Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Lino Tagliapietra

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Lino Tagliapietra was born in 1934 in Murano, Italy and became an apprentice glassblower at age eleven.Even at a young age Tagliapietra exhibited an immense dexterity for glass and was appointed the title of “Maestro” when he was just 21. In 1979, the artist visited Seattle for the first time and introduced students at the Pilchuck School to the traditions of Venetian glassblowing.This cross-cultural collaboration helped shape the identity of American glassblowing and offered Tagliapietra an opportunity to expand his horizons internationally.As a teacher and mentor, he has played a key role in the international exchange of glassblowing processes and techniques.Tagliapietra’s technical resources continuously expanded to combine modern experimentation carving, blowing, caning, layering, casing, and trailing along with the elaborate Italian tricks and styles so sought after for centuries including battuto, zanfirico and  filigrano.

More of Lino Tagliapietra’s amazing glass blowing can be found at https://www.linotagliapietra.com/ and https://www.hellergallery.com/lino-tagliapietra/.

 

 

Faerie Paths — Trees

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Methuselah
Oldest Tree in the World
4,855 years old in 2023

 

 

The only thing that happens if you wait is that you get older.
~ Mario Andretti

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Robert de la Torre

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In Microcosmos, photographer Roberto de la Torre centers his lens on the celebratory costumes of the entroido.Held extensively in his house area of Galicia (Spain)  around Lent and the shift from winter to spring, entroidos are annual gastronomic carnivals during which meals and dance are plentiful. Elaborate costumes and masks are essential for participation, which de la Torre documents.
In his photograph series Microcosmos, de la Torre presents a hierophantic landscape  — places where the existence of the sacred becomes present.It is a landscape which manifests itself through the objects of our usual cosmos as something completely opposed to the profane world.Many of the masked figures the artist portrays in Microcosmos go out in ritual celebrations in isolated places very far from the big cities.“The thematic base of my work are ancestral beliefs and ancient deities,”  de la Torre shares.“The creative technical process of the image itself is inspired by the paintings of religious icons.”

More of Roberto de la Torre ‘s remarkable costumes and photographs can be found at https://www.roberdelatorre.com and /https://www.roberdelatorre.com/tienda-shop.

 

 

 

Look What’s Coming!

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Been scouring the world (and the Internet) for new, unique, fun art to share with you — and I have not been disappointed!

The only thing that disappoints me is that I only share New Art with you a couple of times a week!

But here’s a taste of what’s in store for the future —

 

Glen Martin Taylor

 

Julia Lucey

 

Roberto de la Torre

 

Kitty Sheperd

 

Hope you are as excited as I am!

And if you know of any unique artists that might fit this gallery, drop me a comment here.

 

 

 

 

Faerie Paths — Valentines Day

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My version of Valentine’s Day for all of you….

 

I hope you don’t mind that I put down in words
how wonderful life is while you’re in the world.
~Elton John

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Elfriede Lohse-Wächtler

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Elfriede Lohse-Wächtler (1899 – 1940) was a German painter of the avant-garde whose works were banned as “degenerate art” and in some cases destroyed.Lohse-Wächtler  grew up in a middle-class family, but left at the age of 16 to study at the Royal Arts School Dresden. From 1916 to 1919, she also attended drawing and painting courses at the Dresden Art Academy.In June 1921, she married the painter and opera singer Kurt Lohse, following him to Görlitz in 1922 and then to Hamburg. The marriage was a difficult one and the couple separated several times in the following years.In 1929, she had a nervous breakdown because of financial and partnership difficulties and was committed to a psychiatric institution in Hamburg-Friedrichsberg.During her two months’ stay, Lohse-Wächtler painted the Friedrichsberg heads, a piece of work consisting of about 60 drawings and pastels, mainly portraits of fellow patients.After her recovery and a final separation from Kurt Lohse, she had a very creative phase, painting numerous pieces of Hamburg’s harbor, scenes from the life of workers, prostitutes, and pitiless self-portraits.

After refusing to consent to a sterilization, Lohse-Wächtler was denied the permission to leave the hospital,  and eventually was forced to undergo the surgical procedure  on the grounds of Nazi eugenicist policies. In 1940 she was deported to the former psychiatric institution at Pirna-Sonnenstein where, on 31 July, she was murdered along with the majority of the other residents as part of the Nazi “euthanasia” program, Action T4.In 1999, there was a stele (stone or wooden slab) erected in her memory, along with a ward house named after, at the Saxon Hospital in Arnsdorf, and in 2005 a street was also dedicated to her in Pirna-Sonnenstein.More of Elfriede Lohse-Wächtler‘s work can be found at https://www.lostwomenart.de/en/artist/elfriede-lohse-wachtler/ and biografie/Elfriede_Lohse-Wächtler.

 

 

 

Princess Party? Heck Yes!

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Yesterday was my granddaughter’s 6th birthday. Her mom decided to throw her and 11 of her best girlies a “Princess Party.”

I tell you what.

After a crazy day of a dozen princesses running around and laughing and screaming and doing a dance freeze contest and having a tea party drinking tea (cranberry juice and 7UP) from China cups (pinkies up) and star-shaped PB&J sandwiches and me  dressing up as the Fairy Grandmother, I’ll tell you what.

When I turn 72  ~I~ am going to throwing ~me~ a Princess Party!

I can’t remember many birthday parties with cake and hats and girls running around squealing and opening presents –not necessarily because my mom never threw birthday parties, but more like ~I~  don’t remember.

But do you know how much fun it would be to have a bunch of my girlfriends (and family/others) wear princess dresses and tiaras and drink tea (or Bailey’s) out of a China cup and make star salami sandwiches and blast oldies music with a bunch of best friends? 40s and 50s and 60s and 70s all dancing in the living room to “Kick Start My Heart” and serving crescent moon shaped brownies and sharing stories of our ancient dating life while passing around the ibuprofen? How can I resist?

I don’t want to wait until its my “Claudia’s Celebration of Life” day to see how much my friends and family miss me and wish I was around again to play and be airy fairy.

I want to do it now. Not just for me, but for my family. For my friends. I need to add some positive vibrations to this sometimes ugly world.

My birthday is in December, but that doesn’t mean I can’t have a pre-party princess party in July!

Why should grandbabies have all the fun?

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — The Lady and the Unicorn Tapestries

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The Lady and the Unicorn (La Dame à la licorne) is the modern title given to a series of six tapestries created in the style of mille-fleurs (“thousand flowers”) and woven in Flanders from wool and silk, from designs (“cartoons”) drawn in Paris around 1500.

Touch

On display in the Musée de Cluny in Paris, Five of the tapestries are commonly interpreted as depicting the five senses – taste, hearing, sight, smell, and touch.

Hearing

The sixth displays the words À mon seul désir  —  my only desire. The tapestry’s intended meaning is obscure, but has been interpreted as representing love or understanding.

Sound

Each of the six tapestries depicts a noble lady with the unicorn on her left and a lion on her right; some include a monkey in the scene.

Smell

The subject of the tapestries is complex, and scholars now (generally) agree that they present a meditation on earthly pleasures and courtly culture, offered through an allegory of the senses.

Taste

The tapestries exhibit a captivating blend of medieval aesthetics, classical symbolism, and elements of the natural world, and offer a glimpse into the cultural and artistic sensibilities of the late Middle Ages and have captivated audiences for centuries.

À mon seul désir

 

More information about The Lady and the Unicorn tapestries can be found at https://www.musee-moyenage.fr/en/collection/the-lady-and-the-unicorn.html and https://www.worldhistory.org/collection/171/the-lady-and-the-unicorn-medieval-tapestries.

 

Faerie Paths — Princesses

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Going to my granddaughter’s Princess Birthday Party Sunday — a Princess thought —

Queen Mary Fringe Tiara

 

 

Have courage and be kind. Where there is kindness, there is goodness. And when there is goodness, there is magic.

~ Cinderella

 

 

I Love Time Traveling!

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Some writers keep every scrap of paper, every note, every short story version they’ve ever written. Others smartly pick and choose which scraps of paper to keep for posterity’s sake.

I was going through a stack of ringed notebooks and books and sketch pads I had stacked on the corner of my dresser for like ever, and decided to go through all and see what I could keep and what I could toss.

What a crazy backwards trip in time!

I found notes on old books I’d written back in 2005. 2005!! Notes on books I never finished; research on faeries and Old English language and life in the 1880s.

I also found a diary from a very lonely girl from 1966 and a bunch of short stories written for writing classes for a college degree I never got back in the 70s.

I was delighted to discover the mind of a middle-aged woman who owned a B&B and the writing prose of someone who had just gotten divorced at 27 years of age. I found some sketches for Mehndi Body Art painting and a shelving unit I don’t remember owning and lots of poetry I forgot I’d ever written.

The best thing I found was a little 5 x 7 notebook that contained notes from when our family took my first grandson to Disneyworld nine years ago when he was four. I recorded each day of our vacation so that we would always have something in writing to bond us.

Love doesn’t need written proof. Just like it doesn’t need flowers and candy and romantic dinners by candlelight. But it will be a wonderful treat to read it to him when all of the participants are around next weekend.

I love to time travel, both alone and with others. After all, who knows where you and your friends and family will wind up?

Advice for the day: don’t throw ALL of your notes away — save the creative heart-felt ones for a rainy/granny/writer day!

 

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Joseph Lorusso

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Joseph Lorusso was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1966 and received his formal training at the American Academy of Art. He went on to receive his B.F.A. degree from the Kansas City Art Institute.Born of Italian descent, Lorusso was exposed to art at an early age through several early trips to Italy where his parents introduced him to the works of the Italian Masters.The artist concentrates on urban and natural landscapes and the human figure, rendering his subjects in a naturalistic, impressionistic style.Lorusso believes in the ability and power to tell a story through his image-making, being able to connect with the viewer in the process. He is especially interested in painting ordinary people in everyday settings, which he invests with a sense of pathos and mystery.Lorusso’s paintings have been described as warm and dreamlike, places of restful escape with a sense of spirituality, and share timelessness with the works of other eras.

More of Joseph Lorusso‘s creative paintings can be found at https://www.josephlorussofineart.com and https://www.artsy.net/artist/joseph-lorusso.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Faerie Paths — Nonsense

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Inspired by Edward Lear’s ‘Dong With a Luminous Nose”

 

I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, and that enables you to laugh at life’s realities.

~ Dr. Seuss

 

 

Today

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I remember the giggled laughter
That bounced through those bright eyes.
I remember taking you on the back of my bike
Accompanying your older brother to school.

We all gave up a bungalow in Elmhurst
For a bed and breakfast in Wisconsin.
Hoping it would be a new adventure for all of us.

The time we spent running around the mansion
Wee some of the best times ever.
I watched you play video games and
Shoot your brother with paint balls

Grandpa Art and Jr duck taping you to the lion statues
Guitar HERO TILL 2 am
Tipped over golf carts and stitches
And a hand through the window
All brought us closer together

I was all behind you when you decided
College wasn’t for you.
Music was for you. Camping was for you.
European soccer and fishing with the guys
was for you.
Freedom was for you.

Then love came around and for the first time
Shared you with the girl of your dreams
A soft breeze on a hot summer day
A cuddle blanket on those cold winter eves.

Time for mom to take a back seat and let the magic unfold before me

How was I to know that we would get closer
More open, more magical
As the love spread through the two of you
And rained down on the rest of us

How was I to know that two years ago
My perfect picture of happily ever after
Would come crashing, bashing down around my head

The broken crystal shards embedding into my heart
Destroying a part of my life with such instant precision
I still feel it’s depths every time I breathe

Two years ago today
Our lives changed. Our hearts broke. Our souls shifted.
Still helpless today, we can only accept. And imagine.

None of us will ever be the same.
Yet you left us with memories and smiles
You had a way about you so charming
Everyone wanted to hug you.
We all still do.

Your name always comes up in conversation
And the grandkids are joining in too
We see you in the boat in Eagle River
And on the ski slopes at Brûlée.
I see you sitting on Santa’s lap
From babe to laughing young man.

I see you in the shadow of dawn
And on the trails at dusk.
You will always be my little guy.

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Christian Verginer

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Christian Verginer  is a wood sculptor born in Bressanone, Italy.Verginer is considered one of the most valid and original expressionists in contemporary sculpture carvings.His training began by attending the sculpture department of the art school of Ortisei, and then continued at the Academy of Fine Arts in Carrara.The subject chosen by the artist is the human figure, or rather, the human figure in its relations with other forms of life — animals nature, trees, or various objects of the world.The material used is linden wood, which is left smooth and covered in details by unexpectedly applied acrylic paint.Verginer remains loyal to the skill and precision of wood carving, while introducing modern, and personal subject matter.He subtly combines children’s gazes, expressions, and movements into artworks that not only evoke people’s nostalgia for their own childhood but also awaken their long-forgotten innocence and desire to live in harmony with nature.More of Christian Verginer‘s amazing sculptures can be found at https://verginer.org/ and  https://thursd.com/articles/christian-verginer-master-of-artistic-wooden-sculptures.

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery —  Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka

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The Ware Collection of Blaschka Glass Models of Plants was made for  the the Botanical Museum of Harvard University.Often referred to as Blaschka glass, the creations of glass are  a collection of almost 4,000 models of flowers, plants, and flower parts, made at Dresden between 1887 and 1936.The Blaschkas,  Leopold (1822-1895) and Rudolf (1857-1939), were father and son glass artists who lived and worked in Hosterwitz, Germany, near Dresden.Their most famous production was the Ware Collection of Glass Models of Plants, a collection of almost 4,000 models of flowers, plants, and flower parts, made at Dresden between 1887 and 1936 for the Botanical Museum of Harvard University.Over fifty years, from 1886 through 1936, the Blaschkas produced 4,300 glass models that represent 780 plant species.

The Blaschkas’ glassworking lineage is believed to trace back to 15th century Venice.

In their exquisite coloration, minute detail, and representational accuracy, these models fulfill their original purpose of botanical study; moreover, technically and artistically they are among the finest glass objects ever made.Over their fifty years creating the Glass Flowers, the Blaschkas continually experimented with materials and methods that pushed the boundaries of glass working.Years later, their complex and varied practices presented unique challenges for the conservators preserving and protecting the models, which led to a suite of conservation processes nearly as varied as the Blaschka’s techniques.More information and images of The Ware Collection of Blaschka Glass Models of Plants at Botanical Museum of Harvard University can be found at https://hmnh.harvard.edu/glass-flowers and https://digital.library.cornell.edu/collections/blaschka/today.

 

 

Faerie Paths — Twilight

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claudia anderson

 

Twilight time, to dream awhile
In veils of deepening blue
As fantasy strides over colourful skies
The form disappearing from view
In twilight time
Dream with me awhile

~Twilight Time, Moody Blues

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Stan Bitters

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Stan Bitters (1932-2021) was an American sculptor and ceramic artist known for his unique style of creating large-scale, textured, and sculptural ceramic murals, wall sculptures, and pottery.Bitters graduated from UCLA in 1959 with a BA in painting. He also attended San Diego State University, and Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles.. In 1958, immediately after college, he was hired to be the principal artist at Hans Sumpf Company in Madera, California, a company known for inventing a special emulsification process for water-proofing adobe bricks.The company’s main product was adobe, but Mr. Sumpf sought the creative potential of clay as a decorative element in homes.Bitters was the first artist at Hans Sumpf, and his creations —  such as the birdhouse, thumb pot, and other ceramic designs — would provide the company a stylistic imprint and creative identity.In 1963 Bitters  left Hans Sumpf and started his own studio after being commissioned by Garret Eckbo to build fountains for the Fulton Mall.As a pioneer of the organic modernist craft movement in the 1960s, Bitters has been producing rough-hewn ceramic birdhouses, planters, pedestals, mural tiles, totems, boulder walls, and fountains for more than half a century.He is an American ceramic sculptor rooted in the abstract expressionism which is  understood as a modality suited for American ceramic art.

“The power of an object comes from its ability to tell you a story.” Bitters reflects.

“Good sculpture makes you listen.”

More of Stan Bitter’s wonderful sculptures can be found at https://www.stanbitters.com/sculptures.

 

 

 

 

Self-Esteem

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Although men are freely allowed (and encouraged) to read this blog, this one today is for all my girlfriends out there.

Self-Esteem. What is it, exactly?

The dictionary defines self-esteem as “belief and confidence in your own ability and value.”

We all believe in ourselves, don’t we? At least now and then?

Then why are we always so hard on ourselves?

Went away for a weekend with the family. Had a wonderful time. Friends, family — there’s nothing like that in the world. I believed in my own worth. My own value. As a mom, a friend, and a grandma.

Then I got a look at myself in a family photo. 

Who in the hell was that?

We all feel good about ourselves until we are reflected in 3D.  All of a sudden we become our too-wide eyes, our Rubenesque figure, our complexion or our wrinkles or our hair.

How quickly our “self esteem” plummets.

I wonder if guys ever go through that. 

I doubt if their Earthly image is often compared to thin, busty, smoldering eyes beauties. If they notice that most movie stars, rock stars, artists and models are thinner, have more perfect jawlines or skin tone, or have killer white teeth and great smiles.

Yet women are constantly held to that standard.

Yes, the playing field of women has widened through the years. There are beautiful plus size ladies, ladies with moles and wrinkles and less-than-perfect skin.

Yet somehow they pale in comparison with the world’s ideal woman.

I’ve gone through this rigamarole all my life. You would think at 71 I would be done comparing and wondering and belittling.

But self-esteem is something that is messed with from the very beginning.

I know I’m a great mother, a great granny. I am a supportive friend, a kooky conversationalist and a half-decent writer. I am supporting, loving, and inquisitive.

I’m working on that being enough.

The photo made me realize that I do need to work on this body if I’m to see 72. I get that. THAT I can work on.

The rest — I’m working on that, too.

How about it, girlfriends? Have you 100% got this self esteem thing handled? 

Or are you your own worst critic?

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Jon Juarez

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Jon Juarez is an artist, author, and illustrator from San Sebastián, Spain.He is known for creating beautiful sketches and drawings with bright colors and a surrealist touch.Juarez describes himself as a soul of the wilderness, dragged by his pens towards civilization. Many of the artist’s works are based on real places, but they always have a surreal twist that takes them out of the realm of possibility.Through years of practice and honing his craft, he has learned to express his creative visions, and they now take the form of elaborate compositions that boast meticulous details.Each piece is beautiful in its delicate lines and use of color, and they are made alluring thanks to additional elements such as  polygons and waves.More of Jon Juarez‘s colorful works can be found at https://harriorrihar.myportfolio.com/ and https://designyoutrust.com/2022/12/the-superb-hand-drawn-illustrations-by-jon-juarez/. 

Sunday Evening Gallery Flashbacks

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I LOVE LOVE LOVE going back in time and showing you Art Galleries of the Past.

They are all so cool and all so different. So needed on a day like today. Let your mind and eyes wander!

 

Stilettos/High Heels

 

Sand Sculptures

 

Banksy

 

Jenny Foster

 

Pianos

Famous Food Paintings

 

Shayna Leib

 

Silver

 

Love Statues

 

 

 

 

Faerie Paths — Dreary

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Yan Hidayat

 

The day is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,
But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
And the day is dark and dreary.

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Can Sun

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London-based Chinese artist Can Sun has turned ignoring conventional wisdom into an art form.Far from heeding the old adage against playing with food, Sun has turned ordinary apples into masterpieces of complex geometry and design.Adding elements like brass hinges to the apple sculptures, Sun challenges the viewer’s preconceived notions about everyday objects.

The artist’s past was fraught with hardship, which influences his unique approach to his work. He seeks to turn everyday objects into pieces that shake the audience’s conventional understanding of reality.

The art of Can Sun serves as a compelling intersection of existential philosophy and everyday reality. By employing humor and surprise, he takes objects that are typically ignored and turns them into profound expressions of life’s inherent contradictions.

 “My work tries to break the audience’s logical expectations, which makes the audience wonder if the world is absurd,” Sun explains.“The more everyday the object, the greater shock when the audience sees its different forms.”

More of Can Sun‘s entertaining work can be found at https://www.instagram.com/suncannot/.

 

 

Totally Useless Facts

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I can tell I’m getting cabin fever already — it’s not even the end of January and I’m already restless and occasionally worthless. I don’t feel like writing, I don’t feel like crafting, reading puts me to sleep. 

It’s this late sunrise/early sunset that throws what circadian rhythm I have left off into a whirling dervish. 

So to fulfill my antsy pantsiness, here are a few totally useless facts that will make you smile. 

 

  • The King of Hearts is the only king in a deck of cards without a mustache. (I wonder if he feels left out.)

 

  • “Dreamt” is the only word in the English language that ends with “mt.” (MmmHmm…mt)

 

  • Pogonophobia is the fear of beards. (maybe that’s what the King of Hearts has!)

 

  • If you open your eyes in a pitch-black room, the color you’ll see is called “eigengrau.” (I thought it was just called black.)

 

  •  “Tesseradecades,” “aftercataracts,” and “sweaterdresses” are the longest words you can type using only your left hand. (I see you all trying a bunch of words holding your right arm behind your back.)

 

  • It’s impossible for you to lick your own elbow. (I see you trying this, too!)

 

  • A “jiffy” is about one trillionth of a second. (Sometime during the late 18th or early 19th centuries, scientist Gilbert Newton Lewis defined a jiffy as the amount of time it takes light to travel one centimeter in a vacuum, which is about 33.4 picoseconds or one trillionth of a second.)

 

  • It’s possible to lead a cow upstairs… but not downstairs. (I can’t say I’ve ever tried this.)

 

  • The little dot above a lowercase “i” and “j” has a name. (What is it???)

 

  • Your stomach produces a new layer of mucus every two weeks so that it doesn’t digest itself. (How lovely.)

 

  • The little dot is called a “tittle”.( it’s likely a combination of the words “tiny” and “little” since it is an itty-bitty dot.)

 

  • A crocodile cannot stick its tongue out. (I never noticed.)

 

  • You can’t hunt camels in Arizona. (I never checked that out in Wisconsin.)

 

  • Most car horns are in the key of F. (and still obnoxious.)

 

  • Napoleon’s penis was sold to an American Urologist for $40,000.

 

Ahem…. and with that …

Thank you Best Life and Thought Catalog for spicing up my boring day.

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Iris van Herpen

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Iris van Herpen is a Dutch fashion designer known for fusing technology with traditional haute couture and craftsmanship.Van Herpen graduated from the ArtEZ University of the Arts in Arnhem in 2006 and interned at Alexander McQueen in London.By combining handcraft, technology and the art of couture, van Herpen curates progressive and experimental fashion experiences with a highly conceptual approach.Van Herpen burst onto the scene in 2007 with her unusual approach to applying innovative 3D printing techniques to her clothing designs.Most notably, the Dutch designer was one of the first to present 3-D-printed dresses in both static and flexible forms on the runway, in a collaboration with the Belgian company Materialise.Fusing together technology and Haute Couture craftsmanship, Van Herpen’s unusual approach to design has earned her a unique and loyal following.

Van Herpen works in collaboration with experts from other industries in the fields of science, technology and architecture.This allows her to bring together her expertise in fashion with other areas to create something truly unique.

Each creation makes such an overwhelmingly beautiful and creative statement.

More of Iris van Herpen‘s unique designs can be found at https://www.irisvanherpen.com/ and Iris Van Herpen.

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Vanessa Lubach

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Vanessa Lubach is a linocut illustrator and artist who grew up in Oxfordshire and trained as an illustrator in Brighton, England, graduating in 1990.Drawing from observation has always been at the core of Lubach’s work, whether it is illustrating, painting or printmaking.Each piece begins with a sketch and a general idea of the palette.After drawing and carving the main image, or key block, she prints and transfers the composition to additional blocks designed for each individual color.Her linocuts are intricately carved and multi-layered,  and some pieces take almost a year to complete.Lubach likens her printmaking practice to the intricacies of oil painting, and draws on her color experiences to inform her vibrant compositions.“I linocut like a painter and paint like a linocutter, and the two disciplines work together to inform and enhance each other,,” Lubach shares.More of Vanessa Lubach‘s lovely prints can be found at http://www.vanessalubach.co.uk/ and https://www.instagram.com/vanessalubach/.

 

 

Weird Houses

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While looking for something else (as always), I happened to come across some weird-looking houses. And while that’s a great topic for an upcoming gallery, I felt like sharing a few of them with you this morning….

 

 

 

I love odd and unique things — houses included. 

Hope you are staying unique, too!

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Constantin Brâncuși

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Constantin Brâncuși (1876 – 1957) was a Romanian-French sculptor, painter and photographer who made his career in France.Considered a pioneer of modernism, Brâncuși is  one of the most influential sculptors of the 20th-century,  often called the patriarch of modern sculpture.Born in a family of poor peasants, Brâncuși showed early talent for carving objects out of wood. Brancusi was trained as a sculptor in Romania before moving to Paris in 1904. There he studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts and exhibited at the Salon d’Automne.

Brâncuși quickly became accepted as a member of the Paris avant-garde, as his sculptures departed from the 19th century Western trend toward naturalism and eroticism, and were based instead on non-Western and so-called ‘primitive’ sculpture.His sculptures were of two distinct types: elegant, abstract marble or bronze forms, such as the ‘bird’ sculptures based on a Romanian legend, and rougher carvings made of wood, like his series of ‘endless columns’.Brâncuși was also known for paying special attention to the bases on which his sculptures were displayed, believing that the pedestal was part of the sculpture itself. The artist aimed to depict in his sculpture “not the outer form but the idea, the essence of things”.

Though his art is regarded as abstract by many, he insisted that it was representational and disclosed a fundamental, often concealed, reality.

 

More of Constantin Brâncuși’s marvelous sculptures can be found at https://www.theartstory.org/artist/brancusi-constantin/ and https://www.wikiart.org/en/constantin-brancusi.

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Anna Julia Gobbi

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Ana Julia Gobbi is a graphic designer and photographer from Buenos Aires, Argentina.Gobbi’s inspiration comes from urban areas twilight through darkest hours night, often around high rise apartments with a solitary light on the inside.This light could be a tribute to those who, like the artist, celebrate the night and create art when most of the world is sleeping.Gobbi likes to play with the perception of the viewer — is this real or not?Her photography generates a moment of pause in which one stops and gets lost in the image.That is what the artist wishes to generate — a little curiosity.Gobbi tries to portray the hidden life behind the elements of darkness and light, nature and concrete, the intrinsic of a building.Her photography often captures singularity and stillness of the world through colors and darkness and shadows.

More of Ana Julia Gobbi’s mystique photography can be found at https://www.instagram.com/anajugob/ and https://nftphotographers.xyz/fine-art/ana-julia-gobbi-anajugob/.

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Romare Bearden

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Romare Howard Bearden  (1911 – 1988) was an American painter whose collages of photographs and painted paper on canvas depict aspects of American black culture in a style derived from Cubism.Considered one of the most important American artists of the 20th century, Bearden’s artwork depicted the African American culture and experience in creative and thought-provoking ways. After a year of studies in science and mathematics at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, Bearden went on to study art and art education, including two years at Boston University, and graduated with a degree in education from New York University.Living in Harlem, he joined a Black artists group and became excited about modern art, particularly, Cubism, post-Impressionism and Surrealism.Bearden is best known for his photomontage compositions made from torn images of popular magazines and assembled into visually powerful statements on African American life.During the mid 1960s, Bearden felt he was struggling in his art between expressing his experiences as a Black man and the obscurity of abstract painting.He felt that abstraction wasn’t clear enough for him to tell his story.

He felt his art was coming to a plateau, so he started to experiment again. Combining images from magazines and colored paper, he would work in other textures such as sandpaper, graphite and paint.Bearden’s collage work has also been compared to jazz improvisation, as growing up during the Harlem Renaissance, he was exposed to many of the jazz greats.His images reflected some of the elements of jazz with its interplay among the characters and improvisation of the materials used.More of Romare Bearden’s influential works can be found at  https://beardenfoundation.org/.

 

 

 

 

I’m Always Confused

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 16 Comments

I’m sitting in front of my living room  window, watching it snow … and snow … and snow, devilishly thinking I’m glad I’m retired and don’t have to go anywhere today.

Good day for computer work or craft work or reading a book, right?

I wanted to add a new book to my site for a free download to coincide with the blog I  wanted to post, but I have no idea how to keep track of downloads.

WordPress instructions insists it’s not hard. Just download Google Analytics and connect it to your blog.

Yes. Just like take a sailboat from New Jersey across the ocean to Monaco. Possible, but highly improbable.

I have never been the sharpest tool in the shed, but I’ve always been able to grasp the basics. I’m still a good and careful driver, know how to follow recipes, and set up my Square Reader to take card payments.

But some things are now becoming over my head.

Way over my head.

These days I often have to ask how to do something a few times before I “get it”, which is pretty normal for my age and sparkling mental state. I don’t mind as much as others may.

But I have gotten to the point that it’s almost impossible to understand more complicated things. Football averages plus or minus. How to fix most anything. Adding Google Analytics. It all blurs together like those dizzying whirlpools in bright colors.

Do you ever get this way? What do you do about it?

Some things I plainly give up on. No Pain, No Gain, No Problem.

Some things I ask someone how to do and get the advice I need.

Some things I research on my own and almost figure it out myself.

And some things I just skip.

As I said earlier, I’ve never been the sharpest tool in the shed. On occasion I’ve not even been in the shed. But that’s alright.

I find there is always someone around to help you out — either to do it with you, find someone else to do it, or to pour you a cup of coffee while you deal  about it another day.

Which one will you pick?

 

 

Faerie Paths — Miracles

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My heart has wings and I can fly. I’ll touch every star in the sky. So this is the miracle I’ve been dreaming of.

~ Brothers Grimm, ‘Cinderella’

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Karen Risby

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Karen Risby is a ceramic artist based in rural Suffolk, England.

Risby obtained her degree in Ceramics at Camberwell College of Art, working and living in South London for many years before moving to Suffolk to set up her new ceramic studio.Her work is an extension of her love of drawing, exploring pattern and line using both brushwork and sgraffito, a process that involves scratching back into the painted surface.Risby takes inspiration from nature, myth and story telling.Birds are a prominent feature of her work, often interweaved with landscapes, people and places.

 Risby’s work is hand built and hand painted using porcelain slip, stains and oxides, she fires her work to stoneware.More of Karen Risby‘s ceramics can be found at https://www.karenrisby.co.uk/.

 

 

 

Having Fun?

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Another holiday season  is over. Trees and lights packed away, parts of toys already missing, boxes opened and tossed along with instructions — all part of the Christmas Aftermath.

I myself have been having a riot finding new artists for my Gallery. I have put out feelers and followed leads and opened an art site only to be led down several different paths until I’ve gotten lost and had to send up a balloon for someone to find me.

I often wish there was a way to broadcast my Gallery so that others could find it and wander through gallery after gallery of unique art. Truly unique art.

But this is a personal venture for me, not commercial. I don’t have money to advertise nor connections to those in power to share on bigger and broader blogs and medias. It’s a little guy’s idea in a little guy’s side of the world, which in itself is unique.

I know I’ve said this a dozen times before, but these talents I’ve highlighted are so diversified and so unique they make you step back and say “WOW” and really mean it.

I suppose this Monday blog is turning into a plug for the Sunday Evening Art Gallery. Why not? Friends are the best telegraph systems in the world.

Have your friends go to the sight and pick a gallery and look at all the magic within. We have photographers, glass blowers, calligraphists, painters, collagists, woodworkers, miniaturists, installation artists, surrealists, impressionists, precious stones, acts of Mother Nature, clock makers, shoe designers, ceramicists, furniture designers, and florists.

What more art could a person want?

Come browse around one evening if you’re bored. Tell your friends. Request your favorite artists.  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and there’s so many unique directions to wander!

Maria Sibylla Merian

 

Amber Cowan

 

 

Aso Shiho

 

Leonid Afremov

 

Paperweights

 

Louise Bourgeois

 

Sergio Bustamante

 

Salt Thrones

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Louis Armstrong

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Louis Daniel Armstrong (1901 –1971), nicknamed “Satchmo”, was an American trumpeter and vocalist.

He is among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several eras in the history of jazz.Armstrong grew up in dire poverty in New Orleans, Louisiana, when jazz was very young.As a child he worked at odd jobs and sang in a boys’ quartet. He was sent to the Colored Waifs Home as a juvenile delinquent, and it was there he learned to play cornet in the home’s band. Playing music quickly became a passion; in his teens he learned music by listening to the pioneer jazz artists of the day.Armstrong advanced rapidly: he played in marching and jazz bands, and in the early 1920s he played in Mississippi riverboat dance bands.

The young Armstrong became popular through his ingenious ensemble lead and second cornet lines, his cornet duet passages (called “breaks”) and his solos.Armstrong developed a way of playing jazz, as an instrumentalist and a vocalist, which has had an impact on all musicians to follow.He made his greatest impact on the evolution of jazz itself, which at the start of his career was popularly considered to be little more than a novelty.With his great sensitivity, technique, and capacity to express emotion, Armstrong not only ensured the survival of jazz but led in its development into a fine art.

More of Louie Armstrong’ s history and music can be found at https://louisarmstrongfoundation.org/ and https://www.mosaicrecords.com/best-jazz-recordings-louis-armstrong/.

 

 

 

Faerie Paths — Making Art

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Amy Brown

 

Don’t think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.

~ Andy Warhol

 

 

Push the Button!

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Our first snowstorm of of the year hasn’t come our way yet  to lock me inside and force me to play checkers with Creativity, but I see her walking around the living room holding the box with the pieces above her head anyway.

What am I waiting for?

This usually is the time of year I get sparked with new creative ideas. Things to continue, things to research, things to improve. Things to get rid of. I  always keep in mind my energy and attention levels, but at this early part of the month there’s no reason not to feel like Florence Griffith Joyner sprinting through the 100 meter run.

You can have a LOT of energy sitting on your sofa or at your kitchen table, right?

I try and put my new ideas behind washing the kitchen floors and rearranging my linen closet, both of which are numero uno on my work place list.

But I’m also thinking of introducing a new Angel Tear to my offerings, switching some beads that didn’t work well with ones that will, look for maybe one more craft show this summer, look into days I can take my grandkids camping,  putting all my downloaded music on one hard drive, and researching a 42nd anniversary vacation to Paris and Rome.

Which comes first?

Does it matter?

Why do I get so pumped up about things I may or may not do? Why do I set myself up for failure because anything could happen at any moment and change the plans of my world?

I do it because it’s fun.

I love to dream. I love to pretend. I love to walk through other’s imaginations by reading their books and viewing their paintings and flipping through their scrapbooks. 

Maybe its because once you get through your first big blow in life, nothing is the same, and the best way of healing is to find your joy button and push it as often as you can.

The sound may not be the same: the song may have changed, the pitched lowered, the warble increased, but it’s the same joy button you’ve always had. It’s always there, no matter how much you try and ignore it or belittle it or say you don’t deserve a button.

Sorry, folks. Everyone has a joy button. And the best way to make it through this life (and the next) is to push that button as often as you can.

The world deserves you.

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Rick Eggert

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Rick Eggert is a master glass artist renowned for his captivating abstract sculptures.

Born in Southampton in 1974, Eggert  spent his early childhood in New York, then later moved to Vermont, where he began working in glass.The artist received his BFA in Glass Sculpture from the Rochester Institute of Technology in upstate New York.His  glasswork is smooth and chic, slightly more than whisps of glass and tips on solid bases.Eggert use a glass base that uses high quality sand but is standardized to allow the use of a wide range of colors.All the materials are places in the furnace and heated to 2400 F.Once it cooks it is cooled down to 2100 F where he gathers it onto metal rods and creates his masterpieces. To this day he continues to be an avid student of the natural world around him.In awe of what he discovered during his travels, Eggert encapsulates these experiences into his extraordinary glass work.More of Rick Eggert‘s beautiful glass works can be found at https://www.rickeggert.com/ and https://shawgallery.com/artist/rick-eggert. 

 

 

One Peek Backwards to Christmas — The Poetry Slam

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I spent the past few mornings reading past blogs of my friends and future friends, and was not disappointed.

I love Hit and Run’s Chickies and their poems. So much fun exploring their world.

Come take a look at their Christmas poem — The Poetry Slam — and find a smile on your face!

 

My name is Charlie
I think it’s short for something else
like Charleen
but everyone has called me Charlie for so long
I’m not sure
anyway
my poem is about
how weird life is
not just at Chickmas
but all the time
and yes
I’m the head of the
Philosophy Committee

……………(more)

Another New Years Day Post

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Ahhhh…. Another New Year!

Blogs today will be filled with New Year aspirations, resolutions, regrets, and pronouncements. New Year, New Change, New Chance, New Beginnings, blah blah blah.

Trying to always be one step above and ahead and in a seperate dimension from other New Years Day blogs, I’m going to post pictures of what New Years Day was like 100 years ago.

1924.

I feel like I’ve been around since 1924.

But I digress.

For those of you who have to work New Years Day, here’s to you. I’ve worked many NYDays.  Drink your juice. Carry  on.

For the rest of you, have a cup. Get the fuzz out of your head. A new year awaits!  Tomorrow…...

Vogue Magazine 1924

 

 

Brooklyn Bridge, 1924

 

Advertising, 1024

 

Miss Ruth Malcomson, Miss America, 1924

 

Sign, 1924

 

1924-S Silver Peace Dollar

 

Around the World Cruise. Belgenland.

 

The Thief of Bagdad movie, 1924

 

Olympics Games, 1924

 

First Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, 1924

 

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Frank Owen Gehry

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Frank Owen Gehry is a Canadian-American architect, residing in Los Angeles, California.

Dancing House, Prague, Czech Republic

 

Born in Canada in 1929, Gehry attended the University of Southern California and the Harvard University Graduate School of Design.

Binoculars Building (Chiat/Day Building), Venice, California.

 

Gehry is among the most acclaimed architects of the 20th century, and is known for his use of bold, postmodern shapes and unusual fabrications.

Museum of Pop Culture, Seattlle, Washington

 

His selection of materials lend some of Gehry’s designs an unfinished or even crude aesthetic.

Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain

 

Use of corrugated steel, chain-link fencing, unpainted plywood, and other utilitarian or “everyday” materials was partly inspired by spending Saturday mornings at his grandfather’s hardware store.

New York at 8 Spruce Street, New York City

 

This consistent aesthetic has made Gehry one of the most distinctive and easily recognizable designers of the recent past.

Biomuseo, Panama Canal

 

“I am not a ‘star-chitect’, I am an ar-chitect,” he has said. “There are people who design buildings that are not technically and financially good, and there are those who do. Two categories, simple.”

Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles, California

 

More of Frank Owen Gehry can be found at https://www.archisoup.com/frank-gehry and https://www.moma.org/artists/2108.

 

 

Faerie Paths — Heart

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If I create from the heart, nearly everything works; if from the head, almost nothing.

~Marc Chagall (1887-1985)

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Yachts

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Of all the things that man has made, no is so full of interest and charm,
none possesses so distinct a life and character of its own, as a ship.
~ Henry Van Dyke

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Curmudgeon — I Love That Word

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 14 Comments

I do love that old fashioned word. Curmudgeon. A crabby person — especially an older one.

I think Ebeneezer Scrooge was one. Those two hecklers in the balcony on the old Muppet Show were a couple more. Just kinda cranky and out of sorts. 

I call my husband that from time to time.

But I digress.

I am planning on spending my morning reading through other people’s blogs — something I’m behind on. 

I myself am suffering from RSV  (respiratory syncytial virus) that is a potentially dangerous, highly contagious virus that can cause respiratory disease.

Ack, petuwy, Another name for a chest cold. 

I’m not belligerent nor dismissive — I know what I have. And that makes me a curmudgeon.

Don’t feel like writing, reading, watching TV. Didn’t feel like doing yesterday’s dishes either, but necessity dictates.

It lasts for over a week — wheezy, coughy, rumbly. All traits that can apply to a curmudgeon. 

Who is a real pain to be around.

So I  wish you a  marvelous December 27th and  hope that all of your coughs are small ones!

 

 

 

One Last Christmas Art Celebration

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 3 Comments

Well, another Christmas is in the books.

Another weekend of opening presents, watching Christmas movies, too much food, too much drink, too much friends and family and solitary moments. It was all too much, and just as glorious, no matter which way you went.

But I found a blog from 2019 about the Art of Christmas. How delightful! Instead of sending you back that way I thought I’d just copy and paste the  delightful art I found.

Get ready for a magical powerful new year ….

 

Winter Landscape, Caspar David Friedrich

 

Adoration of the Magi, Albrecht Dürer

 

Christmas in Paris, John Delonas

 

Adoration of the Magi, Peter Paul Rubens

 

0Christmas Card, Salvador Dali

 

Be Home for Christmas, Thomas Kinkade

 

Christmas Morning, Thomas Falcon-Marshall

 

Adoration of the Magi, Sandro Botticelli

 

Christmas Card, Andy Warhol

 

Merry Christmas Grandma, Norman Rockwell

 

Snow Scene at Aargenteuil, Claude Monet

 

Charlie Brown Christmas, Charle

 

 

 

 

Merry Christmas Artist-Style!

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 8 Comments

 

No matter where you are this holiday season, here are some artists to make your days Merry and Bright!

 

 

LOVE  YOU  ALL!!

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Isabella Josie

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Isabella Josie‘s millinery journey started with a wedding.

The artist wanted a hat but couldn’t find the right one for her dress.

Josie has always been a crafter, and it felt a natural step to find out how to make a headpiece.Her West Sussex millinery studio in Arundel, West Sussex, is home to her many fantastic millinery creations.

Josie’s millinery incorporates many different techniques and materials, from hand blocking, French beading, flower making, and feather cutting,Whether she starts with a piece of sinamay, lace or felt, it is her ability to play with different materials and techniques that encourages her to create something truly unique that really makes hearts sing.These days. Josie creates handcrafted luxury hats and headpieces for local and international clients, including horse racing events such as Ascot, Cheltenham, Aintree & Goodwood.“Millinery encompasses so many disciplines from sculpture, beading, ribbon work, flower making, design and stitching techniques that there is always something new to discover and learn,” the artist shares.

More of Isabella Josie‘s millinery can be found at https://isabellajosie.com/..

 

 

What Does Santa Look Like?

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What Does Mr. Santa Claus look like? I guess it depends upon who you are …… and where you are.

Santa Claus—otherwise known as Saint Nicholas or Kris Kringle—has a long history steeped in Christmas traditions.

The legend of Santa Claus can be traced back hundreds of years to a monk named St. Nicholas. It is believed that Nicholas was born sometime around A.D. 280 in Patara, near Myra in modern-day Turkey. Much admired for his piety and kindness, St. Nicholas became the subject of many legends. It is said that he gave away all of his inherited wealth and traveled the countryside helping the poor and sick.

Now that you’ve had your history lesson for the year, here’s a few interpretations of the jolly old man:

 

Ded Moroz and Snegurochka (Father Frost and Snow Maiden), Russia

 

Julenissen, Norway

 

Christkind, Nuremberg, Germany

 

Grandpa of Winter, Mongolia

 

Père Noël, France

 

Santa Claus, United States

 

Reyes-Magos, Mexico

 

Kris Kringle, England

 

 Tió de Nadal (Christmas log), Catalonia

 

La Befana, Italy

 

Jultomten, Sweden

 

Sinterklaas, Netherlands

 

TO SANTAs EVERYWHERE — KEEP IT GOING!

 

 

Old Baby = Toddler Baby

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I swear that being sick as a senior citizen is just as bad as being sick as a toddler.

Only with more perked up ears.

Used to be you had a bad cold or the flu you took cold medicine and went to work. Or school. You can afford to miss one or two days, but for the ones that hold on for almost a week — you just can’t afford missing more days.

When I was 40 I would get hit with a bad flu/cold once a year. Chicken soup and bedrest and NyQuil was the answer.

But now that I’m older I have to perk up those ears. Pay more attention. Is it Covid-19? The beginning of pneumonia? Statistics say that, after heart disease and cancer, Covid-19 and Chronic lower respiratory diseases are the major causes of death in older people.

First thing most of us senior citizens do is check the internet every hour in case there’s statistical updates and/or signs to look out for. But eventually:

Hear that wheezing? Call the doctor.

Have a fever? Call the doctor.

Can’t get out of bed? Call the doctor.

It sounds like I’m poking fun at getting sick, and half of me is. I never had such knee-jerk reactions to a wheeze or a light headed episode before.

But when I was 40 we didn’t have Covid-19 around, either.

Like toddlers, we often don’t know what’s wrong with us. Boogey nose, tired, cranky — that’s our lives most every day! Allergies? Have never really been tested for them. Sinus problems? Nasal passage is clear — who knows what causes all that post nasal drip?

It used to be that chicken soup and aspirin and Vicks VapoRub would cure anything.

I wish it were that easy these days. 

Don’t ignore your signs. Hey — that means you, too, youngsters around 40 or 50 years old! There’s weird stuff in the air that can strike any of us at any time. Don’t get paranoid, don’t panic — just listen to that voice in your head that says ‘check me out.’ You’ll know it when you hear it.

P.S. I did go to the doctor and my lungs are clear and I have no fever, so suck it up, buttercup….

P.P.S. Where’s my chicken soup?

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Michael Peuster

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Michael Peuster is a stone carver from Idar-Oberstein, Germany.Based in western Germany, the artist is a graduate of Idar-Oberstein Technical School for Gemstone Jewelry Design.Brilliant stone cutter, jeweler and engraver, Peuster has created a stunningly gallery of exquisite works that are real masterpieces.The striking realism of carved of gemstone sculptures is the result of many years of work, practice, and talent of the jeweler.Trained as a goldsmith and gem cutter, Peuster works with many different types of gems – agate, opal, amethyst, beryl, quartz, crystal, and others.Most of the work by the German master is dedicated to rendering faces in a host of forms: Cameos, low relief carvings, which project only slightly from the surface on which they are carved; and reverse intaglios, carvings etched into the backs of polished gems then painted with oils to produce lifelike images with a 3-D effect. “A carving will be around longer than any photo. Think about the images we have from antiquity. They are carvings,” Peuster said.“These gemstones will have the same beauty in a thousand years.”More of Michael Peuster‘s exquisite carvings can be found at https://nasvete.com/german-stone-carver-michael-peuster and https://gemstone-engraving.com/.

 

 

Monday Morning Wake-Up Call (repost)

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 1 Comment

David Kanigan

Reading my Reader like a good granny this morning, I came upon David’s post, Monday Morning Wake-Up Call. These posts always “get” me in one way or another. 

Today’s post gave beautiful words to those flashes of feelings we acknowledge but don’t explain — to myself or others. Not like this.

I think it’s time to sit down now and then and actually explain what it is about rain or evenings or kids laughter or whatever that make me feel good. PUT YOUR FEELINGS INTO WORDS!

 

Live & Learn, David Kanigan

Monday Morning Wake-Up Call

“I loved the rain as a child. I loved the sound of it on the leaves of trees and roofs and window panes and umbrellas and the feel of it on my face and bare legs. I loved the hiss of rubber tires on rainy streets and the flip-flop of windshield wipers. I loved the smell of wet grass and raincoats and the shaggy coats of dogs. A rainy day was a special day for me in a sense that no other kind of day was–a day when the ordinariness of things . ………..(more)

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Otto Dix

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Wilhelm Heinrich Otto Dix  (1891 – 1969) was a German painter and printmaker noted for his ruthless and harshly realistic depictions of German society during the Weimar Republic and the brutality of war.The majority of Dix’s early works concentrated on landscapes and portraits which were done in a stylized realism that later shifted to expressionism.He occupied a lead position in the New Objectivity movement, turning away from the ideas of Romanticism and Expressionism toward a more acidic and non-sentimental perspective to reflect the harsh realities of the interwar German society.Though being a representative of the anti-expressionist movement, Dix incorporated numerous styles into his paintings and etchings.

Although frequently recognized as a painter, Dix drew self-portraits and portraits of others using the medium of silverpoint on prepared paper.As the dark days of the Nazis coming to power grew closer,  his artworks were stripped of value and censored by the regime.He was removed from his position of university professor at Dresden Academy of Fine Arts, and his work was included in Hitler’s EntarteteKunst (degenerate art) show, where all artworks that were not within the lines of the Nazi standards were displayed.After he was stripped of his professorship the Dix family moved to the shores of Lake Constance where he painted mostly inoffensive landscapes.Dix is regarded as a pivotal figure for the New Objectivity movement in Germany, who had the courage to portray the uncensored versions of two harsh wars and a bleak, depraved society in between, using his satirical and grotesque characters and themes to make a direct statement through his artwork.More of Otto Dix’s work can be found at https://www.moma.org/artists/1559 and https://www.theartstory.org/artist/dix-otto/.

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Tom Leighton

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Tom Leighton is an artist, photographer and printmaker with a fascination with architectural structure and form.Trained at the Royal College of Art in London, he expertly layers and manipulates his photographic images, creating work which is both beautiful and provocative.Leighton created a number of photographic series that highlight the immense variety of textures that surround us.Using a keen sense of balance, lighting, and depth, Leighton’s photographs show us the details of life through characteristics such as  fluorescence and variegation.Each gallery is unique to itself, a testament to Leighton’s unending sense of  fascination and creativity.Leighton enhances and manipulates and abstracts, focusing our attention on the intricacy of  layering or detail or composing which has created the effect.This work is beautiful and surprising, and, like them, carries a mark of the surreal.

More of Tom Leighton‘s magical photography can be found at https://www.tleighton.com/.

 

 

Mozart’s Catacombs

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I dig through the catacombs
For something to write
Who am I?
What am I?

Guidelines send me awhirl
Down the vortex and up again
The choice of words
Cutting edge?
Metered Rhyme?

Or should I keep familiar
Witty quips
Fantasy escapes
What words fit?
Which one’s work?

Something white bread soft
A choice once so easy
Now so complex
Who am I?
What am I?

I can keep it safe
Metaphors and clichés
Bedtime stories and morality plays
Who is the narrator?
What is the theme?

I can try abstract
Obscure, Obtuse
Should it make sense?
Rhyme and Shine?
Do I need to always explain?

Or I can go over the top
Madness and mayhem
Fusion and futility
Who am I?
What am I?

I need to start again
Dig deeper into the vault
Turn the box inside out
Should fire now be ice?
Should down now be up?

But in the end
I come to the surface
There never was an answer
What was the point?
What does it matter?

Mozart’s delight has turned
Sour with the morning light
It seems I will never know
Who am I?
What am I?

c2007

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Victor Ekpuk

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Victor Ekpuk is an internationally-renowned Nigerian-American artist based in Washington, D.C.His paintings, drawings, and sculptures reflect indigenous African philosophies of the Nsibidi and Uli art forms.Ekpuk received his Bachelor of Fine Art degree (BFA), Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife, Nigeria, where he first explored the aesthetic philosophies of Nsibidi (a system of symbols or proto-writing developed by the Ekpe secret society that traversed the southeastern part of Nigeria).His knowledge of nsibidi dates back to his childhood through his grandfather, but it wasn’t until he was an art student that he became fascinated with this form of writing.This led to his adaptation, modification and (re)invention of nsibidi into his own signature “script”, which he humorously describes as his “scribblings”.Ekpuk’s artwork is characterized by intricate, large-scale compositions that merge African writing, knowledge and aesthetics with his own artistic expression.The artist invites us to (re)examine simplistic definitions of calligraphy, the boundaries between architecture, sculpture and script, and the distinctions between writing, graphic writing and art.More of Victor Ekpuk‘s unique sculptured writing forms can be found at https://www.victorekpuk.com/.

 

 

 

 

Faerie Paths — Speechless

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designed by TwilightAmbiance

 

Next time a sunrise steals your breath or a meadow of flowers leave you speechless, remain that way. Say nothing, and listen as Heaven whispers, “Do you like it? I did it just for you.”
~Max Lucado

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Carol Emarthle-Douglas

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Carol Emarthle-Douglas considers herself a traditional and contemporary basket weaver.

Emarthle-Douglas’ training and experience came from the Basket Weaving School in Seattle along with native elders from the Northwest Native Basketweavers Association at their yearly gathering.

The artist’s inspiration is taken from her Northern Arapaho and Seminole heritage.

She bases her designs on the Plains style beadwork, ledger art, and parfleche designs from her mother’s tribe and the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma on her father’s side.“It is very important to me to pour a lot of love, respect, and careful attention to details in my work,” the artist explains.“I aim to produce strong baskets and other artwork that are able to stand the test of time.”

More of Carol Emarthle-Douglas‘ amazing hand-crafted baskets can be found at https://www.cemarthleart.com/.

Blogging — What’s the Point?

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………………………ME …………………………

Some people — rather, some bloggers — have a lot to say. And they say it many ways. In many forms.

I suppose that’s why we all blog.

We start blogging to share. Thoughts, poetry, opinions. According to First Site Guide, the estimated global number of blogs is over 600 million.

Think about that. 600 million.

First Site also says 7 million blog posts are published per day.

Seven Million. Seven Milll – yon.

That’s a lot of emoting going around and through the aura of the Earth.

Any opinion you have, any thought, any recipe for success or spiritual growth or even lasagna is being mirrored by millions every day.

It is an easy way to get gratification. To feel that you’re not alone. That someone understand you and shares your passions. Feels you. Gets you.

Now, seven million people post every day, but how many of their postings do you read?

The number dwindles significantly.

Should that matter to you?

I guess it turns into a question: Why do you blog?

There are the standard answers: to share, to grow, to vent. To experiment. To inflame. To soothe. To teach. It’s a way to connect your inner thoughts and outer words with the Earth’s energy level.

What ever your reason, it’s the mere fact that you do write that sets you apart from those around you. Not a big separation, mind you — just a  crack in the consciousness of the space around you  that takes your inspirations and experiences one step further.

I guess the purpose of this blog this morning is to tell you not to get disappointed if few read what you have to say. 10,000 followers does NOT mean that 10,000 people wake up and read you every day.

It just means you’ve become an outlet to someone else’s plug into the world.

I truly believe that if you can encourage one person, give an invisible hug to one person, your purpose has been fulfilled.

And that should make you feel better as a human being.

Don’t be afraid to share yourself.  Someone may need you!

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Joana Vasconcelos

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Joana Vasconcelos is a French-Portuguese sculptor and multimedia artist known for her large-scale installations that demonstrate a feminist perspective and comment on cultural tradition and consumerism.Vasconcelos studied at the Centro de Arte & Comunicação Visual in Lisbon.The artist plucks basic items from reality and repeats them on an unprecedented scale to form the bones of something utterly different.She sees our belongings — everything from pots and pans to wheel rims and  fabrics to pianos and laptops  —as personal, ready-made building blocks for publicly-attuned art.Best known for her outsized, tongue-in-cheek sculptural installations, Vasconcelos often humorously takes on issues ranging from gender identity to consumerism. Her artwork assaults the senses with luxurious gigantism and operatic overtones, but they also resonate with something deeper than contemporary culture.Asked for advice for young artists, Vasconcelos says, “Never give up. Every time someone tells you to give up, just carry on.”More of Joana Vasconcelos‘ incredible installations can be found at www.joanavasconcelos.com

  

Perspective

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What do you think when you view this Photo?Or this one?This one?Or how about this one?

Or this one?

To those who lived in the early 1900s, these pictures were merely reflections of the times. Halloween. A circus. People having fun.

But to us imaginative people of the 2023s, these images are downright creepy.

Take the first picture.. This pic showed up on a Facebook feed, and I couldn’t help but do a double take. Is this a mom in a Halloween costume? A nod to the goat/deer goddess of the woods? Do they even know the antlered dudette is there?

Selection number two: a ventriloquist. Simple throw-your-voice entertainment. But what kind of dummy is this dummy? Was the dummy supposed to have a clown face? A kinda beat up one at that?

The third one. Clowns were a big thing at the turn of the century. This is the famous Lon Chaney posing for a picture from 1924. This is supposed to be a friendly clown. Really? With that hair? That squished body? Would you want your kids to go up and hug him?

The fourth one. Innocent trick-or-treaters. Wearing tightly pulled rubber masks. Just hanging around. Do they  look adorable to you? Loveable? Innocent? Do they even know what they look like?

The fifth one. A crying baby head with a mouth bigger than Lake Michigan. Who would traumatize their kid making them hug something like that?

We are all victims of our own generation. What was normal a hundred years ago is often unfathomable to those of us in the 2023s. Who would dress their kids like that? Think that the uglier the better? Of the photos I didn’t post, why did the whole community wear gas masks? Take pictures with their dead relatives? Crucify someone to the wall to help them overcome mental illness?

I know we do the same these days. With monster movies and CGI and special effects, the past can’t hold a candle to modern imaginations. War, shootings, starvation, all carry over generation to generation. Our ability to scare, terrorize, mind-fu%k and destroy people and the planet has never been easier.

But that’s not the point.

What we think creepy they thought funny. Or normal. I imagine they would feel the same way about today’s pierced eyebrows or stiletto heels.

You think our world is weird?

The world has always been weird.

 

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Larysa Bernhardt

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Larysa Bernhardt, an artist based in Missouri, creates brilliant colorful moths by using old tapestries.The moths often showcase beautiful images of historical people, birds, animals, and flowers on their wings.The idea for this unlikely art form came from Bernhardt’s longtime fascination with nostalgic textiles. The artist began by collecting vintage textiles, including silk tapestries and wool, and was interested in analyzing and unraveling their histories, taking an interest in how creatures, such as moths, often inhabit such materials.To ensure they stayed in good condition, she habitually checked for moth larvae in the folds of the cloth.This ritual triggered the idea of merging the delicate cloth fabric with its natural “enemy.”As a result, the artist also discovered a new love and appreciation for the winged insect and says she is inspired by the way moths tirelessly and fearlessly reach for the light. Bernhardt learned the skill of turning tapestries into art works from her mother, just like she learned it from hers.

 

More of Larysa Bernhardt‘s fascinating tapestry moths can be found at https://www.larysabernhardt.com/.

 

 

Silly Saturday with my Friends

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Watching it snow outside my front window, readjusting my snuggly grey blankie on my lap, I’m wondering where this blog entry should go.

I really DO want to write something, but it’s bleak and depressing outside, leaving very little room for ambition or creativity.

Bring in the Kitties and Puppies.

These two staples never fail to bring a smile to grumpy faces, including mine. There are plenty of other days to be creative, artistic, and cosmic — today is more of a reflective, movie, good book, pet-your-pet kinda day.

I hope you have one of these days soon. They really do recenter you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Michel Delacroix

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Born in 1933 in Paris, Michel Delacroix is a prominent French painter known for his naïf art style (art created by a person who lacks formal education and training), often depicting scenes of Paris in a whimsical and childlike manner.Delacroix’s subjects include street scenes of Paris and other nearby areas of France set during his childhood during the Nazi occupation.

Delacroix began his artistic career by studying at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris.Later, he worked in various artistic fields including graphic design before dedicating himself fully to painting. Delacroix has created a Paris full of magic and atmosphere that holds one’s imagination as it travels back in time.
The works are renowned for their graceful balance of the earthy and the urban, the cosmic and the ordinary.

In 1994, Delacroix was named an Official Artist of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games and commissioned to celebrate the 1996 Games in an oil painting Titled “Atlanta 1886-1996.”

More of Michel Delacroix’s lovely paintings can be found at https://www.artlex.com/artists/michel-delacroix/ and https://www.artnet.com/artists/michel-delacroix/.

 

 

Faerie Paths — Dark Universe

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I have seen the dark universe yawning
Where the black planets roll without aim—
Where they roll in their horror unheeded,
Without knowledge or lustre or name.

The Haunter of the Dark
H.P. Lovecraft

 

 

Don’t Go There

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Don’t go there.

That can be said of many things. Standing water during a flood. Desolate houses in the dark woods. Do not cross yellow warning tape.

I also use that phrase for memories that like to hang around in my head too long.

It’s not that I have not acknowledged these experiences — as a matter of fact, I think I’ve over-felt and over-thought many things in my life.

But I find that, on a day to day basis, I am better off closing those doors more often than not. 

If you have a wandering mind like I do, it’s easy to start with one thought, one emotion, then, instead of acknowledging and letting it go, you let it sit and simmer and steam and overcook in your psyche until you are sick to your stomach.

I think that’s what anxiety attacks are all about.

Thinking and over-thinking doesn’t work at all. We all know that. Past events are just that. In the past. You can’t change one damn thing.

But still, it’s like opening that big oak door just a little. Not much — just a crack. Just so you can get a little peek, hold onto just a little memory.

Some of us handle that little peek just fine. But for others, all you need to do is open the door a crack and, like a raging flood, everything comes pushing through at one time, and before you know it you’re dealing with pain and angst and confusion you already thought you’d handled.

So for me, the smart thing to do is to say Don’t Go There.

I say it in a nice way. Not a nasty, told-you-so way, but in an easy, best-friend-and-protector kind of way. I find a way to distract my thoughts and funnel them into more of a “today” moment or a “tomorrow” moment. 

The forces that be understand that. They have no problem with acceptance and distraction. They know I’ve learned. I’ve grown. I’ve survived. I don’t need a constant reminder.

My age is a constant reminder of the long path I’ve left behind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Telephones

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Mr. Watson – come here – I want to see you.”

~ Alexander Graham Bell

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Stéphanie Kilgast

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Stéphanie Kilgast is a contemporary French artist known for her intricately detailed works using discarded materials, trash, and, recently books.Born in 1985 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, the artist currently resides in Vannes, France.Her recent pieces explore incredible biodiversity utilizing books as her canvas.She constructs delicate mushrooms, blooming flowers, and colorful coral in painstakingly detailed miniature environments as a vivid reminder of the impact humans have on the environment and the tenacity of nature.Millions of titles are published each year in the U.S. alone, meaning billions of individual copies—a vast number of which eventually end up in landfills.Kilgast draws attention to these discarded objects by giving vintage editions new life.Inspired by natural forms, Stéphanie Kilgast’s artwork is an ode to nature and its current biodiversity.“With my choice of bold and vibrant colors, I offer a cheerful post-apocalyptic world,” the artist shares.“While I talk about a heavy subject, the disastrous impact of human activities, I also wish that people leave my work with a feeling of happiness and hope, and keep fighting.”More of Stéphanie Kilgast’s delightful creations can be found at https://www.stephaniekilgast.com/.

 

 

Be Thankful Every Day

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Many of us carry around a lot of pain inside. 

Some of it physical: our bodies have started acting up and there is not much we can do to stop it.

A lot of it is internal: we have lost loved ones,  family members and friends.

We suffer emotional pain from war, hatred, and famine. It hurts even more because most times there’s nothing we can do about it.

It never seems to stop.

But there is always room to be thankful.

Today — and every day.

Our blessings really outweigh our pains, even if we fail to see that on a daily basis.

This Thanksgiving, don’t underestimate the amount of your burdens. But don’t let them turn you away from the hope and beauty around you.

Somewhere a happy baby is being played with. Somewhere there is sunset on a lake and snow on the slopes. Someone somewhere is falling in love, getting married, saying “I love you.” Someone is growing old with someone else, dancing to Glenn Miller or Sting or Alan Jackson.

Someone is giving a hug to someone who needs one, someone is getting rocked to sleep, someone is wishing on a star.

There is a lot to be thankful for. This Thanksgiving, next Thanksgiving, and every day in between.

Find a way to be happy this wonderful day. 

No one deserves it more than you.