All posts by Karen Tashkovski

Karen Tashkovski is an artist and teacher from Syracuse, NY. She is a graduate of Syracuse University (BFA-Fashion Design & Studio Arts, MS-Art Education)

art, festival, Karen Tashkovski, music, photography, sculpture

Lighting The Way

Image June 13, 2017 Karen Tashkovski Leave a comment

I managed to convince a dozen friends to meet me at the Chinese Lantern Festival last week. It was my birthday, a week night, and it was sunny here for the first time in over a week. Perfect conditions to enjoy this exquisite happening at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse, New York.

You enter at Gate 6 and follow the signs to the parking lot inside the fairgrounds. The event is open every night (except Mondays) from 5:30 – 10:00 pm until June 24, 2017. It is $15 per person but they have daily specials; there was a $2 discount last Thursday for “best friends day” in addition to it being my special day! Check their Facebook posts here. I think there is another deal coming up for Father’s Day this weekend.

We arrived at around 7:00 pm. There are a few food vendors and an ice cream truck, and a bunch of crafts to purchase from booths at the far end of the festival enclosure. At 8:30 pm, performers take the stage – acrobat and rhythmic gymnastic style stuff with Asian melodies and lavish costumes.

By 9:00 pm the sky becomes that beautiful Prussian blue before turning dark then the statues transition into glowing visions of beauty. What an incredible light show and photo opportunity. It is truly a magnificent experience! Once you witness it, well…I think it is unforgettable. So worth the admission price. I am so grateful that my friends indulged this whim of mine. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love you all sooooo muchy-much. ❤

art, art for sale, encaustic, found object, horseshoes, Karen Tashkovski, mixed media, painting

Angels

Image June 4, 2017 Karen Tashkovski Leave a comment

20170604_155050 — Friend, 2017, encaustic on masonite, 8″ x 10″ (mounted on 11″ x 14″ chalkboard), $111

20170604_154703 — Message, 2017, encaustic on masonite, 8″ x 10″ (mounted on 11″ x 14″ chalkboard), $111

20170604_155148 — Sunny Side Up, 2017, encaustic on masonite, 8″ x 10″ (mounted on 11″ x 14″ chalkboard), $111

20170604_155018 — Master, 2017, encaustic on masonite, 8″ x 10″ (mounted on 11″ x 14″ chalkboard, $111

I tweaked and re-worked/finessed/finished twelve more angel paintings. It is such an incredible feeling to complete this project. It is Futura, the painting series I have been talking about making for many years. Now I must manifest the perfect venue to display all twenty-four of them. They are encaustic and mixed media on masonite mounted on chalkboard (the chalkboard was edited out in these pics). They are 8″ x 10″ mounted on 11″ x 14″ board. Priced at $111. ❤

20170604_160026 — Crystal Clear, 2017, encaustic on masonite, 8″ x 10″ (mounted on 11″ x 14″ chalkboard) $111

20170604_155657 — Manifest, 2017, encaustic on masonite, 8″ x 10″ (mounted on 11″ x 14″ chalkboard), $111

20170604_155742 — Blushing Bride, 2017, encaustic on masonite, 8″ x 10″ (mounted on 11″ x 14″ chalkboard), $111

20170604_154747 — Starlight, 2017, encaustic on masonite, 8″ x 10″ (mounted on 11″ x 14″ chalkboard, $111

20170604_154627 — Keys, 2017, encaustic on masonite, 8″ x 10″ (mounted on 11″ x 14″ chalkboard), $111

20170604_154436 — Confidante, 2017, encaustic on masonite, 8″ x 10″ (mounted on 11″ x 14″ chalkboard), $111

20170604_154913 — Twilight, 2017, encaustic on masonite, 8″ x 10″ (mounted on 11″ x 14″ chalkboard) $111

20170604_154525 — Worthy, 2017, encaustic on masonite, 8″ x 10″ (mounted on 11″ x 14″ chalkboard) $111

art, art for sale, Karen Tashkovski, mixed media, painting

Giving It the Boot

Image May 21, 2017 Karen Tashkovski 2 Comments

I visited my friend Clare Willson today at her home on Humbert Avenue in DeWitt, New York – I delivered two paintings for a silent auction fund-raiser planned for June 17, 2017 from noon – 4:00 pm (200 Humbert). There will be food, live music, the silent auction and a 50/50 raffle. Tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for children (free for children under three years old). All proceeds benefit Clare’s journey to Mexico to undergo a dynamic treatment. It promises to reboot her immune system ultimately reversing symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis, with which she has lived for thirty years.

For tickets to the event, call (315) 439-7844.

Clare hails from England. She is a vivacious spirit, an artist who creates whimsical mixed-media artwork using found objects, old jewelry and paint. Here are some pictures of Clare in her home studio.

Clare is represented by Edgewood Gallery. Here is the blog post from her most recent exhibition there.

If you wish to donate to assist Clare in her recovery and cannot make the event, you can do so via www.gofundme.com/give-clares-ms-the-boot or send a check by mail to Clare Willson, P.O. Box 175, Syracuse, New York 13214.

art, art education, art exhibition, classroom, Karen Tashkovski

School Fair 2017

Image May 13, 2017 Karen Tashkovski Leave a comment

Last night Chittenango Central School held their annual School Fair at the high school. Each year, my colleague Katy and I spend several hours installing the middle school art show on the walls of the hallway between the two gymnasiums.

Then at 8:00 pm we take the whole thing down and pop the art into our cars to return it all to the middle school on Monday. We displayed around three hundred pieces of 5th – 8th grade artwork.

This was my twentieth year of said fair. Here are the pictures I remembered to take! It is pretty cool to see this visual representation of what we do all year.

art, art education, ceramics, Karen Tashkovski, sculpture

Fishing Derby

Image May 1, 2017 Karen Tashkovski 2 Comments

20170413_080034 — Ashlee – winner in 1st period A day

20170413_131438 — Owen – winner in 8th period A day (the 5th grade class)

My clay lesson this semester was the fish sculpture. I decided to do it with every class. My 5th grade, the 8th grade art students and the 8th grade Studio in Art students. It is such a great lesson because everyone starts with the same amount of clay creating a slab first that rolls up then adding the hand built elements.

20170413_135748 — Paige – winner in 9th period A day

20170424_114228 — Nathan – winner in 6th period Studio in Art

20170424_103929 — Lauren – winner in 5th period B day

They are all so beautifully unique! I decided to have a fishing derby. I weighed and measured every fish. Each class had a winner. The prize was a small bag of Swedish Fish, lol. Abraham’s was the biggest fish. He won a giant bag of Swedish Fish! So fun!

20170413_104207 — Abraham – winner in 5th period A day and overall winner!

20170413_124513 — Julia – winner in 1st period B day

20170424_133449 — Anthony – winner in 9th period B day

abstract, art, art exhibition, art for sale, art in restaurants, Karen Tashkovski, painting, watercolor

Friendship & Art

Image April 29, 2017 Karen Tashkovski Leave a comment

IMG_20170429_131408_509 — Coach baseball cap, Halston Heritage dress, Karl Lagerfeld Paris boots

The closing reception for Art & Baseball, my watercolor show at Half Moon Bakery & Bistro, was sooooo much fun! The baseball cupcakes were so cute, and delicious too. I had a lemon one – yum!

I have such an amazing support system of love from my immediate family. My sister Kathy and my mom were there and my dad stopped in after a long morning of tilling his vegetable garden. My friend Penny was doing the same at her place in Sylvan Beach before coming! I have the best friends and I know how fortunate I am to have them in my life.

Proprietor Debbe Titus said exactly that – “you have the best friends supporting you”.

After the reception and take down, my friend Kim and I drove over to her hair salon, Kimberly’s Salon at 2520 James Street in Eastwood (Syracuse, New York). We hung the paintings there. So that is the answer to the questions, when and where is your next show? They will be up indefinitely and are available for sale in a cash & carry. I will just replace them with more art.

Kimberly’s Salon hours of operation are as follows: Tuesdays & Thursdays 11:00 am – 6 pm, Wednesdays & Fridays 9:00 am – 6:00 pm, and Saturdays 9:00 am – 2:00 pm. Call (315) 463-2735 for more information.

I do have the very best friends a girl could ever ask for. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Today was such an amazing day in my universe.

art, art exhibition, art for sale, encaustic, found object, horseshoes, Karen Tashkovski, mixed media, painting

Luck, Love & Yoga

Image April 28, 2017 Karen Tashkovski Leave a comment

20170422_111340(0) — Karen Tashkovski, Love, 2017, encaustic, 5″ x 7″ on masonite mounted on chalkboard, $48

20170422_111126 — Karen Tashkovski, Go, 2017, encaustic, 5″ x 7″ on masonite mounted on 9″ x 12″ chalkboard, $48

20170422_111622 — Karen Tashkovski, Yoga, 2017, encaustic, 5″ x 7″ on masonite mounted on chalkboard, $48

Here are the rest of the encaustic horseshoe paintings. These are all the 5″ x 7″ ones. They are mounted on 9″ x 12″ chalkboard painted masonite. I will be installing them at Syracuse Yoga sometime next week!

20170422_111704 — Karen Tashkovski, Cuse, 2017, encaustic, 5″ x 7″ on masonite mounted on 9″ x 12″ chalkboard, $48

20170422_111742 — Karen Tashkovski, Maha, 2017, encaustic, 5″ x 7″ on masonite mounted on 9″ x 12″ chalkboard, $48

20170422_111815 — Karen Tashkovski, Be, 2017, encaustic, 5″ x 7″ on masonite mounted on 9″ x 12″ chalkboard, $48

They were a lot of fun to make! It is a series of twelve. They were created on a product called Ampersand hardwood, which is available in a lot of different sizes. Since I prefer working in dozens, I will need to order them – Commercial Art Supply in town cannot keep them in stock. I had to drive to Rochester, New York to get enough to do the series.

20170422_111300 (1) — Karen Tashkovski, Shreem, 2017, encaustic, 5″ x 7″ on masonite mounted on chalkboard, $48

20170422_111421 — Karen Tashkovski, Do It, 2017, encaustic, 5″ x 7″ on masonite mounted on 9″ x 12″ chalkboard, $48

I did not use the Monopoly money this time. Instead I experimented with text, adding a variety of letters including old typewriter keys and Scrabble pieces. The O in love is the top hat from the Monopoly set. It has now been completely harvested for its parts. I love a good game piece! ❤

	Karen Tashkovski on Giving It the Boot
	Juli on Giving It the Boot
	Karen Tashkovski on Fishing Derby
	Domenico Gigante on Fishing Derby
	Karen Tashkovski on The Shoe Fits

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Visual Artist