Filling the Well

Yesterday I was fortunate to have a good reason to wander around one of my favorite museums, the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  I haven't been in a few years, but my daughter has a summer art assignment, so we spent the afternoon among all the awe-inspiring works.  I saw some things I don't remember seeing before, and visited some of my old favorites.

Among these were the European sculptures and paintings.  When you head to that wing, you walk through the hallway with all the Rodin sculptures.  This one, depicting Adam after the fall, is so powerful in it's tormented strength, agony, and despair.  

After being amazed by the emotions expressed by Rodin in bronze, I headed into the Impressionist rooms and absorbed the grace and peacefulness of the Monets, relaxing into the soft reflections and soothing pastels.

Then I was uplifted by the playfulness and beauty of the Renoirs and Degas.

 Finally, I stood rapt in front of the van Goghs.  The intensity and passion behind those thousands of flickering brushstrokes make his paintings almost shimmer.  It's hard to tell in these photos, but the skies and backgrounds are filled with dashed swirling brushstrokes that make the paintings come alive.  I'm more astounded every time I see them.  His subject matter is often so ordinary - a cypress tree, two browned and drying sunflower heads, a pair of old, worn shoes.  But they're treated with such love and care that they become extraordinary through the filter of his brush and paint.

This one below was my favorite this time.  Again, such simple subject matter - an ordinary family, a farmer at work in the garden in spring, a child taking her first steps.  The passion and emotion expressed in the father's open arms, the child's delight in this great accomplishment, the beauty of the light shimmering on the trees and making their cottage glow.  All of this conveyed without facial expressions but with simple gestures and postures and the soft dreamlike colors.  Just breathtaking.

After being sufficiently awed by van Gogh, I headed down to see some American art.  I was particularly interested in seeing the collection of Tiffany glass after having just read Clara and Mr. Tiffany by Susan Vreeland.  This historical fiction novel is the story of Clara Driscoll and her female coworkers who worked in a division of Tiffany studios, designing and creating many of the extraordinary windows and lamps but never given much credit.

The windows are displayed beautifully, lighted from behind, and it was great to get close up to see all the different types of glass used.  Tiffany had a glass factory in Queens, NY, where large sheets of glass were made in different colors and special effects were achieved by mixing and swirling colors, make some with striations, swirls, blotches, and other textures to resemble tree bark, water, rocks, and mountains.  Sometimes pieces of glass were layered to get just the right effect.

According to the book, Clara Driscoll came up for the idea to make lampshades out of stained glass.  Nature was a huge source of inspiration for her and she made lamps with dragonflies, butterflies, and a variety of flowers.  This is her water lily lamp, with the stems cascading down into a froth of blossoms that seems to float at the bottom.  Having an irregular edge like that was very time consuming to create.  And the bases were sculptures in themselves to coordinate with the theme of the shade - this one depicts lily pads.  Brilliant!

Here's another window, with iris and flowering dogwoods.  Spectacular!

Tiffany also had men who created fantastic vases and goblets by blowing colored glass.  This one is called the Peacock vase because of the feather motif on the fan-like top of the vase (it's difficult to see in this photo, because it was lit from behind and you're not allowed to use a flash).  It's amazing to think that the artist started with a lump of hot colored glass and was able to achieve those very fine feathery lines to resemble a peacock feather and work it into such a graceful, delicate shape.  And it's all attributed to Louis Comfort Tiffany, although he wasn't really the one doing the work!

One part of the museum that I visited for the first time was the furnishings of the American wing.  I wandered through rooms and rooms decorated in various styles depicting different time periods, from early colonial up through the civil war and into the 20th century.  Much of it was very ornate and heavy, with velvet and lace draperies, dark, heavy carved furniture upholstered in dark velvets.  It seemed very stuffy and uncomfortable to me.  Then I came upon the Frank Lloyd Wright room.

I never really understood the appeal of all those straight lines and spare furnishings until I saw it in comparison to the clutter of the previous rooms.  It literally seemed like a breath of fresh air, with the clear light coming through the many windows, the use of natural stone and warm (but not dark) wood.  Now I get it!

So now that I've filled my creative well, I've made some good progress on my own simple art.  I've selected all the book parts, decided on their placement, and glued or fused them all down.  I've even done a bit of hand stitching.   I like that the piece is made up of squares and rectangles, which references a quilt, although I've used paper.  It looks very architectural, and as I was working on it, I felt like I was building it, using the rectangular spines as columns and text pages as blocks.  I've stitched some lines to indicate windowpanes and the door is the hard cover of an old Reader's Digest Anthology titled "Getting the Most Out of Life."  The steps leading up to the door are titled "Making a Habit of Success" and "Improving Your IQ."

I made a point of selecting titles, words, and a few images that depict the importance and value of the written word, storytelling, libraries, and their importance in a democratic society.  Here are a couple of close-up shots of the stitching and some of the textual details.

I think I'll need to pick up some more pearl cotton in bright colors to hold all the pieces firmly in place and highlight certain things.  I figure I'll keep stitching until I think it's done or until September 8th, whichever comes first!

Shopping Spree!

Thursday evening was FANE's monthly meeting and some members brought the pieces they've started for the Fiber Fall group exhibit.  Needless to say, they were suitably awesome and inspiring, so I went home and jazzed up the surface designs I'd started on my discarded placemats.  I fused on scraps of various sheers and prints, giving it a lot more interest and color.  I still need to stitch everything down, and I'm almost out of one of my favorite variegated metallic threads (it mixes pastel hues of blue and pink with a little gold) so today I took a trip down to JoAnn's Fabrics with all my coupons. 

I went straight to the thread section and picked up what I needed there, plus a few extra colors I might need (all at 50% off).  But I'm in fabric stores so infrequently, I had to wander around and see what they had!  For the most part, I repeated my mantra "Use what you have, use what you have," over and over again in my head, but I did make a few unplanned purchases.  Now that Christmas is over, the stores have already started to feature items with spring colors.  Sometimes I wander around the home decor sections of various stores, wishing I could trash everything I own and start all over with fresh new linens, pretty print canvas storage containers, and other tabletop items like these springy birdcages.

I also had fun looking at the display of miniature elf and fairy homes and yard furniture and accessories for them.  Even though winter hasn't even gotten warmed up yet, it's nice to begin thinking about spring!

On a hook nearby, I saw this cheerful floral print gardening apron.  I've been wanting something like this to carry my clippers, trowel, and other tools in - isn't it great?  It would probably make a nice Mother's Day gift, but rather than wait, I decided to go ahead and pick it up.  Can't wait to wear it!

 As you probably know by now, I love the texture of burlap and its rustic, country-garden appeal.  I came across this pretty printed burlap, below.  The subtle shades of mint green, cream, and yellow in the print are so refreshing!  I was trying to dream up a way I could put it to use in my studio - maybe as a curtain, or chair cover.  Even though I'm not sure what I'll do with it, I had to bring home a yard!

 I stopped at the grocery store on the way home, and look what was waiting for me on my way out!  This spectacular double rainbow stretched completely across the sky, with colors so vibrant, they just glowed!

 Now maybe I can use some of my color and home-decor inspiration to spruce up (and clean up!) my workspace a bit!  It's definitely time for a clear-out and overhaul.  It would be great if we'd get a snow day soon.  I'd stay in and get it all done in one day!

Mini Hike: More Green Inspiration

The weather has been so fabulous lately - sunny, dry, not too hot - that I've been trying to get outside as much as possible.  Yesterday I took Cassie around to our little beach for another swim, but today, we explored Pelton Pond, a short hike in Fahnstock State Park, just off the Taconic Parkway.  It's a manmade pond with beautiful little views around every bend.

I always get into the little landscapes around the base of some trees, where moss looks like a mini lawn and you could just imagine little critters living in the gaps between and under the roots.

As we were walking along, my daughter pointed out this log that looked as if it had been chewed by a beaver.  We looked for a beaver lodge as we trekked all around the pond, but didn't see one.

Still, we kept finding logs that were obviously gnawed by beavers.

Finally, when we had almost come full circle around the pond, there they were!

No sign of the beavers (they were probably napping during the heat of the day) but it's nice to know they're there!

As you can see, Cassie felt pretty good about spotting the lodges!

Despite all the great weather and time spent outside, I've been managing a little time in the studio creating a bamboo grove.  At first, I thought I would make more of an abstract piece with bamboo stems at various angles and thicknesses cutting from top to bottom of the piece (see the third photo in my previous post).  But then I thought a piece with more of a focal point and a more interesting perspective might work better (see the first photo of my previous post).  So I've been cutting and auditioning and playing around.  Here is a preliminary view of the WIP.

Now that I've started and established a method, it's moving along pretty quickly.  Hopefully I'll be able to buckle down and complete it in the next few weeks...

Spring in the Garden

Yesterday was a beautiful day and I was lucky to have planned to meet a good friend for lunch near Watertown, Connecticut, about an hour away.  I left early and stopped at Whiteflower Farms to see what I might find to add to my shady backyard garden.

The snowdrops and other little bulbs have already bloomed and died back, but other things are beginning to sprout up and leaf out.  It's so nice to see green again!  In front of the large gazing ball, you can see a bleeding heart plant already several inches tall.

Here are some muscari about ready to pop.

And some hostas beginning to leaf out (hope the deer don't find them!).

I moved the clematis, below, from another place in our yard late last summer and it is already beginning to climb the iron pergola.  It's so nice to see so much growth this early in the season!  I'll be so excited if it actually flowers!

In another part of the yard, ferns are already beginning to unfurl.

Here are the new plants I got at Whiteflower Farms.  They are all shade loving and will add some much needed texture and color.  I think I'll wait a bit before I put them in the ground.  Those deer are still way too hungry!

This weekend, the FANE show at the Mahopac Public Library is opening (I help hang tomorrow) and it is also the annual World of Quilts show in Somers, where we will display our cubes (still need to put mine all together).  I'll take lots of photos to share next week!

More Spring Color Therapy

On my way to the grocery store this afternoon, I stopped into the Carmel Flower Shop to smell the roses - and tulips, and ferns, and all the other beautiful growing things!  This is what greeted me when I walked in the door:

Isn't that a sight for sore eyes?  Here are some other beautiful displays:
Planter baskets...

Easter bunnies...

and this adorable bird nest planter!

There are many of these lovely apothecary jar terrariums (terraria?) with cute little figurines in them.  Can you see the little hedgehog and ladybug?

The store sells jewelry, scarves, scented soaps, and other gifts as well as these lovely books.

It was like a mini vacation!  

OSilas Gallery Opening Reception

I'm one of those people who has been creative my whole life but is still reluctant to call myself an artist.  But Thursday night at the opening of the "Summer ARTiculated" show at the OSilas Gallery, they gave me this nametag to wear, and I finally felt like one!  The room was buzzing with conversation when we arrived and we began to work our way down to where my piece was hung at the far end of the room.  Once we got there, a complete stranger noticed my nametag and stopped to ask me about my piece, how I created it, what were my underlying ideas.  What a trip!

It was suspended from the ceiling and I have to admit, it really made quite an impact floating there at the end of the room. I was very pleased and humbled at the same time.

I also felt a bit overwhelmed to be included in a group of such accomplished artists.  There was a great variety of styles and media, from oils and acrylics...

to paper collage, sculpture, photography and other fiber art, and each one was impressive.  Unfortunately, my daughters were in possession of the camera, and I did not get shots of any of the pieces I found most remarkable, nor was I able to spend time noting each artist and the names of the pieces (shame on me, I know!)!  For a complete list of participating artists, please click here.

But I did note the name of the artist who created these interesting bowl sculptures.  Her name is Xia Gao and these are part of her "Binary World" collection.  Each one was made up of numbers connected together with simple metal links.  The total effect was stunning.

She also did these pieces that were made entirely of straight pins inserted into the canvas.  As you can see in the photos, she created light and shadow with the intricate placement of the many pins.  The lower photo shows a close-up of the portrait.  Amazing!

My friends Vivien Zepf and Natalya Aikens had work accepted also, but alas, no photos!  If you live in the New York area, it's worth a trip to Concordia College to see the show, which will be up until August 10th.