Pop Art

Joni hasn't actually brought his paintings to a group meeting -- but from his promo piece, you can see why. He does his Pop Art painting onto sheets of glass! I LOVE the bizarre forms of art that keep popping up at our meetings!

Along with his paintings of celebrities -- which he has a large selection already created -- Jon does custom order pieces for his clients from photographs.

SO COOL!

"unfiltered"

Terence is now displaying one of his multi-media sculptures at "unfiltered".

We featured this art exhibit when it had it's premiere June 3 -- but the show will still be open throughout the month of July for viewing.

If you haven't had a chance to make it to the gallery to check out the art, go to www.octanephotographic.com for info. Gallery hours are from 4-7 pm on Thursdays and Fridays. Saturdays 12-6:00 pm.

Because of the popularity of the show, it has been extended one week longer than originally planned to allow for a CLOSING RECEPTION - SATURDAY JULY 22nd 6pm-12am

Be sure to ask for Mike and say "hi". He's one of the painters that attend the Creative Arts Group and is the HOST of the exhibit!

Traditional photography has been a passion of Tracy's for many years. She began her professional career in 2001 -- after getting her degree in Photographic Technology -- as an assistant and has been climbing in her skill level and status ever since. Tracy prides herself on her knowledge of "old-fashioned" film-and-darkroom style of photography. Her talents are obvious from her terrific portfolio -- but go beyond what is seen to the background and behind-the-scenes talents of a traditional photographer.

Tracy's also a great communicator and we hope she'll be sharing her ideas and thoughts about her artistic skills at a future meeting soon.

Check out her portfolio at: http://creativehotlist.com/t-bagley

Java Mountain Music

Rob Hayes joined our musicians at last Friday's meeting. He's been playing solo at several different clubs and coffee shops around the Metro area for quite a while. He sings mostly his own original songs -- which he has available on CD at Solo Records.

Chris sat in with Rob at his gig at Java Mountain on Saturday afternoon. Java Mountain -- like Caribou Coffee allows musicians to play as entertainment for their customers. Rob also plays the "open mic" night at Xhedo's in Ferndale on Thursdays.

This is a great arrangement for all involved. The musicians get exposure and the coffee houses increase their sales to customers that come to hear the live music.

That's Networking, people!

It's all about how we impact others!

Movies & Music, Pictures & Paintings

We had a terrific turn-out for our gathering last night. Several new faces and talents to share. Tracy showed a sampling of her photography. Jon brought a promo piece for his pop-art paintings on glass. Rob brought his guitar and joined our drummers to add not only another dimension thru his strumming, but sang some of his original songs.

As the musicians played, discussions filtered around the room. Metal artist talking with photographer. Penciler discussing movies with the film maker. Sculptor chatting with a musician.

Later into the meeting we had movie screenings from three different film makers -- Terence, Marquis and Sam. All 3 brought their DVDs for us to view and were open to questions and comments after each. It was cool to hear the feedback from the other artists.

As has been our theme throughout this group, our objective is to BE objective. We don't need to agree or understand another person's art -- but we DO need to respect the talents of everyone. Last night was a perfect example of how this group accepts and respects each other.

It was a great time of building relationships and getting to share our ideas and thoughts.

We'll be featuring some Artist Spotlights in the next few days. Check back to see our latest additions!

WEIRD

It was pretty strange to skip our meeting date last Friday. Because of an event at Dondero, we had to rearrange our schedule -- which meant going 2 weeks in a row without a meeting. That was the first time since the Creative Arts Group began back on March 3rd that we didn't have our scheduled "every-other-Friday" gathering -- and it just felt WRONG!

Sheesh -- they better not try to throw in another silly Graduation or something like that on us again! :)

Looking forward to seeing everyone THIS Friday, June 16. Same place, same time -- BE THERE!

By taking the time to get to know the couple before the wedding, Dionne uses her great sense of tuning into their personalities to shoot the perfect album specifically suited to them.

Check out Dionne's site to see other galleries:

http://www.theshootinggallery.com/

Donnie's pencilings are intricately detailed to give his work a professionalism that would take other artists years of training to achieve.

Although his portfolio is packed with a collection of experimental sketches, actual portraits and other miscellaneous drawings, Donnie has had the concept of a particular Comic Book story-line that's been in the making for ten years now. He periodically adds to the story and works on the perfecting of each character the book will feature. Whether isn't the hero, heroine, villain or zombie/creature -- the detail is outstanding.

Be sure to take some time to check out his portfolio at our next meeting on June 16.