**POSTPONED**

ART IN THE PARK HAS BEEN POSTPONED FOR THE TIME BEING DUE TO SPACE ISSUES

I WILL UPDATE AS I RECIEVE MORE INFORMATION. HOPEFULLY THIS WILL TAKE PLACE BY THE END OF SUMMER.

THANK YOU EVERYONE.

KEEP CREATING!

August is coming soon.........YIKES!

Hey everybody!! So here is a little update on Art in the Park. And since there is something wrong with my computer (I have no clue what) there will be no pictures sadly! Oh and if i miss a few "R's" that is because my R key is now missing!!

Anyways, we are planning on the first Saturday and Sunday in August. Who is in? As of now, it is going to be held in the courtyard of our building. We do not have enough people interested to hold it in the Park this year. But my courtyard backs up to the park so it is still technically "The Park", just outside of it!

What we were thinking for this year is that each artist brings and sets up their own table. Since it is small and in our courtyard and we will have approval from our condo association there will be no "table fees".  We would like for each artist to put a newsletter signup sheet on their table so we can update everyone on how the event worked out and to post pictures afterwards. It would also be a great way to inform and update everyone for next years bigger and better event!  It would be great if all artists could have their business cards and or flyers at their table to hand out to people as they come through.

So each artists table can consist of art they are selling, art they are showcasing, art demonstrations! Whatever you want!! So i NEED everyone to email me at motfolio@gmail.com or comment here so i can get a list together of how many people are participating and how many "spots" need to be reserved!

Please, PLEASE send me any ideas, suggestions, comments, ANYTHING to make this a great day for our fellow artists!

I look forward to hearing from everyone! Check us out on facebook HERE!

It's A Reality!! Who's in?

I think "Art in the Park" may soon be a reality and not just some crazy idea of mine.Ever since I posted a link to this here blog on the "Every Block Chicago" website, I have gotten a ton of replies and positive responses. I was contacted by the "Director" (I think that is his title) of Indian Boundary. So I NEED YOUR HELP!!!

I need your ideas! I need to know who wants to participate! Here is a small list of some ideas.

• Artists tables/booths to show and/or sell your art
• Local Restaurants to set up "Sample Tables"
• Spot for local musicians to share their tunes (Acoustic Only)
• CAPS table
• Art Demonstrations/Kids Craft Corner
• Rogers Park Historical Society
• Flyers to be put up in local business windows
• Ad in local paper
• Advertise on Craigslist/Facebook/EveryBlock/Etc.
• Meet with the new 50th Ward Alderman

Ok everybody.....WHAT ELSE?
What else can WE do to make this a reality and not just a dream?
What else can we do to get the word out, to get the community involved?
I want to see and learn all kinds of art mediums.
I want my stepdaughters to see what kind of art is out there. To see what they can create!

My two stepdaughters LOVE art. They love sitting on the floor with me and getting their hands dirty!
Our "score of the week" was 200+ lbs of artists clay from Freecycle! The girls sat and made piece after piece! I even installed new "drying shelves" in the art room for all of their creations.

Today they painted some of their pieces for their dad for Father's Day! It was AWESOME watching them. Watching them with amazement in their eyes as their pieces came together! Even the baby got into it. Friday night when I went to tuck them in, I found a circle of clay clutched tightly in the babys hand. She slept with it all night and wouldn't let go! That is an AWESOME feeling knowing I am teaching them little by little about my passion, about art.

So everyone, HELP! Comment on this post or send me an email  motfolio@gmail.com
Let's make this a reality! I need your ideas!

Signing off for the night! Keep On Creating!

Artwork Sunday!

Just a few pieces finished or in the works this week!

Happy Memorial Day!

Tommy painted this chrome, added some flames and used some bullets for a "Fish Mohawk"

 This is a picture of the completed "Record Flowers" in my brother's shop. http://www.pinstripingbykc.com/King_Kustoms/Home.html

 The "Record Flowers" are made out of melted and painted old records!

 A rare shot of me, Carrie, painting!

 And last, an eerie shot of Indian Boundary Park at night.

What a shame...

Carrie here again. As you will notice, Tom isn't much of a writer! Most of the time he is standing over my shoulder saying "write this and this and how about this!".....So, I will be doing most of the writing while Tommy does all of the art. With that being said, onto my post...

A shame I tell you!! So Tommy does the maintenance on our apartment building. He received a call from our landlord that an apartment on the tier next to ours needed to be painted. OK cool. He paints apartments all the time. No big deal right? Well, he opens the door to this apartment and sees the walls he was just hired to paint. Well, any artist would look and say "OH NO!" These are the walls he has to paint:

He walked into the apartment and the walls are COVERED in art. Art of all sorts! One of the bedrooms has flowers and vines and some butterflies. But, the main room has a huge octopus. It was not 100% finished yet. If this wasn't a property owned by the bank, Tom would have most definitely finished the mural. What a great apartment to advertise to a fellow artist right? How many apartments can you find with art work like this on the walls? But since it is bank-owned, the rules are that everything has to be painted WHITE! Yep, just white. No color what so ever. So it is breaking Tommy's heart to paint over this work of art!!! The rumor is that this is the former apartment of a well known tattoo artist in the area. Along with the original art on the walls, Tom has found various, smaller projects around the unit. Yesterday he brought me home and small block of wood with a crazy drawing on it (along with a Miami Vice Soundtrack Cassette Tape!!), a piece of pressboard with a painting on it and a few smaller items!!

So you see fellow artists, even when you pack up your home and move away, your art is still there to be cherished by someone! 

Good Bye for now! Keep Creating!

Hello Art World!

Hello art world! This is Carrie blogging on a cold , dark Sunday morning! I have taken over the computer! I posted a long, picture filled post on Thursday and POOF! it was lost in Blogger land due to Bloggers "System Maintenance." So, let's try this again shall we?
*FYI I lost 2 posts this morning. 3rd times a charm?*




ART: Noun
1. a. the creation of works of beauty or other special significance
b. ( as modifier ): an art movement
2. the exercise of human skill (as distinguished from nature )
3. imaginative skill as applied to representations of the natural world or figments of the imagination
4. a. the products of man's creative activities; works of art collectively, esp of the visual arts, sometimes also music, drama, dance, and literature
b. arts See also fine art ( as modifier ): an art gallery
5. excellence or aesthetic merit of conception or execution as exemplified by such works
6. any branch of the visual arts, esp painting
7. ( modifier ) intended to be artistic or decorative: art needlework
8. a. any field using the techniques of art to display artistic qualities: advertising art
b. ( as modifier ): an art film
9. journalism photographs or other illustrations in a newspaper, etc
10. method, facility, or knack: the art of threading a needle ; the art of writing letters
11. the system of rules or principles governing a particular human activity: the art of government
12. artfulness; cunning
13. get something down to a fine art to become highly proficient at something through practice
There are many mediums of art. Papercrafts, needlecraft, photography , illustrating, drawing, writing, sculpture, painting, etc. There are too many to list.
What is your favorite medium? Do love sitting down with a box of extra sharp charcoal pencils and a sketchpad and getting lost in your drawings?
How about picking up
your camera and watching the world go by with every click, click, click of the shutter?
What motivates you?
What inspires you?
Why do you create?
Come on blog world!! Help me out here!!
My preferred medium was always photography and scrapbooking. You would never see me without my camera over my shoulder. I would spend HOURS pouring over images as they appeared on my computer screen. Cropping, lightening, darkening! I would pick my favorite shots and send them off to be printed. I would waste no time, ripping open the envelope picking them up when they were done. Sitting in my car like it was the first time ever laying eyes on my pictures! I couldn't wait to get the girls to bed and get a fresh pot of coffee brewing so i could start creating. I would spend hours, working through the night, filling scrapbook after scrapbook with page after page of my memories. There is nothing better than looking through these books and being taken back to the exact place and time of these memories all over again.
Kids, school, job, LIFE has gotten in the way these days. It has been a long time since i had a "Marathon" scrapbook night! But, Tom has inspired me to start creating again! So blogger world, stay tuned, you may just see some of my art pop up on this here blog!
Now onto Tom. The reason for this blog. Tom's art!
The first week i met Tom he picked up my camera one day while i was at work and took a picture of the street sign outside my apartment window. It was the perfect picture in my eyes! That evening after work and dinner , we decided to take a walk. We walked for hours all over Indian Boundary Park and West Rogers Park. We took hundreds of pictures. Great Pictures! Awesome Pictures! Goofy Pictures! We had fun seeing what we could come up with late into the night! It was 2 a.m. before we decided to go home and call it a night. By the time i got to work the next day, my email was FILLED with with images from the night before. All the memories and feelings from the night before came flooding back and were now right there on the screen in front of me!
Three years later and you can still see Tom with a camera over his shoulder wherever he goes! He has won awards and has been recognized and published for his
photos!
His art has also evolved. BOY has it evolved! Even though photography is still his number one passion, he is GREAT with a bunch of other mediums.
When Tom "discovers" a new medium to work with, it almost becomes an obsession!
Take Paper Mache for instance. It started innocently enough with him Paper Maching a balloon. Then it escalated from there! He has Paper Mached everything imaginable.
I have come home to him Paper Maching his boot and his hand. YES! I said hand!
Another "obsession" of his was melting records. We had a ton of old records sitting around the house collecting dust. I casually mentioned seeing on t.v. someone melting records. Well, I CREATED A MONSTER!!! I would come home from work and not note it f it was dinner or a stack of records in the oven. He has created some of the most AMAZING pieces ever from those records!! From "Garden Art" to lamps an bowls!
So you see, you don't have to work with just one medium. Try something new and out of the box once. Who knows? It may spark a new obsession. You may find yourself melting records and Paper Maching body parts well into the wee hours of the night!
So, what is your passion? Why do you create? What do you create? Send me some comments. Some photos of your art. Some ideas.
I now leave you with some images of some of the art that Tom has created! Some finished (although is a piece ever truly complete?) , some still a work in progress!

Calling All Artists

My name is Tommy Ryan and I am an artist living in West Rogers Park. I have ALWAYS been involved with art of some kind. Whether it is painting, drawing, paper mache or my passion, photography.

The goal of this blog is to see how many people I can "recruit" to be part of "Art in the Park".  I would like start this and make it an annual event. The goal is get all of the Rogers Park artists together to show off their art, to see other peoples art, to get the children of the neighborhood interested in art and best of all, to get to know the artists in your community.

My idea for Art in the Park started when i moved into the "Manor Park" buildings right on the edge of Indian Boundary Park. After days, weeks and months of shooting pictures from my frontroom overlooking the pond, the idea hit me! This park has inspired so much of my artwork, has it inspired others? How many other Artists sit and "create" while watching this park, this city from their windows? How many others out there come and sit in the park and watch the world go by and then go home and "recreate" those thoughts that went through your head while you were in the park?

I was thinking of having the "First Annual At in the Park" on the property of my building. (Which has already been ok'ed by my landlord who is an art lover himself)

Just come and set up a table to showcase or even sell your art. How about showing your fellow artists some new techniques or unusual materials you use? Are you good at caricatures? How about playing your acoustic guitar and belting out that song you just wrote?

Not only am i an artist, i am also a step dad to two beautiful little girls! My stepdaughters are 11 and 4 years old and i try my best to instill the love of art into their lives. Last year their mother (Carrie) and i taught a few art classes at the oldests school. Their art program was cancelled so we went to school a few times last year and did some crafts with the kids. My biggest goal in life is to introduce art to every child i possibly can. As i sit here and write this post, both the girls and the oldests best friend have sketch pads on their laps and big buckets of drawing materials next to them. The youngest loves my new found love of paper mache and i often hear "Tommy, can we paper mache something today?" The oldest loves to write. You can always find her curled up in our big comfy chair with a book or notebook in her hand. Their mother and I encourage art in any form. Whenever they have friends over, that is first thing they ask "Mom! Tommy! Can we do a project!?"

So there it is folks! What do you think? How many of you would be interested in doing some "Art in the Park"? How many of you would like to learn and teach others a new craft? How about meeting the other artists in your community? What do you think? Please send me ANY suggestions you may have!

Whew! That was a long post! And on a sidenote, i am not much of a writer so most of these posts will be written by my better half, Carrie while i sit by and dictate!!

So come on everyone! Send me some suggestions!