Rossitza Todorova

Work in Progress

2011-09-30T10:47:00.001-07:00

43" x 43"
In progress

Blogging Again

2011-09-23T08:33:00.001-07:00

I'm trying to start Blogging again. I thought that I would write a summary of the last year and talk about travel, moving to Arizona, my first year of Grad School at ASU, and what I thought are successes, but it's a longer blog then I can manage right now. So, instead I am going to start posting my art today and hope I can write about the past later.

A corner of my studio with in-progress work.

New Work - Carson Bound

2010-05-29T15:54:00.000-07:00

16. Frog

2010-05-19T13:52:00.000-07:00

Animal requested by Leta Medina

15. Squirrel

2010-05-19T13:48:00.000-07:00

Animal Requested by Jill Berryman

Conrad Wilde Gallery

2010-04-22T21:02:00.000-07:00

Rossitza Todorova
Off-ramp
6 1/2" x 9", Watermedia, 2010

Donated to the Conrad Wilde Gallery for their "Pick Up the Pieces" Red Dot Fundraising Event, May 1-29, 2010. Reception, Sat. May 1st from 6-9pm.

Snow Woman with Apples

2010-02-28T22:04:00.000-08:00

The unpredictable Northern Nevada weather dumped 18" of snow last Saturday. The result was a wish for spring in the form of a snow woman. She offers apples and peacefully awaits to be returned to the earth by the rays of the sun.

HWY-395 merge to I-80

2010-02-19T16:48:00.000-08:00

Rossitza Todorova
HWY-395 merge to I-80
5" x 7", Watercolor, 2010

Donated to Churchill Arts Council's Annual Fundraiser dinner and silent auction, March 6, 2010, Fallon, Nevada.

Love Lost and Found

2010-02-01T10:40:00.000-08:00

Rossitza Todorova

New Road by Power Lines

Watercolor, 2010

Love Lost and Found
10th Biennial Valentine Invitational Exhibition and Auction

• Work on Preview February 1-12, 2010
• Auction & Reception Friday, February 12, 2010 5:30-8:00pm
• Bidding starts at 5:30pm and ends promptly at 6:30pm

The 10th Biennial Valentine Invitational Exhibition and Auction features local artists and previous Sheppard Gallery exhibitors. All proceeds from the auction support gallery programming including exhibitions, lectures, visiting artists, catalogs and other publications.

Free parking after 5pm on top level of the Whalen Parking Garage north of Church Fine Arts building
For more info: 775-784-6658 or www.unr.edu/art

# 3 - 365 Sketches

2010-01-11T12:36:00.001-08:00

395 Carson City off ramp
365 Sketches # 3
Ink on paper
1/10/2010

# 2 - 365 Sketches

2010-01-11T12:33:00.000-08:00

395 merge to I-80
365 Scketch # 2
Ink on paper
1/10/2010

#1 - 365 Sketches

2010-01-11T12:28:00.000-08:00

395 Carson City off ramp to N. Virginia St.
365 Sketch # 1
Ink on Paper
1/10/2010

365 - One sketch a day

2010-01-11T12:27:00.000-08:00

I am working on making 365 Sketches in 2010 - One Sketch a day.

She brings the dawn

2010-01-09T12:47:00.000-08:00

She brings the dawn

Ink and gouache on paper

5 1/4” x 8 1/4”, 2010

by Rossitza Todorova

The Old Pear

2009-12-29T18:53:00.000-08:00

The Old Pear, Linocut, 15" x 20," 2009

Every Tree Counts print exchange  

Memories of my childhood in Bulgaria are filled with a warm sun, the smell of fresh cut grass, the taste of garden tomatoes and the silhouette of a tree on a hill. My sister, cousin and I would spend the three months of summer vacations at my grandfather’s birth home a small country village of Sumer. We played in the garden, ran through the watermelon patch and watched the birds fly out of the large pear tree on top of the hill.

The hill, known as the “Stone Wall,” belonged to our great-grandfather and was once the site of a Roman fortress. The stone walls of the fortress were dismantled long ago - used to build the main street of the village. Atop the hill my great-grandfather planted a pear tree and left it to grow free and wild, her large trunk and green crown could be seen from anywhere in the village.

During the rise of communism the hill was taken from my family, just like the personal property of all Bulgarian citizens. Our grandfather would often tell us stories about of our family history, spinning dramatic tails about his parents and grandparents. My favorite stories were about his childhood adventures herding sheep atop the hill. He would set my imagination ablaze describing Roman coins and pieces of pottery he had found there. I would look up at the hill taking in all the history surrounding me.

The old pear no longer sits on top of her hill. After watching over the valley for generations she was burnt down by a group of local villagers searching for the unattainable. They thought that my great-grandfather had buried gold coins under her roots. Removing the tree they found no treasure.   

When we moved to the United States the image of tree atop a hill began to represent the unattainable for me. A bittersweet symbol representing my history, childhood and country. A symbol of loss and the hopeful future still to be reclaimed. My vision of forward progress is still the upward walk toward a tree and represents the attainment of a great desire.  

“The Old Pear” shows the tree as she adorns my family hill, watching the world and history unfolding.

Holiday Editions

2009-12-16T12:33:00.000-08:00

This year I sent out limited edition prints as my holiday gifts/cards. I hand printed 3 different lino cuts in a lush dark blue. I hope everyone enjoys them.
Peace, Love, Joy and Happy Holidays to all!
- Rossi

395 South - Galena Creek Bridge
Holiday Edition of 34
hand-rubbed linocut
2.5" x 4"
2009

395 South - 1-580 Freeway
Holiday Edition of 34
hand-rubbed linocut
2.5" x 4"
2009

395 South Washoe
Holiday Edition of 32
hand-rubbed linocut
2.5" x 4"
2009

Wine - Art - Song : a Bone-on-Bone fundraiser for L. Martina Young, Sunday, November 15, 2009, 4pm - 7pm

2009-11-14T10:44:00.001-08:00

Wine - Art - Song : a Bone-on-Bone fundraiser for L. Martina Young
Vintage, A Wine Shop, 6135 Lakeside Drive, Reno, NV 89511
Sunday, November 15, 2009, 4pm - 7pm

Wine Tasting - $25/person

Sunday will be an evening of delicious wine, the beautiful voice of
Ce Ce Gable and an Art Auction of local artists. Each ticket will include a glass of wine and appetizers from A Perfect Pear.

Many of you know L. Martina Young, an artist, dancer, scholar, mentor, healer, teacher, colleague or friend. Martina's grace of movement has touched many of you and yet dance has also effected her body.

Martina needs bi-lateral hip-replacement surgery but has no health insurance. Martina will not be able to grace us with her dancing nor can she currently walk without debilitating pain without this surgery.

Join us Sunday November 15, 2009 from 4pm - 7pm and help give movement back to a dancer.

Artwork seen at left by Rossitza Todorova, Train Overpass on North McCarran Blvd, will be available for auction along with work by many other artists.

Artists have generously donated their artwork to help raise money for Martina.

Join us on Sunday and start your Holiday shopping early. Artwork by the following artists will be available:

Lynda Yuroff, Patty Melton, Catherine Sweet, Patti Woodard, Rante Nuemann, Jann Selleck, Ricardo Olvera, Laura Fillmore, Karen Kreyeski, Linda Walker, Chad Sorg, Nick Ramirez, Edouard Mann, Doug Goodall, Laura Lea Evans, Bonnie Golde, Erik Holland, Galina Milton, Cindy Gunn, Luverne Lightfoot, Joe Winter, Martin Holmes, Pat Wallis, Candace Nicol, and Rossitza Todorova.

All proceeds will go to the Bone on Bone Project, designed to assist L. Martina Young with her pending total bilateral hip surgery.
Tickets will be available at Vintage Wine Shop. If you can not attend this Sunday please make a donation by visiting www.boneonbone.org.

Train Overpass on North McCarran Blvd

2009-11-12T21:06:00.000-08:00

Train Overpass on North McCarran Blvd

Ink on paper
6" x 8"
2009

New Printmaking

2009-11-12T20:39:00.001-08:00

Washoe
hand-rubbed linocut
2.5" x 4"
2009

New Printmaking

2009-11-12T20:30:00.000-08:00

Train Overpass on North McCarran Blvd
hand-rubbed linocut
2.5" x 4"
2009

14. Hummingbird

2009-11-07T11:53:00.000-08:00

Animal requested by Ricardo Olvera

13. Koala

2009-11-05T10:22:00.000-08:00

Animal requested by John Murphy

12. Axolotl

2009-11-04T14:15:00.000-08:00

Animal requested by Jeannie Frantz

10. Raccoon

2009-10-16T11:12:00.000-07:00

Animal requested by Britt Curtis

11. Rhinoceros

2009-10-12T14:31:00.000-07:00

Animal requested by Ray Flores

9. Camel

2009-10-07T13:16:00.000-07:00

Animal requested by Melanie Berner

Animals Requested as of Sept 30, 2009

2009-09-29T14:52:00.000-07:00

I am drawing each animal in the order that it was requested.

If you would like to request and animal or if you don't see the animal you requested please fill out the 200 Animal form at the following link: http://rossitza.blogspot.com/2009/09/200-animals.html
One animal per person please.

1. Andrewsarchus
2. Antelabbit
3. Axolotl
4. Panda (baby)
5. Bat (3)
6. Beaver
7. Big Horn Sheep (2)
8. Buffalo (2) - 1 of 2 completed - drawing #8
9. Snow buffalo
10. Bunny
11. Butterfly
12. Camel
13. Cat (2) - 1 of 2 completed - drawing #1
14. Centipede
15. Chimpanzee

Dogs
16. Boston Terrier,
17. Jack Russell Terrier
18. Pekingese
19. Westie
20. Dolphin
21. Dragonfly
22. Duck
23. Eagle
24. Eel, Moray
25. Elephant
26. Elk
27. Falcon, Peregrine
28. Ferret

Fish
29. Goldfish - completed - drawing #6
30. Puffer fish

31. Fox
32. Fennec Fox
33. Frog (2)
34. Dart Frog
35. Giraffe(4)
36. Goat
37. Gorilla
38. Griffin
39. Hawk, Red Tail
40. Hedgehog - completed - drawing #4
41. Horse (2)
42. Hummingbird
43. Jellyfish, Medusa
44. Kinkajou
45. Koala (2)
46. Lemur
47. Ring-tailed lemur
48. Lion - completed - drawing #7
49. Magpie
50. Manatee
51. Monkey, White-faced capuchin
52. Moose
53. Mosquito
54. Mule
55. Ocelot
56. Octopus - completed - drawing #2
57. Osprey
58. Otter
59. Owl
60. Parrot
61. Platypus (2)
62. Quail
63. Rabbit
64. Raccoon
65. Raven
66. Rhinoceros (2)
67. Roosters - completed - drawing #3
68. Sea horse
69. Sea otter
70. Sea Squirt
71. Sea turtle

Shark
72. Shark Goblin
73. Great White Shark
74. Sloth (2)
75. Slow Loris (2)
76. Squirrel

Spiders
77. Jumping Spider
78. Wolf Spider

79. Sugar glider
80. Turkey
81. Tiger (2)
82. Trout
83. Tyrannosaurus Rex
84. Whale, Orca
85. Zebra (2) - 1 of 2 completed - drawing #5

8. Buffalo

2009-09-24T09:01:00.000-07:00

Animal requested by Megan Berner

200 Animals

2009-09-23T09:24:00.000-07:00

I am drawing 200 animals and I would like your help.

I would like for you to request your favorite animal.
I will draw the first 200 animals requested.

Each drawing will be numbered and posted at www.rossitza.blogspot.com and the 200 Animals gallery section of my website www.rossitza.net along with the name of the individual who requested it.

To request your favorite animal simply fill out the below submission form. One animal per person please.

200 Animals required *
Email Address: *

First Name: *

Last Name: *

Address: *

City: *

State: *

Zip Code: *

Animal: *

Email Marketing by VerticalResponse

Thank you for participating.

- Rossi

7. Lion

2009-09-22T12:16:00.001-07:00

Animal requested by Rennie Brode

6. Goldfish

2009-09-22T09:04:00.000-07:00

Animal requested by Maryjane Dorofachuk

5. Zebra

2009-09-21T10:10:00.000-07:00

Animal requested by Dominique Palladino

4. Hedgehog

2009-09-20T16:15:00.000-07:00

Animal requested by Angela Scarselli

3. Rooster

2009-09-19T22:55:00.000-07:00

Animal requested by Robin Hodgkin

2. Octopus

2009-09-17T17:23:00.000-07:00

Animal requested by Rossitza Todorova

1. Sleeping Cat

2009-09-17T17:20:00.000-07:00

Animal requested by Susan Boskoff

Nada Dada Action Figures

2009-06-19T11:55:00.000-07:00

Feel the adventure as more than 100 artists prepare for creative melee on the streets and in the hotels of Reno. Collect ’em all!

By Brad Bynum

Artists are funny folk. A lot of people go camping, but when an artist goes camping he brings along a giant fireworks-filled wooden effigy to burn. A lot of people host parties, but when artists host a party, they take over an iconic old hotel, transform the hotel rooms into miniature art galleries or installations, and then call the party a conceptual movement.
In the summer of 2007, a group of local and regional artists did (more or less) exactly that at the El Cortez Hotel, 239 W. Second St., in downtown Reno. The event was called Dada Motel. Last year, after some perfunctory debate about whether to hold it again, the event returned, this time with the name changed to Nada Motel. This week marks the third iteration of the annual artistic identity crisis. They’re calling it Nada Dada Motel, and it runs from June 18-21, again centered at the El Cortez, but also spilling into the Town House Motor Lodge across the street and smaller venues around town.
The event will feature more than 100 artists showcasing a diversity of media: paintings, photographs, sculptures, films, performances and the miscellaneous, unclassifiable varieties of art that fall between the cracks of traditional media.
Here’s some background on the name. Dada is a nonsense word first used by artists in the early 20th century to describe deliberately counterintuitive artwork—art meant to defy rational explanation. Some scholars and artists might point to the works of Salvador Dali or Marcel Duchamp as well-known and easily recognizable examples of the Dada aesthetic. Others would say that the movement started earlier and was more overtly political. Still others would say that there are no easily recognizable examples of the Dada aesthetic because such a thing doesn’t exist—Dada is anti-aesthetic. The bottom line is that it doesn’t matter. Dada can mean whatever you want it to mean. For all intents and purposes, it is a meaningless word. Nada, on the other hand, quite literally means nothing.
So Nada Dada Motel is a meaningless event. If this appeals to you, then you won’t be disappointed. An event like Nada Dada Motel is really just an excuse for artists to get together and do what they do best, which is show off. Despite what some artists might tell you, all artists have one thing in common: vanity. Artists make things and do things that they hope will live on—in legend if not physical space—long after the moment of creation.
What follows is a collection of brief profiles of a handful of the dozens of artists involved with Nada Dada Motel. The format of these profiles is modeled on the cardboard cutout character bios found on the back of action figure boxes. This format is a quick and easy way to showcase the talents of the artists involved, but it also serves to poke a little fun at the ego and shameless self-promotion—not to mention the willingness to prepackage and sell—that are necessary, albeit occasionally obnoxious, parts of being an artist.
Codename: Rough and Ready
File name: Todorova, Rossitza
Birthplace: Sofia, Bulgaria
Primary artistic specialty: Pen and ink
Room number: El Cortez 407
Superpowers: “As an artist, my superpowers are that I can take a scene that you have seen … an experience that you’ve had a million times—and that is driving through Nevada—and have you look at it in a way that seems so familiar, and you cannot specifically place it.
“I do pen-and-ink drawings. Lately I’ve been working with pen-and-ink as water media, so they really have a watercolor feel to them, but they’re monochromatic, and it is work on paper. They depict highways, overpasses and Nevada—Northern Nevada specifically—the desert and manmade structures of the desert, in an abstraction.”
Weaknesses: “My kryptonite as an artist is color. There’s a book called Chromophobia … that talks about how the Western world of art thinks of color as secondary and dangerous and no matter how much time I spend with it I cannot help but have the same view myself most of the time. I find myself wanting to take color out of things and make it as simple and linear as possible, and I think that it makes me stronger. I find that when I have color around me it makes me weaker.”
Nada Dada: “I love the idea that we are in a hotel-motel that is not a hotel or a motel. It is Nada, and it is Dada. It is nothing, and it is exactly what it’s not supposed to be. You’re not supposed to visit people in their hotel rooms to do business, or to look at their work, or for them to be self-publicizing from there. A hotel room is supposed to be something private, a getaway, and here we get to invite the public to go visit a very intimate space, a space that the artist has full control of, and have them create a gallery out of something that you would never think to invite the public to. I love that it’s nothing.
“I’m sharing a room with Marian Studer. She’s a ceramicist. She teaches ceramics at Spanish Springs. So the two of us are sharing a room. She’s going to be showing her mixed media paintings and ceramics, and I’m going to be showing [my work]. And we’re going to have more of a traditional work gallery compared to some of the people that are doing performance art, etcetera. We’re trying to really show off and market our work.”

Nada Dada Motel Room 407

2009-06-16T09:33:00.000-07:00

Please visit me in Room #407 of the El Cortez during the third Nada Dada Motel this Thursday June 18 – Sunday June 21, 2009.

Mixed media artist Marian Studer and I will be displaying new work in our impromptu hotel room gallery.

Nada Dada Motel is a yearly avant-garde art event. Artists rent rooms in downtown Reno’s historic El Cortez Hotel turning them into temporary galleries and studio spaces open to the public. Come experience this unique event.

Reno Metro Pulse SNCAT Episode

2009-06-04T14:05:00.000-07:00

SNCAT Reno Metro Pulse Episode featuring the works of two Reno artists - painter Rossitza Todorova and photographer Kelly Bridegum. The two artists both portray their experiences commuting to and from Reno to Carson in their recent collaborative exhibit at the McKinley Arts and Culture Center Gallery in Reno.

Reno Passport April 2009 Artist Profile

2009-04-06T08:59:00.000-07:00

April Issue 2009 - Reno Passport
by Chag Sorg

The eight bodies of work found on www.rossitza.net are all works hand-inked using markers or brushes, stained into big white paper stretched over backframes. The depictions are in various levels of representation. Some of the oldest drawings rendered are slashed into forms of abstracted shape and indeterminate dimension on big white expanses of paper ground–yeah, they can warp your mind a little if gazed into long enough, and all examples are accomplished with only black ink on paper.
Says Todorova,“I am fascinated by man’s drive to change and adapt his surroundings. I find man’s desire to take charge of his own life visually inspiring,” apparently referring to bridges, overpasses and thoroughfares that stretch travel distances for the nomadic career oriented human commuters.

With a mind let to wander; the paintings could be viewed as sumi brush paintings, a kind of sci-fi robot love story, quasi-mechanical abstractions or medical drawings of muscle tissue but in only tones of gray and usually reminiscent of bridges crossing the landscape and highwayspheres of the high desert.

“In my drawings I try to capture the motion of man in one landscape; the road and the body that created it.” It’s the negative and positive spaces in these pictures that sometimes make the sinewy visual connection for viewers. The whitespace can all-of-the-sudden resemble something concrete or figurative.

The ink slashes are sometimes like shards of obsidian, sometimes more minimal and almost cartoony, and some are painted at wall scale, depictive of land and water. The ambivalent depth can be disorienting, it all melds into shadows or mass.

Using usually grays in light to medium washes and with straight to arced lines and broken perspectives, the newest vistas are accurately rendered representations of Todorova’s commute from Reno to Carson City. All of the pictures have remnants of futurist and cubist works such as that of the early DuChamp paintings.

Todorova’s works have been exhibited throughout the Reno area; including recent solo shows at the Nevada Museum of Art and the Sierra Arts Foundation. In 2005, she earned her B.F.A in Painting/Drawing with minors in Business Marketing and Management from the University of Nevada, Reno. Presently, she works at the Nevada Arts Council as the Community Arts Development Associate.

1 Comment - http://renopassport.com/reno-artist-profile-rossitza-todorova/

"Drive to work, Rossitza Todorova and Kelly Bridegum" article Reno News & Review

2009-03-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

By Nicole Seaton
photo by Lauren Randolph
March 26, 2009

The commute to work has become an inevitable part of American life. Although the distance remains the same, the long stretch of everyday road contains millions of variables, including precarious weather, car accidents and split-second glimpses of wildlife. Two Nevada artists, Rossitza Todorova and Kelly Bridegum, have collaborated on an exhibit, From: To: A Study of Space and Commuting at the McKinley Arts and Culture Center that explores the mutability of their daily trek through Washoe Valley.

Bridegum works in Reno and lives in Carson City, and Todorova makes the opposite commute, so it’s only natural that the artists would show their work on either side of the room, directly facing each other.

“They’re kind of like in conversation with each other because they are very different perspectives and understandings of the same thing,” says Bridegum.

Todorova elaborates, calling their work a “more rounded view of two people seeing the same thing, but having a very different experience. … You don’t really know where you end or where the commute starts.”

Bridegum is a photographer with a background in sculpture, and Todorova describes her work as watermedia. While their chosen forms of expressing the daily commute differ, they both celebrate the contrasting beauty of manmade technology in nature. “I don’t know if I’ve ever talked about it this way,” Todorova muses, “but it’s the element behind the element, like engineering or pipe systems … someone thought of it, made it—man and nature. It can be empowering, inspiring.”

Bridegum nods in agreement. “I think it’s just so interesting. So many people get uptight about the environment and man’s influence on the environment. … It doesn’t have to be something that you see as a blemish on your aesthetic canvas.”

The artists met when they both working at the Nevada Museum of Art. A little over a year ago, Todorova approached Bridegum about an exhibit based on commuting. By chance or sheer synchronicity, Bridegum had just completed a piece on that same theme. They put a proposal together for the city and applied for the space to show their artwork.
“I really liked our title, From: To: … It feels that way a lot of the time,” says Todorova. “Not only are we studying it visually through this exhibit, we’re going through it every day.”

Bridegum and Todorova are graduates of the University of Nevada, Reno, earning their respective bachelor’s degrees in studio art and fine art. The artists are exuberant about art in Northern Nevada.

“I think that there are a lot of opportunities here, more than people think,” says Todorova. “There’s the ability to apply for shows. There’s grant funding. I work for the [Nevada] Arts Council, and we give so many grants to individual artists, which is very different than in any other state.”

They believe that Nevada is a good place for artists. “It’s a very close-knit arts community in terms of organizations working together, spaces being shared,” says Bridegum.

From: To: effectively captures the collective artistic consciousness of Northern Nevada through two interpretations of a well-known stretch of road. “It’s more like an everyday road trip rather than a commute. The visuals are different, too. When you commute in heavy traffic, and there’s nature, you have time to study sections or see certain things.” Todorova points to the ceiling with one hand and clutches an imaginary steering wheel with the other. “There’s an eagle!”

From: To: A Study of Space and Commuting is on exhibit through April 2 at the McKinley Arts and Culture Center, 925 Riverside Drive.
For more information, visit www.rossitza.net or www.staringthroughleaves.com.

Exhibit - From: To: a study of space and commuting, February 9 – April 2, 2009

2009-02-18T15:25:00.000-08:00

Rossitza Todorova & Kelly Bidegum
From: To: a study of space and commuting
February 9 – April 2, 2009

Opening Reception, Thursday, February 19th from 6 to 8pm at the Mckinley Arts & Culture Center

From: To: a study of space and commuting is a collaborative exhibition of artwork by Carson City photographer, Kelly Bridegum and Reno artist, Rossitza Todorova. Comprised of both artist’s individual artwork this exhibit was inspirited by the artists’ daily 45min drive though the high desert of Washoe Valley.

Bridegum and Todorova commute for work in opposite directions on HWY 395. One drives from Reno to Carson City the other Carson City to Reno at about the same time, day-in and day-out through sun, snow, and wind. Each day’s long commute inspires new visual images for both artists.

Bridegum and Todorova depict the commute in their own unique styles. Photographs by Bridegum, strong in their since of place, story and texture will be displayed in contrast to Todorova’s sweeping black and white desert landscapes.

Directions: Mckinley Arts & Culture Center is located at 925 Riverside Drive, Reno, NV 89503. Map

To view a gallery of my artwork please visit www.rossitza.net for artwork by Kelly Bridegum visit www.staringthroughleaves.com

“6 Sides 2 Every Story” - Cube 16

2009-02-05T14:48:00.000-08:00

I am currently participating in the “6 Sides 2 Every Story” art collaboration organized by Candace Nicol. This project is funded by grants from the Nevada Arts Council, and Sierra Arts Foundation.

Candace introduces the project by saying, "As humans, we have the incredible ability to perceive the same events as completely different happenings. This collaboration project will give consideration to these individual points of view."

"Participants are asked to illustrate their own individual perspectives by carving one side of a wooden cube. Each cube will represent one current issue found in a national/international article, internet posting, or magazine. This project will expand across the United States, starting with 100 (2"x2"x2") cubes, 600 participants."

I began Cube 16 based on the second oil pipeline proposed to be build through Alaska, "Alaska Now Has 2 Gas Pipeline Proposals" http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1998861/posts

The participants of this cube are as follows:
Rossitza Todorova - Nevada — theme originator
Melanie Yazzie - Colorado
Leslie Benson - Colorado
Todd Christensen - New Mexico
Helen Baribeau - Colorado
Susie Mitchell - Colorado

The sides of each cube will be printed and framed for exhibition. A book of the prints is slated for later this year.

50% Cut to the Nevada Arts Council

2009-02-04T20:53:00.000-08:00

Dear friends, colleagues, artists, and arts supporters,

The Nevada Governor’s Office has recommended a 50% reduction for the Nevada Arts Council (NAC) budget for each year of the FY10-11 biennium. A cut this deep signals serious consequences to your NAC grants, programs, and professional development services from which you, your organizations, and your community benefit.

I'm writing to ask for your help.

Should the Governor’s proposed reduction go through, the following are very real scenarios?
• The Nevada Arts Council grants would be reduced by 50-80 percent.

• Funding for programs like Circuit Riders (art consultants) and Professional Development Grants could be exhausted by fall, 2009.

• Challenge Grants funding major institutions like the Nevada Museum of Art will be eliminated for two years.

• Outreach programs such as Tumblewords, Traveling Exhibition Program which bring high quality visual and literary arts to Nevada’s rural communities will be suffer suspension and/or marginalization.

• NAC will layoff staff, including my position, Community Arts Development Associate, working with Nevada Arts Organizations around the State.

This is a very real threat to our state’s cultural infrastructure.Please let your legislators hear from you by doing the following two things.

1. Come to Carson City on Thursday morning, February 5, from 9 – 11 a.m. Quite simply, we need to pack the room with NAC grantees, constituents and artists. Your physical presence is vital, whether you speak or not.

2. Contact your Legislators and tell them that the arts matter in Nevada.Write to them via http://capwiz.com/artsusa/nv/state/main/?state=NV or call:

Senate Finance Committee
Senator Bernice Mathews 775-684-1433
Senator William Raggio 775-684-1419

Assembly Ways and Means Committee
Sheila Leslie 775-684-8845
Debbie Smith 775-684-8841
Heidi Gansert 775-684-8837
Tom Grady 775-684-8507
Pete Goicoechea 775-684-8573

Talking Points
Comments should/may address economic impact and diversification (jobs, payroll, taxes, etc), access and participation, cultural tourism, arts education, services to populations typically underserved and community vitality.

Your message should be clear – Nevada’s investment in the arts for more than 40 years through the Nevada Arts Council has been good use of public dollars and continuation of public funding for the arts is essential in Nevada. AND artists count as taxpayers and entrepreneurs.

Your voice is critically important. Again, this is a very real threat to public funding for the arts—not only here in northern Nevada, but throughout the state.

Remember the recent student demonstrations on behalf of higher education? Legislators saw and heard their message; it is now time to deliver the same message on behalf of the arts.

Higher education is the brain of Nevada, the arts are Nevada’s heart. Don’t leave Nevada without a mind and soul.

As always, thank you for your personal support
- Rossi

Truckee River Gallery Invitational

2009-01-16T15:45:00.000-08:00

The Truckee River Gallery is bringing in the New Year by highlighting their best local artists in the Truckee River Gallery Invitational Exhibit on display January 14th through February 1st, 2009.

Come meet the artists and enjoy light retrenchments at the opening reception, Saturday, January 17th from 4 to 7pm.

Directions: Truckee River Gallery is located in Downtown Reno Nevada in the heart of Reno’s Art District. The gallery is located on the Truckee River and the River Walk at 11 North Sierra Street #100. Map

Visit my new website to view a gallery of my artwork. www.rossitza.net

Holiday Card: Peace, Love, Joy

2008-12-25T12:38:00.000-08:00

I have always loved making unique postcards but had never printed a full edition prior to this holiday season.

In 2008 I amazingly found the time to print Peace, Love, Joy an edition of 130 holiday cards featuring two turtle doves in a winter tree.

I sent the cards to friends, family and individuals on my art-blast list who requested a card. I loved this experience and hope to print and send more limited edition cards in the near future. If you received one of my cards this holiday season, I hope you enjoyed it.

If you would like to receive a limited edition cards in the future please email me your name and address and I will be more then happy to include you.

-Rossi
rossitza@charter.net

395 South Exhibit at the Investment Gallery November 3, 2008 - January 31, 2009

2008-11-10T09:10:00.000-08:00

395 South, an exhibit of drawings on paper, inspired by my daily commute between Reno and Carson City, will be on display at the Investment Gallery November 3, 2008 through January 31, 2009.

The Investment Gallery located on the third floor of the Fitzgerald Student Services Building, on the University of Nevada, Reno campus.

For the last three years I have been commuting from Reno to Carson City. The hour and a half commute is not easy and it weighs on me physically and emotionally. Having a job that I love keeps me from dreading my early mornings but it is the landscape sweeping by my windshield that I look forward to each day.

Driving out of Reno on 395 South I leave the land of suburban sprawl and enter the high desert. I speed trough valleys and over hills. The meadows open and lengthen at each turn. Halfway through my journey Mt. Rose emerges and begins to tower as a snow capped giant and at her feet a new monument is raising, that of an un-built bridge. Pillars stand as ionic columns and images of a Greek tomb and Athenian hilltops rush to the foreground of my mind. The water of Washoe swells and subsides with every passing and the strip of road between the mountain and the lake brings with it the pleasure of speed and the straight open road. It creates one line connecting what-was to what-is-to-come. At the end of the path is Carson City, my destination for the day. The road beckons, “go faster,” “press on the gas,” and like a Siren’s call I am enchanted. The speed pushes on 70, 75, 80 mph. But with the speed comes danger even on this straight road, for the wind is traitorous, and the snow spins whiteouts, it eats up sound and blinds me with fog. Once I breach the hill and look down into the small capital city, tucked into the folds of the Sierras, I descend as a crusader having pushed my car and myself though another 30 miles. Though I repeat my journey to the count of 300 miles a week the road of 395 South between Reno and Carson City is never the same twice. It inspires my depiction of the road, movement, travel and unpredictable road ahead.

Special thanks to the Sheppard Fine Art Gallery, School of the Arts, Department of Art, and the University of Nevada, Reno.

Investment Gallery located on the third floor of the Fitzgerald Student Services Building, building number 94, connected to the Brian J. Whalen parking garage, and located just north of the Church Fine Art Building. Map

Visit my new website to view a gallery of my artwork. www.rossitza.net

Burn on the Black Rock Playa Exhibit

2008-09-12T01:29:00.000-07:00

September 10 – 28, 2009 at the Truckee River Gallery  

Reception, Saturday, September 20th from 4 to 7pm. 

The Burning Man festival is a celebration of creativity. For one week each year art of every kind fills the playa of Black Rock Desert, but it doesn’t end there. In celebration and response to the artwork that Burning Man inspires, the Truckee River Gallery in Downtown Reno hosts Burn on the Black Rock Playa, an annual exhibit of drawing, painting, photography, printmaking and sculpture.

Phoenix, featured on the left, is on display at the Truckee River Gallery’s Burn on the Black Rock Playa exhibit. Phoenix is a part of a series of etchings and drawings depicting two headed woman with wings of fire. This work was created in the fall of 2002 after my first visit to Black Rock City. The woman represents an inter struggle of spirit and passion divided between two worlds of creativity and reality. Burning Man and the temporary city of Black Rock (BRC) inspire the same internal divide. For one week attendees are set free from the restrictions of the everyday life (money, cell phones, cars etc.) and are flung into a world of creativity and art. However, we are only visitors, and no one can stay in BRC forever. The city disappears with flames when the Man and Temple are burned. From the ashes the plan for the year ahead is formed and a population of 50,000 will come together to create it all again the following August.

Join us on Saturday, September 20th from 4 to 7pm at the Truckee River Gallery for the reception and help us celebrate art and to bridge the divide between BRC and reality.   

Visit my new website to view a gallery of my artwork. www.rossitza.net

Black and White Exhibit at the Truckee River Gallery August 19 - September 7, 2008.

2008-08-20T13:49:00.000-07:00

Two of my new drawings are on display in the Truckee River Gallery’s Black and White exhibit. This multi-medium show about black, white and all shades of gray features photography, drawings, paintings and sculpture by Christopher Blum, Dean Burton, Steve Cerocke, Amelia Currier, Mark Hammon, Sally Hanrahan, Maria Partridge, Andrew Sinclair and myself.

The Truckee River Gallery is located in the heart of downtown Reno on Sierra Street next to the Riverside Movie Theater.

For more information visit www.truckeerivergallery.com or www.rossitza.net.
Please stop by to take a look.
Thank you for all the support.

www.rossitza.net

2008-07-28T14:35:00.000-07:00

I have a new website and I would love for you to check it out.
To visit, just click on the links below or paste the URLs into your browser.http://www.rossitza.net

Take a look and let me know what you think!

Add www.rossitza.net to your favorites list and check back for new artwork, announcements on upcoming exhibits, and art inspired experiences.

Exhibit Opening at the Truckee River Gallery, Reno, July 25-26, 2008

2008-07-28T14:24:00.001-07:00

Exhibit Opening at the Truckee River Gallery July 25-26, 2008

Please join me for an Exhibit Opening at the Truckee River Gallery on Friday July 25 and Sat July 26 from 4-7 pm in Downtown Reno.

Three of my drawings are featured in the current exhibit along side other regional artist’s drawing, printmaking, and mixed media artwork.

This exhibit is on display July 22-July 27, 2008. See you on Friday and Sat.

For more info visit: http://www.truckeerivergallery.com/

We he(ART) Bikes Art Show, Gray Space Gallery, Reno, April 26, 2008

2008-06-26T15:01:00.000-07:00

Grayspace Gallery and Holland HQ We he(ART) Bikes Art Show The Reno Bike Project presents its second annual bike art show and fund-raiser.

Join us at Grayspace Gallery and Holland HQ and enjoy a variety of bike-themed art. Purchase paintings, photos and multi-media pieces from artists such as Ahren Hertel, Chris Carnel, Candace Nicol, Rossitza Todorova and many more. Profits help support Grayspace, The Holland Project and the Reno Bike Project, a nonprofit group that encourages cycling in the Truckee Meadows.

We will be auctioning off a bicycle rack made by Anthony Alston out of an organ.

Support provided by the Sierra Arts Foundation, the Nevada Arts Council and New Belgium Brewing.

When: 6 p.m. Sat., April 26.

Where: 26 Cheney St. Turn east at Recycled Furniture on South Virginia Street; next door to Salon 7.

Chalk the Walk, Harrah's Plaza, Reno, June 19 - 21, 2008

2008-06-22T09:50:00.000-07:00

Chalk the Walk
Harrah’s Plaza, Reno June 19 - 21, 2008

By Jessica Santina
This article was published in the Reno News and Review on 06.19.08.

Around Reno, artists have spent weeks getting their bodies into tip-top shape. Hopefully, they’ve stocked up on gloves, sunscreen, hats and knee-pads. Because they’re about to spend three days performing a labor of love for the second annual Chalk the Walk Street Painting Festival.

As founder and director Erika O’Malley explains, street painting is an Italian Renaissance tradition in which artisans (madonnari) painted religious depictions on the streets in front of city churches. Street painting has enjoyed a resurgence in recent years, due in part to successful events like Santa Barbara’s I Madonnari Street Painting Festival. After O’Malley, an art historian and native of San Antonio, Texas, moved to Reno a couple of years ago, she came to believe such an event could succeed here.

“We have so many talented artists here, and they’re always looking for ways to get their art seen by the public,” she says. “And we have great weather.”

After securing a sponsorship from the Reno Rodeo, several prominent regional artists were commissioned, and by the summer 2007, the inaugural Chalk the Walk kicked off at the City Plaza downtown.

This year’s festival runs three days, June 19-21, and will take place at Harrah’s plaza. Portions of the nearly 12,000 square feet of chalk-able space will be allotted to six commissioned artists, with the remainder being available to anyone who wants to participate, from accomplished artists to families looking to get outside together. Public plots range from 2 feet to 8 feet across; commissioned spots are 8-feet-by-12-feet. Always a western-themed event, this year’s festival celebrates “Where Art Meets West,” honoring artists of the American West, such as Georgia O’Keeffe and Ansel Adams.

Several commissioned artists are returning this year, including Genna Panzarella, an acclaimed international artist and teacher whose street paintings won top prize in a 2002 international competition in Italy. Also commissioned are Reno’s Youth ArtWorks organization; Wes Lee, a local artist and UNR instructor; Derrick Jackson of Sacramento; and Larissa Soklova, a Reno-based artist whose 3-D illusions have earned her two awards at the Tahoe Arts Festival Street Painting Competition.

Additionally, local artist Ray Valdez will return. With more than 30 murals throughout Nevada and a successful fine art gallery in Reno, Valdez is a certified art instructor who recently led a free pre-festival workshop on basic street painting techniques.

Street painting, Valdez explains, takes enormous physical stamina. It involves hours upon hours, knees on cement, with the hot summer sun beating down on your back as you sit hunched over.
“It’s hard work,” says Valdez, “You’re gonna get beat up a bit. I’ve seen artists use gloves, but when it gets down to it, your fingers are best. So they’re gonna get raw.”

Such physical issues, as well as artistic tips, were subjects of the workshop.

Valdez himself has been planning his own piece for weeks, intending to complete it before the morning of Saturday, June 21, and the Reno Rodeo Parade. The idea of such a grueling task makes one wonder: Why invest so much time and energy on something that’s only temporary?
To illustrate, he likens street painting to the Native American tradition of ceremonial sand painting.

“For ceremony, they grind the stone by hand to get those vibrant colors, and that’s even more work. But then, after they pray on it, they give it away. It doesn’t hurt to let it go. It’s about the experience, and it’s not meant to be permanent. It’s about the process of giving of yourself.”

Selections from Dada Motel

2008-02-26T13:14:00.000-08:00

Selections from Dada Motel
UNLV Marjorie Barrick Museum, Las Vegas Jan 25 – March 21, 2008

Visitors to UNLV’s Marjorie Barrick Museum will have a chance to experience the work of Northern Nevada artists who took over downtown Reno last summer for what they called “a celebration of Reno's unlimited potential for absurdity.”

“Selections from the Dada Motel” features the work of 28 artists—representing media ranging from photography and animation, to sculpture and eggs—who participated in an independently organized three-day celebration of Reno art, dubbed “The Dada Motel,” last summer. Participants rented hotel rooms in and around the El Cortez Hotel in downtown Reno and organized eclectic displays of their work by turning the rooms into impromptu art galleries.

The exhibit runs from Jan. 25 through March 21 and is curated by Dada Motel participant Chad Sorg.

Bridges and Lakes, Backseat Gallery, Carson City April 1 – April 30, 2008

2008-02-22T17:10:00.000-08:00

Bridges and Lakes Backseat Gallery, Carson City, April 1 – April 30, 2008

“Bridges and Lakes” an exhibit of small landscape drawings on paper by Reno artist Rossitza Todorova will be on display at the Backseat Gallery April 1 – April 30, 2008.

An Artist Reception will be held on Wed, April 2, 2008 from 5-7pm.

The Backseat Gallery is located inside Comma Coffee in Carson City's historic downtown district at 312 South Carson Street, across from the State Legislature Building

Sheppard Gallery Valentine’s Day Art Auction

2008-02-07T15:15:00.000-08:00

Show some love
Sheppard Gallery Heart Art Auction
By Cherie Louise Turner
This article was published in the Reno News and Review on 02.07.08.

Every other year for the past 18, a special event has taken place around Feb. 14 that has everything to do with heart, art and giving, but nothing to do with awkward dates or diamond jewelry. It’s the Valentine’s Day Art Auction, a silent auction and raffle to benefit UNR’s Sheppard Gallery. It’s the gallery’s only fundraiser.

This year, for the ninth biennial auction, roughly 90 artists are represented. All work is currently on show at the gallery. Most of the artists, like Eunkang Koh, Tamara Scronce, J. Damron, Robert Brown, Anthony Alston, Ahren Hertel and Rebekah Bogard are from Northern Nevada, though a handful of out-of-towners, like Polly Apfelbaum and Fawn Krieger, have contributed as well.

Each artist has donated an original piece of work that will go to the highest bidder, with the proceeds going to Sheppard Gallery.

Though artists are allowed to create whatever they wish, many stuck to a heart theme. Works range from handmade books to sculpture, paintings to prints.

Larry Williamson’s piñon pine creation, “Hearts ‘o’ Plenty–Great Basin Cupid with a Little Touch of the Devil,” is a wood-carved wall sculpture featuring red hearts and a figure with arms open and placed at center.

Hertel’s painting, “Puncture” depicts a hummingbird poking at the bubbly output of a tentacled water creature. Apfelbaum created the flowery, “Valentine Bouquet.”

Leah Ruby donated a handmade book titled Wallpaper Sample Book for Couples. The pages resemble Rorschach inkblot tests—mirror images joined in the middle.

A limited edition print by artist and UNR professor Michael Sarich will be put up on the block.
The artist Renate’s piece, “Delicious,” is “a series of five sets of wax lips on which shiny little beads have been carefully adhered.”

A number of pieces point toward the harsher, darker side of the emotional scale; several featuring bullet imagery. Among such fierce works is Damron’s “Untitled,” from the series Red Lips, War Paint, Half a Horse, which makes its pointed statement with a finely crafted spike atop a beautiful block of oak.

Bidding starts at $45. At the last auction, the highest winning bid for any work was $400. Given the quality of the work and résumés of the artists represented, such cash outlays practically constitute a fire sale.

Not surprisingly, this is a great event at which to cut your art-buying teeth, and for the more involved art collector, it’s a fabulous chance at some stunning buys. To win, you should be present and ready to bid, though you can send a representative, or give the gallery your highest bid in cash or check beforehand.

Event organizer Kathy Wood expects a crowd of 300 or more and, she says, the bidding gets wild up to the last seconds.

Raffle prizes include dinner at the Peppermill or Sushi Pier 2, a gift certificate to Se7en Teahouse, Steamboat Springs, or a bottle of wine from Whispering Vine.

Bidding goes all week starting Feb. 4, with the auction, raffle and party starting around 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 8.

copyright © 2008 Reno News and Review

Ether on exhibit at the Front Door Gallery, November 29 - December 12, 2007

2007-11-29T12:04:00.000-08:00

Ether
a show dealing with the concepts of space; both figurative and literal explorations by local Reno artists. Not just a show about space ships- it's about the interaction with the existence of the intangible.

On display at the Front Door Gallery
November 29 - December 12, 2007

Opening Reception:
Thursday, November 29, 2007 at 6:30 pm

Featuring artwork by:
Anthony Arevalo
Melanie Berner
Evan Dent
Nick Larsen
Candace Nicol
Nolan Preece
Rossitza Todorova

Ether exhibit curated by:
Rob Brown, Rebecca Holmstrom, Aby Henry, Emily Guillen

Front Door Gallery
Church Fine Arts Building
University of Nevada, Reno
Reno, NV 89557
775.784.6658

Ether
3. the upper regions of space; the clear sky; the heavens.
4. the medium supposed by the ancients to fill the upper regions of space.
5. Physics An all-pervading, infinitely elastic, massless medium formerly postulated as the medium of propagation of electromagnetic waves.

Ethereal Space
1. light, airy, or tenuous: an ethereal world created through the poetic imagination.
2. extremely delicate or refined: ethereal beauty.
3. heavenly or celestial: gone to his ethereal home.
4. of or pertaining to the upper regions of space.
5. Chemistry. pertaining to, containing, or resembling ethyl ether.

The concept for the show was formulated out of a series of critiques given by Margo Pelletier and Lisa Thomas, the directors and producers of the documentary Silvia, who were visiting artists at the University of Nevada, Reno in February of 2007. Ms. Pelletier, after seeing a handful of student work, made the comment about how interesting it was that a lot of artwork dealt with “ethereal space” and how interesting that was both in relation to culture and this generation.

The artwork involved in the show involves different media and diverse artists. Ranging from invented photographic processes to traditional drawings, they allt question the idea of ethereal space: its bounds, depths, and dimensions.

'Where skyscraper meets sagebrush'

2007-11-19T13:16:00.000-08:00

April 18, 2007

Reno Gazette-Journal: Neighborhoods

'Where skyscraper meets sagebrush'

Artist finds inspiration in man-made features

By Kristin Larsen

klarsen@rgj.com

Where others might look at the unfinished bridge in Washoe Valley and see a construction project, artist Rossitza Todorova sees an abandoned relic akin to ancient Greek structures. She jokingly calls them "pre-ruins."

It's the inspiration for her drawing "Highway and Bridge Stand Unfinished" featured in the Northwest Reno Library Gallery. "Windscapes" - Todorova's exhibit of black, white and gray drawings created with brushes, pens and ink will be featured through May 25.

Todorova discovers her artistic inspirations locally. She moved from Bulgaria to Northern Nevada 10 years ago, and said she's fallen in love with the desert and how it changes.

"Man leaves a mark on the landscape," Todorova said. "Unlike many, I find that to be beautiful - where skyscraper meets sagebrush."

Above the tunnel's mouth

Another experience instigated the creation of her piece titled, "Sitting above the tunnel's mouth." In an area of rural Nevada, Todorova said the roar of a train hurtling down the tracks gave her enough warning to run to the train tunnel's roof just in time to watch the train passing below.

"You can sit on a concrete block with nature all around, and watch this force of man beneath your feet," Todorova said. "You don't often get to experience machinery that close."

The unpredictable kinks and curves of nature appear woven throughout architectural lines to create vast, overlapping landscapes. Todorova said every landscape has wilderness in it for her.

"I don't think you can think of landscape without nature, even though man has a finger in it," Todorova said.

No focal point

You won't find a focal point in Todorova's art. She wants your eye to move through the piece and not find a resting spot.

She said she allows viewers' minds to fill in the vacancies and tries to draw their eyes to shadows with dense details - and "hopefully, you find a different path every time."

Todorova said she had to reinvent her art after she graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno in December 2005 with a bachelor's degree in fine arts. That's when she created the first piece in the exhibit, "Crossroads," a chaotic mishmash of lines and shadows.

Noticing surroundings

Todorova said she began noticing her surroundings - clouds and sagebrush - more after seeing Phyllis Shafer's paintings of Nevada's landscape at the Stremmel Gallery on South Virginia Street.

Todorova hopes the audience will sense motion in her art. She weaves lines that pass over and behind each other in an effort to create optical illusions, so the viewer never quite knows what is closest and what is farthest away.

From Todorova's perspective, motion isn't limited to nature or mechanical objects. Civilization is like a dirt road in the wilderness - if a path isn't used constantly, it will be reclaimed by its surroundings. That's the idea behind her work "The Metal Was Solid But the Ground Sunk Beneath Our Feet."

"Man is constantly reclaiming land, but nature is also," Todorova said. "Just because the building is solid, doesn't mean it doesn't move."

Todorova adores art so much that when she's not creating her own, she's stewarding the art of others by working for the Nevada Arts Council as an assistant. The council tries to bring exhibits to populations that wouldn't normally get to enjoy them.

"(Art) takes from the world and shows the world back to you," Todorova said. "You may not be able to see the world without art."

Chalk the Walk

2007-09-13T17:18:00.000-07:00

On Sat, June 16, 2007 I participated in a calk mural project called Calk the Walk. This Artown event was sponsored by the Reno Rodeo, and this year’s theme was “Wild West Nevada".
I along with other local and out of state artist and art organizations like YAW and the NMA created western themed chalk drawings in the Reno City Plaza.

I won best of show with my chalk mural.

RGJ Artical about the event below:

Chalk the Walk

Brilliant and unique pastel colors splashed the City Plaza in downtown Reno on Saturday morning for Reno's first Chalk the Walk, featuring dozens of colorful murals celebrating the Wild West.

Erika Cole O'Malley, director of Reno Chalk the Walk, moved to Reno six months ago from her hometown of San Antonio, Texas, where they often hold mural festivals.

"Mural Festivals are everywhere in the country, so it was time Reno had one for the rodeo and Artown." O'Malley said. "The event was planned three months ago, which was not nearly enough time, but we did pretty well."

The Reno Chalk the Walk partnered with the Rodeo Community Spirit Committee.

"I couldn't do this without (Reno Rodeo Association Chairperson) Jari Sutton, who gave us half of our budget," O'Malley said. "The other half was given by Councilman David Aiazzi, who is also taking part with the Tour De Nez bicycle race."

The organization also supports Artown.

"It's a great way to show people they have a beautiful downtown."

O'Malley had been at the downtown plaza since 6 a.m. Friday, only leaving for sleep. To create the project, she set out calls for three professional artists for commission and local professional or amateur artists who also wanted to volunteer.

She invited local schools and local programs, like Big Brothers and Big Sisters, for volunteers to create the murals.
The theme was Wild West of Nevada.

The three professional artists were Ray Valdez, Larissa Sokolova and Genna Panzarella, who won the top award at the world's oldest street painting festival in Grazie, Italy. Her piece in Reno is of a young cowboy.

Valdez, a local artist and fine arts teacher at Coral

Academy of Science Charter School, created a nature composition featuring an American Indian and a horse.

"I wanted to take a different perspective on what I know best," Valdez said. "I feel fortunate and honored to be part of this, and it's nice to see the city include art with the rodeo."

Valdez also works with Youth Artworks, an eight-year program that teaches art for young people. Many in the program also took part.

"The Youth Artworks program is solid, we always get a good group of kids." Valdez said.

Larissa Sokolova has been in Reno for eight years after leaving Russia. She received her master's degree in arts and architecture in her home country and has been creating art all her life.

Her mural was entitled, "A High Noon Duel between the Old West and the New West," depicting cowboys on horses of the Old West and the kayakers and bicyclists of today.

Her husband Greg Kusik, a Citifare bus driver who's been in Reno for 15 years, gave her the idea.

"He gave me the idea of the old and new West combination," Sokolova said. "So the piece is a family project."

Rossitza Todorova, a professional artist who volunteered for Chalk the Walk, was working on her piece featuring an action scene of a cowboy chasing a calf.

Originally from Bulgaria, Todorova is received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Nevada, Reno, in 2005.

"To me, the rodeo is so romanticized to represent America," Todorova said.

Chalk the Walk was partnered with other events of the day including the Wine Walk, the Reno Rodeo and rodeo parade.

"We wanted this day to have so many different events so people could be here all day doing something." O'Malley said.

Todorova plans to spend the rest of her weekend in downtown Reno.

"With Artown, the rodeo, and the Tour de Nez, this has created a great melting pot of the West."See Ray Valdez's

Patagonia Warehouse Gallery

2007-09-11T12:46:00.000-07:00

During August 2007 I was lucky enough to turn Patagonia’s Warehouse in Verdi, Nevada into a permanent gallery for some of my large paintings.
With the help and support of Patagonia and the Abeloe family I was allowed to hang six large scale paintings 20 feel above the warehouse floor.
It took two forklifts and 4 amazing members of the Patagonia staff but the artwork went up in one day.

Thank you Patagonia, Ryan and Mr. Abeloe!

Artist Statement

2007-09-11T11:08:00.000-07:00

Rossitza Todorova depicts the ever-changing landscapes of Northern Nevada in her abstract, black and white drawings. In her artwork she morphs natural and architectural lines to create vast, overlapping landscapes.

“For the last sixteen years I have seen the Reno/Carson Valley change, pushing further into the surrounding hills and valleys. Roads, highways and homes stretch out into the dessert transforming our natural landscape. At the same time structures and paths that man once dug and build are overtaken by the snow, sun, and desert, leaving man and nature in a symbiotic relationship of creating and reclaiming,” says Rossitza Todorova. “I am fascinated by man’s drive to change and adapt his surroundings. I find man’s desire to take charge of his own life visually inspiring. I try to capture man’s momentum in my drawings. My lines of ink are an abstract representation of how man uses his tools to re-define his world but also represent his desire for movement and travel. In my drawings I try to capture the motion of man in one landscape; the road and the body that created it.”

Ms. Todorova’s works have been exhibited throughout the Reno area; including recent solo shows at the Nevada Museum of Art and the Sierra Arts Foundation. In 2005, she earned her B.F.A in Painting/Drawing with minors in Business Marketing and Management from the University of Nevada, Reno. Presently, she works at the Nevada Arts Council as the Nevada Touring Initiative Assistant.

Act of sight

2007-04-26T22:40:00.000-07:00

Rossitza Todorova: Windscapes

By Karen Abrams

This article was published on 04.26.07.

Rossitza Todorova’s “Re-defined Grid,” a pen and ink piece featured at the Windscapes exhibit.

PHOTO BY DAVID ROBERT

Rossitza Todorova’s Windscapes exhibit is on display through May 25 at the Northwest Reno Library Gallery at 2325 Robb Drive. For more information, visitwww.sierra-arts.org, or call 787-4100 or 329-2787.

Todorova presents a free art workshop at the library May 8 from 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Fascinated by humanity’s drive to change and adapt to his surroundings, local artist Rossitza Todorova, 25, depicts the ever-changing landscapes of Northern Nevada in her abstract black-and-white drawings. In her artwork, she morphs natural and architectural lines of ink to create vast, overlapping landscapes.

“For the last 16 years, I have witnessed many changes of [local valleys], pushing further into the surrounding hills and valleys as roads, highways and homes stretch out into desert, transforming our natural landscape, leaving man and nature in a symbiotic relationship of creating and reclaiming his environment,” she says. “As an artist, I find man’s desire to take charge of his own life visually inspiring.”

Each line of the young, Bulgarian-born artist’s pen-and-ink sketches buries itself under another, and while the lines do not move, it is within our own stillness that we walk their composition. Todorova uses the sense of sight to bring the viewer into the two-dimensional world of art. The finely detailed lines give the drawings depth and distance, and these renderings can be interpreted as straight-on landscapes or aerial views. But the images are enticingly unclear with their curving arteries of white space, contrasting with frenzied layers of ink and intricate patterns of cross-hatching, leaving them open to interpretation.

“I try to show energy and movement with each composition and challenge the viewer to create their own story while I act as the narrator showing and foreshadowing elements of plot,” says Todorova. “My lines of ink are an abstract representation of how man uses his tools to redefine his world but also represents his desire for movement and travel. In my drawings, I try to capture the motion of man in one landscape; the road and the body that created it.”

Each sketch is meant to ground the work to a specific location, and Todorova’s drawings have titles such as “Crossroads” and “Sitting Above the Tunnel’s Mouth.” Among the drawings in her current exhibit on display at the Northwest Reno Library Gallery, “Highway and Bridge Stand Unfinished” is one with which the artist expressed a special relationship while creating the Windscapes exhibit.

Todorova has exhibited her work throughout the Reno area in the past several years, including recent solo shows at the Nevada Museum of Art and the Sierra Arts Foundation. Presently, Todorova works with the Nevada Touring Initiative’s “Traveling Exhibition Program,” a program of the Nevada Arts Council that brings visual arts exhibits and cultural events to rural communities throughout the state.

Todorova will present a free art workshop for all ages at the Northwest Reno Library on May 8, from 6:30-7:30 p.m. The workshop will be a drawing lesson on negative space, which focuses on capturing the entire space rather than just the object or subject being drawn.

“Viewing art is a journey,” Todorova says. “Uninhibited by physical reality, we bring all of our knowledge and experience into the act of seeing. Each step I take is small like the lines and marks on the paper, and yet the steps connect and carry my viewers and me to the road ahead. The road breaks, weaves over hills and under bridges, it forks and is rejoined.”

These abstract landscape images can be reinterpreted over and over again yet are sure to leave an indelible impression.

Otherworldly ink

2005-01-20T22:32:00.000-08:00

Otherworldly ink

Rossitza Todorova

By Stephanie Perry
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This article was published on 01.20.05.

Rossitza Todorova’s “The Levy” is one of her many enticingly abstract drawings.

PHOTO BY DAVID ROBERT

Rossitza Todorova’s drawing exhibit, “The Journey,” will be open through March 4 at the Sierra Arts Gallery, 17 S. Virginia St. The gallery is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call 329-ARTS or visit www.sierra-arts.org.

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www.sierra-arts.org

Artist Rossitza Todorova’s journey has brought her from her native Bulgaria, where she lived until she was 10, all the way to Northern Nevada, her current home. Now, in her new show, “The Journey,” at the Sierra Arts Gallery in the Riverside Lofts, Todorova reveals glimpses of her travels, both geographical and artistic, in her stark, abstract, black-and-white drawings.

The pen-and-ink sketches have deceptively prosaic titles--"The Levy,” “The Valley,” “The Summit.” But the actual images are enticingly unclear; the swooping lines and intricate patterns of cross-hatching are open to interpretation. Todorova’s finely detailed renderings give the drawings depth and distance. The pictures can be read as straight-on landscapes or aerial views. Curving arteries of white space, contrasting with frenzied layers of ink, could with equal ease be a gloomy attic filled with mysterious junk or a knotted mass of exposed muscle.

“The Marker,” the show’s strongest piece, appears to be a desert landscape. Two white tree trunks arch up and out, partially hidden by feathery strokes of ink that suggest bent pine branches bristling with needles. What’s remarkable about the image is the sense of violence and energy that surges through it: the strong, decisive lines slicing through the background like a wild wind; the sinister, startlingly bold splotches of ink staining the ground like blood. You get the feeling that there’s a story here, and it’s probably an unhappy one. The strength of the work is that it immediately challenges the viewer to create that story in his or her mind.

Another interesting work is “The Turn in the Road.” Here, the lines stand out boldly against a harsh, white background, making maximum use of negative space. As with all the pieces in this show, the black-and-white palette is relieved only by the occasional hint of pencil. Curving lines, sinuous but anxiously choppy, pour into the center, suggesting a choked, urban freeway, seen from above. Simple and spare, the precise pen strokes and intriguing composition invite further study.

It’s a shame that there aren’t more large works in this exhibition. The pieces in the collection range greatly in size, and the larger pieces tend to be more successful. Many are about the size of greeting cards, and the small scale diminishes their impact; they don’t share the lavish, almost obsessive detailing of the bigger works. Nor do they give the viewer the same unsettling feeling of peering into desolate, alien worlds. But, at their best, Todorova’s drawings take the viewer on a darkly evocative journey to parts unknown.

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Afternoon tunes

If you’d like to grab some culture on your lunch break, the Sierra Arts Gallery also offers a taste of fine music with free weekly concerts every Friday, featuring local musicians playing jazz, blues, and more.

The series kicks off Jan. 21 with the String Beings String Quartet, and continues through April 15.

Future shows include Squeek Steele Ragtime Piano, the Bob Moss Trio and the Mazer & Smith Ensemble.

The concerts run from noon to 1 p.m. and are open to the public. A list of upcoming performers and concert information is available at www.sierra-arts.org.