Hello?
Hello....Hello?
Check one, two....is this thing on?
Yes, believe it or not, I have not fallen off the face of the earth and I am not dead- though my posting record for the last 2 months may have led you to believe otherwise.
My work life gets crazy busy at the end of August and into September and I feel like I’m just now able to take a minute to breathe. Throughout August most of the craziness and busy-ness all happens at my desk in front of a computer, and after sitting at my desk for 40 hours a week, I wasn’t really in much of a mood to go home and sit at another desk in front of another computer, even though I do really enjoy blogging. Once September hits there’s a total shift and I have a million meetings and commitments to attend that are not at my desk, but are often in the evening hours, so by the time I get home I just want to put my jammies on and finally eat dinner.
So anyway, it’s been crazy. I’ll keep it real though, it hasn’t been 100% work stuff taking up my time. I was doing a lot of reading throughout August, so that was definitely taking up some time in a much more enjoyable way. After my last post at the end of July when I reviewed The Time Traveler’s Wife
, I read The Hunger Games
, Catching Fire
, Eat, Pray, Love
, AND The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
. I was a reading machine! I hadn’t gotten into reading like that in quite awhile, and I love to read, so it felt really good to throw myself back into it! I’d love to say that I’ll review each of those books here for you (because I enjoyed them all!), but if I’m going to be honest I should say that it probably won’t happen. If I do manage to get a couple of them in, awesome, but if not, at least I’m not breaking any promises!
AND I actually do have something really awesome coming up that I definitely am planning about blogging about (I don’t have a plan ahead of time very often!).
The 2nd Annual ARTPRIZE here in Grand Rapids, Michigan!
I am so excited for ArtPrize it’s a little ridiculous. I’ve had the dates marked on my calendar since last winter! For those of you who don’t know what ArtPrize is, here’s what it’s all about:
ArtPrize was started in Grand Rapids last year (2009) by Rick DeVos. It’s a radically open and unique art competition in which the public votes and determines the winner- a winner who will receive the world’s largest amount of prize money- $250,000. Artists are hosted by venues that are all within a 3 mile block of downtown Grand Rapids. Any space within that 3 mile block downtown could apply to be a venue- there are actual art galleries, banks, restaurants, bars, stores, bridges, promenades, even the sides of buildings are open to be venues for mural art. Artists are then matched with venues suitable for the needs of their art. Some venues just host one artist and other venues are able to host multiple artists with the space they have available. The type of art that’s included extends across the spectrum. Last year I saw paintings, drawings, photos, sculptures, a ballet performance, jewelry, carvings, paper cuttings, and more. This year, there are 192 venues and 1,713 artists taking part in ArtPrize- it’s an unbelievable amount of art packed into a 3 mile block!
Last year was the first year of ArtPrize and it was unimaginably successful. Hubby G and I walked downtown one day to check it all out and after spending 8 hours exploring hundreds of pieces of art, we felt like we had barely scratched the surface. Businesses downtown- restaurants in particular- were completely blindsided by the thousands of people that came out for this event in it’s first year, and many had to close because they literally ran out of food. Having ArtPrize basically in my backyard gives me the type of feeling that I imagine I would have if the Olympics were being hosted in my hometown. It’s really amazing to know that you have this absolutely incredible event going on RIGHT HERE. It gives me such pride for Grand Rapids and I know that I am definitely not alone with that fantastic feeling.
SO, with all of that being said, ArtPrize officially begins this Wednesday and I am counting down the hours! I’m planning on taking a zillion photos to share and I can’t wait! If you’re interested in learning more about ArtPrize, I highly recommend checking out their website, especially their mission, which does an awesome job of explaining the in-depth thought that went into creating this event and why it’s structured the way it is.
Hello....Hello?
Check one, two....is this thing on?
Yes, believe it or not, I have not fallen off the face of the earth and I am not dead- though my posting record for the last 2 months may have led you to believe otherwise.
My work life gets crazy busy at the end of August and into September and I feel like I’m just now able to take a minute to breathe. Throughout August most of the craziness and busy-ness all happens at my desk in front of a computer, and after sitting at my desk for 40 hours a week, I wasn’t really in much of a mood to go home and sit at another desk in front of another computer, even though I do really enjoy blogging. Once September hits there’s a total shift and I have a million meetings and commitments to attend that are not at my desk, but are often in the evening hours, so by the time I get home I just want to put my jammies on and finally eat dinner.
So anyway, it’s been crazy. I’ll keep it real though, it hasn’t been 100% work stuff taking up my time. I was doing a lot of reading throughout August, so that was definitely taking up some time in a much more enjoyable way. After my last post at the end of July when I reviewed The Time Traveler’s Wife
, I read The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Eat, Pray, Love, AND The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. I was a reading machine! I hadn’t gotten into reading like that in quite awhile, and I love to read, so it felt really good to throw myself back into it! I’d love to say that I’ll review each of those books here for you (because I enjoyed them all!), but if I’m going to be honest I should say that it probably won’t happen. If I do manage to get a couple of them in, awesome, but if not, at least I’m not breaking any promises!AND I actually do have something really awesome coming up that I definitely am planning about blogging about (I don’t have a plan ahead of time very often!).
The 2nd Annual ARTPRIZE here in Grand Rapids, Michigan!
I am so excited for ArtPrize it’s a little ridiculous. I’ve had the dates marked on my calendar since last winter! For those of you who don’t know what ArtPrize is, here’s what it’s all about:
ArtPrize was started in Grand Rapids last year (2009) by Rick DeVos. It’s a radically open and unique art competition in which the public votes and determines the winner- a winner who will receive the world’s largest amount of prize money- $250,000. Artists are hosted by venues that are all within a 3 mile block of downtown Grand Rapids. Any space within that 3 mile block downtown could apply to be a venue- there are actual art galleries, banks, restaurants, bars, stores, bridges, promenades, even the sides of buildings are open to be venues for mural art. Artists are then matched with venues suitable for the needs of their art. Some venues just host one artist and other venues are able to host multiple artists with the space they have available. The type of art that’s included extends across the spectrum. Last year I saw paintings, drawings, photos, sculptures, a ballet performance, jewelry, carvings, paper cuttings, and more. This year, there are 192 venues and 1,713 artists taking part in ArtPrize- it’s an unbelievable amount of art packed into a 3 mile block!
Last year was the first year of ArtPrize and it was unimaginably successful. Hubby G and I walked downtown one day to check it all out and after spending 8 hours exploring hundreds of pieces of art, we felt like we had barely scratched the surface. Businesses downtown- restaurants in particular- were completely blindsided by the thousands of people that came out for this event in it’s first year, and many had to close because they literally ran out of food. Having ArtPrize basically in my backyard gives me the type of feeling that I imagine I would have if the Olympics were being hosted in my hometown. It’s really amazing to know that you have this absolutely incredible event going on RIGHT HERE. It gives me such pride for Grand Rapids and I know that I am definitely not alone with that fantastic feeling.
SO, with all of that being said, ArtPrize officially begins this Wednesday and I am counting down the hours! I’m planning on taking a zillion photos to share and I can’t wait! If you’re interested in learning more about ArtPrize, I highly recommend checking out their website, especially their mission, which does an awesome job of explaining the in-depth thought that went into creating this event and why it’s structured the way it is.
