Get to Know Artist Rayhart

"An untimely loss of innocence has sparked my inclination to dream in color again. I tumbled like tumbleweed across a great wide-open space, onto the plains of ecstasy. Creation has gravitated towards me and offered up the gift of painting. So, now, I shut off past inhibitions and soar beyond the norm, and stand for what has yet to be created, the mysterious unknown. My aim is to share as I have been given. Through art, I wage war within myself, for the rewards of peace. I adore each painting like a mother's first glimpse at its newborn. In short, I paint to allow for creation."--

Style
Original, abstract and somewhat surreal

Background
Born in N. Miami Beach, FL
Queens University of Charlotte, NC

Bon Air Art Affair Judges Choice Award, 2006
Chosen as a finalist in the Salem (Orbe) Emerging Artist Search in NYC, 2000
Member of Amsterdam Whitney Gallery (NYC), 2003-05
Member of Washington Project for the Arts at the Corcoran (WPAC), 2000-present
Member of The Loudoun Arts Council, 2006-present

Publications

Paint Magazine, Washington City Paper, Washington Project for the Arts at Corcoran Artist Directory, Book Art Press (BAP) - New Art International, ArtWanted.Com- Creative Minds, American Art Collector, Decor Magazine, Art Business News, Loudoun Times-Mirror, élan Magazine

Selected Showings

Middleburg Holiday Show, Middleburg, VA - 2006
Fall Into the Arts Fall Festival, Leesburg, VA - 2006
Tarara’s Great Grape Wine Festival, Leesburg, VA - 2006
Art Market At Ballston, Arlington, VA - 2006
Capital Fringe Festival, Washington, DC - 2006
Arts in the Alley, Purcellville, VA - 2006
Magnum Opus Gallery, Chadds Ford, PA - 2006
Dulles Town Center, Dulles, VA - 2006
Artscape Artist's Market, Baltimore, MD - 2005
Cleveland Fine Art Expo, Highland Hills, OH - 2004, 2005
Herndon Labor Day Jazz/ Wine/ Art Festival, Herndon, VA - 2002-2006
Loudoun Arts Council's 2005 Designer Show House, Landsdowne, VA - 2005
Power of Prayer Breast Cancer Awareness Fine Art Show, Newark, NJ - 2003, 2004
Fine Art at the Riverfront III, Wilmington, DE - 2004, 2005
Philadelphia International Art Expo, Philadelphia, PA - 2003, 2004
New Harlem Renaissance Art Show, Indianapolis, IN - 2002
Papp Gallery, SOHO, New York City, NY - 2001
Gallery 13, Denver, CO - 1999

Check Out the Video

I first heard about viral advertising through my son-in-law, Alex Koll. As a comedian he had been hired to do a video about those crazy duck bill masks that Kimberly Clark makes for hospital and industrial use. The video was hilarious. Then I discovered YouTube. We have added a YouTube screen at the bottom of the blog. Yes, some of them are lame, and some are downright silly, but for the most part they are pretty entertaining, so scroll down and enjoy--Ruth Mitchell

Wearable Art is Like Wearing Snowflakes

Jade Line Silk Charmeuse Shawl - Dee Boswell

I just love clothing made by an artist, and I wear it at every chance. Clothes, for me have always been a personal form of expression, and wearing something produced with the soul and passion of an artist, is well, expressing my need for beauty, choices, and individuality.

It's also fun to get noticed, to have people say to me, "Where did you get that beautiful scarf? Or where can a buy a purse like that?" Sometimes the answer is, "you can find something like this, but not exactly like it on our website." Our jewelry and clothing are all handcrafted, and so no two items will ever be exactly alike. I love that. It's like wearing snowflakes, always different, but always beautiful.

Recently a very talented silk artist, Dee Boswell from Toronto, Canada joined us. Her hand painted silks are amazing. We share them with you now, and hope you too enjoy the concept of "wearing snowflakes."--Ruth Mitchell

But for the Grace of Technology

Hand thrown pottery - Allan Buitekant

While art is as old as mankind, it is technology that speeds art directly to art collectors now days. Practicing Creative Consumerism™ means that you have many options as opposed to seeing art only in galleries and museums you can view art 24/7 from the comfort of your home, and pick out those works you would like to enjoy as your own.

Now Creative Consumers have another option. You can receive updates to the blog via email. Is that not too cool? All you have to do is click on the link to the right that says: Subscribe to Buy Outside the Box via email. Or click right here.

This is especially nice for those of you who are still not into feeds. You may be familiar with and use your email all day long, but having a news feed to your computer, well, you're just not quite there yet.

We hope you have a great weekend.--Ruth Mitchell

Trophies of War

Paul Cezanne, French,1839-1906
Self PortraitOil on canvas Musee d'Orsay, Paris


It's art in limbo. Masterpieces by, Manet, Degas, Chagall, Delacroix, Monet, Max Liebermann, Cézanne, Pieter de Hooch and others are casualties of war, lost to their original owners through looting, forced sales or some, ordered taken by Hitler himself during WWII. The Soviet Red Army alone is reputed to have stolen two and a half million art objects, from Germany at the end of the war. Claimed as reparations by Stalin for the terrible damage and loss of life inflicted by the Nazis on the Soviet Union, these trophies more often than not, were stolen from the victims of the Third Reich. With each new disclosure, slowly, but surely these last prisoners of war are coming home.

As reported by the New York Times there is currently cooperation between the Israeli government and France to restore some of the paintings to their rightful owners. Such action has involved intensive negotiations and the passage of a law by the Israeli Parliament. The Israel Museum has opened an exhibition of important art looted by the Nazis from France and then returned after the war. But some works were never reclaimed, most likely because the owners were killed in the Holocaust.

The French exhibition is titled “Looking for Owners: Custody, Research and Restitution of Art Stolen in France During World War II.” The 53 French-held paintings are among some 2,000 works still not restored to their owners or descendants and maintained by French museums. The Israeli collection is smaller and less distinguished but includes an important Schiele cityscape of his mother’s birthplace, “Krumau — Crescent of Houses (The Small City V),” whose splayed arrangement of the houses carries an implicit sexual power.

Not all of this "trophy art" is good, but much of it is. Learn more about these victims of war by visiting: http://www.lootedart.com/ and The Israel Museum, Jerusalem where you can search a database of stolen art. --Ruth Mitchell

Taking You There

Blue Miles - Daryl Hines

There are some types of art that just transport you to another place. Landscapes come to mind, but there are other places more ethereal than this. I'd like to share with you a new artist to buyoutsidethebox.com that has a knack for taking you to a place of music, and rich cultural heritage. I'm speaking of artist Daryl Hines, an author, artist and attorney from Atlanta, Georgia. His realistic pastel expressions are magnetic, drawing you into the people he portrays and the stories that surround them.

Darryl's background includes study at the Cleveland Institute of Art, the Cleveland Art Museum's Gifted Students Program and The Chatuaqua Institute. As a high school student he was a National Arts Gold Key recipient. He is now following the promises of that early success in the art field, and we are so glad he's listening to his muse.

Say No to Catalogs

My sister called me recently and said, "can't we do something about these catalogs?"

"What do you mean Elly?" I asked her.

"Well, I have this personality quirk, where I think I need to look at all of them before I throw them away, and they are stacked up everywhere." I could just picture her sitting amonst stacks of catalogs. The average person wastes about 70 hours a year dealing with junk mail.

"Actually I wrote about that very topic not too long ago," I said. There wasn't much comfort in knowing my sister was one of the few that feels compelled to open and read all their junk mail. The average adult in this country receives 41 pounds of junk mail each year (about 560 pieces), and 44% goes to the landfill unopened.

So, here's an idea. Practice Creative Consumerism™ at its best. Shop online, especially here. Not only do we have art and fine handmade things for sale, there are a number of select links and advertisers featured on our blog. Then take a few minutes to visit Catalog Choice (we use this one) or http://www.41pounds.org/, and say no to the destruction of 100 million trees which are destroyed each year to make junk mail. For further reading click here.

White, Pink & Yellow Tulips - Diana Bradley

Do You Believe in Miracles?

Okay, this falls under miracle tornado stories. We reported to you last week our first hand experience of watching the tornado that ripped through Arkansas, staying on the ground for 100 miles. We've seen many tornadoes come and go, but never one with so much distruction. Three cities were wiped out, Atkins, Clinton and Mountain View, and a whole lot of smaller communities in between.

A friend of ours, who knows a woman in Mountain View reports that their house imploded, and there is absolutely nothing left, except for that is, a box of her grandmother's China which was found about 200 yards away from the house. You guessed it, the China is perfectly intact.--Ruth Mitchell

Namaste'

"Blue Tea Storage Jar" - Allan Buitekant

Yesterday was our first Yoga class. I've taken before, but now that I live out in the country, we have gotten a little band of neighbors together to start our healthy journey. Our teacher, Joanne Zeitler, has been teaching for quite some time, and she is one of the best I've worked with. She closed our peaceful session with the term Nameste' which means "I honor the Spirit in you which is also in me."

Isn't that the way? You hear something a thousand times, and then all of a sudden a light bulb goes off, and you really hear it?

I finally heard the message of Namaste', and I'm so excited I want to incorporate it into my daily life. In doing so, I recognize this is already an underlying concept and message of this website. We have collected together various "creators" who, through their art, are sharing their skills and life experiences, and vision, bringing it to you the Creative Consumer. Through their creativity, they are offering the greeting of Namaste'.

Signing off for now, hope your weekend is filled with fun and rest. Namaste'--Ruth Mitchell

Killer Tornadoes

It was supposed to be a night of election returns, Super Tuesday, but the cranky weather patterns had geared up for a horrific display. We're probably a little complacent in Arkanas, because we have tornadoes frequently. And only because God bless us, we've never been hit ourselves, but the reality of that happening is all too real. Just two years ago, one came within a quarter mile of our newly constructed house. Dummy us, we were standing by the new windows in the living room, relishing the thunder and lightening. Then we heard the roar, that truly sounds like a train, we've heard it many times, and we retired to our lower basement.

Last night we stood out on the deck and looked toward the Northwest of us. We had the unique position of a clear view straight toward the town of Clinton, Arkansas, a mere dozen miles away. They say the huge funnel cloud stayed on the ground for approximately 100 miles and had a force of up to 200 miles per hour. While we didn't actually see the funnel ourselves we saw the extreme lightening and heard the roar that really does sound like a train. The devastation such a storm causes is heartbreaking, and death is sometimes part of the mix. Our heart goes out to all those in harm's way.

To read more about the devastation:--Ruth Mitchell

Yes to Peace and Prosperity

I have been so excited all day, because I got to vote. I can't remember ever having had this much fun voting. It's all because there are such wonderful alternatives to the current regime.

Something interesting I heard today. Do you know why we vote on Tuesday? Most people don't. The answer is because it gave the farmers a hundred years ago, time to travel from their homes to vote. Why Tuesday is an organization dedicated to making America’s democracy stronger through increased voter participation. We shop online, why can't we vote online? Let us know what you think, and by all means visit http://www.whytuesday.org for more answers.

We hope you practiced your inalienable right to vote today.--Ruth Mitchell

In the Presence of Greatness

Politics is not something I write about in this blog. But as I watched the Democratic debate last night between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, I was, like many people in awe of the historical significance of the moment. Yes, they hugged at the end, they sparred amicably, and I was not only impressed with their intellect, but with their showmanship. They did seem more like a dream team than competitors. Here we had before us not only a viable black presidential candidate, but a woman candidate.

A number of years ago, when my daughter was a teenager, and Chelsea Clinton was too, I met Hillary at a classic "Southern Tea." Meeting Hillary was unlike meeting any other First Lady of Arkansas since, or before. I definitely had the sense of being in the presence of "Greatness." This was long before her husband announced his own candidacy for President, so I wasn't getting my impression from star-studded glasses.

Then came the Bill Clinton presidency, filled with more drama than a well-padded soap opera. Aside, from my following of Hillary's career, and reading a couple of books about her life, seeing her at other functions, etc. I had this observation about Hillary last night: She is no longer standing in someone else's shadow, and she is radiant. Not beautiful woman, radiant. Just radiant as a human being that is finally in her element.

My only other encounter with Hillary was later, when she was First Lady of the United States. My daughter and I went to hear her speak at a function, and Erin had made a drawing to give to Hillary. It was a detailed pencil sketch of two hands outstretched seeking to clasp. Erin, who is always full of surprises, had somehow decided to draw this symbolic picture for Hillary. It was right after the Monica Lewinsky incident, and Hillary had come home to Arkansas to seek the support of friends. Some of us were scratching our heads, about why she had put up with these shenanigans for decades. Then I remember reading or hearing her say in an interview, "I enjoy being in the company of Bill Clinton." It made her decision to perservere through the debacle more clear. And Erin's drawing, made by an adolescant who knew nothing of the challenges of married life, made perfect sense.

As Hillary departed from the auditorium where we were, Erin, took her sketch and asked a member of the Secret Service to present it to her as a gift. That moment, as well as the drawing are imbedded into my memory as if I had a photograph. Hillary wore a cheerful yellow pantsuit, and did a good job of speaking despite the humiliation caused by the scandal. The sketch was beautiful. We don't know if Hillary ever received the gift, but it was a moment in my teenaged daughter's life that I won't forget.

Now Erin is an adult, and enamored with Obama. He is a good choice, I believe, but I've been waiting for the chance to vote for Hillary, probably ever since I met her those many years ago.--Ruth Mitchell

Luxury isn't Synonymous with Excess

As a writer, I contribute from time to time to publications or websites as time allows. I've also been involved in "Eco Concerns" for more than 30 years. Both of these tidbits of information lead me to share with you the following article, recently published on justluxe.com. Enjoy--Ruth Mitchell