Month: November 2025

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Martin Wittfooth

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Martin Wittfooth was born in Toronto, Canada in 1981 and currently splits his time between two studios in Savannah, Georgia, and Brockville, Ontario, Canada.Wittfooth earned his MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York City.He composes surreal images of animals, plants, flowers, and landscapes in a way which references the tradition of painters past but is at the same time relevant, unique, and personal.Wittfooth’s paintings, drawings, installations and sculptural works use allegory and symbolism to explore themes of the intersection and clash of industry and nature, and the human influence on the environment.Many of his works explore the theme of shamanism – rituals and practices as old as our species – through which we have attempted to dialogue with nature: the nature outside of ourselves and the nature within.His creative language uses the combination of allegory and symbolism to convey visual narratives.“I hope with my art to bridge the gap somewhat between the subconscious and the conscious – the “visionary” with the “baseline” states of mind,” Wittfooth shares.“The mainstream is what is most in need of a change of perspective right now, so I’d like for my art to be able to dialogue with it.”More of Martin Wittfooth’s surreal paintings can be found at https://www.martinwittfooth.com/.

Looking Back — Jewelry, Part Three

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It’s time to look back at more amazing galleries over at www.sundayeveningartgallery.com. So many categories — who knows which door to open?

There is still enough jewelry artists showcased throughout my blog that I take pleasure in sharing a few more past jewelry artists.

Please click on the blue name and see for yourself why their work is so marvelous!

 

Paulina Bartnik

 

 

Anand Shah

 

 

Bubun

 

 

Unusual Jewelry

 

 

George Inaki Root

 

 

 

Bond Hardware

David Webb

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Tirzah Garwood

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Tirzah Garwood (1908–1951) was a multi-talented artist and designer whose life was tragically cut short when she died of breast cancer aged only 42.

Eileen Lucy “Tirzah” Garwood was a British wood-engraver, painter, paper marbler, author, and a member of the Great Bardfield Artists.

According to Brighton & Hove Museums, Garwood “is one of the most original and distinctive figures of twentieth century British art

Her brilliance as a wood engraver and maker of marbled papers was acknowledged in her lifetime, but her early death meant that few were able to enjoy her captivating, collaged house ‘portraits’ and enigmatic oil paintings.

She prompts us to see the amusing, absurd and uncanny in the detail of everyday life.Garwood’s engravings were imaginatively conceived and precisely executed. They abounded in wry observations and witty juxtapositions.More of Tirzah Garwood’s marvelous wood cuts can be found at https://artuk.org/discover/stories/tirzah-garwood-unveiling-a-forgotten-visionary/

 

 

 

 

 

Faerie Paths — Colored Glass

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A Gothic building engenders true religion … The light, falling through colored glass, the singular forms of the architecture, unite to give a silent image of that infinite mystery which the soul for ever feels, and never comprehends.

Madame de Stael
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Funny Thing About Creativity

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I have been playing around always with 3D art lately, and am not sure I like and/or love the results.

This is all new for me.

Up until a couple of years ago I thought my creative artwork had dried up and moved to the desert. I was “creative” in my younger years, but never took an art course. Nor a writing course, for that matter.

That didn’t stop me from trying — and improving — whatever latent talents I had.

After I retired four years ago, I took up crafting, enjoying it enough to perfect the talent into an actual craft fair material. That led to down time in the winter, and, needing a filler, started sketching and drawing circles and designs and pop art sort of things. A field — and style — I never really took seriously.

Now that the winter chill has snuck into Wisconsin I find myself experimenting once again. Where this 3D stuff came from I haven’t a clue. I started with copying some of the geometric pictures I sketched last year and added things like 1/2″ G clefs and clock hands on circles.

Is it art?  Oh yes. Is it good? That’s best left to psychics and mystics. And art teachers.

I’m neither putting down nor building up my budding new career. But I am surprised that I both like and dislike my work.

Is that natural for an artist? To feel disappointed that I can’t turn the ideas in my head into actual art pieces? To want to have my art be fantastic every time I start out?

This is where practice makes perfect. Or, rather, makes you better.

 You know all those cliches. You can’t get lemonade out of lemons unless you work squishing juice out the fruit and adding ingredients to it. You can’t finish the race if you don’t start it. Blah blah blah.

I believe self growth is full of satisfying moments and disappointing moments, especially where art is concerned. Like advanced degrees or top paying jobs, you don’t make it there on day one.

So it is with art. No matter if it’s your first time or the 100th time or the 10,000th time, every time you do something you do it differently. You find more control. More understanding. Your fingers move easier, your coordination improves.

Will you or I ever be on the art gallery circuit? I would love to think so. But in reality, I’m just as happy learning to do something better and better every time I try. I find it therapeutic as well as keeping those synapses in my brain firing.

I am accumulating a sketchbook full of ideas and a pile of art boards. What does Kenny Rogers say in the song “The Gambler”:

Cause every hand’s a winnerAnd every hand’s a loser

You  know the rest of the song. And we’re not there yet.

So let’s keep on practicing……

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Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Sir Grayson Perry

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Sir Grayson Perry (- 1960) is an English artist known for his ceramic vases, tapestries, and cross-dressing, as well as his observations of the contemporary arts scene, dissecting British prejudices, fashions and foibles.

Perry graduated from Portsmouth Polytechnic with a BA in fine arts in 1982.

Perry is renowned for his eccentric and politically charged artworks.

There is a strong autobiographical element in his work, in which images of Perry as Claire, his female alter ego, and Alan Measles, his childhood teddy bear, often appear.In his work Perry reflects upon his upbringing as a boy, his stepfather’s anger and the absence of proper guidance about male conduct.Perry’s urns are rendered with an incomprehensible master-craft: their surfaces richly textured from designs marked into the clay, followed by intricately complicated glazing and photo-transfer techniques.A master of the incongruous juxtaposition, Perry scrawls savage satirical messages alongside sentiments of nostalgia for lost innocence.More of Grayson Perry’s unique vases can be found at https://www.artsy.net/artist/grayson-perryson-perry

 

 

 

Quiet Saturday Mornings

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Just like smooth jazz, a mellow, drifting kind of magic from my friend Gigi over at Rethinking Life….

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Beauty….

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November 18, 2025

A close-up of a white bird preening its feathers.

I’m amazed at how beautiful this photo is
the delicate feathers
the gentleness of the sleep
the coloring
everything is perfect

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Faerie Paths — Rainbows

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Try reading this as a poem, not singing it as a song (if you can!)  Want to come along for the ride?

Stephanie Peters

 

Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high
There’s a land that I heard of once in a lullaby
Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true

Someday I’ll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where troubles melt like lemon drops
Away above the chimney tops
That’s where you’ll find me

Somewhere over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly
Birds fly over the rainbow
Why then, oh why can’t I?

If happy little bluebirds fly
Beyond the rainbow
Why, oh why can’t I?

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Suzanne Belperron

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Suzanne Belperron (1900–1983) was an influential 20th-century jewelry designer based in Paris.

She worked for the Boivin and Herz jewelry houses before the outbreak of World War II. Subsequently, she took over the Herz company, renaming it Herz-Belperron.
Belperron created distinctive, unusual jewelry using large stones and undulating forms.She pioneered the technique of setting precious stones in semiprecious materials.
In addition to adapting these motifs in a unique way, Belperron also opted for 22 karat gold, a softer karat level than commonly used, purely for its color.

She often collaborated with the client to achieve the exact right tone of the jewel.

Her designs responded to the desires of a younger generation who wanted bolder, more distinctive designs. 

Combining large, sculptural, carved semi-precious stones with diamonds and other precious gems, she created a bold, dramatic effect.
More of Suzanne Belperron‘s amazing jewelry can be found at https://belperron.com/.

Buildings, Gates, Archways, Tombs, and More — Part Three — Ceilings

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European culture loves ceilings.

I have never seen as many ornate ceilings in my life as I did on my vacation to Paris, Rome and Florence. A trip of a lifetime, a dream come true.

But enough nostalgia. Take a look at some of the ceilings I took pictures of while I was over there. And please realize I’m not a real live photographer…

 

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Always a Little Sadness Around the Corner

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No matter how happy we are one day, there is always something around the corner waiting to cut us down a notch. 

That’s life. I know. All the philosophy in the world doesn’t change the world of pain happening or about to happen.

My chocolate lab is almost 14 — a record in some ways.  She had a fall a couple of years ago and her back legs don’t work quite right. The other day she slipped climbing out of her cage (she goes in all by herself… I leave the door open) , and pulled a muscle. She’s not eating a lot, and defecating around the house almost every day. 

She is on her way out.

I know this has happened to very  many of you — possibly over and over again. This isn’t the first dog for us that we will eventually have to put to sleep.

How do you make that decision?

Many say it’s only a dog. This part I get. But the dog is my friend, too. Listened to me crying in my beer and walking the paths exploring the woods or fetching till she almost falls over.

Like you, I will know when it’s time. I will hate it with every bone in my body, but I will know. I won’t let her suffer, I won’t force her into a life of pain and confusion just to hug her one more time.

I really didn’t mean to share this today, but it just goes to show you that you are not alone in your confusion and pain. It’s something pet owners agree to do the moment they take those puppy eyes home.

Give your cat and dog an extra hug today. Make new memories.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What’s Up in the Future?

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Mondays are always a chance to start anew. Scratch that — EVERY day is a chance to start anew. But you already knew that. 

So for my anew for Monday, I thought I’d share some upcoming artists for my Sunday Evening Art Gallery portion of my blog …
 
Have a Super Monday!
 
 
 

Charles Lololma, Native American Artist

 

Hengki Koentjoro, Photographer

 

 

Domenic Bahmann, Illustrator and Visual Artist

 

Vaarten Vrolijk. Glassblower

 

Christian Schmidt-Rassmussan, Painter

 

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Maggie Vandewalle

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Maggie Vandewalle was born and raised just outside of Iowa City, Iowa, in a rural setting.She received an art scholarship to the University of Iowa, where she worked towards a BFA in printmaking.After several years she took a break from college to explore life,  determined that art most definitely would in the form of drawing.Vandewalle’s drawings are whimsical and precise, showing a wonderful talent for detail.She is a master of watercolor whimsy whose paintings transport us to a world where the ordinary becomes extraordinary, and the impossible seems just within reach.Vandewalle’s clever composition transforms our interpretation from aesthetic appreciation to ecological observation, reminding us with a wink that beauty in nature often serves a practical purpose.

More of Maggie Vandewalle’s amazing art can be found at https://maggievandewalle.com/.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Instant Connection

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Last night I went through the blogs I follow and came across my friend’s gallery Tiffany Arp-Daleo Artwork. I have showcased her work in both Humoring the Goddess and Sunday Evening Art Gallery. 

 

Tiffany has a unique way of creating abstract paintings — I love them..

This was Tiffany’s post yesterday:

Shadows Within

6/9” Mixed media on paper

Now I don’t spend a lot of time looking closely at contemporary art. I usually love a painting because of the colors or the shapes or a compilation that somehow attracts me.

The first thing I thought when I looked at this pic is: Is that my body? Are those the black spots of hell showing up throughout my torso?

I then wondered if this was a message from Tiffany. Why did she called it Shadows Within? Was this an attempt to tell her readers something?  A Cosmic Message? Or if it was just painting of orange and pink and black?

Even though I love all sorts of Art, I rarely have an emotional connection with them. There are billions of paintings or quilts or ceramics that are worth a second look, but rarely does one shoot out a bolt of connection between human and object.

I’m tickled to pieces.

This is why I keep encouraging you to open up to the Creative Magic that’s everywhere around you. Not every creation is for you — that’s why there’s such diversity in Arts and Crafts. But sooner or later something is going to resonate with you and it will be extraordinary.

Thanks for the unexpected zap, Tiffany!

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Crystal Wagner

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Crystal Wagner (-1982)  is a printmaker, a drawer and an installation artist from Baltimore, Maryland.Wagner attended Keystone College, a private liberal arts school in La Plume Pennsylvania where she earned her Associate Degree in Fine Art, receiving awards for both her prose/fiction writing and also her work as an artist. In May 2008, Crystal completed her MFA at The University of Tennessee.The artist is known for hand-cut wall-mounted paper forms and immersive, site-specific sculptures.Swirling maelstroms of color and texture are formed from quotidian objects: Plastic dollar store items like cheap tablecloths and straws.Wagner weaves them onto a wire armature where they take on a life of their ownThey evolve from their own mundane beginnings to mimic the natural world as they creep, stretch and grow in, around and through their environments.

She utilizes such humble materials as plastic tablecloths stretched over chicken wire to uncanny effect.Her intricately constructed biomorphic works conjure a feeling of wonder from everyday materials and suggest new possibilities for mass-produced, disposable materials.

More of Crystal Wagner‘s wonderful sculptures can be found at https://www.artsy.net/artist/crystal-wagner and https://www.instagram.com/artistcrystalwagner/?hl=en.

 

 

 

 

Creativity Is Alive and Well!

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Over the weekend my daughter-in-law and I stopped by Hobby Lobby to pick up a few crafty things.

For those who are not familiar with H-L, it’s a craft store that carries everything from stamps to beads to paint to t-shirts you can dye and more. It’s the kind of store where you’d better have something in particular in mind when you pass through the doors, or you will suffer from crafting overload.

The point is that Hobby Lobby was packed. The aisles were full of grannies, moms and dads with kids, and couples. All buying crafting materials. Usually when I stop by there’s a mere scattering of customers.

A lot of carts were filling up with Christmas decor (the lady behind me was buying Christmas placemats), but just as many held plastic flowers, diamond paintings, and acrylic paints.

I was tickled to see so many crafters at one time. It didn’t matter what they were going to make. They were holding beads up to the light, reading backs of boxes, and comparing hues of yarn. 

I would love to think that people are getting back to making gifts by hand. Trying a new craft. Making scarves and t-shirts with grandkids’ handprints and crystal bracelets both for themselves and their family.

I know crafting is not for everybody. It certainly wasn’t much of a past time for me my first 50 years hanging around on Earth. So when I say “crafting” it can be anything that touches your soul and makes you feel good. 

It’s crazy out there. What better way to find your calm center than putting on music and spreading out your materials and CREATING?

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Tani Bunchō

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Tani Bunchō (1763–1840) was a prominent Japanese painter and poet, recognized for his significant contributions to the Edo period’s artistic landscape.

He was a central figure in the Bunjinga, or literati painting movement, which emphasized scholarly and poetic themes, drawing inspiration from Chinese literati traditions.Bunchō perfected Edo Nanga (a school of painting originating in China), and he is regarded as one of the three major painters of the Tokugawa period because of his achievement.He studied under the Kanō school but later developed a distinctive style that blended traditional Japanese techniques with Chinese and Western elements.

Throughout his career, Bunchō produced an extensive body of work, including landscapes, portraits, and bird-and-flower paintings, which were highly regarded for their elegance and technical proficiency.His legacy is marked by his role in bridging cultural exchanges between Japan and China, as well as his influence on subsequent generations of Japanese artists.

More of Tani Bunchō’s historical art work can be found at https://www.artnet.com/artists/tani-buncho/https://www.artnet.com/artists/tani-buncho/ and Modern Tokyo Times.

Still Cleaning Cobwebs

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A  cloudy, cool Caturday outside today. The boys are at the end of their fishing trip, leaving me to cook and clean up dog poop. (old dog) all by myself.  I’ve spread my current art project across the kitchen take like flood waters over the dam, but am a a stopping point, so  all is good with the world.

Sluggish-a-reno. Not even Haydn’s lively Paris Symphony #82 can get my mind nor body to function.

I don’t remember being sluggish like that at an earlier age. Life wouldn’t let me. With working two jobs, raising two kids, attending school functions, you had no choice half the time when you woke up and when you went to bed. 

But this isn’t a blog today about the good ol’ days. Most times they’re never as “good” as you remember anyway. A day was just a day, a certain code restricting your freedom depending upon your age and schedule.

Sooooo ….. Are your Saturday’s fairly free? What kind of things do you plan when you don’t have to cook for company or run your kids to soccer games?

I’d love to know how you all spend your Saturday. Perhaps it would spiff me up and get me off the sofa to hear what your weekends are like. Plus, you’re from all over the world, and I’m sure location, age, weather, social influences and would put a wonderful spin on your exciting lives!

Any takers?

 

Dream Food Part Two

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Waaaay back in June of 2017 I did a fun blog about Dream Food.  It was a stimulating, mouth-watering, magical blog about (what I thought) were the most delightful photos of the most delectable food on the planet.

I came across another amazing photo of food and thought I should share it along with more delightful vittles.

Enjoy!

 

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Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Haejin Lee

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Haejin Lee has been a ceramic artist in Seoul, South Korea for over 15 years.

She was graduated from Hong-Ik University in Korea, received Master degree in Ceramic Art.

Lee creates ceramic works that look as though they’ll unravel at any moment.

Concentrating primarily on the human body, the sculptor fashions heads and feet that look mostly whole, but have ribbon-like strands rippling from the top of each piece.

They appear in various stages of disarray, with facial features that have been twisted and multiplied, which adds another facet of eeriness to the already-surreal works.

I like to decompose a finished shape and then reassemble the parts into a different presentation,” the artist shares.

“The new creations that are getting rebuilt in the process, are sometimes expressed in a form of rhythmical composition of ribbons or various objects or deformed faces.”

More of Haejin Lee’s artwork can be found at https://haejinlee-ceramics.com/

 

 

 

 

Looking Back — Glassworks, Part Two

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How about a little glass work to start your day?

These artists are magical. I can’t believe what they can do. And I’m jealous. In a good way, of course….

Glassworks is one of my favorite Creative Crafts. I hope you enjoy these artists as much as I do.

Ronnie Hughes

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Carol Milne

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Tiffany Lamps

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Niyoko Ikuta

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Martin Blank

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Robert Wynne

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Věra Lišková

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Wilfried Grootens

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Vita of Vitraaze

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Mark Eliott

Do We Ever Really “Catch Up”?

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I spent a decent part of the morning the other day going through the blogs of those I follow, trying to make a comment on each, or at least hitting the “like” button. 

There were a lot of blogs, a lot of stars. Yet I know I didn’t star everyone, which reflected my thoughts on why I have so many wonderful followers but only hear from a few.

Maybe those who follow my blog are just like me — signing up to follow one’s adventures, whether they are stories or photos. You are really tickled by what you read, and you figured you want to experience the world more through their eyes.

Then the day comes, the kids create chaos, the dogs are always yapping, you have a list a mile long of people and doctors and utilities you need to call, laundry is piling up in the corner, a full-time job demands your attention, broken things need fixing — you get my drift. And somehow you never get back to clicking that button.

I feel like I’m always playing the game of catch up. Being retired only takes away the time-card-punching reality of daily activity. You still have more on your plate than you can eat.

I don’t mean to overladen my soup bowl, if you get my meaning. Everything I do these days is slower, less demanding. No kids to get off to school, no desk job or factory obligations. I wake when I want, eat lunch when I want, pop off to the store when I get the urge — it’s a lot looser of a schedule than 10 years ago.

Still …

I don’t have the energy I used to to keep up any activity for any length of time. My mind is A.D.D. but my body is walking through slush. That’s why some tasks/escapades seem to take forever to finish. 

Even my artwork suffers from worn-out-itis. 

I hate it.

I hate that I can’t/don’t finish projects I start, or that it takes a hundred years to actually finish anything.

But I also am scattered enough that the hate doesn’t last for long. I am able to dismiss things I can’t do or don’t understand and move on to the next adventure. 

I am enjoying my painting adventure, but I am seeing I’m not as smooth or talented with a paint brush in my hand as I am with colored pencils. I am finding differerent outlets for my Angel Tears bookmarks and purse charms, ones that don’t take up a whole weekend at craft shows.

The point of today’s blog is to encourage you to not give up if you don’t finish projects you start. 

Some have to be finished — you can’t paint half a room or plant half a garden. 

But especially in the creative world, stick to what you love, what you enjoy. Moment to moment happiness is just as important as long time love affairs. 

Don’t worry if you don’t have enough energy or brain retention to move up and forward with every project you undertake.

Life goes on no matter what pace you set for yourself.

Set one you can live with.

And, when you remember, hit more “like” buttons……

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Younguk Yi

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Korean artist Younguk Yi is recognized for his precise, almost digital, paintings, which balance abstraction with hyperrealism.

Yi works in Seoul, Korea. He graduated from Dankook University, Department of Western Studies, and completed his MFA and PhD programs at Hongik University, Department of Painting.His fragmented figures, overlapping and unfolding across the canvas, offer a deep exploration of the form.

Over the years, Yi’s works have evolved, embracing new concepts while maintaining a singular theme: repetition.
The repetition and arrangement of figures create a sense of transformation, encouraging the viewer to reconsider how we perceive the subjects.The artist uses this motif to question representation, materiality, and existence in today’s world.
Yi’s paintings, despite their hyper-realistic style, never allow the viewer to fully construct the forms in their mind.
His figures are distorted—whether human or animal, their identities are lost in the disjointed assembly.