It was love at first sight.
Granted, it was just a small square piece of blank art paper, 6 by 6 inches in size, but oh, the possibilities that piece of paper held!
I looked at it for several minutes then grabbed my set of colored pencils and went to work.
What fun I had deciding on the colors I would use and the shapes I would create to fill that little square. The process was therapeutic, freeing, a wonderful way to relieve some stress after time spent in a hectic newsroom. I actually got lost in my art.
I wish I had a picture of my finished project to share, but I can tell you it resembled a colorful amoeba. It was my very first entry in Rochester Contemporary Art Center’s 6×6 exhibit. In subsequent years, I’ve moved on to other mediums like paint. I’ve made textured collages. One year I used a simple magic marker pen to express my creativity.
This year’s 6x6x2019 Opening Party and artwork sale begin June 1 (the online preview opens today) with the talented Annette Ramos as the emcee. The exhibit is up through July 14.at the East Avenue gallery, and my art will be right there, along with a few thousand others. That’s right, thousands.
You’ll find original artwork from all over the world, from novices (like me), school children, college students and loads of celebrities. More pieces than you’d think are from local and international professional artists. (You know, those folks who create art for a living.)
Elaborate, elegant, eclectic pieces, some three-dimensional in design, all exhibited anonymously. You find out the name of the artist only after you make a purchase. Did I mention each piece is only $20?
I love RoCo’s 6×6. It’s fun. It’s funky. It’s a fantastic chance to see some great art. Who knows? You just might find something that speaks to you, created by a well-known artist, or you just might find something created by little old me.
Janet Lomax is a veteran broadcast journalist and longtime anchor at News10NBC in Rochester. She is the 2018-19 Frederick H. Minett Professor at Rochester Institute of Technology.