Banners at Lancaster Museum of Art

I was delighted to be asked to design the Lancaster Museum of Art's outdoor banners this month. The challenge was fitting three exhibits on one banner, but with a banner of that size, it was no problem. The next time you drive by, make sure you stop in and see their next set of excellent exhibits. They're always guaranteed to inspire you.

Mural at HOPE International Office

Today I got to break out the paint brushes again and help out HOPE International by painting a scripture verse at the entrance of their corporate offices. I think it turned out pretty cool! If you've never heard of HOPE before, I highly suggest checking them out. It's an amazing Christian faith-based, non-profit organization focused on alleviating physical and spiritual poverty through microenterprise development.

From their website:
HOPE practices a holistic approach to poverty alleviation. Microcredit and basic business training enable individuals to build businesses and break free from physical poverty. Clients find that their increased income enables them to provide more nutritious and regular meals as well as improved housing and education for their children. But HOPE isn't only concerned with physical poverty. Christ-following loan officers share the hope of the Gospel in the context of relationships, ministering to spiritual poverty as well.

New Web Service Offered

In the last few months, I've been asked to take on a few existing websites that need routine maintenance updates. Some just need simple updates while others need a little flare or a total overhaul so there's consistency to each page. Check out my website for a list of services that may meet your needs if you have a website that could use a little kick, or need help with regular maintenance.

Round Robin Journals

The Art Ministry at NewSong Fellowship has started a new Round Robin-type Journal project where we meet on a monthly basis sharing what we've done in our themed art journals. The theme we chose was "Elements and Principles of Design" and I chose Movement. No surprise, I'm sure. But ever since our zucchini plant has grown and blossomed I've been wanting to draw the beautiful movements of the vine-like stems. Every morning I excitedly go out into our backyard and am not only amazed by how many new zucchini and yellow squash we have growing, but how long and curvy the stems of the leaves grow. It's beautiful to watch.

Paintings for girls bathroom

I painted these for NewSong Fellowship Church's little girls bathroom. They're a set of 3 wooden pieces with cute yellow polka-dotted ribbon attached to hang it. Aren't they cute! Below are pictures of the final product.

Gift Cycle

The Gift Cycle is a cross country cycling project that carries works of art as gifts from local artists of one town to local artists of the next town along the route---a 3,000 mile journey uniting 12 plus communities. Watch the slide show here /// giftcycle.org

I think this is such a cool idea, I just had to participate, so I donated a couple pieces for when they come through Lancaster. One is a print of my "Your's or His" painting. The other is a painting that says what I think everyone needs to tell themselves everyday.

For their schedule, go here and to see pictures of artwork donated so far, go here.

Painting 2 for New Baby

I have a friend in Portland who commissioned a painting from me right after she had her first baby a couple years ago. She just had her second baby last September and I'm finally finishing up the next one. I LOVE how it turned out and can't wait to hand deliver it to her tomorrow night when my husband and I fly into Portland to see her.

It's based on a story book with the greatest line in it:
"I love you right up to the moon and back."

Frame for New Baby

Shhhhhh.
This is the frame I just finished for a friend and mailed it off this week. I was too excited to not show it, so I'm risking the chance that she'll see it before it arrives in her mailbox.

Joy

This is a painting I did while waiting to hear from God about where I need to go with my art career-wise. The result was "Joy" and the reminder that I need to find joy in what is happening right now in my career.

Out of My Element

I'm not one to just paint for painting's sake. But after visiting a show at the Quarryville library with very talented artists John Weaver and Mike Witmer, they inspired me to paint anything, even a still life I set up in my house. Now, if you've seen my house, you know how VERY uninspirational it is with saw dust and plaster dust all over the furniture, combined with my art studio being in the same living space as my office, living room and Lucy, our dog's room. It doesn't get much more uninspiring than that! But in order to do what I love to do, I've learned to live with it. And so last week, I took a shell that I found at the New Jersey shore and placed it in front of a canvas and painted it. Now here's why the show in Quarryville inspired me to paint the shell in the first place. The two guys stated that they had gotten together frequently over a period of time to paint the same thing, but from two different perspectives. It was so great to see the differences and unique styles between the two artists. A lot of the pieces were just still life's that they set up and made a lot more interesting as a painting than the real thing I can imagine. But because of their commitment to paint daily, or weekly, whichever they did, in order to develop their painting skills, and do it in a fun way by having someone do it with you, was really encouraging to me. I realized I need to paint more just to continue developing my style and abilities, and that it's okay if the painting doesn't "mean" anything. I've never liked painting something that didn't have a meaning behind it, but I guess I can get over that if I can get over living in a dull and prosaic house.

A Visual Good Friday Experience

This year, NewSong Fellowship Church has decided to step out of the norm of holding a Good Friday Service where you hear about the somber and compelling story of Jesus' death on the cross. They're still telling this story, but it's going to be delivered in a fresh and unforgettable visual way. I have been helping to gather the artists and artwork for this event and have to say that I've been amazed and blow away by what the artists in that church have come up with. I hope this is only the beginning of what God chooses to do with the artists at this church and look forward to working with them again on another project that will reveal how much God can speak through artwork, and does, in a very powerful way.

To read more about it from our local paper's article, click here.

New Art Website Up & Running

It's finally done! Go to www.annkimmich.com from now on for my latest news and paintings.

Am I the Only One that Feels This Way?

. . . or am I the only one that will say it?

This is a new piece from my "Love" series that was hung at Square One Coffee last month. It's titled "Trying to Love What I Blame." To see the other ones in the series, go to my website at http://www.akimmich.com/art.cfm?cat=1

Back at My Studio

What a great Thanksgiving break I had. Just enough relaxation to get me back into the design mode and painting spirit. I'm a week away from my show now, so it's crunch time, but if you've known me since college, you know that that's how it always is.

These pictures are just sneak previews of the whole piece.
For details on my show, scroll down for the Square One show flyer I posted earlier.

New Fabric Shirt

Here's one of my latest shirts that I made for a friend.

New Fabric Shirt

This is part of a new "passionate" series I'm working on. The red one below sold the day after I made it at Eastern Market but the top one is still available. You can buy it on my etsy site soon.

New Tshirt Creations

Check out my latest fabric tshirts. I'm in love with this new medium. Everything is hand stitched.

My New Baby

I remember the good ol' days when my mom taught me how to sew when I was a kid, and then watching her make my wedding dress from scratch a couple of years ago just amazed me. I'm not sure if I'll ever be that good, but hey, I can at least try. So, my wonderful husband caught enough of my hints to buy me one for my birthday this year. And for those who know when that is, yes, it's really take me this long to get around to opening the box. But alas! It's out of the box and ready to go. I can't wait to see what creations will come of it, so stay tuned and I'll be sharing them soon!

Collage Purse

I’ve found a new love in creating collage pieces on tshirts and purses with pieces of fabric. I never knew I’d be into this kind of stuff, but it’s a fresh and fun way of releasing some creative energy. Here’s a sample of a messenger bag I just finished up and LOVE!