Gulf Coast Art Festivals Along the Gulf of Mexico: Lori Gordon, Mississippi Artist Update

Lori Gordon Update: It has been another busy few months. I want to thank the City of Bay St Louis, the Hancock County Tourism Development Bureau and in particular Director of Cultural Affairs Mike Cuevas for sponsoring a three-month exhibit of my work in the visitors center at the Historic Depot in Bay St Louis. Thanks also to the Mississippi Arts Commission and the Six Degrees Consortium for their sponsorship of my new series of work, and to Mississippi Power for inviting me to be featured in their 2009 "Outstanding Mississippi Artists" calendar. Topping the list of huge "thank yous" this quarter, though, goes to an incredible team of volunteers who spent a week working on the new house on Pinetucky Road. They brought us a long way towards getting the project completed and with their help, I am hopeful that we will be able to move in by the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

The new year started out in a big way with a trip to Istanbul, Turkey. I was fortunate enough to spend nine days there and I will never forget the experience. Especially memorable was a visit with the good people of Galata Nomadic Art Gallery. These folks have been offering fine carpets for decades, and their hospitality made for a very special afternoon. I completed a couple of dozen small acrylic paintings while there, and many more collages since my return. All of this new work may be seen on a new blog, and the series "Mozaik" will be in place at Gallery 220 in Bay St Louis through the end of May. The opening reception for this exhibit will take place this Saturday, Feb 14 from 5-8 pm at the gallery and I invite all of you in the area to attend. We will be serving up samples of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food along with a "Second Saturday Soup Kitchen" sponsored by Clay Creations so come early and come hungry!

During the first week of March, I will be setting up an exhibit of The Katrina Collection on the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi in Long Beach. The Katrina Research Center is sponsoring the exhibit, and will host an opening reception for the exhibit on June 5. On March 27 and 28, I have been invited to Copley Square in Boston by the Episcopal Dioceses of Massachusetts to join them in a presentation of The Katrina Collection. I will be giving a public presentation about the work and the storm experience, and a benefit will be held to aid the dioceses in their ongoing efforts at hurricane recovery along the Gulf Coast. In August, Sumner & Dene Gallery in Albuquerque will host another show of my work.

My friend and fellow artist Gara Gillentine has set up a website for me, which I hope will make it easier for people to locate the various blogs which exhibit my different collections of work. I am now exhibiting at Caboose Art Gallery in Long Beach, Ms. and continue to exhibit at Gallery 220 in Bay St Louis, as well as at Sumner & Dene in New Mexico and Brown's Fine Art in Jackson, Ms. On another note, I am proud to announce that my brother Jon Gordon's cutting edge program "Future Tense" on Minnesota Public Radio can now be heard in Mississippi, as well as on other public radio stations around the country. For those of you who are not already fans, please turn on that radio or find Jon on the web.