Elfing season

This has been a lot of fun!

Our house has been jumping with ideas and steaming kettles, ribbons, tape and twinkles.

What are twinkles, you ask?
Its a seasonal mix of cranberries, cinnamon, charm and gratitude.

#dyigifts #celebrateonashoestring #mullingspices #puttanesca

Time to reflect

It's the time of year where we're attracted to looking back and looking forward. It seems the calendar for 2020 might be potently laden with hindsight. There has been a lot of struggle going on all over the planet. Even though we live in a period of massive prosperity and un-imagined peace, the news fills us in with the horrors of incarcerated children at our countries borders, as we live sandwiched between them and the sorrow of leaky corporate oil lines trespassing Native American reservations. What can I do?

Politics is such a messy money filled game. I gave thousands of dollars in small increments this year to buoy favorite candidates and causes. It seems never enough and always more to do.
What can I do?

We moved from a southern city to the northeast countryside. From apartment living to managing an old house and a couple acres. We feel new to the neighborhood. I love having the seasons again at my door. I enjoy the folks down the road at the farm, and our friends who swing by to chat and drop off jams, soaps and even driveway salt! How can they ever know how thankful we are? It seems so warm up here!

Every morning Michael and I take an early morning walk. Its a balm to our souls. I also think it has helped us acclimate to the environment. Today, when I saw it was 40 degrees, I thought that I didn't need to wear long underwear! Surely, I am almost native now!!!

Flash sale at the Hunt Library

Hunt Library Art Wall

There is still time to catch the sale of over a hundred works on display on the David M. Hunt Village Library Art Wall. It will come down on the 4th of January. This is the 9th annual benefit for the library. The artists each contributed a 12 x 12 inch work of art that would sell for $100. Whether you have your pocketbook on you or not, it is a fun show to peruse. There is an amazing diversity within the specified format. Its like a playground of local artists and friends all in one space.

by Lori Barker

Platter by Diane Schapira

There are paintings and wall hung pottery, cages and collages, paintings, etchings, and drawings. I was surprised by a Lori Barker purple altered photograph. It is a serene Buddha almost drowned in a thick gold architectural frame. Diane and her husband Joel each have works there. They are an art power couple in our community. Very unpretentious, look to them for a good mix of wit and gravitas.

by Craig Wickwire

 Craig Wickwire was an old colleague of mine. We worked together at Kildonan. Now he is the art department at the Webutuck public school. I know he works hard and his large paintings are impressive. The Hunt Library has a small one (12 x 12 inches) that makes me smile. It has a monumental quality to it. It is a wonder how minds work! Another art teacher friend of mine is Val Valenti. The library has at least 4 of her vinyl records, each collaged with found objects in her whimsical way. Right now I imagine she is in her home in Jamaica, far from the icy Falls Village. She seeks inspiration from the spiritual messengers of the natural world and her work is playful and tropical. Charlie Noyes is another area art teacher. He is with the Hotchkiss school. His painting at the show really captures a sense of place and time of year. Under a grand painted sky, we are made to feel humbled as we stand on the earthy planet.

by Val Valenti

by Michael Gellatly

by Charles Noyes

Of course two of my favorite people to attend any art show with had works there. Michael has a piece that is a combination of various studio media--- baked clay and photography. It takes you into another world. Sue gave one of her summer barn watercolors up. It's a snapshot of neighborhood nostalgia.

by Sue Hennelly

And one of my Favorite art-inspired friends, wild momma, and exceptional teacher is Erika Crofut. Heaven help us, she has given over a glazed platter painted all over in her capricious style. It is a signature piece.

Any of these works would make a wonderful gift for yourself now that the holidays are nearly over.
I have a sewn paper piece inthe show that reminds me of my dad's truism, that "Cat's sell". I really want to help the library stay viable. #supportyourlocallibrary

My sewn paper painting, Cattitude.

 Artworks may be taken upon purchase.  Remaining art will be on display through January 4.  For more information call 860-824-7424 or visit huntlibrary.org. 
David M. Hunt Library, 63 Main Street, Falls Village, CT 06031. 
Hours: Tues & Thurs 10-5, Fri 3-7, Sat 10-1, Sun 11-2.

Crafty tip for the month

Just in time for the Winter Solstice! Here is how to make your own Holiday tree at the last minute
you will need:
    Cardboard...from a large box
    pencil and or marker
    some paint- white of black -with round bristle brush
    a string of Xmas lights
    a blade, like an Xacto knife or box cutter
    an electrical outlet
Steps:
1. Draw in pencil the largest shapes you can, and once you are satisfied with it, go over with marker or black and white paint.
2. Cut out the negativity, I mean the empty spaces.
3. Poke holes in the back where you want the lights to shine through with your knife. Don't make them too big, or the lights wont have that snug fit. A slit is enough.
4. Poke the lights through each slit.
5. Plug into outlet and shine on!!

What is the worst thing you can say to a lady?

1620, painting by Marcus Gheeraerts

I think up there on the list of what is the worst thing you can say, is when someone asks me, "when are you expecting?" I wonder if the regret and angst of the foolish questioner lasts even a fraction of the time that the shame and hurt belonging to the questioned one lasts.
Today the nicest lady asked me that when I was wearing a huge coat and scarf! It was 19 degrees outside and I felt more like an astronaut, with all my layers on, than a young pregnant maiden. I hurriedly reassured her that I was way, way too old to be pregnant! And, not wanting her to feel bad, I even hugged her and forced a laugh. But the rude question swelled in my head as I drove away. Shame filled me for not having a  svelt body that carries clothes like a hangar. I've been exercising daily so, I railed at myself for not dieting, and for even wanting lunch.

1862 Luncheon on the Grass, by E. Manet

It happened earlier this year, last spring when I was touring a museum with my 28 year old son. A museum guard came over and wide-eyed, asked me in broken English when I was due. I was horrified and the dress that, up to then, I had enjoyed wearing, now felt like a cloth sack to be burned.
The worst: is my poor boyfriend, who is left picking up the pieces, and is forced to praise my body, even begging me today to lay on top of him. (I feel sure I would have crushed him flat).
He tries so hard to make me feel beautiful.
I think of the saying that you can only be victimized with your permission, and realize that I need a good comeback. Any out there? Any advice?
My advice to you is to NOT EVER ask that question unless you are in the hospital maternity ward.

Craven's New Nude show really is New

This article appeared in the Lakeville Journal's compass magazine December 12, 2019

painting by Bruno Leydet

Andrew Craven’s show is not your Grandmother’s nude show. It is smartly curated to include a dozen diverse artists who work with an evolving range of nude subjects spanning across the spectrum of skin tones and gender. The word “New” is important for the show’s title, the “New Nude”. For here, the antique fantasy of the passive odalisque in stuffy mausoleums is nowhere in sight. Different perspectives, new materials, shadows, and models that have a tendency to hide challenge the gaze of the viewer. In an era of selfies and “sell me” social postings, these subjects are not craving to be seen, instead they are caught passing through, and in self-reflection and it is the viewer’s unconscious input that haunts the work. There can be no complacency walking through the show.

In cropped environments of textures, the artist’s hand skillfully deconstructs the nude subject. She/He doesn’t lie down. There is a generous supply of chaos with fragments of clothing, skin and thoughtful composition. Each piece of artwork in the room teases.

In Mickalene Thomas’ “Left Behind 2 Again”, a de-saturated naked woman with only one spike-heeled mule showing is surrounded with animal, botanical, and geometric pattern swatches. Her shaded eyes, hidden feet and hands lend a guarded feel, as if she could quickly retreat into the setting of abundant fabrics and drapery. She is claiming her space. Diamonds and stripes form a flag behind her. A gold brocade fragment frames the left side of the image. It is a powerful piece that gives the model agency in the setting that redefines the art historical trope.

Who is looking at whom? In some works there is a definite peering through a peephole effect, yet most of the work seems to relate a feeling of internal privacy.

The subjects can seem lost in thought. Their gaze is internal and our gaze is drawn into their puzzling world. Erwin Olaf, a Dutch photographer of worldwide acclaim, orchestrates scenes of emptiness and longing inspired by the masters. In his “Keyhole #2” a European styled woman, seemingly spied on, clutches her deco baubles and turns away from the viewer. There is emotion under her skin.

Troy Michie, young American collage artist hailing from Texas and Yale grad school, investigates identity and power in his life-size work, “La Bicicleta”. His cornered image of a man with three eyes on a bike is portrayed so intriguingly complex, that the collage keeps you looking. It is a mischievous puzzle of design.

Jeremy Kost’s “Adam Upstate” is a collage of Polaroids that fragment the small exposed figure and lends significant weight to the details of the landscape.

It feels as though the nudes in Craven’s show must deal with the sensitivity of being searched for.

One of the two 2019 Whitney Biennial artists in the show, Paul Mpagi Sepuya presents an image, called “Mirror study”, that negates the nude, the artist and the viewer. Using mirror shards, drapery and taped collage, he teases us to piece the scene together. It is a symphony of whites, warm to cool, with the artist’s black elbow and hand running like a snake in the background. We are given just enough, and then some.

Bruno Leydet, a Canadian painter, juxtaposes patterns, textures, tamely cropped nude males and florals. Even ensconced in their tight settings, the expressions in both of his portrait paintings show the nude model to be miles away.

Local Washington CT author and artist John Frederick Walker is given a table laden with one-of-a-kind altered books. Most have the pages ripped out and collaged nude photos of females, heavily cropped, interact discreetly and audaciously with the spine and gutters of the book. They are sculptural statements of handy transactions of porn through the ages.

There is another table of fabulous art books not to be missed. The monographs on each of the artists in the show will teach you more about them and put them in context. If you ask really nicely Craven might show you the hidden extra drawing among the show.

The show will be up till mid January.

 
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On Being a Good Hostess for Heartbreak

Haunting, acrylic on panel

These festive holidays of light actually fall on some of the darkest days of the year. Every year, as Christmas and Hanukkah approaches, many people see the world like George Bailey in “It’s a wonderful Life”. They feel that they just can’t do it. There is so much stress, from going off diets to diving deep in the red with finances. On top of it, we may have attended more than our fair share of funerals. My aunt, (who was a veritable Christmas elf) passed away at the end of November and a friend lost her grown son to the ultimate moments of depression.

Do I need to go into all the reasons people might not be as happy as those perfect family units in the advertisements? Some people can’t handle it. Perhaps a loss, a breakup, some past trauma, the political divide, the seasonal light disorder, or insufficient funds are to blame. In a season of ritual gathering, pressure gifting and belting carols, we can feel alone and unworthy heading into the holidays.

Throwing a party comes with all sorts of lists and preparatory steps. May I suggest that we not forget the friend suffering depression at this time? Gatherings can seem full of false cheer and guests may feel as if divided by an invisible wall looking in.

Have on hand simple items like tissues, treats, small oranges and offer your friend moments of stillness. I always try to have wine, nuts, assorted teas and fruit to share. Small oranges can remind us of brighter times with their sunny color and sweet taste. I keep a few handy to pass to the homeless on the street corners.

How can we be here for each other? The biggest gift of all the holiday gifts, the one the corporations don’t intend us to remember, is the gift of our attention. Speak frankly and share memories. Listen in stillness and try to understand. Don’t tell someone depressed to “cheer up”, but be honest and unflinching with your concern. When people are grieving and mourning, it’s okay to remember together and even laugh with the tears. It is important to talk and listen with respect. Everyone’s depression is different. If the discussion gets heated and aggressive, try saying, “Lets talk about that another time.” And walk away. Moving the body is always good, so an invitation to walk around the block can be just the ticket to brighten some ones mood. Some depressed folks appreciate a sad movie or a depressing book, like The Bell Jar by Silvia Plath. Self-help books should be shared sparingly. Often it’s a double-edged sword, leading to additional feelings of inadequacy.

Art and music can be used to set a mood that embraces the idea of small joys making big holidays. Song lists can cover a range of holiday genre and eras. So often I am not truly in the present moment unless I am painting a picture. For me paintings capture the fleeting moment that enriches my appreciation for little things, like sunlight and a good mug of tea. Looking at a work of art can bring wonder to life.

Lit Candle, sewn paper painting

Don’t forget the tissue box.