Visit The New Yorker's site to see Peter Schjeldahl's picks for the ten best shows of 2008:

"It was a signal if not banner year in the art world, when a market boom that had reduced all value to price peaked and commenced crashing. Amid last-call shows and auctions of arrogantly expensive stuff, some events prefigured the sorts of things we will talk about once a dolorous but bracing silence of cash registers has let us hear ourselves think again."

Two Los Angeles artists devised a creative and simple plan for helping out the financially struggling L.A. Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA): They held a bake sale yesterday in front of the museum. But this wasn’t your typical fund-raiser; the artists added their own flair to the sweets by making them art-themed. The edibles were based on works from the museum's permanent collection—think Giacometti-style baguettes.

Most of the goodies were $1, except for the financier cookies, which had a price tag of $1 million each. According to the Los Angeles Times, sales totaled $320, so it doesn’t appear that any of them were sold. See the LAT coverage for some delectable photos.

If you love the Daily Candy watercolor illustrations by Sujean Rim, you’ll love the new seasonal DC e-cards on Someecards.com. Not for the faint of heart, these greetings boldly say what few people have dared (face-to-face, anyway), such as “May your shameful behavior at the office holiday party not follow you throughout the remainder of your career” (pictured below).

Happy early holidays!

For those among us who have pondered bringing elements of collage into our watercolor paintings, but have been at a loss for how to get things started, the February issue of Watercolor Artist (on newsstands 12/23/08) is a must-have. In our Special Report, we take you inside the creative minds of six of the most dynamic watermedia collage artists working today, who reveal everything from where to find the most beautiful collage papers, to how best to affix papers to your paintings. Get tips from collagist Joyce Gabiou on our website now by clicking here.

California is the place to be these next couple of weeks. The Muckenthaler Cultural Center Foundation offers a slice of NWS history with The National Watercolor Society Permanent Collection: Award Winners 1955-2006 (through Dec. 21)—the first time the permanent collection has been exhibited in such a display. The show includes photos of watercolors donated to the Los Angeles Museum of Art in 1955 and artwork unavailable for the exhibition, plus society ephemera, such as early catalogs and photos of members and presidents past.

Also in California, the City of Brea Art Gallery hosts the Watercolor West XL Exhibition (through Dec. 19), another must-see annual show.

Pictured: Summertime (1958; watercolor) by Louise Preeman

Visit our site to read the latest Creativity Workshop prompt from watercolorist Bev Jozwiak (whose work is featured below) and find out how you can enter your work to win a $100 gift certificate to Jerry's Artarama. The deadline for entry is December 22, 2008.

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) presents the 1,000 Journals Project (through April 5), a showcase of some of the journals from a SFMOMA experiment that have returned to San Francisco. The project is ongoing, collaborative and participatory—co-curated by anonymous project creator Someguy and Stephanie Pau of the SFMOMA Education Department—whereby 1,000 blank journals are tracked as they journey around the world. Each journal is stamped with a message inviting participants to decorate its pages, and then pass it on when finished. The journals have thus far made their way to more than 40 countries and all 50 states.

In keeping with the spirit of the project, journals and art supplies will be available to museum visitors, inviting you to take part in the experiment.

Art collectors and enthusiasts crowd into the Academy Art Museum to experience the excitement of Plein Air–Easton (above). This year's Competition Prospectus will be released December 1, 2008, with an artist’s submission deadline of March 6, 2009. Competition artists will be announced March 27, 2009. Click here for more information.

The Northwest Watercolor Society has awarded the winners of its 2008 Annual Waterworks juried exhibition. Juror Betsy Dillard Stroud selected Joe MacKechnie's painting, Rachel 2 (shown here) as the first place winner. Other winners included Harold Walkup and Donna Watson. Winners are now on display (and are available for purchase) at the New Dimension Gallery in Bellevue, WA.