It’s spooky how many art events are happening in NJ!

Happy Fall and happy Halloween season…one of my favorite times of year! The pandemic halted a lot of live art events & exhibits but they are making a come back and virtual exhibits continue as well as a safe, free way for people to enjoy a wide variety of art events. I thought I’d share some art exhibits I have work in, both live and online…hope you’ll enjoy them and get inspired to create &/or support local artists!

The WINDOWS ART WALK in downtown Highland Park, NJ continues!  Localstore owners are opening their windows for displaying art for the Window Art Walk! Take a stroll down Raritan Ave., where you can see the work of local artists in many shops.  My painting  “SHE” is in Main Street HP’s window.

FAVORITES is an online art event hosted by Personaland Gallery!  My painting, “Omen”, is the one I chose for this show so it’s included in this exciting virtual exhibit along with the favorite works of many artists from across the globe (including some of my art students!)  Which will be your favorite?  Check out the show here: https://personaland.com/hut/exhibition/favorites

HERITAGE is a new, virtual exhibit focusing on what our culture, background, family & history mean to us as artists and community members.  I have the above digital collage, “Necropolis”, along with other works in this online show.  View it here in this virtual gallery:  https://www.westerhoffschoolofmusicandart.com/galerie.html

Windows of Understanding  I am proud to announce that I have an original piece of art in the Metuchen NJ Library for Windows of Understanding, a public art project addressing social issues & climate change…it is still on display.  And I was selected to create a new piece for this year’s Windows of Understanding project as well so stay tuned!

Creativity & COVID

First off I hope this finds you all safe & well!  These are crazy, bizarro-world times!  But you’d think self quarantine would be a piece of cake for artists!  I mean it gives us tons of time and space to create and we usually work alone in our homes or studios anyway, so no biggie to socially distance & create our butts off, right?  But let’s not forget the stress from lack of work/money, the human need for being social and the inspiration that comes from that, and from travel, having new experiences, going to actual museums, galleries, etc.  Then add on the fear of getting sick and dealing with all that this strange new world presents, piled onto the typical creative blocks and this can be a tough time for artists especially those of us that make a living from it!

For me, I’ve had to find new ways to adapt to being a professional artist in the pandemic age.  For one thing I now give all my art & creative marketing lessons virtually (thank the Gods for Skype, Video Chat, Zoom…).  I’d be in big trouble if it wasn’t for this technology and so far it’s working quite well.  Of course good ol’ fashioned in person classes are great but this is now a convenient, safe & affordable way to keep teaching and sharing art.

And luckily I am very used to working with my freelance project clients remotely, so that hasn’t changed much although of course many people no longer have the finances to buy art or hire a designer or illustrator to work on their projects, so I am VERY grateful for the people I currently am working with!  The other big change though is the cancellation or indefinite postponement of all gallery exhibits and art events! I typically have work in at least one or two events per month, often more from spring thru holiday season, and that’s all on hold.  Some galleries and art organizations are doing online art exhibits & events, which I have been participating it.  It’s great to see the ingenuity of these people in trying to keep the arts going.  The downside is it’s much harder to sell thru these types of events & I think those running them get this and have either reduced or eliminated submission fees, lowered commission fees, etc. which is a good way to keep artists engaged.  But this all spells tough times for anyone involved in the arts as a career.  I recently had this digital photo collage in an online art auction….we’ll see if there were any takers…

“In memory of a Friend”  (c)2018 Lauren Curtis

This is the time when we all must think outside of the box and find new ways to keep our jobs…not just artists…and it’s really difficult.  Some people just can’t work from home and I REALLY hope the powers that be step up & fix our broken benefits system to help everyone out in need.  As artists we must try to over come the depression and anxiety from this situation…or channel it into creativity and new work!  I’d love to hear from you as to how you’re coping with the pandemic, especially if you’re an artist of any kind, and share your stories in the comments here & if you know of any opportunities for other creatives to get involved with please share them.  You’re not alone in your fears and worries and I hope, no matter what your profession, things will be OK for you & that you stay safe & healthy!

~Lauren

 

 

Visit art shows without leaving home!

For artists and art appreciators, what’s one of the biggest advantages of the internet?  Being able to view amazing artwork from across the globe without leaving your house!  Of course it’s always a great experience to actually visit galleries and museums but we can’t always do that, especially when an exhibit we’d love to see is taking place in another state or country, so enter ONLINE EXHIBITIONS!

These provide us with a way to view all types of artwork and discover new artists and collect work from those we already follow from the comfort of our homes and computers.  And for us artists, we don’t have to pay ridiculous shipping fees and risk our work being lost or damaged while still being able to reach an international audience.  I do still really enjoy actual brick and mortar exhibits where I can attend the openings and meet the other artists and collectors, but internet art shows are another way to gain exposure and mingle with other creatives.

So, for those of you who want to exhibit hop from home, here are 2 online exhibitions I have artwork in…

International Women’s Exhibit

This online exhibition features amazing photographic images from women artists around the world!  From traditional images to abstract and surreal, it’s worth taking the time to scroll through this extensive show and experience so many beautiful pieces in one place.  I have a B&W night shot I took in Amsterdam in this show.  Here’s the link: http://www.womeninfocusatlanta.com/  under Exhibits.    The exhibit will remain online through the month of April.

Spring Featured Artists

A LinkedIn connection, Stephen Fountain, invited me to be a featured artist on his eclectic, spiritual, creative website so of course I said YES!  In the site’s creator’s words, this site is built it with the intention to get people to use more of their intuition and cognitive process to find things , so it takes a bit of searching to locate my feature but all you need to do is look to the left on the SPRING EXHIBIT page and you will see a big star and it says spring above it. In the center of the star is an arrow pointing in two directions. Click on the right side of arrow to see my page.  The large buttons below my image will lead you to my various websites. 

Here’s the link:

http://www.thezoc.org/home#!__home/vstc0=exhibitions

I purposely only posted one art image in this blog as I hope you’ll click the links to the exhibitions and view the work there.  Feel free to leave comments about the sites once you’ve visited them and enjoy your virtual trip to the galleries!

New Guest Blog: Laara WilliamSen on Art & Social Media

Hi All,
Once again, I’m happy to introduce you to a great artist I met on LinkedIn, Laara WilliamSen. Here’s her guest blog (& look for mine on her blog site soon!)… http://’laarawilliamsen.wordpress.com

TWITTER ART & SOCIAL MEDIA

I have really enjoyed being a part of The Twitter Art & Social Media Group Exhibition at the Diane Farris Gallery in Vancouver, B.C. What has become clear to me from participating in the exhibition is that there are two strands of artists using the internet. The first group of artists are using content from the internet to actually create their art. The second group of artists are working from their studios and making use of the internet’s social media to further their careers I am distinctly in the second category having been active in the studio as a painter for over thirty years. Only recently have I acquired enough computer “smarts” to use the internet’s social media!

Now, having become very active on the internet, I just love it. Because of my Linked in connection, the blogs that I write and my web page I am happy to tell you that throughout Canada, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, China, Ireland, Spain, Italy, South Africa and across the U.S.A., I have connections to Galleries, C.E.O’s, Foundations, Artists and Artist Groups.
I enjoy touring the MOMA on line and seeing exhibitions that I otherwise wouldn’t see! Some of the online groups that I belong to include; Emily Carr University of Art and Design Alumni, Art Professionals Worldwide, Fine Art Network, Art Collecting Network, Art Marketing, Scientist Artist Collarborations.

The internet gives me both a personal sense of where I fit into the contemporary art world and expands my knowledge of what is imminent. Because I am more informed, my art reflects this. I am currently creating oil paintings by re-inventing some of the Hubblecraft photographs of the universe. Next month and in June, I will be exhibiting in group exhibitions in Naples, Italy, Germany, London, UK and New York, USA. I particularly enjoy the amazing friendships that I am forming with artists from all around the world!

Laara WilliamSen
International Professional Painter
Vancouver, B.C. CANADA
http://’laarawilliamsen.wordpress.com

Love is in the air; Feb. Art Updates

Hello! Well, even though we’re in the middle of Winter, the cold doesn’t stop the art events from
happening, so here are a few I’m happy to be involved with right now:

1. Please join me for he opening reception of the LOVE ART SHOW at Small World Coffee,
14 Witherspoon St., Princeton, NJ. Opening reception
will be held on Friday, February 5th, from 8pm until midnight.
The festivities will include a silent auction, live
music provided by DJ Nim and local bands, and more! There will be a
suggested donation at the door, the proceeds of this as well as the
money raised through the silent auction being donated to The Arts
Council of Princeton. I have a photo in this exhibit. I also had another photo accepted to the WHITE LOTUS LOVE ART SHOW, opening reception 2/14/10, 1-4pm, at the Lotus Gallery, 431 Raritan Ave. (upstairs), Highland Park, NJ. Art, food, music, poetry! Show runs thru 3/31/10. For those of you far, far from NJ, I’ve attached my LOVE show accepted photos here.

2. My design was selected for the One Barrel at a Time art project sponsored by the NJ Dept. of Environmental Protection, Rutgers Coop Extension Water Resources Program & Lucid Graphics. Artists were selected to create paintings on 55 gallon rain barrels which will be displayed (& auctioned off) throughout NJ to educate the public about water conservation.

3. The new Caladan Gallery show “Trans-Morphing: The Act of Change”
online 2/1-2/28! http://www.caladangallery.com
I have 2 new mixed media pieces in this international show.

4. If you enjoy travel & photography please check out my new feature on
Zingology Arts & Culture Zine! http://zingology.com/blog/?p=3211

New Art & Updates on http://www.laurencurtisart.mosaicglobe.com

Thanks for checking out these diverse art events!
~Lauren

http://www.LaurenCurtisArt.com (commercial & fine art)
http://www.laurencurtisart.mosaicglobe.com (fine art, photography, art updates)
http://www.laurencurtis.imagekind.com (cards, T-shirts, photography, illustration)

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