Thursday, May 29, 2008

EB and Rachel in Bea's mural on Main St

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Artist on Main St, Bea's mural

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Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Artist on Main Street

A blogger from Omaha, former Gloucesterite Marc asked for some more photos of Main St. Gloucester. So I went for a walk to pick up my lunch and this is what I saw and took pictures of:
this series is called Artist on Main Street.
"Pinkalicious" at The Bookstore, Gloucester MA
(Link under other places)



Sandwiched at Virgilio's (I got the smoked ham on a roll)

THEY SHIP THEIR SANDWICHES! GET THE ST. JOE!

Monday, May 26, 2008

The Creative Life

The Creative Life radio show on http://www.wrfr.org/ so if you have the chance to catch it, listen in. 9-10 am Mondays (eastern Time) US.Today's show will be "Rattling the Bones".

I have listened in a few times and really enjoy the flow of the conversation between these two. There's always some great readings and if you are stuck creatively, you just might catch a spark to get yourself going.

If you would like to know more about this creative couple just click the link for Clarity and Company which is listed under my "other places, blogs etc." .

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

The Clipboard file or from the Archives

drawing 101: when i teach beginners i journey through my roots, revisitng my old teachers as i transmit the knowledge so generously imparted to me. am always a little surprised by the struggle to learn triangulation, plotting, training the hand to follow the eye, keeping the eye on the object and off the picture plane, trusting the hand to follow. and using the point of the pencil instead of the smeary gray mass created when the hand has not yet learned to stay off the drawing surface.

but i like the side of the pencil, says the student. and i say there will be time enough to fool around with various ways of laying down the pencil mark. for now, just learn to see and keep your marks clear with understanding instead of playing with the ambivalent grays.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Ferrini Mirror, or what i did yesterday and today

Ferrini Mirror progress report

ferrini is coming into relief. all of the words have died down, now all there is when i work is the landscape of his visage, the materials at hand. i have run out of gold leaf. i have run out of silver leaf. i now work with what i have left of the aluminum leaf and some indigo colors.

and this brings me to my favorite Thurber response to his editor's request for a progress report on his writing: 'well, i have drunk up all of the rum.'



Sunday, May 18, 2008

The Last of Nana's Garden: creeping veronica


during the few months prior to nana's move, after gramp's stroke, we systematically dug up selections from her garden; a ritual we practiced everytime i moved to a place where i had a little earth to garden.

'here take this pretty blue flower.' the pretty blue flower which we continued to pull from of the lawn edge, summer after summer. planted this flower at 8 rio drive, garrettson avenue, pine street, 22 magnolia ave, katy's garden, nancy's garden, laurie's garden, the church garden. yesterday i spent some time searching the church grounds for some of my plants and found a very small patch of the creeping veronica. i dug these up, ready to be planted in the next garden.

i will go back to the church garden for donald's paeonies, bow's lillies, nana's phlox (i hope they are the vintage white), looked for the bergamont, no luck. i also found some of the fringed bleeding heart from my garden, and of course, the 16th generation of self sown cosmos! will search the church cemetary for any of the wildflowers planted by the children.

i think katy has some of the bergamont and the last surviving ozark mountain primrose. nana freely and wildly collected flower specimens wherever she traveled. her garden had plants from arkansas, oklahoma, california, connecticut, new jersey, maine, the woods of cape ann, mrs. dean's garden, her neighbor's gardens.

the very last thing she helped me pack up was the dirt. here, get that dirt. that is good dirt.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

The Molco Button!

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and some more Vintage Buttons

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and More Vintage Buttons!

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More Vintage Buttons!

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Buttons, buttons, buttons


When we get a vintage dress in need of buttons, we check our supply for a match, or a close match. I have been sifting, researching, and now realize, that some of the buttons are worth more than the clothes we attach them to. Yesterday, I discovered we have some large and over-sized Molco butoons in pristine condition. The five star gold leaf shape is covered by a perfect translucent dome.




some opalescent buttons and some metal picture buttons (pic is upside down to let us all enjoy the Knight in Shining Armor.

Thursday, May 8, 2008

It is always springtime in England

five years ago today, it was raining, just as it is raining today.
five years ago yesterday, donald's headache had returned.
five years ago today, donald slept at 2, his arm slung over the side of the bed
moonstruck
he glowed
i reached to touch
then retreated to the other
bed
he finally slept.
five years ago today he collapsed
yesterday eb reminded me
(when she asked what day it was)
wednesday (me)
she asked what date?
the 7th!
(she)the last time my father was fully alive

and yesterday her school said
she could not walk
the graduation walk
on Mom's Day
because of a paper snafu, although all parties
are assured the funds will be immediately released
upon the receipt of the faxed income verification (being done this am, today)

Today eb will speak with a higher up.

She (eb) closed her call with
and now i have to tell someone else the story, again.

and five years ago, this sunday
we spent the day with donald watching the subtle
signs of life
as masses of newly shed cherry blossoms
danced the inverted tornado
which opened
around that SICU bay.

the thought passed between us, my daughter and I
he would ask if we noticed
that on PBS
it was always springtime in England.

Glamour 1968 and The Painter known as Balthus

I've been looking at old Glamour magazines from '68/'69. The September '68 College issue (50cents!) features Serious Little Dresses photoed by Stupakoff.
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The compositions reminded me of Balthus. I can't find the exact pics on-line, but I think the following from 1942 give a pretty good idea of why I was reminded of his paintings.
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"The Living Room"
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"The Patience"
I spent a long winter a dozen years ago copying his work. I destroyed the work in late spring.

My Art Collection: Ellyn Kroeger

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Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Vincent Ferrini Project


Here's the current progress. Have introduced the silver mirror, refined some of the shapes. Will keep working both sides. It will be backed with thalo green light and gold leaf. I work everything out on the surface. I rarely use preliminary drawings, but, I do use reference material.
Vincent would not look at my unfinished work, whether in words or visuals.
He admonished: the poem comes fully realized, or it is not a poem.
ahem.
I try to leave each day's work 'fully realized', whole in that moment between action and inaction.