We've been busy!

Can you believe it is June?! Summer is in full bloom and Spectrum ArtWorks artists have been busy! A few months ago the artists were challenged to create large scale works of art and many of them have finished or are very close to completing. A few artists have even started to work on a second large scale piece of art! We are hoping to be able to showcase these large works of art sometime late summer or early fall.

The Sister Kenny 48th Annual International Art Show by Artists with Disabilities took place April 14th and was on display through May. It was a wonderful event and a huge success for the Spectrum ArtWorks Artists! Four of the artists were recognized with awards of honor and encouragement.

Today work was brought home from the Alliance Bank Building in St. Paul. The Spectrum ArtWorks artists had work on display in the skyway. We are hoping not only many of our current fans/supporters were able to visit this display but that we were also able to gain new attention and support from the community.

Spectrum ArtWorks artists have been busy in the studio making art as well as teaching others. The ArtWorks studio opens up to others for a weekly art class and weekly open studio time. The Spectrum ArtWorks artists work to help other members of Spectrum Community Mental Health Lighthouse CSP improve artistic abilities as well as provide opportunity to pursue individual creative endeavors. A six week still-life class has just concluded and this week was the beginning of color theory and painting with acrylics.

Thanks to everyone for checking in on whats new with the Spectrum ArtWorks program! The artists are busily creating new art and we are currently in the process of finding new venues to showcase their wonderful and inspiring work. Please stay tuned for whats next!

Thank you dearly for supporting the Spectrum ArtWorks program! Please continue to stay informed and show your support for Spectrum ArtWorks. You can follow us on our facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Spectrum-ArtWorks/169027723169


Continue to view and read our blog, as well as view lovely art on flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7725496@N05/


Please contact Megan Andersen at mandersen@resource-mn.org

FAREWELL AMY RICE

Spectrum ArtWorks has some big news to share with all supporters and fans. Last week our lovely Amy Rice, Coordinator of Spectrum ArtWorks, left to pursue an incredible dream of hers. This is bittersweet news. It is sad that she is leaving but also wonderful because she is going to work full-time as an artist. You can learn more about Amy and view her art here: http://www.amyrice.com/

Amy has been with Resource for 10 years. She created the Spectrum ArtWorks program and has been the key instrument that has made this program a success. Amy has enabled it to be a true means for the artist members to express themselves artistically, fight stigma associated with mental illness, and most importantly fine tune their artistic skills and share their beautiful art with others in the community. Over the last 10 years Amy has exhibited incredible loyalty to the Spectrum artists. Time after time Amy has demonstrated her dedication to using art as a tool for combating our community's negative ideas about mental illness. Her love and knowledge of art enables her to not only create beautiful art of her own but to inspire and assist others to create their own beautiful and meaningful art. Amy has been a constant reminder to all of us that art plays an incredible role in the recovery process, as well as in the process of healing individually and healing on a societal level. She also reminds us that while art is important because it is beautiful and makes our lives happier, it is also important because art possesses an inherent ability to communicate with others in our community. Please join us in sending happy thoughts and well wishes to Amy Rice as she embarks on this new journey in her life! As we say farewell to Amy it is also time to embrace the transition that is currently taking place with the Spectrum ArtWorks program. I am honored to introduce myself as the new Arts Coordinator for Spectrum ArtWorks. My name is Megan Andersen and I have been with Resource for 2 years. Throughout this time I have had the opportunity to work directly with Amy Rice as well as the amazing Spectrum ArtWorks artists that create the wonderful and inspiring work we all love so dearly. Christi Furnas is a local artist and has been hired to work with the artists as a Support Specialist. Together, Christi and I will be advocating for the Spectrum ArtWorks program. We will work hard with the artists as they continue to make incredible art so that we can continue to share their art with others. It continues to be an important goal of ours to educate others and fight stigma associated with mental illness through the process of art.

Thank you dearly for supporting the Spectrum ArtWorks program! Please continue to stay informed and show your support for Spectrum ArtWorks. You can follow us on our facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Spectrum-ArtWorks/169027723169

Continue to read and view our blog, as well as view lovely art on flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7725496@N05/

Please contact Megan Andersen at mandersen@resource-mn.org

Spectrum ArtWorks Presidents Day Sale

Spectrum ArtWorks Presidents Day Sale A Presidents Day Sale like no other!
(And that is one Presidents Day sales pitch that’s not hyperbole!)
Saturday, February 19th 1-5pm
Spectrum ArtWorks Studio
1825 Chicago Avenue South
Free and Open to the Public
Contact: Amy Rice arice@resource-mn.org 612-752-8242
High Resolution Images Available at bottom of this email

Presidents Day, besides giving many of us an extra day off, is intended to commemorate our nation’s presidents, all of whom had a hand in creating the country in which we are living.

The February holiday has become well-known for being a day in which many stores have sales and clearances. But it’s much more than that. The purpose of this day is to honor the office of the Presidency.

On Saturday, February 19, 2011 Spectrum ArtWorks Artists will do both: sell and honor. Here is the sell part: we have a studio full of last year’s artwork. Oil paintings, hand-pulled prints, ink drawings, photographs and more! All are high quality work from serious artists priced to sell! We need room for the 2011 art! (Did that sound enough like a Presidents Day sale pitch?)

Here is the Honor Part: The Spectrum ArtWorks Artists, in addition to making fantastic art, have a mission to break down stigma associated with Mental Illness through exhibitions, campaigns and educational projects. Throughout the years, Abraham Lincoln has served us repeatedly as a shining example of what a person living with a mental

RESOURCE 50th Anniversary Mural Unveiling and Open Studio Event

RESOURCE 50th Anniversary Mural Unveiling
And
Third Annual Spectrum ArtWorks Holiday Open Studio Event

Please join us as we unveil the mural in its permanent location at 1900 Chicago Avenue South in the RESOURCE main building. A brief program will begin at 3:15. Then walk across the street to 1825 Chicago Avenue South and tour the Spectrum ArtWorks studio and have the opportunity to view and purchase work from the talented artists that made the mural possible.

Tuesday, November 30th 3pm – 7pm
1900 and 1825 Chicago Avenue South, Minneapolis
Free and open to the public

Contact Information: Amy Rice arice@resource-mn.org 612 752 8242

Yes I Can Work

The "Yes I Can Work" campaign focuses on the fact that young people with disabilities have skills that are valuable in the workplace. Five works of art were selected to be reproduced as 17" x 22" posters for this awareness campaign aimed at employers, social service providers and the general public. The posters will be available from VSA Minnesota and Pathways to Employment at the State Council on Disability booth at the Minnesota State Fair.

Two Spectrum ArtWorks artists, Christi Furnas and Faye Howell were artists whose work was chosen to be made into posters. Congratulations Christi and Faye!

Winning poster image by Christi Furnas

50th anniversary mural progress

The Spectrum ArtWorks artists are almost completed with the mural celebrating the 50th anniversary of RESOURCE. We asked all 400+ RESOURCE staff to sign a wooden leaf as if they were signing a card. The leaves are being raked in and it’s shaping up fantastic!

The Art of Making Art

Minneapolis artist Christi Furnas has been busy working on a new series of oil paintings depicting artists at work. She has been popping into the Spectrum ArtWorks Studio lately on Mondays to take photos and do sketches as research.

The Spectrum ArtWorks artists take turns teaching 6-8 week classes on Mondays at our studio. This past month has been mask-making. In these small line drawings in ink Christi really captures the focus of the artists and the creative atmosphere of our studio.

You can see more examples at our Flickr here.