Monday Morning Art Talk

Question: Have you heard of eco design or green art? It's popping up everywhere from Linda Loudermilk's clothing to Alchemy's bags, and Rebecca DeVere's mosaics/collage pieces of found art. Refreshing use of artistic license and reusable materials, with sometimes whimsical results . . . but mostly a statement aesthetically, about limiting resources to promote sustainable living.

But is it art, or is it craft?
Decisions and comments. . . tomorrow in Crafty Tuesday!

Question: Is art wearable? Well, when you walk into Rhinestone Rosies up on Crockett Street on the West side of Queen Anne it's like walking into a gallery . . . but at Rosie's, you're encouraged to be the artiste, with so many vintage and newly created rhinestone jewelry ensembles to admire, try on and wonder: Why does each piece transports you to another place and time. . . a little more glamorous and formal?

You may recognize Rosie who works in her studio in the back of the gallery from her many guest appearances on Antiques Roadshow. I was lucky enough to catch her in town when I visited her this past weekend to have an heirloom costume jewelry piece repaired. She's replacing stones and a closure to a vintage brooch/pin I used recently as a costume accessory.

Plan to spend a little time to window shop the other wonderful stores on Crockett, including Beverly Hunnicutt's boutique. Beverly was in the middle of a Vera Wang wedding gown alteration when I stopped in to purchase one of her hand made silk soothers: A small sachet made from vintage kimono/obi's filled with sweet woodsy flax seeds. Pop it in the microwave for a heat therapy spa treatment for your eyes.

Wearable art? Definetly!
Be sure to check out ArtWear, the catalog of the de Young's 2005 exhibit of art clothing or American Chic, if you're planning to a visit to San Francisco this summer.

http://www.matthewporterart.com/books/animals/index.html
Confession: I'm crazy about local artist Matthew Porter's children's books and illustrations!!! Matthew Porter and his wife Andrea are also co-owners of the Blue Bottle Gallery on Pine Street on Capitol Hill. His picture books of animal ABC's and Count The Birdies numbers are as beautiful as they are instructional, inviting the earliest of readers to flip the pages and discover what fun books can be!!!

Read on & come and join us on Wednesday in Ballard @ Seattle Public Library's Children's Summer Reading Program!!! Excerpted from Seattle Public Library website: http://www.spl.org/

Seattle author Matthew Porter

Seattle author Matthew Porter will discuss how he created his children's board book "ABC," which features a variety of colors, textures and images of animals, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. Wednesday, July 25 at the Ballard Branch.

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Seattle author Matthew Porter will discuss how he created his children's board book "ABC," which features a variety of colors, textures and images of animals, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. Wednesday, July 25 at the Ballard Branch.This program is free and open to the public. Registration is not required. Doors will open 30 minutes before the program. Limited free parking is available at the branch.

Porter's discussion will include a video demonstrating how he created illustrations for the book. This program is presented in cooperation with Secret Garden Bookshop. Books will be available for purchase and signing.

For more information, call the branch at 206-684-4089 or contact the artist/gallery directly @:

Bluebottle Art Gallery
415 East Pine Street
Seattle, WA, 98122
206.325.1592
www.bluebottleart.com
bluebottleart@hotmail.com

For a viewing of Matthew Porter's books ABC & Count the Birdies, and other art see:

http://www.powkid.com/products.html