August House Studios in Chicago opened "Blue Plate Special" to a rousing crowd of art enthusiasts and foodies alike. Some came in after seeing Dave Hoekstra's article in the Chicago Suntimes some because they wanted unique gifts for the season but all the guests were treated to a 3 day opening that featured 114 original plates. Cyd Smillie was among the nearly 80 artists who contributed a blue plate for the show along with Nick Bridge, Tom James, Alan Hicks, and many other Chicago favorites. Stop by and enjoy! The show will be up through December.

October greys.

November awaits its turn,

and art changes too.

In preparation for an unspecified show Cyd Smillie paints with renewed energy. The DANK HAUS show continues through November and the preparations for "The Blue Plate Special" show in December at the AUGUST HOUSE STUDIOS are well under way. "What's on your plate this fall?"

October is Artist Month in Chicago and Cyd Smillie joins the fun with showings at the DANK HAUS and AVRAM EISEN GALLERY. The DANK HAUS show, "Facing Walls" features work by artists responding to a prompt about walls--emotional and physical. Check out artslant.com for pictures of some of the artwork and furniture. The show opens October 3rd and runs through November 29th.

The special exhibit at the Avram Eisen Gallery features artists who are parents and faculty at Chicago's Bell School. Originally a 3 day celebration, the artwork has been held over for the month. Cyd Smillie will be showing both watercolors and traditional oils all for sale with a portion of the sales benefitting the school.

Summer Classes a Great Sucess: Looking Forward to Adult Classes in the Fall

This past summer of 2008, Cyd Smillie and AUGUST HOUSE STUDIOS teamed up again to present a two week long summer camp experience in two parts. In session one, "If I Ran The Zoo" young artists from the Chicago area experienced block printing, pastel life drawings, watercolor, and many art related games. The camp culminated with the creation of "Artemis" the wonderful creature designed, executed, and painted by the students, complete with the zoo backdrop of his natural habitat.

Week two's theme was "Joining The Circus". All the campers started the session by developing their "circus character", notably "The Amazing Psychic" and "Duck Man". Cyd's focus was to have the kids play and have fun throughout the experience while exposing them to some new and unexplored art territory. The final circus performance included a parade of animals (hobby horses with paper-mache details), and performances by the circus stars. Cyd, the acting ringmaster, introduced all the campers, from the "tightrope walker" who walked on a jump rope on the ground, to the magnificent "tumbling triplets" who all showed off their fantastic gymnastics skills. Without a real Circus Tent for shelter, when the performance was over, thunder rolled and the audience and performers all rushed inside to keep from getting too wet in the celebratory rain.

Images to Carry With You

Pause: A Visual Intermezzo at The Dank in Chicago is available for viewing before the opening in June at any of the music and film events. This art show includes works by Ed Ott, Cyd Smillie Lothar Speer, Anwar Sheikh Susan Barton and Eva Rossi-Kivimaki. With nearly 50 images to savor in the beautiful Scharpenberg Gallery there is good reason to visit.

With sping in the air and winter feasting behind us, Cyd Smillie adds two small paintings to an art show, "Studios Revealed" curated by Jackie Kazarian, the hot Chicago artist whose name appears everywhere these days from Alfedena Gallery to Chicago's big ARTROPOLIS event. "Studios Revealed" will be Opening April 24-May 31st at 3955 N. Irving Park Road, Chicago, right off the expressway, near the corner of Pulaski and Irving Park. So instead of fighting the Eden's construction back-up, come by for a visit and see a different view.

2008 Welcomes the Old and The New!

The New Year Starts with exploring the old. Cyd Smillie works on portraits in the old Venetian Style, while her students at August House Studios in Chicago prepare for a show in February. More than twenty 6-12 year old students will be showing their talents at block printing, mono-printing, pastels and charcoal starting Friday February 15th through the end of the month. This block print is by 9 year old student Elli G. who is showing her art for the first time.