Live An Artful Life Magazine Issue 1 by Live An Artful Life Magazine

Artful Life Live An

Magazine

Mindful Living Monica Neel, Psy.D

The Artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Perspective

The Hunt

Man of Steel

3 Things

you can do today to live more artfully

to our readers Five years ago, when my wife Linda and I opened our second gallery over the past 30 years, it was our goal since day one for Live An Artful Life® to become a source of creative inspiration and artfulness inspired by the creativity of others. In other words, to inspire others to live an artful life-style. Both being artists ourselves, Live An Artful Life® Gallery grew very successfully, even out of a less than pumping economy and trust us, we feel very blessed and appreciative. You’ll be able to dig deeper into our story in this, our first issue, but our loyal customers grew and our artful mission was phrased. We’ve met so many great people, both customers and our artists, who shared our belief that an artful lifestyle is not only a pleasing one, it can contribute to wellness, relationships and so much more. Now after a lifetime of creativity, not only as a fine artist, but writer and speaker, a sizable part of my life has been directed to always inspiring others to think more of themselves in a creative way. Whether they are children trying to find their creative path, retirees trying to rekindle their youthful enthusiasm_after a sometimes stifling career, or home and business owners trying to escape the mundane, Live An Artful Life® is a call to action, a plea to let inspiration and creativity be your guide to wellness and happiness. Why chase your tail when you can run with your mind? Why run in circles when you can be in orbit? Why always follow others, instead of following your own lead? Our culture is one of true inspiration, the kind that brings joy, meaning and creativity, but also brings purpose and happiness. Psychologist - Monica Neel, Psy.D and Life Coach - Kim Tapper, ACC, CPCC, will also offer their expertise in this area as important contributors to this publication. I ask you to also enjoy the knowledgeable Shane Chalke, who is a man of many talents and I encourage you to take a moment to read all of our contributor’s bios, which are valuable stories on their own. It is therefore our dream that people of all ages will find this fresh new online magazine that inspirational source to educate, entertain and enlighten the creative and artful spirit. Through amazingly passionate team of writers, you will find a broad spectrum of experience and topics. This magazine’s mission is to weave artfulness with wellness, mind with body, touch on business savvy and most certainly the artful lifestyle. Sound like a grand endeavor? We can only say that it is an endeavor met with enjoyment and we hope that enjoyment includes yours. Thank you for finding us and hopefully sharing us with others. Live An artful Life! Tom Neel

inside

Mindful Living

The Hunt

Christine G. Epstein

One Of 52

Live An Artful Life . . .The Gallery 30

Man of Steel

3 Things

Artful Baking

kes courage” Henri Matisse

Life Coach

The Artist’s Perspective

Artful Life

Live An

Magazine

PUBLISHER, EDITOR Tom Neel tneel@LiveAnArtfulLifeMagazine.com PUBLISHER, ASSOCIATE EDITOR AND GRAPHIC DESIGN Linda Neel lneel@LiveAnArtfulMagazine.com ADVERTISING 540-253-9797 CONTRIBUTORS Shane Chalke, FSA, MAAA, Jazz Master Dr. Monica L. Neel, Psy.D Kim Tapper, Life Coach, ACC, CPCC Stella Veraduccia SUBMISSIONS Live An Artful Life Magazine welcomes article submissions by email to submissions@ LiveAnArtfulLifeMagazine.com. Please include contact information.

ON THE COVER Our first cover brings you through the front door of Live An Artful Life Gallery and beyond to a world a creative types, artististic thinkers and the artfully inspired. Read and see more on page 30 and if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re in the area we welcome you to visit! In time, the magazine will be front and center and we have a lot of great stories already in the works coming your way soon, but today we show you around the place it all started. 6 Copyright Live An Artful Life, Inc All rights reserved.

COPYRIGHT 2014 Live An Artful Life Inc. All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be copied or reprinted without written permission from the Editor. Live An Artful Life is a registerd trademark of Live An Artful Life Inc. Live An Artful Life Inc P.O. Box 163 6474 Main Street The Plains, VA 20198

Passionate publishers Tom Neel - Editor, Writer, Photographer Born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Maryland not so far from the family farm in Neelsville, Tom was creatively inspired from infancy on. Drawing and painting, fine scale model building, writing for the school paper and lead to sign painting, photography and a vast automotive career which included racing, customization and eventually sales management in California. Feeling creatively stifled, it was time to reboot and he migrated to Virginia in the late 1980s where he would meet his wife to be Linda, owner at the time of Leesburg Gallery of Art. Tom, a self taught painter began to sell his fine art there over 26 years ago. The creative duo would go onto join the management team of fine art publisher, The Greenwich Workshop in Connecticut for 4 years, before coming back to Virginia where Tom has been a full time professional artist for over 20 years. While Tom Neel does paint other places and other things, mostly in oil, some in acrylic, he is well known for his rich oil paintings which show his emotion and passion for the Piedmont region of Virginia. But to see a body of his work is to truly see wide artistic diversity and vision, as almost half of what he paints is commissioned by private and corporate collectors and offers a wide range of subject matter. What goes around can come around in a good way too for an artful life. Tom is still known as an accomplished fine scale modeler with examples of his work in world wide collections including Ferrari. He is an avid photographer, writes his monthly column - The Artist’s Perspective, for The Middleburg Eccentric newspaper and serves on the board of the Loudoun Education Foundation. His dream though is Live An Artful Life Magazine. Never one to miss a chance to share his passion and help others find theirs, is a strong inspirational and motivational way of life - an artful life.

Linda Neel - Associate Editor, Graphic Design Born in Denver, Colorado, educated in IT management, Linda Neel actually grew up with two absolute loves - textiles and horses. Early on, her passion for textiles was a passionate hobby and horses a way of life. So much so, that her love of breeding and dressage would bring her to Virginia in 1984. Ready for the new spin on life, she also opened Leesburg Virginia’s first art gallery, Leesburg Gallery of Art. The gallery became well known for its fine art, fine art reproductions and distinctive museum quality framing. In 1990, Linda and artist husband, Tom Neel, accepted a unique opportunity to join the management team of fine art publisher, The Greenwich Workshop, in Connecticut. For four years they represented some of the nation’s top artists, before returning to Virginia. In that time, Linda had also chosen to leave her life of horses behind. Another new beginning. Her unquenchable thirst for textiles became an unstoppable creative journey of workshops and experimentation, but finding her love of dye and silk, as a true medium, was the game changer. First, her colorful contemporary silk scarves became a hit with clients, while also exhibiting and acquiring awards at textile shows around the country. Linda’s knowledge for textiles as an artistic medium is vast, which allowed her to achieve her ultimate goal of creating fine art. Leaving her the last years of her IT career behind in 2008, another new beginning was opening Live An Artful Life Gallery in 2009 with her husband - artist Tom Neel. Located about an hour west of Washington, D.C. ironically in Virginia’s horse country, the gallery’s specialty has been fine art and fine artisan pieces made in American. Live An Artful Life has created friendships with both artists and customers that have deepened Linda’s understanding and enjoyment for those seeking an artful lifestyle.

Passionate contributors Shane Chalke, FSA, MAAA, and Jazz Master Shane Chalke is certainly no stranger to business. He started his first company, Chalke Incorporated, when he was 25. After 11 years, a successful merger and going public, he moved on and launched his second venture, AnnuityNet. He followed that by founding Finetre Corporation which processed well over $1 billion of annuity sales over the Internet, for more than 20 brokerage firms each month. As the youngest person ever to be elected to the Society of Actuaries Board of Governors–(he served as vice president from 1993-94), his business success is without question, but it is his lifetime of creativity that makes him even more interesting. Inspired by jazz greats at a young age, Shane started playing trumpet early in life and his deep appreciation for and understanding of all things jazz was never hidden, but likely suppressed by what seemed his own success. As interesting, is his ferocious appetite for classic live performances which includes anything broadway, everything ballet or modern dance and certainly JAZZ! Shane too, has also always held a deep appreciation for creative things, artistic things and especially unusual mechanical things. The latter to say, it would be one thing to love playing a horn and another thing altogether to have a complete appreciation for its design, engineering and mechanical function. Today, retired from corporate life and with two daughters out of college, Shane works as a full time jazz musician. He and his wife Monique split their time between homes in Banner Elk, North Carolina with his B.E. Jazz company and Sarasota, Florida, as a sought after talent.

Monica Neel, Psy.D Dr. Neel is a licensed psychologist who has been practicing in the Baltimore area since 2002. She obtained both her master’s and doctoral degrees from the Clinical Psychology program at Loyola University in Maryland. Following graduation, she completed a 2-year postdoctoral fellowship through the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins University where her primary appointment was to the Baltimore Regional Burn Center. This position, in addition to her pre-doctoral internship at the Veterans Administration Medical System, were formative to her clinical approach. In addition to providing counseling services, Dr. Neel has been an affiliate faculty member at various colleges in the Baltimore area. Her philosophy when working with individuals is to empower them and build a foundation for future resilience. Drawing from principles of mindfulness, acceptance, and emotion regulation, she believes that individuals possess a unique capacity to connect with their own internal wisdom and path to wellness. Her therapeutic perspective has been informed by her prior work with individuals exposed to trauma and those experiencing chronic pain or consequences associated with health conditions. She currently works with emerging adults in a college setting where she witnesses, on a daily basis, the wonder of self-discovery that is hallmark to this stage of identity development. Her work has also been enriched by her personal journey as a wife, parent, and breast cancer survivor. 8 Copyright Live An Artful Life, Inc All rights reserved.

Kim Tapper, Associate Director/Life Coach, ACC, CPCC With over 20 years as a teacher, director, choreographer, life coach, and mentor, Kim Tapper is credentialed as an ACC through the International Coach Federation, CPCC (Coach Training Institute), as a Life Strategies Coach (Spencer Institute), and holds a BA in Dance Movement Therapy from Goucher College. As the co-Artistic Director of the Crossroads Dance Project, Kim choreographed over 20 musical theater productions which received multiple nominations from the Metro DC Dance awards. Today, as Associate Director of “A Place To Be” in Middleburg, VA., Kim coaches individuals to reach their personal goals. She believes in the power of the arts as a strong coaching tool and specializes in working with people with medical challenges, family counseling, and women from ages 13-adult focusing on self esteem issues and building confidence. At INOVA Loudoun Hospital’s Oncology Department, Kim leads “Life Beyond Diagnosis” coaching workshops and has been a guest speaker and teacher for Life With Cancer. In 2013 she published “A Place to Be: Behind the Label”, a book of poetry inspired by the clients at APTB and illustrated by one of her teenage clients.

Stella Veraduccia Stella Veraduccia is the nom-de-plume of the proprietress of Crest Hill Antiques & Tea Room in The Plains, Virginia. In past lives, she was an English teacher, writer and editor, corporate trainer, nonprofit association executive, and founder of a fictitious organization called The International Sisterhood of Eccentric Aunties. These days, she spends her time antiquing, swilling tea, making endless numbers of tiny cucumber sandwiches, and obsessively reading medieval murder mysteries. She can be reached at crest-hill@hotmail.com.

Photo Credits

We wish to thank the following people for the wonderful photos used in this Live An Artful Life Magazine issue. Shane Chalke Christine Epstein Eleanor & Ralph Manaker Tom Neel Monica Neel Kim Tapper Peter Wood 9 Copyright Live An Artful Life, Inc All rights reserved.

MINDFUL LIVING By Monica Neel, Psy.D I witnessed a pretty cool thing this weekend. My 6-year-old daughter attended a painting par-

the irony of this internal dichotomy, but I don’t think it’s unique to me.

ty with about 20 other first graders. At the front of the room was an instructor and a completed canvas with a beautiful little owl in a whirly sky with vibrant colors. Through the course of the party, the instructor guided them through the step-by-step process of creating their own versions of this painting.

As I sit with college-aged and adult clients, or even through the course of casual conversation with peers, I frequently hear comments like “I can’t paint” or observers of art saying of the artist “How do they do that?” There is a very powerful self-fulfilling prophecy that takes place with this type of self-talk.

Observing this expe-

Those who think they can’t

rience through the lens

paint, don’t paint. Those

of a psychologist and

who don’t paint never be-

proud mama, I noticed

come better at painting. It’s

the pure joy and lack

a common tendency to de-

of inhibition these chil-

velop a preference for tasks

dren displayed in the

that reinforce our sense of

process of painting. I

competence and avoid those

witnessed creative confi-

that frustrate us. And what’s

dence, freedom to devi-

so frustrating about putting

ate from expectations,

paint on canvas? I think it’s

persistence, and pride in

the impact of our powerful

their final products (works of art) as they each

awareness of imperfection and our beliefs about

held up their completed canvases for a group

how we “measure up” in comparison to oth-

photo. Observing this experience through the

ers…or worse yet, our comparison to our own

lens of my own insecurities, social comparison,

expectations of ourselves.

and perfectionism, I was anxiously aware of canvases NOT looking at all like the model, weakly defined lines, and muddy coloring. I appreciate

So what’s the danger in this? We avoid frustration to protect our sense of self in the moment. If I don’t think I can paint and, as a result, I don’t

paint, I’m spared the reality of evidence that I

and “confidence.” Take a moment to reflect on

may not “measure up.” The power of avoidance

where your dial would be on each continuum.

is extraordinary…and can be extraordinarily

Perhaps it varies from task to task. How does

restricting. While creating a momentary sense

your dial placement impact your own willing-

of safety, persistently engaging with new expe-

ness to engage in new or creative endeavors?

riences in this way will ultimately lead to a very

What if you were asked to paint the owl?

restricted and dull world. What was powerfully apparent to me in ob-

The value of intentionally reflecting on how you tend to exhibit these traits is that it creates

serving this group of first-grade emerging

an opportunity to challenge them and alter your

VanGoghs was the absence of social compar-

behavior. Take note of your self-talk and think

ison and the amount of frustration tolerance

of what it would sound like to turn the dial fur-

exhibited as they manipulated the paint brushes

ther toward willingness and confidence. What’s

and worked to blend colors. It’s a testament

to gain? Well, I wish you could have seen my

to human development that social comparison

daughter’s expression of joy and pride! When

develops later than most of our frustrating skill

we turn down the volume on our fear of social

development! Trying something new is a vir-

comparison and avoidance of frustration, we

tual daily experience for my first grader as she

can more clearly connect to the immense plea-

connects with the world around her. Her past

sure that comes with pursuit of creative endeav-

year has been marked by learning to ride a bike

ors. In a modern world that tends to be rather

on two wheels, learning to read, learning to tie

“cerebral,” there is great value in connecting

her shoes, learning to play the piano. Can we

with tasks that engage our sensory experience

imagine how stifled her growth would be if she

of the world around us. The sound of brush

was painfully aware of her initial inability to do

strokes on canvas, the smells of fabric dyes,

these things? If she continuously noticed how

the site of vibrant or blended colors, the feel of

she was doing compared to her peers or adults?

moldable clay in your hands, or even the taste

Or if she lacked the willingness to persist

of a culinary creation. All ground us, center us,

through these frustrating new endeavors?

and anchor us in the present moment of our ex-

Fortunately, in adulthood, these characteristics rarely exist in an “either/or” form. I like to think of them on a continuum. Imagine a volume dial with “avoidance of frustration” on one end and “willingness” on the other; label another dial with “fear of social comparison”

perience in a powerful way. The restoration and healing that come with this is immense. That’s living artfully.

L I N D A! N E E L !

The passion for pattern and color Contemporary Fine Art

LindaNeel.com ~ 540-253-9797

Live An Artful Life

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The Hunt

Beachcombing for sea glass By Tom Neel

The ocean has an alluring presence

about it. Its awesome power and even romance intrigues we land born humans. It is after all, that which connects us to far away lands, no matter what land you are from. It is also there, at the shore, where the land meets the sea, this artful life story begins. How is it we are given this marvelous transitional area, where solid land mingles with its fluid counterpart in such a granular fashion? Massive areas of land and sea cover our planet, while only slivers of beach connect the two. The beach is that perfect combination of both and is a place delivering stories from the sea. It delivers treasures too! With our toes in the sand, one such story of treasure, is that of sea glass.

to call it something from the sea, as it is actually man made. It is funnier still to think of it as man made when its main element is actually from the sea. More accurately, glass is processed and formed by man. Sea glass though, is the ultimate recycled artifact. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s something from nature, made into a glass, deposited by littering, storms, shipwrecks and such, left to the sea, only to be tumbled and worn over years to a smooth and frosted, endlessly shaped appearance, before then being deposited back to land and found in the sand. There to be picked up, often made into jewelry and adored for its new life of luster. My wife Linda and I have dear friends who reside in Palm Beach Florida. They live just a block from the beach and spend considerable time there. During our visits they exposed us to their beach combing of sea glass. A few vases and bowls in their home display their bounty of colorful gems. Sea glass feels good to the touch and our first exposure to it was looking at it like a gem. All sorts of cuts and colors and out of its natural habitat as most gems are seen.

The beach itself is a composition of many things, mostly rock, organic matter and even living organisms. It itself has a story, with a life as something bigger, reduced to tiny particles through frictional forces and transported to shore from traceable origins. We use sand for all sorts things such as glass, mortar, concrete, sand blasting, sand casting and sandbags. Sand is also artfully used to make sand castles, sand animation and even amazing Visit the beach though and find your works of highly detailed art by Tibetan first piece, you can become thrilled in Monks. the hunt while having your heart beat dropped to almost meditative levels. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sand though, also assists the process of a true process of concentration, caring making this glass from the sea. Funny

about your search, while not really caring about much of anything at all. Heck, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re at the beach. But then, a light wave comes in and as your feet become submerged in the ingress and egress of the foamy salt water, something quickly catches your eye. A sparkle of color and you go from a sluggish pulse rate to Richter scale mode, plunging your hand toward it before the sea takes it back!

The non pro at this, I found myself grabbing a handful of sand only to carefully dissect it in anticipation of good fortune and there, lying in a mass of granular tan, would be a still wet, radiant gem of irreg-

ularity. No two pieces the same shape, with the most common colors of green, browns, white, a sea foam color and blue or more specifically cobalt blue. Sea glass is formed from broken functional pieces such as a wide variety of bottles, tableware, even tail lights and those pieces become shards and those shards are in a sense, sand tumbled and blasted to soft edged and frosted pieces. Each with its own size, shape, color and appearance. It was also told by our friends that you often can find pieces in a progression of one color. I have no idea of the odds of this, but sort of did experience finding several brown pieces in a row, only to then find several green. Blue is less common. There are as well, very rare colors, which makes sense just based on the common colors of bottles we see in use today. Since sea glass can be easily decades old, the glass colors of that time are potentially there to be washed ashore. Our friends are pros. This husband and wife duo have a heighten sense for the search. She even found a piece with wire in it like seen in old bank teller windows and he ... well, I thought I was becoming a master when I approached him with about 11 pieces or so in what was close to an hour walk. He

reached in his pocket, pulled out a handful which he counts as he goes along and had 68! I kidded that his trick was bringing a handful from home in his pocket to keep his dear wife puzzled and amazed. But in truth, he was just plain good at finding it. I’m convince we all walk by more than we find. Eh’, except him! Past its magical beachcombing addiction, one which can make hours disappear, what do you do with that which you’ve collected? The simple answer is, what ever you want. It can be as simple as being dropped on your dresser to see each day or placed in a small dish or a even bowls or vase for the larger hauls. I brought some home to Virginia, bought a beach styled photo frame at Michael’s and applied pieces to its face with glue in a varied color and shape pattern, much like putting a puzzle together around its perimeter.

TIP:

This is the glue I used,

E6000, both it and the frame were perchased at Michael’s Arts and Crafts.

Once completed, I shipped it off as a gift to our friends. It was a small gesture of appreciation for the stress relieving properties they had shared in our hunt for sea glass! After this experience and our new found knowledge of sea glass, the universe brought Linda and I a jewelry artist to the gallery who works in recycled silver and what else? Sea Glass of course. Her name is Christine G. Epstein and she definitely knows how to live an artful life. Its an interwoven world I’ll tell ya. Allow me to introduce her to you. Sea you at the beach!

Christine G. Epstein By Tom Neel

From her tropical Oceano studio, based in Rincon, Puerto Rico, Christine Epstein shares her dream come true_living a creative and artful life as a full time jewelry artisan. She shares her childhood as an up bringing in a working class neighborhood of Darby, Pennsylvania. A southwest suburb of Philadelphia, Darby is a place of hard working, salt of the earth people. Nowhere near the palm draped, salt water beaches she now calls home while hunting for sea glass. “A soon as I was able to get out of there, I did.”, Christine chuckles with a level seriousness. She then quickly speaks of family, “It’s interesting, you sort of gravitate back when you have children, to what’s comfortable.” She and her husband Jason, while then living in New York City, wanted to start a family and Philadelphia’s Center City district seemed a better choice, closer to their roots. After having their daughter Emily and their eighteen years there, Christine notes the area having become more culturally diverse in the shadow of its more “glamorous big brother NYC”. The “city girl at heart” though, admits Rincon is now home. She shares of traveling as a family in search of the perfect beach. “We came to Puerto Rico for a vacation one year and fell in love - the wild ocean, the abundant natural beauty, the

friendly and relaxed attitude. And then I discovered the sea glass. It changed everything!” Those are powerful words. “For the rest of our stay, hunting for sea glass became an obsession. During our third trip to the island in 14 months, Jason and I talked about how wonderful it would be to live here, always framed as_someday. My father died when he was only 38, instilling in me a need to be all in, always, with everything. Later, when the opportunity to be near our favorite Rincon, Puerto Rico beach, most of the time, presented itself, I put aside my worries and our house on the market. More recently, bearing witness to my mother-in-law’s long battle with cancer and her passing at age 62, renewed my commitment to make everyday important.” While Jason still commutes between the two places in their life, Christine goes on to say, “For me, Rincon provides the fuel for my life and my work and there isn’t any place I’d rather be.” Carved from working class people and creatively inspired by both her grandmother and mother, she offers having

“a yen to do something useful with my hands.” “At 18, I studied at the School of Visual Arts in New York. For further training, I attended classes at the Revere Academy of Jewelry in San Francisco. Discovering sea glass on a barren beach during a chance trip was the moment my past met my future.” Life choices are often about and made by the carrot and the stick intertwined with the preparation of experience. Christen G. Epstein’s stick was at least in part a loss of family members and her carrot was finding sea glass. Both powerful motivators, but without her experiences in both school and supporting employment, she and others often can’t act on that which motivates them. She comments of, “a lot of it happenstance and headspace, a lot of time working retail and I was happy and always kept time and space to stay creative.” The decision to sell their house in PA and downsize, allowed her to begin to focus on what it would mean to be a full time production artist. She had her share of odd jobs, but speaking of the business

aspect of it, “Truly, if I had not spent all those years working in various capacities for other designers, retail stores and hotel gift shops_now, almost looking back on it, it comes together so beautifully in terms of the insight and experience it really gave me to hit the ground running. We both agree, all employment gives you two things, compensation and education and despite less than perfect jobs and bosses, Christine found it all as a great asset to her becoming a successful artist and living the life she so wanted. I commented that I feel strongly that even when we may not feel we are going in the direction we want, we are exactly where we need to be to learn essential elements of our ultimate goal and future life.

Oceano Sea Glass earrings, pendants, bracelets, rings and other accessories are made of .925 sterling silver and eco-friendly, unaltered sea glass. With an emphasis on meticulous craftsmanship and graceful design, each piece is imbued with a bit of history, a splash of color and the spirit of the sea. “I’ve incorporated sea glass into my jewelry since 2005 and have been a full-time sea glass jewelry artist since 2008. It is the most challenging and rewarding thing I’ve ever done and I’m utterly passionate about it. Here in Puerto Rico, the search for sea glass happens almost everyday.“ “I love every part of the process: the excitement of finding a piece, washing the salt and sand away, sorting the shapes, laying out a design. The random, organic shape of unaltered sea glass is so appealing in its natural form, it really prescribes the overall feel and look of the jewelry. And since no two bits are ever exactly the same, the puzzles are constant!” “The effort it takes to match two chunks of sea glass -- by thickness, shape and color and texture are a notable part of my studio time. But in simply spending time studying the glass, I also get many of my ideas for a design element or overall design concept.”

“My goal is to create handcrafted, well made, beautiful jewelry that is truly wearable. Sometimes that means sketch-

ing out a shape or detail. Other times, the actual piece is fabricated on the fly as I think through the design. I’m always keeping my wearer in mind_she loves nature, being at the beach and seeks out originality and quality in everything. My designs are modern classic, fresh, while avoiding anything trendy. I want the pieces to speak to her as an individual and echo her personality.”

“Cooking is another passion of mine and my philosophy to jewelry and food are pretty much the same_better when made from scratch! I try to design most every finding that is part of the finished piece, to create jewelry that’s distinctive. For the same reasons, I’m drawn to spontaneous effect processes: hammering, reticulation, fusing and water-casting, as the singularity of the results reflect the free-form nature of sea glass.” I asked Christine if there’s a deeper drive that motivates her enthusiasm, a work ethic and business approach. “Our mother was a wonderful example for us. We learned to persevere and make things happen in-spite of adversity. It has made me very determined in everything I do. I love learning new approaches, new ideas, new techniques and then pushing and honing until it is the very best I can make it be.” Laughter is constant throughout our conversation. She closes with, “It is an unbelievable freedom and luxury to be able to make my living with my art and I wake up each day filled with gratitude and passion. Always hopeful for a day filled with as much beauty and happiness and sea glass as possible!”

Christine on Doing The Right Th ing We try to do the right thing for the right reason. Sea glass is essentially trash - remade into little gems by the ocean. To further reduce our environmental impact, we source silver from recycled scrap, not newly mined ore. In our dedication to living in harmony with nature, we support the efforts of Surfrider Foundation and the Ocean Conservancy, as well as local recycling and beach conservation initiatives. We are animal lovers who rescue abandoned dogs and work to promote their adoption through the Defensa Animal de Rincón. We work with earth and people-friendly partners and suppliers who share our values and strive to make a positive difference in the world.

Christine with Lily

Treasures from the sea . . . sea glass jewelry By Christine G.Epstein

Live

Artful

Life®

G A L L E R Y LiveAnArtfulLife.com

6474 Main Street, The Plains, VA 20198 ❖ 540-253-9797

“One Of 52” By Shane Chalke

One of the great joys of this magazine will be introducing you to interesting people we’ve

met while living our own artful life. Shane Chalke has been a close friend for over 25 of

those years. Reading his bio will shed light on his very successful business background, but today, Shane is a shining example of someone who really enjoys living an artful life. Now

in a sense, semi retired, he and his wife Monique, split their year between Banner Elk, NC.,

with his BE Jazz company and Sarasota, Fl., as a hard working, full time jazz musician. His first story gives us a one week taste in a year of his life today. Filled with comedic observations, it says a lot about our society as well.

Tuesday, 8:15pm

Wednesday, 7:05pm

Doing my “Jazz Trumpet Greats” show at

Playing in the backup band tonight for a

from Herb Alpert, Chuck Mangione and

pro – doesn’t need the handholding and

Ocean Blues in Sarasota. Playing music Armstrong. Funny, “one of these is not

like the other”. Herb Alpert didn’t actu-

ally play any jazz, but what do I know, I’m just the horn player. Still, for people of a

certain age, Herb Alpert IS jazz… when we fire up “A Taste of Honey” they go crazy. I look around the room. Mobbed for a

Tuesday night, all seats full. I know this crowd, though – they’ll all leave after the

second set, tipsy and yawning. They love it when I talk to them from the stage, tell-

ing them stories from jazz history. I force feed them a little real jazz, playing Lee

Morgan’s “Ceora”. I tell them how Lee

well-known Sarasota singer. She’s a total stroking most singers demand. Makes it easy for us hired hands. Oh, how some

days I just love being a sideman – no responsibility but making music. Don’t

have to talk, worry about the economics, or whether all the musicians show up (or not show up). Managing musicians is much harder than running a normal business.

The best of them tend to live their lives in disarray. Some of them don’t have cars,

and some don’t know what day it is. When I book a gig, I call everyone a few days be-

fore and the day of, just in case. Still, train wrecks happen.

Morgan died at age 33 when his wife shot

This gig is going well – it’s at a concert

“Slugs” of all things. I tell the ladies in the

ida equivalent of music festivals at winer-

him on the bandstand at a NYC club called

room not to shoot me until after my solo, at least. It’s a beautiful tune.

venue in an orange grove – sort of the Flories. A solid senior citizen crowd, and the

singer knows just how to work them. Even

though it’s not my gig, I can’t help subconsciously counting the revenue to see if it’s working. Tonight it is…

Thursday, 9:26pm …and tonight it’s not.

Friday night, 7:30pm Playing at the @(@*#&%^ Yacht Club – Pay is good, but it’s funny to be on the other

side of things. We eat in the kitchen, aren’t Playing jazz stan-

dards with a quartet tonight, but the time is all wrong. Most of the seats are full, but I don’t see any dinner plates. I see

a few martinis, but mostly bottles of San

Pellegrino. The owner won’t be happy if the average ticket is a paltry $20. People don’t realize how much money needs to

be spent to afford live music… and that’s

even considering that the average musician makes less than the average server. I wish more places would charge a cover – takes

the pressure off. I can bring the people in,

but I can’t make them eat. Too many places try and bridge the gap between the din-

ner crowd and the drinking crowd. Get it wrong, and your fans eat somewhere else

before they come to the jazz. Maybe it’s my former life as an entrepreneur that makes

me see this. Most musicians think their job is to play quality music. They couldn’t be more wrong – your job as a musician is to

have a following that comes out to see you. Filling the seats is your job – If you don’t see that they’ll get someone else who can fill the seats. That’s why I spend a little money advertising any gig I run. I take this seriously.

allowed to use the regular restrooms. I’m cool with that – they feed us well, but in

the kitchen. I don’t think they care what

we play. I notice two kinds of wives: the ones that match the age of the husbands seem to wear white pants, matching the

husbands white pants and blue blazers.

Then there is the other kind – short skirts and equal to the median age of the men’s

daughters. The whole thing depresses me.

I don’t need any of the money I make from my music biz, so why am I here, you ask? The answer is not simple. Orchestrating

your life as a musician is really quite tricky. You’d like to play a steady 4 nights a week, but when you get a call for a gig 6 weeks

from now, and it’s not a great gig, do you

take it? Chances are if you do, something

better comes along. You COULD take the

new gig, and find a sub for the one you first agreed to, but you’ll get a bad rep, and people will stop calling you. If you turn down the crumby gig, you run the risk of big

holes in your schedule. But a bigger risk

is that when you turn someone down, they

stop calling you for the good gigs, too. You have to use your judgment, and some people you just don’t turn down. So you end up playing gigs looking at your watch…

Saturday, 2:00pm I’m hired by Manatee county to teach a jazz master class to high school kids. I show up at the library, and find exactly three people there. Seems like a waste of time, but one

of the kids, a junior in high school, has real potential – also happens to be a horn play-

about 3 musicians playing together, there

is big drama, and tonight is about average. There is an affair between two band members going on, and tonight the guy’s wife

shoves the girl to the ground. No big deal

– if someone got shot, then at least someone would get famous out of the deal.

er. He’ll go places, I think.

Sunday morning, 8:30am

Saturday, 8:45pm

My lord, what am I doing awake this early?

God I love this band! It’s raucous and

rowdy, but still some of the best musicians

in town. A ten piece swing band, it’s got a huge sound. I do this gig every Saturday

night, and it’s always packed. The club is

open to the sidewalk, and it’s mobbed out-

side as well. Whenever you get more than

It’s easy to say yes to these things a couple

of weeks ahead, but then the day comes and you’re up at the crack of dawn – I didn’t

even know there were two 8:30s in the same day.

Denver and the Sky High Orchestra are

passing through town, and are playing at the big Baptist Church in Sarasota. He

needed two trumpets, and I got a call for

the job. I never heard of this guy before,

but man, Denver is a killer musician, and writes really nice music. I’m also blown

away by the sheer scope of the music production at this church. Well over 1,000 seats, and sound equipment that looks

more at home in the Kennedy Center. I

wake up in the middle of the first set, and marvel at how good this sounds.

Monday, 10:10pm What does a jazz guy do on his night off

– go out and play jazz, sure enough. I’m

great musicians, then the pay will stink. My theory is that music

is dumbed down to the level of

education in the schools. When I

was a young ’n, everyone learned

the structure of music, how to read music, basic intonation and sing-

ing. Those days are long gone for most. You see it in popular music today, which is less sophisticated

than two generations ago. Melo-

dies are simpler, mostly stepwise, at one of the many jazz jams in town…

and 2/3 of all pop tunes have the

not the best one, but the one that’s not so

same 4 chord progression. Oh, well, it is

al. Sometimes the good cats come out,

ket share. I’m not buying it, though. Just

jazz guys, and everyone knows it. It’s ok,

restaurant plays jazz in the background.

pretty good time. You just have to be care-

After a few years of this life, I’m still not

uptight it feels like a high school recit-

what it is. They say that jazz has a 2% mar-

but not tonight. This jam isn’t run by real

in the past 10 years nearly every upscale

though, and I sit in for a set, and have a

What’s going on here?

ful what tunes you call – hard core jazz

won’t work tonight. The kid from my class at the library shows up with his parents,

and I toss him in the deep end – he plays a

few tunes and gets big eyes. That was cool.

sure what I should be doing. I toy with

the idea of opening a jazz club, but won-

der if I’d end up like the foodie that starts a restaurant and then can’t look at food

again. It’s a real risk. I’d also lose the ca-

Had a long conversation with the club

maraderie I’ve earned with my fellow jazz

much financially. Everyone complains that

don’t know my background… I ride a Ves-

ing to play for food, drink and tips. We

a car. It’s really, really nice being a regular

the patrons. If the customers aren’t sensi-

it a try at least once in your life…

owner about why musicians struggle so

musicians. I’m actually one of them – most

there are always musicians that are will-

pa to my gigs, and they think I can’t afford

both agreed, though, that it comes from

guy. All you hotshots out there should give

tive to the difference between average and

banner elk, nc connect with us on FB

Jazz Fishin’

By Tom Neel

I went fishing one early morn. With a bamboo rod and my best horn. There in my waders, knee deep in the creek, Blowin’ on my trumpet, fish started to speak. Say jazz man, now that’s quite a hook. We fish dig jazz, makes us jump from the brook. Casting with flies ain’t the Birth of the Cool. Play us some Miles dude, while we swim in our pool. I played em’ Louis, Clifford and Dizzy, They got all gill-y and then really got busy. Out came a screecher that rippled the water, and a she fish jump so high up that I caught her!

So now I go fishing with no rod or reel. Might bring a flugelhorn, depends how I feel. And there by the banks, I lay down my riffs and have me some fun, with some jazz lovin’ fish!

Live An Artful Life 速 By Tom Neel

. . .

The Gallery

As the maiden voyage of Live An Artful Life Magazine begins, it just wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be fair to our hopefully far reaching readers, to not give some insight to what has been this magazineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s spiritual center. That center is about an hour . .

. . . west of Washington, D.C., out I-66, where you will find the tiny town of The Plains, Virginia. The Plains is likely most known for its most famous resident, actor Robert Duvall, but also The Gold Cup steeplechase races. This after all is horse country. The Plains is one of those blink of an eye type towns. Small would be an understatement, but it has charm, tasty restaurants, a great tea room, a well known yarn shop, garden shop, organic butcher, a sprinkling of other goodies and is home to the bustling 1,600 square foot Live An Artful Life Gallery.

Live An Artful Life is owned by my wife Linda and me, Tom Neel. We are without question what you would get if you put creativity, business experience, a husband and a wife into a blender and hit purĂŠe. The concoction would net stable craziness or better yet, a solid foundation with jello on top, colorfully wiggling about having fun, but being very responsible in the process. What brought us to this, our second gallery spanning three decades, is a long winded story which will blossom through the continued pages and issues to come. But allow me take you back in time for just a moment, to help share our story and philosophy. 1991 was the first time I ever heard the words high tech-high touch. They came from the then president of the California based AmCal Calendar Company, who is most noted for their decades of publishing the calendars of Americana artist and now deceased friend, Charles Wysocki. Little did I know then how ahead of their time those words would be. Think now, in 1991 fax machines were big, color copiers were expensive, computers had barely replaced the paper ledger and almost no one had a website ... yet! Few had cell phones (2G by the way), much less everyone having smart phones. Heck, the iPod wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even be invented for another decade. There was no Google, Facebook or

anything at all online to YaHoo about!

handmade and trust me, handmade can My point is, hearing these words at that mean different things too. A manufacturtime was liking to standing waist deep in ing process can incorporate some hand assembly, but handmade in its purest terms the still ocean and having someone tell is part of a creative process, not a manyou about waves and undertow. Northern California was the technological wave ufacturing one. Handmade is when the same mind that conceptualizes an idea, crashing upon the east coast and as we is actually connected to the hands which have become immersed in that wave, the create that thing. Be it a thing of beauundertow is the feeling of anything real being sucked from under our feet. We can ty and or function, Live An Artful Life® Gallery is filled only with handmade artibe and in many cases have been, virtually consumed.

High tech - high touch speaks of the balance of a life with technology, the virtual world, while holding dear, things that are more than just touchable, but handmade. The irony of this story will reveal itself shortly, but Live An Artful Life® Gallery was created years later to celebrate the high touch side of things, while not ignoring the highly technical world we’ve become. So, on the touchy side of things, touch is something we do. But high touch is more, it is something we feel. You touch your smart phone, but you feel things that are

san items and rarer still, ones only made in America. This by the way, was never meant to be an anti world statement, rather a pro American one. So much has left our shores that we wanted to create one place where an American handmade personal possession or gift, could still be

acquired. Mission accomplished. The aforementioned irony of this story is that especially Linda, who is the one that really keeps the gallery’s ors in the water and is an artist herself, has almost a lifelong tech background beginning

in her hometown of Denver, Colorado. Back then the phone company was called Mountain Bell and after moving to Virginia for her past love of Dressage, Linda had what could only be described as a blended career, hopping between an art and tech world. She has embodied the words high tech, high touch. At one point she was tech by day and textile artist at night.

That was six years ago now and when she was tech-ed out, she was more than creatively inspired and ready for Live An Artful Life® to become a reality and even though the economy was rock bottom, business experience told us it wouldn’t always be this way. Better to begin at the bottom of an economic cycle and grow out of it, than the other way around we say. I have been selling my paintings for 26 years now, with 20 of those years as a full time professional. Self taught, creativity was my salvation from birth. I don’t know what I would do without creating and making things. I chose an automotive career out of school and surprisingly, it allowed me to be plenty creative while learning about business. By the time I was thirty I had not only worked extensively on classic Ferrari automobiles, drag racing, van conversions, custom painting and sales management, I had also grown as a photographer, scale model builder, artist and writer. It was time to make fine art my life and that’s what I did. Linda and I met in 1987 as my automotive career was ending as her blended tech - artistic years were beginning and the years that followed brought us to this point. The point where we put the point on the pencil. First with Live An Artful Life® the Gallery and now the magazine

too!

Each of the thirty to forty artists we represent are real people with real lives. The gallery itself is often first described by visitors as “a great space”. It’s not just Manufactures have SKU numbers, artist’s have stories and their lives are both conthe building’s bones though, it is what nected to us and our customers. This is gives those bones personality. Savvy high touch. Their personalities can easily regulars, know it is a place to acquire a be seen in the things they make. There’s special gift for a special friend or family an authenticity about holding artisan member. New artisan works trickle in objects. Often people are inspired just by and therefore there is always a feeling of picking things up as they circle the galrejuvenation. Because we work directly with artists and artisans, who for the most lery. Delightful comments are part of the part make one thing at a time, even things gallery’s harmonic. It makes it fun. It is Live An Artful Life’s inspirational propby each artist can be changing and thereerties that make it both a meditative sedfore are unquestionably original. Some artists even collaborate. This brings about ative to the busy and a perfect cord to the harmonized. Life An Artful Life® is not a perfect blend of uniqueness and contia place to simply buy things, it’s lifestyle nuity.

made up of creative things and thinkers. You do not have to be an artist to live an artful life, you simply should celebrate that others are and passionately know in doing so, that you too are living more artfully. If your idea of a good time is counting down the seconds and units on a given HSN item, then living blissfully in knowing your’s and 9000 other viewers have another item # on the way ... well, I’m just guessing Live An Artful Life® Gallery and possibly the Magazine is not going to be your cup of tea and you know what? That’s okay.

a moth a to flame in seeing the spectrum of color made, as sunlight beams through colored glass upon walking through our front door, my guess is both the gallery and magazine will be of more than a passing fancy. Welcome home.

For more, please visit LiveAnArtfulLife. com or better yet, visit us at 6474 Main Street, The Plains, VA.

On the other hand, if you are drawn like

THOMAS NEEL F I N E A RT

The Piedmont’s Premier Landscape Painter

ThomasNeel.com ❧ Studio 540-364-4401 1

Life Coach

what is not there on the surface, to find

By Kim Tapper

help us see ourselves and our world with

“There is no place I know, like the world

of pure imagination,” how true these #1 iconic words sung by the great dreamer

himself, Willy Wonka. He created magic lands and candy dreams all based on

the premise that our straight laced world of checks and balances is boring and unimaginative and that true life essence

happens in all the places in between. To

me, this is the epitome of living an artful life. Artists have known this for centu-

ries. Artists are the ones who tend to see

beauty in unusual places, to create that

which has not been there before, and to a new lens.

But artists aren’t just the painters and

the poets, the dancers and the actors.

Those that innovate, push the envelope, take risks, use their intuition, think out-

side of the box…these everyday people,

in all sectors, are artists in their own right and our world needs them now more

than ever. In today’s global market where work is outsourced and competition

stretches across land and sea, it will be the artists and innovators, the creatives, who will move us to the next level. These out of the box thinkers and doers will be the ones who will see what the world needs

now and they will find new and exciting ways to answer the call and create solu-

tions to current problems and future possibilities.

Inherent inside the artistic mind is see-

ing things in multiple ways rather than

just black and white, taking into account

multiple perspectives. With that in mind,

living artfully means honoring the collab-

oration of ideas, the recognition of all who have come before you, the inner connectPhoto by Chiara Clark

edness of all people, the greater picture. The world is bigger than our individual

lives and when we acknowledge that we

colony as it goes about its collective work.

tribution to the larger picture and we can

they see things that most people miss.

can begin to find both our personal con-

learn to release a lot of stress and anxiety. To me, living an artful life also means

They notice the nuances of the world and And thirdly, they see the beauty and

uniqueness in other human beings. These

living with grace; the ability to look at others with all their gifts and all their

flaws and accept them with grace. Accept that we are all doing our best. When you meet someone who has that certain je ne sais quoi, that hidden inner spark radi-

ating from them, dig a little deeper and I suspect they have at least 3 contributing factors going for them. First, they are in tune with themselves. They have done some reflective work to discover what

makes them happy, who they are, what their gifts are. This doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mean they

donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have things they want to change

or that their life is perfect and every day

is mind blowingly happy! Just that they

have found some peace inside their own

skin and they are sensitive to seeing how

Photo by Blake Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Brien

they can be of service for good in the

people likely thrive on how different we

gifts. Which brings me to number two:

truth.

the world with awe and wonder. They

in all the ways above, comes to me most

jaw dropping sunsets either, but the soft

work with at A Place To Be. At APTB

world and lives of others by using their they have a perspective of looking at

slow down and notice nature, not just the roll of the hills, the flower beginning to

bloom, the perfect progression of an ant

all are and they embrace that wonderful These days living artfully, as defined

from the amazing courageous clients I

we use the therapeutic arts to help people navigate their lives and the varied

challenges that all of us face in different

serve the natural world around him and

es like Cerebral Palsy, Down syndrome

the light change in a field, as he watched

ways. Many of my clients have challengand Autism. Many of them have invisible disabilities or diseases like learning dis-

abilities, Lyme disease, cancer, processing

delays, eating disorders, and anxiety. Still others struggle with bullying, shyness, fitting in, finding their voice, finding

their passion and their place in the world. Their brave pursuits

sit for hours being patient as he watched a sunrise over a pond. His photographs are a testament to that patience and to

seeing things of beauty all around. He

then took our diverse group of kids out for them to experience seeing with new

eyes right outside our front door on our block in Middleburg. The kids grabbed

their I-Phones and

are awe inspiring.

headed out the door

Vulnerability is one

to sit in stillness and

of their greatest

observe. They took

gifts; compassion

a moment to take

for others one of

in beauty around

their greatest les-

them, to listen to

sons.

their own inner

sense of what was

Last week we had

a guest visit a group

beautiful to them.

ple at A Place To

ent, and creative.

of our young peo-

They felt alive, pres-

Be. This gentleman

They also felt seen.

wars and is home

fully to me means

rebuilding his life.

ferences, learning

has served in three

Today, living art-

now working on

He shared his strug-

embracing all difPhoto by Caroline Elgin

gles with PTSD (post trau-

from the gifts and

strengths of other peo-

matic stress disorder) and anxiety and he

ple as I watch them fight to walk or to

is to cultivate patience. He began to ob-

thing new, to love and to dream. Speak-

shared that one way he is learning to cope

breathe, to be accepted or to create some-

ing of dreamers, one of our nations most

prolific dreamers, Walt Disney, knew how to live an artful life and his magic has

endured for a reason. Mr. Disney created against all odds. He pushed when others said no. He took risks and thought outside the box. He assembled great

teams and tapped into their creativity and gifts. He had visions for how the world could be different and he set about to

bring those visions to life. He inspired

through his actions and his way of seeing:

I am grateful for curiosity and wonder and

look forward to where the path leads next!

Beauty right outside our door!

“we keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because

we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”

em iere Don’t m iss the pr al of the ne w m us ic

June 27, 28 & 2

Mission

Helping people face, navigate, and overcome life’s challenges using the therapeutic arts.

15 S. Madison Street Midd leb u rg, VA 20117 T: (540) 687-6740

w w w.aplacetobeva.org

“MAN OF STEEL”

Peter Wood - Metal Sculptor

By Tom Neel

any artists tap into an inner energy to create their works of art. For Peter Wood, that energy is not only necessary, it’s an apparent approach to each of the pieces born from his Rusty Metal Studio near Paw Paw, West Virginia. You see, Wood works in steel. As cold and hard as his medium may be, Peter Wood uses his energy to bring warmth and meaning to it. Wood says of his creative process, “I start with a cold gray piece of steel; twisting and turning the metal until it develops a personality of its own. I enjoy the heat and power of using an oxygen/acetylene torch to create these sculptures and taking the industrial feel of steel and creating the image of flowing and carefree movement.” His process and completed work seem almost a contradiction of each other and yet there in lies the uniqueness of his art. Where most artists turn to materials which would seem

to better suit the flowing character they wish to achieve, Wood chooses to infuse his energy upon a non flowing material to bring out its inner character. There’s little question his inner character surfaces in the process! The second part of his process is understanding his medium’s character traits. New metal looks way more cold and hard than that with age. Steel is a common term for iron oxide and we know unprotected steel becomes rusty. Rust, or more accurately corrosion, happens as an electrochemical process and when water - an electrolyte, touches it, the process of rusting begins. There’s a science lesson going on here and Peter Wood uses it to his artwork’s advantage. What begins looking cold and hard, becomes warm and flowing and a collector of his work can watch much of this surface patina take place over time as Peter’s artwork adorns their garden. The garden,

by the way, being just one of Wood’s inspirations and a place where many collectors choose to display his artwork.

That artful life doesn’t end with steel creations, it seems to just begin there. You see Peter Wood is somewhat of a creative activist. Today, living in the The final piece of Wood in his creative small town of Middleburg,Virginia, with process involves the use of old farm implements. Incorporating these pieces his husband and partner of years, Tom Dionne; Wood and Dionne set out over into much of his art is an emotional tie to his childhood and life on his family’s two years ago with the goal of having farm in Maryland. It’s not only the recy- the town become more of an art desticling of used objects, it’s the recycling of nation. An hour west of Washington, his youth and a renewal to both through D.C., the town itself has a storybook Main Street feel about it. It’s been long his creative and artful life. known as the living breathing heart of Virginia’s horse country, rich in history and characterized by its equine lifestyle which includes fox hunting and steeplechase racing. Therefore, the town has also been known for sporting art and as a matter of fact, is home to the National Sporting Library & Museum. Traditions are not easily evolved, but Wood has an interest in expanding the town’s exposure to all forms of art. Their idea was to create the Middleburg Arts Project, a non profit aimed at their mission. The two soon found out that they would also need to organize an artist base and found themselves then additionally forming Artists in Middleburg. Described as an informal collection of talented artists interested in promoting, exhibiting and sharing the arts in Middleburg, the group was open to pretty 44 Copyright Live An Artful Life, Inc All rights reserved.

much anyone who cared about the arts of any genre. A small core of enthusiasts from its now full list of 170 artists, almost never miss the monthly pot luck meetings. Still within its in-formalness, Peter Wood has remained organized and has created several opportunities for the group in the way of shows within the town, while continually promoting AiM through the webpage he developed, Facebook page and such. This all playing back into the original mission of Middleburg Arts Project and now moving forward, MAP is headed much more in the direction of his compass. While Wood might say he would like their goal to be further along, both he and Tom have accomplished a lot. They have gotten the town’s attention and one can only feel that they have raised everyone’s awareness in a mostly positive fashion. In the process, Peter Wood also helped revived the town’s dormant Arts Council and was made Chair of the group, which has held several new arts related events. In doing so, the county named him 2014 Outstanding Volunteer of the Year and has now also appointed him to the county’s board of tourism Visit Loudoun. None of these things were in Wood’s site when he aimed at simply wanting to raise awareness of the arts in the town

“Harvest Moon”

“Seasonal Adjustment”

“Firebox”

he and Tom resided in, but it proves what it truly means to live an artful life! Moving forward, the challenge the Peter Woods of the world face, is finding time to be creative. Wood is a full time employee of the USDA and he enjoys what he does. Between commuting in a dense Washington, D.C. rush hour and being that volunteer of the year; his studio, yet another hour away in West Virginia, might become more and more distant. But for now it seems there will be time made for Wood, the man of steel.

For additional information on the art of Peter Wood visit RustyMetal.com

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Manâ&#x20AC;? by Peter Wood

Enjoy this brief intermission to focus on beauty. Courtesy of artist, Janet Taylor

Breathe

3 Things You Can Do Today to Live Life More Artfully!

By Linda Neel

Have you ever really thought about what artful means? Oxford defines artful as - clever

or skillful, typically in a crafty or cunning way; showing creative skill or taste. Well, we certainly

can’t argue with that, but here at Live An Artful Life® we also define artful as a pure enjoyment of art and an artistic lifestyle that supports the arts. Whether you create art or just en-

joy art, including it in your lifestyle has many benefits. We believe that science supports the health benefits of art and we know from personal experience that an artful lifestyle is more

harmonious and beneficial to your overall well being. See regular live performances, plays, dance, music and you’re just not likely to care as much about the weather that seems to dictate everyone else’s life. Change up your home and wow, you suddenly feel refreshed and

out of the rut. Come on, get started! Here are 3 things you can do today to live a fuller more artful lifestyle.

There’s almost nothing more artfully inspiring than surrounding yourself with that

which is artful and one of the best ways to get started is to plan to attend an art open-

ing, an evening gallery walk, a craft or artisan fair and or seeing a live performance such as a play. It’s the total immersion effect and we feel simply being with artistic objects and people is being artful too! You will be more aware of artful things that surround us everyday and

be able to take that artfulness into your own life. You will start to notice that painting in the hall at work, the beautiful sculpture in the park as you walk to lunch, the art gallery down

the street that you have never been in, those interesting colors on that gal you saw running this morning and the magnificent sunset that we often take for granted.

Be more creative by wearing something colorful that you would not normally think of wearing. Pick out a color that really says, “I’m creative and I’m wearing this because

I love the color and it makes me feel good!” As my husband always says, “Wear the clothes,

don’t let them wear you”. One of the best and simplest ways to spice up your wardrobe is to don a beautiful hand dyed or embellished scarf. But don’t just throw it around your neck 48 Copyright Live An Artful Life, Inc All rights reserved.

get creative. There are so many artful ways to tie a scarf these days and that’s part of the fun. We especially love this video from Nordstrom’s on 16 different ways to tie 4 different types

of scarves, because they show ties that can be used for cold weather or warm, including the swimsuit cover up. Try it out as you’re heading to that art opening!

Give yourself or a friend a hand made gift! Part of being artful is having an appreciation for artfully made things. It doesn’t have to be expensive but it should be unique

and something you enjoy. It should make you feel great or evoke a fond memory or stimulate your senses. It could be a beautiful glass bowl, a pottery vase, a hand carved wooden

sculpture, a painting or a set of colorful candles. It should bring a smile to your face and as a gift your friend will sense and appreciate your non manufactured choice. Handmade things often have an artist story or philosophy with them and this can make the item even more appreciated.

Start living an artful life today!

Crest Hill Antiques & Tea Room

Vintage Furnishings, Fine Gifts, Afternoon Tea Charming Village Shop in the Heart of Virginia’s Horse and Wine Country 19th & early 20th century European & American furniture, china, crystal, silver, jewelry, art & books. Specializing in English tea-ware.

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Visit our online store, at Etsy.com/shop/CrestHillAntiques Luncheon, Desserts, or English Afternoon Tea Served Wednesday thru’ Sunday in cozy Tea Room. Reservations Recommended. 4303 Fauquier Avenue * The Plains, VA 20198 * 540-253-5790 www.CrestHillAntiques.com Facebook.com/CrestHillAntiquesandTeaRoom

Artful Baking

by Stella Veraduccia

What is artful baking? With the plethora of cooking shows, magazines, cookbooks, and websites out there, there’s no shortage of dazzling desserts: adorable cupcakes with unexpected ingredients, whimsical cakes that all but sing and dance, elegant pastries almost too lovely to eat. So, what does it take for somebody to produce a confectionary work of art? One way to think about it is that an artful baker has three characteristics: a creative urge, an inspired imagination, and a practiced, skillful technique. And baker Deany Jones has plenty of all three. For example, take a look at the gorgeous cake you see pictured here. Deany was asked to create a new springtime dessert for Crest Hill Antiques & Tea Room in The Plains, Virginia. She mulled on it for a while, thought about spring showers, and came up with an idea for a colorful rainbow inside a large, fluffy white cloud. Then she deftly adapted a King Arthur Flour recipe for a striped, chocolate and vanilla “zebra cake” -- the result was this vertically striped cake in pastel hues, enrobed in a frothy lime-buttercream frosting, dusted with coconut. Brilliant

inspiration, creative adaptation, and tremendous technique (more on that below). And then there’s the flavor. If technology had already evolved beyond scratchn-sniff computer screens to virtual tasting, you could experience right here how sublimely delicious this cake is. A light, moist, airy cake, not overly sweet, in a mild, buttery frosting with faint citrus flavor and coconut for texture – absolutely heavenly. If a margarita could be a cake, it would want to be this one. A truly artistic cake can’t just look great; the proof is in the eating, and it must be even more delectable than it looks. Everyone has seen the novelty cakes made famous on TV by celebrity pastry chefs: gravity-defying structures shaped like galloping horses, famous buildings, cartoon characters, or electric guitars, often fortified by wooden dowels, PVC pipes or styrofoam discs, wrapped in layers of molded fondant. Seriously, would you really want to eat that? Have you ever tasted fondant? In a word, ick. An important part of the creative process for Deany is the element of surprise, both in flavor and in visual presentation.

For example, from the outside and before being cut, the cake pictured here looks like a traditional coconut cake; you’d expect the usual layers of yellow cake on the inside and the typical cream-cheese or vanilla frosting under the flurry of coconut. One surprise is the flavor of the frosting – while many bakers use lemon or vanilla to flavor buttercream, Deany chose lime, perhaps because it pairs so well with coconut or perhaps because, to use her words, “it’s good to shock the palette.”

this cake has ever gotten has been a quiet “oooh!” but responses usually tend toward highly appreciative exclamations and, once, a genuine awe-struck gasp. The striped effect is achieved by dropping a dollop of one color of cake batter into the middle of another color and waiting for it to spread to the edges of the pan, then adding another colored dollop and waiting for it to spread, and then another, and so on. It’s a time-consuming, painstaking process, and almost an act of faith,

The other surprise of course is the stunning visual effect. Cutting into the cake and removing the first slice reveals the unexpected rainbow of colors which, it turns out, never come out quite the same way twice – sometimes dark and thick like panels of stained glass, sometimes thin and wispy like colorful ribbons floating up on a breeze. The mildest reaction

because Deany herself never knows exactly what it will look like until it’s done and sliced – so, with this cake, the surprise is there for the baker as well. Deany’s artful baking is not limited to cakes, and she also applies the element of surprise to her other creations. The scones she bakes for the same tea room are wildly popular, with more than one patron

pronouncing them “the best.” It turns out they have some secret ingredients: the slightest pinches of coriander or cardamom, which you don’t taste at all but which enhance all the other ingredients, making the cranberry scones cranberry-ier, the lemon scones more lemony, and the apricot cream-cheese scones more … well, you get the idea. And then there are her cookies. Deany says that she likes “turning cookie dough into something people love,” and her special holiday cookies -- whimsically decorated teacups for Mother’s Day or flowered bonnets for Easter -- are a great example of that. And she never knows when inspiration will strike; once, while making heart-shaped shortbread cookies for Valentine’s Day, she saw a puppy-cookie waiting to be born. She took one small heart and cut it in half down the middle, turned a larger heart upside-down with the point on top, placed the small heart halves on either side of the point, and put it in the oven to bake. Out came a long-eared puppy face, which she brought to life with the help of candy eyes, a cinnamon heart nose, and chocolate dots for the muzzle. It may have been hard to bite into that adorable face, but the crunchy, nutty, buttery flavor more than compensated for the guilt. Like many artists, Deany is self-taught

-- she was not professionally trained as a pastry chef; in fact, she is a registered nurse. She started baking for family and friends as a teenager and later for other nurses and hospital staff; bringing sweets into the emergency room office or critical care unit was her gift to her colleagues. Baking is her creative outlet, something else besides nursing that she could do very well and that other people enjoyed … a lot! She has a passion for baking, a creative urge that fuels her imagination, challenges her to use and enhance her skills, and gives her immense satisfaction. In a way, she has to bake or else she gets cranky, and nobody wants a cranky person administering medications or drawing blood. Over the years, Deany has baked dozens of cakes, hundreds of scones, and thousands of cookies, and it’s probably true that a few early experiments were epic failures. But the creative urge kept her at it, using her imagination and refining her technique. When someone is extremely good at something, it’s not completely accurate to say “she has a gift for it”-- the truth is, the gift has her. And when the gift is artful baking, the results are truly wonderful.

The Artist’s Perspective By Tom Neel

What do the words - three dimensional,

mean to you? Let’s explore the true depth of

3-D and I hope it not only opens up the artistic minds, but all minds to a broader way of thinking.

It matters not if you paint, sculpt, write or

perform. It actually doesn’t matter if you are

option of doing through technique, is creating a 3-D illusion upon it. Through the use

of perspective, (to be further explained), texture and value changes, a painter can make it appear as though the viewer can visually

enter the painting. This gives a three dimensional effect or perception, when in reality

creative at all. Understanding that we live

the surface of the canvas is flat.

world works for everyone, is a powerful tool

techniques, paint applied to a thickness capa-

Artists tend to label themselves in dimen-

have a dimension of depth. But works of art

work is most often considered three dimen-

sional - more often characterized as having a

dimensionally, I see some that do not neces-

sional one.

this, there is a difference. I also see two di-

er can paint a wine bottle and make it appear

three dimensionally.

is flat. But a sculptor can actually recreate

in a three dimensional world and how that and worth understanding.

I will mention that especially in impasto

ble of casting shadows upon itself, does truly

sional ways, especially sculptors, whose

on canvas are still considered two dimen-

sional. But while many sculptors work three

textured surface, rather than a three dimen-

sarily think three dimensionally. Trust me on mensional artists who very obviously think First, it’s good to understand two basic

More to my two dimensional point, a paint-

round, when in reality the painting surface

the wine bottle three dimensionally and so,

words, dimension and perspective. Dimen-

this work of art would actually have height,

with scope. Even though the stretched can-

can be viewed in 360 degrees.

dimensional object, artwork created on can-

self this: When you see a 3-D movie, is it

sional, height X width. What artists have the

dimensional illusion? It is of course nothing

sion has to do with measurement, but also

vas an artist paints on is technically a three vas is generally thought of as two dimen-

width and depth, but even more importantly In light of this understanding, ask your-

actually three dimensional or just a three

more than an illusion. The projection screen

caring about the story and only creating it at

Special filming techniques and glasses may

taking his art at face value as well. in short,

is flat, as is what is being projected upon it. offer an sense of three dimensional reality,

but it’s just an effect. Where painters create a three dimensional effect that pulls you in,

3-D movies tend to rely more on in your face trickery, like that of a broom stick waving about at your nose.

In any event, there are illusions and reality,

and the beginning of reality for something

truly three dimensional, is being able to view it from 360 degrees. Even more so, from all

angles_top, bottom and all sides. This to me is key and in truly understanding it, a deeper sense of reality comes into play. I may be a two dimensional artist, but I live in and I

am inspired by, a three dimensional world. I keep this in mind.

Years ago, in my time with a major fine art

publisher, I was once assigned the task of

essentially saving an artist’s print publishing career. He was a master technical watercol-

orist, but his prints were not selling. After a

trip together, he sent me a preliminary drawing of his next work of art to be published. It was a town we had visited in Vermont. I

asked him, “Where is the post office in this town?” He said, “I have no idea?” I then said, “How about the general store?” He

became frustrated and asked why I was asking these questions? I told him the problem

I was seeing with his art, was that he wasn’t

face value and in turn his audience was only his art was missing depth.

Thinking three dimensionally is not just

being able to see three dimensions, it is being able to see things with depth. There’s the

difference and all artists and even non-artists can practice this.

So now let’s look closer at the word per-

spective. Where dimension covers measurement and scope, perspective is about focal

point and point of view. If you were to look down the center of a main street, it would

appear wide where you are standing and the buildings would appear tall. But looking

further down the street, the street would appear to become narrower and the buildings shorter. We know in reality that this is not

the case, but our perception of it appears to

be real. The furtherest point in the distance is the focal point and the act of observing it and an artist recreating this effect is the

use of perspective. With distance, things will also appear to

people. Our conversation begins by talking about

become lighter in color or value and texture

the wine. On the front label you are swept

way of drawing your eye to them and artists

logo, the type of wine and where it was pro-

too will fade away. Focal points also have a compositionally use this to bring and keep your eye in the picture. This all creates an

illusion of being three dimensional, when in fact with a painting, the surface is flat.

up in the romantic notions of the winery’s

duced. You are talking to me from your perspective or point of view, the only one you

have, but it only tells your side of the story. You can’t see my side.

Now as I have also mentioned,

My side is plastered with

perspective can also be de-

data and government warnings

is where things come togeth-

nancies, affecting my ability to

fined as point of view and this

about being harmful to preg-

er. As previously mentioned,

drive and operate machinery

if an artist painted a bottle of

and that it may cause heath

wine, through technique, they

problems. Got you thinking

could make the bottle appear to

now? As we talk, it becomes

be round, though their canvas

apparent we both have a differ-

is flat. But the sculptor could

ent perspectives and or points

recreate the bottle exactly, ca-

of view about the wine and

pable of being viewed from 360

thus, possibly different percep-

degrees. You might ask, what’s

tions and opinions even about

the difference_it’s round? Let’s

each other. This likely sets the

explore.

tone. But Having the scope to

think three dimensionally is a

Imagine you and I were sitting

at a round table, each having a

glass of wine. The wine bottle itself is sitting

basic tool for the understanding

of different points of view and seeing more

right in the center of the round table, with

than one side.

back label pointed towards me. It’s our first

to broaden scope through the use of three

knows a thing about the wine either. This

their subject matter and should take every

the front label pointed towards you and the time meeting each other and neither of us

is often also the case with many topics and

Three dimensional artists have the luxury

dimensional representation or all sides of

advantage of it. Two dimensional artists on

the other hand at least have the ability to

think of how identical twins view each other

ble with the view and view point of the sub-

themselves in doing so. Just imagine going

think in 3-D or with as much depth as possiject matter they represent. In other words,

at least being mindful of even that which the viewer cannot see and the narrative questions they might mentally ask..

Something truly three dimensional not only

and the scope and point of view they hold of to a party and seeing yourself there and how that might even mentally change the way

you think, present yourself or act by doing so? It would be interesting and certainly a very three dimensional experience!

has three dimensions, it has the ability to ad-

vance our understanding of it, thus broaden-

ing our scope of it. It’s all about your mental and physical ability to move around the

object, rather than the object moving around you. This is why moons and planets amaze us. It’s hard to get a grip on that which circles you.

For an even deeper understanding of this,

LIVE AN ARTFUL LIFE By Tom Neel Life need not be black and white, Turbulent or purely calm, day or night. Live in color or variations of gray, Enjoy life’s ripples and the setting sun’s rays. Don’t live a year, live 365. Each as a journey, as you Live An Artful Life. This is not the rehearsal, this is the play. Make it a performance, get started today.

Live

Artful

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Located one hour west of Washington D. C., just off I-66 at Exit 31 in the beautiful Virginia counryside. The Plains is a quant little town with great restaurants and minutes away from over 20 wineries. 6 4 7 4 M a i n S t r e e t , T h e P l a i n s , Va 2 0 1 9 8 540-253-9797 LiveAnArtfulLife.com