My boss emailed me this link to this amazing video.  I think it’s wild that social media has taken off like it did.  I remember when Facebook started in college.  And how fast it took off.  Then I remember my little sister becoming my friend and feeling how weird that felt….I started working at the Art’s Council a little over a year ago.  I convinced nearly everyone in our little office to join and now I’m heading our blog, facebook page, twitter account, and youtube.  I even helped my parents acquire an account.  But enough of my yacking!  Check out this amazing video.  It’s inspiring in a way.  Social Media Rocks

The Columbus Indiana Dog Park Association (CIPDA) is having a fundraiser.  They are trying to raise money to bring a dog park to Columbus.  Eh, Columbus has everything else so why not a Dog Park?

So I went over to Hotel Indigo with Donna to check them out and I was completely surprised!  Not really sure what I expected but the creativity derived from these bowls is pretty spectacular.

Of course Miles (the official Hotel Indigo mascot) was checking everything out.  Probably wondering where the food was located!

I can already tell this is going to be a successful fundraiser.  I mean who wouldn’t want a completely unique and creative bowl for their dog?!

So be sure to stop by Hotel Indigo: 400 Brown Street and place your bid on your favorite bowl.  On June 5th at 5pm they are annoucing the winners of the bowls.  And don’t forget this is a dog friendly hotel so your dog is completely welcome to attend this event with you.  There will be free doggie treats for your little pals!

The Columbus Area Arts Council partners with a lot of local businesses and events and, while most of the time, we help by booking performing artists, that has changed in the last year.  Now, we’re looking for visual artists.  For instance, we partnered with Jackson Place Condominiums and distributed at least a hundred 4’x4’wood panels that will be mounted on the side of the condos to form a huge mural.  We schedule demonstration artists for the Farmer’s Market, and install a new exhibit at Hotel Indigo’s Phi Gallery every two months or so.  And now, Bob Anderson at Stillframes Gallery is hosting exhibitions.  But, finding good visual artists is a real challenge.

So, here’s what I think.  Since we were able to give away a hundred panels in two days for people to paint for the Jackson Place Mural Project, there must be a lot of artists in this area looking for a place to exhibit their work.  We just need to find them.

I’m an artist myself and I’ll admit that it is hard to self-promote especially when your confidence level is not especially high.  So how does one get started?  How do you do it?

Well, I have the perfect example.  Darin Davis walked into Stillframes Gallery; he wanted to have one of his prints copied.  Bob Anderson asked him if he had more artwork?  Since he did, Bob asked if he would want to do a show at Stillframes Gallery.  How easy was that!

Darin was passing out posters announcing his show at Stillframes when he came up the stairs to the Arts Council.   And heck, I immediately ask him if he would be interested in displaying his work at the Farmers Market.   He just walked right into these two exhibition opportunities.  And all he had was a piece of his work, some free time, and the motivation to do something about it!