By Amy J. Williams

Anyone who has ever been burnt by thinking they know who they’re involved with (and later finding out it ain’t quite so), could benefit from Charleston’s monthly Art Walks downtown.

What??? What’s cheaper and less complicated than signing up at the dating service eHarmony and easier to administer than a Rorschach test? Again, the Art Walk. It might be just the place to both find a date — and then find out if they really are the one for you!

As a therapist, I frequently hear relationship-burnt people ask if I could administer some kind of test to make sure the next person is right for them. Well, there are plenty of compatibility tests, but why not have a little fun and hit the street? Each third Thursday of every month, Charleston’s galleries and art venues are open late to welcome viewers (and hopefully potential buyers) of art. Often, you can nab some free wine, snacks and meet interesting people. Plus, you can gain quick insights into your companion’s personality.

“What do you see when you look at a giant flower at Art Emporium?” you may inquire of your date. If you are for or against pets, discuss it while checking out Charly Hamilton’s dog art at Annex Gallery Taylor Books. (This is a great way to help pre-screen your pet allergy challenges with potential new mates — and discreetly so.)

Susan Petryszak’s art at the Callen McJunkin/Steve Payne Gallery is the perfect Rorschach test. “Just what do you see in that watery mass?” can tell you whether you’re safe — or it’s time to make a run for it.

And then there are the prices. Can they afford the great piece of jewelry you like at Distant Mesas (alas, since closed) or only the Blenko water pitcher at Taylors?

Inquiring dates want to know… and the Art Walk is where to find out.

By Amy J. Williams

People who love art, make art, buy art, collect art often forget one important thing… lots of people are clueless when it comes to art. They don’t think they can make it (well, maybe they can’t) and they often have no idea what they really like.

In an effort to remedy this situation, Annex Gallery at Taylor Books is offering a four-part series of Art Talks starting 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 8. My co-blogger and artist Charly Jupiter Hamilton will kick off the series at the first Taylor Books Annex Gallery Art Talk. He’s the first in a great lineup of talks given by artists in a salon-style discussion. Charly’s talk, called “Trickster Art,” will undoubtedly be a foray into poetry, stream-of-consciousness thinking and an insight into his unique style of creating art. If you’re missing the Beat generation, Charly is a good remedy. If we’re lucky, he might even reveal a side that not everyone knows… reading his quirky, funny and thoughtfully colorful poetry.

Following months will include Claire Sherwood in March, Peter Massing and Paula Clendenin in April and Joe Mullins in May. Watch for more info about these artists and mark your calendar for an evening that will build your art education and your art self confidence.

By Amy Williams

Are you depressed, giving up smoking or just frustrated about some things going on in your life? Well, what are you doing about it? When something is going wrong in my life, I like to talk about it. I’ve often said that’s why I have so many friends… I vent and vent and vent. It would take a small army to listen to me and not get perturbed. And I might just wear them out anyway. Hey, I work as a therapist so I know the benefits of talking things through… but geez I take it too far sometimes.

As I’ve matured both as an artist and a person, I’ve learned that creating art can be a therapeutic way to work out problems… without actually speaking a word to anyone.

In Robert Glenn’s online creativity newsletter, a recent article talks about a reader who has given up smoking and the related effects it’s having on her. The loss of this addiction, whether it be smoking or drinking or whatever can make it hard to get back to your creative work according to Glenn. He suggests that people are often depressed before they smoke and they are subseqently depressed after they stop. His idea? Replacement units. Here’s what he says:

“Replacement units can be tailor made to the previous addiction. A cigarette, for example, burns down in about eight minutes. The idea is to make eight minute poems, paintings or whatever. These units can be repeated with the same frequency as the previous addiction. “

In the same way, I’ve learned from my co-blogger, Charly Jupiter Hamilton, that if I am feeling discouraged or upset I can paint or draw that into a story or I can write a poem. Now, I fondly look back on poems that were remembrances of past problems. And I’m glad I didn’t put any more negativity out there in the world by venting and complaining. The problem was positively stored in my sketchbook or notebook for only me to see. Often at that later date, I see that what seemed so monumental at the time was just part of my story. Will my journals be in a museum with my work some future day when I am gone? You never know!

For more information on the Glenn’s inspiring newsletter for creative folk, contact rgenn@saraphina.com or go here.: http://www.painterskeys.com/clickbacks/giftscribe.php

Blanche Lazzell’s color woodblock print of the Waitman T. Willey House in Morgantown (1934) is among the works of the pioneering West Virginia-born artist on view at Avampato Discovery Museum.

By Amy Williams and Charly Jupiter Hamilton

For enthusiasts of women’s art, there are two current exhibits to see: “Blanche Lazzell: The Work of An American Modernist” and its companion show, “Jan Matulka: The Global Modernist’ at the Avampato Discovery Museum and the National Pen Women Exhibit at the University of Charleston (See review below). West Virginia can be proud to boast of being the birthplace of Lazzell, as well as a solid group of contemporary women artists.

It was not lost on myself and fellow art blogger and artist Charly Jupiter Hamilton that Lazzell created art at a time when women were still not fully appreciated in the art world. Exhibit information even mentions that because of Lazzell’s interest in the decorative arts, her influence as a modernist was minimized during her lifetime.

Who could believe that a girl from Maidsville, West Virginia, born in the late 1800s, would go on to travel to Paris and even paint nudes? Lazzell painted, made woodblocks and made rugs as well as other “decorative” art pieces.

Charly especially appreciates the influence of German expressionism on Lazzell’s work. She went to Munich and came back to Providence, Rhode Island and did wood cuts. “Fish House is one of my favorite pieces,” he says, “I like that about her, that she made woodcuts.”

When we visited the opening reception, there was some controversy over Lazzell’s colors. But Charly defended Lazzell saying, “Other people didn’t like her colors, but I kind of liked the colors. Acrylics hadn’t really been invented, so the oil paint colors reminded me of that time. Muted colors were bright then. It reminds me of colors that are hip now.”

A quote from Antonio Porchia in the front of “Vivid Companions,” (a book of poems by West Virginia poet Irene McKinney) goes: “Before I travelled my road, I was my road.” Charly says, “That’s what I was thinking as I looked at Blanche Lazzell’s paintings and prints… now I can go on down my road happier to have met her on the Avampato Museum’s walls.”

To continue the adventure of exploring West Virginia female artists, just cross over the river to the University of Charleston where the National Pen Women Exhibit is displaying work by more than 20 contemporary women artists. The Pen organization was founded in the spirit of Lazzell’s challenges - getting women artists shown and noticed at a time when women faced more challenges in being shown and published.