"Neptune Rising" Awarded in Kent CT & Other News August 12 2016

It's been a busy summer at Kent Art Association this year where Lacey and I have been spending time as volunteers. There have been many successful shows, new artists, & judges! We've had wonderful discussions with people at the openings, and  each show I feel the community of artists has grown & learned something new from each other.  Kent Art Association's next opening is tomorrow August 13th, and I am very excited to tell you that "Neptune Rising" will be receiving an Award of Excellence!!  All are welcome to join us in celebration as the KAA Opening Reception is 2-4PM.  There will also be live music too for the first time at KAA in years.  It should be interesting to see art and music filling the halls with artists & patrons coming together to enjoy our members' hard work & the community's cultural celebration.

In other recent BA Wygant Studio news international art writer M. Khalid Rahman at IRIS Art Magazine has decided to feature me in their publication.  I'd like to take this opportunity to thank them for sharing the message. I'd also like to thank my daughter Lacey for helping me put together another calendar for 2017.  The sales from this calendar go directly back into my projects.  Consequently I would like to thank each and everyone of you who have helped support my work through purchasing the calendars over the years.  Maybe some day I will be able to do a coffee table book, but until this this is the best way to grab the best of my collection of work in one spot is the 2017 Calendar.  

Each year there are new paintings added, and of course we keep some of our symbolic favorites like "Unity" for March.  As Many of you know, this is when I was inspired to capture the power of hope and healing through Daffodils.  I would see them  on sale in the community to support cancer research.  So every year "Unity" is featured in March as a reminder to go get those beautiful flowers from your local cancer fundraisers; each of us doing our part to keep the hope alive through the beauty of flowers.  That's some serious flower power. In fact each month's selection has a little story. Feel free to reach out to me on Facebook if you would like to find out more stories about each month's selection.  I look forward to continuing the discussion with you www.fb.com/bawygant

Lastly I would like to acknowledge that this week is a special week for my family as we celebrate the lives of our family in Heaven.  Both My Grandfather Floyd and my Brother Bill have birthdays and I'm especially feeling thankful for their presence in everything I do this week.
I know my Sister & I were so blessed to have had them in our lives even for the short time that window was.
They continue to inspire me everyday, and though the pain of loss is deep, I've learned to focus on the love they instilled in me.  Their energy, even today, goes on in my work in many ways.

Super Blood Moon; Yet another reason to stop & look up in your own backyard September 28 2015 1 Comment

Make time to look around in your travels each day.  Sometimes Mother Nature will surprise you.  For instance, this week, we were able to see the blood moon that was also a super moon (Will not happen again for 30 plus years).  It makes you realize how we are a very small part of this larger reality, and how precious our little blue pearl is.  We are all floating along in this dark silky night sky.  

 As the moon shifts through Earth's shadow it shows just how quickly our time goes by.  Here we also are living in the shadow of earth- leaning into the sun each day for energy and warmth, our time in the light is short. The kind memory you have planted and given with love, is infinite and will be reflected in your life's story, like the red glow of the moon we too can give light back -even in darkness.  Each seed of Love you plant has waves that will reach out into the Universe around you. One day you bare whiteness to the infinite beautiful garden that you are.

We each can protect the garden & grow it further, better connecting each other.  We all think, "How can I make our world a better safer place for this garden of life to grow?" One thing I personally do is offer a kind word and a hug, when someone is having a bad day.  How do you meet this challenge?  All ideas on how to spread the seeds of hope & kindness are welcome!  I hope these images bring you light, perspective, & perhaps a little inspiration.  

Photos:

27Sep2015

by Lacey Wallace

Location: Middlefield, CT

Light Worker Sky Watch

Going to Beirut... With Your Help! September 16 2015

We've all heard someone criticizing Art as "excessive" and "unnecessary" and categorizing it as "entertainment", but that view is broken and fully misses the value of Art.  We all need to open our eyes to what Art really is.  It plucks the strings of human emotion.  It taps into our quantum soul that ties us together.  It can give us a perspective on something beyond our own surroundings and expose the true human nature and our shared experience as "spiritual beings on a universal journey"(quote from a friend).  These are truly the goals of all Artwork whether it is a Pixar film, a song composed hundreds of years ago played today by Yo-Yo-Ma, in the movement of a dancer in "American in Paris", or in the brush strokes of a lilypad in a Monet painting.  All these works evoke your emotion as a human being, in fact it is this expression of empathy that makes us human!  This is the true value of Art.  Some people will call Art unnecessary, or a waste of resources in contrast to the massive issues we face around the world.... And these people are missing the point of Art at its core!  Through Art projects around the world, Artists are expressing with grace, all the tragedies and the triumphs of Humanity. The communication of the world around us takes place in Artists' studios in the far outer reaches of Earth and in your hometown.  Art is bringing that need for change to your computer screen or your local gallery and you only need to take a moment to share in this experience to know its value to our global community.  These Artworks are now more important then ever for those of us who want to find truth, sanity and hope for our species. 

There is so much energy and potential for planting the seeds of hope and brotherhood and yes, peace.  I'd love to paint at this moment where the winds of change are sweeping refugees in need of support into a culture that is both diverse, vibrant, and budding.  This refugee city is a microcosm of humanity and there is much to learn, document, and paint.  I'm ready to take it all in as an Artist and work in this space.  I'm excited for the possibilities to raise awareness of the refugee crisis.  My goal is to donate my work for sale through Beirut Art International, NGO/UN to benefit the refugee camps where there is well over Two Million people, trying to survive with their families. Upon my return to Connecticut I hope to collaborate with local events to raise awareness of the plight of refugees & promise of hope for the Lebanese through my paintings and photographs.  This is the Video Lacey put together for the project: