SPEAKING OF ART

ARTSPEAK

If Art would only talk it would, at last,
reveal
itself for what it is, what we all burn to
know.
As for our certainties, it would fetch a
dry yawn
then take a minute to sweep them
under the rug:
certainties time-honored as
meaningless as dust
under the rug. High time, my dears, to
listen up.
Finally Art would talk, fill the sky like
a mouth,
clear its convulsive throat while
flashes and crashes
erupted as it spoke — a star-shot
avalanche of
visions in uproar, drowned by the
breathy din
of soundbites as we strain to hear its
august words:
“a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w
 x y z.”



COMING TO THAT: POEMS BY DOROTHEA TANNING (Graywolf Press, $15) is a second poetry collection by a painter and sculptor who celebrated her 100th birthday last year. Ms. Tanning was married to the artist Max Ernst and is often taken for a Surrealist, though she went her own way with art that’s dreamlike but also firmly reality-based, socio-politically attuned and bittersweet.

 - Roberta Smith

 

 

From the New York Times article Holiday Gift Guide For Art Lovers, Volumes meant to Awe and Inspire.  November 25, 2011



SPICE & GOOD CHEER

Wishing you a delicious holiday

Happy Thanksgiving!

BLACK DRESS

Recently my husband and I tried a red wine called Little Black Dress.  The title intriqued me as did the label with no sign of a dress - just the hanger.  I have also been interested in the Spanish holiday Dia de Muertos or Day of the Dead.  There is this belief in many cultures and religions where once a year communication exists between the living and the dead.  As I have been exploring this concept along with the Catholic holiday, All Souls' Day,  I have been working on a series of  black slips that seem to morph into dresses as a continuation of my slip series. These small works are on (roughly) 10 x 10 inch square sheets of handmade paper that I get from Taos.  It is luscious paper to work with.  And the series continues to explore presence and absence.

HOLIDAY SHOW

Rocks, Pine & The Sea II
o/c
12 x 12

 Today I will be dropping off two paintings for the Concord Art Association annual holiday show of small works. This show will be held December 1st - 22nd.

Concord Art is one of my favorite art organizations so I try to support them as they do a tremondous job supporting artists. They offer many lectures, programs and workshops of interest for all artists and the community. The community offers their generous support by purchasing the art display at the many exhibits Concord Art organizes.



Tidal Pool
o/c
12 x 12


These two paintings I did this past July in Stonington, Maine.  It was a very unseasonably hot week so painting by the water was refreshing.  A nice thought - summer heat on a frosty morning in November.

LUDDITE DAY

Somedays I feel like a luddite!  I spent most of the afternoon submitting work to the SMFA upcoming sale.  The luddite problems are the results of my computer experiencing several sluggish issues with browsers and not being able to resolve those.  Plus the requirements of the submission process is a tad involved.  Though it pays to read the directions thoroughly.




West Side
watermedia



Circling
watermedia



Red Shears
watermedia


The good news is I finished, but also I had fun selecting the work.  Two years ago I was fortunate to sell some paintings so this year I am able to submit two framed works and six shrinkwraps.   This is a worthwhile event as the sales are split with the school aiding the scholarship funds.  The sale draws quite a crowd of art buyers/collectors and fans.  Inspite of the long submission process I am happy to have another fine venue to show my work.          

NEW STUDIO

Our new studio in Arlington!  I am sharing this space with my friend and artist Wendy Young.  We have 400 square feet!  More details to follow as we settle in to this delightful space. 

MY FIRST COVER

Today in the mail this book arrived: Shadow and Light - A Literary Anthology on Memory, a publication of the Monadnock Writers' Group.  This is my very first cover art for a book!

The opportunity to be featured all happened by lucky chance.  Not only serendipitous luck but this is quite poignant that my artwork would grace a publication dealing with the theme of memory.  This subject is very close to my heart.

This anthology is the sixth publication of the Monadnock Writers' Group and features twelve prose pieces, sixty five poems and several photographs from five other artists. This bounty of writing and art was culled from over 900 submissions all dealing with memory.

I must quote a passage from the book's introduction by Senior Editor Ann Robinson:  If it is true that many first literary efforts are autobiographical—and certainly much of contemporary work is based on self-exploration, requiring the writer to plumb his or her own experience—then we must assume that we have to go back before we can move forward. The challenge lies in retaining the pieces of our past that have shaped and moved us as writers and can inspire our readers, illuminating a pathway from shadow into light.

Whether working as a writer or visual artist this passage resonates with me. 

If you are interested copies can be purchase for $15.00 by visiting their website: http://www.monadnockwriters.org/. 

I owe a special thank you to Tina Rapp and serendipitous moments!