2010 Hudson Valley Chamber of Commerce Business Expo

Thanks to Chris Marra, Director of Economic Development for the City of Peekskill, artists that live and/or work in that community were given the very generous opportunity to participate in the Hudson Valley Gateway Chamber of Commerce 2010 Business Expo. About ten of us were lucky enough to be a part of it on Saturday, April 10th at Colonial Terrace in Cortlandt Manor, NY. Each of us set up a display table of our work so that Expo visitors could come and peruse a colorful and varied gallery of artwork for the day. It was a great way to connect Peekskill Artists with the local business community. Great networking, great exposure and a fun day! Many thanks to Chris Marra and Bill Powers, Acting President of the Hudson Valley Gateway Chamber of Commerce.

Nathan's Cupcake

"Cupcake for Nathan" © 2010

My nephew Nathan is four years old and has a special love for cupcakes. He doesn't eat them, he just loves to carry them around and look at them. I was pondering that one day and decided to really study the essence of a cupcake to see just what Nathan was talking about… and for me, in order to connect with the essence of anything, I really need to paint it. So I painted a cupcake, and then I ate it. It was a very gratifying experience to say the least. I managed to do two of my favorite things: paint & eat. Nice. I actually painted this for Nathan so that he wouldn't have to carry around a cupcake all the time - he could just look at one on the wall when needed. But maybe I wasn't getting the whole essence of that experience. Maybe he needed to actually carry it around with him in order to connect with it. Maybe as adults we should observe children creating experiences in order to discover their own world. We could really re-learn the art of observation from all children, especially under age five…