Rivoli Art-n-Party!
























tomorrow i will be showing my art work at the Rivoli Art Mill from 2:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. i'll be one of several incredible artists sharing the space; matthew dutton, michael jenkins, katie ward knutson, kimberly alducin dereuter, julie whitehead jones, teresa reynolds-hulse, anne dickson bailey, jerry allen, wendy morgan, whitney nave jones, charles, niznik clendenin, and steve terlizzese.

i am definitely excited! i'm looking forward to displaying my work in a new venue, meeting new people and connecting with all my fellow artist friends. i just finished a new piece, though pretty small, it was an extra canvas i had lying around i thought i would whip something up real quick like. more trees!!!

i've got plenty to keep me busy these days. currently planning upcoming Our Clothesline Art Show, then a solo show at Leo Handmade Gallery during the month of December.

in the meantime, i'm donating a piece of art work to both girls inc. and to hope for the inner city. keep your eyes peeled for more work in progess, as well. just about to begin a new piece! can't wait!

have a great weekend folks!


cat collier::the art of - newsletter july 2010

Cat Collier::The Art of
Newsletter - July 2010

Upcoming Shows::Events::Projects

July 22nd::Art.a.ma.jig 2010
Art.a.ma.jig is a unique fundraiser for the Arts & Education Council that combines the culinary and fine arts for an evening of exploration with chefs, artists and community members. The highlight of the event is the silent art auction featuring 48 works by local artists, all created around this year's event theme..FIERCE!
Can't wait? Take a Sneak Peek of ::Fearless Fierceness:

August 7th::Sundown in St. Elmo Show at Umbra Essence
Sundown in St. Elmo is a community-wide open house held on the first Saturday of the month from 6-9pm. Come out and enjoy artist receptions, live music, restaurant specials and more from the great local businesses in St. Elmo! Events will take place from June thru October so stay tuned each month for all the latest happenings!

Come visit with me and find your favorite piece of Cat Collier art as Umbra Essence hosts an artist's reception for yours truly. Enjoy light refreshments on the garden terrace during my reception and discover a piece of art that speaks to you. Showing with me at Umbra is Sarah Hiles of Artizen Metal - Metalsmith.

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Future Events
Fall 2010::Our Clothesline Art Show
The Ladies of Our Clothesline Art Show are working on this year's show. Stay tuned for details on date and featured artists. Don't miss this annual weekend-long event and celebration of local artists.

December 2010::Leo Handmade features Cat Collier
Leo Handmade is a retail shop and gallery on the Northshore featuring handmade (and often locally-made) products exclusively. The space features work from a different artist or duo monthly and December 2010 is Cat Collier month at Leo Handmade. Come check me out, yo!


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Keep Up
It's easy to keep up with what I'm doing...
Check out my pics on Flickr... You can read my thoughts on my Blog... See what I'm doing right now on Facebook... or simply get in touch and write me an email at catcollier@hotmail.com

::fearless fierceness::





























a little less than a week ago i completed ::fearless fierceness:: for the Arts & Education Council's upcoming annual Silent Art Auction; Art.a.ma.jig. as soon as i knew what the word or theme was i decided to try my hand at painting cacti. i knew i needed a lot of time, so i got started as soon as possible. i felt like creating the type of work, i'd never tried before, something i'd never seen except for inside my head. i knew that i would be challenging myself to create a highly detailed work that might not actually be all that successful in the end. i began searching for an image or a photograph that might help pull the ideas out of me. i found this and this. that and cut out maps i'd seen somewhere began serving as my inspiration. but my work is all pretty much free hand painted. i do trace from a stencil some of the time but with this piece there ended up being a lot of fine line work that took a steady head and hand, mental concentration and energy. i had no idea what i was getting myself into. needless to say i barely slept for two weeks straight.

in the end i decided to leave a lot of the under painting of paper uncovered. the dark colors i felt were just as beautiful and almost serve as shadows, allow for depth. i have never done this before, left so much exposed and i do feel a little exposed. a little vulnerable here at the end. but i have decided to be fearless and fierce about my decisions, in my art, technically speaking. to have a work that is both very detailed and very open is what i hope i am as a person. i think i might be a complex person, that the details of my life are like a map, but i think i am also open, honest and authentic. for me it is a different way of looking at my art and how i make and create what i feel is going on inside my head. i feel confident that what i was meant to learn from creating this piece is exactly what i needed. and to question or doubt is foolish mistake.

with that said, i am relieved and am looking forward to seeing how my fellow artist have delved into creating something fierce.

really quick. i am working on creating an email newsletter with information about my upcoming events, shows and exhibits. if you'd like to sign up for that newsletter please leave a comment with your email address and i'll make sure you receive all updated information about where you'll be able to see my work next. if you'd rather; email me at catcollier@hotmail.com

i also wanted to mention with a tinge of excitement (still). that i wrote my first article for chattarati; chattanooga's best online source for news and opinion. if you have a moment and would like, read the article and if you're in the area, might i suggest you seeing the exhibit. it's fine!

::feather trees::

































































about a week ago i finished ::feather trees::. this one took some time, an exercise in precision cutting. i am pleased with the way it all came together in the end. and will probably take a break from cutting paper for a minute. each of the feathers is approximately 11" tall on a canvas that is 12"x 36". other than having cut each feather out by hand, which took up the bulk of the process time, the other elements were basically the same. although instead of splatter painting the piece after i was complete. i decided to "splatter" in a pattern of circles. using a stencil to trace circles of dots was something i came up with on the fritz because i thought splatter painting would be a little too much. i'm excited about using the technique again. also can't wait for all of you to see this one in person. it's seriously intricate!

just wanted to pop in real quick. say hello! and have a great saturday.

full swing::upcoming


















what can i say? life around here is in full swing, all but dull moments. one might think i'd fallen from the sphere but the fact of the matter is, i am absorbed in the speed of which these days fly by. summer is here with a map. the stops along the way are piling up like rest areas, along the well traveled highways and bi-ways. stuck in traffic headed to the coast. i have been working on this new piece for quite some time; it's been the detailed cutting, a detour i didn't expect to take but that's been well worth the extra gas it's taken to get there. i am calling it ::feather trees:: because to me, each of the trees each seem like feathers placed on a pedestal. i am actually almost through now with this leg of the journey and will be wrapping up my stop here shortly.

i bought my very first cactus ever, a couple of weeks ago, like a souvenir. it is for studying and remembering. the easiest way i could think of to understand how to go about beginning my next painting. the first stop, on july 22, i plan to submit a "fierce" work of art to the Arts & Education Council's annual fundraiser Art.a.ma.jig.

second stop, sundown in st. elmo on august 7. i plan to hang a whole new body of work at umbra essence. smaller works for those of you who have been craving an iced cold cat collier painting but haven't been able to afford the big gulp.

third stop, december! yes i am thrilled, cheesy excited about a leo handmade show for the month. i cannot wait. this one stop is the the overlook, a compilation of all the hard driving, traffic jams and all. between now and then i plan on keeping most of my work under wraps, so that those of you locals might experience a little surprise. i promise more cactus and a hint of constellations to come!

a fourth stop along the way will include a commission piece i'll be working on for a repeat client. this one ought to be full of adventure, they have asked me to paint another ::pretending tree::bitter water::. so far it feels a little like hitchhiking, before it became risky business. and not because my drive broke, but because of the anticipation, the thrill of speeding down the open road with a serious direction in mind. it's difficult, but easy for almost all the same reasons. attacking an image the second time around proves to be rather satisfying, like sleeping and dreaming while being driven along some desert road.

with all of that said and planned, there may actually be a little more room for a show here or there, maybe another clothesline. we will see.