With only three days left until the M.C. Escher + exhibition comes to a close, we've been reflecting on the sensational response we've had to this outstanding show. It opened in conjunction with the 13th Biennial Gathering 4 Gardner on Friday the 13th of April, and we had the good fortune of hosting an international assembly of  300 mathematicians, polymaths and all-around-brilliant people for an afternoon street fair and Escher preview reception. The + in the exhibit's title refers to the group of acclaimed math artists whose work was also featured, adding a fresh perspective and verifying Escher's vast influence on artists and mathematicians worldwide.

It was a joy to welcome Antonio Peticov, who travelled all the way from Brazil, and Akio Hizume from Japan. We spent time with George Hart, Paul Hildebrandt, John Miller, Robert Fathauer and Chaim Goodman-Strauss. Our friend Dick Esterle was here, and we introduced a new artist to the G4G circle, Atlanta's own Erin Sledd. We paid tribute to the late Marc Pelletier by showing his remarkable prints and his widow, Amina Buhler, kindly loaned us an Escher confectionary tin that was given to them by Donald Coxeter - who originally received it as a gift from Escher himself! Atlantan Eben Dunn, Colorado artist Clark Richert, Fabien Vienne from Paris, English painter Marek Tobolewski, and the late great French-Hungarian op artist Victor Vasarely rounded out the show...

They're all British... yes, that's the first thing that comes to mind. Churchill (1874-1965) was born in Woodstock, England; Kosmo Vinyl (b. 1957) hails from East London; and Wreckless Eric (b. 1954) is from Newhaven, East Sussex. You might also know that they're all artists, and yes, plenty of artists come from England, so what? Well...

Ruth Franklin (another superb British artist) and I recently had the privilege of attending the opening of 'The Art of Diplomacy: Winston Churchill and the Pursuit of Painting' at the Millenium Gate Museum in Atlanta. The exhibition features over 30 of Churchill's paintings, many of which have never before been displayed publicly. In short, it's a fascinating exhibit on many levels, and I highly recommend you go see it  before it closes on February 1, 2015...

The 10th & final SkaterAid "skateboard/music/art" festival is September 28 from 2 - 7PM at East Decatur Station in Decatur, Georgia. SkaterAid is produced by a dedicated group of volunteers, and 100% of the proceeds benefit the Georgia Chapter of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. 

A big part of the event is the 'Art Deck Auction'. Months before the festival, artists are invited to create original works using skateboard decks as canvases. Some paint, some draw, there's mixed media collages (as seen above), 3D works and the occasional 'functional' piece, such as a rope swing or a coat/hat hanger. It's been announced that this is the last SkaterAid, and a record 135 art decks have been donated this year.

Last night I was out at a restaurant with my family to celebrate my partner’s birthday. At the end of the meal the waiter passed me the bill and solicitously said to me “England are losing one nil.” I tried to look as if I cared about this because, after all, he thought he was doing me a favour by supplying me with an update on a football match. I think he thought that, as a man, I would rather be watching the world cup than being out with my family. And that is what annoys me about football, not that people gather together to watch some men play a ball game either in person or on the TV, but that it is assumed that everybody shares their interest. Also a sinister undertone to this is that if you are uninterested in football, you are not patriotic.

Every four years since 1930 (except in 1942 and 1946 thanks to the Nazis), the world's biggest single-event sporting competition takes place. It is estimated that over 700,000 people watched the 2006 final match in Germany, and the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa was broadcast to over 200 countries. As you probably know by now, the 2014 World Cup will happen in Brazil and it starts tomorrow, June 12. I figured I'd better get this blog posted now, because I'll be a bit preoccupied through July 13. 

This next month might be a good time for a guest blog by one of our artists who actually couldn't care less about football (I won't mention names), but this installment is about the artists who do. Read on, and please  leave your comments below...