Recuperating from a hectic, yet another fun On The Waterfront weekend!

The crazy "On The Waterfront" weekend is over, and after a relaxing Labor Day time-out, we are back to our regular hours here at J. R. Kortman Center for Design. We are happy to say that the Kortman Gallery Main Street Lounge was a grand success this year featuring ARTini's. The Love Lemon, Red Cosmo, and Blue Cool were enjoyed by all who imbibed...and we look forward to offering them again at the Kortman Gallery "Point! Bar" at the Greenwich Village Art Fair coming up September 18–19 on the Rockford Art Museum grounds.
The new Main Street turned out to work very well for us for this year's OTW. It provided a pleasant strolling area for festival goers and great people watching for our outside Lounge patrons. Speaking of our patrons, it was so nice to see so many of you here over the weekend having such a good time. We appreciate your business, and it is good to enjoy such a wonderful event. We thought this years line-up of performers at OTW attracted a more sophisticated and interesting crowd.
We also appreciate the efforts of all OTW staff and volunteers who helped make this the cleanest OTW ever.
The streets and sidewalks were kept clean during the entire festival with no overflowing garbage bins anywhere. At the end of the evening the festival grounds looked great even before the final clean-up crew came through!
Most of all we would like to say thank you to our bar manager Chris Doyle... bartenders Chad Hobbs and Erin Knoll, store manager Nancy Froelich, and Michael LaLoggia (set-up), and Don Bissel and Kyle Bevers (tear-down). Without their generous help we would not have been able to have such a successful weekend.
Hope to see you all at the Greenwich Village Art Fair, September 18–19 @ the Kortman Gallery "Point! Bar."

New ARTini's created for J. R. Kortman's OTW Main Street Lounge...

New ARTini’s created for Kortman Gallery “Lounge” @ OTW

At this year’s On The Waterfront celebration, the Kortman Gallery will create a sexy, outdoor cocktail lounge on North Main Street in front of J.R. Kortman Center for Design. The “Kortman Gallery Lounge” will feature ARTini’s including the now classic Love Lemon Martini, along with two new cocktails, the Red Cosmo and Blue Cool. 
These colorful ARTini’s are all mixed with Rokk Vodka of Sweden.
The upstairs Kortman Gallery will be open during most of the festival hours and is presenting the exuberant acrylic paintings of Rockford Artist Michelle Dorr in an exhibit titled “Happy Hour!”...a great exhibit for the entire family.
The Red Cosmo is a blend of Rokk Vodka, cranberry juice, triple sec, lime juice and grenadine, garnished with fresh lime and lemon candy stick. The Blue Cool is mixed with Rokk Vodka, blue curacao, and a splash of cool blue Gatorade, garnished with an orange slice and candy stick.
“All these colorful, refreshing ARTini’s were created not only for their great taste but, like art, their visual appeal,” said Doc Slafkosky, co-owner of J.R. Kortman. “A good cocktail must be as fun to see as it is to drink.”
The Love Lemon Martini was created in homage to Love Lemons which were a festival treat at the Greenwich Village Art Fairs back in the 1960’s, 70’s, and 80’s. Love Lemons consisted of a whole chilled fresh lemon which is pierced by a candy peppermint stick. The candy stick is porous so you can suck the juice from the lemon through the candy like a straw. The candy sweetens the lemon juice, and the peppermint flavor adds a cool refreshing taste.
The Love Lemon Martini is a blend of Vodka, Limoncello (a liqueur from Italy), fresh lemon juice, and garnished with a lemon wedge and peppermint stick. Yum! When life hands you lemons...have a martini!
Check out this video shot by Michael LaLoggia...Doc & Chris share the ingredients of a Blue Cool:

 

 

Michelle Dorr’s colorful “Happy Hour!” exhibition of new works opens Friday, August 27th at Kortman Gallery...

Party faces, lovable dogs, and vibrant insects are the subjects of Michelle Dorr’s colorful portraits which will go on exhibit Friday, August 27th in the Kortman Gallery. Dorr’s exhibition appropriately titled, “Happy Hour!” features paintings of acrylic on canvas that are dazzling and exuberant works of art.
Dorr is a self-taught artist who was greatly influenced by her father who was a graphic designer with a home studio. “I grew up in a family of artists and especially loved watching my father create portraits of people and animals,” said Dorr. “I always paid special attention to the way he did eyes and I never forgot it.” 
Dorr has also applied her images to jewelry that she hand makes. “My jewelry is created from miniatures of my paintings that I cast in resin and adorn with glass seed beads,” says Dorr. “The pieces are casual, fun, wearable art.”
“Because Michelle Dorr’s art is so visually entertaining we thought this would be a great art show to have in the gallery during On The Waterfront,” says Kortman Gallery director Doc Salfkosky. “The whole family will enjoy Michelle’s colorful paintings.”
The August 27th opening reception for “Happy Hour!” by Michelle Dorr will be from 5:30 to 9:00pm upstairs in the Kortman Gallery at J.R. Kortman Center for Design, 107 North Main Street, Downtown Rockford. For more information call 815/968-0123 or visit www. jrkortman.com. 
What: “Happy Hour!,” an exhibition of portrait art by Michelle Dorr
Where: Kortman Gallery, upstairs at J.R.Kortman Center for Design, 107 North Main, Downtown Rockford
When: Opening reception, Friday, August 27, 5:30pm-9:00pm. Gallery open Monday–Saturday, 10am–6pm. Exhibition runs through September 27, 2010.
Free admission. 
Information: 815-968-0123 or www.jrkortman.com

To see images of Michelle Dorr's "Happy Hour!" exhibit, click on the "Current Show" option to the left under Kortman Gallery

 

 

Jeanne Ludeke Returns to Painting in Kortman Gallery Exhibit opening Friday, June 4

Rockford artist Jeanne Ludeke will present her classic still life paintings in a Kortman Gallery exhibition titled “The Sibylline Still Life: A Return to Painting” opening Friday, June 4th. Ludeke, who is best known for her portraits, has created luscious new oil paintings of food and ordinary objects inspired by such masters of still life as Adriaen Coorte and Hovsep Pushman.
“Like Pushman, I am interested in dramatizing the relationships of objects in a meditative atmosphere,” Ludeke writes in her artist's statement. “ And like Coorte, I prefer to center and elevate my subjects on a platform to enhance and dignify the ordinary.”
Ludeke began her studies in drawing, painting and art history at NIU and the University of Salzburg, Austria, and completed a Masters in drawing at NIU in 1983. She has worked as a commissioned portrait artist and also taught art for many years. Only recently she has returned to her personal work as an artist.
Many of her current paintings include alluring images of food, such as a red velvet cupcake placed in front of a background of a well known painting. “These works are visually warm and inviting, and also stimulate your sense of taste and smell because of the realistic quality of the paintings,” says Kortman Gallery director Doc Slafkosky. “Inspired by Jeanne’s art, we thought we’d take the gallery experience a step further and have freshly baked cupcakes available at the opening. Caked, a new Rockford baking company, will be selling not only red velvet, but other artistically inspired cupcakes during the event.
The June 4th opening reception for “The Sibylline Still Life: A Return to Painting” by Jeanne Ludeke will be from 5:30 to 9:00pm upstairs in the Kortman Gallery at J.R. Kortman Center for Design, 107 North Main Street, Downtown Rockford. For more information call 815/968-0123 or visit www. jrkortman.com. 
What: “The Sibylline Still Life: A Return to Painting” exhibition of classical art by Jeanne Ludeke
Where: Kortman Gallery, upstairs at J.R.Kortman Center for Design, 107 North Main, Downtown Rockford
When: Opening reception, Friday, June 4th, 5:30pm-9:00pm. Gallery open Monday–Saturday, 10am–6pm. Exhibition runs through July 15, 2010.
Free admission. 
Information: 815-968-0123 or www.jrkortman.com
 
See images of Jeanne Ludeke's art... click on the "Current Show" option under Kortman Gallery on the left.

 

 

Smart gifts for the graduate in your life from J.R. Kortman Center for Design...

Here we are celebrating the Class of 2010. They grow up so fast! Well here are some smart gift ideas for the now brilliant student in your life.   2. Cool watches from Alessi, Projects, and Lexon   3. Every desk should have a glow-in-the-dark fish skeleton stapler   4. Figure accurately with "Lego" calculator  5. Music themed classic rollerball pen by Josh Bach  6. Matching cultured pearl necklace and bracelet  7. Spectacular flat baroque pearl necklace  8. Magnetic "Rockford" clock  9. Toy cars to keep you busy when you draw a blank  10. Keep your loved one framed  11. Alessi condom case and art condom from Amsterdam  12. Inspiration paperweights from Vilmain (made in USA)  13.  "Pushing Men" bookends  14. Magnetic globe turns on chrome base  15.  Lexon desktop designer radios  16. Hide special things in this "mummy" pencil box
 
 

See the stunning black & white photographs by artist Valerie Olafson on exhibit now through May 31st.

Rockford artist Valerie Olafson revisits the theme of beauty and aging in a photography exhibition opening Friday, April 16th in the Kortman Gallery. The exhibition of striking black and white images titled “50 Parts, MMX” is a photographic essay that expands on the ideas of “mMMm Beauty,” a previous Kortman Gallery show that was presented in 2000 when Olafson was 40.
“In that exhibit, I sought to produce my vision of beauty for the new millennium..life, experience and knowledge,” said Olafson. “My friends stepped in front of the camera to help visually make my point.”
At 50, Olafson expected to revisit and expand the ideas in “mMMm Beauty.’’  “What evolved was an introspective look at me and the beauty I find in myself,” she writes. “I have included some images of friends again; the definition would have been too narrow otherwise.  Aging is not always perfect, but is always beautiful.”
Olafson, who has been artist/photographer for almost two decades, is an adjunct instructor of art at Rock Valley College.
The Spring ArtScene openings for “50 Parts, MMX” exhibit are April 16th from 5:00pm to 9:00pm and Saturday, April 17th from 3:00pm to 9:00pm in the Kortman Gallery, upstairs at J.R. Kortman Center for Design, 107 North Main Street, Downtown Rockford. The exhibit runs through May 31st. and admission is free and open to the public. For more in formation call 815/968-0123 or visit www. jrkortman.com. 
What: “50 Parts, MMX” exhibition of photography by Valerie Olafson
Where: Kortman Gallery, upstairs at J.R.Kortman Center for Design, 107 North Main, Downtown Rockford
When: Opening Spring ArtScene receptions, Friday, April 16th, 5:00pm-9:00pm and Saturday, April 17th, from 3:00pm to 9:00pm. Gallery open Monday–Saturday, 10am–6pm. Exhibition runs through May 31, 2010. Free admission. 
Information: 815-968-0123 or www.jrkortman.com
To see images of Valerie Olafson's "50 Parts, MMX" photography exhibit click on "Current Show" under Kortman Gallery to the left of the screen.