The unique two-part event will feature conferences, including sessions led by industry innovators, and a hands-on exhibition where attendees can explore a host of modern products and lifestyle exhibits. Special to the exhibition will be Dwell Outdoor‚Äîa “pop-up” community ‚Äì with actual prefab exhibits, ready to see, touch and inspire.

The two-day exhibition will bring together design professionals and design savvy consumers under one roof for ideas, networking, and commerce. More than 200 exhibitors will be there to show their products and services. Designed to represent the very best in modern outdoor living, Dwell Outdoor’s 10,000 square foot exhibition will also be a highlight not to be missed. Dwell Outdoor drew broad attention in San Francisco in 2007, and three additional prefab structures have been added to Dwell on Design Los Angeles, never seen before.

If you’re interested in attending, you can save 20% off exhibit tickets by using the code: ADODED. Use the code: GRP22SP to save $50 off the Conference ticket price.

The juried show is open for two weeks and most of the art is up for sale, with proceeds going directly to the students.

The show begins tonight. Early admission (your chance to get the best stuff) is at 5:00 PM. General admission is $50 and opens at 7:00 PM. You can buy tickets at the door. After tonight the show is free. You can purchase art throughout the event. Art is picked up when the show ends.

This year, you can charge your purchases. Otherwise, bring checks – you’ll need one for each purchase.

Todd is a local Detroit artist and architect who paints in intense colors on glass. He back-paints the glass and builds up his paintings in layers in reverse, a very complicated process that yields work that looks very polished – it’s almost luminescent – but very complex. The work features organic shapes that range from abstract to vaguely representational; it is boldly graphic but sophisticated.

The show runs from 6 – 10 PM. For directions and more information, call Mezzanine at 313 442 9000. I’ll see you there.

But it’s more than just a sale. You’ll also have a chance to view the creative work from other departments. Automotive design always gets world-wide acclaim. Of course, the interior design department turns in an excellent work. Be sure to take some time to view the animation films. They’re fun.¬†

You can buy tickets at the school, through the mail, or at the door. Early admission begins at 5:30 pm and tickets are $350. Regular admission costs $50 and begins at 7:00 pm. The show is free of charge after opening night and runs through May 30th. The art stays up until then, so you get to see everything. 

If you’re interested in buying artwork be sure to bring checks. All proceeds from the sales go directly to the students and checks are written directly to them. For more information, call the school at 313-664-7464. See you there!

“I’m working in pastels for this show,” says Heidi. “My work will feature people, animals, and landscapes. I try to interpret a bit of who and/or what they are – the essence and individuality that is unique to a person, object, time and place. Capturing this spirit in natural light is exciting. There’s something about being in light and color while you’re painting it. When things go well, it’s sublime.”

The show will be held at The Cycling Salamander, a fine art gallery just outside Charlevoix, Michigan. The show is called Pastels, by Heidi A. Marshall. It’s mostly Plein Air, and will include about 24 pieces.

The opening reception is June 28, 2008 from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm.

“Ten Large Color Panels” by Gerhard Richter

An entire wall is devoted to Gerhard Richter’s “Ten Large Color Panels” (1966-71/72), a 31-foot sequence comprised of ready-mixed paint bought from a hardware store. Looking at this brings on happy flashbacks to the color theory class I took while a student at CCS. I use the stuff I learned in that class every day.

The auction, scheduled for March 8th, is called The Best of British Design from the 19th and 20th Centuries – Paul Reeves. You can read the entire article here. But I’ll quote the basic details:

Rock and Rollers and hippies have long had a soft spot for the decorative appeal of William Morris’s Gothic Revival, with its fair-haired maidens in flowing robes and its air of medieval mysticism. So it is not surprising that when Paul Reeves decided in 1973 to break out of designing avant-garde clothes for David Bowie, Led Zeppelin and The Who, he started selling Arts-and-Crafts furniture to some of the most famous musicians of the day, including George Harrison and Roger Daltrey.

Mr Reeves has organized a week-long selling exhibition and an auction at Sotheby’s next month. They will show just what a good eye he has, and how crucial he has been in encouraging furniture collectors to buy British design from the Gothic Revival onwards, a turning point in western architecture and interior design. About 120 items from Mr Reeves’s personal collection will be for sale at fixed prices. Another 120 pieces from other collectors—many of whom originally bought them from Mr Reeves—will be sold at auction.

You can view the collection at Sotheby’s online catalog. It’s an amazing collection.

Other than that, I saw lots of burnt orange and blue/violet exteriors. The latter ranged from a pretty pastel to a more saturated hue. There. I promised to keep it brief. Do you like burnt orange? In my opinion, the auto world should go bright orange or skip it.