Michele Bedigian

highlights from the Buck’s County Chocolate Show in New Hope, Pennsylvania

… and oh what a show it was!

The word Chocolate alone draws in a crowd. So I wasn’t surprised how the line wrapped around the building as early as 10am. But what did surprise me was how many people, (all hunting for the best chocolate they can find), found such a genuine interested in the exhibit. They asked all sorts of questions; Did I make everything by hand? Was the packaging real? and most curiously, how was I able to design a poster from all these individual handmade parts?  

The beauty of it was that I met people for whom the concept of constructing an original piece of art digitally from handmade elements was a bit foreign. (Quickly making it clear that this was a gifted opportunity to share some insight on how the computer can be used just as simply as a paintbrush to achieve an artist’s vision.)

 The exchange was exhilarating. What I walked away with was a better understanding of the unique moment in time the art world is moving. 

Looking forward to see what happens next year!

-Michele 

p.s.  The question is often debated what constitutes an original piece of art. In my mind’s eye an original is a piece that is created directly from thought to craft and there is no other combination of elements put together that precede it’s existence in an identical fashion. 

… exhibiting at the Buck’s County Chocolate Show in New Hope, Pennsylvania 

The Journey of the Pod, 2008  

A few weeks back I received an email announcing a call for an open submission to a poster contest. Ordinarily I would’ve passed on it figuring I didn’t have the time. But something about this peaked my interest.                                                                                                       It was the word, chocolate.                                                                                                     Those of you who know me would not be surprised why this word is so special. I’ve spent years studying and exploring the history of this magnificent commodity that is so richly woven into our culture.

After Godiva and FarCoast, once again the call for art was knocking and I wasn’t about to pass up the chance to experience another journey with this little pod. My mentor always said do what you love and it finds you. So I designed a poster and sent it off. (I must admit just doing art for art’s sake was amazing.) 

About 2 weeks later I received an email notifying me that indeed I was being considered for the winning entry, and would be granted the privilege if I agreed to exhibit the original pieces that made up the components of the digital collage at the chocolate show. Who could resist the offer? …. getting to spend time with two of my passions, art and chocolate.                                                                                                     Hope you’ll join me in the fun. If not, check back in for the highlights.                                                                                                                                                                                     Ciao,                                                                                                                                  Michele 

Buck’s County Chocolate Show - June 1, 2008 

  A portion of the poster proceeds will go to Rainforest Alliance 

A new year, a new site, and new opportunity…

    …to check out some great art!

As I sit and wait for the news of our official launch, my mailbox floods with chatter. Emails are coming in so fast it’s difficult to tell which one was meant to be read first and hard to follow. Buzz is in the air as we get ready to share a new website with the visual arts community. While it’s been hard work, it’s also been a real pleasure putting together a fresh collection that is sure to offer an invaluable service to our business and our clients.

Sifting through all these emails a thought occurs to me how much the studio has grown, collectively and individually. With so much experience between us something special brought us here and something even more special is blossoming fast.

Visit the new site Studio1482.com. There’s a great compendium of images that, (wink), I think you’ll find make us pretty unique. If you feel inclined, you can view mine directly here.

Enjoy! It’d be nice to know what you think.

p.s. I can’t close this entry without a big thanks to one of our own, Eddie Pena,  for designing the site, and all his time and effort in the task of organizing nine.

In a lifetime there are moments we treasure that somehow give meaning, (if only a glimpse) to the questions we can so often find ourselves asking as the days pass us by. They are not to be taken lightly. If missed, it might be years before we are granted the priviledge to meet them again. It is our responsibility to look and listen when we are granted such an offer.

That’s a pretty heavy statement, but stop for a second and imagine being six again. Can you recall when you first learned to read? I bet it was easier then to look and to listen to the world around you without the distractions of grown-up demands. (Take note: one of those moments.) How exciting was it?

Oh, the possibilities in all those new worlds of words!

Reportage is just like that for me. It’s reading the world with six year old eyes and I can’t get enough of the story. Paris, Sydney, Lisbon, Munich, Newport, New York are all among the many places I’ve been where the stories had offerings beyond my dreams. With my tools in hand, my brushes, pencils, paper, ink, and camera too I know now I was only a witness who arrived just in time for the reveal. The words came easily, the pictures eager to play. Yet the demands on me were simple, to trust and journal the moment.

I’ve learned what goes down on paper is always meant to be there. It’s part of the dialog and reading the language . So I draw, and I paint. I shoot. I paint again and then I shoot some more, never taking my eyes off the possibilities or underestimating a sight, a sound, a smell, a tone or even a color.

I often wonder where it will lead me?

Who knows. I really can’t wait to find out.

In the meanwhile, I’ve discovered that reportage converses in the moment and as an artist it is my responsibility to be fully committed. Otherwise it will drift back and it might be years before I can meet the hour again or an hour in the like. What I’ve learned so far is it’s in those fragments of time when the message is clear that the answers can magically weave the evolutions between the impression and the solution.

(Note: The drawing above marked such a moment in Paris while I was working in the Jardin Tuilerrie. I heard the laughter of children, even song through it’s trees. When in all the while the gentle conversations of the past continued on between it’s sculptures who so eloquently commanded an audience from every angle sharing the moment.)

First impressions can be, well, for lack of a better term, often ‘strange’ in the Milky Way of blogs.

Think about it as you sit before this fast-paced, finger-tipped portal designed to deliver more information than one person can absorb…it never fails to ask for your opinion; do you like what you see on the screen and what’s your first impression?

It’s where that good ol’ meet and greet has joined forces with a modern click, or a click-click, (depending on your system of choice), and where a bunch of impressionable words has a) brought you here, and b) will determine if there’s enough intrigue to make you click on and investigate that itch of curiosity.

Take a sec to mull it over.

1 Mississippi, 2 Mississippi, 3 Mississippi … you’re still here? …. great!

Well then, hello there!
Allow me to share with you a little bit of the who’s who in my world of art and communication. Let me invite you to visit my home at www.Studio1482.com.
Please go ahead. I’ll wait. You won’t be disappointed. It’s really a must see.

Studio 1482 is a unique resource of artists living and working in this little town called New York City.
As you navigate through the site you’ll not only find a few samples of what I do, but you’ll be amazed at the diversity you’ll find in the team of artists I work with.

I am one of nine associates that illustrate, design, and photograph, (both still and film/video) who are currently working on all sorts of juicy assignments with client after client in advertising, editorial, institutional and publishing.

It’s just a tiny click away.
I’m really looking forward to hearing from you and your (hopefully not so strange) impressions.

Come back from time to time to catch the happenings.

Ciao,
Michele