Some favorite things

linen, silk, wool ...

A relatively new linen jacket from Eileen Fisher, a treat to myself as I readied for treatment; a silk blouse, also from Eileen Fisher, purchased more than twenty years ago and still serving me well; and a drop dead gorgeous wool & silk scarf, hand woven by Marjorie Meyers Haber of mmhandwovens on Etsy, a recent Christmas gift from my daughter, Adeline.

and messiness ...

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My studio is still terribly messy and therefore unusable, so the dining room sometimes does double duty. I had to clean up for Thanksgiving so now I am loath to get it all cluttered again. I prefer to sit at the table with a cup of tea and enjoy the view. 

Maybe I could learn to create things without making a mess ... as did Mary Ellen Best, if we believe her self-portrait, at right, is an accurate representation. 

Or I could take comfort in the words of Dasha Zhukova (Russian art collector and founder of the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art and Garage Magazine) who famously said "I like messy. What fun is tidy?"

I think I like messy, too, even though it can get out of hand. I like it the way I like insomnia. The hours between midnight and 4 AM are my favorites, even though it may be better for my health to be asleep during that time.

And, anyway, messiness goes hand-in-hand with genius.

* * * I'm a genius! * * * 

Jean-Michel Basquiat, one of the most genius artists ever, shared this memory: "I was a really lousy artist as a kid. Too abstract expressionist; or I'd draw a big ram's head, really messy. I'd never win painting contests. I remember losing to a guy who did a perfect Spiderman." 

If you want to know about Basquiat, then this is the movie to watch:

My studio - astonishingly out of control.

She sells seashells

Doug and I went to the opening reception of Like a Flower: The Art of Missy Stevens at the Brookfield Craft Center here in Connecticut. What a wonderful event! I have admired Missy's work for many years, after having seen examples of her thread paintings which are stunning and soulful. in fact, we had just watched a film on CPTV, Missy Stevens, The Spirit and Technique of Painting With Thread and so we were revved up and eager to see Missy's works in person. The film, by the way, is absolutely lovely (as is Missy) and it is being shown this evening at The Brookfield Craft Center (which also offers many classes), with Missy in attendance to answer questions and talk about her work. If you go for the film you'll get to see the show as well, as it will be there through July 29. 

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  MISSY STEVENS || MOON CROWN || 2017 (DETAIL) 

While we had expected to see many beautiful examples of Missy's fiber art, and we were not disappointed, we were delightfully surprised to also find examples of a new direction in the form of two crowns, made mostly from seashells. These crowns took my breath away. I was smitten!

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  MISSY STEVENS || SUN CROWN || 2017 (DETAIL) 

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  MISSY STEVENS || MOON CROWN || 2017

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  MISSY STEVENS || SUN CROWN || 2017

Missy, in addition to being an awesome artist, is also a very special friend. It was Missy who guided me on my first shamanistic journey which I wrote about last October. 

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  MISSY STEVENS ANSWERS QUESTIONS AT THE OPENING RECEPTION.

See more of Missy’s artwork at her website.

Nevermore . . .

RAVEN TAKES A STROLL (detail) :: BY JO-ANN GILBANKS CORDES

Doug and I went to the annual Mark Twain Library Art Show Gala in December. It’s a very fun event in our small town - lots of people, lots of art, plenty of passed canapés and champagne. Of course I haven’t had any alcohol in ages - my kidneys are busy enough dealing with the chemo cocktails. 

I visited the library the afternoon before the gala and I was gobsmacked because, as I walked into the library, I was stopped dead in my tracks by this incredible bird, a great big black raven, and he was looking straight at me. I love birds, blackbirds in particular - crows, ravens, call them what you will. And my spirit animal, who showed up to help me with my cancer journey, is a bird. I like to think now that it is a raven. 

That evening I was first in line when the doors opened. I went straight to the acquisitions desk and made Raven Takes a Stroll mine. I was thrilled to know this painting would eventually be at home with me.  

At one point in the evening, I noticed two women gazing upon "my" painting and I joined them. "Do you love it?" I asked. Oh, yes. they did. "Well, it’s MINE!" Kind of cheeky of me, but I was feeling giddy and they didn’t mind at all ... because, one of them was the artist, Jo-Ann Cordes! She and I proceeded to have a wonderful conversation about what the painting means to each of us and, upon discovering we live in neighboring towns, promised to get together in the new year. 

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FROM "MY" CHAIR IN THE FAMILY ROOM :: I SEE THE RAVEN AND THE RAVEN SEES ME.

For those of you who are in southwestern Connecticut, Cordes’ Ravens are on display  at the Bethel Public Library, through February 21st (an extension of the show’s original end date).  If you’d like to read an article about her and the show, click HERE.

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Want to know more Raven Lore? Click HERE.

A Visit to Helena Hernmarck's Studio

How do you like these threads? Such gorgeous colors, mingling in their basket. Where did I photograph them? At Helena Hernmarck's studio! What a wonderful few hours were had by our small group, nine of us, all members of Surface Design Association (SDA).

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Here is the magnificent wall of wool threads ... and this photo doesn't even show all of it. The studio is grandly spacious, with twenty-foot ceilings. The building, which is on the same property as her house, was designed by her late husband, Nils, an architect.

I love this story: Many years ago, they bought this beautiful piece of land and made do for several years, living in the house which was on the property when they bought it, until they were able to build their home, designed by Nils. What did they build first? The studio! That's a definite case of having one's priorities in correct order. 

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Helena Hernmarck explaining a process at one of the many outstanding looms in her studio. What a very special person she is, to give us so much of her time, her knowledge, her energy, and her spirit. She is enormously talented, with a storehouse of information to share. She is also quite sweet and a charming teller of stories.

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Everywhere I looked, I saw threads ... and colors ... and threads ... and colors ... and threads ...

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Helena Hernmarck showing us a piece she is working on ... gorgeous! I wish I could explain to you how complex the work is that goes into each of her tapestries. For one thing, it's not just a woven picture: there are layers of weaving, one on top of the other, with some weaving done from the front and some from the other side ... upside down and backward. Everything is mapped out in detail, on paper, before any loom work begins. These preliminary, full-size renderings, called cartoons, look very complicated to me. Perhaps I should have paid more attention in math class because this form of art requires far more than mere inspiration to create a finished piece of work. 

And most of Hernmark's pieces are enormous, which necessitates a clever way to view them properly while working on them at such close quarters. A small, hand-sized telescope of sorts is used ... but she looks through the "wrong" end and is thus able, at close quarters, to assess progress on a piece, as it will look when properly viewed from a distance.

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This is the back side of the piece above. It is interwoven with marvelous strips of auroraborealis-like color. The reason why there are all those cut out circles is because Hernmarck sources this material from a factory that makes sequins; this is what is left behind, after the sequins have been cut out! 

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More of her fabulous yarns. They are from a particular breed of sheep which is found in her homeland of Sweden. The dyes are mixed especially for her, to her specifications. 

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We also had a wonderful visit in Helena's home. I would have loved to take pictures but it seemed like it would be much too much of an invasion of her privacy, so I resisted! I'll have to depend on my memory to revisit the delightful spaces in Helena Hernmarck's home.

To learn more, visit Hernmarck's website: http://www.hernmarck.com.

Homage to Helena Hernmark

"Of the artists working in tapestry today, Helena Hernmarck stands without peer."   

- Jack Lenor Larson

Helena Hernmarck chats with a fan.

I recently attended a talk by Helena Hernmarck, held at Redding's lovely Mark Twain Library. It was thrilling. To see slide after slide of glorious tapestries, spanning more than 40 years of work and all explained by the magnificent maker herself ... well, it rocked my soul! Hernmarck is a delightful and compelling speaker. What's more, even her earliest work is drop dead gorgeous, so the entire evening was pure pleasure. 

Audience members enjoyed studying a piece of tapestry by Helena Hernmarck.

Hernmarck has a unique ability to fool the viewer's eye, as with this example of spatial illusion.

Hernmarck's body of work is so exciting and her accomplishments, not the least of which is her invention of a new way of tapestry weaving, are truly impressive. Give yourself a treat: set aside some time, make yourself a pot of tea, and visit her website: http://www.hernmarck.com. I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy wandering around in her online world.

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ENVELOPE FROM SWEDEN - 1992  In Our Nature exhibition at American Swedish Institute  Photo: Norman McGrath  Collection: Minneapolis Institute of Art. 

February Valentines

I finally managed to get some photos of Doug's latest diminutive cut-paper creations. Above is the "Special Delivery" Valentine which he made for Adeline this year. It is made from white card stock and it is three inches tall. 

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For me, Doug made a "Bird on a Wire" with a tiny, glittery heart in it's beak. It is one and three-quarter inches tall.  My favorite of all his paper creations? The tiny paper sandals, below.  As you can see, they are quite elderly, with lots of foxing. He made them about thirty years ago, on an airplane. He was in Business Class, flying to some far-flung meeting, and while the man sitting next to him did serious business work, Doug took out an index card and an Exacto knife and made these. Oh, they are darling.

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He makes such wonderful, whimsical things.