Filed under: Drawing, Fleeting thoughts..., painting, Sewing | Tags: 13 Forest, arlington, art, artist, boston, graduation, Massachusetts, preschool, visual art
So, I recently started exercising. I know. Don’t laugh. I truly forgot what sore muscles feel like. Actually, I forgot what muscles feel like altogether, so the whole thing is pretty shocking, to say the least. I haven’t succumbed to the lure of Ben Gay, though. When I was in high school, the heady aroma of Ben Gay would waft throughout the school in the week of “sports camp” leading up to the start of the Fall season. I’d rather hobble than smell that stuff again. (God forbid you rub your eye with some of that on your hand….YEEOUCH.) In order to nurse myself back to health, I’ve decided to just lie on the couch whilst eating an ice cream sandwich. You know…just like the pros do.
Besides moaning about my aching, yet seemingly nonexistent muscles, I did get out to see some art. This is lucky, as my own artwork continues to plod along at a glacial pace. I didn’t venture far, mind you. My hobbling limited the scope of my search. I decided that I would FINALLY go to 13 Forest Gallery here in Arlington, MA. (It’s kind of ridiculous/embarrassing that I had not been in before.) I met Marc Gurton, the owner, who was super friendly and has selected some really amazing artists to represent. Right now, they have a show titled, “Tangent,” which features the work of Mary O’Malley and Rebecca Roberts. Here are some views of the show:
13 Forest Gallery featuring Mary O’Malley and Rebecca Roberts
And another view:
13 Forest Gallery featuring Mary O’Malley and Rebecca Roberts
O’Malley creates intricate drawings with metallic ink and gouache typically on black paper. They are beautiful. The repetitive and abstract qualities makes me think of Islamic art, while the gilded palette makes me think of an illuminated manuscript. They have an opulent, yet understated quality about them. Very impressive.
Roberts creates gorgeous abstract fabric paintings in a mix of both bold and subtle hues. She not only plays with beautiful color palettes, but the texture of the fabric also varies. My favorite pieces were those with a color field surrounded by an unsymmetrical white background. Two of those pieces are in the photo above on the right side.
Here are some better shots of their work:
Mary O’Malley, Relic #10, Ink and Gouache on Paper, 16″ x 13″
The reflection is obviously not doing the work justice. But you can see the gorgeous palette and beautiful detail.
Rebecca Roberts, Pfeiffer Falls, Sewn Cotton Fabric, 18″ x 20″
This is one where an irregularly shaped field of color sits within a minimal, white background. I love it!
Anyone local to Arlington, MA should stop by to see the show. IN FACT, TONIGHT (June 21) BOTH ARTISTS ARE GOING TO BE SPEAKING AT THE GALLERY. There is a reception from 7-9pm. Go see what they have to say! (And please tell me what they say, as I don’t think that I can make it.)
Today is my son’s LAST DAY at preschool. He has gone to that school since he was four months old. (No joke.) So, we’re taking him out for a “graduation dinner.” to celebrate. This is also to ease the fact that he is NOT happy about leaving. Actually, he’s not happy about change of any sort, unless you mean adding a new toy to his collection. THEN, he embraces change completely and with zeal. Also, he’ll “embrace” the change in my purse, and add it to his ever expanding piggybank if I’m not paying attention. Naturally, if I ask him where the money is from…he’ll tell me that he “found it.” I guess that’s sort of true…
Actually, the whole concept of “truth” still does not register with him. He’s only 5, so I hope that there’s time to learn. Sometimes, he’ll blatantly lie about something. I’ll ask him, “Did you and Grandma get some ice cream today?” His response is an emphatic, “NO!” However, when I say that I’m going to call Grandma just to check, he changes his response to, “Wellllll, at least I don’t THINK that I had any ice cream…I don’t reaaaally remember.” He even scratches his chin quizzically for effect.
Hmmm.
I’m hoping that this does not indicate some future life of crime for him, but just a phase of development that he hasn’t quite reached yet…kind of like facial hair. Now, if the facial hair comes in BEFORE his understanding of “the truth”, THEN I will be concerned. Actually, there’s probably some correlation between the onset of facial hair and a regressive trend to actually forget what it means to tell the truth. Like, “No Mom, I didn’t take your ironing board and use it as a skateboard ramp. I don’t know where those wheel marks came from.”
HMMMMM.
I’ve decided to stop worrying about all of that now and just go ice my sore muscles with another ice cream sandwich…
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.
slightly wonky 