Goodbye to UPS: Hello to FedEx and Independent Art Shippers

by Gregg Chadwick


I am often asked by fellow artists and gallerists about shipping art locally and internationally. As of today due to UPS' gross negligence in a guaranteed, i.e. expensive,  delivery, I will no longer use their services and I recommend that others shift their services elsewhere. 
I am heartbroken that my donation will most likely not be at  The 9th Annual Oak Grove Golf Classic 2011 & SO-CAL Chef Open  to benefit the Oak Grove Center for Education, Treatment and the Arts. When a company no longer guarantees their guarantee the little guy loses out. We need to stand together. #OccupyUPS anyone?


Please read the  Open Letter to UPS CEO Scott Davis:

Dear Scott Davis,

On November 11, 2011 while you were chatting on the radio how UPS works on a day when the USPS is closed, I found that because of a shortage of UPS workers my Guaranteed package was not delivered as promised to the Oak Grove Center for Education, Treatment and the Arts. 
The shipment contains an important artwork to be auctioned on Monday, November 14, 2011 at the The 9th Annual Oak Grove Golf Classic 2011 & SO-CAL Chef Open  for the benefit of Oak Grove's students. Many of the children have suffered physical and/or sexual abuse. Other are victims of violent traumas. The school effectively cares for children with social, emotional or behavioral challenges. 
When I was asked by Kevin Keller to donate an artwork for such an important cause, I didn't hesitate. I went through the time and expense of creating the artwork, framing the artwork and chose what I thought was a reliable service to deliver this gift of hope.
 I am shocked that UPS has failed me and will not even provide delivery on Saturday, November 12, 2011 - which will make it in time for the auction. 
Words can not express my disappointment. I spent most of Friday, November 11, 2011 on the phone and twitter with less than helpful UPS representatives - The first of which hung up on me instead of transferring my call to a supervisor. 
I paid just under $100 to have an insured and guaranteed delivery on November 11, 2011 by 4:30 pm. UPS failed in a major way. 
I have used UPS in the past for many shipments for my art business, but if this situation is not rectified before it is too late, I will take my business elsewhere.
I expect a prompt response.

With Great Disappointment,

Gregg Chadwick
www.greggchadwick.com

Gregg Chadwick

Along the Arno

22"x30" monotype on paper 2011

(Donated to the Oak Grove Center for Education, Treatment and the Arts to be auctioned at the The 9th Annual Oak Grove Golf Classic 2011 & SO-CAL Chef Open )

Current Location Unknown - On Hold in a UPS Processing Center 

This holiday season please give Oak Grove a call and give to an organization that protects and nurtures the most vulnerable.  


 For information, please contact:
Cheryl Lievsay at 951-677-5599 ext 2238 or cheryll@oakgrovecenter.org

On Oak Grove And What They Do:

Oak Grove is a nonprofit 24-hour residential and educational treatment center that serves 76 children who live on campus and an additional 80-90 day students who attend our nonpublic school day program. Oak Grove is located in Murrieta, Southwest Riverside County. Oak Grove also operates a second campus in Perris, Oak Grove at the Ranch, serving an additional 50 students. Children and youth are admitted with a variety of psychological, social, emotional, behavioral, medical and neurological problems with concurrent behavioral difficulties, school problems, family dysfunction and alcohol or substance abuse. Many of the children have suffered physical and/or sexual abuse, other traumas or experienced many other social, emotional or behavioral challenges.

We are licensed as a level 12 group home and have the additional distinction of being accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), as well as the non-public school on grounds having accreditation by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).

Oak Grove works with children and adolescents whose needs and problems can be quite complex. One of our greatest assets lies in the sophistication and experience level of a team of clinicians comprised of psychiatrists and licensed independent practitioners (MFT, LCSW, Psy. D), as well as our nursing staff, behavior intervention specialists, teachers, milieu and activities staff that together make up the Treatment Team.

Accreditations/Memberships/Licensure:

• Joint Commission of Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO)
• California State Department of Education Non-Public School Certification
• Western Association of Schools & Colleges (WASC)
• California Alliance for Children & Families
• Licensed by the State Department of Social Services Community Care Licensing Division
• http://www.OakGroveCenter.org/index.php?p=1

Meditations on a Wave on the Day of the Venice Art Walk: May 22, 2011

by Gregg Chadwick


Gregg Chadwick
Study for Kamakura
14"x11" oil on linen 2011

"The most precious thing in life is its uncertainty."
- Kenko, from Essays in Idleness (Tsurezuregusa), circa 1330

I am always honored to support the Venice Family Clinic with my art. My donation this year reflects my interests in Southern California and Japan with Study for Kamakura. Kamakura is both a beach town and a center of Japanese culture. In my painting, grey beach haze seems to mask the distance between east and west.

Kamakura is home to the great statue of Buddha, the Daibutsu, pictured on countless postcards and books on Japan. Two years ago, I finally made my pilgimage to Kamakura and stood in awe beneath the great statue. A great wave washed away the building housing the Daibutsu in the 15th century. Since that time the statue has been seated in meditation beneath the sun and the stars. After surviving great tsunamis and political upheavals, the Daibutsu provides perspective on humanity's rush for wealth and power. Beneath the ancient bronze statue, I felt the past speaking to me. If we stop and listen, we can hear our long gone friends speaking to us through words, colors, and forms.

The 14th Century Japanese poet and monk, Kenko, wrote, "The pleasantest of all diversions is to sit alone under the lamp, a book spread out before you, and to make friends with people of a distant past you have never known." Lance Morrow's essay in the June 2011 issue of Smithsonian magazine considers Kenko's thoughts. Morrow explains "In a time of traumatic change, some writers or artists or composers may withdraw from the world in order to compose their own universe—Prospero’s island." When artists withdraw into their studios to create, they are not alone. With them, breathing soundless encouragement, are the voices of the past.


Gregg Chadwick
Kamakura (Daibutsu)
36"x48" oil on linen 2010
Private Collection, Los Angeles

“Leaving something incomplete makes it interesting and gives one the feeling that there is room for growth.”
- Kenko, from Essays in Idleness (Tsurezuregusa), circa 1330


Portrait of Kenko, Buddhist monk and poet,
by Kikuchi Yosai（菊池容斎）


Details on the Venice Art Walk Below:

Now in its 32nd year, the Venice Art Walk & Auctions has raised millions of dollars for Venice Family Clinic – largely through the Silent Art Auction, which offers great deals on original and limited-edition works by the biggest names in the Southern California art scene.

Hope to see you at Westminster School, 1010 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice, for the Studio Tour, the Silent Art Auction, the Select Auction, the Art Within Reach pop-up store, the Artful Living auction, the Food Fair, live music, and the separately ticketed Art & Architecture Tour of Water and Tree-Lined Streets of Venice. Don’t forget there’s free parking and shuttle service from two nearby lots.

By the way, online sales are now closed, but you can purchase tickets at the event.

Thank you very much for supporting Venice Family Clinic and its mission of providing free, quality health care to people in need. It’s going to be a great day.

Map to the Venice Art Walk:
Venice Art Walk



More at:
The Timeless Wisdom of Kenko
Venice Art Walk 2011



Great Buddha at Kamakura
photo by Gregg Chadwick