Art Talk Monday: Closing out the year

students from IA Lewis

This week's Art Talk Monday is written by Jessica Slaughter, NCLAC Executive Director. Here we are nearing the end of 2014. At this time of year, the NCLAC office looks at our year in review, and we’d like to share with our readers the programs that we’ve finished the last few months, as well as look forward into the beginning of 2015. We are always evaluating our programs, considering our successes and failures, and looking for better ways to serve the community through the arts.

We began the Fall with our annual School Show Performance. A day before ARToberfest kicked off, we were busy at the Dixie Center for the Arts hosting Shreveport born soprano opera singer Brenda Wimberly for this year’s show. Each year NCLAC hosts a different genre of music performance for Lincoln Parish’s 6th graders, and this year there were 237 students and chaperones, including participants from: Montessori School of Ruston, Christian Homeschool Group, IA Lewis, and Simsboro High School. Thank you Ruston Civic Symphony Society for sponsoring this great educational experience for our local 6th graders. In addition to hearing international art songs and arias, they all had a great time learning to sing “pizza” like an opera star!

Jessica Slaughter, NCLAC; Jean Gourd, Brewer's Choice Winner; Hayden Legg, People's Choice Winner

The next day was our fifth annual ARToberfest, which was better than ever this October at The Norton Building in downtown Ruston! About 450 attendees sampled the brews of seven different home brewers and the many other beers supplied by Marsala Beverage. There were also tasty foods to try with food truck vendors Wild Thang Meats, PowWow Cuban Sandwiches, and Taco de Güero on site for the first time this year. Congratulations to Jean Gourd, winner of the Devine Home Brewer Brewer’s Choice Award for his Voodoo Pumpkin Ale, and to Hayden Legg and Brandy Winfree, winners of the Devine Home Brewer People’s Choice Award for their Ruston Peach Hefeweizen. This fundraising event has gained popularity each year, and we look forward to seeing the wonderful mix of people who attend.

Viaggio Italiano, group exhibition at Studio 301 as part of Holiday Arts Tour 2014

One month after ARToberfest was our 17th annual Holiday Arts Tour. Over four days, an estimated 500 local shoppers and traveling visitors took part in the Tour. With over 50 participating visual artists and 35 vendor locations, shoppers had plenty to do, including twelve musical performances, on-site art demonstrations, children’s art activities, and the free Community Variety Show on Sunday. The Decentralized Art Funding Grant that NCLAC writes each year makes it possible to pay our performing artists, but this year the Tour was also sponsored by Fine Line Art Supply, making it possible to generate more advertising and excitement for this event.

Currently we have an art exhibition on display at Parish Press (formerly Crescent City Coffee) by Shawn Hood. Shawn’s beautiful show of naturalistic photographic works will be on display till January 19, 2015. Works are for sale, and would make wonderful Christmas gifts. Call our office for purchase details.

photograph by Shawn Hood, on display at Parish Press

For the Dixie Center Lobby, we have a new exhibition that will begin January 6. Sheila Trevillion Jennings of Jackson Parish will be exhibiting her colorful watercolor animal paintings. These works will be on display through March 27.

watercolor by Sheila Jennings, whose work will be displayed at the Dixie Center for the Arts in January

MardiGrasBall2015_SavetheDate

Lastly, I must mention our upcoming Silent Auction, which will take place at the Krewe of Allegro Mardi Gras Ball. This is one of NCLAC’s primary fundraising events, and we always have wonderful items for bid. Home décor, original artworks, jewelry, antiques and more will be on display February 7 at the Ruston Civic Center. Ball tickets are available now by calling the Dixie Center Box Office at (318)255-1450). 

If you’d like to help us continue our work in the region, we always appreciate volunteers and donations of any size. Give us a call or email; we’d love to speak with you. NCLAC office, (318)255-1450; nclac5@gmail.com

5th Annual ARToberfest!

Tickets available now--

NCLAC's beer-tasting fundraiser is Friday!

Beer tasting fundraiser?! Yes, that's what happening! Celebrate the craft of beer brewing this weekend--- Trust us: it's the best night out in Ruston!

Tickets are on sale for the North Central Louisiana Arts Council’s 5^th Annual ARToberfest, which will take place at The Norton Building on Friday, Oct. 24. This event celebrates a variety of styles of beer, from the finest commercial bottles to our region’s unique home brews.

There are still General Admission tickets available for $20. These include 6:30pm entry,live music, bar snacks and unlimited beer tastings. Food trucks will be selling food on site. The night ends at 10pm.

Tickets are available at the Dixie Center for the Arts and Fine Line Art Supply.  Call (318)255-1450 for more information.  No one under the age of 21 will be allowed at the event. The Norton Building is located at 207 West Mississippi in Ruston.

Tickets will also be available at the door.

This year's Title Sponsors are Marsala Beverage and Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living. Additional sponsorship provided by The Norton Building, Fine Line Art Supply & Print Lab, Devine Wines & Spirits Plus, and Sundown Tavern, with support from Super One Foods and Raising Cane’s.

We appreciate our sponsors who help make this night a success!

Home brews are a highlight! Devine Wines and Spirits is back again with the Devine Home Brewer Awards. Be sure to vote for the People's Choice Brewer.

We will have four raffle baskets with exciting prizes, and food trucks will be on site to sell tasty food. Be sure to bring some cash!

ARToberfest supports NCLAC’s Holiday Arts Tour that is set for November 20-23 in downtown Ruston.    

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Enterprise Center Features Damon Caldwell

This week's Art Talk Monday is written by Hannah Bustamante, Administrator/Gallery Director for the LA Tech Enterprise Center. The Enterprise Center Gallery Presents a New Exhibition:

I’m Planning to be Spontaneous… Tomorrow

The Louisiana Tech Enterprise Center Gallery is pleased to showcase a series of new quilted works by Damon Caldwell titled I’m Planning to be Spontaneous... Tomorrow. Within these works Caldwell explores the parallels between the layered constructions of quilts to the layered construction of walls.  Much like the designing of a structure, one must plan and consider all the materials, patterns and inner workings of the design before that actual process of constructing the quilt.  This process leaves very little room for spontaneity, and through this series Caldwell attempts to find ways for ‘planned spontaneity’. He jettisons the use of traditional block assembly in favor of subtractive and reactive interplay on the studio wall with the hope that in all cases, each piece will embody and evoke a sense of emotion, landscape, dance, depth, surface, and movement.

Damon Caldwell currently teaches architecture and interior design in the School of Design at Louisiana Tech University, where he is a tenured Assistant Professor and Graduate Coordinator for the Master of Architecture program.

We invite everyone to join us for the opening reception Thursday, October 23^rd from 6 pm – 8 pm.  The reception and exhibition are free and open to the public. The exhibition runs October 23rd –November 14, 2014, and is open Monday through Friday, 8am-5pm.

For more information about the Enterprise Center’s  programs and exhibitions, please contact Hannah Bustamante by email at hannahb@latech.edu or call her at (318)257-5281. The Rawle Enterprise Center is located at 509 West Alabama Avenue in Ruston.

From the NCLAC office: We are looking forward to this week’s ARToberfest! Make sure you get your tickets to this beer-tasting fundraiser that will be held Friday, October 24 at the Norton

Building in downtown Ruston. Tickets, both $30 Early Bird and $20 General Admission, are available at Fine Line Art Supply as well as the Dixie Center for the Arts. When you stop into the Dixie, be sure to notice the paintings on display. We are showcasing work by students of Renee Hunt at The Art House. These elementary-aged students have painted their interpretations of a Matisse work titled The Roofs of Collioure. These will be on display till November 10^th.

Art Talk Monday: ARToberfest Is Almost Here!

This week's Art Talk Monday is written by Jessica Slaughter, NCLAC's Executive Director

The countdown is on to this year’s ARToberfest, which will be NCLAC’s 5^th annual beer-tasting fundraiser. This tasty evening will be Friday, October 24, from 5-10pm, at the Norton Building in downtown Ruston, giving us more room than ever to showcase the region’s home brews, a variety of commercial beers, and to provide hours of musical entertainment. Tickets for the event can be purchased at Fine Line Art Supply and the Dixie Center for the Arts. Two options are available. Early Bird tickets, at $30 each, provide 5pm entry, a commemorative pint glass, and a pretzel necklace. Only 100 of these are available, and they’re going quickly. General Admission tickets, at $20 each, provide 6:30pm entry. Each option offers the ticket holder tastings of beers until 10pm and access to live music. Pint glasses will be for sale, as well as pretzel necklaces and raffle items. New this year will be food trucks, offering sales of food that pair well with beer, so be sure to bring cash for dinner. The music line-up for this year includes Ken Carter; Bethany Raybourn and the Goodness Gracious; Danny Lee and Dave; and the Swinging Richards.

Let’s talk about who is making this event possible. First of all we have Marsala Beverage as Grand Title Sponsor, providing 70 commercial beer varieties. These give attendees the opportunity to try many new beers that are available for purchase in our area without committing to an entire six pack at the store. Next, Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living is our Title Sponsor, providing clean, smoke-free air for this indoor/outdoor event. For our dedicated home brewers, Devine Wines and Spirits Plus is once again offering the Devine Home Brewer Awards, with handsome trophies for our People’s Choice and Brewers’ Choice winners. The Norton Building itself is our Site Sponsor, assisting with our new, larger venue. Sundown Tavern is the After Party Sponsor, so be sure to head over to Sundown when ARToberfest ends to finish your night right. For our hardworking volunteers, including brewers and musicians, Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers is providing dinner, and Super One Foods, our Snack Table Sponsor, is providing bar snacks for ticket holders. Behind the scenes we have our fabulous ARToberfest Committee who has been working for months to make this night the best it can be: Meg Waters Allen, Allie Bennett, Cain Budds, Nicole Duet, Amanda McCoy and Elaine Thompson.

We are grateful for the support of so many people with this event because it raises funds for Holiday Arts Tour, scheduled for November 20-23. This year’s Tour, the 17^th annual, is the largest in memory, with 35 downtown locations participating. Our roster of artists this year includes 60+ visual and literary artists, and 15+ musical performances, including a Community Variety Show on Sunday, Nov. 23, that will feature ballroom dancing, singing, international music and more. We will again offer Sprout Sunday activities for children, artists’ demonstrations, a poetry reading, and artists who are ready to share insight into their works with you. Mark your calendars for Holiday Arts Tour next month, and visit nclarts.org to get more details about the weekend.

So, now that you’re in the know about all-things-ARToberfest, be sure to get your tickets! Once again, they’re available at Fine Line Arts Supply and the Dixie Center for the Arts. No one under 21 will be allowed at the event. For more information, visit our ARToberfest facebook page, or our ARToberfest page on our official site .

ARToberfest: tickets for sale, volunteers needed!

What's Happening

Fall is here and so is NCLAC's 4th Annual ARToberfest! This event celebrates a variety of styles of beer, from regional home brews to Marsala Beverage’s finest. The home brew tastings are a highlight of the night, with good, healthy competition and handsome awards for the winners.This event raises funds for the NCLAC Holiday Arts Tour, scheduled for November 21-24.

ARToberfest 2013 will take place at Ruston’s Historic Firestation from 5-9 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 11. Beers, live music and tasty food will make the evening a night to remember. We will have the perfect pint glass available for sale again this year, as well as a small batch of tshirts! The raffle will be new and improved, with cool packages to help you experience Ruston like never before. Christiane Drieling and Bonnie Ferguson will be back with their wares, and the music line-up will have some ARToberfest favorites, as well as some new acts.

ARToberfest is sponsored this year by Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living and Marsala Beverage, with “Devine Home Brewer” awards sponsored by Devine Wines and Spirits. The Bar Snack tables this year will be donated by Chris Turner and Super One Foods. For the volunteers and bands, Josh Shirley and Raising Cane's will be providing food.

ARToberfest ticket options are as follows: $35 VIP admission, 5:00pm entry, catered dinner by Ben Christmas, and a commemorative pint glass; $15 general admission, 6:30pm entry, bar snacks. All attendees can enjoy live music and beer tastings.

There is a limited quantity of tickets, and they are available at the Dixie Center for the Arts and Fine Line Art Supply; they can not be sold at the door. Call (318)255-1450 for more information.  No one under the age of 21 will be allowed at the event.

What you can do

Now, if this sounds like a fun event to you, and something you'd like to help out with, we need volunteers to put on this party! Volunteers assist with pouring beers and serving food, as well as set-up and clean-up. There is a mandatory volunteer meeting on Wednesday, October 2 at 6:30 at Fine Line Art Supply, 207 N Trenton. At this meeting, we'll discuss the run-down for the night of the event. We ask that you bring an ice chest, clearly marked with your name, to the volunteer meeting. We'll return it to you after clean-up on the 11th. A styrofoam-gas-station-variety cooler will work just fine.

Volunteers will be expected to arrive by 4pm at the Historic Fire Station on October 11, and to stay through clean-up, which should end around 10pm. All volunteers must be at least 21. If this sounds like a commitment you're ready to make (trust me, it's fun!) then please email us at nclac5@gmail.com so we know to expect you at the meeting. There are a limited number of volunteer positions available.

Big happenings in our little office....

All right folks, We are taking entries for all sorts of things right now here at NCLAC.

First up: Call for Brewers time for ARToberfest Oct.11th!

We need all you crafty home brewers to come out with your best brews and wow the tastebuds of those in attendance at NCLAC's ARToberfest this October 11th! The event begins at 5pm, and lasts until 9pm.

Participating brewers will  compete for two brewers' awards: the $300 Devine Home Brewer People's Choice Award, and the $200 Devine Home Brewer Brewers' Choice Award!

Brewers may bring as many different home brews as they like, but they must have  about 200 "taster" servings altogether; usually brewers run out of beer early in the evening with the minimum. Brewers will serve their brews themselves, and will receive one "brewer volunteer" pass to admit an additional helper to assist them in serving their beer(s). NCLAC will provide food for the brewers when they come early at 4pm to set up before the event. Brewers provide every thing they need to store and pour their beers at the event, such as ice chests and kegs,  but NCLAC will provide the the things needed to serve the beers, such as tables, chairs for the brewers and their volunteers, cups and napkins.

To apply to be a participating brewer fill out the forms below and return them to us by August 31st! If you have any questions email nclacartoberfest@gmail.com, or call the NCLAC offices at 318-255-1450, Mon.-Thurs. from 9am-3pm.

ARToberfest Brewer Application         ARToberfest Brew Description Form

Second: Call for Artist-Vendors and downtown Ruston Businesses for Holiday Arts Tour Nov. 22-24th!

We need artists and businesses to help us make the 2013 Holiday Arts Tour a success once more, by applying to sell artwork and hand-made goods at a special location in downtown Ruston, or by registering to be that special place in downtown Ruston. The Tour will begin Thursday night with viewings of the participating artists' work, and open house sales downtown. It will continue Friday and Saturday during holiday sales' hours, with the artists in residence at the shops selling their wares.  Sunday participating artists' studios will be open, but artists in the participating businesses will have completed their sales. Participating businesses have no obligation to take part in any Sunday events.

Participating businesses will receive up to 20% of their resident artist(s)' sales over the weekend. Each business and the paired artist(s) may decide the details of how they will conduct their transactions before the event.

To read more about the timeline of the Tour weekend, and further requirements to participate as an artist or a business, see the attached forms.

HAT 2013 Artist Application     HAT 2013 Business Application

ARToberfest: Tonight is the Night!

This evening, ARToberfest will begin at the Historic Firehouse in Ruston (5pm entry for VIP ticket holders, 6:30pm entry for General Admission). Come join us for great beer, live music, and local arts and crafts. This is your opportunity to support your local arts programs by... drinking beer!  Have you gotten your ticket yet? Remember that tickets will not be sold at the door. You can pick up a ticket today at the Dixie Center for the Arts or at Fine Line Art Supply in downtown Ruston. VIP tickets are $35 and include a meal catered by Rosemary's Kitchen, and general admission tickets are $15. Please call (318) 255-1450 for more information.

If you have never been to NCLAC's ARToberfest before, you are in for a treat! After 6:30pm, there will be booths throughout the Historic Firehouse featuring over 70 different brews. The commercial beer booths will be manned by our volunteers, who will their bottle openers at the ready!

Our home brewers will be manning their own booths, and we encourage you to try some of their new and exciting craft beers. Ultimately, we will ask YOU to decide which home brewer deserves the title of Devine Brewmaster and wins the $500 grand prize!  We hope to see you there!

Art Talk Monday: Celebrate the Craft

This week's Art Talk Monday written by Jennifer Downs, NCLAC's Technical Writing Intern and LA Tech Graduate Student The North Central Louisiana Arts Council presents the 3^rdAnnual ARToberfest from 5-9pm on Friday, Oct 5 at the Historical Firehouse, located at the corner of Mississippi and Bonner Street in Ruston. The theme for this year is “Celebrate the Craft,” and the evening will feature craft and commercial beers, catered food, and live performances by local musicians. Marsala Beverage has generously offered to sponsor the event and provide over 40 different beers for guests to enjoy, including many popular and familiar brands. The highlight of the night will be the home brewing competition, sponsored by local Ruston favorite Devine Wine and Spirits, where guests will be invited to sample over twenty beers from regional micro-breweries and vote for their favorite. The champion will receive a $500 cash prize and be crowned the “Devine Home Brewer.”  Last year’s champion Jean Gourd will be defending his title against other local brewmasters and YOU will be judge!

This year’s ARToberfest offers a VIP ticket option for $35, which includes dinner and a commemorative pint glass in addition to beers and music. VIP guests may arrive at 5pm pm to enjoy a delicious meal prepared by local bakery and restaurant Rosemary’s Kitchen, who catered the event last year and was well received. General admission tickets are available for $15 and grant guests access to the live music and beer, starting at 6:30pm. Local musicians will play during the event, including The Reactors, Tranny DeVito, The Swinging Richards, and the ‘80s cover band Hair Nation. It will be a night to remember! Come join us for ARToberfest and have a great time with friends and neighbors, all while supporting your local arts programs. Ticket sales will be used to fund NCLAC’s 15th annual Holiday Arts Tour that is scheduled for November 15-18. The goal of the tour is to increase cultural tourism and visibility of the region’s talent. Due to state budget cuts, NCLAC relies on these ticket sales and donations from members of the community to continue to offer arts programs and cultural economy initiatives like Holiday Arts Tour for the region. By purchasing a ticket to ARToberfest and reserving your spot for a night of the beer-tasting and live music, you are helping to keep the arts alive!

Tickets are on sale now and are available at the Dixie Center for the Arts and Fine Line Art Supply. They will not be sold at the door, so don't delay! Call 255-1450 for more information. No one under the age of 21 will be allowed at the event.

Countdown to ARToberfest

Just two more weeks until ARToberfest, on October 5! We have TWO giveaways for General Admission tickets to the event coming up soon. With a General Admission ticket, you have can sample the wide variety of craft beers offered by local breweries and enjoy some of your favorites provided by Marsala Beverage. 

The first giveaway is happening on our Facebook page. If you “like” or share the ARToberfest event page here, you have a chance to win one of the free tickets! The winner will be announced after the drawing on Monday, October 5.

The second giveaway will take place at Louisiana Tech and Grambling State Universities, where NCLAC interns Rod Waynick, Cailtin Angel, and Jennifer Downs will be setting up booths.  The Grambling booth will be offering free beer (of the “root” variety and in candy form!) on Wednesday, September 26 between 11am and 2pm by the bookstore. Passersby can enter for a chance to win the second ticket giveaway.

The Tech booth will be held on Friday, September 28^th from 11am to 2pm in the grassy area between Centennial Plaza and Toliver Hall. There will be fair-style games and activities, including a ring toss and a balancing competition/obstacle course. Students who participate and win can enter for a chance to win the second ticket giveaway.

The entries from GSU and Tech will be put together and then we will draw the winner on October 1. Because only adults 21 and up will be admitted into the event, if the winner of either the Facebook drawing or the university drawing is under 21, that individual will receive a $15 gift certificate to Sundown Tavern in Ruston and a different winner will be selected.

We hope that the college students come out to support NCLAC and ARToberfest! Even if you are under 21, feel free to stop by our GSU booth for root beer flavored candy, or come by our Tech booth to participate in some fun activities during your lunch break. We hope to see you there!

Countdown to ARToberfest: Thirsty Thursday

Just a few weeks left till ARToberfest! We are excited to see everyone on October 5th and enjoy some wonderful beers. By far, the highlight of the night will be the Homebrewer Competition, where our local brewers will compete for a $500 grand prize! The winner will be decided by popular vote and be crowned "King" of the event!

Some of the brewmasters who will be participating have already been featured on this blog, and we will introduce you to more in the coming weeks. This year the competition will be sponsored by local business Devine Wines and Spirits, located at 2653 S Service Road West in Ruston.

Devine hosts wine tastings and and provides a wide selection of wines, spirits, and brews to the area, so it is no surprise that they wanted to be involved in ARToberfest. You can check out their Event Calendar on their website or "Like" their Facebook page to stay up to date with information about their special events.

And while you are at it, you should check out our new ARToberfest page!

If you "Like" the ARToberfest page, you will have a chance to win a FREE general admission ticket to the event!

That means you will get to sample the variety of home brews and vote on a winner for the Brewmaster Competition. The winner will be picked on October1st.

We hope to see you at ARToberfest on October 5th at the Historic Fire Station on Bonner Street, from 5-7pm. VIP tickets are $35 and include dinner provided by Rosemary's Kitchen. General admision tickets are $15.Call (318) 255-1450 for more information.

Countdown to ARToberfest: Thirsty Thursday

For this week's Thirsty Thursday, I want to highlight the sponsor of ARToberfest, Marsala Beverage. Marsala is a distributor of Anheuser-Busch, craft beers from medium to large breweries, and other non-alcoholic beverages.

While many homebrewers will be showcasing their craft beers and competing for the Brew Master title for a $500 grand prize, Marsala will also bring other brews to the event so that guests can enjoy some of their favorite brands.

The poster for 3rd Annual ARToberfest prominently feature's Marsala's logo. It was designed by NCLAC's intern and Louisiana Tech graphic design student Caitlin Angel.

From Marsala's website:

Marsala Beverage is headquartered in Monroe and is locally owned and operated by Charles and Brenda Marsala and their children, Damon Marsala and Mandy Pritt. Our approximately 95 employees, including a Branch Warehouse in Ferriday, distribute beers and beverages to 15 North Louisiana parishes. We annually deliver over 2.8 million Cases of product to more than 750 licensed retailer accounts.

We provide many services to our retailers. Those services include Direct Store Delivery (DSD), cooler stocking/stock rotation, marketing and POS materials, sales tracking, inventory management, and business analysis.

As a large, regional beer distributor, Marsala has brought some interesting brews to North Louisianaa, beyond just light and dark beers. For instance, you may have noticed brands from Covington Brewery and Saint Arnold at local supermarkets throughout the area.

Come join us on October 5th at the Historic Fire Station on Bonner St in Ruston. There will be an extensive selection, from beers provided by Marsala to craft beers from regional homebrewers!

The Art of Advertising - Early to Mid-1900's

Good afternoon, NCLAC-ers! So, the 1900's. What's so great about it? Oh you know, just a few things. Have you heard of the Wright Brothers? They flew (1903). Have you ever seen a movie? Yeah, so did these folks (1903). What about e=MC^2 (1905)? Corn Flakes (1906)? The Ford Model-T (1908)? Oreo cookies (1912)? WWI (1914)? The Reader's Digest (1922)? Bubble gum, Mickey Mouse, and freaking SLICED BREAD (1928 quite possibly the greatest year of all time)!!! The end of prohibition (1933. PLUG: Artoberfest is October 5th!) T-shirts (1942)? Ballpoint pens (1944)? Microwaves and SLINKIES (fun combo back in 1945)? Bikinis (1946)? Polaroids (1947; coincidence?) The credit card (1950)? Playboy (1953)? Disneyland (1955)?

Yeah, the early 20th century was pretty bad-a. What you may have noticed is that there was a ton of new stuff to spend money on! And you know what that means, right? More advertisements!

Now television was introduced in 1949, but that is going to be a huge and fun topic, so we'll save early TV for later. Let's stick with print and outdoor for now. We will look at some examples of great ads for consumer products, automobiles, and political ads.

People were buying all sorts of crazy things in the early 20th century like light bulbs, telephones, and Kodak cameras. Companies did a good job advertising these products. Take a look.

      

Now for some analysis and criticism! The Edison ad is fantastic for many reasons. Number 1 is the amount of white space. When playing the blues, the notes you don't play are just as important as the ones you do. Same thing for art. This use of white space attracts the eye because it is uncluttered. The whole ad is simple and clean. It gets the point across in an easy to understand fashion.

The Jell-o ad is another brand recognition ad. The public seems to be fascinated with the telephone because of the inclusion of one in this ad. The text provides credibility and demonstrates Jell-o's affordability (only 10c).

The Heinz ad is great because it poses a problem and solution in picture form. The copy is really great, too. It provides details on how the Heinz company helps the housewife.

The Kodak ad offers an engaging headline, and interesting picture, and effective copy.

Now for some less than healthy pass times: candy, soda, booze, and cigarettes! These are staples in the advertising industry, so it's probably a good idea to take a brief look at em.

      

The marketing mavens at Coca-Cola

  

Notice the difference in feel for the Coke and Seven-up ads

Booze. Artoberfest is October 5th!!!

    

And for all the fellow Mad Men fans...

    

Since Ford came out with the Model-T, automobiles became very popular. Here are a few different ads for cars and motorcycles from back in the day.

              

The french Ford ad talks about how it can go 100 kilometers on 10 liters of gasoline. The Chrysler ad says that it's as quiet as a carp.

There was a lot of political turmoil during this time because of the war and the depression. Recruiting efforts were high. The U.S. Army and artist James Montgomery Flagg developed Uncle Sam in order to boost recruitment. There were also ads and posters for war bonds and rationing. This era brought about some of the most iconic images in American history.

            

So there you have it. Some of the biggest events of the early 1900s in advertisements! I'm excited about digging into more specific areas next week as we continue our journey of Advertising through time.

Comment below!!

-Rod

The Art of Advertising - Late 1800's

There was a lot going on in the world during the second half of the 19th century. The U.S. Civil War happens, the telephone is patented, the Brooklyn Bridge is completed, Jack the Ripper runs rampant in London, the Eiffel Tower is erected, and the Plessy vs. Ferguson rule goes into effect.

There were also revolutions in agriculture that helped farmers to vastly increase their production. This increase in production led to more pre-packaged food products which rose in sales during the latter part of the 19th century. Food products like oatmeal, cereals, and all sorts of tonics were readily produced. Since these were fairly new products, they needed eye catching advertisements in order to grab attention. Here are some examples of products you may recognize and some you may not.

The 19th century version of sexy models

I didn't know ghosts had creepy, yet healthy, reflections

Free soup? Only 7 stamps? I'm down.

These kids are definitions of class.

Since this is a series about advertising, we can't overlook one of the most effective advertisers ever: Coca-Cola. Introduced in 1886 as a medicine, Coke quickly gained dominance when marketed in the soft drink market. This rise was due to aggressive marketing including advertisement. Their iconic logo along with extremely catchy tag lines pasted all over the place made Coca-Cola a household name. That and maybe the large amounts of cocaine used for flavoring and stimulant. Here are some early examples of that marketing prowess.

I hear cocaine does that for you.

Her waist is so small. Must be the coke.

Coca-Cola relieves the headache I get when I haven't had any Coca-Cola

And speaking of distributing hard drugs to the masses, pharmaceutical ads were a big thing in the late 1800s. Morphine, cocaine, and heroin were used as cures for colds, coughs, toothaches, and children's teething pain. I'm sure they worked.

I guess Morphine would do the trick

Heroin solved the problem. It does have "Hero" in the name

Instantaneous cure? Sign me up. I'll take em all.

Now a moment of critical analysis. Again, lots of illustration with big headlines to capture the interest of the reader. My favorites have to be the heroin cough syrup and the "Ideal Brain Tonic" Coca-Cola ad. I like the illustration of the former and the headline and the way the text wraps around the woman of the latter. I chose all of these ads because they are all fairly well done. The illustrations are great and the lettering is something we don't have anymore. The first ad is a little creepy, but I'm sure it grabbed attention.

Here are a couple more that I really liked. No theme. They just look nice.

An ad for advertising. It's ad-ception.

Nothing funny. I just really like this.

Well there you have it. A brief history of the late 1800's through advertising. People loved their grains, cocaine, and soda pop. Next week we move into the early to mid 1900s and then we will slow it down and start to explore more deeply.

I'm excited.

Tell me what you thought in the comments below!

-Rod

The Art of Advertising - Early 1800's

Good day, NCLAC'ers! I'm Rod Waynick, one of this year's interns. I'm excited to be a part of NCLAC and the arts community of North Louisiana.

I'm a senior Marketing major at Louisiana Tech with hopes of going into the advertising field. I wanted to be an architect at first, but then realized that I didn't want to spend all day drawing bathrooms. However, the love of design and beauty stuck. Those passions and my interests in sales and business have led me to advertising. We'll see how it all goes.

Since I'm such a nerd, I pay attention to most ads I see. Some of them are really bad. Most of them are ok. However, there are a select few that can be viewed by some as works of art. Whether these are movie or event posters, t.v. commercials, or even pop-up ads (I know, right?), they can stand on their own as works of art.

This blog series will take you on journey through time and reveal to you an art form that you have probably ignored and maybe even been annoyed by.

In Marketing-speak, an advertisement is any paid, non-personal marketing message. This means that the message is meant for the masses and the person spreading the message has to pay for it. Ads are everywhere. They pretty much always have been around and they will be as long as people have something to sell.

Advertising started in ancient Egypt with posting notices on walls similar to our current billboards. Someone found an example of an advertisement for a Turkish Brothel.

Advertising: The World's Second Oldest Profession

Ancient Egyptians don't photo blog very much, so we'll start with the early 1800's. Media in the 19th century was pretty much limited to newspapers. Since newspapers don't allow for motion (I constantly remind myself we aren't in the wizarding world), pictures and text were all people had to work with. Here's an example of a newspaper ad from the 1760's

WARNING: THIS EXAMPLE IS AN ADVERTISEMENT FOR AFRICAN SLAVES FROM OVER 250 YEARS AGO. IT IN NO WAY ADVOCATES SLAVERY. SLAVERY WAS AND STILL IS A VERY BAD THING. THE AD ONLY SERVES AS AN EXAMPLE AND WAS MAINLY CHOSEN FOR THE ILLUSTRATION AND LAYOUT OF THE TEXT.

(at leaft they had their beft intereft in mind)

The ad has its downfalls: the drawings aren't of the best quality and don't seem very accurate and the whole selling people as property thing. Overall, though, it  seems like it was a fairly effective. The size of the word "NEGROES" in the middle of the page being flanked by, um, illustrations could be effective at drawing attention to the ad.

As far as artistic merit, this ad has little, so let's take a look at an artfully done newspaper advertisement. Eat your heart out, Frost.

Not only does this ad have a nice etching, it's a poem! Here's an ad for a book published in 1820:

Again, a picture up top to draw attention, big headline, and something about the book. This one seems to have an excerpt of the book itself.

While these examples are of items (and people, unfortunately) for sale, many ads had a political agenda attached to them. Here are a couple examples of labor movements being promoted through banners that were posted throughout the Portland, OR area in the early 1800's.

Now America wasn't the only country in the advertising game. Here's an example of a Japanese ad from 1806.featuring a traditional medicine called Kinseitan. The flier currently hangs in the Edo Tokyo Museum.

Very different style of advertising. My Japanese is a little rusty, but it looks as though the headline is decorated in the top left of the page. There is a good use of white space around the seemingly important words. I would imagine this samurai warrior on his knees and looking like he's in pain would have probably garnered some attention.

As you can probably tell, advertising in the early 1800's didn't have the pizazz that we see now. Things were simple compared to what we have today, probably because of the difference in technology. Ever since La Presse first allowed paid newspaper advertising in June of 1836, the technology that developed advertising methods took off. And that's a topic we will explore in next week's edition of Advertising Through the Ages.

Countdown to ARToberfest: Thirsty Thursday

The 3rd Annual ARToberfest is coming up October 5, and we are already working on recruiting home brewers to participate in the event. This year the winner of the ARToberfest Brewmaster competition will earn some serious bragging rights and, of course, a $500 grand prize. The competition is going to be tough! We have been contacting participating home brewers and asking them about their craft. Whether brewing beer is just a hobby or a lifelong passion, we want to know why they do it!

This week we spoke to Jeremy Saye from the homebrew club called Malt Munching Mash Monsters (Mmmm) from the Shreveport/Bossier area and his personal homebrewery, Cathouse Brewery. Here are his responses to some questions about “Mmmm” and the craft.

Q: What inspired you to start homebrewing? Was it an interest of yours? I began brewing in 1996, I was a college student at LSU-BR and saw a novelty beer kit for sale at the mall. The beer wasn't that great but it was fun to do and I sought out a small homebrew shop in town. They sold me a book, The Joy of Homebrewing,  and my first real kit and fermenter, (which I still use). I was hooked.   When did you start homebrewing? And where do you brew? 1996, I have taken many long breaks but have brewed consistently for four years now. [I brew] outside, in my backyard on propane burners.

Q. So your brew club is called Malt Munching Mash Monsters (Mmmm). What was your inspiration for that name? It reminds me of that old song, "The Monster Mash."  I was not a founding member, but it is common to name brew clubs in a witty way, in our case the acronym is the sound you make when you drink beer MMMM......  I call my own personal homebrewery the Cathouse Brewery. I have a small herd of cats and it seemed like a fun name at the time.

Q. How large are your batches? Do you keg, bottle, or both? I brew mostly 5 or 10 gallon batches. I tend to wander about and experiment with unique ingredients and special yeasts, so I do smaller batches of those. Sometimes just small 2.5 gallon batches. I mostly keg, I hate bottling, but I do bottle my annual barley wine and other beers I want to age. I also bottle from the keg for parties, gifts and vacations.

Q. Have you participated in any homebrewing competitions? (If yes, did you win any awards? If no, do you plan on entering any competitions in the future?) I started competing two years ago, mostly in BJCP/AHA sanctioned events. (Brew Judge Certification Program / American Homebrewers Association). I mostly want the expert feedback to improve my brewing. I have won several awards.

Q. What has been your biggest challenge as a homebrewer? At the end of the day, I brew for two reasons, 1) To make good beer that I can not buy locally. 2) As a hobby, for pure enjoyment.   It is easy to get caught up in the process and find out your not making great beer or that it is to much work... It is supposed to be fun! I will every once in a while get stuck in a rut where I find I am making the same beer over and over. We are constantly trying new beers that we bring in from outside our local market looking for inspiration. The club [Malt Munching Mash Monsters] helps with this because we get to meet so many different kinds of people and see our hobby through another perspective.

NCLAC's 3rd Annual ARToberfest!

Octoberfest isn’t just in Germany anymore. NCLAC’s ARToberfest is quickly becoming a tradition in Ruston as well. A premier fundraiser for NCLAC, this year’s ARToberfest will be held October 5, 2012 at the Ruston Historic Fire Station. Marsala Beverage has generously offered to sponsor this year’s event which means a bigger variety of beer to try for everyone. “With Marsala’s help we are looking forward to having a bigger variety of beers than we normally get in our area,” said planning committee member, Meg Waters. ARToberfest 2012 shaping up to be bigger and better all around! Home brewer Jean Gourd will be defending his title of ARToberfest Brewmaster and a $500 grand prize. However, he and other local home brewers may have new competition this year. We have already had interest from home brewers in Shreveport and New Orleans. Music, food, and fun raffles will be on tap as well including the return of the Bar Food Smorgasbord and a variety of super special beer treats.

A limited number of VIP tickets including early admission dinner and a commemorative glass will be available for $35. General admission will be $15. If you would like to volunteer for this event or make a donation please contact us at NCLACartoberfest@gmail.com. Money raised from this event goes to help fund the NCLAC Holiday Arts Tour in November. Stay tuned for updates on ARToberfest 2012. You won’t want to miss this!

NCLAC's Annual ARToberfest Tickets on SALE!!

Artoberfest on tap with brews, aid to Arts Tour

A centuries-old European tradition will flow into Ruston on Thursday, Oct. 13, as the North Central Louisiana Arts Council offers a special fundraising event.

The second annual Artoberfest will be held from 5-9 p.m. in Ruston's Historic Fire Station, 200 E. Mississippi Ave. Tickets are now on sale.

"Much like the traditional Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany, our event will feature good music, good food, good beer and good fun," said Leigh Anne Chambers, NCLAC executive director.

Beer-tasting will highlight Artoberfest. Not only will beers from regional and national brewing companies be on tap, but also beers from right here in Lincoln Parish.  "We are really excited about the number of local brewers participating this year!  Guests will be able to taste beers they can't get anywhere else," said Meg Water of the planning committee. 

 Also on tap for the nights festivities will be live music, raffle, local brew contest, and work by a Bavarian artist. 

"The traditional Oktoberfest in Bavaria is the world's largest fair, with more than 6 million visitors," Chambers said. "We'd like to capture some of that excitement here. Not only will

Artoberfest offer an enjoyable, entertaining evening; it will also offer area residents a chance to support the arts."

Proceeds from the event will benefit NCLAC's 13th Holiday Arts Tour, with an estimated economic impact of $64,480 in 2009, Chambers said. This year's tour is set for Nov. 18-20.

Tickets are $30 each for VIP tickets, which includes early entry at 5 p.m., a buffet dinner and commemorative beer-tasting glass. General admission entry will begin at 6:30 at a cost of $15 per person.  For more information, go to www.nclarts.org,  call (318) 255-1450, or visit the NCLAC offices in the Dixie Center for the Arts, 212 N. Vienna, between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.

No one under the age of 21 will be allowed in the event.  Firehouse contract stipulations specify that tickets cannot be sold at the door, so if there are remaining tickets the night of the event, they will be sold at the Dixie Center for the Arts.