Stocks For Tots was created as a way to bring together stock car racing and its fans, while raising awareness of the child abuse problem in North Carolina. The idea was to collect toys and raise money during a festive, family-oriented holiday event. Organizer John Maloney, “One of the cornerstone’s for Stocks For Tots was Don Miller winning the inaugural NASCAR/Home Depot Humanitarian Award in 2007 which gave $100,000 to Stop Child Abuse Now in NC & a new Kaboom Playground.) Stocks-for-Tots celebrated its 20 year anniversary and continues along with Stop Child Abuse Now to help thousands of children, families, and parents in NC.” www.stocksfortots.com

Second String Santa is one of Charlotte’s largest social holiday parties! The mission is to deliver holiday gifts to children in the Charlotte community. “We celebrated our 20th Anniversary of the Second String Santa holiday party Tuesday, December 2 at the TimeWarner Cable Arena.  This was a record year for us as we raised over $61,000 and collected 2,790 toys for needy children in the Charlotte area.  Our website has helped us promote our charity and events to the Charlotte community,” Jackie Savage, 2008 Second String Santa Co-Chair. www.secondstringsanta.org

I would describe my paintings as thoughts emerging from my finger tips.

Jonathan Grauel, Director of Media Design, carbonhouse, inc.

Jonathan Grauel, director of development at carbonhouse, will be on hand for a gallery night with the artist for his gallery show, VILLAGES / a collection of visual interactions, at the Warehouse 242 Gallery, Friday, December 5th at 7:00 PM.

Also be sure to get your copy of the the companion book created for the show.
On Friday, September 26th, the Gallery at Warehouse opened its fall show featuring Jonathan Grauel’s work: VILLAGES / a collection of visual interactions.  Opening night saw over 150 visitors attend, mingle, talk with the artist, meet the surgeon, and experience the work first hand. The show presents an evolution of Jonathan’s work from sketch through completed art.

VILLAGES explores and expands on Jonathan’s ‘village’ series. The show reveals some of the mystery behind the process of creation, and the way the loss of a finger from his drawing hand has impacted the way he makes art. This visual trip through live environment sketches, inked gray panels, oil pastels, and 3D installation interpretations is a stunning examination of getting there, being there, and what lies ahead.

The gallery is open for visitors every Sunday 8-12:30 and by appointment through the rest of the year.

Jonathan Grauel was also featured in a cover story of the fall issue of OrthoCarolina Magazine, which features his work and the story of the incredible surgery that has enabled him to continue making art.

Jessica Davis is a recent graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology where she majored in New Media Interactive Development.  “I love a challenge and have a passion for learning new things and am very excited about my opportunity here at carbonhouse.”

Joel Kuehn jumped into the world of design soon after moving to Charlotte in late 2006.  Joel’s passion for creativity and technical functionality lead him to focus on web design as he developed skills through a web-based t-shirt company he started after earning a BSBA from Western Carolina University, majoring in Entrepreneurship.

Artevation is a show of works depicting historic places and properties in Charlotte. The show is a tribute to the late Warren Burgess, an influential city planner, urban designer and talented artist who worked many years for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Commission and the Town of Davidson. Artevation will showcase many of Burgess’ architectural drawings, as well as the work of the following local artists whose work depicts Charlotte’s architecture and history through photography, fabric art, paintings, woodcuts, illustrations, and more:

• Wendy Arundel
• Nellie Ashford
• Bryon Baldwin
• Diane Davis
• Starr Davis
• David French
• John Howard
• Deborah Langsam
• James Sack

“When I was asked to participate in Artevation I jumped at the chance—especially with the tribute to Warren Burgess,” Sack said. “I had the pleasure of working with Warren for a number of years while I was vice president of the Historic North Charlotte Neighborhood Association. His sketches on the NoDa area are fantastic and were an inspiration for my NoDa series of wood block prints. Warren was a true visionary for Charlotte, and his mark on Charlotte’s fabric is a constant reminder of his work. I look forward to this show.”