Icehouse Center for Creativity, Craft & Design

We've Moved!

2007-01-12T19:17:00.000-05:00

Well, we're getting settled into our new space and I truly feel that everyone will love it and notice some big improvements.

Our new location is at the Oak Street Mill Village in Cornelius at 19725 Oak Street.

And our new name is in place: Creative Art Exchange. Which also means that our new website address is www.creativeartexchange.org

For those of you who have been enjoying our blog - thank you. But as we've changed our name, we're changing our blog address, too.

You can keep up with us at our new blog: www.creativeartexchange.wordpress.com

Be sure to update all of your records - we don't want you to get lost in the move!

And don't forget to visit us in our new home.

All Packed Up and Ready to Go

2006-12-27T08:28:00.000-05:00

I know it has been a while since our last post, but that doesn't mean we haven't been busy at the Icehouse Center. Quite the contrary.

As many of you know by now, the Icehouse Center will be leaving it's original location in Davidson this week. We're moving to our new home at the Oak Street Mill Village in Cornelius. And did I mention that we're changing our name? Our new name is Creative Art Exchange (effective January 1).

The Icehouse Center has been a hive of activity these past couple of weeks as students finish up their work and take everything home. We have also been very fortunate for all of the volunteers who have been coming to help us pack, organize, and clean for our big move.

This has been such an exciting time for all of us at the Icehouse Center. We'll miss being in Davidson but we're sure that our friends will come the 1.5 miles South to visit us. And we're really looking forward to making new friends in Cornelius.

There are so many people to thank for helping to make this possible, so I won't name them all. They know who they are. I just hope they know how much we all appreciate their hard work and support.

Stay tuned for more information.

Helping to Plan for Public Art

2006-11-16T17:06:00.000-05:00

The Icehouse Center has a wonderful opportunity to help shape the future possibilities of public art in Davidson.

Downtown Davidson, Inc. has recently been awarded a grant from the North Carolina Arts Council to develop a set of guidelines for future public art projects throughout the town. The grant has provided funds to bring in an experienced consultant, Janet Kagan, who is working with a steering committee to get the planning started.

An important element to this plan is that the public be included in the conversation. To help with this, a blog has been developed where the community can post their thoughts on a variety of different questions and issues such as where would be good places for public art? Should it be permanent or temporary? How should/could it be funded.

The blog will also be used to notify everyone about the public meetings that will be held in the coming months.

Please visit the blog and post some of your thoughts. We'd love to hear what you think.

What Are Your 43 Things?

2006-11-06T10:17:00.000-05:00

As part of another project I was working on, I was introduced to a unique website. 43 Things where people list 43 things that they would like to accomplish in life. You make your list and track your progress "People have known for years that making a list of goals is the best way to achieve them".

Sometimes deciding what you want to do is a bit overwhelming. Where do you begin. This is where 43 Things can help. As of this posting, 43 Things lists 672,607 people in 9,968 cities doing 732,233 things.

By browsing the website, you can find some goals that you share with others. Or, maybe your goal is unique - post it on the website and see if anyone else joins you.

I decided to see how many people around the world share similar goals to some of our students and friends at the Icehouse Center. Here is what I found:

163 want to take a pottery class
62 people want to take an art class
1 person wants to do woodturning
136 people want to study photography
865 people want to draw more
4 people want to make beautiful pottery
6 people want to throw decent pots
4 people want to be a potter

The lists are endless. Learn a language. Fall in love. Visit the arctic circle. Climb a mountain.

An interesting feature about this website is that if you have done something that someone else has as a goal you can share your experience with them.

So, as we come to the end of this year and begin planning our new years resolutions, know that you are not alone in your goals and that perhaps you have achieved something unique.

October is National Arts & Humanities Month

2006-10-02T14:17:00.000-04:00

As the leaves begin changing color, the air becomes a bit cooler, and the children are deciding what they'll dress up as for Halloween, October is also the month to celebrate the arts and humanities in your community.

This national event is coordinated by Americans for the Arts, the national organization working to empower communities with the resources and support necessary to provide access to all of the arts for all of the people.

The Icehouse Center has two free events happening this month to celebrate! Join us on Saturday, October 14 for a bookmaking program (it's also National Book Month!). Drop in any time between noon-4pm and in under 30 minutes, you will have made your own accordion book.

On Saturday, October 22 from 10am - 5pm, the Icehouse Center will have a fall porch sale along with free pumpkin painting. Bring your own pumpkin, or purchase one at the Icehouse Center courtesy of Davidson United Methodist Church Youth Group.

Americans for the Arts also has a top 10 list of things that parents can do to keep art in their children's lives.

Take a class, attend a lecture, visit a gallery, see art being made. The Icehouse Center is here to help you keep art in your lives each day.

Thank you for celebrating with us!

Party!

2006-09-29T15:46:00.000-04:00

We had a wonderful time last Saturday night at our Hands in Art Pick-Up Party/Open House/Birthday Party.

All of the hands in art paintings were on display for everyone to see. We had a wonderful band playing on the front porch and plenty of food - with special food (juice boxes and goldfish) for our very young guests.

Special thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make the event a success!

Congratulations, Alyssa

2006-09-27T10:17:00.000-04:00

Icehouse Center friend and instructor and rising artist Alyssa Wood has been very busy.

She currently has 2 exhibits going on. The first one is a four-person show that opened on September 7 at the Duram Art Guild featuring her paintings as part of the Guild's season opener.

One week later, she opened another exhibit of her ceramic works at Stretch Gallery in Pineville, NC. This exhibit was also highlighted by Ceramics Monthly magazine.

Here are some photos from the exhibit:

And if that wasn't enough, Alyssa recently found out that she has been awarded a residency at the Ragdale in Illinois for Spring 2007.

Congratulations Alyssa!

Hands in Art

2006-09-20T23:09:00.000-04:00

This past weekend, the Icehouse Center hosted it's first Hands in Art fundraising event.

Families and friends all came to the Icehouse to paint their very own work of art. We had some truly amazing results.

Our youngest participant was only a few months old and is already showing true talent! Ah, to be young and uninhibited!

Here is the Knox family with their beautiful painting

The international students from Davidson College took the hands in art part very literally

On Saturday, September 23rd from 6-9pm the Icehouse Center will be hosting an Open House where all of the paintings will be on display (there will be live music, food, and demonstrations, too).

Come by and see the creativity that exists in your own backyard!

Happy Birthday, Icehouse Center!

2006-09-19T21:45:00.000-04:00

We're turning 3!

This month, the Icehouse Center celebrates the date its doors opened to the public.

Although the planning had begun long before then, its truly an exciting time to think about.

I have only been with the organization for 13 months, so I try to imagine what it was like when everything was brand new (and dust free).

The Icehouse Center has changed a lot since it first opened, which is not unusual for new organizations. We continue to grow and adapt, while staying true to our mission (which is sometimes easier said than done!).

This is a great time to thank our founding members, our board of directors, our instructors, our students, our members, our community, and everyone else that we've touched these past three years. We definitely couldn't have done it without all of you.

We will be having an open house on Saturday, September 23rd from 6-9pm. Come by and join us for some cake, see some artwork created by your neighbors, visit the new exhibit in the gallery, and share your happy memories of the past three years.

Here's to many more happy years!!

-Diane

In the Artist's Studio

2006-09-06T19:06:00.000-04:00

Sorry it's been so long since our last post. We'll try to keep them coming more often.

Anyway....

A few days ago, I had the opportunity to visit Pauline Dove in her studio. We're getting ready for her exhibit at the Icehouse Center which opens on September 22, and we were busy selecting the work that will appear in the show.

I've been in Pauline's studio before, but I always enjoy going back. I am continually amazed at the amount of work that she has stacked up on any flat surface available.

I guess I should back up a little and tell you a bit more about Pauline's work (and show you some examples).

Pauline works in a variety of mediums - everything from colored pencil to ceramics. She does both two- and three-dimensional works, but it is her drawings and prints that have overtaken her studio. They're everywhere. Every flat surface is covered in layers of drawings and prints.

Pauline was very open to "digging" through the stacks to make sure we weren't missing anything. It's always fun when an artist lets you to almost make yourself at home in their studio. To be welcomed with such openness is wonderful. It's like a behind-the-scenes tour of your favorite museum – and they let you touch stuff.

For the Icehouse Center exhibit, I knew I wanted to have some of what I call her "orange" pieces. Orange appears in many of Pauline's work, so that wasn't too hard.

What was challenging was choosing which works to show and how they would be arranged and grouped in the show. We have a very small space to work with, but it can provide such an intimate setting for artists works - if you can pull it off.

I'm very excited about the works we chose. Here are a few examples:

The show will feature twelve framed works along with some of Pauline's triptychs and books. Who knows - maybe we'll even include a few ceramics pieces as we go along.

Pauline will be at the opening on Friday, September 22 from 6-9. Come by, check out the exhibit and meet Pauline.

We'll see you there!

-Diane

Back to School

2006-08-19T10:10:00.000-04:00

Here in Davidson, everyone is getting ready for back to school.

Some schools have already begun their year. But for most, classes begin on Friday.

There's a certain buzz that happens when school starts. Teachers and school administrators have been busy getting classrooms and buildings ready. Kids and families are trying to squeeze in one last trip to the beach. The malls and stores are filled with glue, notebooks, rulers, new clothes, and whatever the must-have item is this year.

For some, there is a certain excitement associated with the new school year. For some students, this may be their first year in a new school. For others, they're glad that they are now seniors and planning for graduation and college.

Here at the Icehouse Center, back to school happens every six to eight weeks and we share some of the same excitement and challenges that go along with back to school.

New students are a bit nervous and unsure about where to go ("I see the ceramics studio, but where are the woodturners?"). Instructors are planning what they'll teach this session - keeping the returning students motivated and encouraging the new students. I am trying to make sure that supplies are in stock (Don't worry - I've ordered clay) and that the schedule will work (I haven't double-booked the multi-purpose room.....yet), and make sure that the PR goes out in time.

It's definitely a group effort with students, instructors and staff all working together.

So don't think that back-to-school excitement ends with high school and college. The feeling happens here all year round.

Presto Change-o

2006-08-16T11:52:00.000-04:00

If you haven't visted the Icehouse Center in the past few months (you know who you are) you have probably missed our most recent change.

As many of you remember, we had small retail gallery which sold work created by a variety of (mostly local) artists including our instructors.

It looked something like this:

This Spring, we decided to re-think what we were doing with the gallery. Was retail the best way to go? Are we fulfilling our mission in the best way with a retail gallery? Is there something else we can do that can fill a need (both for the community and artists) and still be interesting?

The Icehouse Center decided to change the gallery into an exhibit space. This enables us to continue to support local and regional artists, provide a venue for artists to sell their work, inspire our students, and share an artist's body of work with the community.

The gallery now looks like this:

Yeah, a little different.

This photo is from our first exhibit "Wild Life: The Art of Lauren Faulkenberry & Andrew Linton" which opened in June.

Our current exhibit is "Trappings: Paintings by Carolyn Whitman". You can see some of Carolyn's work on her website.

The response has been very positive so far (once people are over the shock). The exhibits will change every 6-8 weeks.

Yes - we are working on taking submissions from artists to have a show. You will see the first one roll out in January (for a group show) and then in July for solo and 2-person exhibits.

We have some great exhibits coming up, so keep checking in to see what the latest is.

Enjoy!

-Diane

P.S. Many people have asked about the wall color. It is Behr's Dark Granite #780F-6

Welcome to our first blog

2006-08-14T22:34:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone.

Welcome to the Icehouse Center's blog.

Now you can keep up to date on all the latest happenings at the Icehouse Center! You can even post your own comments (and students and instructors can share tips, ideas, and pics).

I will do my best to post as often as possible, so visit often.

This blog is not meant to replace our website, but I think it will be an added feature.

Let me know what you think (and what you'd like to see in here in the future).

Keep creating!

Diane