Be Still

I have three of my favorite paintings with me. The "Cowboy", the "Sailor" and the pink and yellow clothed lady named "Good-bye". They are propped on the floor of this Buckhead living room. I am seeing them again, remembering their colors and patterns, and reminding myself why they are my favorites. They are part of my heart.

I began to visit galleries yesterday.

Here was the one I had seen on my past visits. This was the spot with the great location in my new hometown. Looks like a lovely space. Walk in...artwork stacked haphazardly on the floor. A painting hanging on the wall with a ladder leaning against it. How could it be? Art abuse.

My 2 dimensional children deserve a better home than that.

We are anxious to settle down, my artwork and me. This was not the place for us. We must keep searching...

In the last 24 hours two wise voices have kindly counseled me to slow down and take my time. Then on her last show Oprah mentioned "being still" and listening before making a decision. Looking before leaping, thinking it through, saying a prayer.

Sage words.

A reflection of my past year. Patience.

copyright Beth Crews Rommel

Savannah Billboard Art Project

Some old friends like this sailor and many new ones will be gracing the billboard at Hodgson Memorial Dr. across from Oglethorpe Mall in Savannah, GA this Saturday. The following is a press release for more information:

“The Billboard Art Project – Savannah, GA”


When:
Saturday, May 14th, 2011,
12:00 a.m. – 11:59 p.m.

Where:
Lamar Advertising LED Digital Billboards in Savannah, GA
On Hodgson Memorial Drive, northbound exposure, across from Oglethorpe Mall

What:
A Lamar Advertising digital billboard has been privately acquired for
a continuous period of twenty-four hours during which time art work
will be on display. Over fifty artists from all over the United
States, a few from foreign countries, and nine seriously ill children
from the Backus Children’s Hospital will have their submissions on
display within an eight hour show that will repeat two times. There
are over 2,000 different images total in this particular show. The
project is part of an ongoing national exhibit appearing in cities on
digital billboards all across the country throughout the year.

About:
“The Billboard Art Project – Savannah, GA” is the third roadside
gallery presentation of artists brought together by The Billboard Art
Project, a program designed to explore and promote the usage of LED
billboards as an artistic medium all across the country. It is one of
many such shows that will appear in other cities as time and funding
permits. Each show features different artists and completely new
work. The project is open to anyone interested in participating.

Participants:
Anna Bruinsma – Los Angeles, CA
Anne Blix – Richmond, VA
Bernard Klevickas – Long Island City, NY
Beth Crews Rommel – Oviedo, FL
Blake Weld – St. Louis Park, MN
Carrie Lee Schwartz – Folsom, LA
Casey Smallwood – Chicago, IL
Chau Dang – Seattle, WA
Claire Accardo – Richmond, VA
CJ Nye – New York, NY
Colin Kidder – Memphis, TN
∞ Compagnons de Route ∞ – Antwerp, Belgium & Regensburg, Germany
Damali Abrams – New York, NY
Dan VanLandingham – Martha’s Vineyard, MA
Danny Volk – Chicago, IL
Dawn Hunter – Columbia, SC
Desmal Purcell – Stillmore, GA
Donald Gialanella – Topanga, CA
Elisha Gold – Memphis, TN
Erin Desmond – Los Angeles, CA
Ginny Lloyd – Jupiter, FL
Janice Tieken – Ventura, CA
Jason Miller – Memphis, TN
Jennifer Rarick – Atlanta, GA
Jo Q. Nelson – Long Island City, NY
Jodie Lyn-Kee-Chow – Queens, NY
Joseph Ayers – Beacon, NY
Joshua Barber – Richmond, VA
Kathleen Judge – Chicago, IL
Kerry Woo – Nashville, TN
Laura Zaylea – Atlanta, GA
Lori Lipsman – San Diego, CA
Marcellous Lovelace – Kumasi, Ghana
Mardi Linane – Redlands, CA
Michael Krasowitz – Huntington Station, NY
Michele Guieu – Sunnyvale, CA
Natalie von Loewenfeldt – Savannah, GA
Norma Greenwood – New York, NY
Phillip Hanson – Saginaw, MI
Rachael Gorchov – New York, NY
Rashad Doucet – Savannah, GA
Robert Goodman – Philadelpihia, PA
Rosemary Williams – St. Paul, MN
Ruby Hilliard – Savannah, GA
Sarah Farahat – Portland, OR
Scott Allen Motley – Savannah, GA
Stephen Paul Connor – Austin, TX
Subhashis Chakraborty – Kolkata, India
Terry Ward – VA & Brooklyn, NY

For more information please contact:
David Morrison, curator, founder of The Billboard Art Project
admin@bilboardartproject.com
(804) 648-2422

Billboard Art Project Website
www.billboardartproject.com

"Home"

In the midst of the insanity that a move makes there comes a stirring of the heart. A little distraction from contracts and irrational sellers was a welcome thing. At this point I reintroduce the Dynamic Duo collaboration I have been working on with friend and fellow artist, M.K. Shaw. The discussions began in the midst of visits by realtors in both our homes. The importance of a home, a nest, is embedded in all of us. A "safe place to fall" as has been said. Especially now I want to curl up in my home and never leave, but times are what they are and it is time in my mobile society to move on.

This is how our piece came to be. The nest, the little colorful bird, her treasure hidden away in the niches, the sky in which to fly, and the quote you have read in my post before, "Home's not merely four square walls, home is where affection calls" define where I am.

photo: Beth (left) and M.K. Shaw with "Home". The day the piece is being shipped to Connecticut's Celebrations Gallery.