Rockfish by Tammy Vitale of Tam’s Originals

This casting is from the same casting used when I created ""Chesapeake" a public artwork for North Beach, Maryland.  See:  The Big Picture on the Boardwalk  in the Bay Weekly by Sara Ebenreck Leeland

The women that drop into Joie de Vivre while I visit with owner Joy Staniforth and talk about working together all know the shop and come to browse "what’s new" with Joy pointing to particular pieces she knows they’ll love.  And what’s not to love?  If you are looking for the unique and positively beautiful, you need to take a trip to Cambridge, MD (410 Race Street, in the heart of old downtown) and have a look.  Joy picks her collaborators carefully, importing some from England where her sister has 3 galleries.  To say that you will not see the work she shows elsewhere is an understatement.  What’s more, she loves the work she shows as well as enjoys her clients and that is evident in the individual care they get when they enter the store – starting with a personal greeting.  And now she and I are working together!  I’m so happy to be able to announce that.

Ellen Uzelac writing for The Baltimore Sun,  January 25, 2004, says: 
"When Joy Staniforth opened Joie de Vivre, an arts and textile gallery on the 400 block of Race Street in Cambridge three years ago, friends gave the shop three to six months to survive.

"I stayed and stayed and people began to realize maybe there is some sense in being downtown," notes Staniforth, a textile designer. "Now, people are popping in asking, ‘What’s it like here? How are you doing?’ "

…At Joie de Vivre, Staniforth has built a gallery that includes the work of Mama Girl, an up-and-coming folk artist from the Eastern Shore of Virginia; John Root Hopkins, a local painter whose work is currently on exhibit at the American Visionary Arts Museum; Barbara Lundy Stone, an Easton textile artist; and an array of impressive regional jewelers.

"People are amazed at what they are seeing here. These are first-class stores and galleries," says Staniforth. Not long ago, a man who works at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington bought some metalwork crafted by Cambridge resident Andre Jones. "I was so excited," Staniforth says. "He said he was going to tell all his friends about it" and described the work as being competitive with "juried New York."

Joy took 2 of the torsos (Longing to Fly – see April 19 posting  – and  Pele’s Daughter shown here hanging at the Kefa Cafe show in Silver Spring.  It appears I don’t have another picture of Pele’s Daughter.  sigh.)

She also took several Designer tiles, a raku mask, fish (everyone loves the fish) and the shield, Winds of Change.  All of these can be viewed under sculpture on my website.

And the piece de resistance (some of my basic French, fitting for Joie de Vivre, don’t you think? ) is that she and I scheduled a show for November, with Meet the Artist Reception on Saturday, November 11th.  Mark your calendars.

Are you looking for something you won’t find everywhere – either art to make your home or sacred space, or great clothes or just personal service that is friendly – where you’ll be remembered?  Because I know women who love my art love this type of unique environment , I take care where I show my art – to be sure that all of my clients’ needs are considered.  In addition to Joie de Vivre in Cambridge, there’s Hoopla Traders in DC on Capital Hill.  Don’t just take my word for it, check out Gina Montefusco’s article in On Tap: The Washington DC Metro area’s magazine for entertainment news.  I’ll be having a show at Hoopla Traders in July this year, with Meet the Artist Reception on Second Saturday July 8th.

And those are just two of the shops where you can find my work (more listed under "links" on my website).

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Thought for the Day

Have been scouting around on the web for interesting things for visitors to see and found one which I will post here.  What do you think?

Removal of [Univ. of Ky]mural sought

STUDENT SENATORS SAY ARTWORK IS OFFENSIVE

By Raviya H. Ismail

HERALD-LEADER EDUCATION WRITER

posted on Friday, April 21, 2006

Last week, senators of the university’s student government passed a resolution that will be presented to UK President Lee Todd, reviving a debate over whether the 46-foot mural in Memorial Hall is degrading to some ethnic groups.

…The mural "is a statement of history, not a statement about our current values as an institution," Todd said in a statement. "It would be wrong to remove this work of art, just as it would be wrong to stop including in our history classes the terrible ramifications of slavery and the subjugation of Native Americans."…….

…… "There are other things that could be highlighted that are positive that do not bring up a history of a painful past."

The mural was completed in 1934 by former UK student Ann Rice O’Hanlon. The piece was done through the Public Works of Art Project and depicts historical events of Central Kentucky. The images include those of a community gathering where white people are seen together with a cluster of black people nearby. Two black children are seen observing a white child as he fishes. And another image captures a group of white men and women dancing while black musicians play instruments…….

"Nothing in it is fantasy. Everything really happened in Lexington," O’Hanlon is quoted as saying in a Nov. 2, 1982, Lexington Herald article about the mural.

UK Art Museum Director Kathy Walsh-Piper said covering or removing the mural would be a "tragic mistake."

"The mural is a national treasure," said Walsh-Piper. "The reality is she was trying to represent the history of Kentucky as it was."……."