Sarah Terry Art Blog

Art For The Birds

2011-03-25T12:35:00.000-07:00

I painted this gourd birdhouse for a fundraiser called Art for the Birds which will take place next week on Thursday, March 31. There will be a silent auction for nearly 80 birdhouses and bird related projects from local artists benefiting the not-for-profit organization Journey Toward Sustainability. It will be a great night for a great cause! Find ticket information and event details here.

Journey Toward Sustainability was started in 2009 by two Charlotte women who wanted to begin a conversation about what living in a sustainable world means and to show the next generation how they could make a difference by doing small things. The organization's goal is to educate elementary school children by using an interactive learning bus called Eco-N-Motion. The bus is designed to travel to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools to offer age appropriate steps to reduce waste and to conserve water and energy, as well as explore other environmental initiatives.

***My mom grew and pre-drilled the my gourd birdhouse at Speckled Bird Farm. ***See a cute felt birdhouse that will be up for auction from Handmade Stuffs.

Pushing On

2011-02-10T08:14:00.000-08:00

I've decided to go ahead and continue to post these videos to show you the finished project.

One Wonderful Weirdo: Michael Hughes

2011-02-09T09:04:00.000-08:00

1984, Packed up to play in DC at 9:30 Club, photo by Carmen Calatayud. 2004, Philadelphia, PA.

Artist and musician Michael Hughes died unexpectedly last Saturday (obit). Michael owned Grinfactor Gallery with his brother Bruce. The family plans to host a show to celebrate his life and will proceed with how to run the gallery and with future shows from there.

I knew Michael professionally, not personally, but I would run into him around Charlotte occasionally. He'd be wearing a black shirt, water shoes, a ball cap with a flat bill, long curly gray hair flowing out and would be talking excitedly about whatever project he was currently working on. Though he is gone, he leaves behind a strong collection of amazing work and vibrant memories. Here are some of my favorites.

Churchin' Ups (Starless) : 2010 : oil/canvas 11"x10" : Michael Hughes

Feritility & the T/34 : 2009 : acrylic /canvas : 32"x32" Michael Hughes

Go Tell it on the Wall : oil/canvas : 2009 : Michael Hughes

Dig My Prostitute : oil/canvas : 2008 : Michael Hughes

Mission Accopmplished (but the beat goes on) : 2007 : oil /canvas : Michael Hughes

Teen Idols : 2000 : oil/canvas : Michael Hughes

Dan and I taking in his solo show at Charlotte Art League in 2009.

Take a glimpse into Michael's process.
Here are some plans he recently sketched up for a new musical instrument. A friend recounts their conversation about the sketch below:

Another of Mike's ideas for a musical instrument. This idea, like the ZoprahPhone, came out of the blue. My cell would ring and Mike was on the other end of the phone, gushing with enthusiasm. His calls were a welcome interruption from the day-to-day humdrum of work. After explaining his idea thoroughly, he'd ask "Can we build it?"
-Marc Leclair

Analog Harp Plans:

Sad News. RIP Michael Hughes.

2011-01-31T22:00:00.000-08:00

This video was made today, January 31st.

A Pretty Good Groove

2011-01-30T12:17:00.001-08:00

Sawing

2011-01-29T09:56:00.000-08:00

I love my saw!

Pantera

2011-01-28T08:32:00.000-08:00

Progress & Frustrations

2011-01-25T14:00:00.000-08:00

Supplies, Sketches, and a Plan

2011-01-25T08:26:00.000-08:00

Follow me as I push to complete 10 new pieces in 20 days for an art show at Grinfactor in Charlotte, NC.

2 Hours Later...

2011-01-24T09:11:00.000-08:00

Here We Go

2011-01-24T08:01:00.000-08:00

I didn't want to start posting these until I knew I'd actually be able to finish this project, but I'm feeling confident, so here we go. Follow my journey to complete 10 new pieces in 20 days for a February show at Grinfactor with Michael Hughes and Sabrina Rachal.

2010-11-10T10:54:00.000-08:00

Done. And Another.

2010-11-06T11:12:00.001-07:00

I still have a little left to do on this one...30 more minutes after I get off work tonight should do it. I like how the blades turned out. You can see the different colors that make up the gray showing up here and there.

A Walk on the Lighter Side

2010-11-05T14:26:00.000-07:00

A painting I'm working on today.

I've always been inspired by the stormy artists Egon Schiele, Frida Kalho and Francis Bacon who were fighting to express their feelings. They were masters of capturing the tension they felt.

Lately though, I'm getting more inspiration from artists who didn't express as much intense emotion (or darkness) in their work. They focused more on the medium than on the subject. Their work celebrated the lighter side of life. Alexander Calder, de Kooning, and Oldenburg are a few I have on my mind.

2010-10-27T07:34:00.000-07:00

Vintage Kitchenware & Eczema
I found some more antique kitchenware to add to my small collection. I got these at the Southern Comforts Antiques Fall Festival. I love the look of the pastry cutter and the cheese grater. I especially love how the company name and name of the tool is punched into the metal as part of the design. Quality.

Speaking of cheese graters, here is a pretty gruesome silkscreen print I did a few years ago, when I was battling severe eczema. It turned out that my skin condition had more to do with my response to stress and anxiety than it did with dry skin or allergies...but it was no fun, nonetheless, as you can see here:

this is what eczema feels like
2006

Coloring Book Release Party Recap

2010-10-20T07:22:00.000-07:00

photo by Jenny Hanson

The coloring books looked amazing, there was face painting, creepy baked goods, eyeball punch, a monster art show, and kids coloring at tables throughout the night. Charlotte Arts Catalyst did a great job organizing this event!

Event Organizers from Charlotte Arts Catalyst proudly showing their creation. Pictured from L to R: Josiah Blevins, Andrea Vail, Maly Por, Zachary Reader, Jenny Hanson, Shannon Baringer. photo: Jenny Hanson

photo by Ben Marshall

photo by Ben Marshall

photo by Ben Marshall

INTERACTIVE MONSTER SCULPTURE
Take a look at the timeline below to see people coloring on my pregnant monster sculpture throughout the night. Awesome!

6:11 PM
photo by Ben Marshall

7:07 PM
photo by Ben Marshall

8:35 PM

9:47 PM
photo by Amanda Fisher

10:05 PM
photo by Amanda Fisher

Ode to the Egg Beater

2010-10-11T06:42:00.000-07:00

Oh Egg Beater, how your movement captivates me!
spinning spinning spinning
Working the day away. Running around in circles. Getting nowhere.
your creativity, your repetitive thoughts, your productivity
i am you and you are me.

Ha ha. I am obviously not a poet. But this is a poem I might have written a few years ago, when I painted a whole series of self portraits that featured egg beaters. Aside from them representing who I was, I also aesthetically loved the many different antique egg beaters you could find, and also how they allude to women's roles in the past. I imagine that I will always incorporate egg beaters into my work here and there, but I am searching for a new object that represents who I am NOW, because I am not the same person I was when I painted those egg beater portraits. The search is on...

I found this beauty (above) at Southern Comforts Antiques.

"Big Red"
One of my egg beater portraits I painted and sold in 2006.

Release the MONSTERS!

2010-10-06T11:35:00.000-07:00

Charlotte Arts Catalyst proudly presents: "MONSTERS: A Coloring Book Featuring People You Know". All proceeds from the book sales will go towards helping the Charlotte Arts Catalyst reach it's primary goal of obtaining their very own community center. I strongly support their goal, so I did a drawing for the book- a pregnant monster (see it below)! I will also have a piece of art on display that night based on my pregnant monster drawing (working on that now).

Charlotte Arts Catalyst will release over 40 colorable creations into the wild from over 30 local Charlotte artists! There will also be lots of candy, a Halloween-themed bake sale, live music, and other special events. And of course, the coloring books for sale!

Best of GRINFACTOR

2010-10-05T10:19:00.001-07:00

Two of my pieces are currently on display at GRINFACTOR gallery from October 1st- October 29th. My pieces are "Office Politics" and "In a Car Crash". The curator of the gallery is the talented Michael Hughes, who I have followed for awhile, and we re-met while I was selling in NoDa a few weeks ago and he asked me to join the show. Here are some photos I pulled off Facebook from the hanging (you can see both of my pieces- look for the bright yellow backgrounds):

GRINFACTOR
3103 Cullman St. (off 36th in NoDa)
Charlotte, NC 28205
7pm- 10pm
Facebook Event Listing

The Stranger Things

2010-10-04T08:08:00.001-07:00

I've decided to start a blog about my art and the things that influence my art. I already have a blog, Stitch Machine, about my custom handmade hair accessories and "Handmade" in general. Lately I'm finding that I sometimes want to blog about stranger things that don't really fit in with Stitch Machine, so this will be a fitting place to do that! I am also participating in more & more art events and this will be a more relevant place to let you in on those things. I hope to give you an inside look at what i am working on now, the things that influence my paintings, give you a direct line to some of my thought processes and blog about art in North Carolina. I also imagine that I will include some observations about events beyond the NC art world.

And we're off...