Three reasons why “serious” artists need to make valentines too

 

1.     Materiality

Don’t worry about archival quality, Get over it. Grab a pair of scissors and go ephemeral. 

Use cheap and fun materials that you haven’t used since grade school, such as

glitter, doilies, stickers, crayons, and tape. You can spend a lot of money or none. It’s time to scour the junk drawers and baskets and find those cool wrappers you couldn’t throw out.

It’s a great time to recycle and use up saved detritus, like postcards, and ticket stubs.

 

2.     Message

It is all about generosity of spirit. Receiving and creating Valentines are meant to alleviate sorrows and burdened hearts. They aren’t about whether you are loved or not- they are playful exchanges of color and whimsy. Make one for the mailman! Give one to the cook at the restaurant! Share with strangers. (Though – I once gave one to an older gentleman who regularly sat in the last pew of my church. I was grateful for the way he always offered a smile when I needed it most. He pulled me aside the following week to nervously tell me that he was a confirmed bachelor!)

 

3.     Method

Play. Be silly. Cultivate a little garden of color in your own heart.

Lighten up. As the winter darkness weighs heavily on most of us, I believe the crafting of frilly pink cards can be a spring to the spirit. Let it all hang out. Creating these small tokens of color can be a meditation on all the connections we have to each other.

Don’t be so self-important. Create free art!

 

Lesson plan for home Equinox Ceremony

 

Expanding the Square

Start with a small back square piece of paper

On the equinox we think about the light, the dark, and the balance of the two opposites. It’s a traditional time to review the past year and note all the events and accomplishments that have lightened up your life. What sort of achievement are you thankful for? How have you grown? 

It is also about taking note of the bitter harvest. What were the hard times and what changes did you have to go through? Like I said, it is all about balance!

Students having fun. Check out samples on wall behind them

 

The NOTAN is a Japanese art concept that plays with the placement of light and dark elements. You cannot have dark without light or light without dark. This assignment will help you feel the balance.

 

You will need:

    4 x 4-inch square black piece of paper

    a regular white sheet of 8 x 11

    pencil

    scissors

    glue…I like glue sticks for this

 

Start by drawing your designs on the small black square, either organic or geometric, touching the straight edge of one side. Repeat along other sides. Avoid adding any element floating in the middle. After drawing lines, cut your black paper, along the lines, from each side of the square. You can draw and cut shapes within shapes- these are called “double cuts”. Nothing is thrown away. Place your square back together and all the pieced should be there. Lay it on your white paper. Then carefully lift your black shapes and flip them open like the pages of a book.  A double cut will be flipped one way and then the other. 

Keep it simple or go more complex

Can you see why this is called “expanding the square”? Your design will celebrate the balance of the fall equinox.

Enjoy

This student has gone on to be an artist @paintingsbycarina.com

 

Tree Conversation about to be Launched

 

assorted painted 8 x 6 oval panels from newest series

That I am not a natural at languages clearly stands out with a father who speaks about nine and a little sister who lives and speaks fluently in France. It was truthfully my crayon and paintbrush that helped me communicate and make friends.

 

Trees were my first friends. At age four, I attended an art school located somewhere between an ancient stone temple and the massive aerial roots of a banyan tree in Kuala Lumpur. I have the earliest, distinct, memory of the sound, smells and visual abundance of walking on paths strewn with a variety of shaped leaves.

 

Art School (with my mom) in KL, painting arches and trees

During the lock-down last year, when the calendar cleared and everything went quiet, I undertook a painting project that would pit my skills against a variety of arboreal characters.

 

As an art teacher, I have exhorted my students to identify their inner critic. We all have one or two, (or more). The tenacity of those belittling voices can ruin the fun of any painting session. It is through my teaching that I confronted memories of my own.

 

In second grade, I painted a mural of a holiday pine tree in my Haitian classroom. Proudly standing back to look at the result, I was crushed when my teacher leaned to my ear and whispered, ‘You really can’t paint trees, can you?” Granted, I was trying a new “textural brush work”, but her voice still rings true over 50 years later!

 

As I contrived to once and for all learn how to paint a tree, I studied the limbs, roots, bark, and crowns. Entering into the space of a tree I felt their energy emanating towards me! I can hardly pass one nowadays without saying “hi” or “hello”. Just looking closely at them brings me a sense of understanding, peace, and joy.

 

Be Like a Tree

Each of the Tree Conversation paintings is in acrylic on a hand-cut birch-ply oval panel. Every panel is 8 x 6 x 1/2 inches and drilled with a recess in the back so to hang flush to the wall. In addition, every painting’s backside contains quotes or thoughts taken from a variety of sources and pertaining to a leafy conversation.

 

Starting the first weekend of May, at our open studio on the farm, I will have a couple dozen to share. On May 3^rd I will launch a website sale of my favorites on my store for a limited time only. Please email me with any questions you may have. It is my hope that we all use whatever language comes naturally to us, to converse with nature. I have found it an easy way to get a spiritual measure of oneself.

 

Please subscribe to my blog by email. (top of the right hand column) I post once or twice a month on subjects ranging from what is happening in the studio, to art historical revelations, to seasonal delights of farm living. I’d love to have you in the conversation.

www.tillystudio.com

Vision Vessel Valentine's Day Afternoon Fun

 Art has the power to transform and it was with that intention that Lisa and I hosted our first ever vision vessel Valentine workshop. We started with reading a list of affirmations and a short guided meditation to set the tone. Once everyone got settled into decorating their miniature cardboard houses, it was pretty silent and focused. Everyone worked with scissors and glue to collage the surfaces. After an hour, the houses were spectacularly unique. We felt refreshed and inspired. I could not stop smiling. 

I am still waiting for photos from Doug, Bobbi and Elena!

Some focused on their goals, or warding off their neighborhood  threats. Others focused on dreams of vacations, or getting back into their hobbies. Others focused on manifesting their affirmations.

Vision vessels are really 3D vision boards. We collage on top of a house everything we wish for our "nest". It is reinforcing positive vibrations and giving an image to what we desire.

To help the art work it's full magic, the houses have to remain visible for a while. Many have openings, (doors and windows), where we can stuff little notes of dreams or worries as we manifest big changes.

Valentine's day Crafting project with "Art Angels" in your own home

Are you looking for something fun and magical to do on Valentines day? 2pm on Sunday, February 14th join us on line for a little dreamy fun.

Art Angels, my dear friend Lisa Marie and I, will present a cozy crafting virtual Valentines event in the privacy of your own home. It is a perfect opportunity for both individuals or couples who would like to manifest the life they've been dreaming of. We will do this by collaging colors, words and images onto a 3D, made from recycled cardboard, bird house or "Love Shack" if you will.

February 14th is the traditional day birds look for their mates and start to prepare a nest. Our crafting session will begin with a short meditation embracing our intentions for our Love Shacks (love birds optional) You will be provided with a template to make a 3D "birdhouse/loveshack", or you can channel your inner architect and fashion one on your own. Then we will treat the surfaces as if they were a vision board! Using magazines, colored paper, pens or any coloring agent you have, we will decorate our "love shacks" with the intention of manifesting all our dreams. This is a powerful move and it really works!

So join us for the fun as we share tidbits and advice while you work! Spaces are limited but you are welcome to do it on your own or have a lover or friends in your own house. This will be fun. In addition, we can guide you with a recipe to make your own love bird sculptures with whatever you have in the kitchen.
Email your interest and Paypal donation to Tillystudio@aol.com, then we will send you the link to join us.

Supplies for everyone: Recycled  thin card board (cereal boxes: preferred)
Scissors, tape, Glue, Colored Tissue paper, Magazines, something to color with.
Dough love bird recipe (upon request)
Cost: $0 - $10.00 Donations accepted

Image of the "Mother of Modern Medicine" Inspires Hope for Vaccine.

As we try to “flatten the curve” of stress on our medical facilities and healthcare workers, we pray for a vaccine against Covid19. Doctors are studying patient responses and leaning over lab Petri dishes with questions. No doubt they will turn to the immortal cells of Henrietta Lacks, called HeLa cells, that have helped fight numerous diseases from Polio, Ebola, Parkinson’s to AIDS.  

Who was Henrietta Lacks?

Henrietta Lacks, a young mother of five, died in 1951 at John Hopkins Hospital from cervical cancer that her Doctor noted "looked like pearls". He had stitched tubes and pouches filled with radium inside her cervix, as was standard treatment at the time for invasive cervical cancer. He also took some cell samples from her cervix, without her knowledge or consent, which was also standard practice at that time.

Henrietta, the great, great, granddaughter of a slave, died that same year at the age of 31. Her cells in the lab replicated quickly and continually and amazed the doctor with their seeming immortality. They were the first human cells to reproduce outside the body! Afraid of being sued, the doctor gave the cells a code name, “HeLa” and shared them in labs across the country. They are still the most commonly used cells in research today.

The story turns rough when you learn that in the 1970’s some scientists, with secret agendas, did research on Henrietta Lacks' children without their informed consent. Then in 1975, a family friend asked about the source of the Lacks cells that his coworkers, at the National Cancer Institute, were studying. It brought a light to the two decades of darkness that the Lacks family had been kept in.

A book was written, then an HBO movie. In 2010 the John Hopkins Hospital donated a grave marker to her unmarked plot. It says: “Here lies Henrietta Lacks, Her immortal cells will continue to help mankind forever.”

To say that Lacks is a global phenomenon would be limiting. In 1962 her cells were launched into outer space aboard a Russian satellite for study. Two years ago, the National Museum of African American History ofCulture and the National Portrait Gallery jointly acquired a painting of Lacks. It adds a beautiful and much needed face to the woman often called “the mother of modern medicine”.

Kadir Nelson with his painting of Lacks

Who painted her portrait?

Kadir Nelson (b.1974), an American artist, was commissioned by HBO for the 2017 movie premier of “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”, to paint the first portrait of Lacks. An author of several best-selling children’s books on African-American culture and lead artist for Steven Spielberg’s 1997historical drama Amistad, Nelson is known for his larger than life portraits of African American leaders. According to his website, Nelson chooses “subject matter that has emotional and spiritual resonance and focuses on the journey of the hero as it relates to the personal and collective stories of people."

There was no portrait in existence of Lacks save for two small family photos. Nelson used those as well as a vocabulary of symbolism to tell Lacks' story. Standing in a red dress, Nelson paints a yellow straw hat as a halo around Lacks’ head. Her strong faith is reflected in the bible she holds with her hands crossed over her womb. A complex “Flower of Life” pattern against which she stands is the ancient symbol for immortality and exponential growth. The pearls around her neck reflect the doctor’s note about how her cancer grew. A pendant of a nest represents motherhood and the hope of fresh birth. The repeating flower pattern on the dress symbolizes the biological bounty that she shed without knowledge for our salvation. The most poignant details are the two small buttons missing from her dress. They symbolize that something precious was taken from her.

Hopefully, soon the HeLa cells will demonstrate another cure.

Sharon Town Hall ART show

Radiant transfer by Glen Cunningham

Sharon Town Hall Exhibition

By Tilly Strauss

This was printed in the Lakeville Journal's Compass on 10/31/19

Zelina Blagden is weaving cultural relationships all over the town of Sharon. Installing eight artists in a group show at the Town hall and helping instigate the now annual Art Walk, Ms. Blagden has set up a tapestry of connections that is bringing to light the shape of Sharon’s art scene. Whether nose to canvas in the Standard Space Gallery, standing reflective at the Ice House, sipping wine at the Edward, or dropping into Smitty’s Barbershop, artists are leaving their trace all around the green. The art show at the Town Hall exemplifies Blagden’s all encompassing approach to curating.

Wander down the first floor hall and you will see how Blagden has brought together an eclectic collection of works that can initially seem more diverse than unified. The strength lies in their individual contributions to the whole of the community. All the artists are from the hills around the village. They are all strong in their field and relatively new to the area. This is a welcome introduction.

Interested in “a summer into fall vibe”, Blagden points out that the works, though varied, all convey an exploration of texture and pattern. Her own piece in the show, an assemblage called “Maine Sparkplug”, holds an essence of spiritual revelation in the juxtaposition of peeling frame, weathered wood, rusty nails, sea shell and the eponymous sparkplug. This is an alchemy that makes us believe that an artist can reveal to us the poetics of life through objects discarded. Scavenging for the found image as well, Millerton based photographer Susan Parker, has a series of black and white pictures, many of which are of shapes within shapes, feather and bone, and nature inspired. Amanda Horton-Jones, an artist hailing from both Salisbury and worldwide residences, emphasizes surface texture in her large paintings of luscious layered silhouetted women. Victoria Selbach’s “Mielikki”, a realistic oil painting, celebrates the artist’s friend who, as an environmentalist, wellness advocate and teacher, embodies the characteristics of the heroic Finnish goddess. According to Ms. Selbach, Mielikki, here naked and crouching in a lush forest with her bare toes at the water’s edge, “protects the vast life sustaining ecosystems of the forests and all who dwell there”. The romantic possibility of advocacy through paint is significant to the artist. More of Ms. Selbach’s large paintings of contemporary women can be seen hanging at Smitty's Barbershop, 16 W Main St. If you were on the Sharon Art Walk you would have seen her husband Mike Selbach’s prints hanging next door to Smitty’s. His limited editions at the Town Hall are complex multi-colored woodcuts depicting archaic details such as the tiled walls of a Turkish bath. Visual vibrations result from a kaleidoscope of mosaic shapes that shift and strike in living colors. The architectural framework protects the totality of appearance. Another artist in the show bringing an abstract shake up is Glenn Seelenbrant who creates visual vibrations with his photo cutouts that layer transitions of complementary colors in miniature screen formats of circles, lines and squares. Arriving to Sharon through Brooklyn, the artist Glen Cunningham explores geometry and the relationship of lines and ovals in designs breaking out of the rectilinear framework. Points overlap, contract and expand. The selection of five works span the last 10 years and yet feel fresh and audacious. His shaped canvases and crisp edges contrast with painterly brush strokes and a soft application of graphite. His color schemes range from subdued earth tones in “Ellipse Aligned” to vibrant hues reminiscent of a garden in bloom in “Inflowing Ignition”. Near by, the printed collages of JodiLuby of Salisbury offer a lyrical respite for the challenged eyes. She is a well-known graphic designer with a passion for printmaking. Her printed collages embody the sensation of botanicals with layers of transparent organic forms in a soft repetitive palette of rose and peach.

The show will be up through November, possibly longer.