Filed under: Fleeting thoughts... | Tags: art, artist, Cocoapuffs, drawing, Family, housewife, Lego Ninjago, parenting, peeps, St. Botolph Club
Yes, I am still here…although my focus on art has taken a serious hiatus. I recently stopped sending my son to the preschool that he has been attending, for reasons that I will not bore you with. In a nutshell: I have no regular childcare now. SAVE ME. My mom has been exceedingly helpful by coming to watch my son while I attempt to run errands, like picking up six of my drawings from the framer, or having a series of stressful portfolio reviews. I am CLEARLY not cut out to be a 24 hr.-a-day-stay-at-home-mom. You know those blogs where all of the photos are dreamy and misty, and where the author is a stay-at-home-mom who makes muffins from scratch with wild blueberries that she just picked whilst her brood of delightful children invent delightful games with rocks and sticks?
This is not one of those blogs.
I feel that having a child is one of the universe’s ways of telling us that we have stuff we need to work on…and it’s only by being confronted with such issues as a parent, that we will ever attempt to work on those things we need to. Am I being too vague? Okay. Basically, I have a very short fuse and an excess of buttons that are easily pressed. My son, whom I love dearly, has been, besides “my little love”, the one impetus for me to excruciatingly stretch my fuse and reduce the tsunami normally unleashed when my buttons are pushed.
Sigh. I love him, AND he can seriously drive me cuckoo for Cocoapuffs.
Yes, my eyeballs explode just like that.
My mother and I recently took him to the MFA to see the samurai exhibit. Great idea, right? Aren’t I “Mom of The Year”? Hmm. The universe told me “no,” as I hopelessly overestimated my own brilliance and the attention span of my five-year-old…
Seriously. What is not to love, right? The helmets especially were…AMAZING. It’s hard to believe that anyone wore these, as they are so fantastic, intricate, and other-worldly. I especially liked the room where several were set up to be “on horseback.” In spite of the similarities between his Lego “Ninjago” figures and these REAL suits of armor, my son gave up halfway through the exhibit and wanted to leave.
SERIOUSLY. Is there ANY comparison? Sheesh. Maybe if they could have had someone walking around in a samurai outfit…kind of like a “Late Edo period Chuck E. Cheese”, the show would have been a bigger hit with my son?
No? I’m not sure what would have scared him more…a masked samurai walking around or that big rodent? The kid in this photo doesn’t look too sure either…
Besides being a well intentioned yet hopelessly idealistic parent these past few weeks, I also attended the reception of one of the group shows that I am in. It was the “New Talent / New England” juried show at the St. Botolph Club in Boston. Nice!
Thank you to Kyla P., Karen S., Karina C., Marcus S., and Charlie S. for coming to see it! I really appreciate it. I also appreciated being able to go out and have a good laugh with friends, as that doesn’t happen often enough, IMHO. My friend, Kyla, brought me something that evening that she had been meaning to give me for weeks:
Really?
I don’t remember anyone saying ANYTHING in my professional development class about bringing stuffed animals to show openings…do I really need to be holding a deranged stuffed Peep while I am trying to carry on an intelligent conversation and look remotely professional?
Of course I did. Kyla, thank you for coming to the reception AND for reminding me why we are friends in the first place.
Now, if I can just hold onto this thing for a few days before my son absorbs it into his growing harem of freakish toys…
Is that selfish of me? I’ll just go look up this kind of “typical parenting dilemma” in my growing pile of parenting books…
Filed under: Drawing, Fleeting thoughts... | Tags: 80's, art, artist, artwork, colored pencil, drawing, Gastroesophageal reflux disease, Jelly shoes, Lisa Sigal, neon
I know that I normally post on Fridays…but seeing as I missed last week and I’m wanting to get this published, I’m doing it TODAY. CARPE DIEM.
So, tomorrow night…I’m going to an 80’s prom. No, I’m not kidding. This is the brainchild of a friend, who feels that we need to revisit this era on Friday. In all honesty, my fashion sense is probably stuck in the 80’s, so I should have no problem with an outfit. Did hot pink ever go out of style???? If so…WHO CARES??? It’s one of my favorite colors. I’ve been scrounging around my closet to come up with some kind of 80’s outfit:
WHOA.
No thank you. This is what I have to aspire to for this event?????? Egads. Does anyone else have the sudden sensation of acid reflux?
Or is that just from the ice cream sandwich I decided to have for breakfast?
(KIDDING! I’m testing to see if you’re still paying attention. No? Oh well…)
One thing that I DO love from the 80’s is jelly shoes. I am sad to say that I don’t own a pair of jelly shoes anymore.
Mine were pink, of course. There is an urban legend that if you stand on a hot sidewalk for too long, they’ll melt. Pshaw.
Besides wasting time planning for this 80s outfit, I also went to check out what’s at the galleries in the South End. I know that you’re relieved to hear that this post is moving on to more compelling topics than acid green and/or acid reflux…
Lisa Sigal at Samson Gallery, Boston
This is the work of Lisa Sigal at Samson. Okay. Let me just say that I LOVED all of her work. Her pieces for this show were sooo fascinating. In the piece above, she has a digital print of what appears to be housing. I believe that she also paints on this print. In front of the print, leaning on the wall, is a typical window screen that she has also painted. Her sense of color is amazing, and I love the mix of pattern, flatness, layering, depth, and translucency. So inventive! I really could have stared at these all day. (Maybe it’s just the architect in me? Who knows…)
Robert Richfield at Gallery Kayafas, Boston
Robert Richfield has photographed eclectic, exotic, and intimate Mexican burial sites. I loved the intense colors and exuberance in spite of the morose subject matter. The photos are surreal, and you really forget what it is that you are looking at as your eyes take in the explosive colors and the dizzying array of objects. They are very beautiful in their composition and content.
Laurie Alpert at Bromfield Gallery, Boston
Laurie Alpert has a great show at Bromfield Gallery. Her show it titled, “Milori Blue,” and is based on a series of photos that she took of her studio floor. I love how inventive her printmaking is. The rich, saturated blues are inky (for lack of a better word) and deep. These images are both abstract and intimate. This photo really doesn’t do her work justice, so you’ll have to see if for yourself. I was obviously drawn to the mylar, as that’s what I use for my drawings.
I also had a great time chatting with Lesley Cohen, who is an artist at Bromfield, and was “on duty” at the gallery. We talked about drawing, why we draw what we do, how we got to were we were, etc. She is a LOVELY person…warm, creative and engaging. She is having a show in June, so I’ll be sure to stop by and see it.
Ann Pibal at Steven Zevitas Gallery, Boston
This is the work of Ann Pibal at Steven Zevitas Gallery. I love the sparseness of her work. There is so much space, and the elements are always balanced, albeit asymmetrical. I’m not sure why I keep thinking that her work is very minimal? Perhaps it’s the clarity of each piece, or the “quiet” world that they seem to create? Really impressive. Go see! Now!
Karen Meninno at Kingston Gallery, Boston
Karen is a sculptor, but she has created these astounding wallpaper designs that hang floor to ceiling. This one was one of my favorites. See the detail here:
Karen Meninno at Kingston Gallery, Boston
Her work was filled with jewel tones and rich materials. Her sculptures (which were present as manipulated images) are almost like artifacts of some forgotten dynasty. I wonder how different the images are from the sculptures that they are created from? I wonder how Meninno feels about this transformation that she’s made? The nice thing about these images and the wallpaper is that she almost creates a environment which the viewer is immersed in, as opposed to an object that the viewer looks at. Please go see her work…amazing!!!
I am intrigued by her image manipulation, as I have been doing some similar things in my own work. I am embarking on a new series generated by my existence as a housefrau/parent/chef/chauffeur/family cruise director:
Elizabeth Kostojohn, Nameless Problem #1, 2013, colored pencil on mylar
Perhaps I should have cropped the image? Anyway, I’ve started making these compositions…AND I’m starting to work in color. You’re looking at pickles, ham slices, raw chicken legs, a can of chickpeas, and ketchup. Comments? Questions? I don’t really have a working artist statement yet…so you’ll just have to wonder. I know that my family does…
My son is obsessed with drawing, much like his mommy. I love all of his creations. He tends to draw lots of dinosaurs, as he’s five and that’s just what five year olds are into:
Okay. I love this. He wanted to show an ENORMOUS sauropod dinosaur towering above a T.Rex. I love that it is so big that the neck disappears and reappears at the edge of the paper to show how HUGE it is. He even drew a tiny person for scale. DON’T YOU LOVE IT??? Or, is this a picture that only a mother could love? The T.Rex looks as if it is pouncing on the person, and the whateverasaurus looks like it’s going to stomp on both of them. Brilliant! I wish that he hadn’t drawn on the back, as it distracts from the awesomeness of this drawing. Just my two cents…
Well, wish me luck with my 80’s prom. We’re going out to dinner beforehand, so I’ve got to go out in “public” with my bizarre, fluorescent ensemble of coolness. Should be…interesting?
I’ll let you know how many sad looks I get from people who see my appearance as a pitiful and creepy “time capsule” that should be put back underground…STAT!
Filed under: Fleeting thoughts..., painting | Tags: art, candy, decordova, gummi, installation, painting, sculpture
On Tuesday, it was 54 degrees outside. Today, it’s 19. I’m moving to Florida. (just kidding…not that there’s anything wrong with Florida…)
This has been one of those weeks where I have had no free time, and yet it’s unclear what I’ve accomplished. I’ve done very little drawing, and my house is still a mess. Hmm. I think that I’m also going through a slight phase of S.A.D. (seasonal affected disorder.) Maybe I need to up the wattage of our lightbulbs around the house? Or maybe I just need more chocolate? Does anyone else out there feel slightly blue right now?????
Sometimes, I think that keeping up with the news doesn’t help. I’m a worrier, and the news provides endless fodder for my neurotic brain to chew on. Did you know that more and more small children are developing anorexia? No joke. I listened to it on NPR. HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE???? And it’s not those scary pageant queen mommies that are causing it. Now, I’m analyzing what I say about food in front of my son. Apparently, we shouldn’t say that there is “bad” food or “good” food. WHAT??? Really???
WELL, pshaw…my mother recently bought THIS disturbing item for my son:
Now, I ask you…is this not the POSTER CHILD of “bad” food????? Actually, I’m not sure that it qualifies as food at all! Whew! (Thanks, mom…) Perhaps I don’t have to worry about childhood anorexia when my son happily chews on sour gummi french fries??? Beyond gross. So, here I am fretting about buying organic fruit and BPA free tupperware, and meanwhile my kid is eating a gummi hamburger, gummi pizza, and a side order of gummi fries. Thank God it’s at least peanut and fat free… (They forgot to add “nutrition free” as well. I might have to write and tell them that…)
The thing is, I would have TOTALLY wanted this as a kid too. Actually, I had a tendency to choose anything colored blue: blue frosting, blue gum, blue italian ices. Gross, right? Well, in spite of my deviant dietary desires, I turned out “normal”, right? Hmm. Actually, SCRATCH THAT. NO BLUE FOOD ALLOWED, lest my son become a neurotic worrier like his mom.
The gummi “lunch bag” is kind of beyond the pale…pure, dietary evil.
Okay enough about disgusting “food”…this week wasn’t a TOTAL waste. I did go to the Decordova Museum. That’s productive, right? Their current show is called, “PAINT THINGS: beyond the stretcher.” This was a pretty interesting show. All of the works are definitely “beyond the stretcher,” as there was a lot of paint…but a dearth of canvas. I really liked many things in the show.
Kate Gilmore, Like This, Before, 2013
This piece is the remains of a performance/painting/sculptural work by Kate Gilmore. In the performance (which you can see a video of adjacent to this piece), she is wearing a nondescript blouse, skirt and heels…typical office wear for women. She begins by ascending the ladder on the right while carrying a large vase filled with white paint. She walks across the top of the sculpture, sets down the vase, and climbs down a ladder on the left. She repeats this until the entire top has a row of paint filled vases on it. Then, one by one, she knocks over the vases (I think with her foot.) As each vase falls, it shatters and spills paint down the channels below. The paint runs through a hole at the bottom of each channel and fills another vase at the bottom. FASCINATING. I love that she’s wearing typical “office gal” clothes…and that she has to struggle to climb the ladder while carrying each vase…and that she has to carefully shimmy across the top without knocking down the other vases…and then she has to place her vase down and carefully climb down the other side. I love the struggle, the exertion, the care, and the destruction she conveys.
Steve Locke, Crossing Against, 2012
A very simple piece, but I loved what it does with form, light, and shadow. The palette is almost primary colors, but they are tweaked a bit. The face looks annoyed, but the leaning form implies a figure resting lazily against a wall. I love the reflected neon yellow in the shadow…it makes me think of inner heat or turmoil.
Mika Tajima, Furniture Art (series), 2011
These works are actually created with plexiglass box frames. BRILLIANT! I love how she has taken this totally mundane object and really played with it’s inherent characteristics and traditional role. Detail:
Mika Tajima, Furniture Art (detail), 2011
Aren’t the shadows amazing? You can see an interesting video of her here. I love how architectural a lot of her work is. Next:
Sarah Braman, In the Woods, 2012
Sarah, Braman, 8pm, 2011
These works were an interesting blend of materials, color and form. The lower piece, 8pm, actually has part of a camper in it. I like the mix of prefabricated elements with paint and other more “raw” materials, and the limited color palette. I also liked how she has painted In the Woods, as it almost has a three dimensional quality. Next:
Franklin Evans, paintthinks, 2013
Franklin Evans, paintthinks (detail), 2013
I love the excess of this installation. You can see in the detail photo the layer and layers of tape, colors, and photos. Next:
Katie Bell, Blind Impact, 2013
This was another interesting installation. It looks as if the materials found at a collapsed house have gathered together to be reborn as a new entity. Perhaps because of the geometry or how the piece creeps up the wall, there is a certain joy to this piece. Here is a view from the front:
Katie Bell, Blind Impact, 2013
No, the handrail at the bottom is not part of the piece. Don’t you love the composition? Next:
Claire Ashley, thing one / thing two, 2013
Amazing, right? I apologize to the artist as there are two works in this photo, and I don’t know which is which. The Decordova has this dramatically narrow and tall stairwell which often has incredible installation work. The ENORMOUS piece that runs up the wall is astounding. Claire Ashley seems to do these larger than life, bulging forms which both intimidate and excite.
Claire Ashley, thing one / thing two, 2013
Isn’t that amazing? I love the colors. I love how these works have sort of infested the building, taking it over. I wish she had had a solo show, as I’d love to see a whole gallery full of her art. These pieces really do dwarf the viewer and gaze back with a disconcerting stare. Next:
Allison Schulnik, Video still from Mound, 2011
This is a still from the amazing animation by Allison Schulnik. Her work is astounding. Please visit her website here, and go to the “video” heading to actually see these works. Plasticine figures erupt and morph into eerie creatures who are both engaging and disturbing. Look at that image! Don’t you love the starkness of the figure? Don’t you love how it’s both fascinating and unsettling? Please watch her videos. You must. I almost missed seeing them. If you go to the Decordova, they are on view in a room behind the desk at the entry. Go now. You must.
So, this was not a week of “minimalism”, unless you count how much tangible work I got done. Sigh. I may have to resign myself to gnawing on a gummy hot dog while I mope about looking for sunlight and something blue to nibble on. Send chocolate. Please.
Filed under: Drawing, painting, Photography | Tags: art, Dinosaur Train, Groundhog Day, Toyota Matrix
Dear Town of Arlington, MA,
The next time that you decide not to declare a snow day, would you please also plow the roads?
Thank you.
So, today is NOT a snow day…but my son is home with me because our road was impossible for me to drive on. I got 25′ from the house, turned the car around (carefully), and headed back. BAH! So much for some sanity today. The only reason I can even write this is because he’s watching Dinosaur Train right now. Bad mommy!
I think that I just heard a plow go by. Maybe it’s not to late to go to school? Sigh. Maybe it’s not too late to trade in my little Toyota Matrix for a dog sled team? I’d even settle for a cat sled team today…ech…forget it.
[update: 3+ hours have gone by and the roads are still a mess…helllooooo???]
Luckily, yesterday was clear weather, so I managed to go down to the South End to check out what’s in the galleries now. Lucky me! I’m going to try to go more regularly…SO MUCH GOOD STUFF!
This GORGEOUS pencil drawing is by Sandra Allen at Carroll and Sons Gallery. I have seen her work online, and I think that I even featured her once before in an earlier post. Well…as is with most things, seeing the work in person was 1000 times better than seeing it on the internet. I was pretty much awestruck by how absolutely beautiful her work is. Look at that texture! Look at the amazing range of values! Once again, if you are in the Boston area….GO SEE THIS SHOW. NOW. (how do I convey a stern look and wagging finger?) The art gods have spoken.
Next:
These drawings are enormous, and they aren’t even her largest work, which is also flabbergasting.
Tree trunks! What a beautiful and simple subject! I really could have stared at them all day.
Here is the look of the gallery:
Carroll and Sons recently renovated their space. This room is unchanged (I think), but beyond the wall on the right are two new spaces. They used to have their office back there, so I’m not sure where the offices went! Anyway, the renovation looks great too. Don’t you love how the wood flooring is on the diagonal? I love that. That wasn’t part of the renovation, but I still love it.
Bromfield Gallery is showing the work of Kathleen Volp:
Kathleen Volp, White Madonna, 40″x35″
I wasn’t familiar with her work, even though I’d heard her name quite often. I liked the overall palette. All of the materials that she used had a strong character.
Kathleen Volp, I am My Father’s Daughter, 54″x54″
This one felt so “architectural”, and not just because of the Lincoln Logs…
Kathleen Volp, I am My Father’s Daughter (detail), 54″x54″
Yes, that’s a vintage box of painted pink Lincoln Logs! I found this piece to be poignant as some kind of communication with her father. I wonder if he’s seen it? I almost feel that the box of pink Lincoln Logs is enough of a piece itself. But the big 2D portion of the piece is pretty impressive as well.
Gallery Kayafas has photographs by Guillermo Srodek-Hart:
I LOVED these photos. The series is titled, “Interiors.” Each was a photo of an interior filled with objects…the inside of a little shop…the inside of a deli, etc. The colors and the images were mesmerizing. I am actually not often as interested in photography (see how ignorant I am?). THESE photographs, however, were amazing. Look at the color palette! This is another must see show. I wish that I had time to look at each photo one for an hour. Unfortunately, the meters in Boston are expensive and fiendishly monitored by the parking evildoers. It’s 12 minutes for one quarter. Sheesh! Also, after two hours, you have to move your car. By move your car, they don’t just mean move it to another spot right near the one you already have. OH NO. You have to move the car off of that ENTIRE BLOCK. (Fat chance!) But I digress…
Kingston Gallery is showing the work of Rose Olson:
Her series, Light Moves, works with translucent layers of paint washed over cradled plywood, with intermittent opaque bands of color. What I liked about these was that her work made you feel as if the pieces were being lit up by a colored light source or dichroic glass.
La Defense offices by UN Studio
Similar palette? I found that optical effect to be pretty interesting. I think that she also uses some interference paint.
Howard Yezerski Gallery has the work of Barbara Grad:
This series is titled, “Lost Horizons.” While these paintings are abstract, the collage-like areas of stripes made me think of fields of grain, or bodies of water. The piece above was one of my favorites. This may not be the correct analysis of the work, but I feel that they have a “quilt-like” quality to them. Sort of like Gee’s Bend on hallucinogens.
No? Or maybe I just need to get out of the house and get some fresh air? Oh wait…I forgot that we’re still in the middle of a BLIZZARD. Did that useless groundhog see its shadow??? Perhaps it was just the lights from the news cameras that created the fraudulent shadow.
Right now, my stir crazy child is upside-down on the couch screaming and laughing maniacally. No, he’s not 30. He’s 5. I think that this post will have to end early as I can barely keep my sanity, never mind form a complete sentence. I was supposed to create a “marketing plan” for my class tomorrow. Oh well! I keep having to look up what a marketing plan IS. At least I have identified my main challenge to getting any work done: being a parent of a crazy child who is acts as if he just ate the frosting section of the grocery store.
I can’t wait for Easter.
I may have to build myself an igloo today just to get some peace and quiet. Or maybe I’ll just lie down outside for 10 minutes and get buried under a foot of snow? Maybe if I wrap my puffy robe around my head, instead of my body, this will muffle the sound of preschool insanity emanating from my slightly unstable, yet loveable, child?
Maybe not…
Filed under: Drawing, painting, printmaking | Tags: Arlington Center, art, Dinosaur, Lego, Mixed media, monotype, printmaking, sculpture
No, that’s not what I saw on the scale this morning! I mean: do you know that I’ve done 200 posts on this blog? No joke! Sometimes I scroll back to early posts just to see what’s been happening over the past couple of years. Hmmm. Not as much as one might hope for. No one has offered me a solo NYC show yet. Can you believe it? WHAT’S WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE???? Clearly, I am the only one who basks in my artistic brilliance. (ummm…I’m kidding) I may have to shut off the “comments” feature with this post…the beauty of the internet is that I can’t see anyone rolling their eyes right now…
Perhaps instead of revealing my true struggles on this blog, I should create a faux online persona of artistic brilliance. I could create faux galleries that represent me and who gush over my faux creations. I could also imply that although I’m almost 40, I have no gray hairs and look like Zoey Deschanel.
None of this would be true, of course. My sham persona would soon be discovered. So, I’ve had to rely on the truth on this blog, and it’s often not so pretty, or exciting. Perhaps you’re relieved to know that your life isn’t so wrapped up in drivel and nonsense as mine? Perhaps you’re relieved to know that I keep a messy house, with Lego bits and dust bunnies brazenly staring me down every morning as I walk to the kitchen? Yes, I’ve heard of a mop, a broom, AND a vacuum. I just don’t choose to use them very often. Maybe if I think of housework as some kind of domestic performance art, I might get slightly more interested…
This week, I went to the Arlington Center for the Arts to see a show they have of faculty artwork. I’ve taken a drawing class there with a teacher who is funny and talented. Here is the work that she submitted:
Connie Thibaut, Memento Mori, Mixed Media
This looks to be a “trace monotype.” Can you see how amazing her drawings are? She tends to do surrealist subjects. I thought that this was really lovely. Look at the doll/person’s hand in the upper right! Beautiful. I couldn’t find a website for her. CONNIE, YOU NEED A WEBSITE. EVEN IF IT IS A FAKE PERSONA. I know. Some people have standards, and don’t feel like revealing their ineptitude online. Go figure. Next:
A. Kristina Goransson, Collection III & Collection IV, Felted & Dyed Wool
Isn’t that beautiful? These are two, separate works of art, but they do look so amazing together, don’t they? Her website is here. Check it out. All of these pieces are felted wool. SO interesting! I love how delicate they are. I wish that I knew her, as I’d ask her if I could touch one of them…(the inner preschooler in me.) Next:
Gloria Calderon-Saenz, Rivers and Nests #4, Acrylic on wood
Isn’t that gorgeous? It looks like she paints the surface of the wood, then carves it to create the image. I loved this. Check out her website here. She has another one:
Gloria Calderon-Saenz, Open Nests, Acrylic on wood
I love how graphic these are. The texture is also gorgeous, but you can’t see that from the photo. If you’re in the area, you should stop by this show in Arlington. The gallery is small, but these works (and others) are really worth it.
This week, my son’s artistic brilliance was to create this:
Do you know what that is? THAT’S THE STATUE OF LIBERTY! I thought that was pretty cool. Maybe he’ll be a sculptor when he grows up? Take a look at this:
Maybe I should suggest that he NOT become a sculptor? Isn’t that kind of deranged looking? This is the kind of stuff that I’m constantly tripping over around here. Creepy. You’d think that I’d clean up more often just so that this kind of stuff wasn’t glaring at me all day. I know…get the broom…yadda yadda yadda.
Well, it’s lunchtime. Time to go forage for something to eat…perhaps a rice crispy treat or two? (or three?).
If I sandwich two of them together with peanut butter, does that make them more nutritious? Discuss.
Filed under: Fleeting thoughts..., painting | Tags: art, artist, gallery, Nemo, ninja, painting, snow, Somerville
Sorry for no post last week! I was adversely affected by Nemo: i.e. trapped indoors with nothing to do other than try to entertain a housebound 5 yr old whilst not destroying the house or my sanity. So, we did survive Nemo. It wasn’t pretty. Gobs of snow. This is the view of my husband’s excavation from the basement door…
Hmm. That’s kind of a lot of snow for one storm. This is our back deck:
That’s our deck furniture…a table and a tipped over chair (blown over by the wind). That looks like AT LEAST two feet, doesn’t it???? The neighbors across the street:
Don’t pity them too much. They hire a service to come and clear out the driveway and the sidewalks, etc. Our service was my husband, who unburied us…maybe we’ll hire someone to do it next time? (eh, honey?) Pshaw! What’s the fun of being a New Englander if you can’t gripe about the weather whilst heaving wet heavy snow over a five foot wall of ice? Needless to say, I was going postal with cabin fever. At least we didn’t lose power…I would have just stayed in bed all day if we had! (just kidding, honeeey!!!)
The following weekend, my son and I walked through the blustering cold to a nearby friend’s house for his birthday party. It was so fun, albeit total chaos: twenty kids tearing around the house screaming while shoving cheese and crackers into their mouths. My son, so practical, gave me his half eaten crackers/cheese to hold so that he could run around more easily. Everytime someone introduced themselves and shook my hand, they ended up with a palmful of crumbs. I had a glass of sangria to get me through it.
One of the activities for the kids was to make paper bag puppets. You know…like the ones that advertise Fandango:
Notice that his nose is a croissant. You can see the ad here. Ridiculous right? Anyway, the kids made paper bag puppets. Can you guess what the theme of the party was?
No, that’s NOT a woman in a niqab. It’s a NINJA! Isn’t that hilarious and adorable????? Like THIS:
But not like THIS:
Luckily, our kids haven’t gotten into this level of commercialism yet. Coincidentally, NPR did a segment recently on the history of ninjas. You can listen to it here. I learned that ninjas were meant to be spies, not so much warriors. And definitely not turtles. There is no mention of turtles being ninjas in Japan in the 15th century. You have to wait until the 20th century in the U.S.A. Well, AT LEAST the kids learned the names of famous artists: Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo! Too bad that they think they’re turtles with nunchucks (or “nunchuku” for you purists out there…)
With every day that passes, I’m more convinced that we’re all going to hell in a handbasket.
As I managed to get out of the house this week, I went to Brickbottom Gallery in Somerville to see a show that my advisor is participating in. The show is, “Surface Matters: Exploring the Sense and Substance of Paint.” It features the works of: Adria Arch (my advisor), Ron Brunelle, Jessie Morgan, and Diane Novetsky. I have some images from the show:
Adria Arch, Exhale 2, Acrylic on panel
This is the work of my advisor! She works with other people’s doodles, manipulating and arranging them into new colors and configurations. It’s like a graphic language of the subconscious. Fascinating! More:
Adria Arch, Triangle Tangle, Acrylic on panel
This is a very large diptych. I LOVED the colors in this one and the repetition of the shapes at different scales, colors, and layers. These panels are built up a bit, almost like the layers of encaustic, but with acrylics.
Next:
Jessie Morgan, Night Tide #925, Mixed media on plexi
This artist had a really interesting process of somehow squeegeeing large swaths of color on slick plexi. The ridges of paint are visible, and it seems that she uses both sides of the plexi. The colors in this piece are gorgeous. You can’t tell from the photo, but there are subtle horizontal bands of a pale green that are embedded behind the dark vertical layers. This is a rather large piece…maybe 48″x48″?
Next:
Ron Brunelle, You Speak My Language, Acrylic on wood panel
This work also had the look of encaustic. He gets and amazing amount of layering and color in his work. His work also made me think of the rich and saturated hues of ceramic glazes.
All of the artists have visual depth/layering in their works, without necessarily building up a lot on the panel surface. I think that they’ve all honed some interesting techniques. I really enjoyed this show…so go see it if you’re in Somerville!
Ahh…Somerville. How I miss your grittiness. This was nearby the gallery. You might want to bring a ninja with you if you go after dark. If you don’t have an actual ninja to bring (who does?), you’ll have to channel your “inner ninja,” whatever that is…
Just sayin’.
Filed under: Fleeting thoughts... | Tags: art, knitting, Li Hongbo, Massachusetts, Nemo, Winter storm
Well, it’s 4:01 pm here, and we are officially banned from driving in Massachusetts. No, I’m not kidding. We have a MOTOR VEHICLE BAN right now because of winter storm “Nemo”. We’re expecting 24″ – 30″ of snow today. YIKES! (Send help! Send chocolate!)
Here’s what it looked like at 10 am this morning:
Pshaw. What’s the fuss?
Here’s what the radar shows right NOW:
Hmm. We live next to Cambridge, in the upper right. I guess that red stuff at the bottom of the map is heading our way. Here is what the blue stuff on the map looks like right now:
Hmm. I guess that the red stuff is going to be worse? Luckily, I bought a huge, puffy down robe (to replace the natty mint green one, as mentioned in earlier posts). So, I can muff around the house looking like a short linebacker whilst I drink massive quantities of tea and try not to go out of my mind with cabin fever. Perhaps if Jack Nicholson had a puffy robe like mine in “The Shining”, he wouldn’t have gone off the deep end? I’m doing much better, in comparison, as I just LOOK like I’ve gone off the deep end. Impressive, right?
My son and I have done MANY activities to entertain ourselves today. I’ve tried to maintain sanity and not have the contents of our house spread all over the floor by my son. He’s a master at domestic demolition, a.k.a. making a mess. It’s almost like we have our OWN Nemo INSIDE our house, creating a disaster. I may have to have some kind of vehicle ban here as well…
Our sweet cousin (well…my husband’s cousin) sent us this kit of animals to make from paper:
Looks kind of fun, right? (or, is that only true for the inner architect?) How hard could it be? It’s just three pieces, for crying out loud. It turned out cute, even though I nearly had a meltdown with the gluing:
My son felt it was important to have a dinosaur next to the tiger, just for effect. There’s nothing like using an xacto blade on a wobbly wood table while your five year old jostles next to you and asks when you’re going to be done. STRESS! Luckily, no one was hurt, as we wouldn’t be allowed to drive to the emergency room anyway. Yay, Nemo!
I was rather proud of our little paper tiger sculpture, UNTIL I saw the work of Li Hongbo online:
Watch a video of his work here. ISN’T IT MIND BOGGLING???
I’m kind of flabbergasted. I’m flabbergasted that he could MAKE that enormous stack of accordion paper, never mind sculpt it. So talented. Crazy!!! (BTW…both of those sculptures above illustrate how I’m going to feel by the end of the day…) Sometimes, I wonder if success in the art world is related to O.C.D. Thoughts?
On a happy note…I finally finished knitting my sweater!
Don’t you love it??? I’m totally addicted to knitting. Yes, I have a problem. Yes, I get giddy when looking at yarn, patterns, and other people’s projects. Yes, I have a Ravelry account, and could waste an hour looking at knit SOCKS. It’s a problem. I’m kind of sinking into the puffy robe persona. Not good. At least we don’t have cats…
Okay…in a similar textile vein…watch a cool music video of thread, pins and sewing needles here.
I wasn’t kidding about sending me chocolate, either.
Filed under: Drawing, Fleeting thoughts... | Tags: art, artist, Damien Hirst, drawing, Ikea, John Kerry, Pencil, playdoh, portrait
So, I survived a trip to Ikea this week with my 5 yr old son. I think that because he found an enormous stuffed leopard to carry around with him and call, “Lepy”, he was reasonably accommodating. Yes, I am not beyond bribery, and yes…at least it was on sale…
He looks sort of sweet, right? Trust me…he came to our house bearing the filth of being dragged around Ikea. Now we have a UN of filth in our house…our domestic filth intermingling with this international/Swedish filth. Maybe I should be Secretary of State instead of John Kerry, based upon my diplomatic prowess in successfully bringing my 5 yr old through Ikea? Maybe if we bought everyone in Syria a “Lepy”, things would be better? Hmm…perhaps not. I’d better stick to being a domestic goddess, or demigod, rather, and leave the real problems in life to those more capable…
Case in point: this is the latest playdoh project that my son and I made:
Wouldn’t Martha Stewart be proud?
We decided that making a multicolor patty was clearly the best use of playdoh. Forget those fancy moulds and cookie cutters…PSHAW! (not MOLD…mind you, I’m not THAT bad of a housekeeper) Can’t you see Damien Hirst doing something like this??? No?
Is it not the sculptural equivalent of THIS?:
Damien Hirst, Beautiful revolving sphincter, oops brown painting, 2003
No?
Do I need to get out of suburbia more often?
Probably. Maybe we do have mold, and the spores are starting to affect my brain…
So, I finally got a chance to update my website with new artwork. YES! So, I’m going to do a little self promotion now…you’d better grab that double espresso…
Elizabeth Kostojohn, Are You Still There? #1, 2012, 15″x20″, Graphite on mylar
This series is titled, Are You Still There?, and it’s about the struggle to communicate in our significant relationships. (Everything is fine, Honeeeeeey!!! xoxoxo)
Elizabeth Kostojohn, Are You Still There? #2, 2012, 15″x20″, Graphite on mylar
Next:
Elizabeth Kostojohn, Are You Still There? #3, 2012, 15″x20″, Graphite on mylar
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Elizabeth Kostojohn, Are You Still There? #4, 2012, 15″x20″, Graphite on mylar
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Elizabeth Kostojohn, Are You Still There? #5, 2012, 15″x20″, Graphite on mylar
What do you think?
Do you know what I think?
I think that it’s going to be next to impossible to get people to volunteer to model for me…that’s what. Actually, my son wants me to draw him. Seeing as he typically refuses to have his picture taken, resulting in multitudes of photos of the side of his head, I’m surprised to hear that he wants me to draw a picture of him. Perhaps he only means a drawing of the side of his head? Hmm. Example:
Classic. Even less subtle:
Okay…okay…I can take a hint. Sheesh. I’m sure that Durer never had this problem…
Filed under: Drawing, Fleeting thoughts... | Tags: art, artist, housewife, John Wilson, playground, Stop & Shop
Well, winter has arrived in New England. Joy.
Yes, that’s FOUR DEGREES! I know…those of you above the arctic circle are laughing. Let me describe for you the layers of clothes that I must wear INDOORS: undershirt, then fleece long underwear top, then wool long underwear top, then a fleece jacket, and then my mint green fuzzy robe on top. Oh, I know…my outfit is “suburban housewife AWESOME”. I’m not taking a picture of it, though. I don’t want it to go viral and waste my fifteen minutes of fame on being the latest “Domestic Loser a.k.a. The Mint Green Marshmallow Mommy” on Reddit.
The big highlight of this week was my trip to the Danforth Museum. I LOVE that museum. They currently have a show of the works of John Wilson. Let me just tell you…his drawings/paintings/lithographs were STUNNING. I mean, drop dead stunning. Look at the lithograph of a baby held in a man’s lap:
John Wilson, Child with Father, 1968, lithograph
Okay, so my photo had an awful glare…this is from the Boston Globe:
John Wilson, Child with Father, 1968, lithograph
Isn’t that so beautiful??? His works were MESMERIZING. The density and the sensitivity with which he drew was really breathtaking. I honestly feel that I could look at that print for days. Look at the baby’s face! Look at the hands of baby and father interlocked! Am I the only one out there who is in awe of this??? IT’S AMAZING. More:
John Wilson, Self Portrait #4, 1997, ink
Again, sorry for the annoying glare. I am astounded by this drawing. Is he not so masterful at describing form??? If you are in the Boston area…you really MUST see this show. It’s open until March 24. I’m going to go often, so I may see you there. (You’ll recognize me as the rumpled housewife in the mint green robe.) More:
John Wilson, Roz #15, 1972, black pastel on paper
This is an enormous drawing. It’s so dramatic, and his lines are so gorgeous. Martha Richardson Fine Art here in Boston has quite a few of his works (and they own the drawing above). PLEASE check out their website here. His work captured many views of his world…both personal and societal. Some images are of injustice and despair, while others exude the palpable love that he had for the subject. I know that sounds sappy, but his work is so full of quiet emotion. I loved this show. I’ll have to go back many more times before it closes.
It made me think of the quiet emotion in my life…like, how I hate grocery shopping, plastic bags, and Stop & Shop. You know…really poignant stuff. This was the highlight of my grocery shopping week:
Work of Unknown Artist at Whole Foods in Woburn, MA
Okay. Don’t laugh, but I love this. WHO DID THIS???? It was up (stapled, actually) on the wall in the seating area of my local Whole Foods. IT MADE ME ACTUALLY LOVE THE GROCERY STORE…MOMENTARILY… Seriously, though…don’t you love this??? It’s a construction paper collage with marker. SO BRILLIANT. I didn’t see a price, so I assume that it’s not for sale. Too bad. Actually, because it was at Whole Foods, I know that I wouldn’t be able to afford it anyway. Hmph. (for those of you that don’t know…Whole Foods has the nickname “Whole Paycheck” because purchasing a single tomato requires a home equity loan.)
Speaking of crafty brilliance, here’s something that I made this week that I’m sooo proud of:
No, not the crumbs on the floor…the PAPER SPIDER! My five year old son asked me to make him a Mesothelae out of paper. What’s that, you may ask? Oh, just an enormous, prehistoric spider. I initially balked at his request, as he handed me several sheets of 8 1/2″ x 11″ printer paper. BUT LOOK! Didn’t I do a good job??? Do you think that I should give up pursuing art and just make prehistoric paper things? Hmm. Maybe. Maybe if I brought it to the Paper Source, I could get a “real” job. I’d probably have to get rid of the mint green robe though, so forget it.
Daddy has been out of town this week, so Mommy has had to come up with many fun thing to do in order for her to keep her sanity:
1. Turtle Bread
2. Lego subway station
3. Old school wooden playground.
This is an awesome playground that has an ENORMOUS, vintage wooden climbing structure. They are a dying breed typically replaced by the safe (a.k.a. boring) modern ones made of plastic. Pshaw. LOOK:
Isn’t that GREAT? Sigh. A true sign of getting old is reminiscing about playground equipment. Perhaps instead of moping about my age, I’ll celebrate my Gen X status by eating a fruit roll up whilst I watch reruns of Voltron and crimp my hair.
I know. Not cool. Sooo not cool.
Filed under: Drawing, Fleeting thoughts... | Tags: art, Dinosaur, drawing, Paleontology, parenting
So, I recently brought my son to a dinosaur exhibit at the Boston World Trade Center.
Total. Parental. Hell.
I imagined that there would be oh…50 or so of these large scale dinosaurs to look at. Great.
There were actually more like 15, which only filled 1/5 of the expo hall space. What was in the rest of the space, you may ask? Well…the rest of the space was devoted to:
1. A store where your children could obsess over dinosaur paraphernalia,
2. A dino bouncy house, for which you had to stand in ANOTHER a mile long line to BUY tickets for (because the tickets that you bought to get into it didn’t count), and
3. A dino mini-golf area, where you also needed to stand in the four hour line to BUY more tickets.
It was a total dino-scam. Do NOT go. Luckily, my son didn’t want to do the bouncy house or mini golf. He did want a mini paleontologist kit, though. I thought it sounded harmless enough…you dig out bones from a block of something. Cool, right?
Oh…SO unbelievably NOT cool. SO MUCH FILTH. There was dust EVERYWHERE… thick, reddish plaster dust EVERYWHERE. There was so much dust that I thought my son and I would develop black lung and/or a nasty rash. I am the worst housekeeper ever, but even I was in a filth panic. Me! Parents…do NOT buy this gift in the winter. This is an OUTDOOR gift. Actually, you may want to just forget it altogether.
DO NOT BUY THIS, EVER.
Yes, my son did work on it from 11:30 am – 3:30pm , with a brief break for lunch…but still. It was NOT worth it. I suggest that you be the slacker parent and neither take your kid to the dino-scam exhibit, nor buy this educational toy.
Consider yourself warned. So there.
I had high hopes of going to see some art this week, but it didn’t happen. I did install a cabinet door myself, though! Only 17 more to go! Woo hoo!
Here is a recent concern of mine that I’d like your feedback on:
My son can sometimes be a happy normal kid, and draw stuff like this:
These are aliens, I think.
Or, he can be kind of high strung, and draw things like this (on the other side):
(I erased the background scribbles from the other side for clarity)
Do you think that I should be concerned? Who was this for??? Me? What was I not supposed to touch? Wha? Thoughts?
This drawing, and other instances, sometimes make me feel unwanted. Example:
This lego ship is apparently using the couch. I guess I’ll just go sit on the floor with the red plaster dust and be sure not to touch anything. Is he trying to tell me something?
Don’t mind me…I just work here…
Just so that you don’t feel totally gypped from seeing any art, I’ve found this cool artist online:
Original Drawing of [Expedia City Breaks:Paris], 2012, pen on kentboard, h.42×w.29.7cm., Ogilvy & Mather collection
Kind of crazy, right? Look at this detail:
Detail of Original Drawing of [Expedia City Breaks:Paris], 2012, pen on kentboard, h.42×w.29.7cm., Ogilvy & Mather collection
ISN”T THAT SO COOL???? He/she draws these incredible images with tons of doodle-esque characters! AMAZING!!! Isn’t that incredible??? Talk about skill. I would like it more if he/she would not choose these famous images, but instead drew images from his own life. What do you think? Comments? Isn’t he/she SUPER TALENTED????? Check out the website here. Also, if anyone can clarify if Sagati is male or female, I’d appreciate it. (ありがとう)
Wish me luck avoiding the flu epidemic here!!! I’m going to go now and order a haz-mat suit online. I hope that I can wear it on top of my snuggie!!!
slightly wonky 