ARCHIVED NEWS & PAST EVENTS
AUGUST 21, 2022: The artist himself manned an MSP Designs booth at the "Arts on Tap" Local Artisan and Craft Fair at The Last Chair Brewery.
Despite blistering heat and humidity, many of our weird and wonderful friends came out-- being the good patrons of the arts (and beer) that they are-- and stopped by to say hello, buy some art, grab a beer featuring one of our label designs, and have some terrific pizza!
AUGUST 2022: "The Picture's Worth" card designs are finally available in the MSP Designs online shop! Each design features original art by Robyn Anne Piper, along with a relevant quote. If the picture's worth a thousand words, then a picture of a word must be, well... invaluable!
JUNE 2022: "Tournament of Pigs" has been released, and Michael has received his complimentary copy of the game. Click the image to the left to view his post about the "unboxing", or click the WeirdWorks logo to the right to visit their site and purchase a copy of your very own!
OCTOBER 2021: Michael has designed some isometric maps for WeirdWorks, which will be included in a 5E/DCC RPG Boxed Set entitled "Tournament of Pigs", which has just surpassed its goal for funding on Kickstarter. Many other fantastic artists have contributed to the project, including a D&D idol of Michael's, Russ Nicholson, who is known to many gamers for his contributions to the "Fiend Folio".
JULY 2021: You know you have arrived when you get a "real" commercial gig. In Michael's case, this came in the form of designing beer can labels for local brewery and restaurant The Last Chair in Plymouth, NH.
To see The Last Chair's beer selection and restaurant menu,
please visit their website at: www.thelastchairnh.comTo see t
DECEMBER 2019: For the first time ever, Michael has designed a collection of boxed and single Holiday/Christmas cards. You can peruse the designs at our Facebook page or see them-- and purchase them-- in person at "The Edge" boutique in Center Harbor.
OCTOBER 2019: Please stay tuned for details about upcoming fundraising events and opportunities concerning the proposed "Lakes Center for the Arts" in Meredith, NH. The plan is to open an "art incubator" to assist artists in transitioning into successful sustainable businesses, which will hopefully be housed in the former Annalee Doll factory building. Plans include a gallery, studio spaces, a cafe, and-- eventually-- even living space for artists right in the building.
You can learn more about the LCA project and sign up to receive updates at: www.lakescenterforarts.org
To get right to their donation page to help get this exciting project going, visit: www.lakescenterforarts.org/donate
LINKS
Here are some links to sites and artists that inspire me, excite me, or otherwise have meaning in my life. I encourage you to visit them and enjoy what they have to offer:
TwinGeekz is a loose affiliation of loose affiliates in New Hampshire who began the TwinGeekz Artz Project challenge in May of 2005; the task was for each of the original seven participants to produce and submit a piece of art every week for one year. Every artist succeeded in completing their 52 pieces of art, and thus the TGAP theory was proven: "all creativity needs is a deadline".
The original idea came out of a trip by the original TwinGeek, Michael Piper, to the Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida. While viewing some of Dali's master works Piper thought, "I should create a master work." Upon returning home he shared his idea with longtime friend and fellow geek, Jim Tyrrell, who modified the concept when he suggested, "rather than one large piece of art that takes a year to create, why not create a piece of art a week for a whole year?" Tyrrell agreed to do the same in his own medium (music), a website was created, more Geekz were enlisted, and the rest is history. (OK, well, maybe not a history about which you've heard yet, but history nonetheless.)
Jake Parker has been an inspiration for me as I work toward making art not just my passion, but also my career. I've watched too many of his YouTube videos to count, and he founded "Inktober" in 2009, which is described on Wikipedia as "a popular annual celebration of ink drawing during the month of October" in which participants are given a prompt each day and challenged to create one ink drawing a day for 31 days. (Yes, you do see a similarity between this and our TwinGeekz Artz Project, which is just one more reason I identify with this guy!) His website describes him as "an illustrator, writer, and teacher based in Utah [who has] worked on everything from animated films to comics to picture books."
​
​
According to the Bio on his website, Jonas is, "a self-styled spontaneous abstract impressionist painter" who works in "acrylics on canvas, mixed-media and found objects collage".
​
​
I know and have worked with the creator of Moon Art Designs-- Michael Mooney-- personally, and I can tell you that he is both a wonderful artist and a wonderful person. I encourage you to check out the children's books he has created, as well as the other works listed under the "Art" tab of his site.
​