Boat in hand by Cathy Broski

Every year the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (MMoCA) and the Madison Symphony Orchestra (MSO) join forces and put on the Arts Ball. The Arts Ball raises much needed funds for these great organizations. This year it lands directly on Halloween. It will probably have the best costumes of any Halloween party in the city.

The museum is a great asset that "exists to exhibit, collect, preserve, and interpret modern and contemporary art." Almost all of the exhibits at the museum are free and they are always presenting new works and educational series.

The symphony presents amazing musical works and brings in some of the best musicians in the world to perform with them.

If you happen to be attending the Arts Ball this weekend, make sure you take a good look at the silent auction. And I recommend bidding on “Boat in hand” by Cathy Broski which was donated by Artful Home.

Among the many highlights at last week’s national conference of the American Craft Council was the announcement of their prestigious awards of recognition. It was thrill to honor Michael Monroe, who serves as Artful Home’s most senior Art Advisor and Juror. Michael Monroe, Director of Curatorial Affairs at Bellevue Arts Museum, was honored with the prominent "Award of Distinction for Contributions to the Field of Craft" by the American Craft Council. The award "recognizes an organization, institution, corporation or individual who has made significant contributions to the field of craft with a minimum of 25 years of service," according to a recent press release by the American Craft Council, and "honors those who have demonstrated outstanding artistic achievement, leadership and service in the craft field."

Micheal’s response, as always, was humble.
"I’m delighted and deeply honored to be the recipient of the 2009 Award of Distinction from the American Craft Council," Monroe states. "The American Craft Council has been a driving force in both the traditional and studiocraft movements, and I’m proud to have been – and continue to be – part of introducing craft and craft artists to new audiences."

We know Michael well here at Artful Home, and turn to him frequently for his sage advice. His broad knowledge of artists across all media is staggering, and his openness and receptivity to newness has taught us much.

So just who is he? An eminent figure in the world of craft, Michael Monroe has served as independent curator, noted lecturer, author and juror for over 35 years. He joined Bellevue Arts Museum in 2005 as Executive Director/Chief Curator and transitioned into the role of Director of Curatorial Affairs in 2008. Prior to his tenure at BAM, Monroe was associated with the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery, which collects and presents exhibitions that feature the creative achievements of craft artists and designers in the United States. Monroe served as curator from 1974, and in 1986, he became curator-in-charge, a position he held until 1995. During his tenure he was invited by President William Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton to organize a collection for the White House in commemoration of the Year of American Craft.

Congratulations, Michael! We can think of no more deserving recipient

It’s difficult to thank you enough for all of the support during the Hearts for Anna event which raised money to help Anna Millea fight reoccurring cancer. Together we raised over $14,000 which Anna will use to off-set the medical costs.

Artists who are affiliated with Artful Home and artists who are not but were moved by this cause contributed over 100 original, one of a kind works of art. By the end of the first day of the event nearly all of the works had been purchased – many of them almost immediately at 10am when they became available.

Blown away by the response we knew we had to do more and scrambled to pull together a gallery of work for which we would donate 100% of our profit from those works to the cause as well. People were quick to purchase those items as well.

Anna herself has been deeply touched by your support and generosity.

Thank you again for taking part in this cause.

Anna Millea, a longtime Guild and Artful Home artist, is fighting breast cancer – again. The disease has returned aggressively and is now in her bones, requiring an extreme sixteen rounds of chemotherapy. She has no insurance, having been deemed uninsurable due to her “pre-existing condition.”

When we at Artful Home learned of this we knew we needed to do something to try to help her through this situation. What we have come up with is an event we are calling “Hearts for Anna”.

Artful Home will hold a 5-day online event, “Hearts for Anna”, August 12-16, 2009 in which miniature artworks, no larger than 5″ x 7″, will be sold. The items will be sold first-come, first serve.

• Event begins today, 10AM Central. Each piece will be priced at $100.
• Each original work of art will go to the first person to order, and never be available again.
• 10AM Central, August 13, the remaining artwork will be available for $75.
• 10AM Central, August 15 – 11:59PM August 16, the remaining artwork will be available for $50.

All money will go to a fund that goes directly to Anna Millea to help pay for her medical bills.

» Join the cause and purchase one of these artist made pieces.