7/22/18

Back to blogging for the first time in years. A recap: tripped on some plastic and broke my left wrist at work. Try as I might , I can not recall crossing paths with a black cat ,breaking a mirror , walking under a ladder or stepping on a crack in the sidewalk but it would be of some comfort to be able to pin a streak of bad luck on something as simple as that.
My art has become , more than ever , about color, texture and design. As the environmental impact of every human action has become tied to climate change, I have sought to create art in a way that is sensitive to that issue. My personal work to date uses paint left over from my art education job. While not truly zero impact , it is at the moment, the best that I can do.  
My dad remains an ardent artist in his own right, working in his sketchbook every day. 
Long time friend Grace passed away unexpectedly :pictured here with my last letter to her/left unsent. She loved tea bag tags and I was about to update her on the progress of the new second Avenue subway line and the wonderful public art that graced its stations. 
Brothers Inky & Toughie passed within months of each other. 
I took up hiking :its lovely to be outside as the seasons roll in and out and its fascinating meeting new people and hearing their stories. 
I continue to play with light as a medium as it has an interesting message all its own. 
The wait continues at the church of Our Lady Of Peace. 
July 30/August 1 will mark the third anniversary = 1095 days and counting. 
I inherited a love of quotes from my grandfather.
Several have been on my mind of late. 
They say : "Patience is a virtue". 
They say : "He who hesitates is sometimes saved". 
They say :  " It is possible to live happily in the here and now. So many of the conditions of happiness are available -more than enough for you to be happy right now. You don't have to run into the future in order to get more. "
For the moment, that sounds like a good place to end .

9/2/15

Visit to Manitoga

We did the grounds and house tour of Russel Wright's home and studio at "Dragon Rock".
The studio is full of lovely touches like this rock turned into a door knob. 
Some of Wright's dishes sit by the studio back door. 
The "old fashioned" studio phone :while it does not have a camera for taking selfies it has a solid beauty that I miss.  

1/18/15

Love

2015 is here. I have a feeling it will be a year filled with all things good. To kick this new year off, let's begin with one of my most favorite of symbols: the heart & a wonderful medium: collage. 
The heart is a symbol of love and love might be as important as food, air and water.  (add creativity to the list if you are anything like me:note to self:go see the MOMA Matisse show cut-outs )
These images are from a small collection of artist  
inspired Valentines, created in 2013/2014.
Black & white photographs courtesy of the  NY Public Library picture collection .
Samples of Valentines for 2015 are in the works ...

1/7/14

7/14/13

No. 9 - for Bob and Edi's 55th.

The latest ceramic project, a picture frame done for my parents 55th wedding anniversary. Begun on the fly, with no sketch or plan ( a rare occurrence these days) I fell back upon an old design motif I had created weeks ago for another project. I ended up getting lost, getting found and in the end feeling O.K. about where it ended up. Color is still a battle as the under glaze will be dramatically transformed into much richer colors once fired and no matter what you do, your eye attaches to the palette you see before you as you work. In my case this is especially odd as my work is very much about color .
Whenever I teach, I usually advise folks to walk away from a piece -give themselves a day or more to detach and  then come back to their work with fresh eyes and decide what else needs to be done-if anything. I'll be taking my own advice on this piece as it is so full of detail that to add to it could either perfectly balance it off or destroy it and I want to make sure I make the right choice. 

7/6/13

No. 8

Today I took a piece of bisque from this:
to this: 
Not bad for a days work. (Actually, it was a very wonderful way to spend this otherwise incredibly hot day!)