Gala Appreciation Night

We had a wonderful gathering of the members of the Mispillion Art League at our home last night for a Gala Appreciation Night to thank those who worked so hard to make our recent Fundraising/Member Art Exhibit and Gala a success. Of the 29 people who RSVP'd to the Evite we sent only two were not able to attend due to illness at the last minute! Everyone brought a dessert/snack to share and our house was overflowing with conversation and laughter, filling every nook and cranny! It was a delightful evening. Thanks to everyone who came!

The Mural Project

Members of the Mispillion Art League, in particular Sara Gallagher (president) and Diane Deeney (hospitality) have been climbing up and down scaffolding painting murals of historic scenes of Milford based on old photographs from the historical society on the wall of the Salvation Army building on South East Front Street. Not an easy task, first drawings had to be made of each of the photographs and then scaled up and transferred onto the walls for painting, with Sara and Diane creating most of the art.

The mural project got underway in summer of 2008 with a break over the winter, and as soon as the weather warmed up they were back at it again. Bruce Aden, another member painted one of the murals and is starting a second. In all there will be six panels. For the "captions" Gervasio Ruiz draws the outline of the letters and Pat LaManna fills in with fine-tipped brushes. Members of the community have been delighted with the project, stopping to compliment the artists and offer encouragement. Other members of the league have contributed to the project and even Bob spent a morning this summer as well. Large scale works are not my forte but I should at least try my hand at it before they are finished!

Sara and Diane working on the mural "The Pea Crop"


Pat, cleaning up the edges


Bruce's "Old Red Mill & L.D. Caulk Mfg. Plant on Haven Lake"

Creating a Watercolor Journal - my workshop

On Thursday, October 22 I led a Watercolor Journaling workshop at the Millsboro Art League. There were 11 "student artists" in attendance and I spent some time talking about my experiences, showing examples of my work and some "how to" books (of which there are many!) demonstrating my technique of using pen and ink and letting them try it out in their own journals and sketch books. We spent some time on the main street in town where they sketched the buildings, details and things that interested them. I encouraged them each to include some bit of writing to make the impression complete - the date, time of day, weather, sights and sounds around them and they really got into the process.

I stressed the fact that this was supposed to be fun, that they were not making masterpieces, but capturing moments; that the sketches should be loose and quick, but that by using their pen to help "measure" what they were seeing that they could better capture distances and angles, and that they should try to sketch what they really saw, not what they thought it looked like.

We broke for lunch and then walked down to the park where they continued their journaling and I discussed the mixing of colors, the papers they were using with some of my "beginners" and checked in on everyone's progress, with some of the more experienced among them, off doing their own thing. At the end of the day we met back at the gallery and they shared what they had done and how they felt about it. Everyone enjoyed it and a few of them, looking forward to upcoming trips, said they were ready to try it out on their own! All in all I enjoyed it as much as they did and hope to have the opportunity to do it again!

A big thank you to the Millsboro Art League for having me! Here are a few photos from the day, taken by one of my "student artists" Gerilyn Gaskill. In fact, Geri took 3rd place at our recent Mispillion Art League Member Show!

My quick demonstration of how I use pen and ink with watercolor


Going outside to sketch: Comparing Notes!


Gathering around to get some final pointers


I guess everyone is here now!


After lunch, heading to the park


End of the day: Happy Journalers!

Mispillion Art League's Fine Art & Fine Craft Exhibit

Just wanted to be sure to mention that this show came down at i.g. Burton's but it was transported to the Art League's gallery at 127 N.W. Front Street, Milford, DE and will remain there through the end of the year. So if you didn't make it to the show this weekend, you can still see most of the work (some was already sold including Bob's 1st place winner!)

Mispillion Art League's Fine Art & Fine Craft Exhibit

Our "Gala" was a big success! In spite of the rain we had a great turnout. The showroom at i.g. Burton BMW was decorated with black and white and silver balloons and our exhibit filled the space. The work looked terrific, the judge did a great job, the food was yummy and the wine tasting fun. We enjoyed the music of a harpist for the first half of the evening and a violinist for the second half. Bob decided not to bring his camera (and mine is broken!) so I don't have any photos to show you of the evening,unfortunately. So I'll just post the images that won prizes, and the set up of the showroom.

We were proud of our local artists and appreciated the efforts of Nick Serratore, award-winning pastel artist from Lewes, who thoughtfully judged the show.

Setting up the Show & Judging

Delivering art in the morning


Tthoughtful judging


Setting up




Ready for the Show!


......And the Winners are!

Fine Arts

"Visitor to the Sea" watercolor on canvas by Sara Gallagher - Best in Show


"Herborist's Scale, Tuscany" archival digital photograph by Bob Connelly - 1st Place, Fine Arts


"Venetian Fruit" pastel by C. Mercedes Walls - 2nd Place, Fine Arts


"Birch Trees in Winter" watercolor by Gerilyn Gaskill - 3rd Place, Fine Arts


"Red Barn, Alee House, Bombay Hook" watercolor by Rosemary Connelly - Merit, Fine Arts


"Self-Portrait" oil by Bruce Aden - Merit, Fine Arts


"Harbor Mist" oil by Marcy Wheeler - Merit, Fine Arts


"A-Glow" photograph by Bobbie Ranney - Honorable Mention, Fine Arts


"Make Peace not War" mixed media by Sonja Frey - Honorable Mention, Fine Arts


"I Have a Secret" acryllic by Jose Weidner-Ahorrio - Honorable Mention, Fine Arts


"Egg and Onions" an oil by William Patterson - Honorable Mention, Fine Arts


Fine Crafts

"Grandmother's Basket" by Bea Whitehead - 1st Place, Fine Crafts


"Mallard Drake, Red Cedar" by Mark Schanne - 2nd Place, Fine Crafts


"Seahorse in Formal Wear" steel sculpture by Gary Pearson - 3rd Place, Fine Crafts


"Zen Lantern" stained glass and oak by Gail and Scott Angelucci, Honorable Mention, Fine Crafts

Lunch in New York and the Staten Island Ferry

On Sunday we drove to New York for a gathering of the Bivetto family at a Greek Restaurant called Ethos. We parked our car on the Staten Island side and rode the ferry to Manhattan. It made the drive shorter, was cheaper to park (actually free, since it was a Sunday) and an extremely more pleasant and stress-free way to approach Manhattan, rather than driving! The weather was perfect, the sea calm and the views were spectacular. And the Staten Island Ferry is always free!

Lunch was wonderful. It was so great to be together with at least some of our family and wish my nephew well as he heads to Iraq soon.

Waiting in the terminal we watched the ferry arrive


A view of the Statue of Liberty from the ferry


Lower Manhattan coming into close view


One of the delicious Greek appetizers - homemade flat bread with 4 different spreads


Fresh fish on ice - everything we had was delicious!


My brother's family


Heading back to the ferry terminal for the ride back to Staten Island and our car

Introducing Village Vacations in Italy

Our friend Nedra has just launched her new website, Village Vacations in Italy
(illustrated with paintings by Rosemary). Nedra has searched for some perfect rental properties, many in small villages in Umbria where you can live like a local. She can help arrange for a personal guide, cooking lessons, or whatever else you might need to make your stay in Italy unforgettable.

If you've been dreaming of an Italian vacation check out at her site and contact Nedra to make your dream a reality!