Two years ago, my colleague Katy C. and I led an in-service workshop for teachers on a Superintendent’s Conference Day at Chittenango Middle School. We shared information about Joseph Cornell and how his concepts would work with every subject matter from book reports to math lessons to foreign language family trees. His boxes pertained to celestial themes and celebrity, and animals (mainly birds), but it is not a huge stretch to see the diorama-ic-ness of it all with the addition of text where applicable.
We made samples using Mod Podge to decoupage utility boxes then filled them with curriculum. These are the samples we made. We kept making them and sharing them with each other. It was so fun the way we kept making more and laughing at their awesomeness. So fun building on what came before and getting more and more creative.
I love when everyone realizes how instrumental art is to all other subjects. It is the visual language of dreams.
P. S. The workshop was a huge success!
Can’t wait to start the new school year next week! So ready to get boxed back into my classroom and to begin making art with my new amazing thirteen-year-olds. <3
Tonight was the opening reception for the summer art exhibition at The Syracuse Tech Garden gallery (235 Harrison Street, Syracuse, New York 13202). It is titled Cool August Moon. I saw my high school friend and fellow art teacher Audrey Levinson there!
Artist Steve Nyland (another Jamesville-DeWitt alum) is the curator and a participant in the show. He told me that he signed a new contract to continue with these exhibitions for at least another year. They take place in the lobby of this building, which is across the street from the Syracuse Marriott (Hotel Syracuse).
Other local artists contributing to this show –
Laura Audrey Terry Lynn Cameron Richell Castellon Fletcher Crangle Kathy Donovan Ryan Foster Larry Hoyt Lisa Ketcham James P. McCampbell Sally Stormon Rabekah Tanner Mitzie Testani Ray Trudell Kayla Cady Vaughn Ryan Wood
Massachusetts transplant Lisa Ketcham creates these kitschy assemblages and frames. They are sort of a cross between steampunk and macabre via the use of gears, timey-wimey-ies and skeletons.
Terry-Lynn Cameron brought her originals to share. I met her on Sunday at City Market where she was selling prints of these lovely acrylic paintings.
Richell Castellon Ferreira is the real deal – a painter and woodworker by trade. He comes to us from Cuba. His paintings of the Syracuse landscape would make perfect additions to any local collector’s art stash! He paints from photographs and from memory. These originals are only $175.
Ray Trudell focuses on the invisible in his black and white photographs taken of the surrounding area. He “slows time” by defining a glimpse of a moment using sharp contrast in his compositions.
The exhibit will be on display until September 20, 2019. For more information contact Steve Nyland at gallery.ttg@gmail.com. To purchase artwork, contact the artists directly. They have left business cards and also have contact information on their respective art tags.
The Madison-Bouckville Antique Festival is well underway. It is not a weekend event, oh noooooooo – it’s a full week of “junk” hunting! Located on both sides of Route 20 in Bouckville, New York 13310, there are thousands of vendors under tents. Everything you could possibly want to find, collect or what have you, including several kitchen sinks.
On the way there today, I set an intention for what I wanted to see/find (mainly stuff to use in my mixed-media artwork) and yes, I stumbled into ALL of it. Some were at price points I was fine with and others not so much. It was an exercise in the zen of serendipity.
There is a nostalgic element to the flow – pictured above is the Campus Queen lunch box I carried in elementary school.
I walked around for four hours and, basically, I just scratched the surface. I think I saw about a fifth of what was there. It was such a gorgeous day – I would have continued until dusk, but the majority of vendors closed up shop at 5 pm. I may return tomorrow. I really cannot get enough of the thrill of the hunt.
Madison-Bouckville Antique Week continues through August 18, 2019. They are open 8 am – 5 pm. There are plenty of food vendors and restaurants, as well as lots of shopping. So fun! <3
His vision is one that reflects a heritage in which landscape and religion play vital roles. He is from New Mexico, although his art education took him to Ohio and New York, which is why we are able to fall under his spell here in Syracuse, New York. This show was curated by the Columbus Museum of Art and will be on exhibit until Sunday, July 28, 2019.
Dominguez combines ceramics and found objects to create his irreverent world. It is a playful, fantastical and thoroughly original body of work. <3
The youngest of eight children, Eddie Dominguez grew up in Tucumcari, New Mexico, between Albuquerque and Amarillo on historic Route 66. He came to national prominence in the mid–1980s for highly stylized dinnerware sets that also stack into sculptural forms. In his work, Dominguez frequently references his home state’s vegetation, landforms, weather, and Hispano–Catholic culture. The dual nature of Dominguez’s objects, which inhabit the gray area between utility and art for art’s sake, reflects his personal experience as a New Mexican who studied ceramics in the Anglo–dominated East: whether we see “art” or “craft,” local Hispano or melting pot American depends completely on the immediate context.
The Everson Museum of Art is located at 401 Harrison Street, Syracuse, New York, 13202. Call (315) 474-6064 for more information.
Summer is a time where time doesn’t matter to me. I get up when I want. I do what I want. It is not slow or fast motion. It is pure bliss. Today was a bit wonky in that it was cloudy-ish – it rained last night and seemed like an indoor-all-day kind of day. I worked on a fun, creative project, I practiced on piano, watched some TV (I cannot get enough of Million Dollar Listings on Bravo) then I noticed that it was actually nicer out than I thought. So, I decided to go for a hike. So satisfying! When I returned, I stumbled upon information that there was going to be an art reception and I still had time to get ready to go! Can someone hashtag #ootd fast enough? Could this day get any better? Yes and yes!
I was delighted. For some reason I thought SU’s galleries went on summer hiatus but that is not the case with POC this time.
Syracuse University’s Point of Contact gallery is located in the Warehouse Building in Armory Square (350 W. Fayette Street, Syracuse, New York 13202). It is primarily a space that features latin artists, although from time-to-time they curate other exhibitions, like the annual Sum Art show.
Time Changes Everything is the current exhibition. Curated by Sara Felice, Managing Associate Director of the gallery, it features Margie Hughto, Beth Bischoff and Darcy Gerbarg with an art and video installation by Franco Andres in the back space.
It is a magnificent show! It was such a thrill to meet and speak with three of the artists. I have met Margie Hughto before but this time – OMG, her new work is breathtakingly beautiful, the kind of thing that moves me to want to make art, moves me to the tears that form the essence of joy. They are ceramic assemblages that sort of bridge the space between archeology and modernism. Each piece is fired separately then the artist uses intuitive rhythm to create movement in each piece, a swirling that truly captivates. Her inclination here is to showcase climate change.
Darcy Gerbarg blends her history as an Abstract Expressionist painter with her knowledge of digital technology. She has always been on the cutting edge in her field and these pieces are digital prints created by utilizing virtual reality software. Like a conductor wielding her baton, she executes a rhythmic flow of movement that then gets translated into digitized color on a monumental scale.
Beth Bischoff spent six years living in the Yucatan. Her photographs of this landscape are taken with a unique panoramic camera then digitally printed. The imagery created transports the viewer to a jungle habitat lost in time. Again, the sweep of rhythm thrusts mightily, albeit in black and white. It appears in tree branches and tall grass, as well as in the contrast of the stone facades.
The time changing element to this show is that feeling of having been here in the present moment and everywhere simultaneously. Time doesn’t stand still. It swirls and dances upon the landscape of photograph, painting, print and bas-relief. I feel changed for the better blessed by the momentum of art.
If you would like to view this show and find out more about the 4th artist, Franco Andres, (I did not get the opportunity to meet/speak with him), the exhibition runs through August 9, 2019. Point of Contact is open Monday – Friday 12 – 5 pm. Call (315) 443-2169 for more information or visit the POC website at www.puntopoint.org <3
***From the gallery website
TIME CHANGES EVERYTHING
MARGIE HUGHTO, BETH BISHOFF, DARCY GERBARG, FRANCO ANDRES
JULY 12 – AUGUST 9
Each artist in Time Changes Everything battles the temporality of human existence and the material world constructed around it.
Bischoff’s photography expresses a harmony of the past and present depicting the ruins left in the world’s progression. Bischoff’s Ruins series functions as a reminder of the care our planet deserves.
Ceramist Margie Hughto draws inspiration from landfills and remains left by humans in the creation of her Excavation Series. Hughto’s work embodies the transience of the human experience in a world heavily structured by transitory material objects.
Bringing together numerous modes of digital art, Gerbarg forms The Syracuse Pictures. Her artwork abstracts the world into its own heterotopia, existing in both the past and present.
Andres realizes the difficulty of authenticity for artists as he utilizes an accumulation of mediums in the formation of one’s identity. The process of his artwork becomes a depiction of time and change as his work spans from ancient processes to contemporary modes of video.
These four distinct artists come together in “Time Changes Everything” to pose a larger challenge to the viewers through the ultimate tool, their artwork.
Time Changes Everything will be on view through Aug. 9th.
The five pieces that make up this whimsical installation by Abraham Ferraro of Albany, New York, are the reason children grow up to be artists. (What kid didn’t have a sticker collection in the ’80s – am I right, people?) Arrows wrapped in brightly colored postal tape direct viewers towards this behemoth labyrinth of recycled cardboard and stickers. You can’t take a bad picture – every angle is perfection. It is just so incredibly fun! There is this feeling of discovery, the idea of packages – think Willie Wonka meets Amazon Prime via the U.S. postal service.
It is located in the main gallery space at the Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center, the featured items in a three-person show called Made and Remade: Re-Imaging Industrial Systems and will be on display until August 18, 2019. The other artists in this exhibit are Landon Perkins of Bentonville, AR and Sherri Lynn Wood of Cincinnati, OH.
Apparently, Ferraro mailed the boxes and arrow-shaped sculptures to the Schweinfurth then added more tape and arranged them to create the eye-popping playground-like display.
Tonight was the gallery’s First Friday event. In addition to viewing the artwork, browsing the gift shop and enjoying delicious snacks, there was a free re-purposed art project (creating a self-watering planter from a wine bottle) set up in the basement – led by my friend Davana Robedee, Program Coordinator.
Michelle DaRin Jewelry, BCBGMaxAzria dress and sandals
The next First Friday will be August 2, 2019. Edgy Folk will perform.
There will be an artist reception on Thursday, June 13, 2019 from 6 – 10 pm. Hope to see you there! Here is the link to the Facebook invite – facebook.com/events/66304848748843
These twelve paintings are from my Sensu series of encaustics, created last month ($250 each). They are 8″ x 8″ encaustic & collage pieces. On the back of each painting, I have instructions on how to care for these paintings. <3
Care Instructions for Encaustic Pieces –
Over time, dust and other particles in the air will collect on the surface of the painting and make a film that will look dull. Regular buffing in the first three months will help to keep the surface shiny and will bring out translucency in layers that are not currently visible. After three months, the surface of the encaustic painting will stabilize and won’t attract dust as readily. Any time the painting starts to look dull, it can be buffed with a very soft rag to increase the transparency and shine of the surface. Light dusting of the piece is all that is needed in the form of maintenance.
To make sure your piece lasts a long time, it should not be hung where it will experience below freezing temperatures or in direct sunlight coming through a window. Be aware of placing your piece near a powerful light bulb or any kind of lighting that produces a lot of heat (Christmas lights). Don’t leave your piece in a car on a hot day or near a fireplace. As long as your piece is kept in your house at a comfortable temperature, it should stay in perfect condition.
Because the wax is soft, it could be damaged if dropped or if a sharp or hard object is scraped over the surface. Fingerprints will also damage the surface over time, as the acid on our hands will etch itself into the wax. A quick wipe of the surface after everyone touches it will prevent this from happening.
If you ever need to pack or move, or ship your encaustic painting, make sure you wrap it in a piece of paper with a smooth surface before wrapping it in bubble wrap or anything that has a texture that could damage the surface.
Encaustic painting is very archival, resistant to moisture, fading from light exposure or yellowing from acid. In fact, encaustic painting is the most archival form of known painting. Your painting has the potential to last for hundreds of years if well cared for. I trust you will enjoy it!
Discord is a necessary factor in conscious creation because when you know what you don’t want, you can know what you do want. So it can be a good thing even while it is causing the upset. In its acknowledgement, the theory is that change can happen. And there’s magic in that.
Art Rage is the gallery in Syracuse, New York that specializes in social injustice and political satire. It’s not typically my thing. I am so la-la-la lately, living life in a sort of happiness bubble of gratitude and appreciation, and not giving much attention to the national headlines that seem to keep others in a constant state of pissed-off-ness. I don’t often agree with the arguments. But I attended this art reception anyway – I do love when an artist translates their angst into something tangible that transcends its origins and hands the world something beautiful. And I loved every minute I spent viewing this incredible new work and talking to artist Jim Ridlon.
Discord & Dissent: Commentary on Contemporary Politics by Jim Ridlon is the final show this season at Art Rage, 505 Hawley Ave., Syracuse, New York, 13203. And it is truly genius!
Ridlon was not a fan of the political shenanigans, as witnessed on the morning news during the 2016 presidential campaigns. What followed was a bit of scribbling – sentences, words that he desired to expand upon via this new series of assemblages. Each one in this series is equipped with its own statement to guide the viewer to their own conclusions.
They are visual puns meant to take the sting out, to replace the discord with fun, humor and the strange machinations of this Renaissance man’s mind. They are outfitted in sports gear to possibly refer to the political arena as a game, as well as referencing his own history – football hero turned Syracuse University professor. There are clipped feathers found on meditative hikes taken with his son that speak of the illusion of the sanctity of government positions; rusty found objects from various trips to flea markets – hunting the perfect pair of old scissors or wood turnings, ropes/chains to bind the opponent in an intricate power trip. Well-worn accessories complete these framed boxes of objects, the human element that sets the viewer on this quest to create meaning.
Jim Ridlon is a true artist in every sense of the word and does justice to this art form by allowing us a glimpse into his vortex. I asked him if his studio was neatly organized – were all the scissors in a bin, leather bits together, et cetera? Answer – chaos! Lol, I love him!
Ridlon sets up his studio space so that he can concoct several pieces at once. They are on tables laid out in their frames, items amassed in nearby boxes first that speak to his mini manifestos. He builds, builds up then knocks everything down. Sometimes it takes over thirty tries to make one good product and once that solution arrives, it is like a game key that solves the puzzle and everything else just falls into place.
It is music to my ears when I hear an artist speak about their process. It is poetry. It is radiant and beautiful, and everything I love about creation. The work becomes the thing – important, all encompassing and his passion was just so present as he shared it with me. He told me that this process took months to complete. He spent days and days working on them and many, many nights dreaming about them. He was a man consumed by this work. His eyes sparkled as he spoke of getting just the right element to fit the case then finalizing and gluing it all into place – a culmination that is weirdly spiritual. Like, it was not about politics anymore. That was just the spark to the flame. An idea that took thoughts to these wonderful things.
Were they for sale? Yes, but he quipped that he did not expect to sell them, as they have an ugly side to them. I didn’t agree. But I guess this is the case with artists of all skill level and experience. The force that reckons with the making and manipulation of art flickers out once the discord that brought it about dissipates.
Thank you, Jim Ridlon, for inspiring me as my aesthetics professor in 1981 and continuing to inspire me to desire to grow as an artist. To want to take a dream and make it real, and laugh in the face of current realities that are undesirable. Outrage can and does make a difference when one is aligned with their ultimate source. And then we watch as everything changes for the better.
Jim Ridlon will give a presentation about his work on June 11, 2018 at 7pm in the gallery. Visit the website or call (315) 218-5711 for more information including gallery hours.
