July 5th, 2010
On Saturday, I had the great pleasure…and honor…of participating in the annual Baseball Day at The Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA. What an incredible day!
The Fourth of July is all about America…our heritage, our history…and of course, our independence. I can’t think of a better place to celebrate than in the home of one of the greatest artists our country has ever produced. Norman Rockwell was more than an artist…he was a historian. I had the opportunity to tour the museum before our event began. I knew a lot about Mr. Rockwell, but i have never seen so many of his original works assembled in one place. The impact was incredible. Norman Rockwell never shied away from controversy. He painted what he believed. In particular, i saw for the first time, the original of The Golden Rule - an incredibly powerful piece, for which i understand, he received a great deal of hate mail. The artist’s original Stockbridge studio is also on the Museum grounds. I urge you…if you ever find yourself in Stockbridge, MA…make sure you get to The Norman Rockwell Museum. It’s a wonderful look at our country’s history through the middle of the twentieth century as seen through the eyes of a brilliant artist.
Now…back to Baseball Day. Of course, Norman Rockwell’s baseball paintings are some of his best known works….you can see them at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Baseball Day is the brainchild of curator Tom Daly whom i met almost a year ago. Tom saw some similarities between my work and career and that of Mr. Rockwell…while i was honored to even be compared…i was able to see what he was talking about…i hope that my legacy, similar to that of Norman Rockwells, is as a pop culture historian, of sorts.
Tom invited me up to Baseball Day and I was more than happy to oblige. There were baseball players, and representatives from the Hall of Fame, and baseball artist Graig Kreindler More than 1,000 people came through the Museum on Saturday. I had the opportunity to meet Linda Ruth Tosetti (Babe Ruth’s grandaughter) who was on hand to talk about her heritage and her legendary grandfather. I worked with a wonderful group of kids…and adults…to create a work that will become part of the Museum’s permanent collection. I understand that it will be on view with the new acquisitions collection in the Fall and i’m VERY proud of that.
It was a fantastic weekend and we had lots of fun and met some great new friends.
Happy Fourth of July to All of You!
–Charles
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Tags: Babe Ruth, Baseball Art, Fazzino, Linda Ruth Tosetti, Norman Rockwell Museum, The Golden Rule
Posted in Arts Education, Baseball Art Prints, Museum Pop Art, Sports Pop Art |
June 22nd, 2010
Charles Fazzino will participate in the annual Play Ball! An All-American Festival – Baseball Day at the Norman Rockwell Museum on Saturday, July 3rd from 12:00pm to 4:00pm. He will exhibit many of his baseball-related works and conduct an interactive art workshop with the kids who attend, working with them to create a one-of-a-kind 3-D work for the Museum’s collection.
Here is the information directly from the Museum:
Celebrate America’s favorite pastime and the Art of Norman Rockwell. Meet Linda Ruth Tosetti, Babe Ruth’s granddauther; learn about the Major Leagues from Brian Daubach, former Red Sox first baseman; explore the art of baseball with illustrator Graig Kreindler; take a lively look a tthe history of the sport with Anna Wade, director of education at the National Baseball Hall of Fame; toss the ball with the Pittsfield Colonials (bring your mitt!); create a baseball-inspired work of art with 3-D artist Charles Fazzino; and try the fast pitch booth with the Tri City Valley Cats. Fuel up with an all-American grill on the Museum’s terrace. Program is free with Museum admission.
So, if you’re in the area, come see us on Saturday, July 3rd at the Norman Rockwell Museum. We’ll have free Fazzino event posters for the first 200 kids and Charles will be autographing them in addition to leading the workshop. Here’s a preview of the artwork the kids will be making with him.
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Tags: Babe Ruth, Baseball Pop Art, Fazzino, Linda Ruth Tosetti, Norman Rockwell Museum
Posted in Arts Education, Baseball Art Prints, Sports Pop Art |
May 7th, 2010
We recently received this email from our friend Rebecca….
Hello. As I recently told you, our school – Saugatuck Elementary in Westport, CT – does a program called ArtSmarts. The parents volunteer, pick an artist, and develop a project to be done in a similar style for their class. At the beginning of the project, the parents talk about the artist, his/her style, and explains how their project will be similar to the original artist. This year, we picked the theme of “Valentine’s Day” and the students used foam dots and duplicate pictures to create 3-D creations. They had a variety of items to use including traditional valentines, foam hearts, flat hearts, etc. And they used glitter and jewels to embellish at the end. It was great fun to see how each picture was so unique even with the same raw materials. It was a great success!
–Rebecca
Thanks, Rebecca for sending us these wonderful pictures…..love to see the kids exploring their artistic sides! Eventually, we will be running interactive educational art projects out of our new working studio…when it’s finished and ready…in a couple of months…so stay tuned for more info!
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Tags: ArtSmarts, Charles Fazzino, pop art, Saugatuck Elementary
Posted in 3D pop art, Arts Education, Collectors Mail Bag |
May 4th, 2010
I was watching WCBS local news a few mornings ago and i caught the tail end of a story that i looked up online today. It was about a student art exhibition sponsored by the NYC Parks Department. You can read the story for yourself at www.wcbstv.com. Hundreds of students throughout the NY area worked for four months to paint pop art picnic tables for the city’s parks. What a FANTASTIC arts educational opportunity. The kids really ran with it…they used tables as canvases to express themselves in beautiful ways – they addressed the issues that face them in school and in life, and they gave us an insight into their thoughts and feelings. They learned the value of teamwork and how to manage a project.
I will continue to blog about the value of arts education which is increasingly at risk in this country. The arts are so important in reaching kids…in giving them an outlet to express themselves….in helping them learn about themselves and the world around them. Ok, i’ll get off my soap box now.
I AM still working on my educational studio and hope to have it up and running in the next two months, in time to start hosting some workshops for the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year…if not before. In the meantime, i have recently hosted several interactive arts projects with kids around the country at a few of my gallery shows in Houston (Off the Wall Gallery), Austin (The Russell Collection) and Jacksonville (R Roberts Gallery). The piece we completed in Houston was auctioned off to raise funds for the Children’s Fund. The rest of the pieces were donated to corporate collections at Wolfson’s Children’s Hospital, The University of North Florida, and the Dell Children’s Hospital.
Each time i work with the kids is a rewarding experience. It’s always so interesting to see what types of kids come to these events. It’s such a mixture. And there’s always that ONE kid whose eyes just light up. You can tell you’ve inspired him or her to think about art…to go home and play with it some more…to look at it…and consider it. I’m astonished by how bright and thoughtful and interested they all are…so focused…and proud of the finished artwork. I must admit, it makes me proud too.
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Tags: Arts Education, Fazzino, NYC Parks Department, WCBS TV
Posted in 3D pop art, Arts Education, Charity Involvement |
March 3rd, 2010
A few months ago, i blogged about the New Rochelle Arts Council of the Arts Juried Exhibition i was asked to judge titled “Utopioptix”. Last night, i met with the other two judges on the panel, Katrina Rhein and David Tobey, to evaluate the final collection. All of the artwork chosen for exhibition was hung in the Lumen Winter Gallery at the New Rochelle Public Library.
I can’t divulge the first and second prize winners from the competition, but i CAN urge you all to come and see the show. There is an opening reception this Saturday night, March 6th at 5:30pm. We’ll be announcing the winners that evening. Join me and my fellow jurors and all of the exhibitors and take in what has turned into a really fun, thought-provoking, and very interesting art exhibit based on “Visons of the Future.”
So, here’s the irony of all of this. My own very first one-man show was hosted by the Lumen Winter Gallery at the New Rochelle Public Library back in 1984! This entire experience has brought back some fun memories. Below, i have posted the invitation for the Utopioptix show coming up this weekend AND the invitation for the Charles Fazzino show from 1984-85. Boy how time flies!
Enjoy and I hope to see you on Saturday!
–Charles
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Tags: Fazzino, Lumen Winter Gallery, New Rochelle Council of the Arts, New Rochelle Public Library
Posted in 3D pop art, Arts Education, Charity Involvement |
December 18th, 2009
The New Rochelle Council on the Arts was formed in 1975 and it’s just one of thousands of local arts councils throughout the country that are at the grassroots of supporting and promoting the arts in local communities. They recently asked me to be one of the judges for their upcoming Spring Exhibition. I accepted with honor. Those of you who read this blog know that i am a big proponent of Arts Education and i see my involvement in events like this one as an extension of that. I’m really looking forward to it.
Of course, this means that the New Rochelle Council is also accepting entries for this contest NOW. The deadline for entries is January 1sst and the subject is “Utopioptix: Visions of the Future Then and Now.” You can visit the New Rochelle Council Website for the whole prospectus and information about how to enter. The First Prize will be $500 and the Second Prize will be $250. I encourage all the local artists out there to enter…you never know!
Good Luck!
–Charles
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Tags: Charles Fazzino, Fazzino, New Rochelle Council on the Arts
Posted in Arts Education, Charity Involvement |
