On the other side of Open Studios!!

Well that was quick, open studios came and went in a blink of an eye!!! 

My studio moved into the ha;; for easier access ....

I was so pleasantly surprised by the number of people who were able to find me and my studio.  For anyone who has been to my studio they know it is not the easiest place to find, even when you are confident in where you are going ... up the loading dock, up the darkened stairwell, through the heavy fire door and turn left.  :)

photo by David Lee Black
he captured me installing and dancing with 'flirt...' 

one of my many ploys to
help people find my studio

And since I was the only Natick artist that was opened their studio in that part of the building, I didn't think many would come.  But, what is the saying .... 

"build it and they will come" which they did, making it quite a successful weekend. 

And as usual, I have so much to say, ponder and share about the weekend, but today I must be brief!! So I am going to let others share their vision of my studio and their experience!!! 

photo by Ruth Nelson

photo by Ruth Nelson

Here are some photos from some wonderful photographers that dropped by ... David Lee Black , Annie Messier and Ruth Nelson and then check out the blog written by one of my studio visitors, a rather famous visitor, one with their own blog, Moonieandme?!?! 

me and Moonie

Click the below link and check out Moonie's visit to my studio.  It appears that he truly enjoyed himself.  And be sure to check out Moonie's earlier post which talks about his visit to the magical land of David Lang's studio.  

MOONIE AND ME!! 

blog post about Moonie's visit to my studio!!

much fun!!! 

peace, va

#wip wednesday: so many art happenings ....

a quick post from the road, as I am college visiting with my eldest and have a few minutes before I need to wake my teen. and there is so much going on ...

'kitchentableseries ... on the road' Yonkers, NY

first, tonight is the opening reception for 'Art on the Common' in Natick:

An outdoor art installation in celebration of our common connection to community and shared art. We have several interpretations from talented and well known local artists adorning the ground and trees @ Common Street Spiritual Center...the Opening Night is starting @ 6 o'clock in the evening Wednesday October 14 so we can capture some of the falling away sunlight....sun starts to set at 6:07P:-) 

But come whenever you can and then join us at Gallery 55 across Main St. to say hello, and please stay for Poetry Night at 7:30PM. The Art of the Common will be in place for a few weeks and just in time for Natick Artists Open Studios.

Local artists for Art on the Common include Scott Pressler Virginia Fitzgerald Carmine Saccardo Karin Stanley John Mottern Anna Coburn, and Molly Saccardo, and a huge thank you goes out to all of them and to Ian Mevorach at Common St. who facilitated and inspired the vision of ART on the COMMON.

Common Street Spiritual Center is at 13 Common St. Natick, MA 01760 across from backside of the Town Common and next to Post Office. 

'skywarrior II ...' is holding court again, on the corner of School st and Common St. Although this time she is being a bit shy!! Many folks have said that they can't find her, that i need to move her, add streamers to her, and I have declined.  I feel that she is who she is no matter where she flies.  If in this locale she is feeling the need to blend in, so be it!!! 

So if you are in the area tonight, stop by or any other time, see if you can find her. Maybe she will take a shining to you and appear!!!

Then this weekend is the 

Natick Artists Open Studios!!! 

I took off last year for personal reasons but I am back!! And I will be showing some matted illustrations, drawing from the #kitchentableseries and some paintings!!!!

one of a series of oyster painting in gouache

It will be interesting as this year I am the only artist in the upper floors of the building and it is only David Lang and myself in all of the Winchell Building?!?!?!

kitchen table series 

But David and I always have fun and I am looking forward to TWO days STRAIGHT in my studio!! 

well it is time to tour the campus of Fordham!! 

thanks for joining me here on my art blog!! 

 peace, va

did you know it was #INKTOBER ????

'kitchen table, boerenbont ...' 

Thanks to social media I have learned that October in INKTOBER ...

"31 Days 31 Drawings.Every October artists all over the world take on the INKtober drawing challenge and do one ink drawing a day the entire month." inktober.com

index card from #ICAD2015

 Now if you have followed me for any amount of time you will know that I adore 'challenges', daily assignments, & all this participatory :) and I LOVE working in ink!! However this past week I have made an commitment to myself to not spread myself, to practice focusing on the task at hand; 

enter dilemma!!!  

Enter compromise ... 

So I am not making a commitment to inktober,  posting everyday! though I'm sure you may see a new ink drawing here or there.) Also there will be posts, like today, that deal with ink drawings .... 

compromise?!?! I'm not sure,  I do KNOW that I am jonesing to find my pen and start drawing, but alas, taxes are calling :(

So on to the other  inky news: 

'once more with feeling ...'

'phases of the moon ...' subscription card series 

This weekend I once again applied for a Massachusetts Cultural Council Artist Grant, this time in the drawing category. I first considered submitting my "subscription card" series, especially as grant committees are mostly looking for the unusual, the unique, something different and usually cutting edge.

However as I was complying the subscription cards that I was going to submit to the MCC, I was also pulling together some of my "kitchen table" series to decide which drawing to donate to the Attleboro Arts Museum's benefit auction.

When I had both series in front of me, and even though I believe the subscription cards are a more unique series, I ended up submitting drawings from my "kitchen table" series, because these drawings really represent a quality of life that I wish to celebrate.  

Below are the images and a brief description that I submitted .... 

kitchen table I 

kitchen table II

kitchen table III

" These drawings are part of the ‘kitchen table’ series. This body of work is a celebration of the beauty and simplicity of everyday life.  Rendered mostly in pen and ink, these drawings are a return to basics; to line, to expressive marks, to black and white, dark and light.  A discovery of the wonders revealed from what remains on a kitchen table. "

kitchen table IV

'kitchen table V' was donated to be part of the Attleboro Arts Museum's Benefit Auction, I will post the link to the auction as soon as they do.

kitchen table V

 happy monday & peace, va

 

 

the story behind: the 'dress of poetry ...'

"You only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves."  Mary Oliver

'dress of poetry ...'  the story:  

'dress of poetry ...' 2007

this dress comes from my rediscovery of poetry and a deep desire to celebrate this revival. As I student I did not understand much of the poetry that I was taught, hence I didn’t read poetry once I was done with school. So for decades I avoided poetry but thanks to the magic of poet Mary Oliver, I wasn’t a lost cause.

me with author/poet Heather Panahi

It was near the start of the ‘dressproject’ and a friend introduced me Mary Oliver’s Wild Geese, and I fell in love. I suddenly saw that poems had so much to offer, they were paintings, but instead of paint and brushstrokes they used words, creating emotion, still-life and stories, little snippets of life and our surroundings. It was during this budding love affair that my dear friend and fine author, Heather Panahi, wrote a poem inspired by my dressproject and with that I knew that I was to make a dressproject dress/sculpture of poetry.

For the next weeks I could be seen carrying mountains of poetry books where ever I went. I read and researched many poems for this dress, choosing the ones that either represented a passage in my life; such as my experience in high school when I had the honor of hearing Gwendolyn Brooks read her poem We Real Cool, or ones that constituted a new discovery which spoke to me; like The Secret by Denise Levertov. I was immersed in the world of imagery, alliteration and rhyme and loving it.

my dad with me before the opening

As I collected more and more poems I decided to make this dress be one that I could wear, and this still is the only dress from my dressproject that can be worn. I was intrigued by the idea of wearing the poems, being surrounded and embraced by all the wondrous words. As the word spread that I planned to wear my ‘dress of poetry …’ to an opening reception friends became curious. They asked me if I was going to produce a book of the poems. They explained that I would need something so that people will be able to read the poems that they had watch me collect for months. My answer to this inquiry was a resounding ’no’. I explained that I had designed the dress so that the poems were printed on panels which people could lift up to read.

part of fashion show in SOWA

To this my friends laughed and reminded themselves that I had not grown up in the Boston area; then they explained to me, ‘no Bostonian is going to touch you or the dress, even if it is just to read the poems.’ They were quasi-correct, it was only later in the evening that some folks worked up the nerve to read my dress, and I believe that was thanks to the open bar.

' Upon further Consideration'
at Regis College, 2011

Since the opening reception the ‘dress of poetry ….’ has inspired myself and others in numerous venues, and has lead to other poetic projects. In 2012, I had the honor of working with the Attleboro Public Library and the Attleboro community , creating the collaborative installation, the ‘birds of poetry’. During the project, the ‘dress of poetry’ held court in the library as the ‘birds of poetry’ took flight through the library’s atrium.

'poetic' 4 dec. 2013
part of my decemberdresses series 

The ‘dress of poetry …’ cemented my personal love of poetry. Through its creation and its exhibits I have discovered more and more wonderful poems, and I have witnessed the power of poetry, in children, in adults, in students and in myself.

holding court at the
attleboro Public Library

'birds of poetry ...' 2012

'bird of poetry ...' 2012

 links to related blog posts mentioned above:

Fun and Fashion in SOWA

'the dress to the rescue' . . . a tale of loss and redemption via the dress

"Upon Further Consideration: what tells a story" at Regis College

Mary Oliver reading 'Wild Geese' 

First day of the Birds of Poetry install

The Peace of Wild Things
  WENDELL BERRY
mixed media illustration of another one of
my favorite poems ... but I have so many!!!

peace, va

happenings ....

'skywarrior II .... ' installed at Art on the Trails,
Hopkinton, MA

It is the fall and that means lots o'stuff going on ... school starting, summer ending and in a month ...
Natick Artists 
Open Studios!!! 
So before I fall into a black hole of activity, I just want to get some information out into the world!!!

First, THIS weekend, on Saturday, September 19th, at 2PM, there is going to be a celebration of poetry in Hopkinton at the exhibit, Art on the Trail.  This is the outdoor sculpture exhibit where 'sky warrior II ...' has been holding court since August 1st.










It is a lovely collection of sculptures, scattered along Hopkinton's Center Trail, curated by sculptor, Michael Alfano, and tomorrow twenty area poets will present their poems inspired by the installation and sculptures.  This poetry presentation was organized by Polly Brown and Cheryl Perreault.

Click here to view the electronic collection of the poems to be presented tomorrow.  It is lovely to see that my piece, 'sky warrior II ...' has inspired some of the verses.

"Poetry on the Trail" 

21 poems inspired by an exhibit of sculpture 

on Hopkinton’s Center Trail 

Spider Woman, by Cathy Weaver Taylor 

This Heartbeat in the Woods I Hear 

inspired by Virginia Fitzgerald’s heartbeat dress

There is a heartbeat beating in these reticent woods how it reverberates

the ancient, patient message how the wind listens

and tells the trees to listen too

how the trees speak to the birds

and the birds sing out

this message to the world.

There are no secrets here.

There is no gossip in the branches. Nothing here is insignificant.

There is simple, sacred promise

that the earth loves every single living thing. Everything is beating life out loud. Everything here is creation.

Cheryl Perreault 

Also on the horizon is the
Natick Artists 
Open Studios 
and this year I AM participating.
I missed last year as there was just too much other life stuff taking my attention!!
But I am happily revving up for the big weekend .... SO MARK your CALENDARS!!!!

In prepping for the big weekend, the NAOS committees have been getting art into different venues around Natick and I am happy to say that I have a piece in the "People" exhibit at the Morse Institure Library.  I contributed this wonderful photography of graffiti in Chelsea, NYC.  Many people who see it assume that it is collage but not by me, I just saw this wonderful scene and clicked!!!

I realize there is so much more to share ...

but I think this is enough for now!!

Also my awesomely creative artist friend, Christina Zwart, texted me this week:

"not enuf hours for the rest of our lives."

kind of captured the feeling of this time of year ....

So on that noteI am going to sign off with of my 'daily notes to self':

from this thursday:

Thursday, September 17, 2015

today, let us remember to slow down ....

as we physically experience the craziness of the start of the new school year and the end of summer, let us remember to slow down; remind ourselves of the slow circles of nature ...

Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace. 

 May Sarton 

in honor of 9/11 I am reposting the story of 'dear jeff ...'; let us not forget!!

virginia fitzgerald . . art . . inspiration . . ink: #tbt: the story of 'dear jeff . . . ': note: photo is above the fold :) I seems only appropriate to share the story behind my sculpture, 'dear jeff . . . ' as it is...

(I believe to read original post, quick title, which is the link?!?!)

'dear jeff ...' is in the background, photographer: Stephen Broadley

 

This is the first time that I am attempting to repost via blogspot's interface and I am thinking that they have just posted the link to the original post ... but I never like any post without some visuals, being a visual artist & all, so here are some photos of 'dear jeff ...' 

(& hopefully the story as well)

peace

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what is art for?!?!?

this is a very good question . . . 

in fact it is a question that gets a great deal of my attention throughout the day; 
as I ache for time in my studio or race to get dinner on the table at least an hour before bedtime or as I pay bills.  

photographer: maya rovniak

so when i saw the title of this video, i was intrigued, and when i watched said video, i was not disappointed.  in fact it was a salve for my current state of discouragement and malaise about being an artist, a state that usually follows the completion of a large project, such as 'sky warrior II . . .'

i love all aspects of the creative process, however for me, the final weeks of production when one is racing against an install date and everything else falls back into a dulled haze; that time of razor sharp focus and almost round the clock creating is one of my favorite times.

and when the project is finished and installed i usually have quite a let-down . . . besides the basic physical exhaustion that follows such a period of intense work, there is the loss of focus and usually a disappointment stemming from working so, so hard and yet feeling like nothing has changed . . .

yes, it is true, that something has been created and put out into the world to be seen by others, a piece that might inspire, that might anger, might cheer up, might distract, etc.; yet ...

 Martha Graham has a quote that speaks to this matter, one that i have posted many times on this blog:

There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and there is only one of you in all time. This expression is unique, and if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium; and be lost. The world will not have it.

It is not your business to determine how good it is, not how it compares with other expression. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open.

No artist is pleased. There is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others.

Martha Graham

yes, artists each contribute their own unique voice to the world, that is the job of the artist.  and in this video Alain de Botton lists reasons why we, as artists, must continue to do our jobs and what art brings to the world on whole.

all wonderful points to be reminded of as the sabotaging mind-monkeys are plotting their personal attack.  

what you think of Alain de Botton's point of view?? do you agree/disagree??
would love to hear your thoughts . . .

 

peace, va