Copyright Please don't copy from my blog. All images and text are copyright of Fran Meneley and can only be used if you ask before you use. I share my artwork in the trust that others will appreciate, but not copy or claim, my work as their own. Links to my blog are welcome, but please do not re-post.
My teenage daughter came home with these recently. Cute, simple gloves until upon closer inspection you notice that there are little slits in the thumbs and fingers - for TEXTING! Ok, on one level this is really handy and cute and on another it has lead me to think about how technology changes our relationship to the world. My husband says that rock climbers have had these little digital escape hatches for years as a way to free fingers for tying rope knots. Makes sense. But will all gloves soon come standard issue with these little peep holes? Can we never be allowed to simply use our hands free from their tether to the digital (no pun intended)? I already feel so inescapably bound to digital technology - I sometimes long to be off the grid without a beep or bing or old fashinoned ring tone within ear or eyesight. What is THAT reality like? I'm beginning to forget. I think I'm lucky being an artist because I do work with my hands often. But as we lose touch, literally, with our deeper connection to the world, how will that change us and how will we evolve? Deep thoughts for a Tuesday morning. Just pondering.
Go here to listen to Lucile Mascarena's story about hands - uplifting and thoughtful.
And if you have a teenager in your life, these cute little gloves would make a great gift and not break the bank at $2.80 - find them here. You'll be the "cool" one for spotting these - and skip the diatribe, it will be lost on them.
This last week was a big slow down for me as I was off carpooling duty. Whew! And it was wonderful to stay in my pajamas until noon and work in the studio a bit. For me, that's the beauty of winter...s.l.o.w.i.n.g. down.
I finally, finally had time to work on my shrine for the Oaxaca Street Children Grassroots benefit auction. This worthy organization was founded in 1996 by Harold and Jodi Bauman, and helps send over 500 children to school every year. I was very touched and troubled to see so many child street vendors on my trip to Oaxaca two years ago. Many of us on that trip had packed an extra suitcase with used clothing for a family assistance shelter, but clearly the needs are greater than what a few of us could meet. This is a great way to support an organization that is making a direct impact on the lives of many children and adolescents that would be in the streets instead of school, and you receive a beautiful shrine as well.
I had really wanted to get this done before Dia de Los Muertos, but alas I was sucked up into the vortex of the Black Belt. But it's now nestled between my other shrines and will be in the auction that will be held March 1 - 7, 2010. The idea is for participating artists to make a cigar box shrine and commit to putting it in the auction and then shipping it to the winning bidder at the end of the auction. To see last year's entries you can click over to the Shrine Gallery here. This year's entries will go up March 1st at Rebecca's blog, Recuerdo mi Corazon.
I used an old stationery box that had a glass front. It's hard to photograph without a lot of glare, but it looks so much like the little Dia de Los Muertos boxes that I collect for Day of the Dead, that I am really happy with the way it turned out.
I will post a reminder before the auction in March. In the meantime, you can go here to see a list of participating artists. And if you'd like to make a shrine for the auction, you can find all the directions you will need here.
If you are like me, you have ducked away from the festivities on this day of thanks and feasting to check in with fellow bloggers. I for one am delighted to take a break and see what everyone is up to. I am thankful that I don't have to cook for the hoards, as we are going for an evening supper at my mother-in-law's. That means I can sleep in, join our new neighbors for the 3rd Annual Thanksgiving Turkey Trot (it's actually a walk) around the new neighborhood and then home for a mellow afternoon before we make the sojourn for turkey and pie.
The little vignette above hangs on my studio bulletin board. While other pieces come and go on my ever changing idea board, this never comes down. I do believe Thank You is a kind of prayer and practice saying it daily. So thank you dear readers for checking in and being part of my extended community. I hope your day is blessed with very little family drama and lots of good nourishment for body and soul.
When my daughter and I were in New York last month visiting colleges we popped into one of the city's newest muesums, MAD - Museum of Art and Design. A little jewel with a tony Columbus Circle address, the museum seeks to "collect, disply and interpret objects that document contemporary and historic innovation in craft, art and design." I was very excited to see it's lastest exhibition, Slash - Paper Under The Knife. Paper is ubiquitous. Cultures around the globe have used paper for now going on eighteen centuries. It's a medium we take for granted and as Curator David McFadden says in his introduction to the book that accompaines the exhibit, "therein lies its appeal as an art medium. It's true value is discovered only in its transformation. Paper can be used to express profoundly personal aesthetic visions as well as to provoke debate about issues that range from global politics to personal poignancies."
Give a listen as MAD's Chief Curator (he has a very cool job), David McFadden describes the exhibit.
This amazing...really amazing...piece hangs from ceiling of the foyer of the museum. Made from paper, board, wood, balsa wood and acete, "Non ci Resta Che Paingere (There's Nothing Left To Do But Cry) is the genius work of the Italian artist, Andrea Mastrovito. It's hard to really see how stunning this ship is as it descends from the ceiling.
Andrea Dezso has created 30 of her "tunnel books" for this exhibit. These were at the top of my favorites list. They are lined on a wall and lit from above, giving them a theatrical feeling, revealing imagnary worlds from her subconscious.
They are small, 7 X 5 X 6, and feel very book like. I was enchanted.
London artist, Rob Ryan has several pieces in the exhibit and is one of about five of the show's artist's who work in silhouette. I like them all and stand in awe of their ability to wield an exacto knife, but I found his work particularly poignant. I have seen his books and work in print, but to see the cut paper up close is breathtaking. He says of his work, "To me papercutting means that everything is stripped down as much as possible. There is no tone, no variation of color, no penicl mark, no brush strokes. There is only one piece of paper, broken into by knives; within this is the picture, the message, the story, written and traced in silhouette. Such simplicity, I somehow feel, makes my work more readily accessible and easier to digest. My work is as much about sadness, being alone, longing for love, as it ever was. I am by nature a nervous and unsettled person. People who have seen and felt my work tell me they find it reassuring and calming. This is why it is made, to help settle and calm myself. We all really share only one story, and my work tells that story over and over."
Mia Pearlman creates beautiful site specific ephemeral pieces that float into the space.
Su Blackwell's transformative book pieces inspire and delight, allowing the books to "read" in a new way.
If you are in the neighborhood, it's well worth your time to stop by MAD and if not, the book is available from their shop and will be available (slightly discounted) on Amazon December 1st. After my own tiny foray into drawing with scissors the past two summers in Sas Colby's workshops, I have a fine and deep appreciation of the considerable skill and talent these artists bring to bear on the humble medium of paper.
post script: Does anyone else wish the "new" Typepad was the "old" Typepad? I can't for the life me get the spacing to work on this post, nor the justification. Sorry it's so bunched up. Making a help ticket NOW.
Way back in September I posted the picture above of the "Guardian Tree" at our new house, as part of Julie's bloglandia event, Getting Arboreal. The idea of this photography project was to choose a special tree and photograph it a couple of times over the seasons. You can find my first summer photos here, and a list of participating artist's here.
Now a few short weeks past the end of summer, and well into autumn, the snow fell for the second time this season. Last Sunday I snapped this photo from approximately the same spot...
...snow exposing the great contrasts between darks and light, shades of grey and white. Weathered, old bark speaking to about 100 years of Colorado storms. It gives me goose bumps to think of all...
...the stories these limbs - great and airy could tell. I'm trying to enjoy this season of bare truth, but secretly already longing for the budding green of spring. All the while this magnificent tree just sighs in the wind, content to be. A lesson there...
I know I've been away from Blog Land for a while...and here's why. My little guy, getting rather big now, has been working all fall on completing his course work for his Black Belt in Tae Kwan Do. The big day was Saturday, and four years of hard work and sustained attention and devotion, culminated with a demonstration and award ceremony. Master Vu Tran, his teacher, awarded him his black belt.
Now eleven, he started this journey when he was seven and received his yellow belt when he was nine months into the program - he looks so little!
He's now a young man on the verge of adolescence, and I am very proud of him. If so inclined to gift him on this big occasion, he asked his friends and family to give him pet food that he could donate to the Human Society. He came up with this idea on his own, I kid you not. And we had enough food to fill the back of my car! After making the big drop off on Sunday Parker said, "It feels so good to give something to the animals there!" At that very moment, all the driving and sitting through classes and cajoling and negotiating about his commitment, paid off. If this is all he had gotten out of the many lessons taught about leadership and teamwork and perseverance and community, then it was worth all the time I spent as a parent supporting him. He really is a black belt; in body, mind and spirit. Congratulations, Parker.
Dia de los Muertos has arrived at my house, sneaking in just before the munchkins began roaming the streets on Halloween. The big skull came off the shelf in my studio to welcome guests, departed and living.
My ofrenda (alter) went up in my entry way, a good spot to receive the souls of loved ones no longer walking this green earth.
A bunch of us gathered around my kitchen table to decorate sugar skulls and make merry. Thanks everyone, it was a lot of fun.
The bright colored frosting cups and a bowl of feathers and paper flowers for decorating brightened the scene.
At the end of the afternoon, a whole parade of brightly decorated sugar skulls danced across the table. Full of life and love.
While Soledad (the patron saint of Oaxaca, Mexico) stood sentry over my ofrenda, with traditional deep orange marigolds and crimson cockscomb glowing in the candelight...
...these little schizophrenic skeletons stood guard on a corner...
...and their brethren, the one armed chef and the guy from the taco stand kept an eye out for hungry travelers...
...and these little couples kept my father-in-law company with a beckoning gesture.
If you'd like to see more Day of the Dead celebrations, skip on over to Stephanie's blog and check out her beautiful ofrenda and celebration. And while you are there click on the "Links to Dia de Bloglandia" button on her right hand side bar for a list of participating artists.
If you'd like to read more about Dia de los Muertos, I wrote about my trip to Oaxaca last year. Click on the links below to learn more.
I'm up very early this morning getting ready to take my daughter to NYC to look at colleges. Which I really don't understand because she was six the first time we took her there and that was about 10 minutes ago! I found this lovely and inspiring video, from one my favorite big thinkers, this morning in my email in-box. Thank you Sheryl. I hope it brings a moment of inspiration to your day.
This weekend winter came barreling down on the front range of Colorado, just in time for the second weekend of Boulder's Open Studio Tour. Wet turned to snow and the fall leaves came tumbling down. While last week sported temps in the high 70's, Saturday reached just 18. I snapped this lovely shot with my iPhone (! I know! great lense for a phone!), as I was walking up the sidewalk to Pattie Lee Becker's charming Victorian home and studio. She is new to the Boulder arts scene, having moved from Brooklyn, NY recently.
This lovely piece, entitled, "Valentina on a Green Beach," was one of my favorites from the 20 or so she had displayed on the walls of her home. She creates these lovely, intriguing, almost magical worlds, with pen and colored pencil. Her website describes her work as, "residing in the complex space that connects humans with their physical and psychological landscape. Personal stories are transformed into imaginative invention. Color and pattern narrate; images conjre both the familiar and the fantastic." Well said. The playful quality leads you in and then amazement takes over and I found myself going back to each piece again and again. She has a lot of work on her website, you can have a look here.
And one very good piece of news is that if you don't have the dough to shell out for an original, you can get a very, very high quality, gorgeous 8 X 10 limited edition print (with certificate of authenticity) of the piece above, "Ramona's Bright Idea," at a fabulous website called, 20 X 200. The idea behind 20 X 200 is simple: there are a lot of people out there that want to sell their art and there are a lot of people out there who'd like to buy it. They introduce 2 new pieces each week, one photo and one work on paper. They print in editions of 200 for $20 each. They have other larger sizes for a little more, but lower print runs. Truly art for everyone. Click here to see what artists and pieces are available and while you've got your hand on the mouse, click over to their blog to see what's new. I LOVE this! Art for the people!
While I was obsessively poking around 20 X 200 all snowy Sunday morning with a cup of tea in hand, I found this stunning alphabet created by 20 X 200 artist, Linzie Hunter. Wow-za. I love this. Reminds me of Linda Barry a little bit and her new book, What It Is. A very talented Scottish illustrator, you can see more of her work here.
I also just loved these birds by illustrator, photographer and antique shop owner, Laura Levine. She still has a few prints left at 20 X 200. I'm coveting the Meadow Lark.
I'll post some other 20 X 200 finds to soon. Even in these lean times, we all need beauty in our lives and what a great way to support other artists while enriching our own art collections.
If you are like me, when the weather begins to turn I start looking for new books to settle in with. It happens to me in the spring too, summer reading begins to whisper to me and I'm itching for some new print and plots and characters to take me away. And so it was last month when I happened upon Eliot Pattison's "The Skull Mantra." It's the first in a series of four mystery novels that feature Han Chinese detective, Shan Tao Yun. Set in the high Himalayas of Tibet, it's as much about a people and a place as it is a mystery thriller. It's a page turner with a historical back story and Tibetan back ground that I found intriguing and informative. I can't wait to pick up the second in the series, "Water Touching Stone". You can find it hereor at your favorite independent bookseller.
An Echo In The Bone is patiently waiting for me on my bedside table. I am a HUGE!!!! Diana Gabaldon fan and this is her 7th book in the Outlander series. If you like historical fiction and a story to be swept away in, this is your series. The story of Scottish Highlander Jamie Fraser and time traveling Claire Beauchamp will have you lugging these tomes everywhere you go for weeks. History, characters to fall in love with, adventure, science and science fiction - it's all woven into a fantastic story told by a master storyteller. Really, you should run to the book store to get started on this series. I came to this series late and was able to read the first six back to back. What a luxury! And now the long awaited 7th is here! I'm just rereading "The Breath of Snow and Ashes" (the 6th), so I'm up to speed when I turn the first crisp page of "An Echo In The Bone."
Time Suckage Alert: Time will stop, laundry will pile up, dishes will grow mold- you will want to do nothing but read for weeks. And if you are like me, you will don your sound canceling headphones, click your click wheel over to Yo Yo Ma's Cello Suites, settle in....and you won't hear them calling your name...
And this little gem is actually a newly minted magazine, hot off the presses. Afar's tagline is, "Where Travel Can Take You," and it certainly delivers. Independently published, it is "for readers who are curious about everything the planet and it's people have to offer. That's what the magazine delivers: fascinating individuals, intriguing neighboorhoods, cultural discoveries, unusual and local places to stay and eat, and reports on the world's arts, languages, products and music." Ambitious to be sure, but they are off to a great start. I get really tired of the glossy travel magazines who feature long paragraphs about their groovy travel writers and 10 page advertising sections to well worn destinations and feature stories on hotels that cost $500/night. This indie magazine seems to really get it - it's TOC (Table of Contents) is divided into See - Connect - Go - a nice way to approach and think about travel journalism. Although I'm sure they'd like the ad revenue, so far no "advertorials" about the latest spa vacation. Thank god. Instead sink your teeth into "Everybody Into The Bog" a quirky and informative story about the World Bog Snorkeling Championship in Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales...who knew? Or journey into Morocco's Berber territory to discover storied artisans working a very old fiber tradition in a modern world. Click here to go to their website, or you can pick up a copy at Barnes and Noble or Borders.
I loved this spread out of Afar's maiden issue and put it on my bulletin board. What a great way to see the world. I think I'll be pointing my lense down to where the soles meet the street, the next time I hit the road.
So find a cozy spot and enjoy the shifting fall breezes. And leave me a comment if you've read a good book lately. I'm always on the lookout for a new one.
