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  Ginnie Cappaert's Blog

Friday, July 29, 2016

"It's your tribe, your friends, and your art that make life grand!" - Ginnie Cappaert

I am so thrilled to have found such a generous, kind, supportive and amazing art community here in Door County.  Last year four artist friends/gallery owners got together and created a 'fun art event'!  This is our second year of our Progressive Art Crawl here in Egg Harbor.  We think Egg Harbor is a great community and the fact that there are four of us that are artists/women/gallery owners is pretty amazing!  So join us Thursday from 4-8 pm for the 2nd annual "Progressive Art Crawl".

Women’s Fine Art Galleries of Egg Harbor 2nd annual Progressive Art Crawl Aug 4th, 4-8 pm.

Women’s Fine Art Galleries of Egg Harbor’s second annual “Progressive Art Crawl” is happening Thursday, August 4th from 4-8 PM. Four Egg Harbor women artists including Angela Lensch, Ginnie Cappaert, Jeanne Kuhns and Rene Schwaller representing  Angela Lensch Gallery, Cappaert Contemporary Gallery, Lost Moth Gallery and Off the Wheel Pottery invite you to an art celebration.
These four very different galleries have made this an annual event, after having so much fun last year. Starting at 4:00pm and continuing till 8:00pm, the Progressive Art Crawl will offer a diversity of fabulous art and samples of each gallery’s food creations including cheeses, breads, chocolate delights and savory snacks. The event is free. All four galleries are in Egg Harbor, there will be a map on the punch card you pick up at the first gallery you stop at.
-Angela Lensch Gallery features unique, hand –woven, gold and silver jewelry by Lensch as well as a variety of fine art jewelry, glass, sculpture and photography by local and regional artists.
Located at 7653 Hwy 42, Egg Harbor 54209.
-Cappaert Contemporary Gallery is Ginnie Cappaert’s contemporary art, blended with an eclectic mix of all mediums representing 30 regional and national artists working in painting, glass, clay and jewelry.
Located at 7901 Hwy 42, Egg Harbor  54209.
-Lost Moth Gallery shows resident artist Jeanne Kuhns’ acrylic paintings inspired by nature and magical thinking and also represents paintings, figurative sculpture and pottery by Dawn Patel, Maureen McGrath and Tony Menzer.
Located at 7975 Hwy 42, Egg Harbor 54209
-Off The Wheel Pottery is the working pottery studio and gallery of Rene Schwaller. Schwaller’s beautifully handcrafted work, along with pottery, jewelry and garden art by 20 regional and national artists is featured.
Located at 4234 Cty Rd E, Egg Harbor 54209

Visit each gallery, where you will be presented with a punch card at the first gallery you stop at, there is no specific order. Get your card punched at all four galleries to be eligible for a gift certificate drawing.

Call 920-495-2928 for more information and find gallery information  on line. www.cappaertcontemporary.com,   www.jeannekuhns.net, www.angelalensch.com, www.offthewheelpottery.com





# posted by Ginnie Cappaert @ 10:26 AM 0 Comments




Sunday, July 24, 2016

"The universe is fully supportive of what you want, but it is up to you to go for it." - unknown

Art is a big bucket of 'go for it's'!  Seriously, if you don't 'go for it' how will you ever know.  I write this blog as I sit for a quiet moment at my gallery in Door County!  Yes, this was a dream of mine and about 20 years ago I said 'I would love to own a gallery in Door County.' - here I am!

As I share my thoughts on my blog, I also wish to share other artists work as well.  Here is an interview of two fabulous artists Rebecca Crowell and Jerry McLaughlin who work with the amazing art medium 'cold wax'.  Rebecca introduced me to cold wax years ago and for that I am ever grateful!  The two of them have joined forces to publish a book on cold wax which will include the artwork of many artists working with cold wax (myself included) as well as how-to and techniques.  Here are some thoughts I would like to share from them regarding their book publishing and crowd-funding campaign!

There were little pockets of cold wax activity all over, and Rebecca was clearly at the nexus. I had witnessed the growth of support and kinship around encaustic medium and wondered if we could have the same. After Rebecca and I realized we shared a common vision for the book and began work, I was overwhelmed by what happened. Artists from all over the world reached out to support our project. It was clear this wasn’t just something I wanted but something we as artists wanted.
And now here we are. The book is nearly ready to go to print. The enthusiasm and support we have received has been something truly wonderful. Community has begun forming around the book before it is even available. And on top of the deep connection I feel to this community, I now have a kind, wise, and beautiful new friend that I’m sure I would not have had otherwise. That alone makes it worthwhile. Thank you, Rebecca!
Rebecca: I feel the same! For me, there is also a level personal satisfaction for pulling together a lot of what I’ve learned and thought about and taught over the years.  Of course, what I know continues to evolve, but at this point, the book covers the summation of what I can share about working with cold wax --and a lot about painting in general. It makes me appreciate how when you are passionate about something, experience and understanding grow slowly, incrementally, one thing leading to another. And at some point--maybe even decades after first undertaking something—you may realize that your accumulated knowledge is meaningful to others. Although at first I was reluctant to take on the huge project that the book has become, I see now that when that time comes, there it is almost an obligation to share. Because as artists, we’ve all built on what others before us have shared.
Of course, I’ve learned a lot too! I know that you share that feeling, Jerry.
Jerry: I have definitely learned a lot. In fact, the multiple, steep learning curves have probably been the most challenging part of writing this book. There were so many things that had to be researched and learned: the history of wax and cold wax in art, the chemical and technical aspects of all the materials, the breadth of styles and techniques used by all the artists in the book, how to structure a book, how to use InDesign to lay out a book, how best to describe and provide images so that readers can understand what we mean to convey, the complexities of publishing and printing a book and book distribution, how to set up a small business partnership in the US and California, business finances, setting up and executing a successful crowdfunding campaign. Whew! Even coming up with a way for a basically disorganized person to keep track of over 2,000 images and multiple iterations of writing and layouts was huge. It’s been the most challenging thing I’ve ever undertaken. And on top of all of that, through talking with so, so many artists and looking at so much cold wax work, my own art has grown.  I’ve found a style and voice that resonates from deep within me. Just writing this all down makes me a bit anxious inside. It’s almost too much to think about. But that isn’t a negative. I have grown through this in ways I never imagined. I think I’ll stop there… 
Rebecca: It IS overwhelming! There’s a huge amount of information in the book that Jerry has researched, more than I’ve been able to take in even after multiple editing sessions and going over layouts. All of that research has already been very informative for me. In fact, I’ve looked up answers to questions for myself or students a number of times in draft versions of the chapters—I love the fact that I am learning from our own book! I’ve also learned a lot from the contributions of the artists in the book—their words about technique, approach, materials, tools and tips. And of course, I learned from their work. I found out about artists that were unknown to me, saw some of the newest work from those I’m familiar with, and realized the breadth of the scope of cold wax approaches.
My own biggest challenge was in writing the chapters about technique and visual language. I wanted to present the basic content of my workshops to the broad audience of the book, and it was difficult to organize and distill my thoughts and information into an accessible format. As I worked this out, I came upon some new and simple ways to categorize the techniques I teach. I’ve already found this to be helpful in the workshops I’ve taught since writing my chapters. 

We sincerely hope that all of our readers will benefit in a big way from our book. We look forward to hearing what you think, once you have a copy in hand!—Rebecca and Jerry


# posted by Ginnie Cappaert @ 11:43 AM 0 Comments




Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Moments!  Present Moments!

Life is made up of moments, big and small!  But the most important moment is the PRESENT moment, not the past or future!

I was asked by a friend of mine recently, "how do you choose titles for your paintings?.  She suggested a blog post and I thought that was a great idea.  I love turning simple statements and questions into  metaphors or stories about life and art.  Or at least I like to try!

Everything we do in life and art is made up of moments.  Even if we are just sitting at the beach, watching the sunset, or taking a morning walk, we experience moments.  All of these moments combined make up our life but as human beings we tend to often re-live the past moments or stress over the future moments.  But when we sit in the 'present moment' that is where we find peace.

So what does this have to do with titling my paintings?  I often, as you know, carry a journal with me to write down thoughts, words, hopes and dreams.  When I am traveling, riding horse or just sitting and watching the sunset, I 'observe' my surroundings and try to stay in the present moment.  While in this 'present moment' words, thoughts and phrases may 'pop' into my head.  These words usually have something to do with my feelings or thoughts at that particular time.  Sometimes these words resonate  with me and I will jot them down in my journal.

The actual titles of my paintings are selected from this list of words and thoughts.  When I look at a completed painting I can often capture a feeling or sense of place and connect the words to the painting.  Often times I will set aside a full day just to title paintings.  It is a deep thought process to connect a feeling, word and thought  with a painting.

Sometimes I feel that the process of titling a painting is as difficult as the painting process, just different.  The title or words have to match with the painting and my particular thoughts at that present moment.  Some days working on titles just doesn't work so I set it aside for a different day because just like in the process of painting, you have to be in the 'zone'!  And just like in life, sometimes no matter how hard you try it just doesn't work, so you have to set some things aside for another day.

Enjoy the present moment!

Ginnie


                                          "Let Go" 16x16"  oil mixed media on wood panel



# posted by Ginnie Cappaert @ 2:44 PM 0 Comments




Wednesday, July 6, 2016

"Infuse your life with passion.  Inject new goals" - Melody Beattie (from one of her great books)

During some difficult times I read and re-read the words of author Melody Beattie.  She always had such good things to say, thoughts to ponder and help along the way.  She often wrote about the 'journey' and how important it is then she also said, "I've finally made enjoying the journey to achieving my goals one of my goals too".
Goals.
One day I was reading how she suggests that we inject NEW goals into our lives.  If you really think about it the 'goals' we set when we were in our 20's or 30's may be different and really should be updated now that we are in our 40's.  She points out that even if we are happy with our lives and have reached our goals, that it doesn't hurt to grow, stretch and set new goals.  Keep life interesting!
So, as I sit for a few moments with my journal in hand, I contemplate my new list of goals, dreams, hopes and wishes.  I will, as she suggested, write them down and then I will put my list away and see what happens.  She also suggests that as we reach the new goals, we set even more new goals.  Growth is a good thing.  I invite you to update your list of goals...

                                            "Balance" oil/mixed media on panel, 24x24"


# posted by Ginnie Cappaert @ 2:43 PM 0 Comments



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