While April showers may bring May flowers, it also brings Madison’s Gallery Night on the first Friday in May – this Friday May 6 from 5 – 9 pm.

At Carta StudioWorks, – 2001 Atwood Avenue – we’ll be showing (and selling) works by Dave Tilton and Martha Monson Lowe.

Martha Monson Lowe is a full-time studio artist living and working in Decorah, Iowa. Martha weaves original designs into rattan baskets accented with colorful reed strands, seagrass and driftwood handles.  These timeless beauties are influenced by both ancient vessels and the natural world.  Both decorative and functional – we hope you will be entranced by the texture and form of these handwoven works of art.

Dave Tilton will be showing selected and new works, such as “Past Glory” (see below). Dave’s pigment prints – created in a digital environment and printed to paper or canvas – employ a painterly aesthetic that suggests a world filled with mood, impression, and sumptuous beauty.

Dave’s work is currently featured on the 2011 Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission Art Poster.  Posters and bookmarks will be available.

If you’re on the WEST SIDE, stop in at Grace Chosy Gallery – 1825 Monroe Street – the exhibit for Gallery Night is new paintings by Randall Berndt and Charles Munch – but you can also see a featured selection of Dave’s work – including some prints from the Dane County Art Poster.

Dave Tilton, Past Glory (36 x 54 inches), Edition of 6, ©2011

Detail of a Martha Monson Lowe handwoven rattan basket

Prints and cards by Paula Oeler will also be available.  So come view the work and meet the artists on Friday, May 6 from 5 to 9pm.  Carta StudioWorks is on the corner of Atwood and Winnebago (near Tex Tubb’s).

The Museum of the Living Artist (MoLA) at the San Diego Art Institute (SDAI) opened its 51st International Exhibition on Saturday, April 16th with a gala event.   And while we were unable to make the trip to San Diego for the opening, we are thrilled to report that Dave’s piece “Theremin”  was honored at the reception with the Digital Art Guild award.

This edition of the annual international exhibition was juried by  Roxana Velásquez Martínez del Campo (commonly known as Roxana Velásquez). She is currently the Executive Director of the San Diego Museum of Art, also located in Balboa Park.

The 51st International Exhibition at the Museum of the Living Artist runs from April 16th through May 29th.  The Museum of the Living Artist is a 10,000 square-foot state of the art gallery space located in the heart of Balboa Park, a botanical jewel and centerpiece of San Diego, CA.

The SDAI is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10am to 4pm and Sundays from noon to 4pm.  Admission is $3 (children 12 and under free).