And so it begins

Hopefully over the next week I'll be able to post a little more every day of what I plan to bring to the first ever (ever, ever, EVER!) OMG Urban Flea Market.  And I just found out that they are allowing handmade at the flea market as well as everything else.  There should be a huge variety of things offered there, it'll rock your face off guaranteed!
Here's the first wave:

REtune Nashville starts THIS SATURDAY!

The charity auction and concert that kicks off the official start of the REtune Nashville project is this Saturday Oct. 23rd.
Below are some not-so-flattering pictures that I took of my piece before I turned it in.

ReTune Nashville

I am extraordinarily honored to be participating in the ReTune Nashville project.  For those of you that haven't heard, ReTune is a non-profit formed to aid uninsured musicians who experienced losses during the flood.  "How do they plan to do this?" you may ask.  Well, by collecting ruined instruments from musicians all over Middle Tennessee, sanitizing them (that flood water was NASTY!) and redistributing them to local artist to turn into visual art pieces to be auctioned off.  I was lucky enough to be accepted to participate with the likes of Manuel (yes the fancy, rhinestone, cowboy suit guy), Jason Lascu,  & folk artist Bebo, as well as some personal favorite of mine, Jeff Bertrand & Jessica Hill!  This by no means a complete list of artists, but this is!  I am excited and more than a little bit daunted to be in the company of such well known and talented folks, here's hoping that I don't embarrass myself!
I am still hard at work on a piece entitled, "Shattered, but Unbroken" involving the remains of a mandolin, an octave of piano keys, some bass strings and some bits of a couple of violins.  While it was heartbreaking to sift through the rubble of other people's lives when selecting these items, seeing all of the potential and knowing that so many people were lining up to help made my heart swell with pride!  I love this town, it's rich musical history and our volunteer spirit!
Speaking of volunteer spirit, ReTune could use everyone's help spreading the word about their cause and the upcoming art auctions.  They're also still looking for sponsors for the event so if you or someone you know could help out in that capacity, please go here.  Tickets for the event have gone on sale, here, so go get you a few and come see what is sure to be a fantastic night of live performance and gorgeous art for a fabulous cause.

To give you a taste, the video  below is from artist Randy Purcell who has made some truly stunning pieces of functional art!

Hey kids, VOTE FOR ME!

So this is a horrible stab at self-promotion, but if any of you feel up to it, please vote for me in the visual artist category of the Toast of Music City. I took 3rd last year and would like to try for 1st this year. (but placing again would be SUPER) More than anything this is just useful in lending weight to my work when I am shopping it around to stores and galleries. The site doesn't care if you are in or around Nashville, so anyone in the world can vote on this one. You can vote once per day, per browser.