Common Roots: A Sneak Preview

Please join me TONIGHT, May 3rd at 6:00 at the Miami Beach Botanical Gardens for the Arts at Saint Johns art exhibit called: Common Roots. It is an exhibit featuring the work of thirteen arts all working in different mediums with the common theme of native plants of Florida.

When I went to drop off my paintings, Carol Hoffman-Guzman, Founding Director of Arts at St. Johns and her crew were there happily receiving all of the artists and their work.

Here they are making some last minute decisions on which paintings to choose from Julio Figueroa's, a professional botanical illustrator, work.

John Defaro, artist, was hanging his work: "Who is in the Nest?" It is an amazing piece made mostly from Royal Poinciana seed pods. I find this piece of John's work so interesting because of the way he used soft natural curves of natural elements mixed with harsh lines of the broken mirror so when we look in and see our reflection becoming part of the art... brilliant!

One of the main reasons that I like to enter my work into the Arts at St. Johns' exhibits is because everyone is so welcoming and friendly there. When people view my work, I want them to feel comfortable and at home. This is exactly how you will feel tonight if you come to the show.

Not only is the space welcoming, but you also get to wander through the garden on your way in. The garden is a beautiful oasis in the middle of urban structures and busy street traffic. Nestled in between the Miami Beach Convention Center and the Holocaust Memorial, the Miami Beach Botanical Garden is a wonderful place to visit if you haven't been there.

The paintings will be exhibited all week so, if you can't make it tonight there are plenty of opportunities to stop by.

On Saturday, the 7th from 9:00am to 12:00 noon there will be a Go Green event at the garden. They will be selling native plants (yea!) and having speakers talking about green issues and even having a workshop on how to make your own rain barrel.

Nancy Martini lives and works in Miami using her art to bring awareness to environmental issues.

Please Join Me for TWO Garden Events

The first event is Saturday, April 29 and Sunday May 1st at Fairchild Tropical Gardens at the Food & Garden Festival from 9:30am to 4:30pm

I will be at Fairchild Tropical Gardens this weekend from 9:30 to 4:30 and speaking at 1:30 on Sunday about Art as Eco Activism. I will be explaining the need to plant Milkweed in order to help the low population of Monarch Butterflies. I will have seeds for you to plant and demonstrate how to upcycle a newspaper into a small seedling pot.

Then at another garden...

Please join me Tuesday night, May 3rd from 6:00pm to 8:30pm for the Arts at Saint Johns Common Roots art exhibit at the The Miami Beach Botanical Gardens (across from the Miami Beach Convention Center).

From 6:00pm to 8:30 pm, you can see an exciting show about native plants of Florida. Thirteen artists, including myself, will be exhibiting photographs and paintings in many different mediums. The paintings I will be exhibiting are all done in encaustics (natural bees wax) which are part of my new collection exploring nature within the few miles that I walk each day called: " Behind the Fence." Through these paintings I hope to learn about the nature that surrounds our everyday life by bringing to the forefront all the overlooked inhabitants that we hurriedly pass by in our busy lives; many of which hide in sacred spaces behind guarded fences.

The painting featured above is called: "Missing Monarchs." It is an environmental call to action to inspire people to plant more Milkweed seeds to help the survival of Monarch butterflies who's larvae can only feed on this one particular plant.

The paintings will be installed Tuesday and hang throughout the week concluding with a Go Green event Saturday, May 7 from 9:00am to 12:00pm.

Two beautiful garden events back to back... Hope you can make one of them!

Nancy Martini

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Art as Eco Activism

Title: "Listen First"

Medium: 90% upcycled material

(33" x 30")

Pinecrest Gardens has asked me to present my work and to talk about my mission as part of their Earth Day celebration this Sunday.

Please join me Sunday, April 10th from 11:00am to 4:00pm at Pinecrest Gardens. I will be exhibiting a few of my paintings from two of my collections and speaking about upcycling, nature and my work about environmental issues. My talks will be every half hour starting at 12:00 with the last one at 3:30.

Because one of my paintings is about helping the Monarch butterfly, I will have milkweed seeds and seedlings for you to plant in your garden. I will even demonstrate how to upcycle newspaper into a small pot to plant your milkweed seeds!

To find me... walk into the entrance of the garden, past the outdoor amphitheater and follow the path to the left. I will be in the first section on the left where the old Parrot Jungle bird habitats use to be.

It's going to be a lot of GREEN-ECO fun for everyone and it's FREE! Come in the garden for the Earth Day activities and visit the farmers market under the banyan trees on your way out. I hope to see you there!

nancymartini.com

Encaustic Painting: Missing Monarchs

"Missing Monarchs"

23” x 34” encaustic (beeswax) on wood

This painting was inspired by Milkweed blooming in my garden next to my outdoor studio. I often see Monarchs flutter past me while I paint. I have a lot of butterflies, so I was surprised to learn that in 2002, 270 million Monarch butterflies died due to freezing temperatures while they were wintering in Mexico.

A Boca Raton organization established in 1993 by Chris Singer, Live Monarch Foundation, offers Milkweed seeds for free in order to restore their habitat loss across North America. The Monarch butterflies migrate from the eastern seaboard to the mountains of central Mexico up to Canada and sometimes the butterflies do not survive due to weather, food and human encroachment.

Please consider planting Milkweed in your garden or in a pot on your patio. Each adult Monarch butterfly needs more than one plant to survive. Milkweed is native to Florida, so it will survive happily in your garden.

I have found that children learn to love the environment and its tiny creatures by participating. It's pretty easy to put a few seeds in your garden. I am sure everyone will love watching the Milkweeds grow and to see the Monarch's cycle from caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly all in your own backyard.

My Art Basel Favorites...

After breakfast at the Rubell Family Collection last Thursday, I went to the Convention Center to see Art Basel. I went early so I could meet Michelangelo Pistoletto and hear him talk about his new book, The Third Paradise. He talked about his version of the infinity symbol that has a large circle in the center with two smaller circles connected parallel to each side. Where the Third Paradise consists of artificial needs and comforts leading to over consumption and corrosion of the natural planet. When asked, "What advise would you give young artists?" He simply replied, "change the world."

Michelangelo Pistoletto

There is so much to see at Art Basel, but here are a few of my favorites...

Favorite use of space...

I only wish they would have painted the floor as well. I have seen it done, but you have to bring in your own flooring to paint.

Favorite interactive art...

This was a huge heart like shape that was constructed out of wood with bench like seating inside. In the center there was a drum with a drumstick hanging from the ceiling on a bungie cord. While we sat inside we pulled on the bungie cord so that the drumstick would bounce down and repeatedly hit the drum like a heartbeat.

Reproductor, by Rochelle Costi

The instructions:

1. choose and take an image from the wall.

2. fit it to one of the tables (on the left of the glass if you are right handed, on the right if you are left handed)

3. copy the image using a pencil or a pen.

4. hang it back on the wall where you found it.

5. hang your drawing on the allocated walls.

The red plexiglass provided a reflection from the photograph that made it easy to copy. It worked like a light box. My favorite part about this exhibit is that it enabled everyone who participated an opportunity to say their art was displayed at Art Basel!

Favorite piece that people question, "Is that art?"

Favorite use of material...

The clothing on these men are all made from buttons.

This piece by Mondongo center panel is made from stickers and the two side panels are carved.

Close up of the stickers used in the center panel above.

I hated seeing his use of a bird, but the skull covered with iridescent beetles is quite unique.

Birdseed sculpture

Matchboxes

Favorite place to take a photo in front of...

Lastly, my favorite piece...

Al Anatui

July 4th - Day 75 of the disaster in the Gulf

Day 75: The Battle for Freedom From Oil

Today's sketch carries the flag for Independence Day. The flag flies backwards to pay tribute to our soldiers who's flag on their uniform is backwards as well. The backward flag represents bravery as soldiers go out to war with the flag flying behind them as it would be if they were holding the flag.

As I sketched, I thought about how much the oil spill is like a war for sea life and sea birds who have no way of defending themselves through oil filled water and boom collected oil burns. I thought about how scared the animals must be and how brave they are to continue to search for peace in a safe and healthy environment.

My kids tell me my current sketchbook is creepy. Yes, I tell them the oil spill is horrible, deadly and irresponsible and although we can't see it locally it right now in Miami, we will and it will change our lives forever. I want them to remember how fragile life is; how we need to support ways to use energy without oil; and how important it is to protect our environment.

More pages from my sketchbook...

My sketchbook and the oil in the Gulf has been giving nightmares. I dream about suffocating cries from turtles and dolphins. I reach out to help them, but my muscles and skin are all gone. There doesn't seem to be an end. Every day it just gets worse.

Day 72: BP ignites the boomed oil slicks without checking for sea life. Turtles die, ships are turned away that are searching to help find and capture turtles in harms way. With today's sketch, I stopped using the cutout date from the newspaper as in previous sketches because I no longer trust what the media says about the oil spill.

Day 71: Hurricane Alex hits the shoreline of Mexico missing the devastated oil spill area. However, the category 2 hurricane lead to two deaths and left hundreds injured and homeless.

Day 70: Scientists make a plan to collect 70,000 sea turtle eggs and make a home for them at Kenedy Space Center. Once hatched, the turtles will be released on the east coast of Florida.

Inside/Outside: A Look at Oil

"Day 64"

I have started sketching again. It is amazing how if you don't sketch everyday just how rusty you can get. So little time in one single day, but I am committed to sketching again. It helps that this sketchbook has a deadline will be exhibited with other artists that will travel the United States in 2011. I like to make my sketchbooks have a message. My last sketchbook was about the environment with the theme: "The End of the World". It is a tongue and cheek look at the earth's last day. It's on my website if you want to check it out.

Now my theme is Inside/Outside. I had a hard time starting, but with my frustration and anxiety over the oil spill, I decided to sketch about what was happening. So here is my sketch for today.

This is sketch called: "Day 66: They send in Hair." This was the day that grassroots organizations collected truckloads full of hair and put them in nets with pool noodles as floats with the theory that hair collects oil. I am still not sure how much it is helping, but I am still hopeful. It is the only attempt so far that is organic. I am not sure what the chemicals that BP is pouring into the Gulf is doing, but I am sure it is very damaging.

"Day 65: The Total Fatalities to Date... 13"

The real price of oil... When I sketched this I couldn't help think about all the lives that have been lost. I thought of the workmen, their families and their friends. I had this idea of work boots being the sunrise over water, but nothing can put sunlight on the Gulf just yet.

As I continue to work on the pages of my sketchbook, I hope to discover small pockets of hope. If you know of any, please let me know.

The Arts at St. Johns' Divine Debris and Glorious Trash was a hugh success!

I was happy to be involved in an eco art exhibit and to be with other artists who care about the environment by expressing themselves with reclaimed materials. I had a great time and was really impressed by all the people that showed up to the event. The Arts at St Johns has a small budget to market and promote their events, so I watched in amazement how they did it.

The Arts at St. Johns did most of their marketing through Facebook. They made Facebook Note Pages for every artist which was treated like a short bio and then talked about each artist on Facebook leading up to the event. At the event the same note page was printed out and hung up next to the artist's work.

They also maximized their email lists and made it easy for the artists to send an email blasts as well. I was happy to find a pdf of a poster in my email to send to everyone on my list a few days before the event. In addition to the social networking and getting other websites and bloggers to promoted their event, they were able to get a lot of press out to the event as well.

Carol Hoffman-Guzman, curator and arts administrator at Arts at St. Johns, and friend at the welcome table. They handed out ballets asking everyone to vote for their favorite art. It was a great way to collect information on who attended the event and then add them to their email list for their next event.

Paula Turk, co-curator/artist, and friend in front of her metal work.

Dan Walker being interviewed by a journalist. I was amazed to see how many people were there to document the event. Chanel 2 was there as well interviewing all the artists. It was very loud in the gallery, Chanel 2 had a small digital camera and a battery microphone to interview everyone. I am anxious to see how that turned out. We should be able to see it next week sometime.

Stefan Von Fonts with his interesting use of cans poured with resin surrounded with metal pipes. He also created the piece below with Scott Hickey. He created the piece onsite using the plastic water bottles that people brought to the event.

Art by Scott Hickey and Stefan Von Fouts

"The Wish List: A Plastic Bag-Free City" by Nancy Martini

Here is one of the pieces I exhibited at the event. The theme of the event was Miami Beach, so I wanted to created a piece that had an eco message and also said Miami Beach. The background is made from fused plastic bag and the borders are coat hangers wrapped with soda cans. The attached pieces are aluminum pieces and bottle tops and plastic water bottles.

My wish for all Miami Dade is to become plastic bag free. It is such a simple thing to do and would make a hugh difference.

Nancy Martini's Eco Message to students in England

Students in England study my work to create their own eco art exhibit!

"Hope: An Ocean of Peace"

Last week, I got an email from a teacher in England. She told me that at the school where she teaches they were having a eco day at their school. They were researching eco artists on the internet and came across my work. They looked at my YouTube videos and my website to understand how I created my art and then they created paintings to replicate my painting called: "Hope: An Ocean of Peace."

Featured about are the beautiful painting made by 8 and 9 year old artists from Pebsham CP in East Sussex, England. Guided by their supportive and creative teacher, Karen Lindsay, the students saved reclaimed materials for three weeks prior to creating their works of art.

I was so proud of the art the children created that I took this photo of the student's art and I displayed it next to my paintings at my last art show for the Arts of St. Johns' in Miami Beach called Divine Debris.

The students' work are as beautiful as they are expressive. I believe that the earlier children understand the importance of using reclaimed materials the more they will naturally acquire the habit of reusing everything before putting materials in the recycle bin or the trash can.

I really enjoy talking to students and I think it is everyone's responsibility to nurture and guide children whenever they reach out to us. For this reason, I decided to send the students at Pebsham a video response to encourage them to keep thinking green and to congratulate their efforts.

My video response to the eco art students...

Divine Debris or Reclaimed Responsibility?

June 15th at 7pm is the opening reception of the Arts of St. John's Divine Debris & Glorious Trash and I am very proud to be exhibiting along with other local ecoartists at the Miami Beach Botanical Gardens. I have been working with reclaimed materials for as long as I have been creating art and I am so happy that it is finally something that other artists are now willing to try.

Trash? I realize that some artists that use reclaimed materials sort through dumpsters, but with so much trash surrounding me I don't need to search for trash... the trash comes to me or is discarded along my path. Somehow all sorts of materials find me. The only exception is when I am working on a project where I need a commonly used material, like foil for example, I usually just ask a few friends to save some for me and they are happy to help me and the environment and kindly leave it on my front porch.

I live on a busy street and trash is constantly falling off trucks and landing in my front garden. Last summer when the city put in water pipes all down my street and left metal straps all over my garden, I didn't call the city and complain with the rest of my neighbors. I just quietly cleaned my yard and tried to think what I could use the metal straps for. After consulting with a really creative friend, my family used the metal with some reclaimed wood collected from old garage doors to build a treehouse for our children. We were able to build it without using nails that would damage the tree. The metal was wrapped around the wood against the tree in a corset like construction. And yes... I checked with the tree experts first. It will not hurt the tree and will be removed in five years to allow for growth.

It's not that I see trash and see beauty like some artists do. I see the trash and think: what can I do? How can I use that material differently? How can I make a tiny difference? Plus, I'm not exactly the type of person that takes the easy, straight, paved road. I try many times, but it just does't fit because I get distracted, bored or uncomfortable.

I hope you come out to the exhibit, especially Tuesday night for the opening. I will be there along with the other artists to share ideas and possibilities. For me, using reclaimed materials is not about trash at all. It's about sharing ideas of how to think in new ways to live better lives; how to help the environment and to think about how to be responsible for everything we use, touch and discard.

nancymartini.com

Coconut Grove Peacock Tour Launch is this Saturday... May 29th from 5 pm to 11 pm. Great chance to meet your local artists!

On Saturday, not only will you get to meet the artists who created the peacocks for the Coconut Grove Peacock Tour like Cara Nusinov, Eileen Seitz and Sauma (featured above) and see their beautifully painted peacocks, you will also get to enjoy a tropical evening under the stars with fabulous music by Fire Brigade, dancing with DJ Boogieman George, delicious food from Potions in Motion and The Fresh Market and yes... of course, refreshing drinks.

Last month, I worked in a shared studio to create a peacock in Coconut Grove, Florida much like the Chicago Cow Parade for my sponsor: The Fresh Market. After my peacock has a six month stay in front of their store, it will be up for auction to benefit Shake-A-Leg. Many other charities will also benefit from the peacock tour headed by Heather Bettner of Prince Media Development (featured above next to me). So, if you have a space for a five foot sculpture, here's your chance to support local art and help a charity all while beautifying your space. I will post the auction date and details at a later date...

The best part of the peacock tour has been all the wonderful artists and people I had a chance to meet while working in our shared studio at the Shoppes of Mayfair which would have otherwise been another vacant retail space. Here are just a few of the artists I was lucky enough to work beside...

Eileen Seitz, who is well known in Coconut Grove for her exquisite tropical watercolor paintings helped out by painting not one, but two peacocks.

Sauma, who not only is a magnificent painter he is currently organizing the Gables Hispanic Cultural Festival coming this September 25th which will feature many Hispanic artists.

Andrea Karahalios Ruggeri, who travels the world to paint intricate, elegant murals, painted her peacock for the Hampton Inn.

And, Dan Bondoff who usually works in pastels featuring charming landscapes and cityscapes worked in oils to created his peacock for Shell Lumber were just a few of the artists I got to know while we worked side by side.

To allow artists to use vacant retail space is good business for everyone. People love to see artists while they are working and just by painting together in the same space we attracted many visitors and tourists. When the doors were locked people were banging on the doors to get in! I hope that other communities and businesses realize just how much art can revitalize vacant storefronts while providing a much needed outlet and studio space for local artists.

Most of us are now well aware of how important it is to buy local food as a way of reducing our carbon footprint. The next step, at a local level, is to know your neighborhood artists and support art in your community as a green initiative. Plus, when you know an artist personally the art becomes even more of an enriched experience when you get the chance to talk to the artist about their work and why they created it. I have met a lot of the artists on the peacock tour and I can assure you that they are all very approachable, welcoming and would love to talk to you Saturday night. Hope to see you there!

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