New Work and Exhibits

It seems that my work is not collecting dust in the studio these days! After the Abington Art Center Solo Series, the three pieces that were not sold went to Art Guild of New Jersey in Rahway and now right into an exhibit in Philadelphia. Here's a write up from the Preemptive Strike Show in Rahway -

There was also a review about the Sculpture Show at the New Hope Arts Center. I had a piece, The Take-Away, in this signature exhibit. Click Here for that.

My newest show - Art In City Hall’s summer exhibition is Recent Graduates, an exhibit of early works by promising artists from the Philadelphia region.  Recognizing the Philadelphia region for its large number of quality art programs, Recent Graduates aims to highlight the next crop of emerging artists soon to impact Philadelphia’s vibrant visual arts scene. The artists selected have graduated from a Philadelphia area art institution within the past three years or artists who will graduate by June of this year. The Gallery is located on the first floor of City Hall's northeast corner.

Exhibition dates: June 10 – August 2, 2013, Reception: June 13, 5-7 pm.

The exhibit is in partnership with the City Hall Exhibitions Advisory Committee.  The artwork was selected by three members of the committee:

·         Amie Potsic, the current Chair of the committee and the Executive Director of the Maine Line Arts Center

·         Leslie Kaufman, the Executive Director for Philadelphia Sculptors  

·         Ona Kalstein, a member of the Da Vinci Art Alliance.

List of Participating Artists:

Wendelyn Anderson, Moore grad, 2012

Stephanie Elden

April Field

Gina Giles

Quizayra Gonzalez

Sara Hanlon

Kelly Kozma

Adam Ledford

Tasha Lewis

Mason Owens

Laura Petrovich-Cheney, Moore grad, 2011

Dorothea Vile

I am also really excited about showing again at Gallery U. I will have a work for the month of June! The opening reception is June 7! Hope to see you there!

When I am not obsessing about my Kickstarter, I am in the studio. Here is a preview of new piece that was recently commissioned.

Although I still apply to a few juried shows, most of my energies have been placed on looking for exhibit opportunities that require applications and writing letters of interest to gallery venues. I hope to share those with you soon. In the meantime, back to work...

6 days and counting

My Kickstarter campaign wraps up  next Saturday morning at 6:35 am. Unbelievable, right? It is hard to imagine that it has been a month. One of my goals was to show students how to work together to make a difference. That goal has already been met because of my supporters. It seems everyone I talk to these days is interested in the trip and has a new sense of the Arctic Circle. One of the main reasons why I asked my friends, family and colleagues to support me was to create a collective sense of participation for this trip. I want people to join in on the conversation of climate change. In a very real way, all my supporters are coming with me. To really know the physical location of a place, such as the Arctic Circle, one will have a mental place to organize and file information about the world. I am learning that not only will my students know about the Arctic Circle, but also my community. There is an emerging conversation in my world  about a real understanding our collective responsibility to preserve the beauty and bounties of the natural world. I am making a difference - people are thinking about the Arctic Circle. It is true that ordinary people - like myself- can do extraordinary things and make an exceptional impact on the world we all share. 

Svalbard, Photo courtesy: Katie Metcalfe

So what is CrowdFunding?

Crowd Funding is the collective effort of individuals who network and pool their money to support efforts initiated by other people or organizations. Platforms for crowdfunding are Kickstarter, Global Giving, Donors Choose, and  Ed Backer,  to name a few.

My favorite is Kickstarter, which has been getting some pretty impressive attention lately.  Studio 360 just did a newscast on it. Kickstarter - probably the most well known- has been  offering creative types a way to raise money for their artistic practices.   Yesterday morning, On the Media did a presentation on crowdfunding by  famous Hollywood creators and actors,  Rob Thomas  and Zach Braff , as well as Roman Mars.  Click here to listen. They needed money to start filming their movies and tv shows. It seems that even scientists are getting involved  in Kickstarter. My favorite is the scientist who is trying to grow glowing plants so that you can have plants instead of lamps. 

Contributing to crowdfunding allows pledgers to become integral part of the projects they support and back with their dollars. There are some pretty cool rewards for pledgers who support the projects financially.  It is similar to the  rewards you get from the public radio or television drives. Spreading the news and the links about the projects is important, too. Getting the word into the hands of the media is critical. 

Crowd funding is not just about raising the money to offset the cost of projects.  Its greatest value is in raising the project’s profile. For example, Ted Talk Fellow Camille Seaman's BIG CLOUD project  generated alot of excitement! Here is an interview with her about her Kickstarter experience and her work. 

Another valuable part of crowdfunding is the feeling that you get when people believe in you and your projects. It is a wonderful thing to have people support you - even more amazing when they make a personal investment in your project. 

Crowdfunding makes things happen. A fellow art teacher needs to reach her goal of making LEGO art, check this out.  Tricia Fuglestad is the  Art Teacher at Dryden Elementary School in a suburb of Chicago. She is  using LEGOs to collaboratively make radially symmetrical designs on square base plates. The kids LOVE this activity and seem to want to create endlessly. They started making the creations a few months ago and she doesn't have enough LEGO bricks to finish. Her class needs about 10 more deluxe LEGO brick packages to finish them!

PHOTO courtesy of http://drydenart.weebly.com

The single most stressful part of crowdfunding is the all or nothing law. If a project is not backed 100%, then it DOES NOT get funded. Please check out these amazingly intelligent and creative projects listed here - including mine. 

Climate Change in the News

There seems to have been a deluge of climate change news this week and I don't think it is because I have been hyper vigilant about my Kickstarter program, either. Just take a look at these four links. 

Smithson's article: Melting Polar Ice Will Spike Sea Levels at the Equator

How ending your hamburger lust can end climate change

The Guardian reports that our cold spring is due to the polar melt. Read about it HERE. 

The scariest one is this "National security officials worried by rapid loss of Arctic summer sea ice overlook threat of permanent global food shortages."

And this is why I want to go to The Arctic Circle. This journey will inspire my students that ordinary people can do extraordinary things and make an exceptional impact on the world we all share. As a national board certified teacher, my goal is to create an environmentally literate citizenry who understand the importance of such environmental issues as climate change. 

The melting of sea ice in the Arctic has caught the eye of the US Department of Homeland Security and the Pentagon.
Photograph: John Mcconnico/AP

My mission is to share this vulnerable part of the Earth with my elementary students through my photographs and journals. The children will experience the beauty, history and vital role the Arctic Circle plays in our survival.  

I want to bring my first-hand experiences back to my students, who so need to understand our collective responsibility to preserve the beauty and bounties of the natural world. It has been proven by researchers that a child's first educational experience, which takes place in the primary years of his/her life, sets the principles for his/her future education. If I teach my elementary students that the environmental movement is about hope, empowerment and action, then perhaps they will realize we must protect the health and well being of the planet.

I hope to fulfill these goals on this residency and with your help – it will be possible. Please continue to spread the word about this opportunity to your friends and family. Please consider donating to my Kickstarter program and at the very least, please help spread the word. 

What's this trip about?

"Is this a vacation?" asked someone. This and a couple of great questions have come up this week for my kickstarter campaign. I will try to address some of those questions here.

Residencies exist to invite artists, academicians, curators, and all manner of creative people for a time and space away from their usual environment. They provide a time of reflection, research, presentation and/or production. They also allow individuals to explore his/her practice within another community; meeting new people, using new materials, experiencing life in a new location. Art residencies emphasize the importance of meaningful and multi-layered cultural exchange and immersion into another culture. (definition from Wikipedia)

photo copyright of The Arctic Circle.org

Artist and scientist led, The Arctic Circle is an annual expeditionary residency program. The program provides the opportunity for artists and innovators to pursue their personal projects on board while exploring collaborations with the expedition’s fellow participants.  I have already collaborated with another fellow resident, Deborah Hamon. My students at the Clifton Avenue Grade School made 200+ pom poms for the Polar Pom Pom Project.  Deborah is taking hundreds made by children and herself to create an artwork series that addresses climate change. I was honored to have helped. My students loved it. This art project gave me an opportunity to address my own trip to the Arctic Circle with students.

The Arctic Circle provides a shared experience for its participants to engage in a myriad of issues relevant to our time and to develop professionally through interdisciplinary collaborations, exhibit opportunities, and public and classroom engagement. The Arctic  Circle is administered by The Farm, Inc., a registered, federally tax exempt 501c3 not-for-profit in New York State.

My second favorite question is "Aren't you going to freeze?" 

NO!  I have had support from Patagonia and their clothing is going to keep me warm! This is a great company that believed in what I was doing and decided to help me out. I would highly recommend their gear! I was honored that such a socially and environmentally conscious company  backed my project. Here's what I will look like -

Can I say THANK YOU ANY LOUDER!

My favorite quotes from supporters - 

Amazing feeling to know how many people think of you, Laura. I am happy to be part of your success.

This was the runner up!

I can't wait to get your autograph!!! 

And I am doing a complete dance of joy - MISS NORTH POLE HERSELF pledged! 

CAMILLE SEAMAN!

I have LOVED her work for quite a while now. In fact, when I was researching The Arctic Circle trip, her images stayed on computer as a reminder to working and striving to reach this goal. I can't put words to this joy. Please join this campaign to send me to the Arctic. 

18% with 24 days to go

All I think about is Kickstarter. Kickstarter. Kickstarter. I am wondering if there is a help group for this newest addiction. The problem with the obsession is that I have only made 18% of my goal. I need 100% of the goal to secure the funding. I only have 24 more days.  I am getting scared that I am not going to make. Several times already I have posted it on Facebook, Twitter and Linked In - almost to the point of becoming a stalker. 

Here's the deal. Just make a small pledge. I know that you want to help and become part of this journey. Believe me - if you help me - you will be with me in spirit as I sail around the icy waters of the North Pole. I need your help  so that I can  share this opportunity and experience with my elementary students. I know that my students will marvel at the photographs and the stories that I will share with them. Please  decide to be part of my journey and share my passion for teaching, the environment, and adventure. If you can't make a pledge (and I get that!) then-  please help me keep the momentum by sharing this link with everyone you know!  Help me to bring the Arctic Circle into the imaginations of children- the beauty and the history of the place. CLICK HERE to check out the KICKSTATER page.