Beyond Binkies, Code and Make-Believe

Art in the Pearl

We discovered, pardon the pun, a pearl today in The Pearl.  It's a new gallery.  Forgive me - we were so caught off guard by the wonderful art we didn't pick up a card.  It's on 12th between Glisan and Hoyt. It isn't more than a couple of weeks old and has an open warehouse feel.  This gallery has a collection of eye catching sculptures.  The front window had a large ceramic head with bunny ears and a rhino horn. You really can't miss it.  How can you not be curious about such an opening act?

Dale Chihuly Exhibit at the DeYoung Museum - San Francisco

Do you like blown glass?  Are you fascinated by color and light?  Do you know the name Dale Chihuly?  Then drive, fly - GET TO SAN FRANCISCO!  The exhibit at the de Young Museum is breathtaking.  It is running through September.  It is not to be missed.

Claude Monet - Beyond Waterlillies

The final art/lit project for this school year was a project inspired by the work of Claude Monet.  We were dealing with a short period of time and wanted them to better grasp his style, inspiration and tools.  We gave the children the history of plen aire painting and how paint in tubes revolutionized the art world and the freedom artists could experience with portable supplies.

Rembrandt and print making

For this Art/Lit project, I wouldn't have thought of print making for studying Rembrandt.  I'm just the volunteer.  So with kindergarten students s we embarked on the inky journey to teaching them about Rembrandt through foam scratch pads, ink, ink rollers and a lot of newspaper.

Play Doh Sculpture and Thensome

Our son was busy sculpting.  He doesn't like to limit himself to just one type of material.  This took him a while to get each element just right.  He wanted to know if I liked all of the different 'feeling' in the sculpture. I told him, of course, that I loved it and how artistic he is.

Paul Klee - art focusing on emotion rather than realism

Today was Art Lit at our daughter's school.  I was privileged to give the lecture and help with the project.
We studied the art of Paul Klee (1879 - 1940).  He is quoted as saying, "Color possesses me.  I do not have to pursue it, it will possess me always. I know it.  That is the meaning of the happy hour:  color and I are one, I am a painter."  Not quite sure about the happy hour part, but I get it.

Phoebe's Birthday Cake

Phoebe turned 14 today.  Our children celebrated her birthday with Jake, Kim, Meghan and Ryan.  The kitchen was buzzing with excitement as our children created her ice-cream cake themselves. 

They spent an hour planning the party.  There was a checklist, invitations, a gift they wrapped, cards and decorations.

They didn't have enough cans of the main ingredient for all of them to have piece of cake and an ice-cream sundae so the combined all of the ingredients to make one big one for Phoebe with four of her 14 candles.  I'm not sure why they only used four.  Our daughter said Phoebe understood and was totally OK with only four.

After the cake was done they scrambled down the hallway to have me look at their creation. They were so proud of themselves and the fact they kept the mess to a minimum.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s influence in our school.

We had the pleasure of attending "Art Night" at our daughter's school tonight.  This is an evening where each class displays the projects they have worked on through this week.  This includes some of the Art Lit projects such as the Dale Chihuly chandelier, the Korean scrolls on rice paper (<< at left) and the African paper collages inspired by the art of Lois Jones.

Lois Mailou Jones (1905 - 1998) - A classroom study and project

Once again I had the privilege of helping with the Art Lit program in our daughter's class.  The entire school studies the same artist for the month and creates a project inspired by that artist's story and style.
Lois Mailou Jones was our artist of the month.

Artist Statement: "Mine is a quiet explorations quest for new meanings in color, texture and design. Even though I sometimes portray scenes of poor and struggling people, it is a great joy to paint."

Lois Mailou Jones (1905-1998) was a prominent African-American artist in the mid- to late-twentieth century. In addition to teaching at Howard University for several decades, Jones became the first African American to have a solo exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. As her biographer Tritobia Haves Benjamin told Beth Baker of "Ebony", "She is a reflection of the varied facets that represent American art. Just as American art has unfolded, embracing different styles and different cultures, so too has Jones' career."  More here>>  

"Helvetica," the movie.

Perhaps it is because it is my industry.  Perhaps because I appreciate things that are uncluttered, simple, and easy to understand the first time.  My husband and I truly enjoyed and even laughed throughout the movie, "Helvetica."