Brave New World Exhibit at the World Trade Center in Baltimore

Brave New World art exhibit by Tracey Grumbach at the World Trade Center in Baltimore

The following press release was just sent to local Maryland news outlets and I am pretty excited about this opportunity!

 

BALTIMORE, MD−August 20, 2019−Harford County artist, Tracey Grumbach, is currently showing 46 pieces of digital art in a solo art exhibit titled “Brave New World” at the World Trade Center in Baltimore.  The show runs through September 13, 2019.

This is the largest collection of Mrs. Grumbach’s work shown to date and features work from several of her latest series including Faceless, The Beauty Myth, and Growth Mindset, which examine human nature and the influences of the technical age on the human psyche.

Tracey Grumbach states, “This collection of art is my victory call because it was created over a period of several years out of a need to express myself during my battle with Chronic Lyme Disease. I felt silenced, not only from the effects of aphasia, which was caused by the disease damaging the language section of my brain, but also by the doctors and hospitals who didn’t believe I was suffering in such a severe way. Art was my way of reconnecting with a world that I didn’t trust anymore, thus the title of the exhibit, Brave New World.”

Mrs. Grumbach’s artistic practice is focused on combining traditional collage with photography and digital art, creating a unique look that each of the other disciplines can’t achieve on their own.

Mrs. Grumbach will also show her art in New York City at the prestigious LymeMIND Conference on October 19, 2019.

About Tracey Grumbach (www.nineacresdesigns.com)

Tracey Grumbach teaches art and photography classes at Harford Community College.  Her artwork has been seen in venues throughout Maryland and Pennsylvania, and has been published in national and international publications. She is also a member of Harford Artists’ Association. 

Tracey Grumbach in front of the Brave New World art exhibit at the World Trade Center in Baltimore

If you happen to swing by the exhibit, take a picture of yourself in front of the art and send it to me to be entered for a chance to win a free print!

I am so thankful to God for these opportunities to get my art and my story out into the world. 

Let Go- Those Precious Morning Hours

Let Go- Digital Collage by Tracey Grumbach  (stock image of woman from Pixabay)

In the very early morning hours my alarm goes off. I don't have anywhere to be or anything to do except start the day with my first dose of medicine that needs to be taken on an empty stomach...thus the 6:30AM chimes dinging on my iPhone. After taking the two pills that are on my bedside table, I breathe in the day and often times climb out of bed despite the exhaustion. I never have been an early riser and I still hate it. However, I have a new appreciation for those quiet hours before the kids rise and start their day. I have claimed that time for myself...to let go. To do the quiet things that bring me joy.

Today I spent this time beginning a new art project in the online class I'm taking...Figurescapes. I found myself not only learning all about an app I've had for a long time but never used, but I also felt myself let go as I began the project. I was so mindful in that moment...nothing else existed except for me, my iPhone, and the stylus as I drew an abstract figure on the screen. All the thoughts, feelings, worries, and obligations this day will bring melted away. I didn't allow myself to become "precious" (as one of my favorite art podcasters, The Jealous Curator of Art for Your Ear, calls it) and didn't freak out when I made mistakes. Those mistakes turned into beautiful opportunities to make my work unique and unlike the instructor's. It was free flowing and fun and invigorating to be doing something completely unlike the art I have done in the past. Before I knew it, the two hours had passed that I need to wait until I eat. I didn't even feel a hunger pang the entire time I was working because I was so completely engrossed.

This "let go" time for me is so important in my healing and in my sanity. Just as I was finishing up the very first step of this art project, I heard footsteps and toilets flushing downstairs in our living area. I came back to the present feeling refreshed for having this time to myself to be creative, present, and mindful. Now I am ready to care for my family for the rest of the day, but my mind will be on this new project, ever anxious and excited to grab just a few more minutes to myself to see where this project takes me next.

Tonight I will be working the Opening Reception at Arts By the Bay Gallery from 6PM-9PM where 5 of my framed pieces will be hanging and 10 matted pieces will be available in the print bins. I hope you can stop in and say hello...I love meeting everyone!

Have a beautiful weekend. See you on the other side of the weekend. xo

I Was a Great Reader of Fairy Tales- Digital Art by Tracey Grumbach

About this image: A passed over 2010 image of a local bed and breakfast in my archives got a breath of new life in this digital art piece. I loved the fairy tale castle feel to the structure and would have killed someone to live there and own it myself. Just kidding. I really wouldn't kill someone. Ever. Unless it was self defense, of course. But, I digress. On a plane ride to Florida this weekend, I had plenty of time to use my digital skills to translate this old picture into what I consider a beautiful creation of my imagination. Fairy tales...I am living my own fairy tale because I choose to see the magic in each day of my life.

Speaking of fairy tales, I am proud to say my oldest daughter had a very successful trip college hunting in Florida this weekend and has made a commitment to go to Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL to study Film Production. She will be moving there in August to start writing the fairy tale beginning of her own life. I can not be more proud of my kids. My oldest son is back at college seeking a business degree while working at a local restaurant and my twins are working hard in homeschool. I am the luckiest mom in the world.

I hope to see you at the art show opening Friday night from 5-8PM in Oxford, PA!  I can't wait to see everyone! Stop in, see the art, and let's chat about my pieces. See the flyer below:

Also, mark your calendars NOW for a new art show opening soon at Arts By the Bay Gallery on Friday, February 3 from 7-9PM!  I will be there with 5 pieces hanging and I will be working the desk, so stop in and see me!

I hope you have an amazing Wednesday and spread a little magic dust of your own today.

Four Pillars- Tracey Grumbach Artwork On Display at Havre de Grace Library

Four Pillars- digital artwork by Tracey Grumbach

I am really excited and proud to announce that my artwork, Four Pillars, was chosen as one of 13 pieces of art juried into an exhibition to be held at the new Havre de Grace Library in Harford County. There were 77 entries for this show and only 13 of those were selected, so I feel very, very honored.

The theme of the exhibition is "My Havre de Grace" and will be hanging from October 29, 2016 through December 7, 2016. You can see all the artwork during regular library hours between these dates. I am looking forward to attending the reception on Friday, October 28 to meet and greet the other artists.  I am checking on whether this reception is open to the public and if it is, I will be notifying you in a future post. I'd love all my friends and family to come!

If you are familiar with Havre de Grace, then you know exactly where these pillars are.  They run right next to the train bridge that crosses over the water. For me, these pillars represent our connection to the past, a visible sign that even past events in our lives can still rise from the depths of our consciousness and be an imposing figure in the landscape of our present lives. Major events such as contracting Lyme Disease (twice now) and my father's passing, still play a significant role in the landscape of my personal present, their lessons and emotions written into the very fiber of my cells. I am grateful for that, though, because I am a very different person than I was before these things happened. I have come so far and learned so much since then. Sometimes these ground shaking events must occur for us to achieve significant personal and spiritual growth.

I hope you all have a blessed Thursday! I know mine will be. I get to homeschool my children and continue working on some new art pieces. What could be better than that?

xo

You Make Your Mark

Graffiti's always been a temporary art form. You make your mark and they scrub it off.

-Bansky

No matter how hard they try, they can not erase me. They may be able to erase my art, silence my voice, and delete my words; but they will never get rid of me.

 I was in awe, standing in an alley in Baltimore City, just trying to absorb all of the art spray painted there. The paint was fresh. The art new. The pungent smell of paint still lingered in the air like a badge of courage of those risking arrest just to express themselves. The acrid bouquet cut through even the strong urine smell that lingered around the edges of the building. It was like walking into some brightly colored cartoon, the drabness and grayness of the city fading away into this vibrant new world.  A new world where color was king, expression freely accepted, and nothing was permanent. Everything was free flowing and liquid. With the breeze blowing, I almost felt unsteady on my feet. What was this amazing world I had entered?

Standing there, contemplating, I yearned for the ability to camouflage myself into the wall, like a chameleon, by taking on all the beautiful colors I saw there. What if our skin could blend perfectly into the wall and take on the exact art that our shadows were covering? How freaking cool would that be to disappear into this most vibrant, beautiful world? And that is when the idea struck me...I can. I can simply disappear here...and I did.

Hope your Monday and the rest of your week is vibrant and beautiful.

xo