As mentioned in last weeks Thankful Thursday post, Michelle and I have the Carolina Mixed Media Art Guild (CMMAG) to thank for our ever having met. In much the same way, we also have the CMMAG to thank for our 10-year association with this incredible event! Every year artists, instructors, and vendors gather in Raleigh, NC on the 2nd weekend in November for Art of the Carolinas (AoC): the largest Art Supply Tradeshow in the country – alongside 4 days of workshops in every medium you can think of (acrylics, colored pencils, encaustics, mixed media, oils, pastels, and watercolors)! It’s like a Creative Circus – with wonderments to behold in every ring: materials, workshops and demonstrations galore!
A moment of levity, as we look back on a decade of artful adventures at Art of the Carolinas (photo: Laurel Rupe -- altered in the Prisma app)
In 2017, along with celebrating 10 years as the Workshop Faeries of Art of the Carolinas, we also celebrated a decade of Sponsorship by Strathmore Artist Papers. Since the very 1st iteration of what was “The Make & Take Room,” and is now “The Try it Zone,” we have worked with Strathmore to promote and highlight their latest offerings at the show. From Artist Trading Cards to Mixed Media Journals to Toned Sketching Paper to Artists Tiles to Toned Mixed Media Paper, they have provided the basis for the Member Artists of CMMAG to develop demonstrations geared to featuring the products of various Vendor Sponsors at the event. This year, we also celebrated 9 years of partnership with GOLDEN Artist Colors and Ampersand; we welcomed new (to us) Sponsors: Pebeo, Amsterdam/Royal Talens, Gel-Press, and Speedball/Akua. We also had the pleasure of working again with the myriad offerings of Marabu.
So, you may be wondering, what has all of this to do with Your Creative Connection? Well, over the course of the past 10 years, we have discovered how well we work together and with others in organizing and executing a 4-day creative event. We have also had reasons to revel in the expansion of our own creative community as a result of our affiliation with AoC. All of this serves us well as we embark on our mission to establish Your Creative Connection as an event not-to-be-missed! As we finalize all of the details, and add more creative wonders to the line-up, we are growing more and more excited for all that awaits our Creative Explorers in 2018!
Tools of the Trade -- our constant companions for our time at AoC -- packed up and ready for our next encounter!
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Until next time,
- PLA & MDP
