End of Show Date: Easter Sunday, April 4th (after worship
activities)
• Retrieval of works: Monday, April 5th (between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.)
Yes! I would like to participate in the 2010 D.I.G.
Through Art Show, “Anti-depressant.”

Name
Phone #
Email
Address
Please print this page, complete information, and enclose a check for
$15.00 made out to “The
Downtown Presbyterian Church.” Please then send to:

The Downtown Presbyterian Church
(memo line, please: “2010 D.I.G. SHOW”)
154 5th Ave. North
Nashville, TN 37219

Should you need further information or assistance, contact Beth
Gilmore via email at
beth.gilm...@gmail.com or via phone at 351-2260.


Click this link
then click the line of text saying "Register for the 2010 DIG Show"
Well done.

Moody Monday

Dear Liselotte Watkins',
I think I may be in love with your work. It's so dark and moody and beautiful all at once. The clashing patterns make my heart pitter patter and the graphic glamour of the lines make my eyeballs dance with joy. Included are a couple photos I took during a recent mini blizzard. Maybe you could transform me into a magical character? Let me know if this is a possibility, please?
Thank you,
Sarah

SNOMG

Hello there. It's been awhile. I'm evening out from a somewhat bumpy stretch of life. It's time for me to resume creative activity, and re- establish my studio practice. So much has happened in the past couple of months. I knew when I returned to this (blog) after the break period that I wanted to write it all out, to summarize what has happened and my reasons for "taking a break". Does anyone else really want to know? It's been said before, blogging is/ can be self- indulgent. I suppose this is self indulgent, but I'll do it anyway because I want to see it laid out in words so that maybe I can look at it, acknowledge its weight, then better move forward.
I suppose I'll start with December. I made myself a little crazy by taking on a solo art show and as many Christmas Fine Art and Craft fairs as possible. I worked so much, and with so many fine people in the Nashville art community. It was a pleasure, but it left me exhausted. At the time, I worked in retail, which is exhausting at that time of year, also. Then, a dear friend recommended I look into position that had opened up at Watkins College of Art, Design, and Film. I did, and the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like just the job for me. I began the interview process, and was ridiculously excited from wanting to get this awesome job and yet frazzled from everything else. I had friends mock- interview me at Fido, I got my hair blown out, I talked obsessively about my plans. It's a good thing I married a patient man. More or less a week before Christmas I got word that I had the new job and was set to start the second week in January! YESSSS! And that's not it- I had an article about my art work, the solo show, featured in the Tennessean! A Christmas miracle.
I started winding down the year in east Tennessee, with family whom Jon and I went to visit for the holidays. It was really, really nice. I ate my weight in Christmas dinner. I gave and got presents. I made a gingerbread estate. I watched Avatar. My mother is an amazing cook and loves Christmas, so it was quite a festive occasion. Sometime in the following days I committed to an idea I'd been toying with: I would run the Country Music Half- Marathon in 2010. Hence, I registered and formulated a training plan. A large part of that plan involved a running group in east Nashville, appropriately titled "East Nasty". They are close to the house, go on regular runs, and are a fun bunch of people who would keep me going on days and night when I otherwise wouldn't feel like going alone. Through the group I've made several new friends, too! A weird thing happened that I didn't anticipate, though. The last time I did this (trained for the 1/2 marathon),was just weeks after Blake was born. WEEKS. What was I thinking?!! Actually, I know quite well what I was thinking, but it wasn't based on reason. I was so frustrated by having my life changed in a way I never wanted, from gaining pregnancy weight, from being limited in what I could do for 9 months because my body wasn't simply mine anymore. For so many reasons, I was so angry. I didn't want to be a parent, I didn't want to abort the baby, and I didn't want to place our son in an adoption. I never wanted these things that would take over my life and change it forever, but they happened anyway. As you probably know, we chose an adoptive couple (whom I love, love, love)for our son, and the open adoption is a choice I feel very proud of. We loved him so much; we wanted the best life for him. It is a sacrifice I will never regret. Blake was born the first week of January, 4 years ago. Those first several months, the year even, were difficult- which brings me back to the half- marathon. In my traumatized, frustrated mind it seemed like a good idea to train for and compete in the Country Music Half- Marathon. I would get back my former body physically. I would have an outlet for my emotional anxiety. It seemed to make such sense then, but looking back it was incredibly dumb and traumatized my body physically, adding to the emotional stuff I was already sorting through. The Sunday before the race in 2006 I ran the course as a practice before tapering down and resting during the week. After that run, shooting pains began in my right hip. I stretched, and tried to walk it out. It worsened to the point that I couldn't walk. Convinced that I had pinched a nerve, I went to the doctor asking to get a shot to stop the pain. Unfortunately it was not a pinched nerve at all; the x-rays showed that I had broken my pelvis on the right side. It had all been too much- too much, too quickly for a body to bear. Obviously I was out of the race, and worse, on crutches with possibility of permanent injury. I stayed off my feet and used the crutches religiously, and after several months healed to a full recovery. Since then I've thought about the race, and how I'd like to try again. It felt right to commit to it this year. I'd like to reset the process, and do this challenge right. I'd like to take care of myself and run it in a healthy way. So far, so good! Remembering the last time I tried this, and then celebrating Blake's birthday- it all hit me harder than I thought it would. The first half of the month it just kept mentally knocking me over. I don't know how to describe it other than cell memory; my body knows it has done this before and it wasn't good. I feel as if that's fading a bit- this time will be better.
So, training is progressing positively (I went on a sparkling, snowy run this morning with my girls and Seamus) just like the new job! On January 11th I began working for Watkins College of Art, Design, and Film as the Assistant Director of Community Education and Programming. I love it! The environment is great, I have met quite a few other talented artists who work there, and I love the Director of my department! Ahhh. After dumping all this into writing, it DOES seem reasonable that I took a break from everything else. I feel like I'm settling in to the changes, and that I am ready to incorporate art and the creative process into my life again. Yay. I 've missed it!

If You Love Something, Let It Go

I love my blog, I do, but every little once in awhile I just have to let it go. Absence makes the heart grow fonder? More likely that than "Abscess makes the heart grow fonder", which is what I first typed.
As an artist, I tend to work in cycles. Some months (November and December '09)are periods of crazy- obsessive creating. Other months (January '10)are about developing and caring for the other loves of my life.
It seems so much has happened lately- I just want to bask in it, and after I've soaked it all in I'll return to the blog I love and report it all to anyone who cares to know.
In the meantime, please, admire the thoughtful craftsmanship of printmaker and bookbinding genius, Jessica White. Her work is currently hanging in downtown Nashville at Twist Gallery.