Stay Tuned!

This summer passed in layers of paint, in levels of scaffolding, in pieces of paper and the curves of hearts. I find myself thinking about the past six weeks in retrospect—usually in terms of the progress the murals were making at the time, funnily enough. Thinking of the first and second weeks of ArtWorks fills my mind with the murmur of presentations and the percussive sound of wire brushes scraping against brick walls. As the second week becomes the third in my mind, I smell primer and see the bright white of a newly painted wall. Color materializes in thoughts of the fourth week. With the fifth week comes the laughter and warmth of ArtWorks Day. Now, I close my eyes to see detailed images decorating vibrant walls, huge expanses of carefully layered paint shining with the two-fold glow of the sight of the (almost) finished product as well as my memories of earlier stages.

Throughout my chronological thoughts of the summer, images of Room by Room, Stage Crew, Tapestry, and Glass Canopy also arise, with thoughts of Rookwood Mosaic tagging on near the end. No matter how much or how little time I was able to spend with each project this summer, every one of them has made their mark on me, and I won’t soon forget the people I’ve met and creativity I’ve seen.

Thanks are due, of course. To the ArtWorks staff for sharing their work place with Alex and I as well as for being such a great, impromptu teaching staff. Thanks to the O’Bryonville, Clifton Heights, and Over the Rhine mural teams for letting us dine with them on various occasions, and thanks to Over the Rhine for sharing your ice cream with us! (We must admit that we’re especially grateful for that one.) And a final thanks to all of the projects for putting up with our questioning and filming, for being so friendly in the face of impending interviews, and always welcoming us onto your projects.

Though it may already be the "end" of another ArtWorks summer, we all know that art—and ArtWorks—never stops. I’ll continue to update the blog periodically with information as to when mural dedications will be held, how they go, when gallery openings at ArtWorks occur, and exciting news about this year’s Secret ArtWorks. So, though it may be goodbye to summer 2009, there’s just more good stuff coming. Stay creative and stay tuned!