Collaborative painting for Central Florida Dream Center Auction Sat

I've been working on a collaborative painting to benefit the Central Florida Dream Center  through Arte Que Salva (Art that Saves).

Like many artists, I get approached for charities throughout the year. I usually like to choose those that benefit my community or an issue that is close to my heart. Central Florida Dream Center does both, working with families, individuals and children in need to offer a three pronged approach to their programs: spiritual, social and economic. 

So what is a collaborative painting? 

It is simply that you work with another artist to complete a painting. There are no rules. For instance, it can be done simultaneously in the same painting session or you can mail unfinished pieces back and forth with serious time lapses inbetween sessions. In this case, children from the Central Florida Dream Center started the painting on an canvas piece of cloth during an art workshop. Some of them chose to work alone on a single piece of canvas, and some worked with a buddy. Now, it's up to me (and other participating artists) to finish the work.

Here's a before and after. 

Collaborative work between students and me!

Students Alexia and Amiya created the painting on the left. The final piece after I altered it is on the right.

I thought about different approaches to painting on their painting. I thought it was really important to keep the integrity of their work and not completely paint over everything. But where to start? I usually paint realistically in oils but in keeping with the spirit of the piece I decided to work mixed media. I used graphite (pencil), inks, acrylics and papers. I wanted to stay with the vivid colorway and push it. I also wanted to incorporate a little realism and have that play off all of the kid's elements and the abstraction. I also wanted to build up layers. Layers of life, layers of thinking and of the possible future.

Did you notice? Ignoring an accepted "rule" of composition, I put the girls face and figure almost dead center in the canvas. Rules are made to be broken, hey!

This is a close up detail of the figure.

Detail of collaborative work between students and me

In the detail you can see the graphite drawing with paint glazes, torn paper collage, stamping, scumbling, sponging and painting.


The painting will be displayed and auctioned along with the other art pieces at the Jeanine Taylor Folk Art Gallery in Sanford, Florida. They will be displayed from 12-8pm on Saturday, May 16 with the reception and auction running from 6-8pm. Map here.

Enjoy a special, one night event with wine and refreshments and support the Central Florida Dream Center!

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#twitterartexhibit you're invited tomorrow night #Otown

@ the CityArtsFactory in Orlando with parking validated at $4 flat, if you park in the Plaza Parking garage (bring your receipt in to the welcome desk). My entered piece "Red Balloon" and backstory is here.

This time, I hope not to be too spazzy and forget to take photos or video! There's going to be live performances by the Center for Contemporary Dance. If I do, I think the whole thing is going to be streamed live. Wouldn't it be great if we could have video from some of the international artists that contributed too? :)




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#twitterartexhibit entry "Red Balloon" and how it got here, er, there

"Red Balloon", Mixed Media on Paper, 12 x 16cm, ©VP Miller

"Red Balloon" is my entry for the #twitterartexhibit. #twitterartexhibit is an international postcard art exhibition benefiting the Center for Contemporary Dance, Special Needs Classes in Orlando.

My entry work is 6" x 4" postcard sized and mixed media including shaving cream. Can you see the image of The Ministry of Silly Walks in the middle? Just there? Whaaaa?

Let me explain.

Last week (and the week before starting on Friday), I was again at my daughter's elementary school guest teaching. Anyway the wonderful teacher who invited me, wanted me to piggyback onto a creative learning segment called "Sweet Science" and teach the kids a little bit about Pop Art.

Can I say how much I love these guest teaching jobs? There's so much intensity packed into such little time, and the students really enjoy it!

Day 1 was a quick YouTube video overview of Andy Warhol, because you have to start there! Sadly they'd never heard of Andy Warhol prior to my workshop. Then again, they are between the ages of 7 and 10! As our Day 1 project we created Warhol inspired mono prints using Styrofoam plates and acrylic paint. The look of joy, and gasps as they pulled the paper off the inked plates was precious!

Scratching a design into Styrofoam for mono print

On day 2 of my workshop, we did the heavy prep work for day three. We had huge fun making marbleized paper by using shaving cream and floating food color, and frosting on top! Think rainbow colors with bubble gum and cotton candy smells! They oohed and aahed when scraping the shaving cream away and revealing their beautiful paper. We talked about what would happen if the shaving cream wasn't there and what it was used for with the inks.

Making marbleized paper with shaving cream and dyes

Day three 3 work was inspired by Robert Rauschenberg and his work with newsprint images. I wanted to show the students how to make easy copy paper transfers using pop images of their choice using their new marbleized paper. They brought in pop culture images relevant to them. They brought copier pictures of kittens, dragons, food and hearts. For my demo, I chose an image of The Ministry of Silly Walks. Using gesso mainly, we easily applied the images to the paper and I showed them how to complete the transfer once the gesso air dried.

Since we had time left, we painted with simple rockets. I recommend this for any age (that's you adults), and all skill levels. You get stunning results and things explode and take off like fireworks into the air 20ft. minus the fear of dismemberment. Yay! The film canisters were courtesy of the kind and excellent folks at Harmon Photo in Orlando. We talked about color theory a little after the thrill of having tempera paint explode out of canister. Because color mixing is thrilling....

Getting the film canister rockets ready with paint 

That was the back story for my piece "Red Balloon". It is the demo used during the student workshop on days 2 and 3. There is a lot of energy and love in it, with hours of sweat equity. It fits perfectly into the theme of benefiting children at the CDC, so I knew I wanted to add onto it. I was thinking more of John Cleese and creativity and humor. Please see his excellent video on how to stimulate creativity here.



Afterwards, I used pens to draw a red balloon. Have you seen the movie "The Red Balloon"? I imagined this little red balloon tethered to bad feelings and lifting up, up and away.

There you have it. How it got here, er, there.



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Auction Benefits Red Cross, NFAC Heron at DeLeon Springs

Finally entering the Nibblefest (Themed) Art Contest! It's held on Ebay every month.. Just do a search for this month's theme "Trees" take a look around and then come back. I'll wait.



So I've entered... it's exciting because every auction starts at $0.99! (Those of you who didn't search eBay for NFAC, go on, do it now!) Click on this direct link for my auction!

"Heron at DeLeon Springs", Giclee,©VictoriaPageMiller, eBay auction

Okay... so there are a lot of entries! They all can start on the 20th of the month but must complete by the 27th. That's really it. I've entered a reproduction of my "Heron at DeLeon Springs" oil painting. Before you get all persnickety about it being a Trees theme versus a Bird theme... might I just say that the heron is walking amongst the trees. Well he is! Looking for his breakfast. It could have been a Breakfast theme. Or an Omelet theme and I would have been fine. He could be having it his way. Or he could be lovin' it.

The important part is that any money (even if it is $0.99!) raised by my auction will be directly donated to the American Red Cross. They've been busy lately. They are always busy and I want them to continue to do the important work that they do.

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"Strawberry" Oil Alla Prima Painting

Still Life, Oil on Linen on Board, 4" x 4", "Strawberry"

This painting is 4x4", painted on linen mounted on panel. The panel is notched on the back, so that it can be hung on the wall without any framing.

                                         Email for purchase info.

While painting this, I remembered being very little and having my Mom buy us matching t-shirts. I begged to have the shirt, because it featured a cute mouse holding a strawberry. Isn't it amazing what objects will trigger our memories?

Every year during strawberry season, our family goes to a "you pick" farm. The scent of strawberries and rich soil washes the air and there is a playground for families to enjoy after picking. I hope that my daughter will look at a strawberry after she is grown, and remember our times there together.

Does the strawberry trigger a special moment in time for you?

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The Winner of the My Memories Suite Giveaway

                                    Cheryl!!!!!!

I will be in contact with her in the next few days so that she may claim her prize. 

The contest is now closed, but in case you missed it you can always purchase a My Memories Suite of your very own, or as a gift to give (because you are so very thoughtful) by using my coupon code STMMMS62509 in their online store. For every purchase made with my code, I will be donating $10 to the ArtZ (Artists for Alzheimer's) organization. In case you missed it, you can read about ArtZ in my post Art and Alzheimers, It's Personal.

Thank you everyone, for participating or just lurking.

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Art and Alzheimer's, it's Personal

September marks the inaugural World Alzheimer's Month. Tomorrow, September 21st, is National Alzheimer's day. National Alzheimer's day is a call to action for everyone to spread awareness about this disease. According to this document in the Alzheimer's Association, it is the seventh leading cause of death and by mid-century it will reach epidemic levels. Sobering facts.

Many people have already grappled with this illness, as they have witnessed it take over a loved one's life. My own Grandmother was afflicted with the disease and eventually succumbed to it. It strikes people regardless of sex, race, ethnicity, and socio-economic status. 

The wonderful news for people who are already afflicted, is that there are effective therapies available now. One treatment that is shown to be dramatically promising, is art therapy. What can you expect from art therapy? Improved communication and emotional memory, decreased anxiety, aggression, apathy and agitation, decreased symptoms of depression, relief from isolation, improved spontaneity and freedom, and utilization of imagination. For patients and caregivers, this is incredibly hopeful.

©Sara Krulwich, NY Times

New programs have been created at national museums so that groups of Alzheimer's patients can come through and tour, prompting memories and lively conversations. The programs started in the northeast and quickly spread out nationally. Our very own Orlando Museum of Art holds Art's the Spark monthly for early- and middle-staged Alzheimer's patients, and is free with registration. Check your local area museum to see if you have a similar program. As this NY Times article points out, both appreciating and making art seem to have their benefits.

Dr. John Zeisel, Ph.D. author of I'm Still Here: A New Philosophy of Alzheimer's Care, stated in an interview on NPR's "Here and Now" program that "the myth that people with Alzheimer's, that there are no memories, is busted" (sic). It has been determined that someone suffering with Alzheimer's will also remember better via visual aids. This can be as simple as photos of people they are closest with placed in an album, and labeled with their names. Dr. Zeisel, is co-founder with Sean Caulfield of ArtZ, which stands for Artist's for Alzheimer's. ArtZ (pronounced Arts) exists simply to improve the quality of life for those with Alzheimer's with art and art therapy. 

I am happy to announce that I am partnering with My Memories Software so that I can offer a discount on digital scrap booking software - a percentage of any referral proceeds that I receive will be donated to ArtZ! The discount is for $10 off My Memories Suite v2 and an additional $10 coupon to be used in the My Memories store.


To Use the Discount:


1. If you want the download go here. 
2. Add to cart.
3. In coupon/promo code box enter: STMMMS62509
(cut and paste to avoid typos)
4. Click Proceed to Checkout.
5. Register or Login to complete transaction, including payment details.
6. In your order confirmation email, you will receive the $10 coupon to use at the My Memories store. 
Note: You can install the MMSv2 software in up to 3 computers in your house. But if you ever get a new computer in your house, you can always download again - you have unlimited downloads!
Note: If you want the CD, go here, but you will be unable to use the promo code for the discount. But hey, you will have the CD! And, if you click through the link on my page, I can still donate to ArtZ. Win-win!
Technical note: This software is good for both Win and Mac computers. 


Please email, tweet or facebook this offer to your scrap booking friends so that we can spread the word - and let's do our part to help those with Alzheimer's. Thank you!


Also, look for an upcoming post - I'll be reviewing the My Memories Suite software and showing you what I, a newcomer to digital scrap booking, was able to create.


I also have one copy of My Memories Suite to give to one lucky recipient! 



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