Today, on Orthodox Easter, I did, technically, go to a church. Kirkland Art Center occupies the architecture of a former house of worship in the quaint town of Clinton, New York ( 9 1/2 East Park Row, Clinton. NY 13323). The place looks like the set of the naughts TV series Gilmour Girls! I’d been invited here several times, but this was my first visit to this amazing little venue.
Penny had a show there last month, so we took the road trip to get her paintings then stayed for the new exhibit.
Needles & Glue features the work of mixed media artist Pamela Crockett, sculptor Stephanie Garon and collage artist Steven M. Specht, Ph.D., NCS. Of the three, only Specht was in attendance today.
Specht, a Psychology professor by day, sold two pieces, which were very reasonably priced. There is so much satisfaction in these little gems. Pictures are garnered from vintage magazines then arranged as narrative utilizing techniques he learned in an art course. The collages are really quite intelligently crafted.
The exhibition continues through May 24, 2019. See the website for more information – hours of operation and future events planned at the center including musical performances and dance! <3
Rebecca Taylor jumpsuit, Coach bag, Calvin Klein booties
Once again, my 8th grade Studio in Art students created illustrations for the Oz-stravaganza coloring contest! Eight drawings were selected for 2019. They are available on-line and at various stores on Route 5 in the village of Chittenango, New York.
Students used Sharpie marker to outline their pencil drawings. This was one of the six sketchbook homework projects I assigned last quarter. I have eighteen students in my class – eight of the drawings were printed to be used in the contest. Organizer Judy Waite told me it was very difficult to narrow it down to just eight. They were all wonderful! Coloring contest drawings from previous years have been bound into a coloring book for sale at the event. Win-win!
Top (from left) – Lilly K., Riley S., Isabella L., Kristina T. Bottom (from left) – Amelia D., Lindsey T., Edward M., and Shannon G.
It is truly an honor for all of us to participate in this community event. Several of these artists won the coloring contest when they were elementary students! My 5th graders are coloring the illustrations now. Entries were sent to all eligible students at Chittenango Middle School and the two elementary schools in the district. Entries are due on May 8th, 2019. They will be judged by members of the Oz-stravaganza committee and winners will be awarded at a ceremony on Sunday, June 2nd, 2019 at 11:00 am in Oak Park in the village.
Chittenango, New York is the birthplace of L. Frank Baum, the author of the Wizard of Oz. Each year there is a festival to honor him. This year’s theme is “The Magic of Oz”. There will be all sorts of events including a parade. For more information go to the committee’s web page – here. <3
Syracuse University Associate Professor Laura Heyman, guest Visiting-Artist and Instructor Ira Lombardia, and Everson Museum of Art Curator of Art and Programs DJ Hellerman led students through a critique tonight at Apostrophe’s Art Gallery, 1104 Oak Street, Syracuse, NY 13203.
I was there a couple weeks ago for a similar event. This time it was a joint showcase of work by Han Zhao and Hangyi Zhou.
Han Zhao’s exhibit, Flowerbility, utilizes various media to showcase a single flower. According to his artist statement, he creates on his I-Pad and laptop, which allows his ideas to flow freely and quickly. There is joy to this ease. His work ethic reminded me of artist Kiki Smith. Last year, she visited Syracuse University and talked about coming at an idea from all angles. I enjoyed the consistency of the image and saw how its use had implications and applications to interpreting and re-imagining business logos, taking the image to its unlimited potential. That was exciting!
I jumped into participating in Hangyi Zhou’s critique session. What was I thinking, lol? I guess the teacher in me couldn’t just be a fly on the wall. I loved being a part of this adventure. The artist’s four-piece photography exhibit, Chinese Tattooed Women, seemed rather simplistic until she shared some back-story.
What happens in China stays in China – except when young artists relate how their view of the world is tainted by a judgmentally governed society. In this case, the notion that tattoos suggest disreputable character, specifically in regard to women. Finding Chinese women courageous enough to pose for these photographs was quite an accomplishment, apparently.
Each model wears black and poses to portray their emotional connection to their respective tattoos, which are similarly inked in black and were all similarly executed in China.
This series seems to be in its gestation period, and a lot of what was said in the critique was thought-provoking in a helpful way.
Thank you, Transmedia gang, for including me. This SU grad loves that Syracuse University art has expanded into the off-campus community. Utilizing this unique gallery space for student exhibitions and holding receptions on Mondays is a win-win! <3
It has been a little over eighty days since Dad passed away. This post is about family and memories. Nothing more. Just a way to resurrect the past. To remind us all to find the joy in our hearts. And to remember to love, always. <3
The brainchild of proprietor Adam Weitsman of the Krebs, this new endeavor serves up Mexican fare. The name alludes to Mexican artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo’s partnership, a marriage of contrasts. It is meant to be a casual destination – no reservations required.
We have seven Asian “pachyderm residents” at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo – Doc, Siri, Romani, Kirina, Targa, Mali and Batu.
And, currently, the Petit Branch Library , 105 Victoria Place, Syracuse, New York, is host to original paintings of elephants by Rebecca Stella. The artist reception is today from 2:00 – 4:00 pm. The exhibition continues through April 30, 2019.
Here is the press release –
Artist Rebecca Alexander (Rebecca Stella Art) will be exhibiting her work throughout the month of April. Her work is primarily mixed media, many pieces of which are elephant and music themed. She donates 10% of all elephant art sales to the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya, an organization that provides support to end the ivory trade and promote elephant conservation via an orphan rescue and rehabilitation program. Rebecca believes that art and painting are channels for emotion, dreams, and fantasy. In addition to being an artist and animal activist, Rebecca is a yoga instructor and a physical therapist. She shares, “All of these roles shape my creations and the way in which I choose to interact with the world.
Rebecca sells her work on Etsy . You can also find her on Facebook.
Oh, and lest I forget, my favorite of all elephant sites – Bistro Elephant, which is what they call the bar area/bistro of the Lemon Grass restaurant in Armory Square. It offers the best Thai cuisine. My favorite place to go on a Friday night to hear my friend John Spillet on sax. <3
Talitha top, BCBGMaxAzria long sleeve T-shirt, Bailey 44 skirt, Marc Jacobs bootiesBCBGMaxAzria jacket, Cinq a Sept dress, Marc Jacobs bootsBanana Republic cardigan, Alice + Olivia silk velvet top and pants, Calvin Klein booties
Here are my #ootd pics from last week. Yes! I made it through a five-day work week. No tests, no delays or closings. No missed classes for assemblies. Perfecto!
Ulla Johnson dress, Marc Jacobs booties
Next week, I am beginning acrylic still life paintings with the Studio in Art classes. I am also doing a lot of sculpture lessons with the 5th graders and with the rest of the 8th graders. So fun!!! Vacation always ups the creative ante. I <3 Art and Fashion!
In the 1950s, the artist Dorothy Reister and her husband purchased land for a summer home in Cazenovia, New York. They added acres when land became available then turned the place into a sculpture garden, creating hiking trails, as well a sculpture studio attached to their mid-century modern A-frame home.
The property transformed into the incorporated non-profit Stone Quarry Hill Art Park, recognized by National Geographic magazine as one of the top sculpture gardens in the nation, and home to permanent and temporary sculptures by such renowned sculptors as Rodger Mack and Emilie Brzezinski. Now the home and art studio on the property are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is open to the public to enjoy. Today was the perfect day to hike the trails and fall in love with the hidden sculpture gems playing peek-a-boo around every corner.
I am on vacation this week, Spring Break. I spent a few hours investigating several trails and breathing the fresh air of this space with my high school pal Suzy, who is a fellow teacher. There was really no one else around – it was a serene and wonderful experience.
I highly recommend coming here, especially if you have kids at home this week and are looking for something to do. I brought students to Stone Quarry Hill on a school field trip a few years ago and they loved it. There truly is a surprise around every corner!
Suggested donation is $5 at the front entrance. If you wish to donate to the upkeep of the park or volunteer, there is more information on their website – here
Several events are upcoming – kite flying, an art exhibition in the indoor space, and a YMCA summer camp experience. All information is on their website – here.
Currently, three venues are hosts to the twenty-four Syracuse University MFA candidates: Point of Contact Gallery, Community Folk Art Center and the SU Art Galleries. The art reception at POC was last Friday (that show continues through May 10, 2019), the one at CFA will be Thursday, April 18, 2019 from 5:30 – 7:30 pm (show continues through May 11, 2019). Last night at the Shaffer Hall venue, I attended the art reception for eleven of these students.
What I love about Thursday evening art openings on campus – you can drive right up to the gate and park for free in the Q-4 lot – easy-peasy! It was such a beautiful evening. The university is a reoccurring landscape in my life. I really love being there. I received my BFA and MS degrees from Syracuse. I did not get an MFA, which I guess I would need if I am ever to be considered for a job as an Art Professor at SU (the Art Education masters is a Masters of Science for whatever reason, which is weird). A series of questions answered in essay format served as my thesis and not a gallery showcase of artwork, as is the case in these recent exhibitions.
The students have varied focuses – illustration, painting and digital art, for example. Apparently, the cohesive thread of this work, according to the curator’s statement, is to do with the artist’s responses to their current realities and the angst that resides there be it via monstrous nightmare, political climate, gender issues, or social injustices, or some combination of junk that creates a response to conditions. The artists in this particular show seem to be attempting to express views, beliefs, fears and perceived truths in a sort of thinking man’s artist thing-a-ma-gig.
Nothing tickled me here – true story – and that could just be because I am so not their generation, (kids these days, am I right? lol) and because I am a happiness-and-joy girl. I am perplexed by the need to be conditional about anything. I trust that everything unfolds when you are true to yourself, creating a vision that exposes yourself in a vulnerable way, perhaps, allowing your inner being to guide you towards the inspiration that will captivate. You feel it in your soul and that beauty that is within becomes your art and it subsequently resonates with the world. You will know it, your friends will know it, your professors will know it and you will see how incredibly it will take you where you want to go, easily and effortlessly.
So where do these kids see themselves? A conversation with some professors indicated that student art direction these days is focused on thinking about rather than the executing of ideas. This is not something I really understand. Are they not happy?
Are they hoping to open a dialogue about negative stuff? I don’t know. Some of this work is on the rather provocative side in the way that I cannot bring my thirteen-year-old students to this gallery on a field trip. There is some adult content of a sexual nature, as well as pieces that draw attention to violence and horror.
Let’s cancel all that.
I guess I don’t agree with the blurb sentiment “sober examination of the facts”. We create our own realities based on dreams and desires. Choosing to get caught up in something you don’t want or don’t like just does not make sense to me. If I create a reality I don’t want, I don’t choose to stay there and dwell in it, complain about it and get stuck there. And I don’t really think it is the blanket statement under which all of these artists sleep, is it? Or is Plans are Cancelled a reference to a positive re-boot?
The fun for me are these questions, not in the answers because the questions alone allowed me to ponder solutions of my own with regard to my own life. I am grateful for this show because I had really satisfying conversations with my friends Penny and Davana about this show and about how it can help us define/re-define ourselves as artists and teachers.
And it was also so helpful to share what I saw here with my Studio in Art students. It is so important to me as a teacher that I offer guidance in the form of training my students to trust and believe in themselves, to know that they will be able to navigate their path to whatever they care to do artistically in the future with or without me.
I wish these MFA candidates the best of luck and love in their creative journeys. I sincerely thank you all for your perspectives. <3
Plans are Cancelled will remain on display until May 12, 2019.
***Artists represented at Syracuse University Art Galleries
Hollie Lyko, E. Garrett Bryant, Perry Burlingame, Jestina Sutherland, Rebecca Forstater, Sylvie Prendergast-Corvo, Samantha Corbett, Louise Thompson, Jason Cheney, Mark Zbikowski, Jiallin Deng
“Eye Studio Arts, LLC is featuring the work of artist Deborah Walsh during the month of April. Walsh is known for her acrylic paintings of reflections on shiny surfaces, most often cars, motorcycles, chrome, and glass. Her work is about how light and color is diffused and reflected on various surfaces creating repetition, variation, pattern and rhythm.
Walsh graduated with a BFA in Painting and MS in Art Education from SU. As a retired Liverpool art teacher, she says her students she taught inspired her for more than 30 years. Her work has been included in Central New York Regional and National juried shows as well as many one-woman and group exhibitions. Private collectors throughout the United States own and commission work.
The Artist Reception, April 12th, will feature an acoustic performance by Caleb Liber, food and beverages and an opportunity to meet the artist.” (from the art exhibitionFacebook page)
I stopped into Eye Studio this evening – once again I missed the art reception by about twenty-four hours and ten minutes. But, yes, I was there. The art studio is a place for ceramics, glassware, and drawing and painting classes for all ages and ability levels. There is a gift shoppe in the front room and two adjacent gallery spaces with the classrooms in the roomy back space.
My encaustic angel show was up at this time last year. It is a wonderful gallery space and Walsh’s work is spectacular. This art is highly collectible! I can see how the car motif resonates with so many people – from color to model and make. It is the kind of thing tailor-made for home décor. Walsh’s prices are quite reasonable for her originals and there are also Giclée prints available that are of incredible quality.
Deb Walsh has been painting shiny, reflective-surfaced items for almost thirty years. She gravitates to vehicles, but is currently also finding that this style works well with silver tea-sets and glassware.
I consider myself a contemporary realist, painting what I see. The way light falls upon objects and defines them, creating pattern, form, and rhythm intrigues me. Since the 1980’s, motorcycles, classic and vintage automobiles, with their expanse of shiny chrome and intense colors, have been a subject I keep returning to. Reflective glassware and paintings of our travels are also favorite subjects. My art continues to evolve and it almost exclusively begins with my own color photograph to collect and record information. Then working freehand, I paint in a fluid, gestural, and open-ended process, not concerned in recreating copies of photographs, but rather in manipulating and altering them, heightening the impressions of color and light, preserving a mood and a quality of light, to create an image that becomes more meaningful to me. Some images are tightly cropped and abstract, allowing the qualities of the forms dominate. My intent to have the viewer stop and take the time to see what they think they know, and be surprised by what they see. The human figure has become more important in my work, providing more of a narrative.
The work will be on display until April 30, 2019.
See the website for more information including hours of operation and pricing (here).
BCBGMaxAzria sweater, BCBGMaxAzria skirt, Marc Jacobs booties
Here are my #ootd from Instagram for last week.
Trina Turk top, Honora necklace, BCBGMaxAzria pants, Marc Jacobs booties
I am wearing Marc Jacobs boots in every one of these shots. They are perfection. Although we had a minor snowy-storm thing-a-ma-gig on Friday, we are mostly finished with snow in Syracuse. These shoes all have leather soles. They are not for wearing on salted driveways, parking lots and sidewalks.
Cinq a Sept dress, Marc Jacobs bootiesFree People jacket, Alice + Olivia top, BCBGMaxAzria leggings, Marc Jacobs boots
We also survived the ELA testing, glazing clay projects, and the end of the marking period. Monday starts the final quarter of the school year!
Theory cashmere cardigan, Lucky Brand top, French Connection leather skirt, Marc Jacobs booties
Sandal weather soon!!! <3
Coach headband, Halston Heritage dress, Marc Jacobs boots
Thank you, Transmedia gang, for including me. This SU grad loves that Syracuse University art has expanded into the off-campus community. Utilizing this unique gallery space for student exhibitions and holding receptions on Mondays is a win-win! <3
