"In the Gap Between Art and Life"

The art world has suffered a tremendous loss. May 12, 2008, Pop artist Robert Rauschenberg died of heart failure at the age of 82. Rauschenberg’s use of odd and everyday articles gained him recognition beginning in the 1950s.

Rauschenberg's most famous quote was that he wanted to work "in the gap between art and life.” This was in reference to his use of found, everyday objects. His first paintings were a series of all-white and all-black surfaces underlaid with wrinkled newspaper. Later, he became famous for making art from everyday materials he found from walking around the block. One of his most famous works or "combines" was "Bed," created when he woke in the mood to paint, but had no money for a canvas. His solution was to take the quilt off his bed and use paint, toothpaste and fingernail polish for his creation. "If I couldn't find material to do an artwork walking around the block once, I wouldn't do it."

Rauschenberg's Combines provided inspiration for a generation of artists seeking alternatives to traditional artistic media.Rauschenberg's approach was sometimes called "Neo-Dada," a label he shared with the painter, close friend, and sometime lover Jasper Johns.

Rauschenberg met Jasper Johns in 1954. Jasper Johns said that no one has invented more than Rauschenberg since Picasso. Rauschenberg was also famous for once erasing a Willem de Kooning drawing and declaring his erasure to be art.

"I don't ever want to go," he told Harper's Bazaar in a 1997 interview, when asked about his own fatality. "I don't have a sense of great reality about the next world; my feet are too ugly to wear those golden slippers. But I'm working on my fear of it. And my fear is that something interesting will happen, and I'll miss it."

Impression of the Impressionists

Word is that Monet's “Railroad Bridge at Argenteuil,” a canvas from 1873, sold recently at an auction at Christie’s for $41.4 million — a record for the artist. With the dollar down in relation to the Euro, European art collectors are coming out of the wood work to take advantage of this current economic trend.

When I saw this pricey image online recently, I was faced with an oxymoron I had never considered. Monet and other impressionists were painting concurrently with the Industrial Revolution. I had always thought of this romantic vision of the world including such famous images as ballerinas, flowers, fields and pre-John Deere haystacks happened before steam engines and sewing machines.

The romantic quality of Impressionist painting includes visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on light with its transient qualities, the portrayal of ordinary subject matter, and often the inclusion of movement as a crucial element of human perception and experience including sometimes unusual visual angles. For more information on the Impressionist Era click here. --Ruth Mitchell

Born in my Camera

Caramel Syrup - Pavel Rehurek

We love it, the way Canadian artist Pavel Rehurek describes his latest additions to the site: Lens-based image (born in my camera) adjusted digitally to have the timeless quality of fine art. 12" x 12" is printed onto heavyweight archival Epson Watercolor paper (duration 200 years) 13” x 19” size. Larger sizes printed on Piezzo Pro Matte Canvas with 2" white border. UV Pro sprayed for extra protection.

Rehurek has just uploaded a whole new collection of digital paintings specifically for our site. View his wonderfully sensual images available here.

The Present is Our Present

Hand Thrown Pottery Teacups

Not trying to be cryptic with the title, just a little clever. One of our artists, Allan Buitekant, has become a friend even though I've never actually met him in person. Through the short time he has had his work on the site, he has shared openly with me about his work, his life and the meaning his work gives to his life. Because of his ability to communicate openly, sometimes I feel like he's in the room and I've had a conversation with him. It also helps that I see his work every day. I've gotten to know him through his work and our email conversations. His pottery is elegant in its simplicity, which I certainly appreciate. But there is nothing simple about being human, and anyone who creates is often motivated by complex thought processes. Those artists that become proficient at their chosen medium are so because they have mastered a set of complicated skills. A little luck and talent are often essential too, but not nearly as important as a desire to create.

This morning's conversation with Allan made me aware once again of how the present moment is our gift. Often we forget this little insight, so caught up in our goals for the future or the remorse of the past, that we forget to live today. I've heard this proclaimed over and over again, by sages throughout history, so should I ignore this simple pretext to live in the moment, I would be courting folly not to engage in the wisdom of the ages.

What are your plans for enjoying this day to its fullest? I suggest a little Creative Consumerism™. Whether you shop at this site, or use your purchase power thoughtfully to support the care of our natural environment, being creative with your buying power is important too.--Ruth Mitchell

Greedy Middlemen

I'm not one to give negative attention much attention, but I have had an eye-opening reality hit me lately about the Internet. Not only are time-honored institutions of journalism being eroded:spelling, punctuation, etc. in the rush to instant publishing, but there are those out there so quick to judge, they are spreading lies in the name of being considered an "expert" in their field. Take one C.Sven Johnson

"buyoutsidethebox.com looks like greedy marketing middleman. afaic, they only offer a centralized "mall". I'd avoid them like the plague.

11:07 AM April 08, 2008 from web"

I came across this slander on a routine Google report, and it apparently originated from Twitter.com. Yet another social network conceived by a bunch of groovy kids in San Francisco.

I looked up on Netlingo.com to see what "afaic" stands for, and it stands for "As far as I'm concerned." Well, obviously C Sven Johnson, alias reBang, wasn't concerned enough to do a little investigation of our site, but instead opted to take a cheap shot at us.

This gives me an excellent opportunity to share with you a little history of our website. Are you listening C Sven Johnson, aka reBang?

We started developing the site in the summer of 2003, and went online in 2004. We are not financed by a huge conglomerate like many of our competitors, have no huge advertising budget, do all marketing for our artists at absolutely no charge, and only get paid a smaller than market share commission when we sell something, which isn't often enough to receive status in the "greedy middleman," category.

I think we actually got this wonderful notice from Etsy sellers when I innocently saw work by an artist that I liked and solicited them to have work on our site. This is an honor, not an insult mind you, considering the select company they would keep on our site. That day we received a lot of traffic from the Etsy site, because someone was upset we had noticed their work and were interested in marketing it for them.

Just for the record, unlike Etsy that charges $.20 per item listed, we take no one's money up front. We believe that the time honored tradition of art galleries, where a commission is taken upon the sale of an item, is the most correct way to work with artists and craftsmen. We opted for a selective collection, which means to you, no matter how famous an artist is, we select the work based on the trends and conditions of our site at the time.

Millions of dollars have been poured into sites like Etsy by large corporate investors. And yet we continue to compete with them enough that self-proclaimed experts like C Sven Johnson come along and want to bash us.

As a student, I once had my photographs stolen that were part of a traveling exhibit. When I expressed my frustration to my teacher, he wisely told me to be flattered and move on. I think I'll do the same here. Take a look at this wonderful work of art, and while you're at it, go ahead and purchase.--Ruth Mitchell

Mountain Lake - April Shurgar

Driving Home from the Car Dealership I Averaged 38.5 MPG

As previously reported in this blog. I've been shopping for a hybrid car. Well I found one, and boy am I having fun watching those biofeedback displays that are teaching me how to most efficiently drive this car. It's stylish, roomy and you'd never know it was a hybrid to look at it or to open up when you need to pass a car. It's a 2009 Toyota Camry.

I have never owned a Toyota until now, and now, I'm very impressed with Toyota's hybrid edge. Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive© is the most advanced type. Full hybrids run on electric drive at low speeds, on gasoline and electric drive in traffic, and on gasoline alone at highway speeds. Computers automatically control the electric motor and gasoline engine for an optimal balance of responsive performance, fuel economy and lower emissions.

The electric motor adds extra power during peak demands, enabling the use of a smaller, lighter and less polluting engine. The gasoline engine provides most of the power. It recharges the hybrid battery for hundreds of miles of range. The batteries also get energy back from the drivetrain in a process called regenerative braking. The cumulative effect is a vehicle that recycles its own energy. I'm sold on Synergy!--Ruth Mitchell

How Many Websites Are There?

So what can be done to measure the size of the World Wide Web? Has anyone tried? Yes! The Netcraft Web Server Survey is a widely respected survey that attempts to contact every website that is accessible on the Internet. In the March 2008 survey, Netcraft received responses from 162,662,052 sites. In this increasingly enormous market, without the benefit of large sums of capital, we continue to help you practice creative consumerism.

Help us help you. If you see something on the site one of your friends might enjoy, click on the "tell a friend" button. Or if you know someone who would enjoy receiving our newsletter, be sure to submit their name and email address.

Our website is one of the very few websites that does not charge on an upfront fee to our artists. They are on the site by selection only. This does several things for our clientele. Creative Consumers have a higher incidence of returning because of a level of talent that is already experienced, and it makes the site easier to visit and browse.

Postcard Art by George Wittenberg

Happy Hybrid

Hand thrown pottery - Allan Buitekant

War heroes give us a warm fuzzy feeling, but wouldn't it be nice to make them unnecessary? We can change one-step-at-a-time, and become less dependent on foreign countries for their oil and their money. My baby step this week, was purchasing a hybrid car. The hybrid Camry is a pleasure to drive on many levels. What are you doing to be a Creative Consumer™?