The Museum of Temporary Art exhibits from our fair valley are now on display! Go to the museum link provided and check out exhibits 2, 4, 8, 11, 16, 29 and 31. (The other exhibits are very nice, too.) Congrats to our area artists who participated. Nice art!

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Now that we've spent all of our money buying gifts, as well as all the money we received as gifts, your Culture Vulture wants to let you know that we can still create art.

For your consideration in this tender, new year, may I present three artists who have done just that? Two were exhibited in the Philadelphia airport, which is where I saw their work. Major airports have wonderful installations of art, so if you ever have a long layover, go forth and explore the treasures they offer.

Supplies do not equal demand

Don't have canvas or paint? That didn't stop these artists from creating something unique.

Songyi Kim uses paper towels for her canvas in a marvelous and innovative series of works. The first one I saw had a lovely, amorphous shape emanating off-center. Kim wetted the paper towel and painted with red wine.

Another, my favorite, followed the embossed pattern of the towel and featured delicately painted dots to create a truly charming effect. But the "paint" was coffee! You can see a close-up of her piece using mustard-colored paint. She has also embroidered paper towels. It is delicate work, and her paper towel series looks terrific framed on a wall.

Art with a twist

Amy Orr forms art quilts using objects she finds or buys. For one piece, instead of buying $100 in supplies, she used $100 worth of paper bills as the fabric. That's a bit over our budget for this column, but her airport piece was a real show-stopper. It was made of twist ties -- yes, the paper and metal kind that come with your kitchen garbage bags. Orr painstakingly pieced them together, hand coloring some and arranging others so a printed area created a pattern. Then she stitched them onto fabric for the finished size of 45 inches by 65 ½ inches. Look at the piece I saw, titled "Double Vision," but you should imagine the effect of a large piece with striking contrast, coupled with sensitively hand-colored areas -- the craftsmanship was impeccable. Thumbnails and larger views of her exciting work are waiting for you at the link provided. You can also see some of her work at Richmond's Quirk Gallery (quirkgallery.com) until Feb. 24.

Child's play

You're a 9-year-old and you desperately need to create, but you have no supplies. What do you do? If you're Rueben Williams, you cut up cereal boxes, draw characters on them and make your own superhero trading cards. Now 23, Williams still lacks supplies and can't afford to continue with art classes. He should be working at an ad agency or an in-house creative department. Instead, he'll probably get an ordinary job and continue to dream and create on the side. Creativity, skill and opportunity do not always mesh at the same time.

So, for Williams and all you out there wanting to create but lack resources (or enough twist ties), hang in there and keep at it in 2006. Not everyone can "make it" in the art world, but everyone who wants to can make art, from something ... or seemingly nothing.

Miriam Young is a creative director living in color in Roanoke.

Note: Some Web links provided by the Culture Vulture may contain art featuring nudity, strong political content and bizarre visions. Parental guidance is suggested. Please respect the copyrights of the owners when visiting online galleries, and obtain artists' permission before downloading any images.

AND HERE ARE SAID LINKS:

Museum of Temporary Art: www.museum-of-temporary-art.com/theexhibits

Amy Orr’s art quilts: www.inliquid.com/art/mixmedia/orr/orr.php

More work by Songyi Kim: www.accumulationproject.org/kim/index.html

www.blackbird.vcu.edu/v1n2/gallery/kim_sy/project.htm

www.projekt30.com/artist7.php?id=1952&image=1

Rueben Williams’online portfolio: rupix.deviantart.com/gallery/

Want to hire Rueben? E-mail CultureVultureVA@gmail.com

Culture Vulture archives: www.fishcards.com/culturevulture