As an artist, rarely do I lack inspiration to create. I am inspired by objects, places, people , fabrics, lines in furniture, colors......you name it and I can be inspired. But few things inspire me as much as music and WXPN in Philadelphia. WXPN is the non-commercial, member-supported radio service of the University of Pennsylvania. It is the #1 public radio station in the country. It is responsible for almost all of the fabulous sounds that float through my house as I paint, entertain, cook, chill...basically whenever music plays, which is all the time. When I am getting ready for a show, I have a few weeks where I do nothing but create. There is paint on my face and even on the bottom of my feet. Sleep and food become less important. Coffee, music and candles become more important. This is where WXPN comes in. I cannot imagine this creative frenzy without the music I have discovered through WXPN. Calexico, Jonatha Brooke, Regina Spektor, Rufus Wainwright and many others fill my home and studio with their sound as I paint, sew, paste and draw.
This said, you can only imagine my joy of having one of my paintings on the WXPN Studio Tour. For the past two years, I have created a painting of WXPN to donate to their annual Beggar's Banquet. The first year I did the front of the building and the second year, Donor's Alley on the side of the building. This is alley way where the people who really support WXPN come in to sit in on a taping of World Cafe, public radio's most popular program of current music hosted by David Dye and syndicated by NPR, or see a free concert at noon. This is also where the musicians themselves enter the studio; talents the like of Citizen Cope, Carly Simon, Adele, Joe Jackson, The Indigo Girls, to name a few. This year my painting was purchased by the same person at The Beggar's Banquet as last year and then donated back to the station. It really makes me so proud to have my art hanging in the the studio of a radio station that has inspired me for the past 16 years. It is amazing to think that my artwork hangs where it is seen by the gifted musicians who inspire me as I create.
WXPN s located at 3025 Walnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19104. Take a tour!
Written on Saturday, 18 July 2009 21:16 by colleen