oooh the places you'll go....

Hi again, the art world has been extremely busy for me this last week, so let's get started. Last wednesday I went to the reception "Visions, Artists in Training" at the Permanent Collections Gallery Art. This is an exhibit of art by students at Fort Dodge Senior High. Amazing show, I was very impressed by the level of talent these students have. Was nice to get to talk to a few of them and find out some are coming to ICCC to continue their art education. I highly recommend this show, stop in at PCGA and see what these young students are doing, the show runs through May 19. On friday I took a day off to have a bit of fun and see some art. I drove to Des Moines and made a few stops along the way taking some infrared photos. I stopped by the Papa John Sculpture Park to see "White Ghost" by the artist Nara, this is the newest addition to the park. Amazing stuff, if you ever get the chance stop down and walk around the park, quite educational and makes a great day of fun. I also stopped at the Ritual Cafe, which is located on the same block at the sculpture park. They had a nice photography exhibit up, but the show has since changed and it is now paintings by Jon Baldwin, more on that later. I then made my way to "Finders Creepers". WOW, what a place, this was my first visit, had heard a lot about the place but had not stopped for a visit. I was amazed at the art available there. It was not all creepy, in fact the shows in the lower level were absolutely beautiful. Erin does a great job finding artists to fill the space. After wandering around a bit I had a great talk with Erin about getting some of my art in the shop, and after I sent her a few images she sent me an email saying "YES". I am so looking forward to having my art in Finders Creepers, will keep you posted on when I take the art to them. Thanks Erin, you have an amazing shop, everyone should take time to stop in and check it out! After my Finders Creepers adventure I traveled to the Warehaus, otherwise known as Brent Houzenga's studio where Jon Baldwin was having a show. Brent has set up a great space for a studio/gallery. It feels very comfortable when you walk in and Brent makes you feel right at home, probably because the studio is also his home, very cool. Jon's show was awesome, I love his work. Brilliant paintings that go from a classic looking portrait to something out of the deepest recesses of a very twisted mind. Jon has great use of color and brush strokes, really pulls you in to take a closer look. Jon Baldwin will have his art at the Ritual Cafe for the month of May and I highly recommend stopping by and giving it a look, while you are there have a beverage and/or something to eat. The Ritual Cafe is a great place to see art. I had a great time hanging out with Jon and Brent and all of the people who showed up to take in the art. I then traveled down the road to see "Creek Dwellers" at Legends. Creek Dwellers is a band from Des Moines and I am friends with two of it's members, Aaron Short and Kat Darling. I had just missed Kat, but got to hear Aaron and the rest of the band for a while before heading home. On saturday I worked at Permanent Collections Gallery Art, had some people stop in and check out the Fort Dodge Senior High Art Show "Visions Artists in Training". Got a lot of nice compliments on the show and the gallery. On saturday night I went to a prom, yup, you heard right a prom. What a Blast, it was hosted by a friend Todd Partridge and his wife. Todd bought the old school in Auburn and is in the process of converting it into his home. It is truly amazing, he has done a lot of work and it shows. The prom was held in the gym and was decorated much like a prom would be. Guests were asked to "dress up" as this was a celebration of the Royal Wedding. The Rolling Stones ( aka Johnny Reeferseed and the High Rollers) played from the stage while a video of the wedding was projected on the wall. Todd was an amazing host, I never had this much fun at the proms in high school, thank you Todd for inviting me. On sunday I went on a photo safari with Bob Wood, the day started slow but ended with a great session of an old favorite, thanks Bob. There you have it, my week in art, lots more coming up next week. I will be attending a couple art shows, taking art to Finders Creepers and creating more art. I would like to take this opportunity to say Thanks to the Messenger for allowing me to do this and to you the readers for reading it. I want to say "Hi" to a couple of truly global readers, Richard from England reads this blog, as does Nigel from Australia, I am sure there are others but I have heard from these two, amazing how art goes everywhere. That is all for now, I will be posting a special "Mother's Day" blog on saturday so keep watching, I think it will be good. This is my art world and that is how I see it. Peace :)