Art & Autism; Photos by Kenneth Teore

This blog was created not only to feature my work but to give other creatives a chance to share what they do, so when I was approached about featuring NJ artist Kenneth Teore  on my site, I could not refuse!   Here’s his story…

Anthem Institute Student Kenneth Teore’s Photography Exhibit

on Display at Monroe Township Public Library

for National Autism Awareness Month

Photos on exhibit now through April 30

 

NORTH BRUNSWICK, N.J. (April 19, 2013) – In honor of National Autism Awareness Month this April, the photographs of Monroe Township resident Kenneth Teore, a 22-year-old a student at Anthem Institute with Autism Spectrum Disorder, are on exhibit at the Monroe Township Public Library.

Despite his complex learning disabilities and high-functioning autism, Teore is excelling in the Graphic Design and Animation program at Anthem Institute’s North Brunswick campus. Teore is a gifted nature photographer and his education is helping him gain the skills and knowledge necessary to pursue his goals, which include working for National Geographic in film and photography. 

“Kenny sleeps, eats and drinks his program of studies,” said his mother Joananne Teore. “We are so grateful for Kenny’s incredible opportunity to attend Anthem, where not only does he have an excellent curriculum-based education, but also wonderful instructors who have enlightened him about reading social cues and enabled him to be successful by meeting his needs using assistive technology.”

Through his exhibit at the Monroe Township Public Library, Teore hopes to educate others about his experiences with autism, dyslexia and dysgraphia. The public is invited to view his display of more than 20 photographs beginning now through Tuesday, April 30. The library is located at 4 Municipal Plaza in Jamesburg.

“Kenny’s story is just one example of how we strive to work with each and every one of our students to help them succeed,” said Maria Veglia, Executive Director at Anthem Institute in North Brunswick. “We have full confidence that Kenny will successfully complete his program and look forward to helping him establish a fulfilling career.”

Anthem Institute’s Graphic Design and Animation diploma program gives students hands-on experience with Graphic Design Industry Standard applications. Students take courses in basic design, digital imaging and print, 3D modeling and 3D animation. They learn to use the same packages and tools as graphic design professionals, including 3D Studio Max and Adobe Master Collection Creative Suite and are introduced to standard markup/scripting languages such as HTML, PHP, CSS ActionScript and MySQL.

Taught by graphic design and web professionals, students can receive academic advising from professional education staff, which also arrange for tutoring services when needed and help organize study groups. Program graduates can compete for different kinds of entry-level positions in the graphic design field, including web designer or developer, flash animator, Photoshop specialist or multimedia designer or specialist.

Anthem Institute in North Brunswick is located at 651 US Route 1 South on the 1st floor. For more information about Anthem Education, please contact the campus locally at 855-331-7764

Kenneth Teore’s Library Exhibit

Brief: An exhibit of more than 20 nature photographs by Monroe Township resident Kenneth Teore, a 22-year-old a student at Anthem Institute with Autism Spectrum Disorder, are on display at the Monroe Township Public Library now through Tuesday, April 30 in honor of National Autism Awareness Month. The library is located at 4 Municipal Plaza in Jamesburg. Hours are Monday – Friday 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sunday 1 – 5 p.m. For more information, call 732-521-5000.

 

CHURN out the Art

Social networking does work and it’s great when you make connections that really click!  I connected with artist/Churn Magazine guru Jeff Monje via LinkedIn and right away he was kind enough to feature me in his art zine!  So, of course, I invited him to be a guest blogger here to return the favor and so he could share his inspiration with you as to how he developed his project.  So, here’s what he has to say…check out CHURN…you won’t be disappointed!

CHURN_2002_GIGER_ISSUE

 

My name is Jeff Monje,  ARTIST & Founder of CHURN,

an ART, Music & fashion magazine . I created CHURN back in 1999 out of S.F. after graduating from the San Fransisco Art Institute with a B.A. in painting. Once out of school I quickly realized that promoting & selling your own artwork was more difficult than I had imagined. It was also apparent that many other artists were in the same situation, and after reflecting upon this I decided to take action and do something completely new to me…Publishing my own art magazine so there would be a vehicle of promotion on a much larger scale with more opportunities to sell my work as well as the opportunity for others to sell theirs too.  CHURN , an Art, Music & Fashion was then launched. The main idea behind the magazine besides being entertaining and informative was to help up & coming artists, musicians & fashion designers etc who didn’t get the exposure they deserved.  It was this ” Collective Community” approach  that was employed so as to help struggling artisans get work seen & sold.

 

We  experimented with different art/ music related subjects and interviews in the magazine to dig deeper in to the minds of the creators so that the audience would get a better appreciation of who these people are and why they are extremely important to the world. Artists, Musicians etc..are one part of humanity that glues the rest together. Having been at the magazine for years and after a hiatus of more than 12 years I decided to bring CHURN magazine back to the public in 2012 because so much is happening in the art / music scene and world that it was important enough to re-promote the creators. I will be doing the magazine for as long as I’m alive.  We welcome the world to submit their best!

CHURN ART

A bit more about Churn:

CHURN is an INDEPENDENT Publication Founded in 1999 -2000 out of S.F., California by Artist Jeff Monje. We stopped printing CHURN after issue #6 but have recently re-launched our publication online and in print coming out with issue #7 featuring World class artist John Brophy on the cover .We have featured some HUGE names in the Art / Music scene for a small run press. The goal from the beginning has never wavered. We want to help as many brilliant Artists, Musicians, Writers ,Theater Performers and Fashion Designers and more get the visibility they deserve through another venue .

WE WELCOME THE ARTISANS & MUSICIANS OF THE WORLD to submit your works for print and online!

INTERNS WELCOME!

submissions@churnmagazine.com

www.churnmagazine.com

www.churnstyle-directory.com

www.churntube.com

Renee Phillips & the Healing Power of Art

Hello Creatives!

Have I got a treat for you today!  My guest blogger is “artrepreneur” & founder/director of Manhattan Arts International at http://www.ManhattanArts.com,  Renee Phillips!

Now here’s a woman who is pro-active in her own career as well as tremendously helping others with their career goals.   A big focus for Renee is the healing power of art, which I think we can all take inspiration from, so I’ve asked her to describe her project in her own words…

Professionally, I’ve been devoted to the subject of Art and Healing, and Positive Change through Art, for at least 14 years. In my book Success NOW! For Artists, A Motivational Guide for The Artrepreneur, published in 1999, I have a section devoted to the Healing Power of Art.

 

All my life I have been a reader of Emerson, Thoreau, Jung, Peale, and others, and a strong believer in the power of positive thinking and the correlation between our thoughts and our reality.

 

As an artist, writer, and a career coach, I have always created from a place of pure love and joy.

Perhaps what triggered the original Celebrate The Healing Power of ART exhibitions was my desire to counterbalance a lot of the negative, angst-ridden art that I noticed was dominating the NYC art scene at the time. I felt a strong need to promote artists whose work emanated positive energy.

I believe in the “law of attraction” and as a career coach most of my clients have shared the same philosophy. I have become more focused on helping artists who have something positive to bring to the world. I have many written articles about artists who survived illness, grief, loss through their art and are helping others through the power of artistic self-expression.

 

When my mother was struggling with Alzheimer’s disease I saw firsthand how art helped her cope. She was unable to communicate verbally so we “spoke” through drawing and coloring together.

The Celebrate The Healing Power of ART exhibitions serve as a platform to bring our strong beliefs and truths about the power of art to heal, not only the creator of the art but viewers as well. And, the wondrous magic of it all is every artist has a unique way of expressing the message in many different styles and mediums.

 

And, that’s why I feel very strongly about bringing positive healing art to a global audience through Celebrate The Healing Power of ART exhibitions. In recent years I added the word “Celebrate” because the word injects bliss and hope.

 

One of my greatest pleasures is being on the jurying panel and viewing the art submissions! I feel that I connect to the artist and their heart and soul through the work they create.

 

All the best,

Renee

Here’s some samples of winning artwork from Renee’s Healing Power of Art contests:

Orion (Meaningful Life)

Benny H.V. Andersson (Bridge over Infinity)

Carolyn Abrams (Contemplating)

Winning Healing Art

Here’s where you can see what Renee’s up to:

The Healing Power of ART page:

http://www.manhattanarts.com/Gallery/Healing-Power-of-ART/index.htm

Visit Renee’s Artrepreneur Coach blog

Visit Renee’s Healing Power of Art blog

Manhattan Arts International
www.ManhattanArts.com
212.472.1660

Join Renee
Twitter reneephillipsny
Facebook ReneePhillipsArtCoach
linkedin.com/in/reneephillipsartcoach

Art with soul; a call for artists & poets!

Art can bridge gaps, start discussion and have healing effects.  These are 
some of the main reasons i love being represented by Gallery U in Red Bank!
They strive to help others through creativity and here's just on example.  So
if you're an artist/poet and also a social worker, this one's for you!




CALL FOR ARTISTS AND POETS WHO ARE SOCIAL WORKERS
 
In celebration of Social Work Month 2013, Gallery U in Red Bank NJ
presents a month long celebration of social workers in New Jersey. A
number of events are scheduled for the month, including an exhibition
celebrating artwork by social workers and a special edition of POETRY
U focusing on poetry by New Jersey social workers.
We are currently looking for artwork by social workers (current,
retired and students) who are also artists. You can find submission
guidelines at https://www.facebook.com/groups/251637761584426/ in our
"file" section.
 
We are also looking for social workers who are poets to join this
special POETRY U event scheduled for Friday, March 22 from 7-9 PM. If
you would like to be considered for a featured reader spot at POETRY
U’s SWART event, please send three sample poems to
rlangdongalleryu@gmail.com. Submissions must be received by March 1,
2013.
Please pass this opportunity to anyone who may be interested.
 

HAPPY NEW YEAR, Blogland!

Hi All!  I’ll make this short and sweet being it’s New Year’s Day and you’re all either exhausted, hung-over or both after last night’s festivities…and if not, then I hope you still had fun whatever you did!  I just want to wish you all a HAPPY, HEALTHY, CREATIVE, PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR!  Thanks for reading my blog and I’m planning on posting even more interesting, artistic blogs in 2013, not only from myself but some exciting guest bloggers as well….stay tuned….

Icicle Card(c)Lauren Curtis

Winter Snow (NJ) (c)Lauren Curtis

 

Starting 2013 right!

So far we seem to be coming thru 12/21/12 OK and I got a great surprise on this Yule/Winter Solstice day when well-known “Artrepreneur”, Renee Phillips, featured me and 2 other artists on her art blog today!  A positive way to begin a new era!  http://reneephillips.blogspot.com/2012/12/savor-process-of-reaching-your-goals.html

Here’s to a great, New Year!

Cheers!

~Lauren

Have a BAZAAR Winter

Happy Holidays, Everyone!  I know things are getting stressful for many this time of year (especially with the added worry about the Mayan doomsday prediction, although so far so good as far as our survival..I hope!    )  and many feel even more stress to find the perfect, yet affordable gifts for friends and family…so here’s your answer (you’re welcome!).  Come to Highland Park, NJ & check out the PAZ Cultural Group’s WINTER ART BAZAAR and find unique, creative, reasonably priced art gifts!  I’m happy to be a part of this event and have invited the organizer to post a guest blog about the show, so take it away, Jonathan Horowitz!

The Winter Art Bazaar showcases local artists exhibiting affordably priced art during the Holiday Season. The recently launched PAZ culture system is organizing this event with the support of Main Street Highland Park. The bazaar gives artists an opportunity to have their work seen by consumers who can pick up unique, affordable gifts and support their local art community. The collective aims to empower emerging artists by involving them in community based projects, and this bazaar showcases those who are passionate about their art, but may have trouble finding places where they can show their pieces. Basically, PAZ want to give artists a chance to get their work out to the public so that the artists can make a little money, but also make people happy, sharing their creations.

PAZ culture system aims to bring people from all backgrounds together through art so that we focus on similarities rather than differences, and this event epitomizes the PAZ culture system mentality. We have twenty seven artists from a wide variety of disciplines and backgrounds; people who just graduated art school to those who went to art school almost seventy years ago. We have graffiti artists, photographers, potters, jewelers, painters, sculptors, crocheters, and many more…

This is the first of many PAZ culture system events. With the bazaar, we hope to raise awareness of our initiatives so that we have many more opportunities to put together events benefiting the local community.

We encourage you to like our Facebook fan page to stay updated regarding our future endeavors: http://www.facebook.com/PAZculturesystem

Feel free to come by the Winter Art Bazaar at Main Street at 212 Raritan Ave. in Highland Park. We are open from 1-9pm during the week and 10-6pm on weekends.  The show will be extended an extra week!

Oct. Art Features!

Autumn has been crazy busy so far between the usual freelance commissions and exhibits but then there’s also all the fun Halloween events going on too!  I LOVE this time of year and the crisp air, sunny days and brightly colored trees…and spooky Halloween decor!…really get me in full creative mode so I’m excited to have various types of my work featured on 3 very different but equally awesome art websites!  So, while you’re sitting in the comfort of your home, check out these sites for advice from artists on getting into galleries, to purchase very affordable holiday scrapbooking stamps and to see some seasonably gothic, dark artwork and literature!

Samhain/Halloween greeting card illustration (c)Lauren Curtis

ARTFUL VAGABOND BLOGSITE:  Featuring a post with one of my quotes and artwork is published in the “Ask the Artists” series. http://www.artfulvagabond.com/ask-the-artists-approaching-galleries-day-285/
STAMP-N-DOODLE STAMP WEBSITE:  Scrapbooking art challenge using my stamp designs:  http://stamp-n-doodle.blogspot.ca/
FRIDAY FRIGHTS:  My artist feature on this cool gothic art/literature website:
http://www.fridayfrights.ws/horrific-visions/lauren-curtiss-artwork/

BOO!  Have a Happy Halloween!

~Lauren

Strange Glue; Ultimate in Collage Art

Collage has been gaining popularity as an art form and I, myself, have been experimenting with this medium as well.  Now that there are many collage options with various computer programs as well as the old fashioned hand-cut & paste collage, the possibilities are endless!  So, when Todd Bartel sent out a call for collage art for his Strange Glue exhibit, I jumped at the chance and entered a few of my digital photo collages.  He accepted the one below to be in his online exhibit & catalog.  He also put together a gallery show as well.   Todd has really put his heart & soul into this expansive project so I invited him to write a guest blog about Strange Glue & how it began…

Micro-Macrocosm Tree (c)2010Lauren Curtis

What is your background with collage?

During the fall of 1981, I was exposed to collage, unaware of its potential during my freshman year at the Rhode Island School of Design. During that first year, in both my two-dimensional design classes I poured myself into each and every collage assignment given and there were several throughout the course of that year. I had three instrumental teachers who each contributed to my interest in the medium: Hardu Keck, Alfred DeCredico and Stuart Diamond. Hardu gave me my first assignment, in which I had to create five collages working with the famous quote by Comte de Lautréamont: beautiful as the chance meeting on a dissecting table of a sewing machine and an umbrella. I made over 40 collages for that assignment which for me was an early signal of my love for the medium, but it took two more years before I dove into the process and claimed it as my vocation. It was on a class trip to visit Alfred DeCredico’s loft studio at the end of that year that I actually fell in love with collage, standing in front of one of his collages. But it wasn’t until the first month of junior year when Stuart Diamond got me to apply my love for the medium to my own work in my painting classes. I have been actively studying and making collages since the fall of 1983. I became friends with Michael Oatman, who was one year behind me at RISD, that same year and we’ve been close ever since. We have collaborated on many occasions and our mutual regard for collage and each other’s work has spurred many projects and interactions.

Since those early years all of my work has been collage-based. I have pushed at the boundaries of collage by working virtually, employing additive and subtractive methods and borrowing or appropriating from just about every ism from the last 100 years. I have worked with assemblage, installation, film and traditional papier collé. I adopt techniques as fast as I am able and I think nothing of learning and fusing new techniques as needed. It often feels like I am discovering something new with each project I initiate.

Since 1995 I have actively studied the relationship between landscape and collage and have overtly dedicated my practice to that coupling. Since then, all my work has been series based.

Strange Glue Exhibit Card 2012

What inspired you to put together the Collage at 100 exhibition series?

I have been working to celebrate the centennial of the invention of fine art collage since the millennial change. I knew I wanted to do something special. I have personal projects I am working on but I also wanted to do something that had a reach into he public sphere. When I moved north to teach again at the Cambridge School of Weston of Weston, MA—I taught at CSW from 1986 to 1989, just before attending graduate school–I was hired knowing full well in 2002 the potential, then, to build a gallery at the school. In fact that is what pulled me back to CSW in the first place. I became the gallery director in 2006, before the building was completed, before we even had a name for the gallery and even in that rough state, I knew I would honor the centennial of Picasso and Braque’s joint invention of collage

I put out a call for collage-based art in July of 2011 and by the time the call closed, on December 30 of last year, I had received 524 applications totaling 3,332 images to choose between. I knew that I would get a lot of applications, but was just not prepared for those numbers. As an artist, a full time teacher, and a curator I am really in a very interesting position to create shows. Fusing these three disciplines is like a creating a massive multi-node collage over an extended period of time. By the time the series is complete, I will have worked for two years, will have mounted three shows and hung hundreds of works of art and published four accompanying catalogs.

One of the things I have the freedom to do is to treat the creation of shows like creating a paintings in that I can allow things to distill while other portions of the greater project take precedence. For example, in the show that you are involved with Lauren, the Virtual Annex exhibition, that is a grouping of 49 artists that I actually could have cut out from the show altogether. But the quality of the work was so high that I kept postponing sending the letters until I finally realized I had a unique opportunity. Despite having too much work in the gallery—keep in mind that to accommodate 130 pieces in a room no larger than twenty-five feet square, I built a twelve by eight foot wall in the space as well as utilized an exterior wall that is forty-four feet wide by eighteen feet high—I decided to invite Lauren Curtis and the other 48 artists to show their work in a virtual setting rather then the analog space of the gallery proper. This was decidedly a strange thing to do.

For the analog show, I organized the exhibition into art-historical categories to examine the evolution of collages many faces, vicariously through the work of contemporary artists whose work easily stands in for a specific isms or references important artistic milestones of collage. Additionally, it examines the nature of analog glue and the strangeness of how artists today have pushed far beyond the original definition of the term collage.

The Virtual show, which was literally completed today (10/10/12), as I uploaded the first proof of the catalog for the show, is organized into categories that examine immaterial glues. In other words, if physical binders hold physical materials, what holds ideas and imagery together? That is the subject of the Virtual Annex.

The Virtual Annex can be viewed on line at:  thompsongallery.blog.com

Many of Todd’s  series can be seen at his blog website: http://toddbartel.tumblr.com/.

The Thompson Gallery website has a full slideshow of the entire analog exhibition as well as an additionally slide show of the installation:https://www.csw.org/podium/default.aspx?t=204&nid=796876

The catalogs for the show may be purchased at:http://www.lulu.com/shop/todd-bartel/strange-glue-traditional-avant-garde-collage/paperback/product-20441607.html

 

Fantastic opportunity for Monmouth & Ocean County art teachers.

Gallery U in Red Bank, NJ is an amazing art organization I’ve been exhibiting with where 50% of the gallery sales go to helping people recovering from traumatic brain injuries.  I’m happy to help them promote this great opportunity for art teachers in Monmouth & Ocean Counties in NJ:

Gallery U in Red Bank is holding a special exhibition of original works by teachers of the arts in NJ’s Monmouth and Ocean Counties. Far too often teachers of the arts put their own work on the back-burner. It is our intent to offer an opportunity to exhibit and sell their artwork in a professional gallery. BACK TO SCHOOL is open to any art teacher from K-university level. All styles and mediums will be considered, however, all art must be able to hang on a wall. An opening reception will be held for all artists and the public on September 14, 2012. The show will remain at Gallery U until October 10, 2012. Deadline for submissions is August 19, 2012. For more information on how you can participate, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/groups/251637761584426/