artweb - Bettina Forget - Astronomy Day art event

Astronomy Day
The Painted Universe

Friday 23rd April - Sunday 25th April

Atelier Bettina Forget
460 Ste-Catherine Street West
studio 933
Montreal, Quebec

In conjunction with Astronomy Day, Bettina Forget invites the general public to come to her studio/gallery and participate in the creation of a 22' x 8' artwork depicting various night sky objects. Each participant will be given a 12" x 12" piece of paper (or carton, canvas, tracing paper,...) and a range of art materials to choose from. Also provided are source materials such as images of planets, galaxies, globular clusters and the like. Once the participant has finished his/her artwork it will be added to the 22' x 8' grid. Over the three days the grid will slowly fill up, creating a mosaic of night sky images - a painted universe. At the end of the event a photo will be taken of the final artwork before taking it down on Monday, 26th April. The participants can then come by to pick up their painting along with a copy of the photo of the final installation.

Besides exercising their artistic talents, visitors will also discover the inspiring hobby of amateur astronomy. Astronomy magazine and Sky and Telescope magazine have generously provided free reference materials. And should you have any astronomy related questions, don't hesitate to ask the artist! For more practical advice, and to view the night sky through telescopes, you may want to check out the local astronomy club's Astronomy Day activities. The RASC Montreal Chapter will host a public sky viewing event on Astronomy Day. Re-visit this site for details, or go directly to the RASC's website at http://rascmtl.tripod.com. If you don't live in the Montreal area and you'd like to participate in an Astronomy Day event, go to the Astronomy Day website at www.astroleague.org and check for listings in your area.

Several members of the International Association of Astronomical Artists (IAAA) are contibuting artworks which will be displayed during this event. A sister-event of The Painted Universe is held in San Fransisco, USA, by IAAA member Julie Rodriguez-Jones. To find out more about her Astronomy Day art event, please visit her website at www.ArtFromTheSoul.com.

I would like to thank my friends at B.Mac for their generous donation of art materials for this event. B.Mac is located just across the street from my studio at 463 Ste-Catherine Ouest, local 260, visit www.bmac.ca.

To receive free tickets to Bettina's The Painted Universe art event, please send an e-mail to bettina@visualvoice-design.com.