Artprize 2015 in Grand Rapids, Michigan

Yes, I had to get "in" on the fun at Artprize with this interactive piece on butterflies.

Artprize 2015

Grand Rapids, Michigan

My daughter and I enjoyed our visit to Artprize 2015 last week. This is such an amazing art competition, I'll let the Artprize site explain it to you-

"For 19 days, three square miles of downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan, become an open playing field where anyone can find a voice in the conversation about what is art and why it matters. Art from around the world pops up in every inch of downtown, 

and it’s all free and open to the public.

It’s unorthodox, highly disruptive, and undeniably intriguing to the art world and the public alike." ARTPRIZE

The actual ARTPRIZE is worth the artist's traveling to this destination. One Grand Prize piece is voted on by the public and one Grand Prize winner is chosen by a committee of distinguished judges. Each winner receives $200,000. A total of $500,000 is awarded to winning artists.

I have posted some of the artwork we saw in our short four hours of viewing. It would take the entire two weeks to see every one of the 1550 entries at the 162 venues. Get on your walking shoes. Oh, no, you get to sit back in your easy chair, put on some soothing music, and just imagine yourself on the tour with us. Enjoy!

One of my favorite installations. So powerful.

Suspension. The figures seem to be floating in this ball.

"Ascension directly refers to the supernatural passage into Heaven that Jesus made on the 40th day after Resurrection." 

The Happy Garden with many colored flowers like these really did make me happy when viewing it.

This black and white painting captured the essence of peace and tranquility.
These are birches in a forest near Ludington, Michigan.

The artist painted these tigers so well I wanted to pet the soft, fuzzy fur of their coats.

Bold colors in this wall sized mural. I wish I could've photographed the entire piece.

This mural of lighthouse and beach is made from small squares of leather.

The painting captures the frustration of so many parents dealing with kids and video games! Made me giggle, but there is so much truth here.

Each painted square was a work of art on its own, but when added together, it was mind blowing.

"Movement" Another one of my favorites. It's hard to see, but these are white gloves inflated and free floating on this pond. They all travel together as the wind blows them. I especially liked the artist's explanation of the piece. Read it below.

I'd award him a prize simply for this lovely, inspiring desire he has to bring a community together.

These ceramic green frogs on the log were filled with humor and delight.

Check out our tour last year at Artprize here.

Have you attended an art competition anything like this one? Come to Michigan in October and we'll take you along with us!

Artprize 2014, This Week, Giveaways

How I wish I could capture in photos the most amazing works of art presented at Artprize this year in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  This international art competition is the biggest in the world with artists competing for $560,000 in prizes in various categories. Winners are determined by the public vote and a juried group of professionals. This experience is like no other and free to the public!  I am sharing some of the amazing entries we encountered out of the 1537 pieces entered. The competition is open to any artist 18 and older. Please take a peek at the photos for a taste of the 19 day festival held every fall in Grand Rapids. 

This installation is made up of living plants. A great reminder to just step away, enjoy the festival's unique works of art, and breathe.

The author framed by flowers

These little colored pencil drawn ladies made me chuckle.

Brilliant lighted art piece of blown glass.

A 23 foot long panel of galloping mustangs created from all kinds of wood.

The "Chihuly-inspired" hanging is actually made of plastic bottles, not blown glass, painted by elementary students and put together by the art teachers. I appreciated its beauty even more after learning about the creation of this masterpiece.

A whimsical family of turtles. Smile...

The title of this piece is "Wind."

Grand Rapids Petroglyph--Fish carved and painted in stones 
that line the banks of the Grand River.
This river runs through the downtown area of the city.

A horse made of junk. Lots of car parts. Art fashioned from trash.

This Week

Monday, October 6--All week at the Girls Succeed Blog, I read an excerpt from the chapter in Girls Succeed! about Angela Ruggiero, Olympic Gold Medalist in Women's Ice Hockey. Okay, I may be driving you crazy with these audio recordings and sharing them on my blogs.  It's a lot of fun to make the words on the page come alive by recording them for listeners. But please be honest, and let me know if it is annoying. Thanks.

Wednesday, October 8--Author Miss Mae celebrates the launch of her new audio book, Ahoy Gum Drop, October 7 and 8 on Facebook. The invitation to join this zany gang of characters and the link to the party are below. I'll be a guest from 2:00 pm-3:00 pm on October 8. The narrator Owen, will be there too. He does an amazing job with all the voices of Miss Mae's entertaining cast. Come on over for fun and prizes with the gang from Gum Drop Island.

https://www.facebook.com/events/689129674506574/

Thursday, October 9--Miss Mae shares writing tips on dialogue, setting, and editing at the Romance and Mystery Authors On Writing Event. Giveaways too!