Dori DeCamillis

F5 Opening at Red Dot Gallery, Friday April 27th, 6 - 9 pm Commemorating the Anniversary of the 2011 Tornadoes April 27-May 25, 2012 Exactly one year after deadly tornadoes ripped through Alabama in one of the biggest storms in U.S. history, artist Laura Kimes exhibits a series of paintings representing the aftermath.  A student of Red Dot Gallery for nearly 5 years, Laura Kimes has explored several subjects as a painter, but this body of work has been the most personal for her. After being encouraged in class to explore themes that hold the most meaning for her, she bravely investigated the theme of great loss, to which she is no stranger. The death of her husband 8 years ago left her and her 3 children devastated. Last year, while traveling in north Alabama, she photographed some of the storm damage, and related on a deeper level to the suffering of the victims. Her paintings spring from this emotional connection. “It made me angry, it made...

This Sunday is Earth Day, and The Nature Conservancy is celebrating with Picnic for the Planet. I was commissioned to paint a picnic table for our Birmingham picnic (in Railroad Park.) People will be picnicking around the globe with the Nature Conservancy, trying to break a world record for the Guinness book. The Birmingham Zoo asked me to represent their organization at the event, and this is the table I painted with generous help from my talented teenage daughter, Annabelle. It is painted with house paint and oils. 

So much happened last month there was no time to post. Here are some highlights.  Note that the unseasonably warn weather made everything bloom at once.  Annabelle was honored at the Hoover City Council meeting for one of her art awards. She placed first in painting at the State Superintendent's competition. We stuffed ourselves and got painted bright colors at the Festival of Colors at Taj India.  My paint didn't come off for three days. People thought I had a skin disease or that I'd had a rough facial.  My kid class had our annual sidewalk chalk day. We go through a whole lot of chalk. On our spring break trip, Annabelle and I stopped at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens to see the spring bloom and the spectacular orchid house. More to come!

This is one of my favorite paintings of Red Dot Gallery student Pat Conrad. She is free and uninhibited  with her brush (a talent of which I am always jealous) and she is very prolific (another thing I envy!)  This painting affects me, in a good way, on so many levels.  One of Pat's best qualities is that she has no equal when it comes to following directions, and, as I am her teacher, that is a delightful thing. It also means she has progressed by leaps and bounds since she started a few years ago. 

Red Dot Gallery painting student Ellen Moore frequently paints her grandchildren in simple landscapes. Her family is honored to be the subject of such a talented artist. She has been taking classes at Red Dot for over 4 years, and is one of the most enthusiastic, dedicated, and FUNNY people in the place. Red Dot wouldn't be the same without her.

Hundreds of ceramic artists and enthusiasts from around the region and across the country converged in Birmingham February 16-19 for the Alabama Clay Conference at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex.  Gryder, Isupov, and Meaden demonstrating They found plenty to pique their interest.  In this 27 th annual edition of the conference—the largest and most prestigious clay meeting in the Southeast—more than 400 attendees witnessed live demonstrations from some of the country’s top ceramists, toured an exhibition of the invited artists’ works, visited a ceramics trade show, shopped at a marketplace featuring the work of Alabama ceramic artists, toasted handmade “pints” at the Good People Brewery, and enjoyed the incredible collection of ceramics at the Birmingham Museum of Art. Attendees flocking around artist's work Scott Bennett, 2012 chair for the Alabama Clay Conference, a ceramics teacher and co-owner of Red Dot Gallery in Homewood, was gu...