Each Monday, the Birdhouse, located on the corner of 4th and Gill, features a free movie with popcorn and it's open to the public. They have been borrowing an unreliable sound system for quite some time and would like to buy a new one of their own, amongst some other things that will benefit the movie-watching experience. As a result, they are holding a Block Party this Friday night to raise money. 

I was asked to donate some artwork to the cause. It will be available for purchase (I think silent auction-style) as well as several other artists' work. All artwork will be cinema-based.

I enjoy donating artwork to support all kinds of missions, this one being to help out Your Friendly Neighborhood Movie House, which brings people together in the community who share the common interest of film.

One of the pieces I'm donating. Can you name that movie?

Please stop by the Block Party this Friday evening if you're able and bid on some artwork. There will be bands and a fish fry as well.

 Check out the details below or go to the Facebook event.

WHAT?! A fundraising event for patrons of The Birdhouse Walk-In Theater. 
WHY!? To raise funds for a sound system, curtains, projection screen, and sign tracking.
WHEN!?! Friday, June 21, 2013, 6:00PM - 12:00AM

WHERE? The Birdhouse, 800 N. 4th Ave.

HOW MUCH? $5

WHO?!

Fish fry by WILL ISOM

Film Score by BEN OYLER, JASON BOARDMAN, ALAN BAJANDAS, DANIEL STEPHENSON, JOANNA BAJANDAS, & ERIC LEE

VDJ (Video Disc Jockey) GIN & TRONIC

TWO promo film screenings by local filmmakers ZAK YOUNG and CLINT KELLER

Artwork for sale by: ADAM BRYANT, JODY COLLINS, KATRINA DENOVICH, JAMIE L. EARLS, NEAL KEEBLE, TOM LITTLE, BETH MEADOWS, ALYSSA MERKA, MOLLY MULLIN, OLGA NOES, ASHLEY OVERTON, JENNY PICKELL, MARK GUNNAR QUIST, ANNA LAURA REEVE, CARLA REEVE, ERIC SHERWOOD, ALLIE STOEHR, IANA VARDANYAN, MARGAUX VERDERA

Please come to The Square Room this evening to hear me speak at PechaKucha Night Knoxville Volume 7.

I am the third speaker out of nine, so if you arrive at 7pm, you shouldn't miss my presentation. I will be speaking about the progression of my work since college and what it has been like making the transition from artist to artist and businesswoman.

Hope to see you there!

PechaKucha Night Knoxville
7pm at The Square Room
4 Market Square
Knoxville, TN 37902

This weekend is the Dogwood Arts Festival (DAF) Art Fair in Market Square. The DAF booth will feature ten of my paintings made especially for the festival (shown below). Their booth is located near the intersection of Union and Market, near the Tennessee Woman Suffrage statue.

The Art Fair will run 11-9 Friday, 10-9 Saturday, and 11-5 Sunday and will showcase 83 local and regional artists plus some good food. Hope you find time to saunter through.

White Blossoms in Clear Ball Jar on slate

White Blossom in Turquoise Ball Jar on wood

Pink Blossoms in Blue Ball Jar on slate

Pink Blossoms in Kerr Jar on wood

I am currently working on putting together a display at Nostalgia on McCalla that will feature furniture by four talented designers and my own artwork, all made from salvaged materials.

Table made by Eric Griffin

The opening for the display will be during Nostalgia's First Friday Earth Day-themed celebration which is today, April 5, from 6-9pm. The display will be up all month thanks to Nostalgia's generous support of Knox Heritage and the fine designers in this show.

Table made by Eric Griffin

Storage Table made by Eric Griffin

Furniture will be by Dakota Montgomery, Dean Yasko, Eric Griffin, and Austin Ferber. Several of their pieces have been made using salvage from The Knox Heritage Salvage Room.

Tile Table by Austin Ferber

Hanging Shelves made by Dean Yasko

I will also be displaying artwork made using windows as well as other raw building materials such as hardware, windows, screens, and doors.

Storage Table by Eric Griffin

Hope to see you tonight, but if not, please stop in at Nostalgia on McCalla during the month of April.

Potting Table by Dakota Montgomery

Mini Salvage Show
at Nostalgia on McCalla
1401 McCalla Ave.
Knoxville, TN 37915
865-622-3252
Facebook Invitation

Hanging Shelves by Dean Yasko

I'm not really asking you this (I'd feel silly doing that), but it is a question I've been asking myself over the past several months, and I'll tell you why.

I'll kill you with my bear hands acrylic on canvas

To give a little background to those of you who do not know, the name With Bear Hands spawned from a painting I made a few years ago called I'll kill you with my bear hands (above). It's one of my favorite paintings, a good blend of dark humor.

Booth Sign for Dealer at Nostalgia on McCalla

In trying to think of a title for this blog long ago, there was this natural progression of abbreviating that painting's title. So much of what I enjoy doing involves using my hands, my bare hands, to be precise. I decided to use bear instead of bare to add a bizarre element, maybe confusing, hopefully kind of funny. There's really no other explanation than that.

(Well, I also like bears. They're pretty dang cute, and they can also kill you. Sidenote: I saw a black bear for the first time in the Smoky Mountains last year (in the woods and not from my car). We locked eyes, and within a second, he ran the opposite direction. I was in love, mesmerized, happy, scared, exuberant, so glad he ran the other way, bewildered by the fact that he could tear me to pieces, but I scared him more. Amazing...)

Small mason jar paintings on salvaged wood

As time has passed and I gradually refine my business skills, I have wondered whether or not to keep using With Bear Hands as the official name of my business. Is this a good title for all the work I make? Should it only encapsulate part of what I do? All business is, I've come to find out, is a journey of answering a lot of questions.

Commissioned portrait on salvaged window sash

Detail of portrait

I do see a split within my work, specifically drawing a line that separates the work I make that is more accessible to people (i.e. mason jar paintings) and more conceptual fine art (collaborations with Juicy, fabric work, even my narrative paintings).

Available on my etsy shop

But as I keep wandering down this unknown path, there is even more.

Limited Edition prints of original paintings. This is Meet Cute.

In this post, I'm sharing photos of things I have made recently. Several people have asked me to make work for them, which has been really fun as well as educational. It is so rewarding when a person comes to me and says, "I like your work. Will you make me (insert shared idea)?"

I love this aspect of involving people in my studio practice, and so even more, this is what I have realized, not fully, but in part- that With Bear Hands is not only about the mason jars or the fine art I make, it's about all the people involved. Something more: I also want it to be about supporting and promoting other artists' work that I admire, because that seems like an important thing for me to do right now.

Fashion drawing Paint pen on acetate layered on coffee package 8 x 10"

So I guess a new theme I've picked up is the Art of Sharing. Sharing is caring, y'all, and I hope to do more of it in the future.

While we're on the subject, a great way for me to share with you is to follow me on Facebook. This is my new favorite way to talk about what's going on with With Bear Hands.

Commission piece: Tin ceiling tile shadow box

Here are more photos of Mirror Field, the second sculpture I helped with at Bonnaroo.

Mirror Field was designed by Lisa and Jason Brown who were assisted by Russ Porter, Beth Meadows, Dean Yasko, Carolyn Bendel, Katie Dirnbauer, Kevin Varney, and John Carpenter.

Here are photos of the progression and completion of Bow Line, the sculpture we worked on at Bonnaroo.

Designed by Jason Brown, Chris King, and Brian Jobe who were assisted by Forrest Kirkpatrick, Russ Porter, Dean Yasko, and Beth Meadows. 

Russ

Russ, Brian, and Dean

Russ

Russ and Jason

Dean and Forrest

Russ

Forrest, Brian, Dean, and Russ

Me, Brian, and Forrest

Dean

Forrest and Brian

Dean and Forrest

Bow Line at Night. Oooh.

Enjoyed by many people in midriffs at Bonnaroo. Bow Line.

My birthday is next week, and I have two wishes.

One, a hula hoop.

And two...

I would love, love, love if you purchased a ticket to my next art show.

I'm really excited about this exhibition. I'll be showing in Nashville for the first time next Thursday, June 21 at Mercy Lounge from 8pm to 12am. I've been asked by the organization Raw: Natural Born Artists to be a part of this monthly, multi-artist show.

It lasts one night and gives visual artists, musicians, fashion designers, photographers, and more a chance to showcase their work together. I will also have the chance to show in other cities nationwide through Raw once I show in Nashville.

Tickets are $10 and I have about 10 more to sell. To buy one from me, you can visit my Raw Artist Profile Page. If you'd rather not pay using paypal, you can pay me directly. Email me at beth@bethmeadows.com, and we can work it out.

I hope you can come, but even if you can't, you can still sponsor me by purchasing a ticket.

This is a small but huge way to support me and help me get the ball rolling to show in other cities.

It will also be a great start to my 28th year!