Eli Whitney Museum

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For different strokes, thank you.

Our 19th Leonardo Challenge was a delight.
What makes this event work? We think the brush answers that.

Brushstrokes are infinitely varied. The blending of familiar and new friends, of familiar and new media, of artists, artisans, engineers, poets and plumbers generates an evening of fresh discoveries. The audience, the staff, the artists, the volunteers ... so many different souls ... make this event work.
Thank you.

Swept up
How many souls? Best guesses:
• 103 contributing artists (of whom 7 made multiple submissions).
A record.
• 448 participants between 5pm (first guest) and 10pm (last farewell).
A record.

• $65,082 gross revenue. A record.
• $7,500 in kind contributions kept our expenses so low that 88¢ of every dollar will support programs directly.

Subtle Strokes
The Cameron and Jane Baird Foundation and IKEA underwrote a secure foundation for the event.

Many contributions - some nearly invisible - helped give the evening its character:

• Darren and Hannah (his daughter/our apprentice) Clark and HB Group gave the evening fresh and clear sound.
• The Hamden Police Department and the Regional Water Authority gave us much needed parking solutions.
• Sally Hill's artful invitation set a tone and tempo for the event - in only 27,000 assembly operations. All volunteer.
• John Morrell and the dSchool at Stanford inspired redesign of our studios: tables on wheels have transformed our spaces.
• Special clean-up assistance from the Hamden Fire Department.
• A perfect Spring evening distributed people comfortably outside and in.
• And then a long, long list of generous friends.

A tangible legacy
All evening you encountered masks that were the products of Hunter Nesbitt Spence's hands. Hunter was a Yale Rep property artist and teacher who contributed to the first 18 challenges. He died in January. He was still present last night. He trained a handful of our apprentices in depth and had an indirect influence on all of us. Great gifts are transmitted that way.

You would have no way of knowing that the elegant Rosservos (digitally driven undulating brushes) was the work of Alex Tavares, a senior Museum apprentice on his way to engineering school next year. (This is his third submission.) And then there is the brilliantly observed Brooklyn Bridge by Lauren Low. She is a first year apprentice just finishing 8th grade. Alex and Lauren joined the event because they want to be in the company of others with refined talent and ambitious vision. Apprentices join the event because they know that great gifts are shared in it.

Yes, material generosity is a critical contribution of the Leonardo Challenge. Another legacy is inspiration. Inspiration is priceless.

Another layer
Even Leonardo painted his masterpieces over earlier sketches and ideas. Over and over. We are ready to start again. We have tentatively chosen
April 24, 2014 for the 20th Leonardo Challenge.

What will the object be? We have too many ideas to have any idea yet. We will chart a new course in October. Stay tuned.

The Brush
Artists have a tempestuous affection for brushes. The Brushmakers are an ancient, resourceful and protective guild. Their technology is refined. The wrangle a whole menagerie of bristles: boar, beaver and badger, sable squirrel and skunk, for example. They tame grasses and feathers. They synthesize fibers. They program the intangible brushes of the iPad and Photoshop™. When vision flows, the artist becomes the brush. When vision stalls, the brush bears the exasperation.

Are we supposed to see the brush? Or is it to disappear in the dense amalgam that is the mystery of the artist's gift?

The Challenge
This year's Challenge is to make the brush the subject. Give the brush its own voice. Consider an artist's brush or an artisan's brush: a chef's for glazing, a groom's for currying, a sweep's for scouring chimneys. Consider the personal brushes that make you artful as you polish shoes, lather soap, or paint the contours of your nails. Choose a fine brush or a broad brush. Construct with it…or deconstruct. Camouflage it or find a fresh purpose for it. The brushes will guide you: they have a long history with transformation.

The Benefit
Leonardo da Vinci painted with unrivaled vision, explored science with modern logic and invented with pure imagination. The Leonardo Challenge celebrates one of his inventions: improvisional creativity. One hundred artists, designers and playful spirits will transform a common object – this year, the brush – with wit, whimsy and artistry.

The April 25th Benefit will revel in those artists' creativity. through their generosity and yours, the evening will support workshops and outreach for a new generation bristling with curiosity.