Thursday, December 27, 2012

Galleries@Moore Interview


Hi Friends!  If you haven't already had enough of me and my ramblings, Moore College just put an interview we did a little while back.  I think they asked some really good questions -- I had a lot of fun answering, especially remembering the 'weirdest thing that ever happened to me in a gallery'.  And its a series so its fun to compare different artists' answers - enjoy.  

Monday, December 24, 2012

Happy Holidays!




Happy Holidays Everyone!  I leave you with these three handmade holiday cards from Calder, Avery and Guston to friends and family.  (They were in a great show I saw a few years ago at the Smithsonian.)  I am off to eat, drink and be merry.

Saturday, December 22, 2012

A semester gone...

As an art teacher of eight children's classes per week (without an art ed degree mind you) I made a sort of private vow to myself that students would come away with a better understanding of the art world and really, in general, the world at large.  Meaning, even though its really fun and easy to make marshmallow snowmen (see below) the large majority of classes need to focus on the seriousness and real importance of art and artists.

On that note we have made Lascaux cave paintings, Greek red figure vases, papier mache sarcophagi, Inuit owls, Chinese ink landscapes, Yoruba beadworks, Mexican tin tiles, Goldsworthy leaf collages, Charley Harper illustrations, Van Gogh night paintings, and Calder circuses, among other things.  I'm not sure that even 50% of what I have attempted to express to them has been understood in words.  But I am very proud of the respect they give their art through their best efforts every class, captured non verbally in the work below:




   















And so even though I know there will be days where the energy just flows right out of the room and all we can muster are edible snowmen, I know the large majority of days we will learn a lot from each other about this crazy business of art making and after a long holiday break, I will be happy to be back.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

A Case for Loving the Inanimate


       

   

                     

    

 

Recently I've been asking myself if it is wrong to love my things.  It all started when I was telling Alex how I admire his mom's ability to let go of things so easily if they break or are lost or left somewhere.  We decided his family almost has this philosophy that it is wrong to love objects.  And then I read this article in which a painter I admire, Kathryn Lynch, talks about how moving is cathartic and makes you a ruthless editor of your things.

But then I walked around looking at the things that I love and decided; no I can defend myself and my love of the inanimate.  First of all, I am a still life painter and have a natural affinity for objects.  And the reason why is because they have always held meaning.  And then I realized something even better -- the reason I am interested in painting my things, or certain things and not other things is because they embody something, whether it be a quirkiness in shape or color or a personal sentiment.  So above is some of the evidence I collected walking around with my camera:

1. Bright yellow (the perfect chartreuse-y yellow) antique thrifted plates I found with my mom.
2. A beautiful little painting given to me by a good friend in my MFA program, Eric Huckabee
3. My odd collection of dishes each given by a different friend, all mismatched perfectly.
4. My great aunt and uncle's old kitchen clock from a farm in Watts county, PA.
5. A vintage recipe from Italy, in Italian, from my aunt Bonnie and my magnetic egg timer. 
6. Artwork from a favorite six year old student and my Barkley Hendricks magnets from PAFA.
7. My antique mushroom prints found on Ebay and sent from Scandinavia, and Nugget's favorite elephant
8. My student print, radio from defunct family store Levinthal's, & cactus from Courtney's wedding shower
9 &10. My Kirsten Fisher sculpture, a good friend from grad school -- fits just perfectly in the windowsill cutout

And so yes, these are just things and everyone's things are from somewhere, but they hold and ignite thoughts in me, just through looking...and that's plenty of reason to justify being kept around in my book.

Saturday, December 15, 2012

PTP Installation Shots






Painting the Periphery is up at Millersville and looks great! (if I do say so myself)  Thanks to all the artists involved and wonderful faculty at Millersville for their help.  It will be open until February 13th, closing reception that day at noon.

Edit: Artists included in the show are:  Evan Fugazzi, Lauren Garvey, Lauren Gidwitz, J. Gordon, Kira Grennan, Mia Herring, Zachary Martin, Sarah Jackson Moore, Derrick Quevedo and myself.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Charley Harper

















I delight in the work of Charley Harper.  Beautiful compositions and color.  They are illustrations that seem so carefully observed from life first and then so utterly changed by his lense on the world.





Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Painting The Periphery Take 2


Yay!  The show I curated is making its second and possibly last stop at Millersville University.  Opens December 13th.