This past summer has left me with a lot to digest.
Marked most significantly by the loss of my father, I can’t ignore that that sadness was bookended by two events which have brought me tremendous joy. Both “Full Bloom” in June and “Holding – Mementos Kept, Memories Kindled” (which wraps up at the Kent Museum this Sunday, 10/12) have grounded me over the past several months while being an ongoing reminder of the irrefutable fact that life is inherently a mixture of bitter and sweet.
Maybe it’s the confluence of these three recent endings that has led me to seek out something new this fall. Without departing too terribly far from the familiar, I treated myself recently to a basic palette of gouache and a few new brushes. With no particular endpoint in mind, I have been having a wonderful time this week, just seeing what happens.
If you look closely, you will see this was the first pass for the painting below.
Following the examples of Sandi Hester and Peggi Kroll Roberts, I divided a sketchbook spread into quadrants of color as a starting point, then ad-libbed a composition of items from my work table — letting those initial four colors be something of a guide without being too restrictive. The point for now is to keep things simple, concentrate on learning to handle the paint, and to make discoveries about color. I’ve ended up happily lost in the process.
Up to this point, my only painting experience is with transparent watercolor, so the opaque quality of gouache is a revelation. It has triggered a whole different way of thinking and is SO MUCH FUN! I can’t help but consider a million possibilities, not to mention how great it will be to incorporate stitch once I get my sea legs and figure out where I may be headed.
Not able to make it to Calais for “Holding” at Art at the Kent? Get a taste of its unique flavor with this episode of Across The Fence. If you keep your eyes peeled, you’ll see a few of my pieces along the way.
If a tree falls in the forest and there is no one near to hear it, does it make a sound?
Or put another way, if the work of an artist never leaves the studio, is it still art?
I would say yes to both but, re: the art, nothing makes it feel more “real” than getting it out in public and, even better, celebrating it with an opening.
One works hard, mostly in solitude, doing the best one can to crystalize an idea by translating it visually. And while the whole thing may make perfect sense in the moment (and in your own head), it’s actually having the opportunity to see those ideas reflected back through the eyes of others that fully closes the circle.
The opening for Full Bloom at The Satellite Gallery was such a delight. Seeing the series I’ve been chipping away on for the past 2-1/2 years, framed and then considerately organized in context by a skillful curator, is icing on the cake to the joy of making the work in the first place. Add to that a lively and convivial gathering of thoughtfully engaged viewers and you have the proverbial cherry crowning it all.
A huge thank you to the collector of this piece who generously loaned it to the show, allowing all my ladies to be together.
So gratifying to know that The Satellite Gallery is organizing community events around Full Bloom
Full Bloom will be on view through the 4th of July weekend.
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And finally, a few summer reading suggestions.
It’s been a happy coincidence that in the midst of pulling together the loose ends for Full Bloom this spring, several of the books I’ve read also center on strong, resilient women. The protagonists of Elizabeth Strout’s Oh William!, Elizabeth O’Connor’s Whale Fall and Sarah Winman’s Still Life, all immersed in navigating life, persist and, each in her own way, triumph.
Welcome to Part 2 of my post about Scotland. If you missed Part 1, feel free to jump back to take a look. Today I’m moving on to gardens and other miscellaneous delights.
Strolling through a well-designed garden is, artistically speaking, every bit as rewarding as wandering the galleries of a museum. While inherently different, they are wonderfully similar. Visiting a museum is akin to stepping into a time capsule to witness freeze-frame moments caught in time. But while a garden within an historic setting may bring the past to mind, one is still always conscious that what surrounds us is never still; it is constantly growing and transforming.
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Nothing is more the child of art than a garden.” -Sir Walter Scott
Abbotsford, the home (“palace of imagination”) of novelist Sir Walter Scott, is situated on the River Tweed and looks like an illustration from a fairy tale.
Taking in this view, I couldn’t help but think of Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson’s poem The Land of Counterpane. which my mother read to me when I was very young and home sick.
Scott created three successive gardens.
My favorite was the walled kitchen garden which covers an acre and apparently looks much the same as it would have in Scott’s time. It is a mix of flowers and scented plants, herbs, fruits, vegetables.
Separate from the house gardens, there is also a mini-sculpture garden/woods walk on the property. With a name like “Witch Corner”, I couldn’t resist. The chainsaw sculptures are inspired by Scott’s writing.
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Dating back to 1372, Glamis Castle was the childhood home of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother of Elizabeth II. Frankly, I was more interested in the fact that it is said to have been the inspiration for Shakespeare’s Macbeth.
The Italian Garden at Glamis Castle
The two house-shaped allées captured my heart immediately
Having never seen a Himalayan Blue Poppy before, our timing was perfect.
Turrets, blue poppies and a house-shaped allée – definitely not in Kansas (or Vermont) anymore
A garden can claim innumerable artists — botanical wizards who have contributed their personal brushstrokes across years and trends. Unlike Whistler’s Mother who will still be seated stoically in her black dress and lace cap next year and next century, the garden you wander through today will be different from that of yesterday, tomorrow, or any other day – ever.
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Branklyn Garden in Perthshire is a 2 acre hillside garden, created in 1922 using seeds collected by plant hunters. It is now overseen by the National Trust for Scotland.
I took lots of photos but this one, with that central red rib in the midst of all the different shades of green, is the one I find most inspiring.
Other than hoping to avoid crowds and midges, we had no particular goals or expectations of Scottish gardens in early May. But luck was with us. Those we visited were much farther along than anticipated, offering bursts of color for winter-weary eyes.
The sculpted trees and variety of foliage are spectacular – even at this early point in the season.
The shapes and shadows made me feel as though I’d been dropped into Alice in Wonderland
The variety of foliage colors hold their own – no blooms necessary
The lean of some of the trees made them seem on the verge of coming to life in a Disney-esque sort of way. So while on the one hand this was a very serious garden, it also comes across with a lovely sense of humor.
This short video shows the grandeur far better than I can.
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Jupiter Artland is a sprawling sculpture garden that also includes a couple of indoor exhibition spaces. It is magnificent, with trails that wind through woods, across fields and by beautiful water features.
Stone Coppice, Andy Goldsworthy
Bonnington House (in the distance) is a private home situated in the center of Jupiter Artland. Such hedges!
Cells of Life, Charles Jenks. Magical terraced earthworks embedded with paths allowing one to climb to the top for an expansive view.
Weeping Girls, Laura Ford. Figures hand carved from waxes. Cast in found objects. Patinated and painted bronze. This was one figure among a series of girls, all of whom projected a mysterious and melancholic aura to the grove of trees where they were strategically placed. Don’t we all have days like this?
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And then a couple of miscellaneous gardens…
National Heather Collection at the Rodney Gardens Park in Perth
The King’s Knot at Stirling Castle was constructed for Charles I between 1627-9. It is covered in grass now, but it was originally designed as an ornamental garden.
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And finally, I leave you with the “Oh My!” These are a few of the things that don’t fit neatly into any category, but are pure visual enjoyment – seeds, even, for possible future work.
Before we left I had read about these two gravestones, unique in their elaborate depiction of Adam and Eve. It became something of a scavenger hunt to find them, but it was definitely worth the search.
Loved the sign, loved even more the colors of stone in this building near Edinburgh Castle
These textured house shapes surrounding a doorway in Edinburgh Castle caught my eye immediately.
The Kelpies, Designed by Andy Scott. These massive horse heads, built of steel, refer to the shape shifting water-horses of Scottish folklore.
Finally, I always research art supply stores before any trip. It’s hard to beat the charming exterior of this one, where I found some khadi paper that easily fit in my carry-on and is now waiting in the wings for future paint and stitch.
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Now, it’s back to Vermont.
I’m very much looking forward to the opening of Full Bloom on Saturday!
If you’re around, please join me at The Satellite Gallery, 71 Depot Street, Lyndonville, VT for the opening from 5-7pm. The show will be up thorough the 4th of July weekend.
The gallery director sent me this photo after she’d hung the show. I’m thrilled that she decided to include several of my “Sheltering in Place” houses as well.
Some weeks I feel like a jack of all trades.
While painting, drawing & hand-stitching may be the face of what goes on here, plenty of other, behind-the-scenes activities are just as integral to keeping everything steaming along.
These past weeks I’ve been preparing for an upcoming solo show that will run throughout the month of June. My stitched paintings of elder women — 2-1/2 years of work — will be seen all together in one venue. I hope you’ll join me for the Opening Party on June 7th!
Meanwhile, lots of unsung chores surrounding the show are keeping me busy. I’ve been cutting mats & framing the remainder of the 19 pieces that will make up the exhibit while getting the associated paperwork and computer records in order. I’ve designed an announcement/invitation and have begun promotional outreach. Leading up to this point, I’ve spent hours writing artist statements, proposals, follow-ups and, as you may remember, assorted blog posts sharing the process of each piece over the past couple of years.
There is a general wisdom that artists only spend about 50% of their time actually making art; the rest is devoted to business, which is just as demanding. How very true.
With this in mind, please note that I am going to take a short break in early May. Look for my next post in 4 weeks, on May 22nd.
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If you’re looking for a diversion, Austin Kleon’s Substack post this week is filled with all sorts of art-y goodness. It’s been a treat to slowly chip away at his links during my breaks. Each is a source of inspiration in its own way, especially “Art Thief: Lessons from Wayne Thiebaud”. But if you only have time for one thing and are looking for a sense of connection across time, and/or a source of hope, remember gardens and read Kleon’s 2017 post “Planting Iris”.
Planting season has arrived, time to get to it!
This one was a challenge for several reasons: the glasses, the full-face angle and the need to subdue any competition between the model’s subtle skin tones and silver-ish hair vs her colorful clothes. That said, I’m very happy with the results — especially the way the subject and the stitched background ended up working, both independently and together.
Measured Response in process
After roughly drafting in the head, I sat with it for several days. There was a quality about it that, although incomplete, seemed to have a lot to say in a ghostly, disembodied sort of way. This is a great example of a point in the process when ideas start to flow for possibilities in future work.
Measured Response, detail
What was it about this particular image that made me hesitate in moving forward? Was it the straight-on stare speaking volumes on its own? Or perhaps simply that I tend to be drawn to art where elements of the underpainting/drawing remain visible? I find a sense of poetry in work where the hand and thought processes of the artist are laid bare.
Plus, backgrounds are a bit of – I wouldn’t exactly say nemesis, but definitely a puzzle for me, requiring another level of consideration because of the stitching. I want to create more than a mere backdrop, yet avoid having the piece appear overworked.
There’s nothing like an angle shot for bringing out the texture of the stitching
In the end, I placed her head firmly on her shoulders, integrating her within space – although admittedly somewhat nebulous space. By pushing the color and pattern of the stitching while keeping it relatively sparse, I was able to hold onto the qualities that had stopped me in the middle, yet reach a satisfactory and full resolution. And, trite though it is to say, ultimately finding a way to have my cake and eat it too.
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While some of you live where your gardens are already coming back to life, those of us in Northern New England have a while yet to wait. But we can dream and plan. Here are a couple of ideas if you too are ready to get back to your plot of earth, but it’s not quite ready for you.
And secondly, during the Surface Design Association conference in late January, UK artist Alice Fox spoke inspiringly about her practice using natural processes with found, gathered and grown materials. She made me long to collect the spent daffodil, iris and garlic leaves from my own garden to start creating with them. Granted, it will be a while before that can happen, but in the meantime I purchased a copy of her book Wild Textiles to learn more and to start the creative juices flowing while there’s still snow on the ground.
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