The Miami Heat is doing a fundraiser for Life Is Art!

Buy a regularly priced ticket here and the Miami Heat is donating a portion of the proceeds to Life Is Art.
All money raised goes to further Life Is Art’s mission to support the arts and community in south Florida.

Game Details: March 14, vs. Philadelphia 76ers, 6:00pm
American Airlines Arena, 601 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami, FL 33132

PLEASE NOTE: All tickets must be purchased through Life Is Art.
You need not have a Paypal account to purchase, credit cards and checks accepted via Paypal.
Be sure to include your mailing address.
Anyone can buy tickets. Tell your friends. Use them as gifts. Support your arts!
Tickets will be mailed to you at no cost.
The Miami Heat has reserved us a block in the 300 section, so you will be sitting with other Life Is Art Fans.

For any questions, please email art@lifeisartfest.org

Still more about the proposed budget, this time from Miami Art Museum.

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Dear Members and Friends of
Miami Art Museum,
As you must know, Miami-Dade County recently announced a 2009-2010 fiscal year draft budget to accommodate a $400 million budget shortfall. The proposed plan includes substantial service cuts and workforce reductions, including a $12 million loss for arts and culture — the total loss to recreation and culture is over $20 million.

Miami Art Museum could lose vital funding, severely impacting our ability to present exciting art exhibitions and educational programs that serve our community and fill a critical need for our society.

A series of meetings will take place in the coming days providing you a wonderful opportunity to voice your concerns and make suggestions regarding these proposed budget cuts.

All meetings will take place at 6:00 p.m. Click on the link below for the schedule of meetings and directions. http://www.miamidade.gov/budget/budget_public_meetings.asp

For updates and information on other ways in which you can help, including contact information for each of the County Commissioners, visit http://artsactionalliance.wordpress.com/

Thank you for your support.
Miami Art Museum

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Life Is Art is holding a fundraising auction and sale at the Earth Is Art event on August 22nd. We are soliciting donations to assist us in continuing our mission to promote and support the arts and community in south Florida by providing events and education.

Everyone who donates receives promotion in the following ways:
1) Listing on the webpages – www.lifeisartfest.org, www.soulofmiami.org, www.examiner.com
2) Listing on Facebook and other online social networking sites.
3) Mentions in emails.
4) Listed in press release.
5) On-site promotion.

Any and all donations are welcome. We are having a live auction as well as a silent auction and sale.
Auction services provided by Skyler Goldenberg – The Antiquarian - theantiquarian999@yahoo.com

EVENT DETAILS
Earth Is Art – An Environmentally Artistic Showcase
August 22, 2pm-10pm
Hosted by: Metro 1 Green Building Resource Center
120 NE 27th Street # 200, Miami
Contact: art@lifeisartfest.org

If you are interested in participating, please fill out the short form on our Donation Page.

Thanks to everyone who came out to the Art of Healing on June 19th. It was a lot of fun. We had some great art by Laurence Gartel, Kacey Westall Keogh, Sabrina Joy Winogrond, Floyd the Rock Artist, Alissa Christine, and R. E. SANCHEZ, lots of yummy food and drink, a live performance by Here II Here, fire dancers, and great musical accompaniment by DJ Soozin. From what we heard, everyone had a wonderful time and many people commented on the really nice vibe of the Zen Village.

Here are a few photos of it. If you have any, or know anyone who does, please send us the link so we can post them up.

Hi everyone. For anyone having issues with the blog recently, we sincerely apologize. We have been fighting off the spammers all day. Hopefully we have won, but we will see how it goes. If you need anything, please feel free to contact us directly through the email addresses listed at the front of the site.
Sincerely,
James

Name: Helene Weiss

Current exhibition: “Weiss’ Women” at Miami Light Project, June 5-12, 2009
Website: www.heleneweiss.com

· Do you make a career out of or hope to make a career out of art, or is it a sideline for you?
Painting is my bliss. I’ve been painting for 50 years and have had exhibits in Miami and New York City. Painting is a gift and I need to fulfill my purpose daily. Painting is the highest level I can reach.

· What is it about your work that makes it speak to people or to the community at large?
I’ve been told my work has a definitive feeling and spirit to it. The color, line and shape is from my heart and mind. People respond to this and I continue to strive for a deeper yet whimsical expression each day I paint.

· How do you let people know about your work?
Interest in my work comes in several ways: Ongoing exhibits, my website and those who have seen my work in the homes of other clients. I was also one of the artists selected and included in the book, Miami Contemporary Artists.

· What do you feel inspires you to make art in the particular medium you have chosen?
Life around and in me inspires me to paint. I chose to easel paint because it is the most challenging and – I think – the purest form to paint in. I work in oils and acrylic because each holds a special challenge for me artistically. Right now I’m using acrylics because it dries quickly and allows me to paint several canvases simultaneously.

· Why Miami?
Miami is a great place for the arts right now, still developing but the atmosphere is conducive to painting and the energy is tranquil, allowing artists the ability to work on their craft.

· Do you have a favorite artist from the past or present?
I admire Mark Rothko, Picasso and Van Gogh very much. But I’ve really learned a lot from dozens of artists.

· How would you compare the art scene in Miami to other cities you have lived or worked in?
I’m from New York where the art scene is very difficult to infiltrate. Miami is new, refreshing and open to artists.

· If someone wanted to get into being an artist, what would be your first suggestion to them?
Open your heart and mind. Study and work hard. It takes a long time to find your own voice so don’t be overly concerned about selling; instead continue to learn and search. As Picasso said, “Success is 99% sweat and 1% talent.” Also you have to deeply love the craft without thinking about fame. You’ll reach your highest potential if you have faith in what you do. Believe in yourself. Being an artist is a lifetime commitment.

www.heleneweiss.com

To all the artists interested in participating, artist packages will be emailed out before the end of this week. If you have not already, please send an email to art@lifeisartfest.org to receive yours. And thank you very much!!!

James
http://www.lifeisartfest.org

If you are stopping by this site for the first time, please pardon our dust. We are still in the planning stages and will update with more information soon. Those planning stages have been somewhat stalled by the assault of Art Basel and the surrounding fairs and parties. (Please note, that link is to a guide that I created for Art Basel.)

So, we have been out promoting our butts off this week. We thank all of you who have stopped by the site and signed up. Next week, we will be able to get back onto the planning and organization stage.

We have been getting such a good response! Everybody is excited about an art show highlighting our Miami artists. Everyone agrees that Miami needs some art shows that are not centered around Art Basel. And I really think we have some interesting ideas to make Life Is Art something special!

Have a great weekend and enjoy some art!

Anybody want to host an art fair? Who knew it was going to be so hard to just find a venue to hold a little art show at? Certainly not I! Dozens of calls later, it is getting ridiculous. Either the place is unavailable, or they don’t do that kind of thing, or they would be happy to host it but want to charge an arm and a leg. But, mainly, people just don’t answer the freaking phone.

Well, the search goes on. I’m sure something will show up soon, then we’ll be rolling.

In the meantime, Art Basel 2008 is nearly upon us. I have spent hours compiling a guide to all the stuff that is going on. Check it out if you want, maybe it will help you enjoy the fun.

I don’t know, some things just do. I like a wide variety of music, country included, just like art. Lots of art inspires me. Listen to the lyrics, maybe it will make sense.

I shot this at Ribfest 2008 down in Homestead. Rodney Atkins singing “Going Through Hell”. I think some of the best art is created when you’re going through hell. I know I’ve been going through hell for a while now. My mantra was much like his, “keep moving.”