My Next Exhibition "RECREATE: The Art of the Recycled!"

Join 20 of the area’s top visual artists for the opening reception of ReCREATE “The Art of the Recycled” from 6 to 8 p.m. October 15 at the grand opening of the Center for Green Urbanism, DC’s new art-infused green business incubator. The Center provides office and event space to small businesses and start-up companies. During the grand opening reception, the in-house Tubman-Mahan Art Gallery, will debut original works created from recyclable and “eco-friendly” material. The center is located at 3938 Benning Road NE, Washington, DC.

Invited guests include Mayor Adrian Fenty; DC Council Chair Vince Gray; Ward 7 Councilmember Yvette Alexander; Gloria A. Nauden, Executive Director, DC Commission on Arts and Humanities, and Marvin Bowser, Commissioner (Ward 7), DC Commission on Arts and Humanities.


“ReCREATE is an opportunity to view how 20 local and national artists use everyday items we take for granted or discard to create stunning works of art! Keeping in line with the Center’s “green” theme, the Tubman-Mahan Art Gallery will focus on work created with an environmental eye,” said Curator Sharon Burton, president of Authentic Contemporary Art. “Join us for what will be an evening of art, music and a true fusion of eco-creativity. Live music by Jazz Flutist Arch Thompson, will provide the ideal entertainment to accompany the amazing work on display.”

*ReCREATE will be on display through November 13. Artists, include:*

Chuck Baxter

Sandra Davis

Jim Duckworth

Chava Evans

Erica Fallin

Magaly Gaza

Christopher Golden

Gints Grinbergs

Rania Hassan

Sean Hennessey

Roxanne Jarrett

Guru Sangat Khalsa

Gloria Kirk

Marla Mclean

Rose Mosner

Jordan Quintero

Wendy Rabinowitz

Kathy Turner

Ja'Ski Watkins

Sherry Ways


The ReCREATE opening reception will culminate a day-long grand opening celebration for the new Center for Green Urbanism, which begins at 2 pm with a ribbon cutting and press conference and continues with center tours, and eco-interior design discussions.

RSVP to Natasha Brown of Think Brown INK, Natasha@thinkbrownink.com or
240-304-6354.

*About the Center for Green Urbanism *

The mission of the Center for Green Urbanism is to create a business-friendly environment that provides startups with affordable office space and business services in a sustainable and energy-efficient green demonstration facility. We are located in downtown Ward 7, Washington, DC. Meeting spaces are available and Wi-Fi is accessible throughout the facility. The Center is a design model for a “living green business” in an urban setting, by decreasing carbon footprint – promoting home gardening, using energy efficient lighting and appliances, solar shade window treatments, a purified drinking water system, water saving devices and the recycling of trash and waste. *Learn more at
**http://www.centerforgreenurbanism.org*

*About Authentic Contemporary Art (ACA)*

ReCREATE Curator Sharon Burton of Authentic Contemporary Art will provide curatorial services and management of contemporary art exhibitions in the Center’s Tubman-Mahan Gallery; ACA was founded in 2005 and now serves as an alternative source for emerging and contemporary art. Based in the Metropolitan Washington, DC area, ACA creates opportunities for art collectors and emerging contemporary artists to connect through exhibitions and other events. *Learn more at www.authenticartonline.com

Decorating with Dolls

What if you just can’t find the perfect place to display your dolls? Create one yourself! There are dozens of spaces available in your home:

your foyer
your stairway
your window seat
your bed
your living room

just find the one that works for you!

Coordinate dolls and accents with your room's architectural features, color and furniture for a more permanent display of dolls.

One of my collectors had their home redecorated by my design firm, Design Scheme Interiors, LLC. For their foyer, they decided to have dolls created to add to their vast collection of artwork. Well see above. We also created clothes to change with the seasons.

Dolls can provide a wonderful burst of color to any room. Consider your dolls, the location and opportunity to display them as an accent.

Risk with Rewards, A Lesson from Duff!

Hello All. I apologize that I was so busy last week, I did not have a chance to write about risk. So here I am.

I guess as fate puts it, risk has been associated with me all of my life. I have always taken well, uh calculated risks.

Risk is a major word in my vocabulary and I do pretty good at orchestrating it. I am a BIG Food Network fan and anyone who watches knows about Duff Goldman, Ace of Cakes, CEO of Charm City Cakes in Baltimore, MD. I was just reading a book by Food Network's Ace of Cakes star Duff Goldman, called "Ace of Cakes: Inside the World of Charm City Cakes."

One chapter or page in particular struck me when Duff describes leaving his job and starting his business Charm City Cakes for the first time,

"On March 3, 2002, I left my job and started decorating cakes full-time. In my apartment in downtown Baltimore. Health Department? Permit? Tax ID? Nope. If figured I would cross those bridges when I came to them (or, more appropriately, they came to me). There is nothing, I repeat, nothing that can yet you motivated to run a business like when I woke up on March 4 and realized I didn't have a paycheck anymore. Want to learn how to jump? Paint yourself into a corner. I won't say roll the dice, because I knew I had no choice but to succeed. Well, so far trusting my instincts had never felt so good."

I resonated so much with what Duff described because on September 1, 2006, I did the same thing. I quit a very secure, yet frustrating federal job/career to focus on my first art business full time, my interior design business, Design Scheme Interiors, LLC. I knew on September 2nd that I best get my butt moving and create demand for my business. And guess what? The reason why I could not write last week was because I had to prepare and give a big design presentation for one of four clients that I currently work with!

It gets to a point where failure is no option and you HAVE to make things work or you are just well... screwed.

Then in 2008, I went back to my love of art. I took some classes a while ago with a noted doll artist in the DC area. I loved it. However, growing Design Scheme Interiors got in the way and never went back to it. So my sister Sharon kept telling me to go back and start making dolls again. I was shy about it and did not think I had artistic skills. Finally, in late 2007, I began making a couple of dolls and showed them very reluctantly at a neighbor's holiday soiree. Man I was amazed, every last doll was snatched and sold!

I said ok. Maybe there is future in this, by the end of 2008, I had participated in one art exhibition at a gallery, wrote one article for Soft Dolls and Animals Magazine, sold several dolls at a local doll boutique and was featured in a Doll Collector's book. How is that for trusting your instincts.

Again, I had no idea. Risk is second nature for me and when I look back at my life, I noticed that I have always risked things. I made some stupid moves and some smart ones. But at the end, I always as Duff puts it- trust my instincts. I pray a lot, cry a lot but when times get tough, I always say keep moving.

I take risks everyday. Small goals. Like going to a place I never been before, talking to someone I normally do not talk to or this is the BIG one, attending an event by myself. So this chapter was easy for me.