Happy Halloween

I've gone from not partaking in any Halloween festivities last year, to two parties and two different costumes this year. I hope I'll be able to keep my characters straight! Anyway you celebrate, Halloween is a creative and artful day. Acting...transforming into a different person, or at times an inanimate object. Crafting...staples and a hot glue gun can work wonders for novice costume makers. Dance and sing...who doesn't 'boo'gey down on Halloween? Culinary Arts...I contribute to 25% of the world's consumption of candy corn.

I hope you all have an artfully fantastic Halloween. To kick off the weekend, I googled Best Costume Ever. And this is what I got. P.S. You HAVE to watch it until the end! Amazing.

Who's The Wackiest Of Them All??

Who doesn't love Ellen? Ever since she made her comeback in Finding Nemo a few years ago, she's been on a roll with her daily talk show dancing up a storm. The best thing about her show, it's fun...and there's no doubt about it. So it's fitting that our next partnership/contest/exhibition/shin dig is all about fun...because the winner is going to hang with Ellen on the Ellen Degeneres Show this September.

Drum roll please..... presenting Ellen's Wacky Chair Contest! Here's the low down,

Delaware State Fair loves kids, including the Boys and Girls Clubs of Delaware. WMDT loves the Delaware State Fair as can be seen in the constant coverage all ten days of the Fair in the Summer. Delaware State Fair and WMDT (an ABC Affiliate) decided to host Ellen's Wacky Chair Contest with the Boys and Girls Clubs of DE. DSF corralled 10 local artists to go to the ten B&G clubs to brainstorm ideas to create the wackiest chair for Ellen on her show. The Adirondack chairs were generously donated by Tyndall's Casual Furniture. The artists did their best to create the chairs for each club by incorporating all of the children's ideas.

So now we have ten ridiculously wacky chairs competing for a chance to be seen on the Ellen Degeneres Show this September. And let me tell you, they are wacky. Castles, mosquito nets, sneakers, Ferris wheels, roller coasters.... the list goes on and on. Who decides who is the wackiest? You and me and everyone! Voting has already begun and can be done here. The first vote is free, and all sub sequential votes are $1 a pop. All proceeds will go to Boys & Girls Clubs in DE (70%) and the Biggs Museum (30%). Even better, one voter will be the lucky winner of airfare, accommodations and two tickets to the Ellen Show in September...hello elay! (L.A.) The more you vote the more chances you have to win that trip, so get voting stat.

Want to see all of the chairs? Well you can click here, but the PDF doesn't do it justice. You can see all ten chairs on display at the Delaware State Fair FFA/4-H Building (aka, the Ice Centre) starting today through Saturday, August 1st. After that, all ten chairs are coming north to Dover and will be on display at the Biggs Museum through the end of August. Voting can be made at the Fair and the Museum. The winning chair will be drawn on August 28th.

May the wackiest chair win. I'm so excited! Can you tell I'm excited?

Artfully Dining on a Friday Evening

From the great company down to the last bite of my slice of carrot cake, Friday evening at the Biggs was delightful! Each February, the Biggs hosts good friends (which includes anyone who wants to be our friend) for dinner and a side of art education in the Museum's galleries. As we began to plan out this year's program in August (we work with a bit of lead time) we were worried we wouldn't be able to top last year's Artful Dining, which was a first look/preview of the Delaware Silver Study Center. So when we were approached by the Schoonover gang to host their book launch, we jumped at the opportunity. Why wouldn't we want to celebrate the The Frank E. Schoonover Catalogue Raisonne, (a two-volume comprehensive catalogue of the works of American artist and illustrator Frank E. Schoonover (1877-1972), written by John Schoonover and Louise Schoonover Smith) when we hold one of the largest collections of his work on display to the public?

So fast track a few months later with some catering calls and an invitation and you've got yourself a sold-out event on a cold winter's night. Nearly 90 guests sat down for a family style dinner of Beef Bourguignon with Shiitake Mushrooms and Carmelized Pearl Onions and more. And believe me, when I say it was scrumptious.

Although many could have called it a night due to food coma, guests piled into the downstairs media room for a special viewing of Frank E. Schoonover: A Long Life in Art, a film produced by Sharon Baker of Wilmington’s own Teleductions. Sorry you missed out? I've got two suggestions for you: pre-order the catalogue and save the date for the next one!

Top Ten Biggs'est Moments of 2008

Dick Clark's countdown has nothing on my Top Ten list of best Biggs moments of 2008. This past year has been nothing but fantastic, groundbreaking and inspiring for the Biggs Museum. I think the best way to put it is, "we're on the map!" Just this week, the Biggs Museum has been mentioned in Art Knowledge News and The Baltimore Sun, showing just how much the Biggs Museum is beginning to be noticed as a major and important museum in our country. We are looking forward to 2009, which I'm beginning to think will be The Year of You & Art. All three exhibitions on tap for next year, Biggs Shot, Award Winners and Biggs is for Kids, consist of the same major component: you and your art. We are encouraging our visitors not only to experience the Permanent Collection and its history but also to engage in creating art and enjoying work made by local artists, all the while connecting with the people in your community. So cheers to a great 2008, and onward and upward to an even Biggs'er year in 2009.

10. Our smashing new web-site and blog. Anyone in the world can now see why we're such a Biggs deal.

9. Our new clock! The Biggs Museum recently acquired a James Kinkead walnut clock for the Permanent Collection.

8. The Biggs nabs the back cover of the February Antiques Magazine, promoting the Delaware Silver Exhibition.

7. The Biggs opens Forgotten Dreams, the first ever comprehensive display of the works of Delaware painter, Edward Grant.

6. Biggs gives back to local artists of all abilities by hosting the Expressions of Time Photography exhibition and Young at Art, an exhibition featuring artwork made by children with disabilities supported by the Child HELP Foundation and VSA of Delaware.

5. Biggs shakes things up at the fall Margarita Tastings. Those mini-quesadillas were good enough to make it number one.

4. The Biggs' Delaware Silver collection served as the special loan exhibition for the DE Antiques Show in November 2008.

3. Over 400 guests attended the 2008 Biggs Museum Gala, held in May.

2. The Biggs' received an education grant for $5,000 from Kraft Foods Inc.

1. And by far the biggest endeavor ever taken on by the Museum, the Biggs opens the Delaware Silver Study Center in March 2009, accompanied by temporary exhibition, Masters in Our Midst, a 100+page publication, and a slew of programming, causing the largest growth spurt in the number of visitors ever.

Grant Us A Little Of Your Time

After you have voted today of course! No excuses! I stood in line 45 minutes to press that green "vote" button, and I walked out feeling like a certified good citizen. But tomorrow after all the Election Day hoopla, not only will we have a new President, but we shall also have a brand spanking new exhibition at the Biggs Museum, and I must tell you it is fantastic.

On display beginning tomorrow through the end of February, visitors to the Biggs will get a chance to see the brilliant work of regional painter, Edward Grant. Often times not recognized, this exhibition is the first retrospective look at never before seen work of this painter. Born in Wilmington in 1913, Grant (I have nick-named him Mr. Ed myself) studied with some of the most recognized Delaware painters such as Frank E. Schoonover and N.C. Wyeth. With a career spanning over 70 years, Edward Grant dabbled in just about every artistic style including illustration, murals, Photo Realism and Abstraction. Most of the pieces are form Grant's studio, and from what I've heard there was so much to choose from our Curator, Ryan Grover, felt like a kid in a candy shop.

So what should one expect from Edward Grant? I consider this Edward Grant's "hello, world" introduction, so it is definitely comprehensive, displaying examples from all periods of his career. Anyone who appreciates regional landscape will enjoy Grant's work. Many of the depicted "forgotten" scenes of Eastern Shore Maryland and the Delmarva Peninsula will leave anyone wondering, "I've seen this place before."

Well, I don't want to give too much away, mostly because I want you all to visit, you've got plenty of time, but don't you want to be first? Join us Wednesday night for the opening reception, beginning at 5:30. If it isn't the art, Nage Catering should be more than enough to get you through the door.

A Biggs Deal Dedicated: Claymont Community Center

Thursday plans? I've got a treat for you. This Thursday, September 25th, visit the Delaware Center for Contemporary Art for the 9th Annual Autumn Dinner to benefit the Claymont Community Center.

The festivities begin at 6:30 p.m., tickets starting at $80 per person or $140 per couple. Sponsored by BlackRock, the Autumn Dinner will provide support for all of the programs the Claymont Community Center provides including: Crisis Alleviation, Family and individual counseling, Learning Center, Senior Citizen trips, and Family Health Services. They are are also home to more than 20 other community partners, including the Boys and Girls Club, Headstart, Girls Inc., Brandywine Child Care Center, and the Claymont Public Library among others.

I don't know about you, but I'd be more than willing to wine and dine in the DCCA while supporting an organization that shares the community with none other than the famous Claymont Steak Shop. For more information on event details, call (302) 792-2757