An Artistic Visitor

Internationally known art journalist and theater critic Ed Rubin, returning from a round of plays and theater conferences in Ashland, Oregon, visited with Carol Worthey and Ray Korns in their Hollywood Hills home. After the champagne that Ed brought was popped, the evening was off to a great start and a wonderful conversation over Thai food at Pimai Restaurant in Hollywood followed — it is always a special treat to meet friends who are passionate about the arts and knowledgeable to boot! Ed is both the quintessential New Yorker and a Citizen of The World, so an evening with Mr. Rubin is the definition of bon vivant cameraderie, aka just plan FUN!

Ed first met Carol and Ray at the 2007 Florence Biennale International Contemporary Art Exhibit where Carol's paintings were on exhibit and enthusiastically encouraged her upon hearing her brass work "Fanfare for The New Renaissance" on Opening Day of the Biennale. Since then the three had became fast friends, no surprise since Ed Rubin's moniker is "Fast Eddy", known as he is for his quick wit and insightful articles about contemporary art, theater and all things cultural. In 2010 the three had enjoyed an Italian meal in the Village when Carol's music was performed in Manhattan at Facebook Friends Concert. In May through June 2011, Ed became curator of a unique and delightful exhibit in Manhattan, "Billowing Beauty", at the Roger Smith Lab featuring the exuberant sculptures of Parisian sculptor Anne Ferrer. Anne's playful free-form sculptures are sewn by her from parachute material in vivid pastel colors and then are blown up so that they seem to move and breathe. When curator Ed suggested that Carol's music would be a perfect accompaniment to the gently billowing sculptures, Anne Ferrer totally concurred, and so Carol's music was heard by many tens of thousands of visitors to the Lab. The exhibit was voted Top Ten for the month of May through June in Manhattan!

"A Choral Calendar" Is Born!

Composer/Painter/Writer Carol Worthey is proud to announce the "birth" of a new major work for choir: Twelve musical portraits of each month painted in musical colors and textures that depict the characteristic moods, changing weather, special holidays and unique feeling of each month. "A Choral Calendar" is a uniquely flexible work in its performance possibilities: It is designed to function enjoyable as a whole concert piece, with each stylistically distinct month flowing one to the next until an entire year is portrayed in music, in artwork and in verse. It is also a multi-faceted set of pieces, each unique, that can function with each month being performed by itself as the year passes, or for special occasions such as a Holiday, a Wedding or to celebrate a Birthday during any particular month.

The overall cover of "A Choral Calendar" should give you a vivid taste of the variety and freshness in this choral work.

Inside this overall cover of the "A Choral Calendar" book are the music scores from "January" to "December", each month having its own "iconic" (highly symbolic and representative) cover artwork, a page showing the evocative poem by Carol which she set to music, followed by the music score, for choir with handy rehearsal piano part. "A Choral Calendar" is scored for a cappella [unaccompanied] mixed choir of Sopranos-Altos-Tenors-Basses.

The overall effect of "A Choral Calendar" is designed to be life-giving: A passage through time and emotion, in music that senses the weather of the heart, in words that punctuate the specialness of each passing month. "A Choral Calendar" speaks of the need for personal connection, affection, and meaning in our lives. It is a testament to those heartwarming moments of the past we all experience throughout the year, to the aliveness of the present moment that spurs us on and to the dreams for the future that can keep us young.

[Note: You can click on any picture to enlarge it! - Webmaster]

Limited Edition Printmaking

Carol Worthey journeys to the impressive photography and print studio of Errol Higgins in Tustin, California to ensure personally that each limited edition fine art print is exact in every tiny detail to the original paintings.

On May 24th, several full-size prints of Carol's two most popular watercolors, "Summer Breeze" and "Morning Muse", were made under the watchful eye of the artist and her dynamic new Art Rep, Rita Harris. Rita's enthusiasm for Carol's work is infectious and it was a very rewarding afternoon for Carol to see Rita experience the process, from test prints and fine-tuning all the way to the exciting moment when the final print is made. Here we see Carol, Rita and Errol inspecting a print as it emerges from the high-tech press.

These full-size watercolor prints are printed on the finest handmade watercolor paper from England. Carol's oil and acrylic paintings have prints made on the finest linen canvas, later stretched on wood after curing overnight and being specially glazed. Each watercolor or oil/acrylic print is signed and numbered by the artist, with Certificate of Authenticity attached. There will only be 99 prints made of each, thus assuring the value of each such print.

If you have inquiries or wish to order a print, please contact Carol at carol@carolworthey.com

BILLOWING BEAUTY
An installation of moving sculptures and music
Sculptures by Anne Ferrer
Music by Carol Worthey
Curated by Ed Rubin
The Lab at the Roger Smith Hotel
47th & Lexington, New York City
May 13th, 2011 to June 3rd, 2011

Paris-based sculptor Anne Ferrer creates playful, sensuous, joyous works that breathe with life and exuberance. Anne's sculptures, sewn in free-form fantastical shapes and colored in hot pastel shades, can be seen from the giant windows of the Roger Smith Lab on 47th Street and Lexington Avenue in Mid-Manhattan, moving to music by Carol Worthey that adds to the dance-like quality of this remarkable installation. Curator of this exhibit Ed Rubin had first met Carol Worthey at the 2007 Florence Biennale when her "Fanfare for The New Renaissance" was played on Opening Day. In 2011 Ed visited Anne Ferrer's studio in Paris, and when she blew up the sea of fabrics on the floor and the sculptures took shape and seemed to dance and breathe, he thought the Lab (which features installation and performance art in a unique setting) would be the perfect exhibition space and that Carol Worthey's "lighter than air" music would be a fitting complement to the art...

Carol Worthey was immediately attracted to these lifelike and yet imaginative "creatures"—— imagine beach umbrellas that have morphed into sea creatures or denizens from a magical forest that one can walk through or hot air balloons suddenly descended to earth to be touched. — and was thrilled when Anne Ferrer heard her music and said, "Yes, this is the perfect collaboration for my sculptures!" The music, heard from both inside the Lab space and outside on the busy street corner, combines elements of classical, jazz and world music into a rhapsodic mix that soars and breathes with life and color, inviting passerby's to look and delight! About 20,000 people a day pass by this particular intersection....

An article in NYArts Magazine says, "This 'live ballet' brings a continuous element of chaos, surprise and joy, like a floating bubble, or a shimmering shrine, to one of the busiest avenues of New York City."

Anne Ferrer comes from a Catalan family and was raised in the South of France, studied art in the United States and has shown her beautiful sculptures around the world, at the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (2002), the Centre Pompidou (2005), France, the Blue Star, San Antonio Texas (2009), the School of Art Institute of Chicago (1996), the Ho Ham Museum in Seoul, la Casa de Americas in Madrid, the French Institute in Rome and Naples, etc, and has recently built a monumental installation for the Dumbo Art Festival in Brooklyn. She has collaborated with Perfumers (International Flavors and Fragrances) as well as pastry chef Jean Paul Hevin, for her multi-sensorial sculpters. Ferrer is currently busy preparing a show for this summer at Chateau d'Avignon, France.

For further information, contact Danika Druttman on 212.339.2092 or email rogersmitharts@rogersmith.com . The Lab Gallery. The Roger Smith Hotel, 501 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10017.

Carol Worthey featured in March magazine article by Ebell of Los Angeles!

Each month The Ebell of Los Angeles sends its members a magazine bursting with that month's array of enriching activities and events. The covers are always exceptionally beautiful and worth collecting, ranging from a gorgeous painting in the club's collection to a view of the elegant ballrooms or perhaps the sculpted fountain in its garden. This month of March 2011, a warm-hued photo-portrait of the historic Wilshire-Ebell Theatre graced its cover, hailing the fact that it had recently hosted a Grammy event.

Inside the cover is an even more impressive treasure, for the club boasts a seemingly endless flow of varied activities and events, informative, innovative, gala or civic-minded: Fascinating talks after gourmet lunches prepared by their master chef, book club meetings perhaps with the author attending for a signing, enthusiastic Ebell Choir rehearsals, all manner of important charitable and civic events, filmings on location, and numerous plays, concerts and galas in its historic Italianate clubhouse and famous Theatre. There are well-attended art exhibits in the high-ceilinged Art Salon (where Carol Worthey had her first solo exhibit in 2009) and page after page invites members and their guests to participate — warm new and long-term friendships are easily formed in such a rich environment.

This month of March 2011 the Ebell magazine-booklet focused on Arts and Culture. Club President Shirlee Taylor Haizlip is herself a gifted published author and her monthly letter to the members is inspiring and thought-provoking.

To prepare a special feature about six particular members who contribute to the cultural and professional artistic life of the city and the world, Professional writer and Editor Laura Foti Cohen prepared an article entitled "Multi-Talented Ebell Members Excel in the Arts." Laura visited Carol's home and personally interviewed her (over tea and croissants) — the result is a marvelous feature on Carol's music, painting and writing, with a color photo-portrait that really sets off the interview-article. Carol is very proud and truly honored to be featured along with Melissa Wildman (dancer, documentary producer and champion for a return of the arts in our schools), Opera singer Irena Tchillingarian Gibbons (who speaks of the discipline and passion it takes to be "one's own instrument"), Patricia Rye (founder/director of the Society Players theatre group who has herself performed on Broadway and brings wonderful plays and shows to the Ebell's second theatre, the newly refurbished intimate second-floor venue), talented and successful makeup artist for film and TV Cinzia Zanetti who has had delightful conversations with Carol at one of the famous Ebell Monday Luncheons, and very creative set designer Amy Vuckovich (who has a slew of TV shows and films she's worked on, evoking character and era in her varied sets). Carol welcomes you to read her feature in the article: In it you can get a feel for what it is like to enter Carol's gracious, art and music-filled home, and you can get a glimpse of how Carol manages to do all the many projects and different art forms she is working on without getting swamped or losing focus — Writer Laura Cohen was able to capture the answer to that in an apt quote!

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!