Posted by Nancy Tobin on Dec 28, 2009 in
Check This Out,
Events & Happenings,
News,
Shows,
Ta Da! 
Think ©2009
I was delighted to be asked by the New Jersey Center Visual Arts Center to do six special paintings for their Blank Canvas event that was held earlier this month.
The NJVAC’s annual fundraiser is known for it’s high caliber artists, who regularly donate works to for this incredible silent auction. This year was no exception. You can take a look at some of the pieces that were available, on the Art Center’s Flickr page.
Enrich ©2009
Amaze ©2009
Create ©2009
Inspire ©2009
Imagine ©200
Tags: Blank Canvas, New Jersey Center Visual Arts Center, NJVAC
Nice Dream ©2009
To celebrate the season (and the fact that I am finishing all sorts of work and clearing all sorts of space in my studio!), I’m having a Two-for-One Print Sale!
When you buy one print at regular price, you get another print of the same or less value for FREE!
My shop is bursting with art to warm every cockle (what’s a cockle*?)
When you order one print, just tell me which one you’d like free in the “message to the seller” section.
To whet your appetite, I’ve just posted these brand-new darlings for your viewing pleasure; Nice Dream, Waiting Room and Little Knell.
Stop by the shop, and have a cup of cheer!
*According to Wikipedia, “the phrase warm the cockles of one’s heart may refer to the similarity in shape of the heart valves to the cockle mollusk”.
Waiting Pool ©2009
Little Knell ©2009
Tags: Etsy, Little Knell, Nice Dream, Waiting Pool, wikipedia
Posted by Nancy Tobin on Nov 10, 2009 in
Check This Out,
Events & Happenings,
News,
Shows This is what happens when I neglect my blog — I end up waiting until the last minute to post about all my upcoming events, ending up with a pretty long list. This is no exception.
I guess it’s a formula;
Many shows in future
+ busy getting ready for shows in fututre
(subtotal) too busy to blog
+ wanting to tell the world about all the cool events
(total) really long list of events.
(If that didn’t make any sense, it would explain why I am an artist and not an accountant.)
Please join me for a wine and cheese reception this Saturday at Furbish Home in Millburn, NJ for:
Unnatural Selections
Artwork of Nancy Tobin
November 14, 6:30 – 8:30pm
Show runs from Nov 14 – Dec 7, 2009
Store hours: Mon – Fri: 10am – 6pm, Sat: 10am – 5pm
315C Millburn Ave, Millburn, NJ 973.761.0311
info@furbishhome.com
There will be paintings & prints to fit every budget!
André Breton, Jacqueline Lamba, Yves Tanguy Cadavre exquis, 1938
The Exquisite Corpse: Paul Robeson Galleries 30th Anniversary Exhibition
30 collaborative works by 92 New Jersey New York and Pennsylvanian artists
The artist reception for this show will be on Thursday, November 19th from
5pm to 7pm.
I was so excited to be invited to participate in this project! I’ve played this game since I was young, and have always enjoyed the outcome.
If you’re not familiar with the term, Exquisite Corpse, here’s what Wikipedia has to say:
The technique was invented by Surrealists and is similar to an old parlour game called Consequences in which players write in turn on a sheet of paper, fold it to conceal part of the writing, and then pass it to the next player for a further contribution. Surrealism principal founder André Breton reported that it started in fun, but became playful and eventually enriching. Breton said the diversion started about 1925, but Pierre Reverdy wrote that it started much earlier, at least before 1918.
In a variant now known as picture consequences, instead of sentences, portions of a person were drawn.
Later the game was adapted to drawing and collage, producing a result similar to children’s books in which the pages were cut into thirds, the top third pages showing the head of a person or animal, the middle third the torso, and the bottom third the legs, with children having the ability to “mix and match” by turning pages. (However, the game has been played with the usual orientation of foldings and four or more people, and there have been examples with the game played with only two people and the paper being folded lengthwise and widthwise, resulting in quarters.)[4] It has also been played by mailing a drawing or collage — in progressive stages of completion — to the players, and this variation is known as “exquisite corpse by airmail”, apparently regardless of whether the game travels by airmail or not.
The name is derived from a phrase that resulted when Surrealists first played the game, “Le cadavre exquis boira le vin nouveau.” (”The exquisite corpse will drink the new wine.”)
The finished “corpses” will be a surprise to everyone, artists and guests alike. Come and see the unfolding!
The exhibition will be on display from November 19, 2009 to April 8, 2010.
Paul Robeson Galleries 30th Anniversary Celebration: The Exquisite Corpse
Artists Reception
Thursday, November 19th, 5pm-7pm
Admittance: FREE
Refreshments provided
Your Holiday Gift Shopping Begins Here!
Along with finishing up a studio full of paintings this fall, I’ve also been busy creating some “tiny treasures”; my Art by the Inch, necklaces, rings, earrings — and for the man in your life … Cufflinks!
Here’s where you can find ‘em:
16th Annual Crafts at The Baird
Pierro Gallery of South Orange
Wed, Dec 2, 7pm – 9pm
Preview Sale! Meet the Artist & Opening Reception:
$5 admission for first picks, tasty treats & festive times.
Shop is open daily from12pm – 8pm
Dec 3 – Dec 6, & admission is free
Winter Festival @ South Mountain Elementary School
Sat, Dec 5, 11am – 3pm
admission is free
Art Shop @ Aferro Gallery
73 Market St, Newark, NJ
Tags: 16th Annual Crafts at The Baird, Aferro, Art Shop, Exquisite Corpse, Furbish Home, Millburn, Paul Robeson Galleries, Pierro Gallery of South Orange, Unnnatural Selections, Winter Festival
Posted by Nancy Tobin on Oct 4, 2009 in
Events & Happenings 
Some of the beautiful collages made during last Sunday's Demo Day — what fun!
It’s taken me a while to update. The week in Grand Rapids for ArtPrize was a blur of activity; splitting time between Peaches events, seeing art and seeing family. Lucky for me — the “seeing art” part went well with the “seeing family” part — many of my siblings were determined to view as much art as they could, during the first week of voting.
Peaches was great! The house itself is a grand old Georgian beauty, and was a fun change from the usual spare gallery style walls. Folks I shared the venue with were a delightful and talented bunch. And the owner of Peaches, Jane Lovett, worked tirelessly to promote her artists and make all the events wonderful.
We had good crowds. I was a little worried about being outside of the downtown loop, but every day, folks were waiting at the doors to get in the place before it opened. I saw old friends and met a lot of new.
The show is still up, so if you find yourself in Grand Rapids, Mich, stop by!
Peaches installation 1
Peaches installation 2
Peaches installation 3
Peaches installation 4
Tags: ArtPrize, Grand Rapids Michigan, Jane Lovett, Peaches Bed and Breakfast
Posted by Nancy Tobin on Sep 24, 2009 in
Events & Happenings,
Show Me How! 
Think & Of Me, two of the fifteen paintings I have at Peaches
No, it definitely isn’t Kansas! Last night — the opening night for ArtPrize — was great. Walking around Grand Rapids — a city that has already transformed so much since I’ve lived here — had a feeling more like New York last night. I saw many artists I recognized from the New York art scene, and many more who would fit in to that niche quite effortlessly.
My sister and I decided to do our voting last night, after we returned from the festivities. I must say, it worried me. I easily put in my vote for Yours Truly, having already set up my iPhone with the handy ArtPrize app. But Sue, who isn’t the type to sit in front of her computer screens for hours ( like some of us), found the whole thing kind of confusing. I’m not so sure she wouldn’t have just given up if I wasn’t there helping her.
So, a note to all who would like to vote:
1. Register in person at one of the registrations sites (you’ll find those here…), when you register, they will ask you for your email address, and then send you a password. You will need this password for step 3.
2. If you’re comfortable texting your vote, you can do that by sending your vote to 878787.
3. If you want on vote online; go and fetch your password that they sent to your email address & copy it.
4. Go to ArtPrize.com, and click on the left, where it says “vote online”
5. Then you’ll be taken here: where you will need to open an ArtPrize account (easy), and then you’ll fill in your email address and the password that they sent you.
6. Push the little “sign in” button, and you’ll be taken here: where you can type the artists name (I suggest; Nancy Tobin) and press the “search” button.
7. And here you are. Whew! Press the up or the down symbol (again, my suggestion is the “up”), and when it turns orange, you’ve made your vote!
You can vote for as many artists you’d like on the first week.
Good luck to all, and have fun.
I’ll see you at Peaches! Today I’ll be there from 3 to 7PM.
Tags: ArtPrize, artPrize Registration, Chelsea, iphone, Peaches, voting
Posted by Nancy Tobin on Sep 23, 2009 in
Events & Happenings 
Oz (detail)
Last week was a frantic blur. The finishing touches on scores of new paintings, the readying of printed materials and the tying down of schedules (mine in Grand Rapids — my children’s, while I’m away.)
Next came the twelve hour drive: Car packed with 21 paintings — some so new that they needed to be set carefully upon the backseat so that the surface could harden on the drive, me with a brand new audio book (Middlesex by Jeffery Eugenides — halfway through, don’t give away the end!), and the long somewhat boring Interstate 80 in front of me.
This all was followed by the very frustrating, but ultimately successful hanging. Peaches gracious dining room is bedecked, bejeweled and bewitched by fifteen paintings. I was too exhausted by the time I left to have had even thought of taking a photo — but they will come.
Today will be the crescendo to all this preparation. The grand opening is tonight and the city of Grand Rapids is abuzz with excitement. I feel small among all this, but am happy to be here taking part in what I think is going to be grand!
I’ll see you at Peaches!
Oz; Delivered fresh, from New Jersey to Grand Rapids!
Tags: ArtPrize, Grand Rapids, Interstate 80, Jeffery Eugenides, Middlesex, oz, Peaches
Posted by Nancy Tobin on Sep 11, 2009 in
Events & Happenings,
Lists 
No Better Place — at Peaches!
Here are my picks — for artists to see during my visit to Grand Rapids, for ArtPrize.
Click and Print! Here’s a handy PDF version of the Totally Unofficial, Utterly Biased, Guide to ArtPrize.
29 Gay Ave SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Susan Viskar
L.Joel Sanderson
Mary Gaynier
Anthony Jackson
Sarah Weber
Nancy Tobin
Kathleen Kalinowski
Bold Strokes For Art
Mary Gaynier at Peaches
25 Ionia SW
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Sophie Canadé at Hop Cat
James Foster
Sophie Canadé
Diocese of Grand Rapids
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Charlie Brouwer at Cathedral Square
Charlie Brouwer
235 Louis St NW
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Jennifer O'Meara at JW Marriot
Jennifer O’Meara
314 Straight Ave. SW
Grand Rapids, MI 49504
Ellen Margelis at Tanglefoot
Ellen Margelis
maureen nollette
Riverview Center
678 Front Aveune NW
Grand Rapids, MI 49504
Jorge Enrrique Serrano Sanmiguel
20 Monroe Ave Nw
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Jaye Schlesinger at the BOB
Wrenay Gomez-Charlton
elizabeth ivy hawkins
Jaye Schlesinger
Jason Mack
georgia donovan
Don Simon
Michael Flynn
Patrick Thompson
Patrick Thompson at the BOB
155 N Division Ave
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Mari-Megan Moore at the Old Federal Building
Jason Ross
Mari-Megan Moore
robin rogers
Kevin Bourgeois
Kevin Bourgeois at the Old Federal Building
Heidi Van Wieren
Sun Kwak
Sonjie Feliciano Solomon
Eric Daigh
Ran Ortner
445 Michigan NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Renee Robbins at MSU
Janel Schultz
Lisa Simon
Mary Brodbeck
Renee Robbins
Michelle Word
Grand River
Grand River between Fulton and Pearl Streets
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
David Lubbers in the Grand River
David Lubbers
201 W. Fulton Street
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Rick Beerhorst/Cameron Van Dyke
Rick Beerhorst/Cameron Van Dyke
303 Monroe Avenue NW
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
David Greenwood at DeVos Place
David Greenwood
Victoria Fuller
187 Monroe Avenue, Suite 250
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
John Kleber at DeJonge Gallery
john kleber
335 Bridge St NW
Grand Rapids, MI 49504
Michael Shankman at River House Condominiums
Michael Shankman
50 Louis Street NW
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Mike Kelley at Open Concept
Matthew Stork
Mike Kelley
41 Sheldon Boulevard SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Jason Hackenwerth at UICA
Norman Mooney
Jason Hackenwerth
george schmidt
Cyrus Karimipour
Cyrus Karimipour
Kurt Perschke
Shelly Klein
24 Fountain Street NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Eric Standley
Eric Rattan
Eric Standley
303 Pearl St. NW
Grand Rapids, MI 49504
Jonathan Hils at the Gerald Ford Museum
Jonathan Hils
455 Cherry SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
John Clement at the Castle
John Clement
187 Monroe Ave. NW
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Stefano Bolcato at Amway Grand Plaza
Stefano Bolcato
17 Fountain St. NW
Grand Rapids, MI 49503l
Jenny Brillhart at Kendall College
Jenny Brillhart
101 Monroe Center
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Mimi Kato at Grand Rapids Art Museum
Mimi Kato
11 Sheldon Ave. NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Tracy Van Duinen at Grand Rapids Children's Museum
Tracy Van Duinen
820 Monroe Ave NW
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
David Huang at Lafontsee Galleries
David Huang
Tags: Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, Anthony Jackson, Bold Strokes For Art, Charlie Brouwer, Cyrus Karimipour, David Greenwood, David Huang, David Lubbers, Don Simon, elizabeth ivy hawkins, Ellen Margelis, Eric Daigh, Eric Rattan, Eric Standley, Fountain Street Church, george schmidt, georgia donovan, Gerald Ford Museum, Grand Rapids Art Museum, Heidi Van Wieren, Hop Cat, James Foster, Janel Schultz, Jason Hackenwerth, Jason Mack, Jason Ross, Jaye Schlesinger, Jennifer O'Meara, Jenny Brillhart, John Clement, john kleber, Jonathan Hils, Jorge Enrrique Serrano Sanmiguel, Kathleen Kalinowski, Kevin Bourgeois, Kurt Perschke, L.Joel Sanderson, LaFontsee Galleries/Underground Studio, Lisa Simon, Mari-Megan Moore, Mary Brodbeck, Mary Gaynier, maureen nollette, Michael Flynn, Michael Shankman, Michelle Word, Mike Kelley, Mimi Kato, n Sun Kwak, Norman Mooney, Old Federal Building, Patrick Thompson, Peaches Bed and Breakfast, Ran Ortner, Renee Robbins, Rick Beerhorst/Cameron Van Dyke, robin rogers, Sarah Weber, Shelly Klein, Sonjie Feliciano Solomon, Sophie Canadé, Stefano Bolcato, Susan Viskar, The BOB, The Castle, The TangleFoot Building, Tracy Van Duinen, UICA, Victoria Fuller, Wrenay Gomez-Charlton
Posted by Nancy Tobin on Aug 17, 2009 in
Check This Out,
Events & Happenings,
Show Me How! I’ve been asked the question regarding ArtPrize, so often; “How does this voting thing work?”
It’s all so new, and I didn’t quite understand it myself. But, I found these very helpful instructions on the ArtPrize web site, and thought I’d share them with you:
Anyone 16 years of age or older who registers in person at the ArtPrize event can vote. You cannot vote without registering at the event. There will be no charge for voter registration.
How to register
Attendees will be required to present a valid government issued ID in person at a registration station
ID can be drivers license, other state ID or passport
Pre-register on artprize.org (coming Sept 14) and save time activating your voter status at the event
There will be voter registration stations throughout the city September 23-October 7
Rules
Week 1 Voting – All Artists
Voting begins 6:00pm, September 23, 2009
You can vote on more than one work
You cannot vote more than once for the same work
Live results can be viewed online
Week 1 voting ends 11:59pm, September 30
Top 10 finalists will be announced evening, October 1
Week 2 Voting – Top 10, ONE vote
Voting begins after announcement of the Top 10, October 1
You have only ONE vote during Week 2
You may only vote among the Top 10
You may change your vote until voting ends
Results are concealed during Week 2
Week 2 voting ends 11:59pm, October 7
Winners will be announced at a gala event October 8
How to vote
Voting is entirely electronic (Instructions coming soon)
Vote online at artprize.org
Vote by text message (SMS) from your mobile phone
Vote by iPhone app
Note: Venues are allowed make Internet access and/or computers available for visitors to vote online
Vote by mobile browser
See you at the Gala!
Tags: ArtPrize, Grand Rapids Michigan, Peaches Bed and Breakfast, voting
Posted by Nancy Tobin on Aug 12, 2009 in
Check This Out,
Events & Happenings,
Profiles 
Watch Sarah Weber and Jane Lovett talk about ArtPrize
Sarah Weber is one of the artists I’ll be exhibiting with at Peaches, for the ArtPrize event. I was delighted when she sent me this clip from FOX News featuring her and the owner of Peaches, Jane Lovett! You go girls!
Jane Lovett and Peaches!
I planned to highlight a few of the artists who’ll be showing their work at some of the venues; and I thought this was the perfect time to start with one of my picks: Sarah Weber.
Sarah’s work “celebrate(s) femininity and style through abstract and representational characteristics.” I couldn’t find a web site for her, but here’s a great YouTube video, where she talks about her work.
I’m looking forward to meeting Sarah, and seeing her beautiful work in person!
Update: Sarah just sent these images over — of the paintings she’s working on for ArtPrize. Thanks for the peek into your studio, Sarah!
© Sarah Weber
Sarah Weber's work in progress!
Tags: ArtPrize, Fox News, Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids Michigan, Jane Lovett, Peaches Bed and Breakfast, Sarah Weber
Posted by Nancy Tobin on Aug 6, 2009 in
Check This Out,
Events & Happenings,
Shows 
Going to Grand Rapids last week got me even more excited about ArtPrize.
I had a chance to visit with Jane Lovett the owner of Peaches Bed and Breakfast, where I’ll be showing “just as many paintings as I can tastefully fit” into her lovely dining room. It was good to see the space; take some measurements and shoot some photos of the room. Great to meet Jane, too. She’s very enthusiastic about the event and I feel confident she’ll do all she can to help make the event a success. I’ll be sharing “Peaches” with eight other artists (more on this in the next ArtPrize post).
It’s hard to be back in New Jersey — away from where it’s all happening. So I’ve been searching the internet to keep up to date on news and to find out if any events are planned yet. I really want to connect with many of the artists that will be there for the event and to reconnect with the city I use to call home. (Winning the prize would be swell, too.)
I found this little clip on YouTube. I thought it was a great explanation of ArtPrize and it also introduced me to Carol Coletta — she rocks! She’s the president and CEO of CEOs for Cities and host and producer of the nationally syndicated public radio show Smart City. I haven’t heard the show, but the web site describes it as “an in-depth look at urban life, the people, places, ideas and trends shaping cities”.
I like cities. I like urban development. I like Carol Coletta.
Tags: ArtPrize, Carol Coletta, CEOs for Cities, Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids Michigan, Jane Lovett, Peaches Bed and Breakfast, Smart City, YouTube
