Last week, I started taking an abstract acrylic art class taught at Convergence by Paige Powell. It's been about 15 years since I last took an art class, and what drew me to Paige's class was the billing that it was for people like me, slightly (very?) intimidated by the blank canvas and full paint tubes. Our first class focused on the basics of perspective, splitting the canvas into thirds, finding the focal points and discovering the basics of color, light and composition.
Paige's approach to art encourages experimentation with given materials; what stood out to me as well was a philosophy which further acknowledges Julia Cameron's "The Artist's Way" philosophy that "sometimes the paintings that we create will best be displayed in the closet." Reflecting on this small impartation this past week has given an amount of freedom to explore, experiment, and not be as afraid to brave uncharted waters - to paint arrange squares on canvas, work with various textures and colors and "see what happens."
The encouragement to experiment has been further enhanced in my kitchen this week; in an effort to use the cans, pasta, beans, and seasonings collected on shelves, I've been experimenting without the aid of recipes (a massive stretch for this "gotta do it right" girl). Some experiments will no doubt end up being reluctant products stored in containers in the fridge until I decide there's no way they can still be good; but there are surprises too. Tonight's surprise was a simple Italian style macaroni, tomato and parmesan mozzarella casserole; that I went back for seconds means this one will make it into this week's work lunch schedule :).
I think subliminally, part of my encouragement in taking baby steps in the kitchen has been imparted over a few years through partaking of one of my coworker's delectable treats and the extras and leftovers Chris brings into work. When asked what inspires his creations or hunts for a particular recipe, it's often the ingredients that Chris has on hand (blueberry cookies from fresh blueberries) or an occasion (celebrating a special birthday with a scrumptious chocolate cake, frosted with peanut butter frosting and glazed in a chocolate ganache). His ready admittance as well that there are things he's learning or might do differently next time nudge me to think differently or creatively about a spice or an idea to try with some of the ingredients in my kitchen.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Trekking the Gallery
Living in the DC area, one of the many highlights is living close to many excellent - and often free - museums and collections of art, bugs, Dorothy's Red Shoes, presidential portraits, planes - the list goes on. And yet living so close, life can so easily be filled up that months can pass before venturing out to drink in what is literally five miles away. (Parking tip - 7th and Virginia or 7th and D are pretty good guarantees :)
This summer, I'm trekking the National Gallery - a few galleries at a time - with the goal of seeing each gallery there is to see. "Measured enjoyment?" one friend gently asked. Of sorts perhaps - but with the slightly calculated enjoyment have come some fascinating discoveries. On Sunday's trek into the Netherland galleries, learned about cabinet art - art that was produced and purchased by the middle/upper middle class and beyond - to decorate their homes. As the brochure instructed, the outer rooms of homes in that region would often hold landscape scenes, portraits, still lifes, etc; inner rooms such as the bedroom would hold art with more moralistic meanings. Several of Vermeer's paintings on display are of this genre; the smaller size of the paintings was by design; one particular example, Vermeer's "Woman Holding a Balance" contains a picture within a picture (behind the woman is a scene from the Last Judgement with scales/balance). One of my favorite features of some of the art of the Dutch Golden Age is the use of light/dark and several of Vermeer's paintings on display make use of light and darkness.
I believe I could find room for a Vermeer in my home :)!
This summer, I'm trekking the National Gallery - a few galleries at a time - with the goal of seeing each gallery there is to see. "Measured enjoyment?" one friend gently asked. Of sorts perhaps - but with the slightly calculated enjoyment have come some fascinating discoveries. On Sunday's trek into the Netherland galleries, learned about cabinet art - art that was produced and purchased by the middle/upper middle class and beyond - to decorate their homes. As the brochure instructed, the outer rooms of homes in that region would often hold landscape scenes, portraits, still lifes, etc; inner rooms such as the bedroom would hold art with more moralistic meanings. Several of Vermeer's paintings on display are of this genre; the smaller size of the paintings was by design; one particular example, Vermeer's "Woman Holding a Balance" contains a picture within a picture (behind the woman is a scene from the Last Judgement with scales/balance). One of my favorite features of some of the art of the Dutch Golden Age is the use of light/dark and several of Vermeer's paintings on display make use of light and darkness.
I believe I could find room for a Vermeer in my home :)!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Empty Shoes
Last weekend on a quick trip to NYC, traipsed around the Metropolitan Museum of Art and came across one of Van Gogh’s paintings “Shoes” ; the muted tones and simplicity stood out among the more vibrant hues of Van Gogh’s other works on display with which I was more familiar.
Empty shoes have had a strong pull to me since first seeing the haunting empty shoes exhibit at the Holocaust museum in Washington several years ago where thousands of shoes from prisoners killed in death camps are haphazardly piled together much the same as they were piled at the camps. Each time I see the exhibit, I wonder about the lives which were snatched from the shoes, and the stories that are represented in each pair.
Living in Japan for nearly two years, I became accustomed to lines of shoes at the doorways to friends’ homes and the rows of shoes neatly changed for slippers to wear inside the school where I taught. Here, the empty shoes signaled a respect for the building and for cleanliness; the grit and the dust of the commute from home, subway, and motorcycle were left at the door for indoor slippers or sandals.
The variety of empty, waiting shoes beneath the garage’s coat rack in my childhood home held stories and roles. Rubber boots for walking through soggy grass to feed the horses, sandals for wading in the creek or to pull on for a quick errand in town, a series of outgrown and worn out sports shoes representing the continuous style changes of Nike, Reebok, and New Balance and the continual growth of adolescent feet.
Empty shoes. There’s always a story – a story either waiting to be told or already recorded for posterity.
Empty shoes have had a strong pull to me since first seeing the haunting empty shoes exhibit at the Holocaust museum in Washington several years ago where thousands of shoes from prisoners killed in death camps are haphazardly piled together much the same as they were piled at the camps. Each time I see the exhibit, I wonder about the lives which were snatched from the shoes, and the stories that are represented in each pair.
Living in Japan for nearly two years, I became accustomed to lines of shoes at the doorways to friends’ homes and the rows of shoes neatly changed for slippers to wear inside the school where I taught. Here, the empty shoes signaled a respect for the building and for cleanliness; the grit and the dust of the commute from home, subway, and motorcycle were left at the door for indoor slippers or sandals.
The variety of empty, waiting shoes beneath the garage’s coat rack in my childhood home held stories and roles. Rubber boots for walking through soggy grass to feed the horses, sandals for wading in the creek or to pull on for a quick errand in town, a series of outgrown and worn out sports shoes representing the continuous style changes of Nike, Reebok, and New Balance and the continual growth of adolescent feet.
Empty shoes. There’s always a story – a story either waiting to be told or already recorded for posterity.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Creativity and Tehran
Conversation with a coworker this afternoon brought up an engaging TED talk on creativity and genius by Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love. Gilbert's personal exploration of the value of food, religion, and love in our individual lives and her incredible opportunity to explore these themes across cultures lends her credibility as she discusses creativity and its importance in our lives. Working in an environment where "renaissance moments" such as art of the day, word of the day, and baseball question of the day open a quick window for conversation of related experiences, I find myself wondering what the necessary ingredients are for creativity and stimulation to flourish in our lives. Some of the ingredients that come to mind include time (space), tools (be they as simple as fingerpaint or a flower placed in a vase), exposure to beauty (and perhaps tragedy at times), and encouragement seem in my experience to be key components to allow us to explore and express the particular creative facets which are unique to each of us.
Following the unfolding events in Iran the last several days has repeatedly reminded me of an excellent work Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi. In this memoir, Nafisi shares the story of a reading group of women students which she led; the reading of banned works of literature and ensuing discussions of life, politics, personal desires and hopes allowed the women a space in which to live more fully. The group also provided a space in which they could challenge and encourage each other as they engaged in intense reading and discussion. Seeing the pictures coming out of Iran of students and women holding signs expressing their political hopes and their personal expressions of hope for their country, I can't help but wonder if Nafisi's group of students whom she engaged in the nineties are included in the masses - or perhaps their younger siblings are holding the signs and standing up publicly in a manner these women could not during the 199o's and the beginning of the twenty-first century.
Nafisi's reading group in a sense nurtured some of the elements of creativity I've been thinking about; the students were given the time and space to experience and discuss creative works of literary genius which inspired their own lives as women living behind many restrictions and beneath many rules. The tools of literature and the exposure to beauty and tragedy contained within the pages provided an opening for the women to speak their voices to each other a space for the women to grow and encourage each other intellectually and creatively. Check out Gilbert's talk and Nafisi's book if you get a chance sometime - they've inspired me to think more deeply and creatively...
Following the unfolding events in Iran the last several days has repeatedly reminded me of an excellent work Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi. In this memoir, Nafisi shares the story of a reading group of women students which she led; the reading of banned works of literature and ensuing discussions of life, politics, personal desires and hopes allowed the women a space in which to live more fully. The group also provided a space in which they could challenge and encourage each other as they engaged in intense reading and discussion. Seeing the pictures coming out of Iran of students and women holding signs expressing their political hopes and their personal expressions of hope for their country, I can't help but wonder if Nafisi's group of students whom she engaged in the nineties are included in the masses - or perhaps their younger siblings are holding the signs and standing up publicly in a manner these women could not during the 199o's and the beginning of the twenty-first century.
Nafisi's reading group in a sense nurtured some of the elements of creativity I've been thinking about; the students were given the time and space to experience and discuss creative works of literary genius which inspired their own lives as women living behind many restrictions and beneath many rules. The tools of literature and the exposure to beauty and tragedy contained within the pages provided an opening for the women to speak their voices to each other a space for the women to grow and encourage each other intellectually and creatively. Check out Gilbert's talk and Nafisi's book if you get a chance sometime - they've inspired me to think more deeply and creatively...
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