Three Generations, Braided Memories of Kenya Silverpoint/Silverfoil/Prismacolor

My Art Blog:

I have started blogging on matters of art and life in general.  Check out reading what I am writing at:  JeannineCook.blogspot.com.
Happy reading, and let me know what you think.

Recent and forthcoming exhibits:

"14th Annual Art-Tasting", my open studio/wine-tasting party, took place on Saturday, 6th December, 2008, and was a well-attended, joyous occasion.  Good friends, wine and food, the beauty of the wide-flung marshes edging Cedar Creek and my artwork all combined to celebrate the holiday season. 

Fulton County Arts Council's Public Art Program celebrated its 15th anniversary on December 11th at the High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia.  As one of the 48 artists selected during those 15 years to create art for Fulton County facilities, I felt honoured to be included in these festivities. My work hangs at the Hapeville Senior Citizens' Center, in Hapeville, Georgia.

"A Sense of Place", my exhibit at the Southeast Regional Health Center in Brunswick, Georgia, will be on display from 1st June-July 6th, 2009.  When I came to coastal Georgia, one of the first expressions I heard was about "getting mud between one's toes".  The watercolours, silverpoint, graphite and ink drawings in this exhibit are all a reflection of that acquired "mud", my sense of place in an unbelievably beautiful region.

"The Luster of Silver", a contemporary metalpoint show I helped curate and in which my work will be included, will be exhibited at the Evansville Museum of Arts, History and Science, Evansville, IN, from June 28th-September 13th, 2009.  The opening reception will take place on Saturday, June 27th, from 6-8 p.m.  I have been invited to speak during the reception, as has Koo Schadler, my wonderful co-curator and exhibit-preparer, herself a superb artist.  I hope that those of you in the Evansville vicinity will be able to visit this exhibit, which promises to be both unusual and very beautiful.  You might want to check out the information which was published on June 15, 2009, in ArtDaily.org under the heading "Evansville Museum to present a Survey of Contemporary Silverpoints".  An image of one of my drawings is featured: this drawing, Creighton Bones (after C. Pissarro), came about as a result of my finding a wonderful cow bone on Creighton Island, Georgia, near my home.  I remembered that Camille Pissarro had done a tiny drawing of a cow, and it seemed the perfect way to pay homage to Pissarro.

Artist-in-Residence awards, 2008:

Givhans Ferry State Park, South Carolina, March 17th-24th, 2008.  I used silverpoint and other media to provide stepping stones through art for future visitor's enjoyment and understanding of this State Park.  The Park's high banks along the Edisto River offer a wonderful diversity of subject matter to draw and paint.  My week passed all too quickly and I completed some large silverpoints and watercolors. Look for a large watercolor, "Air Root Rhythms",  hanging on the wall of one of the Park's comfortable cabins.

Balsam Mountain Trust, Sylva, North Carolina, 24th-30th August, 2008. This is a sister development to Spring Island, SC. Both place a very high priority on good environmental stewardship.  The Trust offers residencies to artists and it is a privilege to be able to work in the mountains amid great beauty.  I gave a well-attended Thursday night Trustees Talk on silverpoint, its history and techniques.  It was a week of gracious hospitality, beauty and inspiration that allowed me to create a number of watercolours and silverpoint drawings. 

Les Amis de la Grande Vigne, Dinan, Brittany, France - October 1st-30th, 2008.  The month I spent creating art in the Dinan area was an extraordinary experience. The City of Dinan and the Association of Les Amis de la Grande Vigne oversee the museum and artist's atelier left by famed artist, Yvonne Jean-Haffen.  Selected as Artist in Residence, I was able to spend time painting and drawing in the Rance River valley and along the dramatically lovely coast, all within easy distance of Dinan itself. The Rance river is one of the most beautiful areas I have ever visited, and the stay, with my husband, Rundle, was made more magical by the truly delightful people we met in Brittany. I created a large body of work, both watercolours and silverpoint drawings, and hope to exhibit them as a group in the near future.