Friday, January 22, 2021

Valentine's day Crafting project with "Art Angels" in your own home

Are you looking for something fun and magical to do on Valentines day? 2pm on Sunday, February 14th join us on line for a little dreamy fun.



Art Angels, my dear friend Lisa Marie and I, will present a cozy crafting virtual Valentines event in the privacy of your own home. It is a perfect opportunity for both individuals or couples who would like to manifest the life they've been dreaming of. We will do this by collaging colors, words and images onto a 3D, made from recycled cardboard, bird house or "Love Shack" if you will.

February 14th is the traditional day birds look for their mates and start to prepare a nest. Our crafting session will begin with a short meditation embracing our intentions for our Love Shacks (love birds optional) You will be provided with a template to make a 3D "birdhouse/loveshack", or you can channel your inner architect and fashion one on your own. Then we will treat the surfaces as if they were a vision board! Using magazines, colored paper, pens or any coloring agent you have, we will decorate our "love shacks" with the intention of manifesting all our dreams. This is a powerful move and it really works!

So join us for the fun as we share tidbits and advice while you work! Spaces are limited but you are welcome to do it on your own or have a lover or friends in your own house. This will be fun. In addition, we can guide you with a recipe to make your own love bird sculptures with whatever you have in the kitchen.
Email your interest and Paypal donation to Tillystudio@aol.com, then we will send you the link to join us.


Supplies for everyone: Recycled  thin card board (cereal boxes: preferred)
Scissors, tape, Glue, Colored Tissue paper, Magazines, something to color with.
Dough love bird recipe (upon request)
Cost: $0 - $10.00 Donations accepted

Friday, January 15, 2021

Calendar 2021

 I've been able to print a limited edition of 2021 calendars for purchase this year. Called "Better Late than Never" the thirteen art images are those of mine that transport me to different places. It seemed an obsession with the current lack of our ability to travel freely or make plans. The last year, with the Covid-19 virus, the fiery mean-spirited politics and the intense global weather, was one we all would like to see behind us. There were many silver linings to be sure, but I think it fair to say that it was hard for all of us. So let us start anew together!


The calendar sells for $25 (shipping USA included) and is easily purchased thru Venmo, PayPal or checks in the USPS. Email me directly for yours (tillystudio@aol.com) and be sure to include an address for shipment. 


They are shipped in hand printed envelopes carrying the inspiring images of flight.


January features an acrylic painting done on site, plein aire. It is a snow covered creek at the edge of our property. In civil war times, (1870's), the creek fed a saw and gristmill, upon whose crumbling foundations I sat when I painted this. I love the way the water eats at the snow bank, and in the spring and summer we watch for red efts and listen for frogs. It must have been a lot busier 150 years ago. Hard to imagine but great to try!

February features images from my dad's sugar shack- another place that for three weeks of the year, transports you to an alchemists den. He stokes the fire under the evaporator and after the sap boils we pour the sweet syrup into bottles!

These are just two of the 13 works of art included in this year's calendar. Supplies limited. Hoping to sell out by the month's end.


 

Wednesday, January 13, 2021

Why I collect art?

 To be totally truthful, I can't answer this.

But there is some history and a flash point I can share.

I've grown up among artists and always enjoyed walls, cabinets, shelves and lawns full of art. My parent's friends and my grandparents all had amazing collections or were creators themselves. So there was always lots of art around. Not only did it tone the atmosphere of the settings, but a surplus lay stacked under beds, lined racks in the basement and moldered in rolls up in the attic. 

Then there was my Selina Trieff moment. 


I was 20 years old and living in Boston, and it was a weekday I had off of my gallery job. Suddenly, with no plans, I took the Provincetown ferry out to Cape Cod. Strolling along the shops, I found my way into the Berta Walker Gallery where there was a show of oil and gold leaf portraits by Trieff, a mysterious artist who lived and worked from 1934 to 2015. Looking at the picture above, a painting I eventually had to buy, I had a visceral reaction: shivers on my limbs, a spinning in my head. I left the gallery for fresh air and spent the rest of the afternoon looking at other pieces of art in other galleries. No matter what I was looking at, this painting of Trieff's kept floating in front of my eyes! I had to have it. I had fallen in love. Negotiating with the gallery I set up a plan for installments and soon was able to bring her home. It has been almost 40 years and 4 homes since then. I love looking at it everyday. I wonder at the texture and the mark-making, the way her dark shape fills the frame. I wonder at the character, "what is she thinking?". I marvel at her hat. And the eyes! The eyes still look deep inside me and seem to ask me, "what are you thinking?"

This Trieff piece has been joined by a second one, given to me as a gift by one of my sisters, who also owns a delightful sleeping pig painting by Trieff.

Look at the attitude of that Goat!!

There is a movie, Their Lives in Art:Robert Henry and Selina Trieff, available for schools and institutions through Vineyardvideo.org, that I would love to see someday.